†Saint Quote of the Day
"A man who governs his passions is master of his world. We must either command them or be enslaved by them. It is better to be a hammer than an anvil."
–St. Dominic de Guzman †Today's Meditation
"The first element to be purified [by Jesus] was water, transformed through Christ's baptism in the Jordan by John the Baptist. Through this, water was redeemed and made new for all the world to be baptized. That scouring of water and that baptism on the banks of the Jordan opened fresh to every man and woman the right relationship to God, which had been squandered and separated by our first parents. While the pagans had deep and complicated rituals that involved animal sacrifice and the offerings of food, wine, and goods, our ritual or recipe for return couldn't be simpler: water and prayer. Paired with the sacred words of sacramental rite, one drop of water gives a soul the capacity to enter into the ocean of God's grace and to discover the depths of eternal life in ways completely unknown in the ancient world".
–Carrie Gress and Noelle Mering, p.69 †DAILY Verse "So turn from youthful desires and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord with purity of heart."
–2 Timothy 2:22 |  click to read more | | St. Dominic de Guzman St. Dominic (1170–1221) was born in Spain to a family of noble lineage. His mother, Blessed Jane of Aza, prayed at the church of St. Dominic Silos to conceive a male child, her first two sons being given to the priesthood. In answer to her prayer, she dreamed that a dog leaped from her womb carrying a torch in its mouth which set the world ablaze. At his baptism, his godmother beheld a star shining from his forehead. As a child Dominic showed signs of great sanctity and intelligence, and he was also given to the Church for the priesthood. When famine struck Dominic sold his rare and expensive theology books to feed the poor. As a priest he traveled with his bishop into southern France and discovered that it had been overrun with a heretical movement which led many away from the Church. This inflamed his desire to devote his life to apostolic preaching for the salvation of souls, at the time an office reserved to bishops. With the Pope's approval he founded the Order of Preachers, or the Dominicans, committed to defend the truth of the Catholic faith. St. Dominic's Order was novel in that it combined the active and contemplative religious life with the labor of scholarly study and itinerate preaching. St. Dominic was innovative in meeting the needs of his time to defend the Church against her enemies. To aid his mission, Our Lady appeared to him and gave him a new devotion—the Holy Rosary. St. Dominic is the patron saint of scientists and astronomers. His feast day is August 8th. | Memorial of Saint Dominic, Priest
Readings for the Memorial of Saint Dominic, priest Reading 1 Nm 12:1-13 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses on the pretext
of the marriage he had contracted with a Cushite woman.
They complained, "Is it through Moses alone that the LORD speaks?
Does he not speak through us also?"
And the LORD heard this.
Now, Moses himself was by far the meekest man on the face of the earth.
So at once the LORD said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam,
"Come out, you three, to the meeting tent."
And the three of them went.
Then the LORD came down in the column of cloud,
and standing at the entrance of the tent,
called Aaron and Miriam.
When both came forward, he said,
"Now listen to the words of the LORD: Should there be a prophet among you,
in visions will I reveal myself to him,
in dreams will I speak to him;
not so with my servant Moses!
Throughout my house he bears my trust:
face to face I speak to him;
plainly and not in riddles.
The presence of the LORD he beholds. Why, then, did you not fear to speak against my servant Moses?" So angry was the LORD against them that when he departed,
and the cloud withdrew from the tent,
there was Miriam, a snow-white leper!
When Aaron turned and saw her a leper, he said to Moses,
"Ah, my lord! Please do not charge us with the sin
that we have foolishly committed!
Let her not thus be like the stillborn babe
that comes forth from its mother's womb
with its flesh half consumed."
Then Moses cried to the LORD, "Please, not this! Pray, heal her!" Responsorial Psalm Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 6cd-7, 12-13 R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense;
and my sin is before me always:
"Against you only have I sinned;
and done what is evil in your sight."
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
That you may be justified in your sentence,
vindicated when you condemn.
Indeed, in guilt was I born,
and in sin my mother conceived me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not off from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned. Alleluia Jn 1:49b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Rabbi, you are the Son of God;
you are the King of Israel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 14:22-36 Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side of the sea,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
"It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."
Peter said to him in reply,
"Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."
He said, "Come."
Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
"Truly, you are the Son of God." After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret.
When the men of that place recognized him,
they sent word to all the surrounding country.
People brought to him all those who were sick
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak,
and as many as touched it were healed. | DAILY MEDITATION: MATTHEW 14:22-36
It is I; do not be afraid. (Matthew 14:27) Today's story of the disciples on the boat reveals how Jesus acts during the storms of life. Let's take a look. First, we see Jesus on the mountain while the disciples are being tossed about in the boat. Doesn't life feel that way sometimes? You are "down here," rocked by problems and disappointments, and where is Jesus? He seems far away. You wonder, Does he even know what I'm going through? But Jesus does know! Miraculously walking on the waves, heedless of the storm, he comes to his friends. The elements have no power to stop him. Just so, nothing has the power to prevent Jesus from coming to you. That problem that you are dealing with, the sin that plagues you, those emotions that overwhelm you—none of these can keep him from coming to save you. Notice that when the disciples see Jesus, they are terrified! They are disturbed by the way he has broken into their storm. And we don't always like it, either. He doesn't do things exactly our way. For instance, he may not get rid of the wind or the waves right away. Sometimes, instead of immediately rescuing us from our troubles, Jesus first speaks words of comfort: "It is I; do not be afraid" (Matthew 14:27). Why is this? Maybe it's because even before calming our storms, Jesus wants to show us that he's with us in our peril. Perhaps he does it to show us that his presence is enough to calm our fears and that he won't abandon us when life gets hard or scary or messy. Jesus brings the peace that comes from him alone. Like the disciples, we need to learn that having Jesus is even better than getting rescued; he is so much more than a means to an end. Finally, Jesus calms their storm—and he will calm yours. Not every situation in your life will be calmed as quickly, but every storm will pass. Your storm will pass. Maybe not today. Maybe not next month. Maybe not in six months. But however long it takes, Jesus will remain with you, and his presence will be peace for you. Hear him say, "Do not be afraid; it is I." "Lord, I believe you are with me! I trust in you!" Numbers 12:1-13
Psalm 51:3-7, 12-13 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Where can I get meat to give to all this people?
For they are crying to me,
'Give us meat for our food....." end of verse. People get hangry, no? Hunger produces anger. Let this hunger be known that it is a hunger for God. Our God let the people be hungry, for a reason. It was for faith. The whole deal with wondering for 40 years was about faith, with all the struggles, trials, and tribulations. It was so that we would trust in our Lord, Amen? Hard lesson learned. Or have we learned yet? | We pray today:
"My people heard not my voice,
and Israel obeyed me not; So I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts; they walked according to their own counsels."
Sing with joy to God our help.
"If only my people would hear me, and Israel walk in my ways, Quickly would I humble their enemies;
against their foes I would turn my hand."....."_ end of Psalm. | In the Gospel today we heard:
"When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
"This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves."
He said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves."....." end of Gospel verse. Our Lord said to feed them on the spot, with what they had.
What they had was very little. And God would make the mustard seed parable come true.
What they had was very little faith. The impossible was not possible until our Lord made it a reality. Anything is possible for those who trust in Him.
And what is the greatest impossible feat? Coming back to life from death. Isn't it? Putting flesh on dead bones. Yet, even that is written in Holy Scripture.
I say that, because my friend just passed away from last night in the nursing home. A blind man. We were just talking yesterday afternoon, I always made him laugh, and he always made light of all things. He made me see, although he could not physically see, and I would try to visualize things for him. He had me take his guitar to get a strap put on. I immediately did it yesterday evening and was planning on dropping it off this morning, and then his stepdaughter called crying with the sad news.
He wasn't complaining about anything, just normal conversations.
Someone said, "well, he was probably doing good, but now he is doing better."
Faith. Right? My consolation would be that he can see now, like when he was a kid and could see before a shotgun accident in the house and he lost his sight.
Now he can see. What was impossible is now possible. Our consolation was his consolation, my mom gave Him Holy communion yesterday as we gathered with the elderly and singing songs and reading scripture.
There's much I could say about my relationship with him. Because many aspects baffled me. Why was he alone so long? Why was he so positive and loving? How does the love of the Eucharist last for so long, like when the pandemic hit and nobody could enter to see him for years, much less receive our Lord.
He needed sweets and always had me bringing him cookies and candies for his blood sugar. They think this is what took him out last night. Our Lord also is alone in tabernacles. Our people are fed up with Him in the bread. Ouch! That sounds harsh, right?
How can I say that?
First of all, there are only about 30% that believe our Lord is in the Holy Eucharist. And of those 30%, very few actually adore Him.
There is a very small amount of people actually loving and adoring Him.
But my hope is that for the sake of those few, that our God would relent. If we repent, He will relent of the evil that can happen. Communists are continuously trying to take over. And it is a battle of man vs. God Himself. Because in communism, you have man making themselves out to be above God Himself. Yet, this is the very deal, the very hatred being lived out when we do not love our Lord. Either you love Him or you do not. To not care is just that! To be in the middle, and neutral, means just that! You do not care. You are like Pilate who washes his hands on the issue of crucifying the Messiah. | So what is the solution? Adoration. Yes. True love of God, yes. To surrender to God the very little we have...even that very small amount of true love you have for Him.
Watch what He does with the little we have. He can multiply it over and over.
Such was the joy of my blind friend Manuel Hinojos, blind, alone, yet making the biggest of differences in lives, like mine, for now I am here, with more faith because of him, his faith. Everyone's faith matters!
Let us pray today:
Lord, how can the little I have make a big difference? Let us let go and let You do what You Can Do! Help us let go of ourselves and give love to Love. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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