†Saint Quote of the Day
"Accustom yourself continually to make many acts of love, for they enkindle and melt the soul."
–St. Teresa of Avila - Teresa of Jesus †Today's Meditation
"I realize as never before that the Lord is gentle and merciful; He did not send me this heavy cross until I could bear it. If He had sent it before, I am certain that it would have discouraged me . . . I desire nothing at all now except to love until I die of love. I am free, I am not afraid of anything, not even of what I used to dread most of all . . . a long illness which would make me a burden to the community. I am perfectly content to go on suffering in body and soul for years, if that would please God. I am not in the least afraid of living for a long time; I am ready to go on fighting."
—St. Therese of Lisieux, p. 122 An Excerpt From
The Story of a Soul †Daily Verse
"Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusts in thee. Trust in the Lord for ever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."
–Isaiah 26:3-4 |  click to read more | | St. Fiacre St. Fiacre (d. 670 A.D.) was born in Ireland and was raised from childhood in an Irish monastery. There he grew in knowledge as well as holiness, and became a priest. He retired to a hermitage to live in prayer and solitude, but men began to flock to him to imitate his way of life and become his disciples. To escape them, Fiacre left Ireland to establish a new hermitage in France. He went to the bishop and asked for land to plant a garden to grow food as well as herbs for medicinal healing, a science which he studied in the monastery. The bishop agreed to give Fiacre as much land as he could entrench. Fiacre picked a plot of land and walked around its perimeter, dragging his shovel behind him. Wherever his spade touched the ground, the land was miraculously cleared and the soil became entrenched. St. Fiacre lived a life of great mortification in prayer, fasting, vigils, and manual labor in his garden. Disciples gathered around him again, and soon formed a monastery. St. Fiacre then built an oratory in honor of the Virgin Mary, a hospice in which he received strangers, and a cell for his own dwelling. His fame for performing miracles became widespread, and his garden became a place of pilgrimage for centuries for those seeking healing. St. Fiacre is best known as the patron of gardeners, florists, and cab drivers. His feast day is August 30th. | Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Thes 2:9-13 You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery.
Working night and day in order not to burden any of you,
we proclaimed to you the Gospel of God.
You are witnesses, and so is God,
how devoutly and justly and blamelessly
we behaved toward you believers.
As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children,
exhorting and encouraging you and insisting
that you walk in a manner worthy of the God
who calls you into his Kingdom and glory. And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly,
that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us,
you received it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God,
which is now at work in you who believe. Responsorial Psalm Ps 139:7-8, 9-10, 11-12ab R. (1) You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
If I take the wings of the dawn,
if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
Even there your hand shall guide me,
and your right hand hold me fast.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
If I say, "Surely the darkness shall hide me,
and night shall be my light"–
For you darkness itself is not dark,
and night shines as the day.
R. You have searched me and you know me, Lord. Alleluia 1 Jn 2:5 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 23:27-32 Jesus said,
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,
but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.'
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!"
| Daily Meditation: Psalm 139:7-12 You have searched me and you know me, Lord. (Psalm Response) Our readings today share a common thread: nothing is hidden from God. He sees everything, even to the depths of our hearts. In our first reading, Paul defends himself, asserting, "You are witnesses, and so is God" to how honorably he has behaved (1 Thessalonians 2:10). The psalmist then proclaims that God knows him through and through, wherever he goes and whatever he does (139:1-2). And finally, Jesus warns the scribes and Pharisees that God can see through their hypocrisy—and so can he (Matthew 23:27). Thinking about God's all-knowing gaze can make us uneasy. But the truth is, he looks at us with a gaze of love. So let's join with the psalmist and rejoice that we are fully known and fully loved. You have searched me and you know me, Lord (Psalm Response). "Jesus, nothing is hidden from you. You know me better than I even know myself. How could you not? 'You knit me in my mother's womb' (139:13). You see my best impulses to love you and care for other people, and you see my worst, most selfish desires. You see it all, Lord, and even so, you invite me to come to you and receive your mercy. You remind me that I am your child, and you heal my waywardness. Your gaze of love warms my heart and gives me courage. With you, Lord, I am not afraid of being known. Where can I go from your spirit? (Psalm 139:7). "Thank you, Lord, that your Holy Spirit is always with me even when I can't feel it. You never leave my side! And yet, Lord, I still avoid you sometimes! I busy myself with distractions and get immersed in my daily tasks. I delight in the world you created but neglect spending time with you, the God who made it. I drift into a haze of doubt and wonder if this life is all there is. Sometimes I even flee to the darkness of anger and despair to escape the suffering of life. But wherever I go, you are already there. 'Even there your hand shall guide me, and your right hand hold me fast' (139:10). No matter how deep my darkness, it 'is not dark' for you (139:12)." "I rejoice, Lord, that I am fully known and fully loved. Thank you for always being at my side!" 1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
Matthew 23:27-32 |  click to hear 2cents | audio link
Reflections with Brother Adrian: | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his children,
exhorting and encouraging you and insisting
that you walk in a manner worthy of the God
who calls you into his Kingdom and glory........" end of verse.
. . . And that is what loving father does: he exhorts, pleads, encourages, and insists that you walk in His way, and the way is to the Kingdom and Glory of God!
There are things we cannot imagine possible that are being made possible if we'd only have faith. | We pray today:
"You have searched me and you know me, Lord.
Where can I go from your spirit?
From your presence where can I flee?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I sink to the nether world, you are present there. ....."_ end of Psalm." | In the Gospel today we heard:
"....you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets' blood.'
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets......" end of Gospel verse. | Have you ever thought like the Pharisees and scribes thinking "if only I would've been there with Jesus, seeing all they saw, then I would more easily believe". Right? Like you wouldn't have criticized our Lord or had Him crucified, right? But we can't say that, our Lord tells us we shouldn't say that, because it just seals our fate. You are who you are in faith. What's more, today we have more evidence for Christ and thousands of miracles to witness Christ, and yet we sit here on the fence, wondering if we should act, move, or even believe!
What is holding us back to a more faithful, more loving relationship with our Lord? Sure we say we wouldn't have had our Lord scourged, but we still fall into the same things that cause His scourging which is the sin of impurity. More souls fall to hell because of impurity they say, than any other sin. So we cannot say we are any better than the people that surrounded our Lord over 2,000 years ago. If anything, we should be more humble. They REALLY didn't know better, but we do! We have a greater book with more volumes on faith than they did. The Jews only had the Torah, only 5 books! We have 73 books in the Catholic bible! And thousands upon thousands of other Catholic books from the time of Christ until today! And still God wants more. More life changing and life saving books to be written. And your life is a book being written. All we do matters. And the matter, matters to our Lord in Heaven. All that is unfathomable is fathomed in His mind, and Holy Spirit. And this is where faith, trust, and loving obedience begins to a new spiritual life, and life means eternal life in Him. ........
Let us pray:
Lord, I do not wish to be a white washed tomb, but a living temple, of the living Word of God, and this means truth of Christ from the heart, mind, and soul. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
James 1:22–25 [James 1] 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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