†Quote of the Day
"We should strive to keep our hearts open to the sufferings and wretchedness of other people, and pray continually that God may grant us that spirit of compassion which is truly the spirit of God."
–St. Vincent de Paul †Today's Meditation
"Let us beware of complaints, resentments, and evil-speaking against those who are ill-disposed to us, discontented with us, or hostile to our plans and arrangements, or who even persecute us with injuries, insults, and calumnies. Rather let us go on treating them as cordially as at first, or more so, as far as possible showing them esteem, always speaking well of them, doing them good, serving them on occasion, even to the point of taking shame and disgrace upon ourselves, if necessary to save their honor. All this ought to be done, first, to overcome evil with good, according to the teaching of the Apostles; and secondly, because they are our allies rather than our adversaries, as they aid us to destroy self-love, which is our greatest foe; and since it is they who give us an opportunity to gain merit, they ought to be considered our dearest friends."
—St. Vincent de Paul, p.413 †Daily Verse
"Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me."
–John 14:23-24 |  click to read more | | St. Vincent de Paul St. Vincent de Paul (1581–1660) was born in France to a peasant farming family. As a child he grew up herding sheep, and showed such an aptitude for his studies that his father sold the family oxen to fund his seminary education. After his ordination in 1600, St. Vincent worked in Toulouse as a tutor to pay for his doctorate. In 1605, while traveling by sea, he was captured by Turkish pirates. He was taken to Tunis in Africa and sold into slavery four times before escaping in 1607 along with his master, whom he had coverted to the faith. St. Vincent then continued his studies in Rome, and afterwards returned to France. He served as a parish priest and ministered to the nobility; however, two life-changing encounters with destitute people inspired him to begin work among the poor and marginalized. He gathered the wealthy women of his parish to collect funds for missionary projects. From this group came the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. He also founded an Order of priests, the Vincentians, who, during a time of general laxity and ignorance among the clergy, devoted themselves to the Evangelical Councils while serving in small towns and villages. He committed himself to the education of priests and conducted many retreats for their spiritual formation. He also ministered to convicts suffering deplorable conditions in prison, and won many to the faith in addition to building them a hospital. St. Vincent renewed the faith of France during a time of spiritual crisis. For this he was named the patron of charitable works. He is also the patron of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, an organization dedicated to the service of the poor, now working in 132 countries. His feast day is September 27th. | Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, priest Reading 1 Ezr 9:5-9 At the time of the evening sacrifice, I, Ezra, rose in my wretchedness,
and with cloak and mantle torn I fell on my knees,
stretching out my hands to the LORD, my God. I said: "My God, I am too ashamed and confounded to raise my face to you,
O my God, for our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads
and our guilt reaches up to heaven.
From the time of our fathers even to this day
great has been our guilt,
and for our wicked deeds we have been delivered up,
we and our kings and our priests,
to the will of the kings of foreign lands,
to the sword, to captivity, to pillage, and to disgrace,
as is the case today. "And now, but a short time ago, mercy came to us from the LORD, our God,
who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in his holy place;
thus our God has brightened our eyes
and given us relief in our servitude.
For slaves we are, but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us;
rather, he has turned the good will
of the kings of Persia toward us.
Thus he has given us new life
to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins,
and has granted us a fence in Judah and Jerusalem." Responsorial Psalm Tobit 13:2, 3-4a, 4befghn, 7-8 R. (1b) Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
He scourges and then has mercy;
he casts down to the depths of the nether world,
and he brings up from the great abyss.
No one can escape his hand.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Praise him, you children of Israel, before the Gentiles,
for though he has scattered you among them,
he has shown you his greatness even there.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
So now consider what he has done for you,
and praise him with full voice.
Bless the Lord of righteousness,
and exalt the King of ages.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
In the land of my exile I praise him
and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Bless the Lord, all you his chosen ones,
and may all of you praise his majesty.
Celebrate days of gladness, and give him praise.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever. Alleluia Mk 1:15 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 9:1-6 Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority
over all demons and to cure diseases,
and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God
and to heal the sick.
He said to them, "Take nothing for the journey,
neither walking stick, nor sack, nor food, nor money,
and let no one take a second tunic.
Whatever house you enter, stay there and leave from there.
And as for those who do not welcome you,
when you leave that town,
shake the dust from your feet in testimony against them."
Then they set out and went from village to village
proclaiming the good news and curing diseases everywhere.
| Daily Meditation: Ezra 9:5-9 Our God has not abandoned us. (Ezra 9:9) The priest and scribe Ezra had plenty of reasons to be discouraged. Yes, by God's grace, his people had been permitted to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple. The construction had been completed and the Temple dedicated, despite fierce opposition from the pagan people living among them. But still, when they needed to focus on their special identity as God's people, the returned exiles had begun to intermarry with these Gentiles and take on their ways. So Ezra's heartfelt prayer laments the sins of God's people. But he doesn't just lament. He also calls to mind the magnitude of God's mercy. Yes, the people needed to repent, but they could do so only because God hadn't given up on them. He was still working out his plan for his chosen people, and they could count on his overwhelming compassion. It all hinged on the one truth that filled their present moment and gave them hope—a truth that Ezra focused on as he prayed. Right now, God was with them. In the midst of their sin, he had remained faithful to them. Even as they were adopting the practices of the nations that surrounded them, the Lord didn't abandon them. Ezra knew that God would first need to get his people's attention and draw them back to himself. But he trusted that God would do it. The Lord would help them rebuild what they had ruined. Ezra believed that God's good plan for his people had not changed. It's a message that can give us hope, too. Like those returning from exile, we might have missed the mark. We might have forgotten that we are God's sons and daughters, and that this truth should make a difference in our lives. And like them, we, too, can return to the Lord. We can count on God's unconditional mercy to accompany us every step of our journey. As the old song says, "I may not know what the future holds, but I know who holds the future." Even in your messiness, even when you're not sure what's in store for your future, you can fix your hope on this truth: right now, God is with you. "Merciful and loving God, I trust that you are with me at this very moment." (Psalm) Tobit 13:2-4, 7-8
Luke 9:1-6 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"And now, but a short time ago, mercy came to us from the LORD, our God,
who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in his holy place;
thus our God has brightened our eyes
and given us relief in our servitude.
For slaves we are, but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us;
rather, he has turned the good will......." end of verse.
. . . Our country is in a more sad state of being, and what has been happening, everyone knows, that for the last generation, our people have been on a downward spiral in morality by opening up the gates of immoral sexual activity, which has always existed, but is multiplied many times over, and in ruining marriages, true marriage between a father and a mother, to ruining Christianity itself because fathers are necessary to lead the families. And we all know that over half are now fatherless, and the fathers that remain are faithless to a certain degree in matters of being lovers of God above all. And I do not like to bring up a problem without proposing a solution, and the solution is that whether you are a man or a woman reading this, that you yourself become that change in driving force, so that our future generation is not facing so much death and destruction in faith, and you know how often I equate faith with love. And I say all of this because the 1st Scripture is an attempt to return to God and His mercy, and that is our calling this day, and as a prophet always speaks, it is a dire message of do or die, and our Father does not desire the death of a sinner, but that they may live. The change then, is critical, that each of us unveils the holiness within, Christ within. | We pray today:
" He scourges and then has mercy; he casts down to the depths of the nether world, and he brings up from the great abyss. No one can escape his hand. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.........."_ end of Psalm." | In the Gospel today we heard:
"Jesus summoned the Twelve and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God
and to heal the sick......." end of Gospel verse. ... | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus sends his disciples on mission. He "summoned the Twelve . . . and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick." As members of the Mystical Body, we share the mission of evangelization.
In accord with the subjectivism of our culture, many Christians think of their spiritual lives in an individualist way, as the cultivation of their personal friendships with God. But this overlooks something that the New Testament authors took for granted—namely, that Christians exist not for themselves but for the world.
Jesus compared his followers to salt, which is designed to preserve and enhance something other than itself, and to light, whose purpose is to be set on a stand in order to illumine what is around it. Pope St. Paul VI articulated the same truth as follows: the Church doesn't have a mission; the Church is a mission.
We go forth, therefore, with God's authority and empowered for his work. When we stand before the judgment seat of Christ he will ask whether we have taught the world how to praise, how to reverence the truth, how to go out vigorously on campaign to extend the kingdom of God.
.." end quote.
Our Lord summons the 12 and gave them 2 things, no other thing would be necessary. And the two things are: Power and Authority over all demons and to cure diseases and with these two things they are to proclaim the Kingdom of God.
We have lost track of these two most important things to proclaim the Kingdom of God. We have given up on the thought of having authority, and we have weakened our faith and therefore, there are less healings.
Now, of course, the whole world prays for physical healing, but let's take a step back for a moment, that is not all the healing our world needs.
As we speak, two teenage relatives of mine are undergoing serious mental health counselors and some are going into places to keep them from harming themselves as they have threatened. They are by all means seemingly physically well...but there is more healing that is needed here. You see, most of the physical problems could possibly be brought on by spiritual problems, a disease that very few tend to.
And this dis-ease, is the unsettling accounts of the conscious soul that is hurting. If the soul hurts, the body fatigues. These are the ones our Lord said and called upon when saying "come to me all who labor and are weary, and I will give you rest".
And once again, the problem is stated and once again, we need a solution. Christ is the solution. Very few healing services are offered in our Churches, a gathering of prayer and worship and adoration in a Catholic Church to heal from spiritual maladies. But there are two Holy Sacraments always availed to help, the Sacrament of Confession, and the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick, not of the dead. And very few take to these Sacraments for Healing. We should go to them always! Take advantage of our Lord offering Himself there too!
And once healed, and strengthened by Grace, then we can help others be strong and live a life filled with grace, God's gift and light.
........ Let us pray: Lord, the world needs you more than ever. We have been weakening in faith matters. Help us truly love You and Follow You, as we are Your flock, Your sheep, Your children, Your love! |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Romans 1:16–17 The Righteous Shall Live by Faith 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith,1 as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."2 | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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