†Quote of the Day
"Is it not a wonderful thing, that he that is the Lord and author of all liberty, would thus be bound with ropes and nailed hand and foot unto the Cross?"
–St. John Fisher †Today's Meditation
"You must first have peace in your own soul before you can make peace between other people. Peaceable people accomplish more good than learned people do. Those who are passionate often can turn good into evil and readily believe the worst. But those who are honest and peaceful turn all things to good and are suspicious of no one. … It is no test of virtue to be on good terms with easy-going people, for they are always well liked. And, of course, all of us want to live in peace and prefer those who agree with us. But the real test of virtue and deserving of praise is to live at peace with the perverse, or the aggressive and those who contradict us, for this needs a great grace. … in this mortal life, our peace consists in the humble bearing of suffering and contradictions, not in being free of them, for we cannot live in this world without adversity. Those who can best suffer will enjoy the most peace, for such persons are masters of themselves, lords of the world, with Christ for their friend, and heaven as their reward."
— Thomas á Kempis, p.72-73 †Daily Verse
"In fact, all who want to live religiously in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But wicked people and charlatans will go from bad to worse, deceivers and deceived. But you, remain faithful to what you have learned and believed, because you know from whom you learned it, and that from infancy you have known [the] sacred scriptures, which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."
–2 Timothy 3:12-15 |  click to read more | | St. John of Capistrano St. John of Capistrano (1385-1456) was born in Capistrano, Italy. After the death of his father, his mother sent him to study law in Perugia where he rose to prominence. He achieved great success as a lawyer and was appointed governor of Perugia. He was an upright leader who refused bribes and corruption. While attempting to negotiate a peace treaty he was imprisoned, which gave him opportunity to assess the direction of his life and the state of his soul. After having a vision of St. Francis of Assisi, John left the world and entered religious life as a Franciscan friar. He was taught theology by St. Bernardine of Siena, and together the two worked to reform the Franciscan order. St. John traveled throughout Italy preaching for the salvation of souls, combating the heresies of his day, and winning many souls away from schism and heresy. Merchants would suspend their business as great crowds gathered to hear him preach in the public squares. He was also known as a healer, and many of the sick were brought to him to be cured. St. John was frequently used as an ambassador by the Holy See which allowed him to preach across the Holy Roman Empire, earning him the name "Apostle of Europe." He also preached a crusade against the Muslim Turks for the emancipation of Hungary. He was present at the Battle of Belgrade and led the charge of the Christian army under a banner monogrammed with the Holy Name of Jesus, to which he had a great devotion, urging the crusaders to invoke the name of Jesus for success in battle. The victory of the Christian army was attributed to his efforts. St. John of Capistrano is the patron of judges, military chaplains, lawyers, and jurists. His feast day is October 23rd | Monday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 473
Reading 1 Rom 4:20-25 Brothers and sisters:
Abraham did not doubt God's promise in unbelief;
rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God
and was fully convinced that what God had promised
he was also able to do.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.
But it was not for him alone that it was written
that it was credited to him;
it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,
who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was handed over for our transgressions
and was raised for our justification. Responsorial Psalm Luke 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75 R. (see 68) Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
He has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people. Alleluia Mt 5:3 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 12:13-21 Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
"Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me."
He replied to him,
"Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?"
Then he said to the crowd,
"Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one's life does not consist of possessions." Then he told them a parable.
"There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, 'What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?'
And he said, 'This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!"'
But God said to him,
'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?'
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God." | Daily Meditation: Romans 4:20-25 Abraham . . . was empowered by faith. (Romans 4:20) When Paul was explaining to believers in Rome why faith was central to the Christian life, he reached back into Israel's ancient past and presented the Jews' greatest hero of faith: Abraham. Paul reminded them that Abraham's faith empowered him to trust God. It's what built his relationship with the Lord and made way for the fulfillment of all God's promises. Abraham's story reveals an important truth: faith starts with God. It's his gift to us. In Genesis 12, it is the Lord who takes the initiative and invites Abraham to travel to a new land, promising to make of him a great nation (12:1-2). That promise was the foundation upon which Abraham's faith would grow. It inspired him to go forth in obedience. As Abraham said yes to that first invitation from the Lord, his faith deepened, and he was able to obey God in the steps that followed. Paul must have had these promises from Genesis in mind when he chose Abraham as an example of faith: "I will make your reward very great" (Genesis 15:1). "Between you and me I will establish my covenant" (17:2). "I will return to you. . . , and Sarah will then have a son" (18:10). Each promise was like water to the seed of faith that the Lord gave to Abraham. And when Abraham trusted in God's promise and obeyed him, his faith grew and deepened. Our faith grows the same way. It starts with God, who planted the seed of faith in us at our Baptism. Just as he did for Abraham, God has made promises to us and to all who believe in him. He tells us that he will give us peace (John 14:27), that he will give us eternal life (6:54), and that he will give us the Holy Spirit (14:16-17). These promises are like water to our seed of faith. With each step of trust in God and obedience to his word, we will begin to see those promises fulfilled. And that will empower us and make our faith grow and deepen. So today, be like Abraham. Let God's gift of faith grow in you as you say yes to him. You can trust that he will give you the faith you need to do what he is asking—and bless you with even greater faith! "Lord God, thank you for the gift of faith." (Psalm) Luke 1:69-75
Luke 12:13-21 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:Audio Link | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"But it was not for him alone that it was written
that it was credited to him;
it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,
who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was handed over for our transgressions
and was raised for our justification........"
. . . There's a formula protestants have devised to state their belief and be saved and it goes something like this, the sinner's prayer: "Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior."
There's an over-simplification if you ask me about the whole thing, but there is something good to be accredited as well. Salvation goes deep my friend. It goes thousands of years before Christ. And it is now over 2,000 years since Christ entered our world and our lives. So we are in it for thousands of years of "salvation history".
But the message boils down to faith. That is the whole point of the first Scripture from Saint Paul to the Romans. Abraham had faith. He did what he was told. He believed. It wasn't the works that made Abraham, not works alone, but the works that came about through faith. Faith makes works happen. There must be fruit for God our Father. | We pray today:
"This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people......." | In the Gospel today we heard:
"But God said to him,
'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?'
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God."......" end of Gospel verse. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, today in our Gospel, Jesus tells of a rich man who has been so successful that he doesn't have enough space to store his harvest. So he tears down his barns and builds bigger ones. But that very night, he dies—and all of it comes to naught. "Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God."
No matter how good, how beautiful a state of affairs is here below, it is destined to pass into nonbeing. That sunset that I enjoyed last night—that radiantly beautiful display—is now forever gone. It lasted only a while. That beautiful person—attractive, young, full of life, creative, joyful—will eventually age, get sick, break down, and die. An image that always comes to mind when I think of these things is the gorgeous firework that bursts open like a giant flower and then, in the twinkling of an eye, is gone forever. Everything is haunted by nonbeing. Everything, finally, is a bubble.
But this is not meant to depress us; it is meant to redirect our attention precisely to the things that are "above," to the eternity of God.
. . .." end quote.
Our Lord said about the rich man needing bigger barns that he was a "fool", He even addressed him as "You Fool!".
Our Lord spoke many times about us being fools.
How do we get fooled in life? What makes us fools?
They say love makes people do stupid things.
There is another time our Lord speaks about foolishness, and it is what people say about the cross. From Corinthians: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." word of the Lord.
As I speak, I can hear an analog, mechanical wall clock ticking. It has been ticking for years in my office. It was ticking when my late father, who passed last year, would come into the office to break the silence. And now it is more silent than before. Time is ticking. Lives are born, and lives are passing on.
What wisdom can I gain every second that passes by?
I hear an old phone making a noise every few seconds, reminds me of hospital machines always making a noise ever so often. Time is ticking, life is happening.
What do I do? What should I be doing? What stores of wealth am I accumulating that I am so worried about? Why do we worry so much about our finances? It seems in our country, that this is all we care about...the economy. The bull (market). It is a hidden god that still lives on.
And on the contrary, our Lord is calling from the cross with open arms "why do you worry, come to Me, and I will give you rest".
But we flee from Him on the cross, because we are deathly afraid to lose our lives...for His sake.
And so, vocations to the priesthood are down, and what's worse? Vocations to marriage are spiraling violently down. And what comes down when that happens? The fruit...the children. The future.
And let's not think population, because eventually we will have a depopulation dilemma. There will be a time when we will face an unprecedented issue...not enough people.
And what brought this issue? Not enough love...of God.
And so, the issue is not that there is not enough resources, resources depleting, but that the resources are not shared. It is a greed issue all over the world, and the pride issue that is causing calamities and such. But ask the non-believer and they will simply blame....religion. Ask the middle ground people and they will answer with tons of answers, because they have no roots.
But the root of the Gospel today should say something like "store up treasures in Heaven, for there is where your heart should be!" ........
Let us pray:
Lord, time is flying by fast, and instead of growing in peace and love, I grow restless, with anxiety, with more and more questions than answers.
Show me Lord, my accumulated wealth, that I may share it, and make it more fruitful for Your Kingdom. Is it my health? My time? Have I accumulated it all for myself and not shared it to proliferate and propagate Your Kingdom of Love? Show me! |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 86:4–5
4 Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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