†Quote of the Day
"He who enters into the secret place of his own soul passes beyond himself, and does in very truth ascend to God. Banish, therefore, from thy heart the distractions of earth and turn thine eyes to spiritual joys, that thou mayest learn at last to repose in the light of the contemplation of God."
–St. Albert the Great †Today's Meditation
"Now there's no one who approaches God with a true and upright heart who isn't tested by hardships and temptations. So in all these temptations see to it that even if you feel them, you don't consent to them. Instead, bear them patiently and calmly with humility and long suffering."
—St. Albert the Great, p. 164 An Excerpt From
Manual for Spiritual Warfare †Daily Verse
"All these died in faith. They did not receive what had been promised but saw it and greeted it from afar and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth."
–Hebrews 11:13 | St. Albert the Great St. Albert the Great (1206-1280) was born in Bavaria, Germany, the eldest son of a powerful military count. As a youth he was sent to study at the University of Padua where he encountered and entered the newly-founded Dominican order as a mendicant friar, forsaking his inheritance against his family's wishes. He was the first Dominican to earn a Master of Theology degree and was sent as a lecturer to the University of Paris (which at that time was the intellectual center of Europe) before launching a Dominican house of studies in Cologne. He introduced the works of Aristotle to western thought which allowed his most brilliant student, St. Thomas Aquinas, to synthesize the Catholic faith with human reason, that is, the truths established through philosophy. St. Albert the Great was a renowned scholar and a pioneer in the field of natural science, keeping his own laboratory for scientific experiments. He is known as one of the greatest thinkers of his day, called by his contemporaries "the teacher of everything there is to know" for writing an encyclopedia of all human knowledge up to that point in history. St. Albert the Great was also one of the most famous preachers of his day and served as the papal theologian in Rome. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1931 by Pope Pius XI. St. Albert the Great is the patron saint of scientists and philosophers. His feast day is November 15th. | Wednesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Wis 6:1-11 Hear, O kings, and understand;
learn, you magistrates of the earth's expanse!
Hearken, you who are in power over the multitude
and lord it over throngs of peoples!
Because authority was given you by the Lord
and sovereignty by the Most High,
who shall probe your works and scrutinize your counsels.
Because, though you were ministers of his kingdom, you judged not rightly,
and did not keep the law,
nor walk according to the will of God,
Terribly and swiftly shall he come against you,
because judgment is stern for the exalted–
For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy
but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test.
For the Lord of all shows no partiality,
nor does he fear greatness,
Because he himself made the great as well as the small,
and he provides for all alike;
but for those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends.
To you, therefore, O princes, are my words addressed
that you may learn wisdom and that you may not sin.
For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed shall be found holy,
and those learned in them will have ready a response.
Desire therefore my words;
long for them and you shall be instructed. Responsorial Psalm Ps 82:3-4, 6-7 R. (8a) Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.
Defend the lowly and the fatherless;
render justice to the afflicted and the destitute.
Rescue the lowly and the poor;
from the hand of the wicked deliver them.
R. Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.
I said: "You are gods,
all of you sons of the Most High;
yet like men you shall die,
and fall like any prince."
R. Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth. Alleluia 1 Thes 5:18 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
In all circumstances, give thanks,
for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 17:11-19 As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying,
"Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!"
And when he saw them, he said,
"Go show yourselves to the priests."
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
"Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?"
Then he said to him, "Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you." | Where are the other nine? (Luke 17:17) Why was Jesus so disappointed that nine out of the ten men he had cured of leprosy didn't return to thank him? Jesus certainly didn't need their gratitude. Perhaps it was because he had something more to give them, something beyond a physical healing. By failing to go back and thank Jesus, these men didn't have a chance to receive these blessings. On the other hand, by returning to him, the Samaritan man had the privilege of a one-on-one encounter with Jesus. His act of worship—falling at the feet of the Lord—and his words of gratitude opened the door for Jesus to heal him on a deeper level. Perhaps through his time with the Lord, this man experienced just how much God loved him. That could have led to a greater trust in God and a greater desire to pray or worship him. Any bitterness or resentment he may have been harboring toward God because of his leprosy must have left him as well. But whatever happened in the Samaritan's heart that day, we know that he left Jesus a changed man, healed not only physically but also spiritually. Jesus confirms this by telling him, "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you" (Luke 17:19). Gratitude to God changes us as well. That's because when we come to the Lord in worship and thanksgiving, we are opening our hearts to him so that he can work in us in profound ways. Through these one-on-one encounters, Jesus reveals his great love and mercy for us. He helps us let go of fear, anxiety, and doubt. Any bitterness or resentment that we might have been feeling toward him begins to melt in his presence. Our times of thanksgiving also humble us as we realize all that God has done for us. In all these ways, our gratitude to God leads to healing and spiritual growth, just as it did for the Samaritan. Today, let's be like this man who took the time to run back to Jesus. Let's set aside all that we have to do and first thank him for all he has done for us. May he say to us as he said to this man, "Go; your faith has saved you!" "Jesus, my heart overflows with thanksgiving and praise for your great love and mercy. Help me to live in gratitude each day." Wisdom 6:1-11
Psalm 82:3-4, 6-7 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:Audio Link | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed shall be found holy, and those learned in them will have ready a response. Desire therefore my words;
long for them and you shall be instructed..........." end of verse.
. . . These words are from the book of Wisdom. It reminds me of something in the old Testament that makes me take to desiring holiness and purity, the story of the book of Daniel, who abstained from much more than certain food or drink, but from accepting the ways of worldly leaders. This gave them more strength and wisdom, found in purity by this holy sacrifice. The book teaches us that "under this apocalyptic imagery some of the best elements of prophetic and sapiential teaching are synthesized: the insistence on right conduct, the divine control over events, the certainty that the kingdom of God will ultimately triumph and humanity attain the goal intended for it at the beginning of creation."
The question now is, what do you desire? Do you even know what you want?
Who desires Heaven?
Who desires what is holy?
Who desires God and His will above all things and people? This is hard. It isn't easy teaching about our Lord in a world that doesn't need Him, much less desires Him. We just want want makes us happy at the moment. | We pray today:
"Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth. I said: "You are gods, all of you sons of the Most High; yet like men you shall die,
and fall like any prince." Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth......" | In the Gospel today we heard our Lord:
"Go show yourselves to the priests."
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. He was a Samaritan....." end of Gospel verse. | Our Lord was always amazed at either the faith of some and the severe lack of faith of others.
In the case of the healed leper, the one out of ten that were healed, only the Samaritan came back to our Lord to give thanks, but not only gave thanks but it is said that he came back "glorifying God in a loud voice and fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him."
The Holy Mass is a place for giving thanks to our Lord. Thanks for what? Everything! Had a good week? Give thanks! Had a hard week? Come give thanks in the tough times because giving thanks in the hard times is even more of a powerful prayer that can be offered. See what our Lord can do with the impossible. Give Him what you got, in Holy Mass, in a holy offering of self to Him.
How can we glorify God? And in a loud voice? In Mass, we get on our knees, we pray, we listen, (or at least we try to listen right?). What if the hour or so at Mass shows you how much of your life you actually are giving to God? How much time was spent actually listening, and not being distracted by other thoughts or eyes wondering off looking at what others are doing or wearing? Where is your heart?
What do you desire? Do you even desire Him above all things?
The healed Samaritan answered all of these questions by asking another question: "to whom do I owe my very life to so I can go give praise and thanksgiving?"
And there's one more thing that happened at the end of the Gospel. After the man give thanks, our Lord speaks: "Stand up and go; your faith has saved you."
Some people seek healing to be physically saved.
But on a rare occasion some seek spiritual healing, to be saved eternally.
By being a thankful person, the Samaritan was eternally saved.
I'd say most of us are deathly afraid of dying, yet some don't care if they die. There's something wrong with both of these pictures. We should care about our death, in as much as it is considered the most important moment of our lives. Right? It is a farewell, but it is a message in of itself. And the saints teach us to die daily, to sin, to all things worldly, to be pure for God because God is pure goodness and love.
Then, this makes a statement for your whole life. That is why a martyr for Christ Jesus is considered and immediate saint. Yet, not all get that opportunity. And so we must live a daily "white" martyrdom instead. A daily living. Like the daily bread offering of thanksgiving from Heaven and from us to Heaven.
Pray with me:
Lord, I have trouble being thankful. I can't get over myself enough to give You the proper thanks. I can't see beyond my own needs and desires to put You above all. Help us be more open, like the side of Christ...where the heart is, to pour ourselves out for our Lord's Holy will. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Isaiah 50:10 10 Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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