†Quote of the Day
"To use this life well is the pathway through death to everlasting life."
–St. John Almond †Today's Meditation
"Love proves itself by deeds, and how shall I prove mine? … I can prove my love only by scattering flowers, that is to say, by never letting slip a single little sacrifice, a single glance, a single word; by making profit of the very smallest actions, by doing them all for love. I want to suffer and even rejoice for love, for this is my way of scattering flowers."
—St. Therese of Lisieux, p. 165
An Excerpt From
The Story of a Soul †Daily Verse
"So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work."
–Philippians 2:12-13 | St. Nicholas St. Nicholas of Myra (270 – 343 A.D.) was the only child of a wealthy Greek Christian couple living in what is today the country of Turkey. He was a pious child, and upon the death of his parents Nicholas was raised by an uncle who was a bishop. St. Nicholas grew in holiness, was ordained to the priesthood, and eventually consecrated a bishop. He was famous for generosity to the poor, protection of the wronged, zeal against heresy, and performance of miracles. Many famous legends are told of him. When a poverty-stricken man was to be forced to sell his daughters into slavery, St. Nicholas secretly tossed bags of coins into their home to serve as the girls' dowry, thus enabling them to marry and be provided for. The money was said to have landed in their stockings drying by the fireplace, which is the origin of gifts in children's stockings and shoes at Christmastime. At the Council of Nicea, Nicholas prevailed against the heretic bishop Arius; he was also instrumental in defending the doctrine of Jesus' divinity and formulating the Nicene Creed. His relics are still preserved in the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Italy. On his feast day they emit a miraculous myrrh, which is distributed around the world. Many countries have the custom of making him the secret giver of gifts to children on his feast day. In the United States, for example, he is celebrated as "Santa Claus," who distributes gifts to children on Christmas Eve. St. Nicholas of Myra is the patron saint of many causes, professions, cities, and countries; but he is most notably the patron of children, sailors, prisoners, and maidens seeking to marry. His feast day is December 6th. | Wednesday of the First Week of Advent Reading 1 Is 25:6-10a On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken. On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. Responsorial Psalm Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 R. (6cd) I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, the Lord comes to save his people;
blessed are those prepared to meet him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 15:29-37 At that time:
Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee,
went up on the mountain, and sat down there.
Great crowds came to him,
having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,
and many others.
They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.
The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the deformed made whole,
the lame walking,
and the blind able to see,
and they glorified the God of Israel. Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
"My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way."
The disciples said to him,
"Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place
to satisfy such a crowd?"
Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"
"Seven," they replied, "and a few fish."
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish,
gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full. | Daily Meditation: Matthew 15:29-37 He took the seven loaves and the fish. (Matthew 15:36) For generations, mothers and fathers have been inviting their children to help with all kinds of projects that the kids may not be fully capable of doing. Whether it's baking cookies or painting a fence, young kids rarely have a whole lot to add. If anything, they might end up making a bit of a mess! But the beauty is that what little they do bring is always enough because the parents delight in working alongside their children. While it might seem unrelated at first, this isn't far from what is going on in today's Gospel. A monumental task lies in front of Jesus and his followers: feeding thousands of hungry people! But all his disciples had were seven loaves of bread and a few fish. Yet from this small offering, everyone ate their fill. Just as a father can transform his child's haphazardly cut lumber into a birdhouse, God loves working with us and using whatever we offer to accomplish something beyond our imagination. Like the disciples, you may look at the demands and responsibilities in your life and ask the same question: "Do I have enough? Am I enough?" You may wonder if you have enough wisdom or energy to be the sort of parent or spouse God is asking you to be. Or if you're talented enough to share the gospel with others. But God is the best of all parents, and he doesn't require perfection. He simply asks us to give him what we have, whatever strength and energy we can muster, and let him take care of the rest. He enjoys bringing us alongside him and working together with us. He "takes delight in his people" (Psalm 149:4)! Sometimes it can be quicker and easier for parents to do things themselves instead of enlisting the help of their children. Likewise, there surely are more efficient ways for God to work in the world. And yet he chooses to work with us—with you. Even if you "make a mess," he is ready and able to build something beautiful with you. He delights in blessing you and countless others as you offer your gifts to him. Come with me! he calls. Let's see what we can build today! "Thank you, Lord, that you enjoy my company. I give you all that I have today." Isaiah 25:6-10
Psalm 23:1-6 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"On this mountain the LORD of hosts will provide for all peoples A feast of rich food and choice wines... he will destroy the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations; he will destroy death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from all faces; The reproach of his people he will remove from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken....."_ end of verse.
. . . What mountain are we talking about? Wouldn't you like to go there? The mountain...the altar...it is all our Lord Jesus. Upon Him we shall feast. Everything is of God our Father. If you want everything, then let God be your everything. If you want that veil destroyed, that veil of death, it has been done, it is our Lord Jesus the Savior who has provided. Let us turn then, from ourselves and to Him, like the sunflower that seeks the light of the sun, so shall we look to the Son of God for light, to live and flourish and feed the birds of the sky with our fruit. | We pray today:
"You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life......." end of psalm. | In the Gospel today we heard our Lord:
" "My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way ..." end of Gospel verse. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus multiplies the loaves and the fishes. There is no better exemplification in the Scriptures of what I have called the loop of grace. God offers, as a sheer grace, the gift of being, but if we try to cling to that gift and make it our own, we lose it.
The constant command of the Bible is this: what you have received as a gift, give as a gift—and you will find the original gift multiplied and enhanced. One realizes this truth when one enters willingly into the loop of grace, giving away that which one is receiving.
The hungry people who gather around Jesus in this scene are symbolic of the hungry human race, starving, from the time of Adam and Eve, for what will satisfy. We have tried to fill up the emptiness with wealth, pleasure, power, honor, the sheer love of domination—but none of it works, precisely because we have all been wired for God and God is nothing but love. . . ." end quote Bishop Barron.
So...thousands got to eat because a boy had 7 loaves of bread and someone had a few bits of fish? That doesn't make sense. It is impossible! But we forget, that WITH JESUS CHRIST everything is possible. And so, we are really partaking of Him, like in the Holy Mass, the priest takes the cup of wine, puts some drops of water and blesses it and then feeds our souls with Christ Himself. Our Lord has the majority part...if only we would provide our little part. All He needs is us to give our part, to do our part for His Kingdom, and He will make the rest happen. Like these reflections, I'm doing my part. You need to do your part. We all have our parts that make the whole complete. And we are only complete in Christ our Lord. He completes us. Shouldn't we be grateful?
He saves us from eternal damnation. Shouldn't we go crazy trying to thank Him right now? We had another ex employee in our family business pass away a few days ago, Paul Miller. He would dress up at our company parties as Santa Claus. He didn't have much to give, but he sure made many smile by giving of himself in the little ways. We were all sad to hear the news. This would be now 2 more of our employees and friends die within a year since my dad the main boss passed a year and half ago too. I look around, my office is a little more quiet, the boisterous Paul a sales man and project manager here now gone for good, the loud firecracker mechanic "Lalo" gone, it is more quiet in our shop, and the real hustler my dad, Martin, brings a tear to my eyes even as I write. You just miss them, their love really. Their life is their love.
Do you think God loves our love too?
He does. He will wipe away our tears on that mountain. He will fulfill our dreams that we haven't even dreamed yet.
He will amaze us. But the funny thing is, we can do the same for Him. We can provide for Him (in neighbor), we can amaze Him with acts of love that cannot be repaid. Pray with me:
St. Nicolas, give us a true heart of giving, love for God and neighbor. Make us more of one with our Lord and Savior. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse
Psalm 37:4 4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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