†Quote of the Day
"The works of God are not accomplished when we wish them, but whenever it pleases Him."
–St. Vincent de Paul †Today's Meditation
"One can well imagine St. John watching in stunned silence as Judas rose from his place after receiving the morsel from Jesus [at the Last Supper] and started to leave. As he passed through the doorway, John caught a glimpse of the darkness that seemed to envelop Judas like a cloak. The outer darkness contrasted sharply with the light of the supper room. John is evidently struck by the contrast, because he adds: "It was night." This brief sentence of John's makes a profound impression."
—Fr. Ralph Gorman, C.P. An Excerpt From
The Last Hours of Jesus - From Gethsemane to Golgotha †Daily Verse
"In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us."
–1 John 4:10-12
Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska - Divine Mercy in My Soul (Leather Cover) | St. John the Evangelist St. John the Evangelist (1st c.) was one of the Twelve Apostles, and one of the three in Jesus' inner circle, along with his brother, James, and Simon Peter. St. John was the disciple who reclined on the breast of Jesus at the Last Supper, and the only one of the twelve to not forsake Christ during His crucifixion and death. John stood faithfully at the foot of the Cross alongside the other holy women, and therefore he was the disciple to whom Jesus entrusted the care of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In addition to being called "The Evangelist" he is also known as the "Beloved Disciple." After the death and resurrection of Jesus, St. John was an important leader of the Church in Jerusalem. He lived to a very old age and composed the fourth Gospel that bears his name, three epistles, and the book of Revelation. He is the only one of the Twelve Apostles who was not martyred, instead being exiled to the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea under the persecution of Roman Emperor Domitian. St. John the Evangelist's feast day is December 27th. | Feast of Saint John, Apostle and evangelist Reading 1 1 Jn 1:1-4 Beloved:
What was from the beginning,
what we have heard,
what we have seen with our eyes,
what we looked upon
and touched with our hands
concerns the Word of life —
for the life was made visible;
we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us—
what we have seen and heard
we proclaim now to you,
so that you too may have fellowship with us;
for our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
We are writing this so that our joy may be complete. Responsorial Psalm Ps 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12 R. (12) Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are around him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the LORD of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Light dawns for the just;
and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just,
and give thanks to his holy name.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just! Alleluia R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the glorious company of Apostles praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 20:1a and 2-8 On the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
"They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we do not know where they put him."
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed. | Daily Meditation: 1 John 1:1-4 What we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you. (1 John 1:3) The apostle John, whose feast we celebrate today, begins his first letter by describing why he is able to proclaim the gospel to his readers and listeners: he has firsthand experience of the Lord. He is saying that his words carry a lot of weight because he heard, saw, and even touched Jesus. Even though you haven't touched Jesus in the same way that the apostle John did, you, too, have been close to him. Every time you receive the Eucharist, you touch him, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. You have also seen and heard Jesus, the Word made flesh, every time you read and pray with Scripture. Every time you encounter Jesus in these ways, God's Spirit is at work in you, changing you and molding you into his image. As a "firsthand" witness of Jesus' presence and power, you have experienced the transformation that his closeness brings about—probably more than you even know! And like St. John, you can share what you have experienced. That might make you feel nervous, but be encouraged that, in the words of Pope Paul VI, "Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses" (On Evangelization in the Modern World, 41). Has God freed you from the pain of the past? Share his wonderful work with others. Has he led you to be more patient and kind? Tell people about it! Have you received direction for your life? Explain how! Say, along with St. John, "What [I] have seen and heard [I] proclaim now to you." So don't be afraid! As John later writes, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:18). Invite God's perfect love to drive out from you all fear and hesitation of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Proclaim today what you have seen and heard! "Jesus, you have transformed my life. Help me to share the good news boldly." Psalm 97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12
John 20:1-8 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"...we have seen it and testify to it
and proclaim to you the eternal life
that was with the Father and was made visible to us....." end of verse.
Can you believe someone's testimony? There's people that do, and people that don't. Right now, we have a man alive that walked on the moon. Some believe him, and some do not. There are conspiracy theories out there that are saying it is all lies by the government. Who do you believe? And that moon walk happened within the last 50 years! And chances are you've heard it in writing, right? And so, can you believe that St. John The Evangelist actually saw the Lord manifested before him over 2,000 years ago? | We pray today:
"Light dawns for the just; and gladness, for the upright of heart.
Be glad in the LORD, you just, and give thanks to his holy name. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!......" end of psalm. | In the Gospel today we heard:
"Mary Magdalene ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they put him." So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb......" end of Gospel verse.
. . . Why did Saint Peter and Saint John run to the tomb after hearing Mary Magdalene's story?
It was an actual foot race to the tomb!
We could write a book about why they ran to the tomb. But we know they listened to Mary's testimony and invitation that remains true for you and me today: "come and see" she said.
That's the only way you'll know. Seek and find. Knock and see doors opened. Taste and see. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, on this feast of St. John, our Gospel tells of his coming to faith in the Resurrection when he saw the empty tomb.
From this grave of Jesus, we learn that everything we took to be the case is not the case; that what always moved this way now moves that way.
God has shown us his power over death in the most unambiguous way; our lives should not be dominated by the fear of death, and we see the proof of this in the most vivid way imaginable.
Some people think that they will make the Resurrection more intelligible or more acceptable to modern people if they allegorize it away, turning it into a vague symbol of the perdurance of Jesus' cause. But then his grave would be, like the grave of any ordinary hero, sad, wistful, reassuring.
Notice please that no cult of Jesus' tomb ever developed in Christianity; we don't look back with easy wistfulness. Rather, we allow ourselves to be surprised, turned upside down by it......"
And now we have stories that say Buzz walked on the moon and saw some strange things that need to be further explored. Well, the same thing is true for us. We have come to believe but these morsels are but a taste of what is to come.
There is much in store for us! For those who believe and live in a true anticipation. I've had to live with my dad's near death experience when he explained he had died and saw his body lying there after being electrocuted to death along with a cousin out on a farm a year before I was born.
I've never doubted the story. And now that he has passed, I take comfort in that he is alive and I hope doing amazing things, as we live in hardship, missing him dearly.
And maybe there is a grain of truth to the heresy of moral relativism, a twisted truth, "believe whatever you want and that is the truth". The truth you swear by and live by. Sadly, what this heresy does though is that it completely obliterates the truth itself. Because the truth is Jesus Christ who walked this earth and proclaimed "I AM THE TRUTH". Nobody else on earth has ever said that trifecta statement:
I AM THE WAY
I AM THE TRUTH
I AM THE LIFE
The Holy Trinity spoke and these words exist forever.
There is no denying the truth. It is in our DNA! Nobody lives fully happy without God, because He is the fulfillment of all desire. All else leaves one empty, devoid of fullness.
And so our Lord stated that He came to give life and life more abundantly.
Come and see Your Father at church.
See with your eyes of true love, then you will see the truth.
St. John said in the beginning there was the word, and word was made flesh. And we know He lives among us! Pray with me:
Lord, how can I love Thee as I ought? So far surpassing hope and thought! Oh help us love Thee more and more!
May we see Christ incarnate in the Eucharistic People, light of the world. May this truth shine so strong that those that are persecuting Christians be of true heart and see Christ our Lord in the persecuted and despised. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Romans 12:11 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,1 serve the Lord. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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