†Saint Quote
"The name of Jesus, pronounced with reverence and affection, has a kind of power to soften the heart."
–St. Philip Neri †Today's Meditation
"I wonder if we understand the negative aspect of faith? I shake sometimes. I'm afraid. You mustn't worry that, because you don't know what the future is, you don't have faith. Faith means that in the midst of darkness and turmoil, you know that God is there and is taking care of you…Faith and presence go together, but it doesn't do anything for my adrenaline glands! My body may react to the fear of the moment, and I could still have faith…to use His Name means to be like Jesus. That means when the Father sees you as a Christian, He sees His Son. Now you can ask in His Name, because He looks at you and He sees His Son in all His compassion, gentleness, love, and peace. He sees all that in you. Now you can ask in His Name. Don't be a name-dropper, because faith and fear sometimes do go together."
—Mother Angelica, p. 83-84 An Excerpt From
Mother Angelica's Guide to the Spiritual Life †Daily Verse
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
–1 Corinthians 3:16-17 |  click to read more | | Holy Name of Jesus The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is historically associated with the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus. According to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth, a male child was circumcised and received his name, thus becoming a full member of God's covenant people. The name 'Jesus' means 'God Saves' and is the name that St. Joseph was instructed by an angel to name the Divine Child, the sacred name before which "every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10-11). Devotion to the Most Holy Name of Jesus was popularized by St. Bernardine of Siena in the 15th century, often symbolized by the monogram IHS (denoting the first three letters of the Greek spelling of Jesus' name). Today the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is celebrated on January 3rd. | Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Jesus Lectionary: 510/1 Below are the readings suggested for today's Optional Memorial.
Reading 1 Phil 2:1-11 Brothers and sisters:
If there is any encouragement in Christ,
any solace in love,
any participation in the Spirit,
any compassion and mercy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind,
with the same love, united in heart,
thinking one thing.
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests, but also everyone for those of others. Have among yourselves the same attitude
that is also yours in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Responsorial Psalm Ps 8:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 R. (2ab) O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
When I behold your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and stars which you set in place—
What is man that you should be mindful of him,
or the son of man that you should care for him?
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
You have made him little less than the angels,
and crowned him with glory and honor.
You have given him rule over the works of your hands,
putting all things under his feet.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!
All sheep and oxen,
yes, and the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
R. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth! Alleluia Mt 1:21 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 2:21-24 When eight days were completed for his circumcision,
the child was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb. When the days were completed for their purification
according to the law of Moses,
they took him up to Jerusalem
to present him to the Lord,
just as it is written in the law of the Lord,
Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord,
and to offer the sacrifice of
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons,
in accordance with the dictate in the law of the Lord. | Daily Meditation: John 1:29-34 Behold. (John 1:29) When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him, he gave his disciples one simple command: Behold. Look intently at him. Gaze at him until you discover who he is. This was the whole reason for John's ministry: to make Jesus known. So today, let's heed his message and take some time to behold Jesus in prayer. Behold . . . the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (1:29). "When I see you, Lamb of God, I see the One who came into the world to take each and every sin upon himself. I can hardly begin to grasp the massive weight of all that sin. Still, my heart is moved to praise you when I glimpse the love that led you to take away all of my own sins. You have freely given me a precious gift that I could never attain for myself. Thank you, Lord!" Behold . . . the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit (1:33). "Jesus, the Spirit came down on you in a remarkable way at your baptism. And now you send that same Spirit to each of us at our baptism. You send him to help us know you better. You send him to share God's life and love with us—in fact, you immerse us in it! Through this Spirit, you draw us deeper into relationship with you and your Father. Inspired with awe, I bow and praise you!" Behold . . . the Son of God (1:34). "When I behold you, Jesus, I see more than just a teacher or moral leader. You are the only begotten, eternal Son of God. You left your heavenly glory and came to earth to redeem us and show us how to live. When I see you, Jesus, I see the Father. I also see the firstborn of many countless brothers and sisters, including myself! You have made me a child of God, an heir to your kingdom, and a dwelling place of your own Spirit. Lord, I glorify you for your love!" "As I behold you, Jesus, I am brought to my knees in adoration and praise! I could never understand you fully, but today let me know and love you just a little bit more." "Lord Jesus, help me to take more time in prayer simply to behold you!" 1 John 2:29–3:6
Psalm 98:1, 3-6 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth..." The other day, a couple weeks ago, we had a family business meeting, and I kept thanking the angels and saints for helping us, and we have one that is not "catholic" anymore, and she got frustrated when I kept mentioning saints and angels and even our dad in Heaven that I speak to sometimes and she blurted the typical protestant things like "well I don't talk to dead people, it's just me and Jesus!" to which I said something like "well, that name you just said is the most supreme name and should be said with utmost reverence". From there things got heated and she barged out of the room after saying the Holy Name over and over saying she could say it all she wanted. Well, how is it that the most holiest name has now caused division in this household? It's not the name causing division, it is the people! And my dear friend, who does our Lord live with? Saints and angels! And our relatives for all we know! It is only through HIM that we can have life eternal, and even have communion that is communication with the others, because if you believe in Him, you must believe in the Holy Spirit, and this is GOD himself! I got more, but let's pray first: | We pray today;
"You have made him little less than the angels, and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him rule over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet. O Lord, our God, how wonderful your name in all the earth!" I've heard that our Lord is the highest of all angels. Do you know the very power of one angel? What does that power mean? Proximity to God, and proximity means purity; that is, the more pure, the more power. This is why Mother Mary has had the grace of hearing our prayers. She is not dead. She is more alive than any human being. She hears my prayers. She takes our prayers to God. I rather have her hear my prayers than any human being on earth, because they have been more efficacious, more grace filled, and every one of them heard...not ignored, like we tend to do when we are asked for real prayers. | In the Gospel today we heard:
"When eight days were completed for his circumcision, the child was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb." Very few know the name of the baby before they are conceived. If you're like me and my wife, we don't know many times until the baby is born already! LOL. We wait to name them the saint of the day, and if it would've been today, well, we would've had a baby with the Lord's name and in spanish would've been known as "Chuey!" short for His name in spanish. Notice, I don't say His name much. I'm very careful with it, because we heard that at the sound of His name, every knee should bend in Heaven and on Earth. But do people really do that? No. Of course not! That's too much work! Right? Rather, they spit out the name as if nothing like when people shout "oh my GOD!" for any silly little thing. That's not right either. Maybe this year we should focus on not using His name in vain. What does that mean? Vain? In vain means pointlessly. As if to throw pearls to the swine really. Even in our family rosaries for a while I'd ask our kids to bow every time we said His name in the Hail Mary prayer, and so we would be bowing at least 50 times during the prayer, plus the 5 times for the Glory Be.
Sounds extreme? Am I being scrupulous? What does that mean? The definition says: having scruples, or moral or ethical standards; having or showing a strict regard for what one considers right. Some might call it being too "religious" meaning "too observant" if you ask me.
But we should be very observant, because He is watching. And if what I'm hearing from books about souls in purgatory, saying they are being punished for not bowing to the altar, or watching TV instead of being attentive to family, then...I better listen up. There's more.
There's more than we care to hear about.
I'm telling you to listen. Listen to Him.
Almost every night at the Posadas, upon entering a household that would let us pilgrims in, I'd say two things:
1.) That the very name of our Lord has power, and is perhaps the most powerful and most smallest prayer in the world, simply saying His name (with true faith and reverence of course).
2.) That there is a people being persecuted to death to the tune of millions in the world, the babies in the womb.
We are less happy with less life. We are more happy with more life.
Our Lord came so that we may have life more abundant. It is there for the taking. | .......................†........................
Lord, the sound of Your Holy Name makes so many things move inside of me. I'd always say at Posadas "He-sus" and tell all to repeat "He Saves". Because That's what it means. You save...through us. He's-Us. We are one in Him, and in Him we can save others from death and destruction, all things caused by sin. Wouldn't you like to do that more now? Yes, Lord.
.................................................. adrian |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse 1
1 Peter 2:2–3 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
