†Saint Quote
"Be one of the small number who find the way to life, and enter by the narrow gate into Heaven. Take care not to follow the majority and the common herd, so many of whom are lost. Do not be deceived; there are only two roads: one that leads to life and is narrow; the other that leads to death and is wide. There is no middle way."
–St. Louis de Montfort †Today's Meditation
"The soul, enlightened by faith, judges of things in a very different way to those who, having only the standard of the senses by which to measure them, ignore the inestimable treasure they contain . . . the soul that recognizes the will of God in every smallest event, and also in those that are most distressing and direful, receives all with an equal joy, pleasure and respect. It throws open all its doors to receive with honor what others fear and fly from with horror. The outward appearance may be mean and contemptible, but beneath this abject garb the heart discovers and honors the majesty of the king. The deeper the abasement of his entry in such a guise and in secret the more does the heart become filled with love."
—Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 23-24
Abandonment to Divine Providence †Daily Verse
"I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep thy word. I do not turn aside from thy ordinances, for thou hast taught me. How sweet are thy words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through thy precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way."
–Psalm 119:101-4 |  click to read more | | St. Manettus and the Seven Founders of the Order of Servites
Saint of the Day
St. Manettus (d. 1268), also known as St. Benedict dell'Antella, was one of the Seven Founders of the Order of Servites. Between 1225 and 1227 in the city of Florence, Italy, seven cloth merchants from the city's prominent families joined the Confraternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They desired to live a penitential life dedicated to her title of Mother of Sorrows. Our Lady appeared to the seven men on the feast of the Assumption in 1233, asking them to live a life of seclusion and prayer. They obeyed and lived an austere life for many years. Mary appeared to the seven again in 1240, giving them a black habit and a scroll titled "Servants of Mary," and asking them to found a religious order following the Rule of St. Augustine. The Servites became one of the five original mendicant religious orders. Their special charism is devotion to the Passion of Jesus and the Seven Sorrows of Mary. Only one of the seven founders lived to see the order formally approved by Rome in 1304. It has since spread throughout the world and remains active to this day. The feast day of its Seven Holy Founders of the Order of Servites (Servants of Mary) is February 17. | Reading 1 Gn 11:1-9 The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words.
While the people were migrating in the east,
they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there.
They said to one another,
"Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire."
They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar.
Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city
and a tower with its top in the sky,
and so make a name for ourselves;
otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth." The LORD came down to see the city and the tower
that they had built.
Then the LORD said: "If now, while they are one people,
all speaking the same language,
they have started to do this,
nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do.
Let us then go down and there confuse their language,
so that one will not understand what another says."
Thus the LORD scattered them from there all over the earth,
and they stopped building the city.
That is why it was called Babel,
because there the LORD confused the speech of all the world.
It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth. Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:10-11, 12-13, 14-15 R. (12) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
The LORD brings to nought the plans of nations;
he foils the designs of peoples.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
From heaven the LORD looks down;
he sees all mankind.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
From his fixed throne he beholds
all who dwell on the earth,
He who fashioned the heart of each,
he who knows all their works.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own. Alleluia Jn 15:15b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I call you my friends, says the Lord,
for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 8:34—9:1 Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
"Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the Gospel will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
What could one give in exchange for his life?
Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words
in this faithless and sinful generation,
the Son of Man will be ashamed of
when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels." He also said to them,
"Amen, I say to you,
there are some standing here who will not taste death
until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power." | Daily Meditation: Mark 8:34–9:1 Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it. (Mark 8:35) Finders keepers, losers weepers! We're all familiar with the way this simple rhyme from our youth became the law governing the playground. Jesus' words today bear a striking resemblance to this old saying except for one crucial difference: for Jesus, the "losers" are the ones who come out ahead. Why? Because they are the ones who gain salvation. Of course, countless people over the years have literally lost their lives for their faith. For us, the losses involved in following Jesus may not be as costly as martyrdom, but they are real nonetheless. For example, you may sense the Lord asking you to forgive a family member who has wronged you—even when you think they don't deserve it. Or what about having to decline an invitation to meet up with old friends because you know that attending could cause you to compromise the person you have become? Or maybe you feel called to give up some of the little free time you have in order to serve the poor. Each of these is a kind of "death" or "loss." Yet what we gain by following Jesus far exceeds such losses—and we don't even have to wait until heaven to enjoy those blessings! Our salvation deepens every time we say yes to Jesus. We experience the peace of knowing that we are loved, forgiven, and reconciled with God. We know the joy of encountering Jesus in prayer and receiving his life in the Eucharist. And we can sense the Spirit guiding us and empowering us to do his will. All of these "gains" far outweigh the pain and sacrifice of denying ourselves and taking up our crosses (Mark 8:34). Yielding to Jesus can be difficult; it's not something we can accomplish in a single moment. It's a lifelong process that requires emptying ourselves of all that we cling to so that we can receive the fullness of life that God intended for us. This life begins here, but it lasts for eternity. May we always see it clearly and desire it above all else! "Jesus, give me the grace to lose my life for you." Genesis 11:1-9
Psalm 33:10-15 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Then the LORD said: "If now, while they are one people, all speaking the same language, they have started to do this,
nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do.' They say that there is no real language when you die and go into the next realm. Communication is from mind to mind and even heart to heart. So why did our Lord see the oneness as something that wasn't good? It is because they were turning totalitarian. In this train of thought it is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regulation over public and private life.
And this is not the life that God intended. He said to go out to the whole world and BE His message, spread His light, be HIS people, not a people focused on themselves, building towers to equal and reach God Himself, but to live in absolute faith and real love of God. | We pray today:
" The LORD brings to nought the plans of nations;
he foils the designs of peoples.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations.
Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own." And as much as people want to be like the devils and be their own Gods, and to rule nations and their world, it is a false concept and lies to follow, because there is only One God and there is only one King, our Lord Jesus, King of the Universe. We should take heart, that He is Lord and King of all! | In the Gospel today we heard:
""Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it." What is the cross? God's will. What is God's will? That we may follow Him and love Him with all our heart, mind, soul, and body. That we may be found with His light on in our hearts always, that He may dwell in us truly, that He may move and touch the world through us, and that He may continue to sacrifice Himself for the world in us, in our mind, our body, our soul.
Otherwise, you will live for yourself, and die for yourself.
What happens when you become a believer? You decide to give your life to God. And there is great beauty, joy, and peace in this. And the world admires it, and hates it at the same time. It will only be restless until they have the same joy, peace, and beauty as you.
What is the cross? It is what we will need to enter Heaven, and so we should embrace it like Christ, who embraced it because He carried the key to open Heaven's gates for the rest of the people. And this is an unseen beauty, if only we could do the same, laying your life, for your friend.
Jesus Loves You. | ....†....
Lord, I pray we can embrace our cross of Holy Obedience and true love of God..forever!
.......... |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Romans 8:26 [Romans 8] 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
