†Saint Quote
"The Lord manifests Himself to those who stop for some time in peace and humility of heart. If you look in murky and turbulent waters, you cannot see the reflection of your face. If you want to see the face of Christ, stop and collect your thoughts in silence, and close the door of your soul to the noise of external things."
–St. Anthony of Padua †Today's Meditation
"God's delays are mysterious; sorrow is sometimes prolonged for the same reason for which it is sent. God may abstain for the moment from healing, not because Love does not love, but because Love never stops loving, and a greater good is to come from the woe. Heaven's clock is different from ours."
—Fulton J. Sheen, p. 357 An Excerpt From
Life of Christ †Daily Verse
"Now this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say, 'We have fellowship with him,' while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin."
–1 John 1:5-7 |  click to read more | | Shrove Tuesday Veneration of the Holy Face of Jesus has its beginning during Christ's Passion, making it one of the oldest devotions in the Christian tradition. St. Veronica, as a sign of her love and compassion, offered Our Savior a veil to wipe the blood and sweat from his face as he carried his cross on the way to his crucifixion. In reward for her charity and compassion, Jesus left an impression of his Holy Face upon the veil. This meeting of Jesus and St. Veronica is forever memorialized in the Stations of the Cross. According to tradition, St. Veronica later entrusted the veil to St. Clement, a disciple of St. Peter who became the third Bishop of Rome. For the next three centuries the Holy Veil was kept in the Roman catacombs during the early persecutions of the Church. Veronica's Veil was later moved to the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome where it remains today. It is displayed annually from the relic niche above her statue in St. Peter's Basilica on the fifth Sunday of Lent. Shrove Tuesday (the day prior to Ash Wednesday) is the traditional feast day of the Holy Face of Jesus. | Tuesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Sir 2:1-11 My son, when you come to serve the LORD,
stand in justice and fear,
prepare yourself for trials.
Be sincere of heart and steadfast,
incline your ear and receive the word of understanding,
undisturbed in time of adversity.
Wait on God, with patience, cling to him, forsake him not;
thus will you be wise in all your ways.
Accept whatever befalls you,
when sorrowful, be steadfast,
and in crushing misfortune be patient;
For in fire gold and silver are tested,
and worthy people in the crucible of humiliation.
Trust God and God will help you;
trust in him, and he will direct your way;
keep his fear and grow old therein. You who fear the LORD, wait for his mercy,
turn not away lest you fall.
You who fear the LORD, trust him,
and your reward will not be lost.
You who fear the LORD, hope for good things,
for lasting joy and mercy.
You who fear the LORD, love him,
and your hearts will be enlightened.
Study the generations long past and understand;
has anyone hoped in the LORD and been disappointed?
Has anyone persevered in his commandments and been forsaken?
has anyone called upon him and been rebuffed?
Compassionate and merciful is the LORD;
he forgives sins, he saves in time of trouble
and he is a protector to all who seek him in truth. Responsorial Psalm Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40 R. (see 5) Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.
Trust in the LORD and do good,
that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will grant you your heart's requests.
R. Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.
The LORD watches over the lives of the wholehearted;
their inheritance lasts forever.
They are not put to shame in an evil time;
in days of famine they have plenty.
R. Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.
Turn from evil and do good,
that you may abide forever;
For the LORD loves what is right,
and forsakes not his faithful ones.
R. Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you.
The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
R. Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you. Alleluia Gal 6:14 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May I never boast except in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 9:30-37 Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
"The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise."
But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house,
he began to ask them,
"What were you arguing about on the way?"
But they remained silent.
For they had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
"If anyone wishes to be first,
he shall be the last of all and the servant of all."
Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
"Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me." | Daily Meditation: Mark 9:30-37 If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all. (Mark 9:35) If you have ever thought of the disciples as some kind of unrelatable, superhuman saints, this passage could change your perspective. It might be hard to imagine them arguing about who was the greatest, but that's just what they were doing. Certainly the disciples wanted to follow Jesus wholeheartedly. But—also certainly—they had to learn how to put other people first. Here, Jesus reminded them of the servant's heart that discipleship requires. But history tells us that eventually they did choose to be "last of all and the servant of all" as they traveled the world proclaiming the gospel (Mark 9:35). What changed? Well, living with Jesus for three years probably made a big difference. They would have seen him taking the last place and serving them before himself. They witnessed his patience instead of anger toward the religious leaders who challenged him (Mark 11:27-33). They saw him teaching the crowds when he was tired (6:34) or taking time to heal a woman even though he was on his way elsewhere (5:21-34). Most of all, they saw him pour himself out on the cross (15:22-41). All of these lessons came together for the disciples when they received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The Spirit opened their eyes to understand what Jesus had done for them. And he enabled them to live as Jesus did, to give and share and love and serve. He gave them the grace to become willing to put other people before themselves, whether by selling their property to provide for the needy or by caring for widows (Acts 4:32-35; 6:1-4). Smaller choices like those led to the bigger ones that enabled them to lay down their lives for their faith. Just like the disciples, you will have opportunities to think of someone else's needs before your own and serve them, even if it means giving up your time or comfort. Remember what the disciples learned and do what they did: follow Jesus' example through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Humbly receive the grace to choose to be last of all and servant of all. "Lord, give me a servant's heart!" Sirach 2:1-11
Psalm 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Be sincere of heart and steadfast,
incline your ear and receive the word of understanding, undisturbed in time of adversity."
Adversity disturbs us, doesn't it? Kids bullied in school are disturbed. You as grown adults get disturbed by all sorts of things, right? Divorce is a disturbance. Death disturbs us and robs us of our peace, right? Adversity is disturbing! But Holy Scripture asks us not to be disturbed in time of adversity! How? Faith is trusting in the Lord. Can you give in faith? Can you give time? Can you give forgiveness? Can you give more of your money? Can you do this at least for Lent and to join ourselves with our Father? | We pray today:
" Commit your life to the Lord, and he will help you. Trust in the LORD and do good, that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security. Take delight in the LORD, and he will grant you your heart's requests." | In the Gospel today we heard:
""Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me." How are children received today? Well, for those who are not aborted, the survivors, some are treated ok, and some are not welcomed very well, for various reasons. Some are made fun of for their looks. Some are ignored. Some don't say much, and are shy. Some stand out, spunky and on top of things, real smart. Some of them are really mean! Some can't sit still, and some are very laid back. You got all sorts of kids out there, and some of them are 80 years old!
You see, these are God's children. How will you receive His children today?
This lent, let's focus on God's children. The poor. The ones in need of mercy and guidance. The unlovables will need special attention. I hate having to do that last one. I got this one guy, boy he is getting on my last nerve. After 15 years of trying to help him, I'm tired of it, taking money, and I think it's for a bad lifestyle. I'm just about fed up with it, the lies, the bad attitude. But I called him for something this morning, and he seemed real happy I reached out to him.
Boy, how hard it is to get over oneself to reach someone.
And so it is when I visit the elderly or prisoners, boy, it is HARD to leave the comfort of my home. And it is about to be harder for what I'd like to do for lent, Lord only knows if I'll have the strength to do it.
And this is an invitation, to go outside yourself and do what God does...the impossible.
And with Him the word impossible is broken up to read "I'M-Possible". | ....†....
Lord, Your children is You. Help me love You more and more, with all of my mind, body, spirit, and my soul!
.......... |  click to hear | WOW Random Bible Verse 1
Matthew 6:2–4 [Matthew 6] 2 "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
