†Saint Quote
"The true measure of loving God is to love Him without measure."
–St. Bernard of Clairvaux †Today's Meditation
"Scattered about the entire earth, your mother the Church is tormented by the assaults of error. She is also afflicted by the laziness and indifference of so many of the children she carries around in her bosom as well as by the sight of so many of her members growing cold, while she becomes less able to help her little ones. Who then will give her the necessary help she cries for if not her children and other members to whose number you belong?"
—Saint Augustine, p. 90 †Daily Verse
"When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was stupid and ignorant, I was like a beast toward thee. Nevertheless I am continually with thee; thou dost hold my right hand. Thou dost guide me with thy counsel, and afterward thou wilt receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is nothing upon earth that I desire besides thee. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever."
–Psalm 73:21-26 |  click to read more | | St. Louise De Marillac St. Louise De Marillac (1591-1660) was born in Paris, France to a noble family and received her education at a Dominican convent. Her mother died shortly after her birth, and her father when she was sixteen years of age. It was then necessary for her to decide her vocation, and being dissuaded from entering religious life by her spiritual director, as was her desire, she married and bore a son. Later she worried that she had rejected a divine call to the religious life, and vowed that should her husband die, she would not remarry. Two years later her husband died after a long illness. During this time she met a holy priest, St. Vincent de Paul, and placed herself under his spiritual direction. Through his influence she worked among the poor and disadvantaged in Paris, and co-founded the Sisters of Charity with him in 1642. After writing their rule of life she traveled around France establishing her new religious order to work in hospitals, orphanages, and other institutions that aided the poor. She was especially gifted at spiritual guidance and served as the superior of the Sisters of Charity in Paris until her death. St. Louise De Marillac is the patron saint of social workers, the sick, widows, and against the loss of parents. Her feast day is March 15th. | Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent Reading 1 Dt 4:1, 5-9 Moses spoke to the people and said:
"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees
as the LORD, my God, has commanded me,
that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.'
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today? "However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children's children." Responsorial Psalm Ps 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20 R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
He spreads snow like wool;
frost he strews like ashes.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. Verse Before the Gospel See Jn 6:63c, 68c Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
you have the words of everlasting life. Gospel Mt 5:17-19 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven." | Daily Meditation: Matthew 5:17-19 Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. (Matthew 5:17) Jesus' public ministry had just begun, and already his teachings and miracles were generating a sense of hope and expectation among the people. So perhaps it was natural for them to assume that this "new thing" that God was doing meant the end of what had come before. Not so! Jesus himself made it perfectly clear: he was in the business of fulfilling, not abolishing. He came to bring to fulfillment the entire sweep of Israel's calling and history, the plan that God had in mind for his people from the beginning. How did Jesus bring God's plan to fulfillment? • God called Abraham and gathered a people dear to his heart; Jesus welcomed them, and all of us, into the family of God, the Church. • God set the Israelites free from slavery in Egypt; Jesus set us free from sin and death. • God gave his people the Law so that they could walk in his ways; Jesus showed us how to follow the heart of the Law and not get caught up in the letter. • God guided his people to the Promised Land, a place of freedom where they could grow and thrive; Jesus made it possible for people to live in freedom in this life and live with him forever in the next. • God gave his people victory over their earthly enemies; in Jesus, we can have victory over our spiritual enemies of sin and the devil. Through his death and resurrection, Jesus has fulfilled not only the Law of Moses but the deepest longings in our hearts. Now we can be in an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father. Now we can receive all the grace we need to live in a way that is pleasing to God. Now we have the Holy Spirit, who convicts us, teaches us, and guides us. And now we have brothers and sisters in Christ who can support us in our walk with the Lord. Jesus declared what he came to do: to fulfill and accomplish all that was in the Law and the prophets. Then, on the cross, he proclaimed, "It is finished" (John 19:30). He has done exactly what he promised to do! "I praise you, Jesus, for fulfilling your Father's intentions for me." Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Observe them carefully, for thus will you give evidence of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations..."
Observance means doing, right? Observance means obedience. Why do we fight it? We do we not observe the Holy, the Sabbath, the commands, the will of God? Why the struggle? Our Lord is about the Law...His Law...for our own good! | We pray:
"Good and upright is the LORD;
"He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem." | In the Gospel today we heard our Lord:
""Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. When we read this, we should be saying it ourselves, as if we are the living body of Christ.
"I have come not to abolish but to fulfill." We are to fulfill the law, aren't we? What does this mean? It means that we are to fulfill God's wishes. So that He may live on earth, so that He may work on earth, so that through free will, a real beauty for Heaven is made, through us.
It is then, an amazing opportunity, to let God, to let Him live through us. And this happens through the Holy Eucharist. This happens when we truly are the body of Christ.
And you will be blessed (in the next life more), or we can let it all alone, and live the opposite of eternal blessings.
I cannot imagine a real happy life forever, can you? I live in a world where I witness constant bickering, backstabbing, and deaths. I can live in peace of God, but I cannot rest in true happiness. They say true happiness is only in Heaven. I can be joyful, I make everybody laugh, it's just how I am and who I am, but I cannot be happy...until God's fulfillment is accomplished. | " ....†....
Lord, I want to make You happy. May Your body experience my love on earth, and I pray we can be together forever...all of us, with all of You.
.......... |  Hear it click | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 51:10 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right1 spirit within me. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
