†Saint Quote
"Since happiness is nothing other than the enjoyment of the highest good, and since the highest good is above, no one can be happy unless he rises above himself, not by an ascent of the body, but of the heart."
–St. Bonaventure †Today's Meditation
"My Lord, I offer you myself in turn as a sacrifice of thanksgiving. You have died for me, and I in turn make myself over to you. I am not my own. You have bought me; I will by my own act and deed complete the purchase. My wish is to be separated from everything of this world; to cleanse myself simply from sin; to put away from me even what is innocent, if used for its own sake, and not for yours. I put away reputation and honor, and influence, and power, for my praise and strength shall be in you. Enable me to carry out what I profess."
—St. John Henry Newman, p. 135 An Excerpt From
Everyday Meditations †Daily Verse
"One of the scribes, when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: 'Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."
–Mark 12:28-31 |  click to read more | | St. Mark St. Mark the Evangelist (1st c.) was born to Jewish parents living in Libya in North Africa, later settling in Cana of Galilee not far from Jerusalem. Mark became one of the 70 disciples of Jesus and the author of the Gospel that bears his name. According to tradition, St. Peter the Apostle was married to a relative of St. Mark's father, and after Mark's father died, Peter looked after him like his own son. Being a close disciple of St. Peter, the first Bishop of Rome, Mark's Gospel is addressed to Gentile converts to the Christian faith living in Rome. Most of what we know about his life and missionary activity is recorded in the New Testament. He traveled to Egypt and founded the Church there, and was martyred c. 68 A.D. by being dragged through the streets of Alexandria until his body was torn to pieces. St. Mark is the patron of lawyers and prisoners. His feast day is April 25. | Feast of Saint Mark, evangelist Reading 1 1 Pt 5:5b-14 Beloved:
Clothe yourselves with humility
in your dealings with one another, for: God opposes the proud
but bestows favor on the humble. So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God,
that he may exalt you in due time.
Cast all your worries upon him because he cares for you. Be sober and vigilant.
Your opponent the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour.
Resist him, steadfast in faith,
knowing that your brothers and sisters throughout the world
undergo the same sufferings.
The God of all grace
who called you to his eternal glory through Christ Jesus
will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you
after you have suffered a little.
To him be dominion forever. Amen. I write you this briefly through Silvanus,
whom I consider a faithful brother,
exhorting you and testifying that this is the true grace of God.
Remain firm in it.
The chosen one at Babylon sends you greeting, as does Mark, my son.
Greet one another with a loving kiss.
Peace to all of you who are in Christ. Responsorial Psalm Ps 89:2-3, 6-7, 16-17 R. (2) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The favors of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness.
For you have said, "My kindness is established forever";
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The heavens proclaim your wonders, O LORD,
and your faithfulness, in the assembly of the holy ones.
For who in the skies can rank with the LORD?
Who is like the LORD among the sons of God?
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the people who know the joyful shout;
in the light of your countenance, O LORD, they walk.
At your name they rejoice all the day,
and through your justice they are exalted.
R. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia 1 Cor 1:23a-24b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We proclaim Christ crucified:
he is the power of God and the wisdom of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 16:15-20 Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:
"Go into the whole world
and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;
whoever does not believe will be condemned.
These signs will accompany those who believe:
in my name they will drive out demons,
they will speak new languages.
They will pick up serpents with their hands,
and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.
They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." Then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them,
was taken up into heaven
and took his seat at the right hand of God.
But they went forth and preached everywhere,
while the Lord worked with them
and confirmed the word through accompanying signs.
| Daily Meditation: Acts 6:8-15 His face was like the face of an angel. (Acts 6:15) "Filled with grace and power" and "working great wonders and signs," Stephen surely made an impression on people (Acts 6:8)! He was so inspiring that no one who debated with him could "withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke" (6:10). Not even the men of the Sanhedrin could ignore his angelic countenance (6:15). That's how stunningly obvious it was! But why was Stephen's face glowing at a time when he must have clearly known that his life was in danger? Perhaps it was because Stephen believed that he had nothing to fear. Jesus had triumphed over sin and death, and now Stephen—like every other believer—knew that he had been raised with Christ. He knew that his own death would usher him into the kingdom of God. That truth filled him with hope and joy and caused him to proclaim the gospel fearlessly. We probably don't walk around looking like angels, but because of Jesus' resurrection, we can have the same hope and joy that Stephen had. In Baptism, we, too, have been raised with Christ, so we don't have to be controlled by the fear of death—or of anything else, for that matter. Because whatever difficulties we encounter in this life, we know that one day we will be ushered into God's kingdom and see our Lord face-to-face. Of course, that doesn't mean we won't experience fear from time to time. It just means that fear doesn't have to dictate how we approach life. Because we know this world is passing away, we don't have to fear losing the things this world values so highly. Because we believe in God's mercy, we don't have to worry that we won't be forgiven when we fail. And because we believe in life after death, we can cling to the hope that we will one day be reunited with our loved ones who have gone before us. You might never proclaim the gospel as forcefully as Stephen did. But as you live your life without being controlled by fear, you'll become a witness to the world of the hope of Jesus' resurrection and of life everlasting just the same. "Jesus, thank you for the promise of eternal life. May it dispel all my fears." Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30
John 6:22-29 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Clothe yourselves with humility
in your dealings with one another, for:
God opposes the proud but bestows favor on the humble." end quote. The world has lost sight of humility. It lost it when Adam and Even took the first bite proposed by the serpent. The bite was supposed to be into something good, and the bright red apple, soon began to rot away. What happened? Pride bit into with the incisors, those teeth that were used to shine joy into the world now bit into what God did not desire....that we fall, and this means to fail.
But sometimes, in our pride, we bite the big red apple with evil temptations, thoughts, all things saying we know better, or want to know better than....God our Father.
Such is the manipulation of those trying to rule the world, by force, and the brute use death, and this death is brought about by sin, and sin is brough about by temptation. Those that are proud are opposed to God, it isn't just that our Lord opposes them. We decide for ourselves. And the inverse then, is true.
The humble find God's favor, like the Blessed Mother of God, a simple person, asking for the Lord to make His Kingdom come by means of this means...this person offering themselves up to the Father, in love, and sincerity, that brings about obedience and self surrender. | We pray today:
_"The favors of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness. For you have said, "My kindness is established forever";
in heaven you have confirmed your faithfulness. For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord"_ | In the Gospel today we heard: ""Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned." end quote. St. Francis was said to have preached to the world, and even to every creature, even to the sun and the moon, giving praise to God for them.
And you? Are you going to the whole world and proclaiming the Gospel?
Nowadays, it's easy! Just text a group! Just blast a social media message! Just go to town and let your bumper stickers do all the talking! Just go to the forgotten and let them know God loves them! Just pray with your family and teach them the ways of the Lord! It's not that hard, so what is stopping us?
Often what stops us is...pride, vanity, the ego, and the esteem. The bible says that money is the root of all evil, but it goes deeper, for the thwarted desires is what makes it evil. "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." end quote from 1 Timothy.
It boils down to love, and the love of what?
It boils down to the love of whom!
Right?
Whom do you love above all others and above all things?
God loves you, and that means something.
It is an invitation to love Him entirely too.
I had a sit down with my kids and gave them a lesson about how things work in the realms of the Spirit, and in the end, I spoke to them about the tremendous power of love and prayer.
Love gives and expects nothing in return.
Prayer gives, and earnest prayers are heard in Heaven. | Our Lord desires that this message reaches the ends of the earth: that He has come into the world, and remains in the world. Love enters the scene. Love makes light appear.
Love saves. I saw a video of two kids diving into the ocean to save those that were tired and almost drowning. They risked their lives for love of strangers. They didn't ask their names or who they were to give their lives for them. Yet they dove in. Love comes first. Love is blind. Love knows no boundaries.
And this is phenomenal when it comes to a little prayer heard by God. Like the story in ChurchPop where a man jogged by a house and said a Hail Mary for the person being rushed and was dying. But our Lord said to the dying lady, "look at this (and showing His palm) she saw the face of the man who had prayed for her, and He said "Because of this man's prayer, you will live". She saw him later on and thanked him and he had no idea who she was. And realizing the truth, he was amazed and now lives on to tell the whole world (in social media) about the power of prayer. I hope these words fall as seeds into your souls, to grow and give light as the soul strives for light. Let's pray:
...†....
Lord, Your Love is amazing, make it change me and the whole world! | Random Bible Verse 1
WOW!
1 Corinthians 11:32 "But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined1 so that we may not be condemned along with the world." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
