†Quote of the Day
"If we wish to make any progress in the service of God we must begin every day of our life with new eagerness. We must keep ourselves in the presence of God as much as possible and have no other view or end in all our actions but the divine honor."
–St. Charles Borromeo †Today's Meditation
"My Jesus, it is truly easy to become holy; it just takes a little good will! And if He finds this minimum of good will in a soul, He quickly gives Himself to her. And nothing can stop Him, neither our faults nor our falls, absolutely nothing. Jesus hurries to help that soul; and if the soul is faithful to this grace from God, she can in a short time reach the highest levels of holiness that a created being can attain here below. God is very generous and does not refuse His grace to anyone. He gives even more than we ask for. The shortest road is faithfulness to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit."
—St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, 291 An Excerpt From
Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska - Divine Mercy in My Soul †Daily Verse
"The Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart."
–1 Samuel 16:7b |  click to read more | | St. James the Lesser St. James the Lesser (1st c.), also called St. James the Just, was one of the Twelve Apostles and the cousin of Jesus. Both James and his brother, St. Jude, began to follow Jesus in the second year of his ministry. St. James the Less was the first of the Twelve Apostles to whom the risen Christ appeared. After Jesus' ascension into heaven, James was given charge as bishop of the Church in Jerusalem, making him an important leader of the early Church. He was well-known for his prayer life and holiness. It is described that his knees and forehead were calloused due to long hours spent prostrate in prayer. His sanctity was such that he was respected by the Jews and considered by many to be a holy man. James the Less is the author of the New Testament epistle that bears his name. He was martyred by being thrown from the roof of the Jerusalem temple and then stoned and beaten to death as he prayed for his murderers. He died in the year 62 A.D. during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero. St. James the Less is the patron saint of pharmacists and the dying. His feast day is May 3rd. | Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 13:13-25 From Paphos, Paul and his companions
set sail and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia.
But John left them and returned to Jerusalem.
They continued on from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia.
On the sabbath they entered into the synagogue and took their seats.
After the reading of the law and the prophets,
the synagogue officials sent word to them,
"My brothers, if one of you has a word of exhortation
for the people, please speak." So Paul got up, motioned with his hand, and said,
"Fellow children of Israel and you others who are God-fearing, listen.
The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors
and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt.
With uplifted arm he led them out,
and for about forty years he put up with them in the desert.
When he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan,
he gave them their land as an inheritance
at the end of about four hundred and fifty years.
After these things he provided judges up to Samuel the prophet.
Then they asked for a king.
God gave them Saul, son of Kish,
a man from the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.
Then he removed him and raised up David as their king;
of him he testified,
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
From this man's descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'" Responsorial Psalm Ps 89:2-3, 21-22, 25 and 27 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.(2) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have anointed him,
That my hand may be always with him,
and that my arm may make him strong."
R.(2) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
"My faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him,
and through my name shall his horn be exalted.
He shall say of me, 'You are my father,
my God, the Rock, my savior.'"
R.(2) For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia See Rv 1:5ab R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ, you are the faithful witness,
the firstborn of the dead,
you have loved us and freed us from our sins by your Blood.
R. Alleluia, alleluia Gospel Jn 13:16-20 When Jesus had washed the disciples' feet, he said to them:
"Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master
nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.
If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it.
I am not speaking of all of you.
I know those whom I have chosen.
But so that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
The one who ate my food has raised his heel against me.
From now on I am telling you before it happens,
so that when it happens you may believe that I AM.
Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send
receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me."
| From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish.
From this man's descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus." end of bible verse. And what of this King from David? The King now is Jesus. The Lord is King. King of who? Is He only King of those who see Him as King? Is He King of a certain territory? After all, evil works in territories too, doesn't it?
Truth is, our Lord is King of everything. No one comes to the Father except through the Son. And how can we come to the Son of God? Our Lord understands one language, sincerity, and faithfulness. He reveals Himself to such souls more often than to those who are faithless, and insincere.
Our Lord Jesus is Christ of all. He defeated sin and death not just for one, but for all, so that we could take to Him, so that we could heed His message. More on that to come. | 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." | In the Gospel today we heard: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send
receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me." says our Lord. A Psalm from David says:
"The heavens declare the glory of God;
the firmament proclaims the works of his hands.
Day unto day pours forth speech;
night unto night whispers knowledge.
There is no speech, no words;
their voice is not heard;
A report goes forth through all the earth,
their messages, to the ends of the world." In other words, day or night, the Lord is sending His messages and messengers.
The natural way I notice, is He speaks through people, and the message is more clear when you are seeking to do His will.
How can you discern? His message is clear about the greater good, and for greater holiness, and many times it doesn't feel good to hear...the very truth from the Lord Himself. Hurting our pride does not feel good. I'm on the constant watch for that feeling. Just the other day, I heard a new person was hired in the parish and one of their first questions to the office people was " is adrian on the church's payroll?" LOL, I'm not sure how to feel about that! I mean, after serving the parish just about all my life, for free, never charging at funerals or weddings for singing, even if they offer I decline, and this person dares to ask a hurtful question like that! It took me a few minutes to try to swallow that little pill and dissolve it. Even if the church wanted to pay me, they couldn't afford me! LOL, and so, the best option is that I give everything to the Church, and yes, to all the scoundrels in it.
I'm noticing how fast life actually passes, seeing as I'm probably halfway done in years, probably more. My dad's close cousin just passed away last night. And lately I've noticed on everlasting things to leave in rememberance and to help God's Kingdom.
Do you want to know what will be left everlasting? Do you want to know if you will be forever forgotten? LOL. Which question is more important to you?
There are holy souls that don't go to church my friend.
And there are church people that are not holy.
Today's message comes from Heaven my beloved love of God.
It's all about the messenger, isn't it?
And who is reaching out to you right now?
It is the Lord Himself!
This message wasn't intended for someone else you worry about. This message is for you!
The very fact that God has reached you in this manner is amazing...He loves you. He thinks of You. Our Father loves like nobody else can. I think of my children. How much do I love them? I don't give them what they want usually, and I give them what I want them to have.
Aha! Isn't that how our Lord loves?
Therefore...since He knows best, we should be grateful, and how can we be grateful?
Be thankful. The Eucharist means to give thanks. It is a life giving affair, He gives Himself eternally, and we gives ourselves eternally. The message then is one of astounding love! | ...†....
Let's pray:
Lord, You complete me. How can I ever look away! Help me complete You! | Random Bible Verse
AMAZING! Isaiah 30:21
"And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, "This is the way, walk in it," when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
