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†Saint Quote of the Day "Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent." –St. John of the Cr

Web Version   Subscribe   Forward   †Saint Quote of the Day "Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent." –St. John of the Cross †Today's Meditation "This world is filled with many vulgar and dishonorable things that will claw and tear at your Christian purity if you allow them to. Don't let them! Seek instead the things of God. He will purify you and free you from your slavery to profane and inconsequential things." —Patrick Madrid, p. 1 An Excerpt From A Year with the Bible †Daily Verse "Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."" –Jeremiah 1:4-5 click to read more Sts. Nazarius and Celsus St. Nazarius and St. Celsus (1st c.) were early Christian martyrs, but nothing else is known with certainty about their lives or the time they lived, other than that they were put to death for their Christian faith in Milan, Italy, perhaps during the persecution of the Emperor Nero. What we know about these saints came to us from St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. In 395 A.D. St. Ambrose discovered the body of St. Nazarius, with severed head, along with a vial of his blood still as fresh as the day it was spilled, in a garden outside the city gates. St. Ambrose carried the body in procession to bury in the city's Basilica of the Apostles. In the same garden he also discovered the body of St. Celsus, and likewise had the body taken to the same basilica. Miracles occurred in the church at the presence of the relics of these two holy martyrs. According to one account, St. Nazarius was the son of St. Perpetua, the child she bore just prior being executed for her faith. Celsus was a youth given to the care of St. Nazarius by the boy's mother, who desired for the saint to teach her son the Christian faith. The two traveled and preached the Gospel together zealously before being tortured and executed in Milan. They share a feast day on July 28th. Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading I Ex 20:1-17 In those days: God delivered all these commandments: "I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments. "You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain. "Remember to keep holy the sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you. In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. "Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you. "You shall not kill. "You shall not commit adultery. "You shall not steal. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him." Responsorial Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11 R. (John 6:68c) Lord, you have the words of everlasting life. The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul; The decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye. R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; The ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just. R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life. They are more precious than gold, than a heap of purest gold; Sweeter also than syrup or honey from the comb. R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life. Alleluia See Lk 8:15 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 13:18-23 Jesus said to his disciples: "Hear the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom without understanding it, and the Evil One comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold." Daily Meditation: Exodus 20:1-17 I, the Lord, am your God. . . . You shall not have other gods besides me. (Exodus 20:2, 3) In ancient times, pagan priests portrayed their gods as vindictive and capricious. According to them, sacrifices like choice meats and fine wine were meant to appease those gods, but in reality they actually benefited the priests. In contrast, the one true God gave commandments that were for the good of his people, not for his own benefit or the sole benefit of his priests. He was teaching them how to live as a people set apart specially for him. A good example is the first commandment. God told the Israelites to turn from the "other gods" that the other nations worshipped (Exodus 20:3). He commanded them to worship him alone so that they could live in harmony with his love and designs and experience the blessings of being his people. From the beginning, the Jewish people understood the Ten Commandments as a source of blessing and protection for them. They knew that God had already done so much for them: he had covenanted himself to them, delivered them from slavery, and provided for their needs. By following his commands, they could honor him for his goodness and grow into the people he had called them to be. These commandments are more than three thousand years old, but their purpose hasn't changed. God has done so much for us in Christ: he has forgiven us, redeemed us, and filled us with his Spirit. Now, obeying his commands is our way of responding to the mercy and love he has poured out on us. It's our way of making sure we stay close to him and live in a way that reveals his love to the people around us. We live in a world darkened by sin and confused about what is good and true. But God's commands still set us apart. As we respond to his mercy with obedience, we can shine to the world around us. We can reveal the goodness of the God who has given us his law, and our lives can become open invitations for others to come and meet that God in their own hearts. "Lord, thank you for giving me your commands, which can bring me the fullness of life!" Psalm 19:8-11 Matthew 13:18-23 click to hear 2cents Listen to audio version Reflections with Brother Adrian: From today's 1st Holy Scripture: _" ...you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments...."_ end of verse. We often get accused of idol worshiping in the Catholic Faith. GK Chesterton said that the very things we are accused of doing in the church are the very things we consider a heresy. On other words, everyone is right and wrong! LOL. We do not worship statues or pictures. If we did, God would've punished us centuries ago. He will punish to the many generations to come! We would've all been doomed long ago, but no, we know God is a jealous God. That's right, you heard it today, we heard: "For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me...". We pray today: " Lord, you have the words of everlasting life. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever; The ordinances of the LORD are true, all of them just. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life..." end of Psalm. In the Gospel today we heard: "......But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."" end of Gospel verse. During Mass today a thought hit me: "what if we truly believed in God, and went all in, in our faith? What if we actually tried to do and give as He said? What if we truly made His Kingdom come? What risk would we take to go all in for the Lord?" Because really, the faith has been watered down with much idealism, much temptations and lures, much psychology, and much playing with words, a rhetoric. As a matter of fact, that is one of the main tactics of the enemy of the church, is to use words, to twist them, and to contort them in such a way that you really begin to wain and wonder from the true faith, and true worship due rightly to our Lord. And so, we become fruitless. What happens to a fruitless plant? Its prodigy will cease to exist. Its very life could be forgotten...forever. And so, let's let the seed grow! Why? So we can be that plant that gives off more seeds! Or shall our Lord do all the work...while He is nailed to the cross? It is our turn to be His Body! While He holds the world together. Bishop Barron ended his reflection today with: "One of our favorite pastimes is setting limits to the love of God. We say that God loves those who love him, or that God loves those who are in the right church or have the right doctrines. But God does not sow only on the receptive soil; he sows everywhere, even in those places that are least receptive." end quote. And so our Lord is merciful. You'd be amazed at how some people would respond to His call....some down living the worst lives become some of the most fruitful souls on earth. And you'd never know who would be fruitful! It could be one at church or a non church goer. A saint can be found in the church, or wondering the streets dressed in rags. I said in a reflection once that "saints spawn saints". You should see how many of the early saints lived with other saints. These are fruitful seeds. This seed will bleed. And the fruit is everlasting. I'm not that afraid anymore of letting people that I'm trying to be holy. I even told our employees once in a safety meeting. That I am trying to be holy, and that I admire those men who are doing what few other men would do....live a life of righteousness with God. I am living backwards to the world, but not so much. It is not a complete rejection, because our Lord is in the world. In every soul I encounter, I look for the Lord and His word, that I may embrace Him, that I may love Him. Let's pray: Speak Lord, your Servant is listening. Click To Hear Random Bible Verse 1 Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com God Bless You! Peace Going4th For questions or comments contact Adrian@going4th.com. For more go to www.Going4th.com ©2023 Going4th | Andrews TX Preferences   Subscribe   Forward   Unsubscribe     Powered by GoDaddy Email Marketing ®