†Quote of the Day
"Holiness consists simply in doing God's will, and being just what God wants us to be."
–St. Therese of Lisieux - The Little Flower †Today's Meditation
"Through the sacraments of Christian initiation, man receives the new life of Christ. Now we carry this life 'in earthen vessels', and it remains 'hidden with Christ in God'. We are still in our 'earthly tent', subject to suffering, illness, and death. This new life as a child of God can be weakened and even lost by sin. The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health, has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation, even among her own members. This is the purpose of the two sacraments of healing: the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick."
—The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1420-21 An Excerpt From
Catechism of the Catholic Church †Daily Verse
"Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your vindication as the light, and your right as the noonday. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over him who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!"
–Psalm 37:5-7 |  click to read more | | Sts. Cosmas & Damian Sts. Cosmas and Damian (d. 287 A.D.) were twin brothers born in Arabia. They both became skilled physicians who practiced in Asia Minor. They took no money for their medical services, for which they were well-respected. Because of their charity they drew many to the Catholic faith. During the Christian persecution under the Roman Emperor Diocletian, Cosmas and Damian were targeted, arrested, and tortured. After being miraculously preserved from injury throughout their cruel tortures, holding firm in their faith to the end, they were finally killed by beheading. They were martyred together with their three brothers. Their remains were buried in Syria and many miracles were attributed to them. In gratitude for the healing he received through the intercession of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, Roman Emperor Justinian I (6th c.) restored a church dedicated to their honor in Constantinople, which became a place of pilgrimage. Sts. Cosmas and Damian are regarded as the patron saints of physicians, surgeons, and pharmacists. They are mentioned by name in the Roman Canon of the Mass, and share a feast day on September 26th. | Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ezr 6:7-8, 12b, 14-20 King Darius issued an order to the officials
of West-of-Euphrates:
"Let the governor and the elders of the Jews
continue the work on that house of God;
they are to rebuild it on its former site.
I also issue this decree
concerning your dealing with these elders of the Jews
in the rebuilding of that house of God:
From the royal revenue, the taxes of West-of-Euphrates,
let these men be repaid for their expenses, in full and without delay.
I, Darius, have issued this decree;
let it be carefully executed." The elders of the Jews continued to make progress in the building,
supported by the message of the prophets,
Haggai and Zechariah, son of Iddo.
They finished the building according to the command
of the God of Israel
and the decrees of Cyrus and Darius
and of Artaxerxes, king of Persia.
They completed this house on the third day of the month Adar,
in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
The children of Israel–priests, Levites,
and the other returned exiles–
celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.
For the dedication of this house of God,
they offered one hundred bulls,
two hundred rams, and four hundred lambs,
together with twelve he-goats as a sin-offering for all Israel,
in keeping with the number of the tribes of Israel.
Finally, they set up the priests in their classes
and the Levites in their divisions
for the service of God in Jerusalem,
as is prescribed in the book of Moses. The exiles kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
The Levites, every one of whom had purified himself for the occasion,
sacrificed the Passover for the rest of the exiles,
for their brethren the priests, and for themselves. Responsorial Psalm Ps 122:1-2, 3-4ab, 4cd-5 R. (1) Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
I rejoiced because they said to me,
"We will go up to the house of the LORD."
And now we have set foot
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David.
R. Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord. Alleluia Lk 11:28 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are those who hear the word of God
and observe it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 8:19-21 The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him
but were unable to join him because of the crowd.
He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside
and they wish to see you."
He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it." | Daily Meditation: Ezra 6:7-8, 12, 14-20 The children of Israel . . . celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. (Ezra 6:16) Can you imagine being a member of the Church but not having access to a church? The sack of Jerusalem in the year 586 BC was a horrifying experience for the Jewish people. Their city and beautiful Temple were destroyed, and most of the population was force-marched to Babylon. During their years in exile, a faithful remnant continued to worship God and uphold his laws as best they could. Their faith, even in this hostile environment, remained so strong that even some of their captors were impressed with their devotion (Ezra 1:1-6; Nehemiah 2:1-6). Today's first reading gives us a glimpse of the joy that these Israelites felt when they finally returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt their Temple. Today, a great many Christians can identify with the Jews in exile. These modern-day believers don't have access to a church, either. There are those who live in countries where Christianity is outlawed. There are those stationed on the front lines in the military. There are those in prison or homebound who don't have access to the sacraments. And there are those who live in areas of the world where there aren't enough priests to minister to all the faithful. In each of these situations, a Christian could begin to feel lonely or distant from the Lord. Yet we know that God is especially close to those who feel isolated or who do not have the blessings of a church community for support. He knows that anyone who holds fast to their faith is just as heroic as those faithful Israelites who continued to worship God in their exile. So here's a message for all of you reading this magazine who are in a kind of "Eucharistic exile." Know that your fellow readers see you; we love you and we bless you. Please pray for the rest of us, that we never take for granted the life we have. And we will pray for you, that Jesus will be especially close to you, just as God was close to the Israelites in exile! "Jesus, please take special care of my brothers and sisters who don't have easy access to your Eucharistic presence or to a body of believers to support them." Psalm 122:1-5
Luke 8:19-21 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
_"Finally, they set up the priests in their classes
and the Levites in their divisions
for the service of God in Jerusalem,
as is prescribed in the book of Moses. The exiles kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month.
The Levites, every one of whom had purified himself for the occasion,
sacrificed the Passover for the rest of the exiles,
for their brethren the priests, and for themselves......."_ end of verse.
. . . They set up priests to celebrate the Passover meal.
This is the case today when Jesus our Lord set up priests in His order to celebrate His Passover meal, His very bread, of His very body.
Today, the world needs more priests. And it would be better to have more dedicated and more holy priests. A priest said in ChurchPop, 'Father David Michael Moses of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston believes he has the solution: parents' reverence for the Eucharist."
The entire purpose of thanksgiving, of giving thanks, of giving God to the World and incarnating His Body is the whole of it. And you are a part of it now. | We pray today:
" Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
Jerusalem, built as a city
with compact unity.
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD.
Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.
According to the decree for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
In it are set up judgment seats,
seats for the house of David........."_ end of Psalm." | In the Gospel today we heard:
"He was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside
and they wish to see you."
He said to them in reply, "My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it."......." end of Gospel verse. ... | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus identifies his disciples as his family. I want to say something about our becoming disciples in his family. Once we make the decision to follow Jesus, then every other claimant to supremacy must fall away. As I've argued many times before, every one of us has something or some set of values that we consider greatest. Perhaps it is money, material things, power, or the esteem of others. Perhaps it is your family, your kids, your wife, your husband. None of this is false, and none of these things are bad. But when you place any of them in the absolute center of gravity, things go awry. When you make any of them your ultimate or final good, your spiritual life goes haywire. When you attach yourself to any of them with an absolute tenacity, you will fall apart.
Only when we make Christ the cornerstone of our lives are we truly ready for mission. Keep in mind that every encounter with God in the Bible conduces to mission, to being sent to do the work of the Lord. If we try to do this work while we are stuck to any number of attachments, we will fail. Period." end quote.
Someone asked me again, "did Mary have more kids?" And there are too many Protestants who have drank the wrong leaven, of error, of irreverence and of unholiness to dare to ask the question that goes against Scripture when it says " a virgin will give birth to a son", and this, the Savior of the World. And virgin here would mean forever.
And the protestants use today's Gospel to say "Look he has more brothers and sisters!" Wrong! Very wrong. Back in those days, they couldn't use other names for cousins and other relatives and so, if you were blood, you were brother or sisters.
And this is good for us who are in the blood of Christ in baptism and especially in His Holy Eucharist.
May we actually consider Him our brother, and her our Mother then, because we are, and this is good, to be Heavenly already, called for more. ........ Let us pray: Lord, that I may be one with Thee forever, in Love in Trinity. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Deuteronomy 32:4 4 "The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
