†Quote of the Day
"Consider God's charity. Where else have we ever seen someone who has been offended voluntarily paying out his life for those who have offended him?"
–St. Catherine of Siena †Meditation
"Suppress Interior Noise – God created your soul silent and keeps it inviolate at baptism. He filled it with Himself, nothing other than Himself. It is later, little by little that the world bursts in. Noise invades, covering the soft voice of God. Since then, the racket amplifies itself. Return to your baptismal silence, my brother! Noise has three generators: memories, curiosity, and worries. Paralyze their action."
— An Anonymous Carthusian Monk An Excerpt From
The Doors of Silence †Daily Verse
"I, then, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace."
–Ephesians 4:1-3 |  click to read more | | St. Wenceslaus St. Wenceslaus (907–935 A.D.) was the son of the Duke of Bohemia. His grandfather was converted to Christianity by the missionaries Sts. Cyril and Methodius. His mother, Dragomir, was the daughter of a pagan tribal chief who was baptized at her marriage. After the death of his father, Wenceslaus received a Christian upbringing from his grandmother, St. Ludmila, while his mother reverted to her pagan ways. Dragomir reigned as regent, had St. Ludmila killed, and worked to oppose the spread of Christianity in Bohemia. When St. Wenceslaus was 18 he took control of the government and exiled his mother. St. Wenceslaus was described as a pious, humble, and intelligent ruler who worked to established Christianity in the land that would become part of the Holy Roman Empire. He was known for his vow of virginity, his many virtues, and his life of prayer and good works. After a political dispute arose, his mother and his younger brother, called Boleslaus the Cruel, plotted his murder along with a group of disaffected nobles. Boleslaus invited his brother to celebrate the feast of Sts. Cosmas and Damian, and arranged to have him assassinated on his way to Mass. St. Wenceslaus muttered words of forgiveness as he died, and his body was buried at the murder site. His brother succeeded him as Duke of Bohemia. Three years later Boleslaus repented of his crime, and had his brother's remains transferred to the Church of St. Vitus in Prague. Wenceslaus was considered a saint by the people at the time of his death. His feast day is September 28th. | Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Hg 1:1-8 On the first day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius,
The word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai
to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel,
and to the high priest Joshua, son of Jehozadak: Thus says the LORD of hosts:
This people says:
"The time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD."
(Then this word of the LORD came through Haggai, the prophet:)
Is it time for you to dwell in your own paneled houses,
while this house lies in ruins? Now thus says the LORD of hosts:
Consider your ways!
You have sown much, but have brought in little;
you have eaten, but have not been satisfied;
You have drunk, but have not been exhilarated;
have clothed yourselves, but not been warmed;
And whoever earned wages
earned them for a bag with holes in it. Thus says the LORD of hosts:
Consider your ways!
Go up into the hill country;
bring timber, and build the house
That I may take pleasure in it
and receive my glory, says the LORD. Responsorial Psalm Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b R. (see 4a) The Lord takes delight in his people.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people. Alleluia Jn 14:6 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 9:7-9 Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening,
and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying,
"John has been raised from the dead";
others were saying, "Elijah has appeared";
still others, "One of the ancient prophets has arisen."
But Herod said, "John I beheaded.
Who then is this about whom I hear such things?"
And he kept trying to see him. | Daily Meditation: Haggai 1:1-8 Build the house that I may take pleasure in it. (Haggai 1:8) Building a house can be a long and arduous process. Some days are full of excitement, like the day the roof is completed. But for the most part, the process is marked by the hard work of placing one brick on top of another in the belief that, eventually, it will all come together. That's the kind of situation the Jewish people were in when the prophet Haggai proclaimed God's word to them. They had returned from exile in Babylon and had begun rebuilding the Temple, but the work was slow and opposition from neighboring peoples was great. Ultimately, the people became discouraged and gave up the project. They settled into their own homes and left the house of the Lord in shambles. Speaking through Haggai, God told the people to get on with it. "Build the house," God said, "that I may take pleasure in it" (Haggai 1:8). Just as a homebuilder might celebrate "Roofing Day," God promised that he would celebrate when the Temple was completed. And that promise of celebration—and of the blessings that would flow on that day—moved the people to take up the work again (Ezra 5:1-2). We all get discouraged by the daily grind of "building" our spiritual houses. Some of the work can be tedious and repetitive. But see what God tells the exiles: "That I may take pleasure in it" (Haggai 1:8). Even as you keep on building, know that God takes pleasure in you. He sees that your spiritual house is still a work in progress, but he also sees how far you have already come. He rejoices every time you come to him in prayer or lift your heart to him at Mass. He smiles every time you choose to be generous. He takes pleasure every moment that you say no to temptation and yes to his Spirit. All of these actions help to build your inner "house," and God takes delight in each of them. He takes delight in you! So as you "get on with it" and build a house for the Lord today, remember that God, the Architect and Master Builder of all creation, sees and honors your work. "Father, help me to trust you as I continue to build a house for you in my heart." Psalm 149:1-6, 9
Luke 9:7-9 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Now thus says the LORD of hosts:
Consider your ways!
You have sown much, but have brought in little;
you have eaten, but have not been satisfied;
You have drunk, but have not been exhilarated;
have clothed yourselves, but not been warmed;
And whoever earned wages earned them for a bag with holes in it." end of verse.
. . . Consider the times. Consider how precious your time is. It is probably our most valuable asset. Who do you spend it most with? What do you spend it most on? Has it left you completely filled and fulfilled? If not, if you are not filled with what the world offers, then this message is for you. Our Lord is inviting us to build His temple, His body, to be one with Him as we unite ourselves for Him so He make work His pleasure in it, that is what heard right?
"Consider your ways!
Go up into the hill country;
bring timber, and build the house
That I may take pleasure in it
and receive my glory, says the LORD." | We pray today:
"The Lord takes delight in his people.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia..."_ end of Psalm." | In the Gospel today we heard:
""John has been raised from the dead";
others were saying, "Elijah has appeared";
still others, "One of the ancient prophets has arisen."
But Herod said, "John I beheaded.
Who then is this about whom I hear such things?"
And he kept trying to see him." end of Gospel verse. ... | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, we see Herod interested in and perplexed by Jesus.
Political rulers don't come across well in the New Testament. In Luke's Christmas account, Caesar Augustus is compared very unfavorably to the Christ child. And in Matthew's account, that child is hunted down by the desperate Herod. Later, Herod's son persecutes John the Baptist and Jesus himself. More to it, the Jewish authorities are seen in all of the Gospels as corrupt.
And Pontius Pilate is a typical Roman governor: efficient, concerned for order, brutal. Like the other rulers of the time, he perceives Jesus, quite correctly, as a threat. "Then you are a king?" Pilate asks. Jesus says, "My kingdom does not belong to this world."
This does not mean that Jesus is unconcerned for the realities of politics, with the very "this-worldly" concerns of justice, peace, and right order. When he speaks of his kingdom not belonging to the "world," he shades the negative side of that term. The "world" is the realm of sin, selfishness, hatred, violence. What he is saying is that his way of ordering things is not typical of worldly powers like Pilate, Caesar, and Herod." end quote.
Herod is a great example for all of us today, of someone who is there trying to see who the Lord is, and with blood on his hands, having just killed Saint John The Baptist whom he was also very curious about and held him in jail as a curiosity, like a pet, in a cage. And then when the worldly loves came at him, he bent to them to save his ego, his pride, and had John decapitated; the exact same thing that happens in an abortion, no difference, same curiosity in God, same pride in self, other loves that master them, and the innocent are slaughtered. And the exact same happens to our Lord, pride and power were to overrule anything and everything He did. It is a terrible thing, isn't it? That God Himself in Jesus comes to the world and we torture Him to death? Right? Yet, it is still happening.
Our Lord hurts most now, with sins of impurity slashing away at His body, and priests that bend to unmanly things that are inhumane things. I was saddened to hear that in my own diocese, priests are leaving the priesthood, and some of them were poised to be phenomenal leaders, pastors of God's flock. But they are swindled by the libertarian movement, to be free from the responsibility of God's command and demands. It is the same as I look to a young person that has decided to change their sex by living a lifestyle they were not born with. And then, I see them trying to take their own lives. You see, there are demons always attempting to enter the temple, to scream at the Lord and to have Him ousted. How can this be?
It happened to our Lord and it happens today, with our Lord in us.
They handed our Lord over to Herod, to judge him. And what was his response? Meh. It was like "do a sign for me, prove to me you are God, or else I'll dismiss you" like a person today, a nonbeliever, we are the same. And what happens in a neutral decision like this? It was this decision that threw Him to the savage animals, where another governor also washed his hands in neutrality, and our Lord was then taken to be slaughtered and hung on a cross.
This Herodian attitude must stop. You must stop being passive and neutral. You must take a step forward, to show the world that the ways of Christ are the true Way, and the Truth, and the Life to live and to follow. It is the Love of God we are speaking about. It is salvation. ........ Let us pray:
Lord, I am Yours, and Yours I wish to be, I consecrate myself to Your Sacred Heart of burning Love for God and my fellow neighbor. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
John 5:24 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
