†Quote of the Day
""Faith and love are like the blind man's guides. They will lead you along a path unknown to you, to the place where God is hidden."
–St. John of the Cross †Today's Meditation
"Exterior silence is an ascetic exercise of self-mastery in the use of speech. First of all, it may be helpful to recall what asceticism is. This word is not praised to the skies by our consumer society–far from it!…Asceticism is a means that helps us to remove from our life anything that weighs it down, in other words, whatever hampers our spiritual life and, therefore, is an obstacle to prayer. Yes, it is indeed in prayer that God communicates his Life to us and manifests his presence in our soul…And prayer is essentially silence."
–Robert Cardinal Sarah, p.141 †Daily Verse
When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say."
–Luke 12:11-12 |  click to read more | | St. Luke the Evangelist (1st c.) was a well-educated Greek physician and a native of Antioch in Syria. He was a follower of St. Paul the Apostle and spent most of his life evangelizing with him in Asia Minor up until the time of Paul's martyrdom in Rome. Luke wrote a canonical account of his apostolic journeys with Paul (the Book of Acts) as well as a biography on the life of Christ (the Gospel of Luke). The two books of Luke's Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles were originally a single work. The intimate accounts contained in Luke's gospel of the early years of Christ's life (the Visitation, the Nativity, the Presentation, etc.) lead many scholars to believe that one of the eyewitnesses he interviewed was the Blessed Virgin Mary herself. According to tradition he was also a skilled artist and painted the first icons of Our Lady with the Child Jesus. Several of these icons are still venerated today, the most famous of which hangs in the Church of St. Mary Major in Rome. St. Luke is the patron saint of many trades including artists, painters, doctors, surgeons, and bachelors. His feast day is October 18th. | Feast of Saint Luke, evangelist Lectionary: 661
Reading 1
2 Tm 4:10-17b Beloved:
Demas, enamored of the present world,
deserted me and went to Thessalonica,
Crescens to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.
Luke is the only one with me.
Get Mark and bring him with you,
for he is helpful to me in the ministry.
I have sent Tychicus to Ephesus.
When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus in Troas,
the papyrus rolls, and especially the parchments. Alexander the coppersmith did me a great deal of harm;
the Lord will repay him according to his deeds.
You too be on guard against him,
for he has strongly resisted our preaching. At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf,
but everyone deserted me.
May it not be held against them!
But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it. Responsorial Psalm Ps 145:10-11, 12-13, 17-18 R. (12) Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom. Alleluia See Jn 15:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I chose you from the world,
to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 10:1-9 The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter,
first say, 'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'" | Daily Meditation: 2 Timothy 4:10-17 Luke is the only one with me. (2 Timothy 4:11) Paul and Luke were traveling companions who spent day after day on the road together preaching the gospel. It wasn't an easy life, and as Paul notes in today's first reading, some who had been with them on their missionary journey ended up deserting them (2 Timothy 4:10). So why did Luke stay on? Of course, Luke was devoted to Paul and to the mission of sharing the good news. But there might have been another reason as well: despite the hardships, he might have enjoyed the adventures. Luke tells many exciting stories in the Book of Acts, which he authored in addition to his Gospel. And at several points, he uses the word "we" to describe his experiences with Paul on their missionary journeys. For example, he says that when Paul had a vision that they should go to Macedonia, "we sought passage . . . at once" (Acts 16:10). In another passage, Luke writes, "We gathered to break bread," and then he tells the humorous story of a young man falling out of a window after sleeping through one of Paul's long sermons (20:5-15). In the third and final "we" sections (21:1-18; 27:1–28:16), Luke relates, among other things, the story of a storm and shipwreck. Luke led anything but a boring life! But did you know that every Christian life is an adventure? That's because following Jesus is never boring. Every day when you come to him in prayer, you never know what he has in store for you or where he is going to send you. For example, one day he might prompt you to call a friend you haven't talked to in a while. Then you find out that she needs your support and prayers. Or perhaps you are asked to lead a Bible study. You may not feel equipped, but you know it will be an adventure as you learn to rely on the Lord. You may never travel widely or go on a missionary journey, as St. Luke did. But today, on his feast day, you can ask him to help you see your life in Christ as an adventure. Nothing can be more exciting than living for Jesus—even if you never leave home! "Jesus, I'm ready for an adventure. Send me where you want me to go!" Psalm 145:10-13, 17-18
Luke 10:1-9 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:Audio Link | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"At my first defense no one appeared on my behalf,
but everyone deserted me.
May it not be held against them!
But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it........."
. . . The Lord will stand by you. The Lord will strengthen you, and for what? To proclaim His Word and for all to hear, no matter who they are. Too often we focus on ourselves. What people don't know about me is that when I pray for something, it is to have the ultimate goal of salvation of souls in mind. This would be a prayer in line with our Father's will. "Look Father, what if we do this! To save the soul!". As I was meditating and writing, someone told me to reach out to this person who is basically on the streets now (again). Am I my brother's keeper? Whether we like it or not, we are. I don't like to hear even well known speakers say about their adult children "you've done your part, now let them live on". No. You will always be their keeper. A parent is always restless when their child falls away. I have teenage student in RCIA who ran away from home, and I can see the mother's tearful eyes telling me "is he still in RCIA class with you?", her interest is his salvation. And that is my interest too. The world is trying to swallow him up to spit him out. Who cares?
God cares, and so should we. We should care that He is attempting to reach souls through us. That is His will. St. Luke would agree! | We pray today:
"Making known to men your might and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
Your friends make known, O Lord, the glorious splendor of your Kingdom. The LORD is just in all his ways and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth......" | In the Gospel today we heard:
"The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves......" end of Gospel verse. | Did you catch what our Lord did? The Gospel said He sent the disciples in pairs to do what? To go to every town that HE INTENDED to visit.
We have to do His will.
As a boss, a man running a business, or as the festival director, which, by the way, Thank You so much for your prayers, was an amazing day, beautiful weather, everyone did their part, and we used the new building we've been working on for about 12 years to build for the first time! And we had the best eclipse that day, and the day we started was on the anniversary of the "miracle of the sun". Anyhow, I lost track, as a director, or leader, I'm actually telling others my will. The people take on my will to accomplish my desires, for work, for church, for family. And by the way, please pray for me, so much rides on my shoulders, and one can see how the evil one tries to always hit the king pin, like the priests always get attempts of getting sideswiped, many even losing their vocation! And this is why our Lord says "I am sending you like lambs among wolves" and the wolves will attempt to devour you.
It isn't people, but evil spirits in people that will attempt to take you away, and when you are taken away, you are led into their dens.
So by all means, we must stick together and more often in prayer groups.
Get together with a group, weekly, not just a Mass, but aside to supplement the Mass, like a mini-mass. There, invoke the Holy Spirit, invoke the Holy Name of our Lord. Soon you will be tempted to do good things, like go into other homes to pray, and from there...salvation comes into the picture...it is the LORD!
. ........
Let us pray:
Lord, Help us go into the homes, to bring peace, to bring Your Word, Your comfort, and Your strength. Help us do Your Holy Will in all we do! |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Matthew 11:28–30 28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
