.: 10/19/23

Thursday, October 19, 2023

†..to catch him at

†Quote of the Day
"My confidence is placed in God who does not need our help for accomplishing his designs. Our single endeavor should be to give ourselves to the work and to be faithful to him, and not to spoil his work by our shortcomings."
–St. Isaac Jogues

†Today's Meditation
When a trial is sent to us, it is more difficult than at other times to know how to be thankful to God. We need to acquire sufficient supernatural strength in order to believe that God remains a Father when He makes us feel the weight of the Cross. Behind the suffering that occupies the foreground, we must learn to discover the heart of the One who, by this trial, wishes either to make us grow more spiritually, to permit us to expiate our sins, or to identify us more with His divine Son and to make us participate more fully in the Redemption."
—Raoul Lus, S.J., p. 11

†Daily Verse
"For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God."
–1 Peter 3:17-18a

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St. Isaac Jogues

St. Isaac Jogues (1607–1646) was born in France to a middle-class family, and at the age of 17 entered a Jesuit seminary where he displayed a talent for writing and teaching. He was ordained in January of 1636 at the age of 29, and three months later was sent as a missionary priest to the rugged wilderness of New France (now Canada) to work among the Huron and Algonquin Native American tribes. Despite the hardship of life in the wilderness, Isaac experienced great spiritual joy in his mission. One day, six years into his work, he was captured by a Mohawk-Iroquois war party. He was enslaved and ritually tortured, in addition to being malnourished and inadequately clothed. His hands were severely mutilated and many of his fingers destroyed, which prevented his ability to say Mass. He continued to preach the faith and was named Ondessonk, "the indomitable one," by his Mohawk captors. After over a year in captivity he escaped with the help of Dutch settlers. He went back to France where he was honored as a "living martyr." He obtained special permission from the pope to say Mass with his mutilated hands. Instead of continuing his life in peace, St. Isaac was zealous to return to his mission field. He returned to New France, and by that time a peace treaty was arranged between the warring native tribes allowing him to work among the Mohawks. However, when they suffered a crisis of crop failure and epidemic disease, the Mohawks blamed the Christians for sorcery and attacked the settlers. St. Isaac Jogues died after being tomahawked in the head, and his body was thrown into the Mohawk River. He is the patron of the Americas and Canada. Isaac Jogues earned the name "Apostle of the Mohawks" for his work. New York state's first Catholic baptismal record was due to his priestly ministry. He and his companions were the first martyrs of the North American continent officially recognized by the Church. His feast day is October 19th.

Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, Priests, and Companions, Martyrs

• Readings for the Memorial of Saints John de Brébeuf and Isaac Jogues, priests and martyrs, and their companions, martyrs

Reading 1 Rom 3:21-30

Brothers and sisters:
Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
though testified to by the law and the prophets,
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ
for all who believe.
For there is no distinction;
all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.
They are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption in Christ Jesus,
whom God set forth as an expiation,
through faith, by his Blood, to prove his righteousness
because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed,
through the forbearance of God–
to prove his righteousness in the present time,
that he might be righteous
and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

What occasion is there then for boasting? It is ruled out.
On what principle, that of works?
No, rather on the principle of faith.
For we consider that a person is justified by faith
apart from works of the law.
Does God belong to Jews alone?
Does he not belong to Gentiles, too?
Yes, also to Gentiles, for God is one
and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith
and the uncircumcised through faith.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 130:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab

R. (7) With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
Lord, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
My soul waits for the LORD
more than sentinels wait for the dawn.
R. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

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 11:47-54

The Lord said:
"Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets
whom your fathers killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent
to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said,
'I will send to them prophets and Apostles;
some of them they will kill and persecute'
in order that this generation might be charged
with the blood of all the prophets
shed since the foundation of the world,
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah
who died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge.
You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter."
When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees
began to act with hostility toward him
and to interrogate him about many things,
for they were plotting to catch him at something he might say.

Daily Meditation: Romans 3:21-30

. . . justified freely by [God's] grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus. (Romans 3:24)

There is no distinction, St. Paul tells us: "All have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). It might sound pretty grim. But let's not miss the very next thing Paul says: "They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus" (3:24). That means that the gift of justification—being right with God—is available to anyone who turns to the Lord in faith!

That includes you. So let's praise God today for the grace of his free gift of forgiveness and redemption.

"Father, by your grace, I have received mercy. I stand in awe before you because there is nothing beyond the reach of the mercy you freely offer me. Not only have you forgiven my individual sins, but you have broken the power of sin and death. I could never earn or merit such kindness, but that doesn't stop you from pouring it out on me. I can never thank you enough!

"Father, by your grace, I have been justified. I rejoice that because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, I can live as your child, freed from the burden of original sin and restored to right relationship with you. You have opened heaven to me, and now I have the ability to share in your own divine life forever. It is all your grace—not anything I could do myself. May you be forever praised!

"Father, by your grace, everyone, no matter where they come from, can join in the celebration of heaven. Whatever our background or family history might be, we are invited to come to you through faith in Jesus. We are all brought together through the redemption that Christ has accomplished for us. Oh glorious God, your goodness knows no bounds!

"Father, your gift of faith empowers me to take hold of your amazing grace. All the blessings of justification and righteousness, forgiveness and unity, are available to me because you have planted the seed of faith in my life. How can I ever thank you?"

"Almighty Father, I praise you for the awesome power of your grace!"

Psalm 130:1-6
Luke 11:47-54

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Reflections with Brother Adrian:Audio Link

From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Does God belong to Jews alone?
Does he not belong to Gentiles, too? Yes, also to Gentiles, for God is one and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith and the uncircumcised through faith.........."
. . .

Would the works of the Jews be more than the faith of the non-Jews? Who is going to judge the natives that know only their only version of faith...the very ones that put an ax through the head of today's saint? And so what we have then, is a discourse about faith. Today, in a world of many ideals, the best is that of God's love and life, and the life offered in love in exchange for ours. You have come to drink of the font that is co-mingled with His Precious blood.

We pray today:
"If you, O LORD, mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand? But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered. With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption. I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word......."

In the Gospel today we heard:
"Therefore, the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and Apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute' in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!......" end of Gospel verse.

There seems to be a lot of bloodshed. And a lot of screaming for more. Even some college kids are chanting today "death to Israel" bloodthirsty for more death. What is this? The bible says "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!…"
And we pray in the Nicene creed "...God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made."
There is an evil in the world that does not cease to encroach upon the light, but darkness cannot dispel the light.
I had a young student say last night that her thoughts of heaven were of some vast darkness out there. I said "that sounds more like hell or purgatory to me, for where God is, there is always light". Another one said she never prays, nor knows how to pray. And if one does not pray, how will you hear God's voice, or how will He ever hear us speak?
We are in a real non-stop battle, so long as we live on earth, and so our Lord says in John 16:33 "I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world."
There are constant attempts on the innocent, to ensnare them, to trap them, to overcome them. I remember we had a church gathering, ultreya, where a short spanish lady gave testimony, that she was walking across a street in a city, and she felt something push her out of the way, and just then a car passed that would've ran over her. She knew it was God's going, that she was saved, perhaps by an angel.
What are we to learn then?

We must have faith.
Faith that God cares when nobody else does.
Faith that we can get up from our failures.
Faith that we can live for life and fight for life, and not give into death which means death to faith and death for eternity from our Father.
Evil pops up like bad weeds, hard to get rid of. The way it propagates is by blending in to the rest of the grass and the field. We cannot blend in evil in our lives, or else the weeds will soon give thistles and thorns and choke the living light out of the good we desire.
I speak this way because this I see happening in my own life.
And all we have to do for evil to blend in around us...is to be quiet about things...of faith, and morality.

An example I will give is one which I am hated for but it reminds me of years ago when I would say something unpopular too...about abortion.
And now the new abortion is the anti-traditional marriage. All the "pride movement" that ultimately seeks to shut the doors of the church, beginning with punishments, seeking ways to tax them and force the church to do what it wills and the ultimate will there, like abortion, is death to life, death to family, and death to children.
Why are there wars? Mostly, it is about pride, and gaining territory. You know what loves to gain territory? Demonic legions and spirits.
I hate to speak about it because at times I see weird things happening but it must be said. Like the week after I went to an exorcism conference, at work, a worker said one of our trucks was parked, and it took off on its own and crashing into a large semi truck in our yard. And this is the 2nd time it happens. And there are many more strange phenomenon that happens, like two days ago, I was writing to you, and someone came into my office, enraged, and yelling, and I felt if I said the wrong thing I would get struck physically, I've only felt that way another time I was taunted by a prisoner in a retreat, truly evil spirits at work. As much as I tried to reason with them, it wasn't happening, until I called for help, and then I prayed out-loud the name of our Lord.
Darkness always attempts to shut out the light. It got so heavy on me the day of our church/community festival, that I almost wanted to quit on everything and that has never happened to me before.
There is a real war going on, for souls, for ground, soil, and humans are just that. For good, or for bad.
We then, have to develop a hunger for the good, the light of Christ, the water and blood of Christ, and His fertilization in the Holy Eucharist, which brings about another Christ into the world when He enters our body. This moment is intimate, the most intimate of moments on earth, a common union made holy by God.