†Quote of the Day
"Build an oratory within yourself, and there have Jesus on the altar of your heart. Speak to Him often while you are doing your work. Speak to Him of His holy love, of His holy sufferings and of the sorrows of most holy Mary."
–St Paul of the Cross †Today's Meditation
Our freedom always has this marvelous power to make what is taken from us—by life, events, or other people—into something offered. Externally there is no visible difference, but internally everything is transfigured: fate into free choice, constraint into love, loss into fruitfulness. Human freedom is of absolutely unheard-of greatness. It does not confer the power to change everything, but it does empower us to give a meaning to everything, even meaningless things; and that is much better. We are not always masters of the unfolding of our lives, but we can always be masters of the meaning we give them. Our freedom can transform any event in our lives into an expression of love, abandonment, trust, hope, and offering."
—Fr. Jacques Philippe, p. 58 †Daily Verse
"Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of any one, says the Lord God; so turn, and live."
–Ezekiel 18:31-32 |  click to read more | | St. Paul of the Cross
Saint of the Day St. Paul of the Cross (1694–1775) was born near Turin, Italy, the second of sixteen children—only six of whom survived infancy. His devout parents ensured his strong religious upbringing. In his childhood Paul went to daily Mass, spent much time before the Blessed Sacrament, and attended to his studies. He taught catechism in the local churches before experiencing a deep religious conversion at the age of 19 through the writings of St. Francis de Sales. After a brief stint as a soldier and declining an offer for a good marriage, at the age of 26 he learned through prayer that God was calling him to found a new religious order which came to be known as the Congregation of the Passion, or the Passionists. He was instructed in a vision as to what the new habit of his order should look like: a black tunic bearing a heart surmounted by a white cross, with the words "Passion of Jesus Christ" written inside the heart. To the religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience he added a fourth: to spread devotion to Christ's Passion among the faithful. His mission was to ignite a love for Jesus in the hearts of the faithful at a time when many saw Him only as a great moral teacher. St. Paul of the Cross was one of the most powerful preachers of his day, as well as a mystic, and he was known to bring even the most hardened sinners to tears. He also took special care of the sick, poor, and suffering. His feast day is October 20th. | Friday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 471
Reading 1 Rom 4:1-8 Brothers and sisters:
What can we say that Abraham found,
our ancestor according to the flesh?
Indeed, if Abraham was justified on the basis of his works,
he has reason to boast;
but this was not so in the sight of God.
For what does the Scripture say?
Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
A worker's wage is credited not as a gift, but as something due.
But when one does not work,
yet believes in the one who justifies the ungodly,
his faith is credited as righteousness.
So also David declares the blessedness of the person
to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven
and whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not record. Responsorial Psalm Ps 32:1b-2, 5, 11 R. (see 7) I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD,"
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, you just;
exult, all you upright of heart.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation. Alleluia Ps 33:22 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us;
who have put our hope in you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 12:1-7 At that time:
So many people were crowding together
that they were trampling one another underfoot.
Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples,
"Beware of the leaven–that is, the hypocrisy–of the Pharisees. "There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness
will be heard in the light,
and what you have whispered behind closed doors
will be proclaimed on the housetops.
I tell you, my friends,
do not be afraid of those who kill the body
but after that can do no more.
I shall show you whom to fear.
Be afraid of the one who after killing
has the power to cast into Gehenna;
yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.
Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins?
Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.
Even the hairs of your head have all been counted.
Do not be afraid.
You are worth more than many sparrows." | Daily Meditation: Romans 4:1-8 God credits righteousness apart from works. (Romans 4:6) What makes us righteous before God? The Jews of Paul's time insisted that it was adherence to the Mosaic law, including circumcision. But Paul was convinced that the only way anyone could be righteous, which means being forgiven of sin and standing blameless before God, is through Jesus Christ. Only Jesus and his grace—a grace we accept through faith and that flows from his sacrifice on the cross—can save us. This is "apart from" any "works" that we might do (Romans 4:6). So does that mean that in order to be saved, we just need to believe in Jesus, apart from what we do or don't do? No! We don't want to risk presuming that no matter how we live, we just have to believe in God's mercy and he will bring us to heaven. On the other hand, we don't want to risk a scrupulosity that overshadows the Father's mercy and causes us to be anxiously preoccupied with trying to earn our way into heaven by what we do. It's possible that we may struggle with both of these temptations at times, or that our temperaments make one or the other more of an issue for us. Finding a balance can sometimes feel like we are walking a tightrope. But regardless of which way we tend toward, we don't want to fall off that tightrope in either direction! The New Testament is clear: the way we live matters. A life lived with nothing more than verbal faith is not a life of faith at all. We must let God's word take root in our hearts and allow it to transform the way we live. Paradoxically, as we do, we will come to realize just how important our faith in Christ is: faith in Jesus' unconditional love for us, no matter how unworthy we might think we are. Faith that he will always give us all the grace we need to do what he asks of us. And faith that he will shower us with his mercy whenever we come to him in repentance. As we live this life of faith day in and day out, we can rest assured: it will be credited to us as righteousness! "Jesus, thank you for making me righteous before your Father. Help me to live out my faith in you today and every day." Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 11
Luke 12:1-7 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:Audio Link | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven
and whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not record........"
. . . They say "you cannot earn salvation". It is true, because there's absolutely no way we could just buy it, even if we think of the good thief dying next to our Lord, He didn't steal "Heaven", no, our Lord knew His heart. I always remember a saint tell the story of when our Lord showed him a more holy person than him...a man busy at a shop, seem ill tempered, but once you go to his house, you see him lovingly tending to his elderly father, bathing him, feeding him and such. It is true when they say "you cannot judge a book by its cover", if people judged me by my cover, I would be condemned many times over! I'm not a friendly looking fellow, nor am I a hugger, or such. Although, I am working on it....constantly.
But what has earned us salvation?
The body and blood of our Lord Jesus. The most precious gift on earth, to be savored and we ought to fight to die for it...and this means killing off the evil, warding it off so that our Lord may do His pleasure in us, because evil does the opposite. | We pray today:
" I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile......." | In the Gospel today we heard:
"I tell you, my friends,
do not be afraid of those who kill the body
but after that can do no more.
I shall show you whom to fear.
Be afraid of the one who after killing
has the power to cast into Gehenna;
yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one......." end of Gospel verse. | From Bishop Barron:
"in today's Gospel, Jesus tells us: "Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows."
In Jesus Christ, you are connected to the very power of God, to that which is here and now creating the universe. You stand above the vagaries of space and time. You are in the center of the wheel of fortune. No matter how much it turns, you stay the same. You are in the Interior Castle.
Now think of saints like John Paul II and José Sánchez del Río. The young Karol Wojtyła operated behind locked doors, preserving the great works of Polish literature during the Nazi occupation. That same man, now come of age and newly elected as pope, said to all the world, "Be not afraid!" This from someone who had experienced the worst barbarism of the twentieth century. During the Cristero Rebellion in early twentieth-century Mexico, the young José Sánchez del Río stood for his faith despite enormous opposition, torture, threats, and finally the firing squad itself. He wasn't afraid of those paper tigers who could only kill his body.
So, no matter how much violence is going on, we have a place of safety." end quote.
Bishop Barron speaks of some brave souls, not afraid to lose their lives for Christ, like the young boy in Mexico when they were killing all the Catholics, especially the priests being hung on telephone poles much like the crucifixions in the Roman times, lining up the roads to make the people fear....to be Catholic, the first Christians in the world.
And there is good reason to hear today's words from our Lord.
First, He says "do not be afraid" of those who kill the body.
Secondly, He says "but be afraid" of Him who can cast the body into realms of suffering.
And so, we must do like St. Christopher, seek to serve the most powerful Master.
We are called to be afraid....to offend...Love Himself.
The greatest works are of those of greatest Love.
The worst works are atrocities against love.
Look at the rockets hitting Christian hospitals in Israel, there aren't that many Christians in Israel! How can that be?
It is evil making its mark, and this should make us open our eyes of how evil works. I'm realizing that those that are attacking me are being used by evil, and that I am not to raise my voice against them, but to....lay my life for them. If only God would grant me the grace to do so! So help me Father.
There's more than meets the eye, the cover of the book is just a layer for what is inside....much more than we care for..but God does!
........
Let us pray:
Lord, may I see with Your Holy Eyes of Love from now on and forever. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 119:105 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
