†Quote of the Day
""Many live like angels in the midst of the world. Why not you?" St. Josemaria Escriva †Today's Meditation
"God never caused the virtues and singular merit of Joseph to shine with greater splendor than when He said to him by the mouth of the angel, 'Take the Child and His mother'; for in them He committed to him His most precious treasures, giving him thus the preference over all the blessed spirits of Heaven; and Joseph received these two sacred persons into his care, to be their protector, their guardian, and defender. If, then, Heaven made Joseph the protector of Jesus and Mary, we may rest assured that he was at the same time made protector and patron of all men."
—Edward Healy Thompson, p. 401 †Daily Verse
"Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work." Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 |  click to read more | | Sts. Crispin and Crispinian Sts. Crispin and Crispinian (d. 286 A.D.) were brothers, believed to be twins, from a noble Roman family. They were Christians and went as missionaries into Gaul (present-day France). Taking the Apostle St. Paul as their example, they earned their living through a trade, dividing their time between ministry and work. Their craft was shoe-making, and because they asked little pay for their shoes they were loved and esteemed by all. Crispin and Crispinian used their work as an opportunity to share the Christian faith with the pagans they encountered, and many were converted through their witness. During the persecution of the Roman Emperor Diocletian they were denounced as Christians and brought before the co-emperor, Maximanus Herculius. The emperor tried to persuade them to abandon their faith with promises and threats, but to no effect. The brothers were then given over to the governor who was notorious for his cruelty. They were stretched on the rack, their flesh was cut, and awls were driven under their fingernails. They were then thrown into a river with a millstone tied to their necks, but they both miraculously survived and swam back to shore. They were caught and finally beheaded. Crispin and Crispinian are the patron saints of shoemakers, saddlers, and tanners. Their feast, known as St. Crispin's Day, is October 25th. | Wednesday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 475
Reading 1 Rom 6:12-18 Brothers and sisters:
Sin must not reign over your mortal bodies
so that you obey their desires.
And do not present the parts of your bodies to sin
as weapons for wickedness,
but present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life
and the parts of your bodies to God
as weapons for righteousness.
For sin is not to have any power over you,
since you are not under the law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law
but under grace?
Of course not!
Do you not know that if you present yourselves
to someone as obedient slaves,
you are slaves of the one you obey,
either of sin, which leads to death,
or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin,
you have become obedient from the heart
to the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted.
Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness. Responsorial Psalm Ps 124:1b-3, 4-6, 7-8 R. (8a) Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Had not the LORD been with us,
let Israel say, had not the LORD been with us–
When men rose up against us,
then would they have swallowed us alive;
When their fury was inflamed against us.
R. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept the raging waters.
Blessed be the LORD, who did not leave us
a prey to their teeth.
R. Our help is in the name of the Lord.
We were rescued like a bird
from the fowlers' snare;
Broken was the snare,
and we were freed.
Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our help is in the name of the Lord. Alleluia Mt 24:42a, 44 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake!
For you do not know when the Son of Man will come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 12:39-48 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Be sure of this:
if the master of the house had known the hour
when the thief was coming,
he would not have let his house be broken into.
You also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come." Then Peter said,
"Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?"
And the Lord replied,
"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward
whom the master will put in charge of his servants
to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?
Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.
Truly, I say to you, he will put him
in charge of all his property.
But if that servant says to himself,
'My master is delayed in coming,'
and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,
to eat and drink and get drunk,
then that servant's master will come
on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour
and will punish the servant severely
and assign him a place with the unfaithful.
That servant who knew his master's will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more." | Daily Meditation: Romans 6:12-18 Present yourselves to God as raised from the dead to life. (Romans 6:13) Perhaps home improvement shows are so popular today because everyone enjoys seeing a master craftsman transform an old house. And he doesn't just restore it to its former glory; he takes it to the next level. The final product is the fruit of his vision and work. Jesus is our Master Craftsman. He has transformed us by giving us a new life through Baptism. That's why, as St. Paul tells us in today's first reading, we need to present ourselves to God "as raised from the dead to life" (Romans 6:13). That means we've already been "renovated," already created anew! As Paul reminds us, sin doesn't have to have any power over us now because we have access to God's grace (6:14). We can now live according to the blueprint that he has designed for us. What is this blueprint? It's Jesus himself. It's his life in us that enables us to say no to temptation and sin and that gives us the freedom to love, to forgive, and to serve generously. And it is his example that is the "pattern of teaching" that St. Paul says we have been entrusted with (Romans 6:17). The more we pattern ourselves after Jesus, the more we become like him. And the good news is that we don't have to do this work alone! Jesus, the Master Craftsman, still lives in our "house" and is still at work renovating our hearts and minds. His grace flows freely, so we can be confident that he will build on, strengthen, and expand any effort we make to live our new life. This is the joint venture of a lifetime, but what a privilege it is to work beside the Master Craftsman and learn from him! We tend to see the "disrepair" in our lives, especially when we stray from the Lord. What we don't often see is the transformation that God has already done in us through Christ—as well as the work he is still doing. Today in prayer, present yourself to God as the new creation you are. Then praise him for giving you access to all the grace you need to live this new life in him. "Lord Jesus, I present myself to you today, free to live as your new creation!" Psalm 124:1-8
Luke 12:39-48 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:Audio Link | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"But thanks be to God that, although you were once slaves of sin,
you have become obedient from the heart
to the pattern of teaching to which you were entrusted.
Freed from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness.........."
. . . We have a choice, don't we? We can become slaves of one thing or another. Slaves even, of our own devices or desires. Why can't we become slaves of Christ as easy as it is to become slaves of fleshly and worldly things?
Slaves of holiness, of righteousness, of good virtue.
Then one should consider it an honor to become slaves of God and God is Love. And is not all in the doing, but the doing can help us become righteous. For example, it is not until I teach, that I am taught. It is not until I forgive, that I am forgiven. It is not until I give, that I receive.
So there is value in doing, and we have to do much...to become a true slave of our Lord, so that His every beckoning wish becomes our every desire. | We pray today:
" Our help is in the name of the Lord.
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;
The torrent would have swept over us;
over us then would have swept the raging waters.
Blessed be the LORD, who did not leave us
a prey to their teeth........" | In the Gospel today we heard:
"That servant who knew his master's will
but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will
shall be beaten severely;
and the servant who was ignorant of his master's will
but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating
shall be beaten only lightly.
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more."......" end of Gospel verse. Back to having our lights on, and being ready, amen? | From Bishop Barron Today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, the Lord urges his disciples and us to be prudent servants, following his ways in anticipation of his coming again. Theologians often call prudence the queen of the virtues because it is the capacity to reign sovereignly over one's life, both ordering one's inner powers and directing one's affairs wisely in the outside world.
Prudence is that sure touch, that moral instinct that renders one capable of making the right decision under pressure and in the face of complex circumstances. Prudence is a sort of accumulated theoretical and practical wisdom, a know-how that is for the most part instinctual, in the bones.
When placed in the Christian context, therefore, prudence is a feel for how Jesus would react, how he would think, how he would move in a particular situation. It is tantamount to having one's soul gathered around Christ as its center, so that all one's actions are informed by Jesus and his way of being in the world. Christian prudence comes from apprenticing to Christ—that is to say, moving in with him, watching at close quarters how he lives and moves and gestures."
Is prudence a gift from God? How about wisdom? How about righteousness? And grace?
Aren't good things from God?
Why don't we ask for these things and work for these things?
It is in the doing, right? And when I say this, I'm imagining the works of walking into a confessional...in working towards repentance, and this would be at the same time, working towards perfection.
Until we can totally surrender to Him, Our Father, Creator, Amazing friend and savior. ........
Let us pray:
Lord, we have not yet shed blood as scripture says: "In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood."
Help us Lord, to resist, rather die than to sin. Help us live the way of the cross, of self giving and self denial...for the world to see the light now and forever. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
2 Corinthians 9:7 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
