†Quote of the Day
"Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is the most tender of friends with souls who seek to please Him. His goodness knows how to proportion itself to the smallest of His creatures as to the greatest of them. Be not afraid then in your solitary conversations, to tell Him of your miseries, fears, worries, of those who are dear to you, of your projects, and of your hopes. Do so with confidence and with an open heart."
–St. Damien of Molokai †Today's Meditation
"One of the most awe-inspiring aspects of the mystical body of Christ, the Catholic Church, is the papacy. When I had my radical conversion and fell in love with Jesus, Mary, and the Church, an essential part of my being set free was a deep respect for the awesome gift of the papacy. Knowing that Jesus, our head, has a visible representative on earth who speaks on His behalf so that the members of His body (you and me) can hear the voice of the Shepherd and follow him is extremely liberating…The Church is the pillar and bulwark of the truth! What this means is that we have an official teacher who hands on to us the authentic Christian message; it is the Church. And not just any church, but the Church that Jesus founded and established with a visible representative who has been divinely appointed to speak on Christ's behalf."
—Donald H Calloway, MIC, p. 78-79 An Excerpt From
Under the Mantle †Daily Verse
"Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.'"
–John 8:12 | Bl Denis of the Nativity Blessed Denis of the Nativity (1600-1638) was born as Pierre Berthelotin in France and became a sailor at the age of twelve. He had a successful career as pilot-in-chief and cartographer in service to the Kings of France and Portugal, even being knighted for bravery. He later chose the religious life and became a Carmelite friar, taking the name Dionysius (Denis) of the Nativity. He was sent by his superiors on a diplomatic and missionary mission to the Sultan of Aceh (Sumatra). Once there, all the members of his party were seized at the instigation of the Dutch authorities. They were tortured by their Islamic captors and were told to renounce their Catholic faith and become Muslims. They refused and were martyred. St Denis was martyred last, as he desired, in order to be able to strengthen the others. He was killed by a scimitar blow that split his head in two. His last words were: "Jesus, Mary." | Wednesday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 505
Reading 1 Dn 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28 King Belshazzar gave a great banquet for a thousand of his lords,
with whom he drank.
Under the influence of the wine,
he ordered the gold and silver vessels
which Nebuchadnezzar, his father,
had taken from the temple in Jerusalem,
to be brought in so that the king, his lords,
his wives and his entertainers might drink from them.
When the gold and silver vessels
taken from the house of God in Jerusalem had been brought in,
and while the king, his lords, his wives and his entertainers
were drinking wine from them,
they praised their gods of gold and silver,
bronze and iron, wood and stone. Suddenly, opposite the lampstand,
the fingers of a human hand appeared,
writing on the plaster of the wall in the king's palace.
When the king saw the wrist and hand that wrote, his face blanched;
his thoughts terrified him, his hip joints shook,
and his knees knocked. Then Daniel was brought into the presence of the king.
The king asked him, "Are you the Daniel, the Jewish exile,
whom my father, the king, brought from Judah?
I have heard that the Spirit of God is in you,
that you possess brilliant knowledge and extraordinary wisdom.
I have heard that you can interpret dreams and solve difficulties;
if you are able to read the writing and tell me what it means,
you shall be clothed in purple,
wear a gold collar about your neck,
and be third in the government of the kingdom." Daniel answered the king:
"You may keep your gifts, or give your presents to someone else;
but the writing I will read for you, O king,
and tell you what it means.
You have rebelled against the Lord of heaven.
You had the vessels of his temple brought before you,
so that you and your nobles, your wives and your entertainers,
might drink wine from them;
and you praised the gods of silver and gold,
bronze and iron, wood and stone,
that neither see nor hear nor have intelligence.
But the God in whose hand is your life breath
and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify.
By him were the wrist and hand sent, and the writing set down. "This is the writing that was inscribed:
MENE, TEKEL, and PERES.
These words mean:
MENE, God has numbered your kingdom and put an end to it;
TEKEL, you have been weighed on the scales and found wanting;
PERES, your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians." Responsorial Psalm Dn 3:62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67 R. (59b) Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Sun and moon, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Stars of heaven, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Every shower and dew, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"All you winds, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Fire and heat, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Cold and chill, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
R. Give glory and eternal praise to him. Alleluia Rev 2:10c R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Remain faithful until death,
And I will give you the crown of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 21:12-19 Jesus said to the crowd:
"They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony.
Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking
that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
You will even be handed over by parents,
brothers, relatives, and friends,
and they will put some of you to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
By your perseverance you will secure your lives." | Daily Meditation: Luke 21:12-19 Not a hair on your head will be destroyed. (Luke 21:18) What a strange thing for Jesus to say! Just a moment before, he had told his disciples that some of them would be put to death for their witness to the gospel (Luke 21:16). But now he promises that no harm will come to them. How could both statements be true? It may not make sense to us, but it makes total sense to Jesus. That's because he knows that death is just a transition, not the end. He knows that anyone who dies in the grace of God will one day join him in heaven, glorified in body and soul. There, all sin and suffering and sadness will be banished forever. So when Jesus looked at his disciples, he saw something more than men and women who would be here today and gone tomorrow. He saw sons and daughters of God whose lives had already been transformed by his love. He saw people destined for eternity, people about to be filled with his Spirit and given the supernatural gift of faith in him and his promises. Death didn't have a hold on them—and it doesn't need to have a hold on us. This gift of eternal life is at the very heart of the gospel. It's the promise embedded in every one of Jesus' miracles. It's the core truth behind all his parables and sermons. It's the animating principle of the Beatitudes and the reason why Jesus embraced the suffering of the cross. He did it all so that we could live forever. Not a hair on your head will be destroyed. Not a single hair! You belong to Christ, and he has marked you for heaven. Yes, you may undergo trials and difficulties in this life. That's okay; everyone does. But these trials and difficulties don't have to overpower you. In fact, as you hold fast to the Lord, you'll come to see them as a "momentary light affliction" that is producing for you "an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (2 Corinthians 4:17). So today, ask yourself, "Where is my faith in the resurrection?" But even more, ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to the promise of eternal life. Let him convince you that what Jesus promised to the disciples is true for you as well: not a hair on your head will be destroyed. "All praise to you, Jesus! You have conquered death forever!" Daniel 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28
(Psalm) Daniel 3:62-67 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"You have rebelled against the Lord of heaven.
You had the vessels of his temple brought before you, so that you and your nobles, your wives and your entertainers, might drink wine from them;
and you praised the gods of silver and gold,
bronze and iron, wood and stone,
that neither see nor hear nor have intelligence.
But the God in whose hand is your life breath
and the whole course of your life, you did not glorify....."_ end of verse.
. . . Wow, those guys were bad huh? Taking the vessels from the altar of the temple and using them to flatter themselves, use them for themselves, that was supposed to be used to honor God Himself with! Right?
Not so fast. Sad face now. We do the exact same thing when we desecrate Him, receiving Him unworthily, and I'm not just talking about being in a state of mortal sin.
No. It's much more than that. How many people go to receive our Lord in the Eucharist and don't really believe in him? 70% says the statistics. How many people get into Heaven when they die? A man that had a near death experience said he saw hell, and he also got to see in those 15 minutes of his death, that 50 saints entered Heaven, out of 2,000 people that had died. What percentage is that? 0.025 percent, right? That means we have a less than zero percent chance if this is correct, and this was back in the late 70's when he died. And this man was a preacher! A pastor at a church! God told him basically "you call Me Lord, Lord, but I am really not!" and the man knew exactly that God was right, he was living for the god of self. OUCH! Can you begin to see why we can't call those evil kings such bad people? Who has usurped the throne of God? Evil usurps if we let it. The pastor said Christianity has been weakened, they don't teach about hell or demons, they are just mentioned, and so, with this kind of watered down seminarians and teachings, we're losing the true grasp of the faith, of Christ the King. | We pray today:
"Sun and moon, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever."
Give glory and eternal praise to him.
"Stars of heaven, bless the Lord;
praise and exalt him above all forever......." end of psalm. | In the Gospel today we heard our Lord:
""They will seize and persecute you,
they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons,
and they will have you led before kings and governors
because of my name.
It will lead to your giving testimony........." end of Gospel verse. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, the Lord cautions us to expect persecution until the end of time: "They will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors." When will the Church stop being persecuted? When the Lord returns, and not before.
None of the saints lived a serene life, a life free of worry, threat, persecution. It always strikes me as odd that somehow it is assumed that those who believe in God expect their lives to be a bowl of cherries. Absolutely nothing in the Bible or in the great tradition of the Church should lead us to expect this.
Instead, they found courage in the struggle. The Lord himself promised to prepare them for their defense. "I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute." Their courage got them through the negativity. I'm reminded of a verse from an Eva Cassidy song: "No storm can shake my inmost calm, while to that rock I'm clinging. Since love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?". . . . ." end quote Bishop Barron.
They say that the last 100 years has been the worst persecution against Christianity than all the others years combined. Why though? Do you really want the answer? We are passive. We are neutral. This let's the innocent get hurt, violated, trampled, and killed. A simple example, our stance on abortion. For many years, you could feel the tension, just by mentioning the word and an argument could burst forth. So everyone kept quiet, and all along, the victims paid the price of the silence of neutrality. Babies were put chemicals to death, cut to pieces, and strangled or left to die as they were ripped out of their mother's wombs. Sounds terrible, right? But it is still happening. Then you'd have people like me and my wife and our kids, praying outside the murder clinics quietly praying the rosary, and the people at the clinics would call the cops on us, you'd hear of threats, they'd curse at us, turn up loud music, and you could feel darkness, evil at work.
But because we prayed, some souls were saved, both the mommy and the baby. Who knows how many, but every once in a while you'd see a grateful mother come show us their baby they had decided to keep. And today, the great silence is being pushed by the gay movement. Your silence will cost souls. Now how do we pray for them? How do we stop the pride movement? Pride is to put oneself above others, isn't it? How do we put a stop to the darkness?
Firstly, let our Lord in our lives...more.
If you think you're good enough for heaven, think again.
If we really knew the cost, we'd lay it all down for Christ's sake.
If we really knew the value of the crown in Heaven, we'd turn into Christ Himself right here and right now. Christ receives a crown of thorns on earth and in Heaven it is a crown of light forever.
Can you begin to see the value of persecution? Let's look at this in a positive light.
We could say then, if persecutions are good, then the last 100 years are producing more saints than ever before. Saints we will never hear about in our lifetimes, martyrs, to the tune of millions!
The faith will never die. Christianity will win in the end because Christ is our Savior and our King.
Or is He really your King?
The answer is yes, He is King, but if we do not want Him as King that is a whole other story. Someone else has taken the center part of your heart. Because we need to learn to grow in love with Jesus Christ our King, our brother, our Father, our Lover. Only then will we want to die for Him every single moment of our lives. True Love. Pray with me:
Lord, I don't love you as I ought. Help us love Thee more and more! Make us love Thee MORE AND MORE!! |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
2 Timothy 1:8–9 [2 Timothy 1] 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to1 a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,2 | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
