†Quote of the Day
"If we do not risk anything for God we will never do anything great for Him."
–St. Louis De Montfort †Today's Meditation
"An excellent method of preserving interior silence is to keep exterior silence. . . even in the world, each one of us can make his own solitude, a boundary beyond which nothing can force its way unperceived. It is not noise in itself that is the difficulty, but noise that is pointless; it is not every conversation, but useless conversations; not all kinds of occupation, but aimless occupations. In point of fact, everything that does not serve some good purpose is harmful. It is foolish, nay, more, it is a betrayal to devote to a useless objective powers that can be given to what is essential. There are two ways of separating ourselves from almighty God, quite different from one another but both disastrous, although for different reasons: mortal sin and voluntary distractions—mortal sin, which objectively breaks off our union with God, and voluntary distractions, which subjectively interrupt or hinder our union from being as close as it ought to be. We should speak only when it is preferable not to keep silence. The Gospel does not say merely that we shall have to give an account of every evil word, but of every idle thought."
—St. Alphonsus Liguori, p. 44 An Excerpt From
The Sermons of St. Alphonsus Liguori †Daily Verse
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do."
–Colossians 3:12-13 | St. Peter Canisius St. Peter Canisius (1521–1597) was born in Holland to a wealthy family. He was sent to the University of Cologne and met St. Peter Faber who influenced him to join the Jesuits. St. Peter Canisius became famous for his preaching and writing, and was one of the most influential Catholics of his time. He was instrumental in defending Catholicism against the Protestant revolt in Germany and surrounding countries. He famously wrote a popular-level catechism to counter the spreading heresies. The restoration of the Church in Germany is largely attributed to his catechetical work. He was adamant in promoting charity and courtesy towards Protestants in a time of great hostility. After the Council of Trent, he was chosen by the Vatican to help smuggle the documents of the Council into the hands of European bishops, avoiding the outposts of Protestant aggression, which was a difficult task at the time. For his brilliance in teaching Catholic doctrine, St. Peter Canisius was named a Doctor of the Church. His feast day is December 21st. | Thursday of the Third Week of Advent Reading 1 Sg 2:8-14 Hark! my lover–here he comes
springing across the mountains,
leaping across the hills.
My lover is like a gazelle
or a young stag.
Here he stands behind our wall,
gazing through the windows,
peering through the lattices.
My lover speaks; he says to me,
"Arise, my beloved, my dove, my beautiful one,
and come!
"For see, the winter is past,
the rains are over and gone.
The flowers appear on the earth,
the time of pruning the vines has come,
and the song of the dove is heard in our land.
The fig tree puts forth its figs,
and the vines, in bloom, give forth fragrance.
Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one,
and come! "O my dove in the clefts of the rock,
in the secret recesses of the cliff,
Let me see you,
let me hear your voice,
For your voice is sweet,
and you are lovely."
Or Zep 3:14-18a
Shout for joy, O daughter Zion!
Sing joyfully, O Israel!
Be glad and exult with all your heart,
O daughter Jerusalem!
The LORD has removed the judgment against you,
he has turned away your enemies;
The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst,
you have no further misfortune to fear.
On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals. Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21 R. (1a; 3a) Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.
Sing to him a new song;
pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.
R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield,
For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust.
R. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
O Emmanuel, our King and Giver of Law:
come to save us, Lord our God!
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 1:39-45 Mary set out in those days
and traveled to the hill country in haste
to a town of Judah,
where she entered the house of Zechariah
and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting,
the infant leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit,
cried out in a loud voice and said,
"Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears,
the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
Blessed are you who believed
that what was spoken to you by the Lord
would be fulfilled." | Daily Meditation: Luke 1:39-45 Blessed are you who believed. (Luke 1:45) Most of us have seen enough pictures and statues of Mary that we easily imagine her as a beautiful woman with a serene look on her face, eyes slightly downcast. Although these images convey Mary's holiness and submission to God, they may also give us the idea that Mary was a passive woman who accepted God's will without thinking or questioning. But if we look at Mary's life closely, we can see that she was far from passive! In today's Gospel, she emerges as a person of action. Although she had just found out about her unexpected pregnancy, Mary left home to offer help to her elderly cousin Elizabeth, who was in her sixth month of her own miraculous pregnancy. In fact, Luke says Mary traveled "in haste" to reach Elizabeth (1:39). The journey, covering dozens of miles over hilly terrain, would not have been easy for any pregnant woman. Imagine: here was a virgin, newly pregnant and carrying a child who was not the biological son of her betrothed—and a child destined to be the Messiah no less! It's hard to contemplate just how many questions Mary must have had as she faced an uncertain future both with Joseph and within her community. It would have been easy to panic or try to get out of this situation. But Mary didn't give in to these thoughts. Instead, she trusted that God would somehow take care of her and the child now growing in her womb. And so she was able to turn her attention away from her own problems and focus on Elizabeth's needs instead. Mary's decision to visit Elizabeth reveals her to be a decisive woman, filled with determination, courage, and trust in God. It also shows that submitting to God's will is anything but boring or passive. It requires radical trust and Spirit-inspired bravery. It moves us to take risks that may seem foolish to the world. But it also opens our hearts to new and unexpected blessings from the Lord! "Holy Mary, pray that I will be as brave as you in seeking and following God's will for my life." Song of Songs 2:8-14
Psalm 33:2-3, 11-12, 20-21 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"On that day, it shall be said to Jerusalem:
Fear not, O Zion, be not discouraged!
The LORD, your God, is in your midst,
a mighty savior;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
and renew you in his love,
He will sing joyfully because of you,
as one sings at festivals....." end of verse. They say one of the last things to go physically is the sense of sound, your hearing. This is an interesting design of the body and soul. I am a singer. Not by choice. It just happened. And there are times that I can only dream of the sounds from Heaven. Some near death experiences witnesses mention sounds from Heaven that are inexplicable. One account said that it was like thousands or millions of songs at once in perfect harmony. This is truly music to my ears. And I hope that our songs on earth are offered in combination with those songs in Heaven. This is how I sing the Mass, with these thoughts, and hopes, and offerings. And I listen for angels singing while I am singing. This is an exchange of love. | We pray today:
" Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield,
For in him our hearts rejoice;
in his holy name we trust. Exult, you just, in the Lord! Sing to him a new song......" end of psalm. | In the Gospel today we heard:
"Most blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And how does this happen to me,
that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ......." end of Gospel verse.
. . . Sister Anne Emmerich says "Mary and Elizabeth entered the room in which was the fireplace. Here they embraced, clasping each other in their arms and pressing cheek to cheek. I saw light streaming down between them. Then it was that Elizabeth, becoming interiorly inflamed, stepped back with uplifted hands, and exclaimed, "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb. "For behold, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.
"And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoken to thee by the Lord." end quote. It is worth a two fold repetition, because the words have to sink in: "Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled." There is a joyful expectation in faith, isn't there? Your faith expects and hopes and believes. Mother Mary believed. And Mary's Magnificat ensues. And it is also known as the "Fiat". Why the name FIAT? "FIAT" is a Latin word for "Let it be done." It was Mary's response to the angel Gabriel when she was asked to become the mother of Jesus. "Let it be done unto me according to Your Will" refers to Mary's "Yes" to God.
What significance can we find for us today in the fiat?
It shows us that we should be like Mary. That we too should trust and believe.
The world always seems to be living in turbulent times, with climate phenomenon, or wars, or sociological warfare. It is a battle of ideas and idealism which turn at times to idols and worship. Would you believe that 100 years ago, wars were 5 times worse and epidemics as well killing 5 times more people? And the faith was being watered to nothing. All with the newest fads coming out with psychology and theories that erupted like "believe whatever you like and that is the truth", which is an ongoing heresy called "moral relativism" and with more atheist fueling it further.
But all of this battle of the minds is a competition for your faith...for what you are to believe in.
Will you believe the words of man that comes and goes, or the God who created everything?
How can you know the truth?
You can taste it. And you can test it.
Who can be so bold as to seek the truth and then taste it?
But the newest scientific realms are getting more exciting. Yes we have grown by leaps and bounds by going to the nano-nuclear level, seeking to pierce into the invisible and to go beyond the molecular level. The findings reveal so much of how the world works! But things go deeper when we venture into the metaphysical world. Things there join and overlap with Albert Einstein's thoeries and even Stephen Hawking, two geniuses who didn't even have much faith! But God writes straight with crooked lines.
And speaking of that, we need faith!
Faith moves mountains.
Nobody would believe a hundred years ago that we are talking about flying cars or flying to the moon or outer space frequently. But someone believed. And that makes the impossible happen.
This is what amazes Christ on earth!
We can still amaze Him! | Pray with me: Lord, help us believe like Mother Mary. Help us have great love of God, to bring salvation to the world with You now! Give us that grace! |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Leviticus 20:7–8 7 Consecrate yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am the LORD your God. 8 Keep my statutes and do them; I am the LORD who sanctifies you. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
