†Quote of the Day "We should remember, in all the controversies in which we engage, to treat our opponents as if they were acting in good faith, even if they seem to us to be acting out of spite or self-interest."
–St. John Fisher Today's Meditation "Adam and Eve were created upright and sinless, and had a large measure of God's grace bestowed upon them. In consequence, their bodies would never have crumbled into dust, had they not sinned. If Eve, the beautiful daughter of God, never would have become dust and ashes unless she had sinned, shall we not say that Mary, having never sinned, retained the gift which Eve by sinning lost? … Therefore we believe that, though she died for a short hour, as did our Lord himself, yet like him, and by his almighty power, she was raised again from the grave."
—St. John Henry Newman, p. 259 Daily Verse "In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for thou alone, O Lord, makest me dwell in safety."
–Psalm 4:8 | St. Oswald St. Oswald of Worcester (d. 992) was born into a Danish family, but was raised from a young age in England by his uncle, the Archbishop of Canterbury. He received much of his schooling in France and it was there where he, desiring a stricter life of asceticism, took his monastic vows with the Benedictines. After returning to England he worked with the Archbishop of York and was made Bishop of Worcester in 961, and later Archbishop of York in 972. He is most remembered as a fervent supporter of church and monastic reforms. He invited many religious communities into the diocese, founded his own monasteries, and worked generously with the poor. His daily custom during Lent was to wash the feet of the poor. It was in this service that he died on February 29th in the year 992. His feast day is February 29th. | Thursday of the Second Week of Lent Reading 1 Jer 17:5-10 Thus says the LORD:
Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
He is like a barren bush in the desert
that enjoys no change of season,
But stands in a lava waste,
a salt and empty earth.
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
It fears not the heat when it comes,
its leaves stay green;
In the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.
More tortuous than all else is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
I, the LORD, alone probe the mind
and test the heart,
To reward everyone according to his ways,
according to the merit of his deeds. Responsorial Psalm Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6 R. (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Not so, the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. Verse Before the Gospel See Lk 8:15 Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance. Gospel Lk 16:19-31 Jesus said to the Pharisees:
"There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man's table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.'
Abraham replied, 'My child,
remember that you received what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established
to prevent anyone from crossing
who might wish to go from our side to yours
or from your side to ours.'
He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him
to my father's house,
for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.'
But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets.
Let them listen to them.'
He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Then Abraham said,
'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded
if someone should rise from the dead.'"
| Daily Meditation: Jeremiah 17:5-10 In the year of drought it shows no distress. (Jeremiah 17:8) Have you ever observed a desert landscape? It can be impressive to see how certain trees and plants can grow and even thrive in such an arid place! For example, the Joshua tree's massive root system can reach thirty feet down in search of water. Other plants retain water in their leaves and stems, building up a reserve for times of drought. Jeremiah uses the vivid imagery of thriving desert plants when he encourages the people of Jerusalem to be like "the man who trusts in the Lord" (17:7). They will be like a tree planted beside the water, stretching out its roots to the stream and storing reserves of life-giving water so that its leaves stay green (17:8). Images like this one in Scripture can inspire us to build our trust and hope in the Lord. How? You can stretch your roots toward the stream by setting aside time every day to read and study the Bible. Maybe there's a particular Gospel or epistle that you want to get to know better. Find a good Scripture commentary or Bible study and dig into God's word. As you do, your "roots" will deepen. You'll be drawing closer to the source of living water, Christ himself. You can store up this living water by holding onto what the Lord teaches you through his word. Start a journal with your thoughts or impressions. As you write down your insights, you'll remember them better. Plus, you'll have something to go back to whenever you start feeling spiritually dry. If a particular Scripture verse touches you, commit it to memory! You'll be keeping the water of God's truth close at hand when the heat and drought come. We all face "deserts" or "scorching heat" in our lives. You might experience sickness, loss, or relationship struggles. God may seem far away, or the world around you may seem shrouded in darkness. These are the very times that you need to hang onto your trust in God. So keep stretching your roots toward your source of life. And tap into the living water that you have already collected. "Lord Jesus, your words are the source of life-giving water for me!" Psalm 1:1-4, 6
Luke 16:19-31 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
_"Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.'
Abraham replied, 'My child,
remember that you received what was good during your lifetime
while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;
but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established."
. . . | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, today's Gospel reading is the story of the poor man Lazarus, who sat outside the door of a rich man and "would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table." The rich man isn't named, and that's very interesting. In the ancient world, the rich and powerful were the ones who deserved to have their names mentioned. Whose names weren't mentioned? The poor and the marginalized. So this is a very interesting reversal that is going on here.
And we know this story well, right? Day after day, the rich man walks past Lazarus, in and out of his house. When Lazarus dies, he's taken to the "bosom of Abraham." But the rich man dies and he's taken to the underworld. Again another reversal. You'd expect that God has blessed the rich and powerful and cursed those who are poor and hopeless. But that's not the way the Bible imagines this situation. It's Lazarus who's carried to paradise and the rich man who's carried downward.
There's the revolutionary quality of the Bible, turning our expectations upside down. How much do we care for those who are poor? Can we name them, or are they for us, as for ancient peoples, just a nameless mass of suffering people? And are we committed to helping these people by performing the corporal works of mercy?" end quote from Bishop Barron.
A great "chasm" is established in the next life; on the one side there is torment and suffering, and on the other is comfort and salvation.
Who establishes that "chasm" that cannot be crossed? We could say the creator, our God, the Father has created it, but in reality, the chasm starts building right now with our relationships on earth with one another. And who is the poor Lazarus at your door? Or are you a poor Lazarus? At times it can be either or.
But let's think of the poor at the door, because many poor folks aren't going to read this. No, their station in life is different.
And why would the rich man ignore the poor at the door?
I can't imagine a poor person at my gate and me ever ignoring them, could you? And you all might think of me, Adrian, as a guy that should have all this figured out so he'd avoid going to suffering torments in the next life right?
That's not the case. I'm on the constant lookout for Lazarus, and I believe he's at my door, and all I want to do is ignore him my help.
Now, let's get things straight, I live out in the country outside the city a few miles. I have no stranger at my gates or doors. So how can I say this?
At your door stand Jesus Knocking.
We've all seen the picture right? We know the story right? About the artist who painted it and when it was being viewed, a person asked the artist, "there's a mistake, you forgot to draw a door knob on the door". The artist said "It is not a mistake, at this door the only door knob is on the inside of the house". This means only we can open the door to our Lord. And by now, we know that this means the door of our heart.
And so, i can clearly think of one man at the door of my heart, well, actually 2 or 3 now that I think about it. Men in dire need. One living on the streets lost in drugs, lost the family. Another headed in that direction, and another barely scraping by having suffered much with drugs and hurting his family and all 3 of these men are in a state of mortal sin, facing eternal damnation.
Will they be eternally damned or myself for not having helped them?
And why is it so hard for me to help them?
Man #1: I've tried for years to talk with him, took him to church and retreat, gave him work, housing, even after he was kicked out of his home I bought him a place to live in and he lost it too. I've tried so hard, yet he's still there at the door. As it stands today he owes us thousands in loans.
Man #2: Man has great job, but is dabbling with drugs and alochol, and at times never comes home to his family, out all night. I've spoke with him to come to church, and to retreat, but still have no in roads to the open heart. Jesus is knocking.
Man #3: I grew up with this man, now with his own family and business, dabbles with drugs and always on the verge of losing everything. Went once with me to a retreat. Has not gone to church anymore in a very long time. Try as I may, I cannot help them break away from the common denominator: Drugs? Sin. Drugs are a good analogy to sin. Once you get hooked, it can be hard to get off, and most often leads to death. Death to self, death to family, and worse, death to faith. Sin does this.
This is why lent is good. That we turn from sin. And that we open the door to our Lord. I've had the hardest of times trying to help an addict. It's bad. And they say at rehabs it really boils down to the person to break free, their will.
And the same for a person that is demonically possessed. It boils down to them in an exorcism. And what is terrible about that is that demons are commanded to leave, but what about evil spirits we let into the depths of our hearts? That is why we hear the scripture from our God:
"More tortuous than all else is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
I, the LORD, alone probe the mind
and test the heart,
To reward everyone according to his ways,
according to the merit of his deeds." We will be rewarded accorded to our merits says our Lord.
Right now on earth, we should be racking up good merits all day long.
Is Lazarus at your door? Is He knocking? I always welcome these addicts and I try to help them as best I can. Now its on them to let the Lord in too! You see how strange things work. It's like the Lord is in everybody. Sometimes I'm knocking. Sometimes He is knocking.
Let us take the message to heart. We are here for a short while. Everything must become as precious as He sees in His eyes. Every flower in the field, every bird in the sky...and above all that...you, for you are so much more precious, His child.
Lord, I love You. Let this lent show me how to repent and see you at the door of my heart, so I can open it immediately, fall to Your feet and hug You, worshiping and adoring You. |  Click for Audio | WOW check out the random verse of the day! Random Bible Verse 1
Matthew 6:14–15 14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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