†Quote of the Day "What does Jesus Christ do in the Eucharist? It is God who, as our Savior, offers himself each day for us to his Father's justice. If you are in difficulties and sorrows, he will comfort and relieve you. If you are sick, he will either cure you or give you strength to suffer so as to merit Heaven. If the devil, the world, and the flesh are making war upon you, he will give you the weapons with which to fight, to resist, and to win victory. If you are poor, he will enrich you with all sorts of riches for time and eternity. Let us open the door of his sacred and adorable Heart, and be wrapped about for an instant by the flames of his love, and we shall see what a God who loves us can do. O my God, who shall be able to comprehend?"
–St. John Vianney Today's Meditation "My daughter, love has brought Me here, and love keeps Me here. My daughter, if you knew what great merit and reward is earned by one act of pure love for Me, you would die of joy. I am saying this that you may constantly unite yourself with Me through love, for this is the goal of the life of your soul. This act is an act of the will. Know that a pure soul is humble. When you lower and empty yourself before My majesty, I then pursue you with My graces and make use of My omnipotence to exalt you."
—St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, 576 Daily Verse "Persevere in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving; at the same time, pray for us, too, that God may open a door to us for the word, to speak of the mystery of Christ, for which I am in prison, that I may make it clear, as I must speak. Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you know how you should respond to each one."
–Colossians 4:2-6 | St. Matilda of Saxony St. Matilda (895-968 A.D.) was born in Prussia, the daughter of a Count, and was raised and educated in a monastery by her grandmother, who was the abbess. A political marriage was arranged for her to Henry I, the future king of Germany. Henry and Matilda enjoyed a happy and blessed marriage. As the Queen of Germany, Matilda became the mother of five important historical figures: Holy Roman Emperor Otto I; Henry, Duke of Bavaria; St. Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne; Gerberga, wife of King Louis IV of France; and Hedwig, mother of Hugh Capet. Matilda was a holy and virtuous woman known for her generosity to the poor. The king adored his queen and attributed his success in battle to her prayers. They reigned seventeen years, and their eldest son succeeded the throne and became Emperor Otto I. After her husband's death, Matilda's two eldest sons chastised her for her generous almsgiving. St. Matilda then took the possessions left to her by her husband and turned them over to her sons, and retired from court. Her sons immediately suffered misfortune, which was attributed to their poor treatment of their holy mother. In order to repair this injustice and regain God's favor, St. Matilda was begged to return to court, which she did, forgiving her sons for their ill will. She continued to help the poor, build churches, and support many monasteries. St. Matilda was a celebrated monarch and was venerated by the people immediately after her death. Her feast day is March 14th. | Thursday of the Fourth Week of Lent Reading 1 Ex 32:7-14 The LORD said to Moses,
"Go down at once to your people
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt,
for they have become depraved.
They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them,
making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it,
sacrificing to it and crying out,
'This is your God, O Israel,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt!'
The LORD said to Moses,
"I see how stiff-necked this people is.
Let me alone, then,
that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.
Then I will make of you a great nation." But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying,
"Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people,
whom you brought out of the land of Egypt
with such great power and with so strong a hand?
Why should the Egyptians say,
'With evil intent he brought them out,
that he might kill them in the mountains
and exterminate them from the face of the earth'?
Let your blazing wrath die down;
relent in punishing your people.
Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Israel,
and how you swore to them by your own self, saying,
'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky;
and all this land that I promised,
I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.'"
So the LORD relented in the punishment
he had threatened to inflict on his people. Responsorial Psalm Ps 106:19-20, 21-22, 23 R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Our fathers made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people. Verse Before the Gospel Jn 3:16 God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life. Gospel Jn 5:31-47 Jesus said to the Jews:
"If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true.
But there is another who testifies on my behalf,
and I know that the testimony he gives on my behalf is true.
You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth.
I do not accept human testimony,
but I say this so that you may be saved.
He was a burning and shining lamp,
and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light.
But I have testimony greater than John's.
The works that the Father gave me to accomplish,
these works that I perform testify on my behalf
that the Father has sent me.
Moreover, the Father who sent me has testified on my behalf.
But you have never heard his voice nor seen his form,
and you do not have his word remaining in you,
because you do not believe in the one whom he has sent.
You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life. "I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him.
How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another
and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God?
Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father:
the one who will accuse you is Moses,
in whom you have placed your hope.
For if you had believed Moses,
you would have believed me,
because he wrote about me.
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?" | Daily Meditation: Exodus 32:7-14 Why, O Lord, should your wrath blaze up against your own people? (Exodus 32:11) Violence. War. Corruption. All the negative news we hear every day can be very upsetting. You might even be tempted to throw up your hands and say, "I feel so helpless; there's nothing I can do!" Moses was upset, too. He saw how the Israelites had turned to idolatry and knew their behavior was bringing condemnation upon them. He could have thrown up his hands and despaired over his people. He could have given up or become bitter at their betrayal of God and himself. But instead, he prayed fervently that the Lord would have mercy on them. And his prayers made a difference! God turned aside his wrath and judgment. When a difficult situation weighs heavily on your mind, you can respond as Moses did. You don't have to be a great saint to approach God and pray for his mercy. You can come to him with confidence "to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help" (Hebrews 4:16). Let that sink in. Almighty God invites you into his own throne room—and to come there with confidence, knowing that he will welcome you and hear your prayers. Like every good earthly father, your heavenly Father wants you to bring your cares and concerns to him. He wants to help! He's just waiting for you to turn to him. He longs to pour out his mercy on you and the people you are praying for. So pray right now for mercy. Bring to the Lord all the concerns that make you feel powerless or tempt you to despair. Pray for those difficult situations that you see in the world or in the Church. But also pray for mercy for yourself and your loved ones. As you invite him into each situation, you will notice that your thoughts begin to turn from fear and resignation toward hope and trust. That old saying is true: "Prayer changes things." You can do something; your prayers do make a difference! "Lord, have mercy on us and on the whole world!" Psalm 106:19-23
John 5:31-47 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
"You search the Scriptures,
because you think you have eternal life through them;
even they testify on my behalf.
But you do not want to come to me to have life.
I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you.
I came in the name of my Father,
but you do not accept me;
yet if another comes in his own name,
you will accept him......" end quote. | In our modern world, we now have online media. Books are available online. But before the internet, they were all printed and before they were all printed they were all written by hand.
What am I getting at? Well, before they were written by hand, they were spoken. And it all boils down to where it was spoken from.
In the old testament, they had the law of Moses. Everything that Moses said was taken to heart, by many, but not all.
And so, we have those same people in the time of our Lord Jesus. They had the law of Moses, but not the heart of Moses. There are the rigorists today. Who are they? They are everywhere, at home, at work, and at church. Those are the ones who want strict adherence of the rules and the law. But, many of the rigorists do not have a heart. And this is where our Lord comes in from Heaven.
He is the heart of Heaven. Jesus is the love of Heaven. He is presented to us every single day, and to you through this word from Heaven.
In the time of Moses, when Moses went to the mountain to pray, the people got desperate, alone, they strayed into words of false prophets.
They worshiped a golden calf. Back in the old Testament days, there were other gods, like Baal and Molech, or El the one from Cana, or the Egyptian one called Apis. And that god could be shaped as a bull.
That is a lot of bull, isn't it? Which one is it? Which one did people prefer? I don't know for sure, but what we do know is that the hearts of the people were not with our God of all.
Any deviation can lead us into a lot of bull. Some of the bulls are money, some are abortion hungry.
The Lord is calling us to mind, to mind His calling.
Our Lord said today: "But you do not want to come to me to have life.
I do not accept human praise;
moreover, I know that you do not have the love of God in you. "
You do not want to come to me. I said this yesterday to the funeral crowd and to you. The Lord is the Father calling us to come to Him. At least once a week! To see Him! To be with Him! To thank Him! To WORSHIP Him! That is the very least we could do...in our offering of ourselves to Him!
He said He doesn't accept human praise...and neither shall we, for we are unprofitable servants. You are a slave to the slaves. You are to never be raised up or praised up. Do not seek places of high honors for all the good that you do. I've told you I don't like people clapping for me. Yesterday a group of men surrounded me to thank me after the funeral, and that was awkward too. I wish I could just disappear. It's not about me! It's about HIM! AMEN?
And our Lord said "I know you do not have the love of God in you".
Ouch! This must've cut them. Does it cut you though? Does it cut to the heart?
This is why He came. What gods are running your life, or what gods are you serving?
Lord, this is lent, and the end is fast approaching. Has it led me closer to you? I cannot love without your Love. I cannot even thank You without Your help! Help me love you and thank You better! Today is the 2nd Thursday of the month. At about 730pm I will be offering prayers of thanksgiving at church. I invite you to be giving thanks to our Lord at that time too. For what? For the greatest gift on earth. The love of God, the Love of Heaven. |  Click for Audio | This is amazing: Random Bible Verse 1
Romans 6:14 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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