†Quote of the Day "We should take as a maxim never to be surprised at current difficulties, no more than at a passing breeze, because with a little patience we shall see them disappear. Time changes everything."
–St. Vincent de Paul Today's Meditation It is necessary to have an absolutely sure intention in all our actions, so that the generous fulfillment of our daily duties may be directed toward the highest supernatural ideal. Thus, our life, apart from moments of prayer, will be a prayerful life. It is clear that the habit of giving an upward glance to God at the moment of action is a great assistance in aiding us to behave always with a pure intention and in freeing us from our natural impulses and fancies, so, that, retaining our self-mastery, or rather, God becoming the sole Master, all our movements become dependent upon the Holy Spirit. We see in the Gospel that whenever our Lord was about to undertake some important step, He always paused for a moment to raise His eyes to Heaven, and only after this moment of recollection did He take up the work He had to do. 'He lifted up His eyes to Heaven' is a phrase that recurs with significant frequency. And doubtless, when there was no outward sign of this prayer, there was the inward offering. The ideal is the same for us. The constant subjection of self to the guidance of the Holy Spirit is made easier from the fact of His presence in the soul, where He is asked explicitly to preside over all our doings . . . We shall not submit wholeheartedly to the invisible Guest unless He is kept in close proximity to us."
—Raoul Plus, S.J., p. 37-38 Daily Verse "For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I will help you.""
–Isaiah 41:13 | St. Joseph St. Joseph (1st c.) was a descendant of Israel's King David and a carpenter by trade. Scripture tells us that he was a just and virtuous man who was betrothed to wed the young Blessed Virgin Mary. Upon finding her pregnant with the Son of God, Joseph, after a time of uncertainty, was encouraged by an angel to continue with the marriage plans. Because of his complete faithfulness and obedience to the will of God, St. Joseph was chosen to become the spouse of the Mother of God and the adoptive father of Jesus Christ. As the divinely-appointed earthly guardian and protector of the Holy Family, St. Joseph provided and cared for the material needs of Mary and the Child Jesus. St. Joseph is the patron saint of many causes, especially fathers, families, married couples, children, pregnant women, workers, craftsmen, against doubt, the dying, and a happy and holy death. He is also the guardian and protector of the Universal Church. He has two feast days: St. Joseph the Husband of Mary on March 19th, and St. Joseph the Worker on May 1st. However, when St. Joseph's feast day on March 19th falls on a Sunday it is moved to the Monday and celebrated on March 20th. | Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent Reading 1 Dn 3:14-20, 91-92, 95 King Nebuchadnezzar said:
"Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
that you will not serve my god,
or worship the golden statue that I set up?
Be ready now to fall down and worship the statue I had made,
whenever you hear the sound of the trumpet,
flute, lyre, harp, psaltery, bagpipe,
and all the other musical instruments;
otherwise, you shall be instantly cast into the white-hot furnace;
and who is the God who can deliver you out of my hands?"
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar,
"There is no need for us to defend ourselves before you
in this matter.
If our God, whom we serve,
can save us from the white-hot furnace
and from your hands, O king, may he save us!
But even if he will not, know, O king,
that we will not serve your god
or worship the golden statue that you set up." King Nebuchadnezzar's face became livid with utter rage
against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
He ordered the furnace to be heated seven times more than usual
and had some of the strongest men in his army
bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
and cast them into the white-hot furnace. Nebuchadnezzar rose in haste and asked his nobles,
"Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?"
"Assuredly, O king," they answered.
"But," he replied, "I see four men unfettered and unhurt,
walking in the fire, and the fourth looks like a son of God."
Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed,
"Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
who sent his angel to deliver the servants who trusted in him;
they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies
rather than serve or worship any god
except their own God." Responsorial Psalm Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56 R. (52b) Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim;
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,
praiseworthy and glorious forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever! 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 Jn 8:31-42 Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him,
"If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples,
and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
They answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham
and have never been enslaved to anyone.
How can you say, 'You will become free'?"
Jesus answered them, "Amen, amen, I say to you,
everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin.
A slave does not remain in a household forever,
but a son always remains.
So if the Son frees you, then you will truly be free.
I know that you are descendants of Abraham.
But you are trying to kill me,
because my word has no room among you.
I tell you what I have seen in the Father's presence;
then do what you have heard from the Father." They answered and said to him, "Our father is Abraham."
Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children,
you would be doing the works of Abraham.
But now you are trying to kill me,
a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God;
Abraham did not do this.
You are doing the works of your father!"
So they said to him, "We were not born of fornication.
We have one Father, God."
Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me,
for I came from God and am here;
I did not come on my own, but he sent me."
| Daily Meditation: John 8:31-42 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32) Jesus is the only way to true freedom. He won that freedom for us by dying on the cross, putting to death sin and everything else that keeps us in bondage. But like the Jews in today's Gospel reading, we don't always understand what is enslaving us. Perhaps you live with a nagging sense of guilt, even when you're trying to do your best and have no reason to feel guilty. Maybe a pervasive sense of fear or anxiety has gripped your life, keeping you up at night or afraid for the future. Or maybe you struggle with negative feelings about yourself. We can become so accustomed to these feelings that we start to believe they are part of us, and we can't imagine living without them. But you don't have to live with them—Jesus has set you free! Maybe anger is so deeply buried in your heart that it clouds your relationships and your outlook on life. Know that you can bring this anger to the Lord and ask him to release you. You don't have to hold on to resentment and unforgiveness—Jesus has set you free! Maybe you are bound by an excessive attachment to food, alcohol, or drugs. Activities like watching television, shopping, or surfing the internet may be taking up too much of your time and energy. Jesus doesn't want anything to control you. He is more than capable of satisfying your deepest needs. Jesus has set you free! Today, take steps to lay hold of the freedom that Jesus has won for you. Let his promises in today's Gospel give you hope. Read them over and over again, and let them sink deeply into your soul. Then ask the Lord to help you detect anything that is binding you up. Finally, exercise your faith by asking Jesus to free you. Be bold and persistent! You may even want to ask some trusted friends to pray with you. Remember: Jesus loves you so much that he laid down his life for you. He wants nothing less than for you to walk in his freedom, each and every day of your life. "Jesus, open my eyes to the things that bind me. Give me the faith and the courage to taste the freedom you have won for me." Daniel 3:14-20, 91-92, 95
(Psalm) Daniel 3:52-56 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
"So they said to him, "We were not born of fornication.
We have one Father, God."
Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me,
for I came from God and am here;
I did not come on my own, but he sent me........" end quote. | Our Lord said very plainly "Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and am here".
The people failed to recognize our Lord. He said "I am here!" and "I am He!", but they didn't believe. And not only that, for saying this, they had Him crucified after being beat to death almost.
This is why the bible tells us at the end, in Revelation, that our Lord wants us hot or cold, not lukewarm, not neutral.
If God is your father, then you should love Him, with all you got.
But, the dilemma in the world is that it lives as if it were fatherless. Most prisoners are in prison because of a father wound. But we do have a father, and not just any father, but the best ever to exist because He exists before we exist and will always exist.
Can you imagine a father that will always exist? Our time on earth is limited. Everything is limited. We are allotted a few years. Every fragile life is precious because it is so fragile and limited, and I'm speaking of little flowers, of little things and of great loves.
Every little act of faith matters. Every little sign of love for God matters. And so the problem becomes one of belief.
Do you believe our Father is here? Do you believe He has sent me to you? Do I believe He is speaking to me right now? Everything that amazes our Lord is about faith.
Lent will culminate in the atrocity of our Lord's passion for doing our Father's will on earth. He will be brutally tortured and hung on a cross to die in front of all the people He came to save.
Why? How can this happen still today? The faithless. The ones full of themselves with no room for God. Who are they? They are the ones who do not love our Father truly. They can be found everywhere, in church, or on the streets. So does church matter? The truth matters. God our Father is waiting for us in Church, to be one in the body of Christ.
So yes, of course it matters above all...the love that we have for Him, and one another.
We will see about this even more after the resurrection when our Lord asks AGAIN to his chosen follower "Peter, do YOU love Me?".
And the question will confound our first pope.
It's as if our Lord says "If you love Me, you will follow me" no matter where I go. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 63:3–4 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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