†Quote of the Day "It is a lesson we all need—to let alone the things that do not concern us. He has other ways for others to follow Him; all do not go by the same path. It is for each of us to learn the path by which He requires us to follow Him, and to follow Him in that path."
–St. Katharine Drexel Today's Meditation In truth, if the earth and all it contains must one day disappear by fire, the goods of this world are no more to be esteemed than wood and straw. What point is there, then, in making them the object of our desires and cares? Why seek to build and leave marks of our genius and power where we have no permanent abode, and where the form of this world will be removed, like a tent that has no travelers to shelter? It may be said that it will be a thousand years before this frightening cataclysm takes place; but Christ has said that a thousand years are but an instant compared with eternity, and when the moment comes—when, from the land of the future life, we are the witnesses and actors in that supreme drama—the whole span of humanity will seem so short to us that we shall scarcely consider it to have lasted a single day … Christ tells us to meditate upon these great teachings, for it is certain that we shall be taken by surprise, and that the time will come sooner than we think."
—Father Charles Arminjon, p. 28 Daily Verse "Now to him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
–Ephesians 3:20-21 | St. Margaret Clitherow St. Margaret Clitherow (1556-1586), also called Margaret of York, lived in York, England, the daughter of a candlemaker and wife of a wealthy Protestant butcher. She was raised Anglican just after the time that King Henry VIII severed the Church of England from communion with the Roman Catholic Church. A few years after her marriage, at the age of 18, she converted to the Catholic Church due to the work of covert missionary Catholic priests. While her husband remained Protestant, she aided persecuted Catholics by sheltering priests (which included her brother-in-law) and having Mass and Confessions said in her home, which became a safe house and hiding place for priests. Margaret witnessed the torturous death of many of the priests she aided, and she would publicly pray on the spot of their martyrdom. Undaunted in her work, she was imprisoned numerous times. On her final arrest she was charged for harboring Catholic priests and was condemned to a public execution by being crushed to death, a martyrdom of which she considered herself unworthy. All three of her children entered the religious life, two priests and a nun. St. Margaret Clitherow, the "Pearl of York," is the patron saint of martyrs, businesswomen, and converts. Her feast day is March 26th. | Tuesday of Holy Week Reading 1 Is 49:1-6 Hear me, O islands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother's womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory. Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
Yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth. Responsorial Psalm Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17 R. (see 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and save me.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
For you are my hope, O Lord;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother's womb you are my strength.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R. I will sing of your salvation. Verse Before the Gospel Hail to you, our King, obedient to the Father;
you were led to your crucifixion like a gentle lamb to the slaughter. Gospel Jn 13:21-33, 36-38 Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me."
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.
One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus' side.
So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.
He leaned back against Jesus' chest and said to him,
"Master, who is it?"
Jesus answered,
"It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it."
So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
son of Simon the Iscariot.
After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."
Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,
"Buy what we need for the feast,"
or to give something to the poor.
So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night. When he had left, Jesus said,
"Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
'Where I go you cannot come,' so now I say it to you." Simon Peter said to him, "Master, where are you going?"
Jesus answered him,
"Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,
though you will follow later."
Peter said to him,
"Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you."
Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times."
| Daily Meditation: John 13:21-33, 36-38 Will you lay down your life for me? (John 13:38) What an odd question! We can imagine Jesus asking Simon Peter sadly, or even sarcastically, "Will you lay down your life?" (John 13:38). Of course, Jesus would lay down his life for Peter, not the other way around. Jesus knew that all his disciples would fall away, that Judas would betray him, and that Peter would deny him. He knew Peter's heart, even better than Peter knew himself. Jesus also knew that Peter and Judas had a lot in common. Both were committed followers of Jesus and had been chosen as apostles. And both failed Jesus when put to the test. But Peter seems to have had more of a glimpse of who Jesus was. At the Last Supper, rather than calling Jesus "Lord" as the others do, Judas refers to him as "Rabbi" (Matthew 26:22, 25). While respectful, "rabbi" is a term commonly given to men, not reserved for the Messiah. After his betrayal, Judas realizes his sin and falls into despair (27:3). Without a clear view of his redeemer, he loses all hope. Though Peter denied Jesus when it mattered most, he better understood Jesus' nature and what he had come to do. He saw Jesus not just as a friend and teacher but as the Messiah, the Son of God (Matthew 16:16). And so, confronted by his own weakness, Peter still managed to hold onto hope. Even when Jesus later probed his heart with his threefold question, "Do you love me?" Peter did not turn away in despair. He answered Jesus humbly, "Lord, you know that I love you," and went on to build the Church (John 21:17). Jesus knew all along who Peter could become. And that's a message of hope for all of us. Like Peter, we, too, face situations when we deny and fail Jesus. But Jesus offers hope and possibility to each of us, just as he did for Peter. He asks, "Will you lay down your life for me?" Because of Peter's example, we can answer yes with great hope. No matter our struggle and sins, Jesus is always ready to restore us and make us whole. "Jesus, I offer you all that I am, even my weaknesses. Lord, I trust in your unfailing love!" Isaiah 49:1-6
Psalm 71:1-6, 15, 17 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
""Master, who is it?"
Jesus answered,
"It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it."
So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
son of Simon the Iscariot.
After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, "What you are going to do, do quickly."......" end quote. | From a Spanish reflection which ends today: "Also great contrast between Judas who is going to betray Jesus and He who is now going to give himself on the cross for love and where Peter cannot accompany him now, he will accompany him later.
Live attached to Jesus' chest; Make this week Holy because you do not betray the project of love, because you are moved by so much love that God gives you in Christ." end quote Father Isidoro Crespo Ganuza O.P. Bishop Barron ends his reflection today with:
"Judas the betrayer expresses the mysterium iniquitatis with particular symbolic power, for he had spent years in intimacy with Jesus, taking in the Lord's moves and thoughts at close quarters, sharing the table of fellowship with him—and yet he saw fit to turn Jesus over to his enemies and to interrupt the coinherence of the Last Supper.
Those of us who regularly gather around the table of intimacy with Christ and yet engage consistently in the works of darkness are meant to see ourselves in the betrayer." end quote Bishop Barron. (Side note: I write "end quote from whoever" because I make this text audio and is difficult to tell when quotes end in the audio version.) This is Holy Week, and we are focusing on the last moments of our Lord's life on earth, the last days. He was with His chosen for about 3 years, teaching them the Kingdom and all that is possible, raising up dead people and sick people and confronting all the Jewish leaders who sided with the ways of death.
Let us go ahead and put it out there, all the truth.
The Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of Love which is light.
And there is an opposite force to the Kingdom, and that is the kingdom of darkness, a kingdom of hatred, especially towards humans. Evil hates humans, that's why it always uses death. But, evil helps make the light more focused. In an absence of light, any candle light would make the whole room light up. And this is what is expected of you, right where you are in the darkness.
It is for you to be a child of God. Lent has been designed to bring about a greater light in you for the very world you live in. Firstly, in your heart, and whence this happens, then those around you can see...the very love of God.
And love, true sacrificial love, changes everything.
This is why this week is holy. And yes, Bishop Barron is speaking of Judas the betrayer, whom can be seen in us all if we don't watch it.
Did you notice that when our Lord gave Judas the "morsel" probably a piece of bread at the last supper, that Satan entered him immediately?
What I am about to say is scary, and most may want to disagree. But I want you to consider what I am about to say to all those who receive the Holy Eucharist in an unworthy state, especially that of mortal sin.
I've always told people, that it seems to me, that the Eucharist seems like an agent that solidifies what is within. If you are in a state of sin, it will solidify that state, and this is dire doom for the soul. Why would I want to solidify evil? That would be Satanic! Yet, this is exactly what happened to Judas the betrayer. And this is exactly what can happen to any of us!
I see it though, more often than not. Someone receives the Eucharist, and they are ready to dash out the door. Leaving before the final blessing. This is sometimes called the "Judas shuffle". What gets into these people? Why are they so ready to leave Jesus? What's more important than staying for his final words of commissioning?
And so many things are at play. 1. The state of your soul.
2. The sin in your life, the evil inside.
*3. Your openness to life...the very love of God. So, next time you receive our Lord, I want you to focus on your state, see yourself with our Lord in the Eucharist. Are you at peace? What is going through your mind? Are you talking with Him in your heart? Or, are you ready to leave already, mad about something, still anxious, still depressed, still uneasy.
The Eucharist is supposed to heal us if we are properly disposed, to seal the confession, to seal the bond of love with our God as He fills us at that very moment with Grace, as we become one...forever. Lord, that moment of Love, I've let it gone to waste far too many times in my life. I want every intimate moment with You to be focused and special. Help me be truly grateful. Help me receive the gift from Heaven that is worthy of being presented to God, as my own thanksgiving, in a life filled with openness to grace, of true love and life, forever. P.S.
I do this devotion to the blood drops of Jesus, no matter if promises come or not, I hope so though! And it honors His every last drop of blood.
Link Blood Drops Devotion |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Philippians 1:29 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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