† Quote of the Day "Be brave and try to detach your heart from worldly things. Do your utmost to banish darkness from your mind and come to understand what true, selfless piety is. Through confession, endeavor to purify your heart of anything which may still taint it. Enliven your faith, which is essential to understand and achieve piety." — St. John Bosco Today's Meditation "Walking by faith, let us do good works. In these let there be a free love of God for His own sake and an active love for our neighbor. For there is nothing we can do for God. But because we have something we can do for our neighbor, we shall by our good offices to the needy gain the favor of Him Who is the source of all abundance. Let us then do what we can for others; let us freely bestow upon the needy out of our abundance." —St. Augustine, p. 144
An excerpt from Augustine Day by Day Daily Verse "O Lord, thou art my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure." — Isaiah 25:1 | St. Augustine Of Canterbury St. Augustine of Canterbury (d. 604 A.D.), also known as St. Austin, was prior of a monastery in Rome before being called by Pope Gregory the Great to be a missionary to the British Isles. The Pope received word that the pagans of Britain would embrace the faith in great numbers if priests were sent to teach them, and previous missionaries had been unsuccessfu in the holy endeavor. In order to realize the Holy Father's desire to evangelize the island, Augustine set out on a new quest at the head of forty monks in 596 A.D. When they arrived in France they heard stories of the ferocity of the Anglo-Saxons. Out of fear, Augustine returned to Rome and asked the Pope to release him from the mission. Pope Gregory encouraged Augustine in his task and sent him back. When the monks landed in Kent they were treated kindly. The King of Kent himself accepted baptism and set up a residence for St. Augustine in Canterbury. There Augustine established a church and monastery as the center of his apostolic mission. Although his labor among the pagans was slow and difficult, his work bore much fruit and England eventually became a Christian nation. Augustine was the first Archbishop of Canterbury, England, and is known as the "Apostle of England." His feast day is May 27th.
Find a devotional for this saint | Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Pt 1:3-9 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope
through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading,
kept in heaven for you
who by the power of God are safeguarded through faith,
to a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the final time.
In this you rejoice, although now for a little while
you may have to suffer through various trials,
so that the genuineness of your faith,
more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire,
may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Although you have not seen him you love him;
even though you do not see him now yet you believe in him,
you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
as you attain the goal of faith, the salvation of your souls. Responsorial Psalm Ps 111:1-2, 5-6, 9 and 10c R. (5) The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has given food to those who fear him;
he will forever be mindful of his covenant.
He has made known to his people the power of his works,
giving them the inheritance of the nations.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has sent deliverance to his people;
he has ratified his covenant forever;
holy and awesome is his name.
His praise endures forever.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia 2 Cor 8:9 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 10:17-27 As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother."
He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement, his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the Kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
"Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For men it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."
| Daily Meditation: Mark 10:17-27 Sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven. (Mark 10:21) Today's Gospel is a challenging one. Jesus encounters a young man who seems to be doing everything right. He knows and follows the commandments, and he even seems to be acknowledging Jesus' authority by asking for his guidance. In response, Jesus looks at the young man with love (Mark 10:21), but then invites him to give away all of his wealth and become his disciple. What a position this would put the young man in! He would have no choice but to trust fully in the power and grace of God. Perhaps this was the reason why Jesus asked this young man to leave all his possessions behind. He knew that the man's wealth was preventing him from fully surrendering his life to the Lord. No longer would the young man be able to rely on his riches for his security. This Gospel story probably doesn't mean that the Lord is asking us to sell all we own, but he is asking us to give generously. He doesn't want us to fall to the temptation of relying on our money and possessions for security and control. That's why, when speaking on charity, C. S. Lewis wrote, "I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. . . . If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small" (Mere Christianity, p. 86). Our charity must come not only out of our excess. Rather, it should put us in a position of deeper dependence on the Lord. Too often, our obstacle to charity is not that we can't live without luxuries but that we fear the thought of not being able to rely on ourselves! Jesus has issued a bold call to his followers. He wants us to care for people in need. But he also wants us to realize that his call to be generous involves the surrender not just of our possessions but also of our self-sufficiency and our need to control. Today, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and give you the grace to trust that no matter how much it might pinch, he is going to take care of you. "Lord, help me to be a generous and cheerful giver!" 1 Peter 1:3-9
Psalm 111:1-2, 5-6, 9-10 |  try to hear it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement, his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the Kingdom of God!"....." end quote. | A few years ago, I asked a loved one to go to a cursillo, a weekend of study in Christianity in which many life transformations happen for our Lord, including myself. He said yes, and then, a while later he said no. In our conversation he mentioned today's scripture in which he would be asked to sell off all his ritches in order to follow Christ and He said he couldn't do that. And I couldn't convince him otherwise, and he did not go, ever.
He was successful in his business still afterwards, many employees, many vehicles, and then, he had to give it up, forced to because of his health. He said he found security in his gun collections. He has much land in Mexico in case things go awry in our country. So he is placing his securities in himself really, isn't he? I don't know that his children have found security in the Lord. I don't know that he has gotten closer to the Lord any more than the day I invited Him to the Lord. So what's my point?
There is still time! LOL.
As long as we breathe we can turn to the Lord and place all our hope in Him. Even our finances. How hard it is to be a cheerful giver, right? Once you get involved with certain ministries and charitable things, it actually never becomes a one and done deal. At least that's been my experience in church festivals for our building, or being involved with an orphanage in Mexico, or even in prison ministry, they keep calling out for more, the poor just want more and more. And so, I asked the nursing home folks yesterday, "what can you give from where you are money?" there were no answers. An older lady that fell off her chair had exclaimed "we can give our lives!", Sylvia was her name. I said "Don't get ahead of me!" that was the right answer, but I wanted to probe more, by asking "can't we give our time?". Yes.
Can't we give of our talents? Yes!
And so, by giving all we can, time and talents, then easily our treasure falls out too.
Let us then, not be afraid to leave everything. You can do it. Do it in small steps, and then take large steps in His direction. Give more and more of your time, talent, and treasure. If you want to see Him, and see Him more often, then take more and mores steps with Him and toward Him. Even offering sufferings is a step towards Him. May we then realize that it is good to walk His way and do His will. Because in the end, this is what He was truly asking. Walk on water. Sacrifice yourself in faith. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 10:12 12 Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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