† Quote of the Day "The spirit of humility is sweeter than honey, and those who nourish themselves with this honey produce sweet fruit." — St. Anthony of Padua Today's Meditation "The man who is filled with the Holy Spirit speaks in different languages. These different languages are different ways of witnessing to Christ, such as humility, poverty, patience, and obedience; we speak in those languages when we reveal in ourselves these virtues to others. Actions speak louder than words . . . it is useless for a man to flaunt his knowledge of the law if he undermines its teaching by his actions. But the apostles spoke as the Spirit gave them the gift of speech. Happy the man whose words issue from the Holy Spirit and not from himself! ... We should speak, then, as the Holy Spirit give us the gift of speech. Our humble and sincere request to the Spirit for ourselves should be that we may bring the day of Pentecost to fulfillment, insofar as he infuses us with his grace, by using our bodily senses in a perfect manner and by keeping the commandments. " —St. Anthony of Padua, p. 492
An excerpt from Witness of the Saints Daily Verse "But now that you have been freed from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit that you have leads to sanctification, and its end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." — Romans 6:22-23 | St. Anthony Of Padua St. Anthony of Padua (1195-1231) was born in Lisbon, Portugal to a powerful yet pious family. At age 15 he relinquished a life of nobility, wealth, and honor, and chose instead to serve God with the Augustinians. Years later he witnessed the dead bodies of Franciscan friars who had been martyred by Muslims being carried through the town where he was stationed. Filled with renewed zeal to follow Christ even more completely after the example of these martyrs, St. Anthony joined the Franciscan order and traveled to Morocco to preach to the Moors. However, his poor health prevented his mission and he was forced to return to Italy. There he lived a largely quiet and secluded life, spending his time in prayer, study, and priestly duties. No one had any idea of St. Anthony's giftedness as a preacher and teacher of theology until one day he was called upon to be a substitute preacher. He amazed everyone in attendance with his depth of knowledge and oratory skill. He then became the foremost preacher of the Franciscans and was sent to preach against the heretics and the vices of the day. His zeal and effectiveness as a preacher earned him the title "Hammer of the Heretics." St. Anthony was known for his holiness and miracles, and was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1946. He is the patron saint of the elderly, fishermen, and the poor, and is renowned as the finder of lost articles. His feast day is June 13. | Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, priest and doctor of the Church Reading 1 1 Kgs 18:41-46 Elijah said to Ahab, "Go up, eat and drink,
for there is the sound of a heavy rain."
So Ahab went up to eat and drink,
while Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel,
crouched down to the earth,
and put his head between his knees.
"Climb up and look out to sea," he directed his servant,
who went up and looked, but reported, "There is nothing."
Seven times he said, "Go, look again!"
And the seventh time the youth reported,
"There is a cloud as small as a man's hand rising from the sea."
Elijah said, "Go and say to Ahab,
'Harness up and leave the mountain before the rain stops you.'"
In a trice the sky grew dark with clouds and wind,
and a heavy rain fell.
Ahab mounted his chariot and made for Jezreel.
But the hand of the LORD was on Elijah,
who girded up his clothing and ran before Ahab
as far as the approaches to Jezreel. Responsorial Psalm Ps 65:10, 11, 12-13 R. (2a) It is right to praise you in Zion, O God.
You have visited the land and watered it;
greatly have you enriched it.
God's watercourses are filled;
you have prepared the grain.
R. It is right to praise you in Zion, O God.
Thus have you prepared the land:
drenching its furrows, breaking up its clods,
Softening it with showers,
blessing its yield.
R. It is right to praise you in Zion, O God.
You have crowned the year with your bounty,
and your paths overflow with a rich harvest;
The untilled meadows overflow with it,
and rejoicing clothes the hills.
R. It is right to praise you in Zion, O God. Alleluia Jn 13:34 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 5:20-26 Jesus said to his disciples:
"I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother, Raqa,
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."
| Daily Meditation: 1 Kings 18:41-46 Climb up and look out to sea. (1 Kings 18:43) Elijah had just summoned fire from heaven and routed the prophets of the pagan god Baal. But instead of fleeing immediately so as to avoid the wrath of the wicked Queen Jezebel, he knelt down and waited. And as he waited, he repeatedly told his servant to check the sky for signs of rain. Was God about to prove himself once more by bringing an end to the drought that had plagued Israel for so long? Again and again, the servant peered out toward the sea, and again and again, he returned with the same news: not a cloud in the sky. But Elijah kept sending him back. The servant must have wondered if his master had lost his mind! Imagine how relieved he felt when he finally spotted a cloud "as small as a man's hand" (1 Kings 18:44). Rain was on the way, and now they could make their escape. How often have you felt like Elijah's servant? You know God is trustworthy. You believe he wants to give you healing or restore your marriage or protect a wayward child. Yet no matter how many times you look for signs that he is answering your prayer, you see nothing. Do you keep looking and believing? Or do you give up? Don't give up! Keep looking—a hundred times if you have to! It's not easy to wait on the Lord. Especially when you are facing hardship or suffering, you want to see him come through right away. But sometimes having to wait is the best thing that could happen to you. It forces you to dig deeper into your faith. It helps you face any doubts or fears that might be lurking in the back of your mind. And it keeps sending you back to the Lord in prayer. The kind of patient waiting that Elijah showed, coupled with the persistent seeking that he asked of his servant, is the perfect response to God's apparent silence. Because sooner or later, the Lord will answer you. Sooner or later, he will shower you with his blessings—maybe in ways you aren't expecting. And along the way, he will produce in you the kind of stubborn, trusting faith that will sustain you in feast or famine, in drought or downpour, in success or failure. "Lord, help me to keep looking for your coming, no matter how long it takes!" Psalm 65:10-13
Matthew 5:20-26 |  HEAR it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
""You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother, Raqa,
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."......." end quote. | From Bishop Barron today:
"What Jesus implies is this: a new state of affairs has arrived, the divine and human have met, but the way you customarily see is going to blind you to this novelty. Minds, eyes, ears, senses, perceptions—all have to be opened up, turned around, revitalized. Metanoia, mind transformation, is Jesus' first recommendation....." end quote Bishop Barron.
So, our Lord is saying you could be in trouble for being angry at someobdy? "But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment".
Have you got angry with someone lately? Our Lord says you may have to pay for that!
As we speak I got a customer, irrate, cussing, accusing me, just making my heart race, they seem to have much trouble and that is being dumped on me in a very rude and crass way.
And here I am trying not to be angry, and writing to you. LOL, Lord have mercy on me. I've been praying for grace!
God bless this mess.
And our Lord says something that most protestants don't believe in...paying for sin.
Do you believe? Or do you believe you can be angry at everyone and get away with this sin?
Do you know what anger can do to a person?
Do you know how much damage than can do to you?
We bring it upon ourselves don't we?
You will pay with your health, your mind, your soul!
God doesn't want that. Because what you do to yourself, you do to others! How can you love God being so angry?
I'm frustrated, being accused and cursed at is not fun.
But God wants us to be humble. Turn the cheek. Turn the cheek and keep walking towards Him
We will be blessed for it in the end, either here now, or later with Him.
Take up your cross and Love God! Sacred Heart of Jesus, be my love!
Today is the 2nd Thursday of the month. Join me by visiting the Blessed Sacrament this afternoon, wherever you are, in any city, we will praise God with our presence, our love, surrendering it all to Him. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Matthew 7:7–8 [Matthew 7]
Ask, and It Will Be Given 7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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