† Quote of the Day "The Cross is the way to Paradise, but only when it is borne willingly." — St. Paul of the Cross Today's Meditation "What sorrow Mary especially must have felt at losing Jesus [in the Temple]! But, my Savior, Mary had not lost You through her fault. You had left her in order to devote Yourself to Your Father's business. I, on the contrary, have often lost You through my own fault because of my sins. I often forced You to abandon me, and I should have felt great sorrow at this loss and abandonment...Mary had lost only the bodily presence of Jesus; His friendship for her was untouched. But I lost the dearest thing in all the world; the grace and friendship of Jesus." —Alexander De Rouville, p. 139-140
An excerpt from The Imitation of Mary Daily Verse "What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father's glory, and then he will repay everyone according to his conduct." — Matthew: 16:26-27 | St. Bridget Of Sweden St. Bridget (1303-1373) was born into a devout and prestigious family in Sweden. Her father was a governor, judge, and one of the wealthiest landowners in the country. Bridget received an excellent religious education, and from a young age demonstrated a great capacity for holiness. She even experienced mystical visions in her childhood. At the age of thirteen she was given in marriage to a similarly devout young man named Ulf. Together the two had a happy marriage and raised eight children, one of whom was St. Catherine of Sweden. St. Bridget became famous for her sanctity, and she was well-acquainted with the Swedish king and many theologians who sought her counsel. When Bridget and Ulf were in their forties, they went on pilgrimage along the famous Way of St. James. Shortly afterwards Ulf died, and Bridget gave herself entirely to the religious life. Her visions became more frequent, and were written down in a famous work called the Revelations of St. Bridget of Sweden. She also founded a new religious order known as the Brigittines. To obtain approval for her Order she traveled to Rome with her daughter Catherine, where she lived until her death. St. Bridget of Sweden is one of the six patron saints of Europe. Her feast day is July 23rd. | Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jer 1:1, 4-10 The words of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah,
of a priestly family in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin. The word of the LORD came to me thus: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed you.
"Ah, Lord GOD!" I said,
"I know not how to speak; I am too young." But the LORD answered me,
Say not, "I am too young."
To whomever I send you, you shall go;
whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Have no fear before them,
because I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD. Then the LORD extended his hand and touched my mouth, saying, See, I place my words in your mouth!
This day I set you
over nations and over kingdoms,
To root up and to tear down,
to destroy and to demolish,
to build and to plant. Responsorial Psalm Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 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. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live for ever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 13:1-9 On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
"A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear." | Daily Meditation: Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10 Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you. (Jeremiah 1:5) Even before the beginning. That's how far back God's love for Jeremiah went. Before he formed the prophet, before he was even conceived, God knew him and had plans for his life. He was going ahead of Jeremiah and preparing him for the work he had in mind. So when Jeremiah complained that he was too young and not prepared to follow his calling, God promised to lead him and stay with him always. The same is true for you. God knows you and sees you. Even before you were born, his grace was with you. He called you into being, formed you into his own image, and shaped you for his purposes. He has specific work for you to do, and he has been preparing you to join him in accomplishing that work. Isn't that amazing? How do you respond? Maybe like Jeremiah, you hesitate, aware of your shortcomings. But all God is looking for is an open heart, humble cooperation, and trust that he will equip you just as he equipped the reluctant Jeremiah. As you hold fast to your trust in the Lord, you'll find that every day becomes an invitation to participate in his good plans for you and for the people around you. As you begin each new day, or as you settle in to your daily prayer time, take a moment to ask the Lord, What are you up to today, and how are you asking me to join you in it? Maybe he'll bring to mind an old friend who needs you to reach out and make contact with her. Maybe he'll touch your heart with a Scripture as you are praying and then bring someone across your path who would be blessed by hearing that message. Or maybe something you want to do gets cancelled, or you get stuck in traffic. Instead of giving in to frustration, you can offer that time to the Lord with a prayer for healing or peace for someone you know. God is always inviting you to work with him—and he's not expecting you to do it by your strength alone. He has been equipping you for it from the beginning! "Father, open my heart to see your everlasting love, to say yes to you, and to work with you today." Psalm 71:1-6, 15, 17
Matthew 13:1-9 |  Hear AI Read it to you. Updated 7/10/24 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear......" end quote. | A sower went out to sow. Have you ever sowed seeds? Are you a sower?
After my dad passed away, after a year of trying to gather myself, I asked our hand to get on the farm tractor and plow the field, and then sow seed. He did, but it didn't rain. And the grass never came. Does that mean I am not a good farmer? Does that mean my guys don't now how to sow? Does it mean God didn't want us to have feed for our few cows?
Have you ever planted something and it didn't take? How did that make you feel?
Or have you planted and it actually grew? Isn't that an amazing feeling? To see something grow that you, with God's creation, made something, a new life grow? And then you babysit the plant, watering, watching it, some even talk to their plants. They say it is therapeutic to take care of a garden. What if it is like this with God and we are His garden? And not only that, but we are asked to make the garden flourish. It might seem impossible, in a hard cold and darkened world, but it is not like that everywhere. Let's focus away from the sewers and on the work of the vineyard. When I spread seeds, it is everywhere.
And like so, we are to spread the fragrance of God, the seed, the Word of God. I do it daily, as you can tell with these messages. But that's not all, I text people daily prayers, we can all share the word of God!
I liked a story from ChurchPop that said kids were playing acting out a Mass in their driveway and they invited their neighbor, and the neighbor ended up converting to the Catholic faith after that.
Notice, how the innocence of children converts souls. Do we lose innocence and the willpower to invite souls to Christ?
If so, recognize this, and make a return. Repent, and yes be saved, but be converted and transformed.
Such is the seed that God sees, souls that begin to grow to Heaven.
And thus, we offer to Heaven flowers and fragrance that is pleasing to God. His will is accomplished through us. His creation with ours.
Mind you, this takes effort. It takes and even makes for awkward moments with people, but sometimes those are life changing and life saving moments. Sacrifice worldly peace for His peace.
I've looked up the meaning of my name, in one place they say it means "cheerful", and if you look at me, you would never guess that I am cheerful, LOL. But another meaning that is more true says my name means "fertile". Some may laugh at me because we have 8 kids but that is now how I take it. I am fertile soil for God. I am dirt. I am fertilizer for plants to grow. I have seen that in my life, that I am like a spring board for others to become more than myself, greater. LOL, I even get mad when it happens, even in ministries, for instance one of our conferences inspired a group of men to do more, and now they are traveling all over the world with famous Catholic people I follow. Is that right? Yes. I am dirt. Our job was to get them there, and more is to come. More saving of souls. The whole purpose was for God to have the glory. Not for me to gain any notoriety, any recognition. I wouldn't know how to handle and recognition with my big head anyway.
Let's just say, God knows exactly what He is doing, and it is good, even more than good, but very, VERY AMAZING!
All we have to do is trust in the seed within our hands, within our grasp, trust in Him. Pray a little more about everything, sacrifice a little more, and that little seed will become a huge tree of life for the world to take refuge in. It is the body of Christ. The world needs it, just as much as always if not even more now. Time to get to work in the fields no? Sacred Blood of Jesus, be our seed! | Random Bible Verse 1
Matthew 5:46–48 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers,1 what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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