† Quote of the Day "Prayer is the best armor we have, it is the key which opens the heart of God." — Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcina Today's Meditation "In the case of biblical parables we must always expect that the addressees will be brought into a situation in which they believe they are going to enjoy a thrilling story—and then all at once everything changes: they are confronted with the will of God or the evil situation in which they are living in God's eyes." —Gerhard Lohfink, p.17 An excerpt from The Forty Parables of Jesus Daily Verse "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you." — John 14:15-17 | St. John Chrysostom St. John Chrysostom (347-407 A.D.) was born to noble parents in Antioch, an important center of Christianity in his day. After the death of his father, his mother sent him to the best schools for his education. As a result of his philosophical studies he was convinced of the truth of Christianity, entered the Church, and became a renowned scholar and orator. He then adopted a life of extreme asceticism as a hermit and committed the whole of Sacred Scripture to memory. The brilliance of his mind combined with the holiness of his soul made him famous; he was ordained a bishop in Antioch and was later appointed to the Archbishopric of Constantinople. He was an incredible preacher, among the greatest in the history of the Church, which earned him the name 'Chrysostom' meaning, 'Golden-mouthed' or 'Golden tongued'. His sermons, which extended for up to two hours, were public marvels. His straightforward style of preaching the Scriptures and his practical homilies made him very popular. He also denounced the abuses of the ruling authority and preached against the immorality of the day, which resulted in him being exiled numerous times. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 451. St. John Chrysostom's feast day is September 13th. | Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Cornelius, Pope and Martyr, and Saint Cyprian, Bishop and Martyr
Reading 1 1 Cor 11:17-26, 33
Brothers and sisters:
In giving this instruction, I do not praise the fact
that your meetings are doing more harm than good.
First of all, I hear that when you meet as a Church
there are divisions among you,
and to a degree I believe it;
there have to be factions among you
in order that also those who are approved among you
may become known.
When you meet in one place, then,
it is not to eat the Lord's supper,
for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper,
and one goes hungry while another gets drunk.
Do you not have houses in which you can eat and drink?
Or do you show contempt for the Church of God
and make those who have nothing feel ashamed?
What can I say to you? Shall I praise you?
In this matter I do not praise you. For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, "This is my Body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my Blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. Therefore, my brothers and sisters,
when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17
R. (1 Cor 11:26b) Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me,
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
May all who seek you
exult and be glad in you
And may those who love your salvation
say ever, "The LORD be glorified."
R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again.
Alleluia Jn 3:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Lk 7:1-10
When Jesus had finished all his words to the people,
he entered Capernaum.
A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die,
and he was valuable to him.
When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him,
asking him to come and save the life of his slave.
They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying,
"He deserves to have you do this for him,
for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us."
And Jesus went with them,
but when he was only a short distance from the house,
the centurion sent friends to tell him,
"Lord, do not trouble yourself,
for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.
Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you;
but say the word and let my servant be healed.
For I too am a person subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, Go, and he goes;
and to another, Come here, and he comes;
and to my slave, Do this, and he does it."
When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him
and, turning, said to the crowd following him,
"I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."
When the messengers returned to the house,
they found the slave in good health.
| I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. (Luke 7:7 What did Jesus think when these "elders of the Jews" came to him and urged him to heal this centurion's servant (Luke 7:3)? The Jews considered the centurion worthy because of all he had done for them. But Jesus was likely looking at it in a different way. Instead of agreeing that the man deserved a favor because he had been so generous with the Jewish community, Jesus zeroed in on two dispositions that can apply to our lives as well: the man's awareness of his unworthiness and his faith. The elders of the Jews emphasized the centurion's good works. But the man himself knew that his deeds didn't make him worthy to come to Jesus (Luke 7:4-6). In a similar way, we don't come to Jesus and offer to him our acts of devotion or good deeds; we leave them at the door. We are all unworthy. We simply present to him our heartfelt need, confident not only that Jesus can help us, but that this is precisely what he is eager to do. What we "deserve" never enters into Jesus' calculations because grace, by definition, is unmerited. Regardless of what you deserve, your faith brings you to Jesus, and it's precious to him. He treasures it just as much as he treasured the centurion's faith! The centurion trusted Jesus to heal his servant from afar, and you can come to Jesus with the same trust. Jesus has the authority and the desire to hear and answer you. His love for you—and for every person or situation that matters to you—is all-encompassing. At every Mass, we echo the centurion's words, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul will be healed." But there's no need to wait until Mass! The centurion's faith-filled words are appropriate every time we approach the Lord with a petition. Remember, not one of us is worthy to come to Jesus, but every single one of us is invited and welcomed. Don't hesitate to lay your petitions at his feet. "Jesus, I know I don't deserve your mercy, but I still believe that you want to help me." 1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33
Psalm 40:7-10, 17 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"....the centurion sent friends to tell him,
"Lord, do not trouble yourself,
for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.
Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you;
but say the word and let my servant be healed.
For I too am a person subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, Go, and he goes;
and to another, Come here, and he comes;
and to my slave, Do this, and he does it."
When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him
and, turning, said to the crowd following him,
"I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith."
When the messengers returned to the house,
they found the slave in good health......"_ end quote. | From Bishop Barron: "Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus is amazed at a Roman centurion's faith: "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." How often the Bible compels us to meditate on the meaning of faith! We might say that the Scriptures rest upon faith, remain inspired at every turn by the spirit of faith. Faith is an attitude of trust in the presence of God. Faith is openness to what God will reveal, do, and invite. It should be obvious that, in dealing with the infinite, all-powerful person who is God, we are never in control. One of the most fundamental statements of faith is this: your life is not about you. You're not in control. This is not your project. Rather, you are part of God's great design. To believe this in your bones and act accordingly is to have faith. When we operate out of this transformed vision, amazing things can happen, for we have surrendered to "him who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine." Even a tiny bit of faith makes an extraordinary difference......." end quote Bishop Barron.
Today's we hear about the centurion that said the words that we say every time in Holy Mass now. "Lord I am not worhy that you should come under my roof, but only say the words and my soul shall be healed". The centurion wanted his slave healed. That there tells us something we don't often ponder. He cared. He must have loved the slave. But then, he takes it up a notch. He asks for healing, but not commanding that Jesus come down here and heal, but just that Jesus may say the word of healing, that would be enough.
The centurion knew the power of words.
You too have power in words and deeds.
A simple act. A simple word. We can bless, or we can curse.
We can make someone's day better, or we can curse someone's life.
You don't have to be immersed in witchcraft or evil lifestyles to curse someone, you can just simply be mean and see how that goes.
Today, we have much cursing. Don't we? Aren't we supposed to be a people of light? A people of God? A people of love?
Why are we so immersed in this kind of world?
And do we all need healing at the moment of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Mass to be saying "my soul shall be healed...if only He says the word". We do.
You see, we, you and me, we make up the body of Christ. And all the baptized souls in the world. But, so many, as you well know, have turned from God to sin. I don't have to look beyond my own community and family to see those that do not receive the Eucharist, or go to Mass, or go to see Father in any way. Father God. We like to do our own thing.
In prison classes or a retreat, I think I told them something I never forgot with the Holy Spirit, when I said "we are more pleasure hunters than true treasure hunters".
We are lost, when we lose our way. What better place to be than at His side?
What better place to be for the soul to heal than with our creator?
He is our God, our all! Our Love! Take care of our Father's business of love on earth, the truth, Jesus Himself, the heart of God. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 17:17 [Proverbs 17] 17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
