† Quote of the Day "We should strive to keep our hearts open to the sufferings and wretchedness of other people, and pray continually that God may grant us that spirit of compassion which is truly the spirit of God." — St. Vincent de Paul Today's Meditation "Let us beware of complaints, resentments, and evil-speaking against those who are ill-disposed to us, discontented with us, or hostile to our plans and arrangements, or who even persecute us with injuries, insults, and calumnies. Rather let us go on treating them as cordially as at first, or more so, as far as possible showing them esteem, always speaking well of them, doing them good, serving them on occasion, even to the point of taking shame and disgrace upon ourselves, if necessary to save their honor. All this ought to be done, first, to overcome evil with good, according to the teaching of the Apostles; and secondly, because they are our allies rather than our adversaries, as they aid us to destroy self-love, which is our greatest foe; and since it is they who give us an opportunity to gain merit, they ought to be considered our dearest friends." —St. Vincent de Paul, p.413
An excerpt from Cultivating Virtue: Self-Mastery With the Saints Daily Verse "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me." — John 14:23-24 | St. Vincent De Paul St. Vincent de Paul (1581–1660) was born in France to a peasant farming family. As a child he grew up herding sheep, and showed such an aptitude for his studies that his father sold the family oxen to fund his seminary education. After his ordination in 1600, St. Vincent worked in Toulouse as a tutor to pay for his doctorate. In 1605, while traveling by sea, he was captured by Turkish pirates. He was taken to Tunis in Africa and sold into slavery four times before escaping in 1607 along with his master, whom he had coverted to the faith. St. Vincent then continued his studies in Rome, and afterwards returned to France. He served as a parish priest and ministered to the nobility; however, two life-changing encounters with destitute people inspired him to begin work among the poor and marginalized. He gathered the wealthy women of his parish to collect funds for missionary projects. From this group came the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. He also founded an Order of priests, the Vincentians, who, during a time of general laxity and ignorance among the clergy, devoted themselves to the Evangelical Councils while serving in small towns and villages. He committed himself to the education of priests and conducted many retreats for their spiritual formation. He also ministered to convicts suffering deplorable conditions in prison, and won many to the faith in addition to building them a hospital. St. Vincent renewed the faith of France during a time of spiritual crisis. For this he was named the patron of charitable works. He is also the patron of the St. Vincent de Paul Society, an organization dedicated to the service of the poor, now working in 132 countries. His feast day is September 27th. | Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest Reading 1 Eccl 3:1-11 There is an appointed time for everything,
and a time for every thing under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;
a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace. What advantage has the worker from his toil?
I have considered the task that God has appointed
for the sons of men to be busied about.
He has made everything appropriate to its time,
and has put the timeless into their hearts,
without man's ever discovering,
from beginning to end, the work which God has done. Responsorial Psalm Ps 144:1b and 2abc, 3-4 R. (1) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
my mercy and my fortress,
my stronghold, my deliverer,
My shield, in whom I trust.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!
LORD, what is man, that you notice him;
the son of man, that you take thought of him?
Man is like a breath;
his days, like a passing shadow.
R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock! Alleluia Mk 10:45 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 9:18-22 Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,
and the disciples were with him,
he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"
They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah;
still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'"
Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God."
He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised."
| Daily Meditation: Ecclesiastes 3:1-11 There is an appointed time for everything. (Ecclesiastes 3:1) Our time on earth is a gift. It's a limited resource, and it's important that we use it well. And yet God has "put the timeless into [our] hearts" (Ecclesiastes 3:11), giving us a longing for eternity. It's as if we are supposed to live in two different worlds at the same time. The way we spend our time in this life matters, but we are made for eternity, unbound by the constraints of time. So, do we busy ourselves only with trying to accomplish all our daily tasks in their "appointed time" (3:1)? Or do we also place a priority on spiritual pursuits? Qoheleth, the author of Ecclesiastes, wrote that there is a "time" for all things; God gives us tasks to "be busied about" (3:1, 10). But even though God put the timeless into our hearts, we don't really discover "from beginning to end, the work which God has done" (3:11). In other words, even though we are meant for eternity, we don't fully understand how God uses the tasks he places before us to prepare us for eternity. We are somehow in the dark about the meaning of it all. And so Qoheleth becomes despondent. But we have an advantage that Qoheleth didn't have. We can look to the example of Jesus, eternal God who became man. He lived both in time and in eternity. He knows from experience what it's like to exist in this world, what it's like to have to make choices about how to use limited time. Sleep or pray? Stay put in the midst of a fruitful ministry or move on (Mark 1:37-38)? Interrupt an urgent errand in order to heal an insistent sufferer (Mark 5:21-43)? Surely Jesus understands our challenges and is eager to lead us as we choose how to use our time to accomplish God's desires. He understood both God's eternal purposes and the needs in front of him, and he can help us do the same. It matters how we spend our time here on earth because the choices we make can help carry out God's plan in the world. But the ways we spend our time can also increase our longing for heaven and make us more ready to spend eternity with God. May we learn the wisdom of living with our feet on earth and our hearts in heaven! "Eternal loving God, help me to use the time you've given me with an eye toward eternity." Psalm 144:1-4
Luke 9:18-22 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Peter said in reply, "The Christ of God."
He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.
He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised........" end quote. | Bishop Barron said:
"Finally, Simon Peter speaks: "The Christ of God." You are the Mashiach (Messiah), the anointed, the long-awaited Savior; but more to it, as Peter says in other Gospels, you are the Son of God, not just a human hero. This is the mystical faith that stands at the heart of Christianity. This is the standing or falling point. To hold this Petrine faith is to be a Christian; to deny it is not to be a Christian.. . . ." end of Bishop's quote.
What a direct question when our Lord asks you and me: "Who do YOU say that I am?".
Most my young students will say various answers, and some cannot answer very well. They are not sure what to answer when Jesus our Lord asks this question.
And we must be honest.
Is He God?
Is He your savior?
If so, do we treat Him like that? Or do we treat Him like those who rejected Him and had Him crucified?
To reject Him is to lash out at Him. To not care, is to let people lash out at Him.
And He is the heart of God. How do we treat Him who loves us so dearly?
Would you rip your heart out and give to someone so that they could live on?
That's what God did for us!
He gave His life on the cross, and from His heart came blood and water.
He lives on, His heart is beating, but because of His death, now our hearts can live forever. On earth as it is in Heaven.
What will it take for us to treat God as our King and not as someone we like to reject to do our own thing?
What will it take to love Him?
Give Him your heart. Say "this is all I got my dear Lord".
And when we open our chest to Him, our soul to Him, He will come, and He will live and reign, and shine the light of God inside each and everyone of us.
Lord, You are the Messiah, the triumphant warrior of love. Help us be such humble warriors. That we might defeat and conquer all hearts for the Sacred and Divine Heart of God our Father. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Acts 17:24–25 [Acts 17] 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,1 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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