† Quote of the Day "No one can make excuses, because anyone can love God; and he does not ask the soul for more than to love him, because he loves the soul, and it is his love." — Blessed Angela of Foligno Today's Meditation "The vow of poverty is a generous renunciation and detachment from the heavy burden of temporal things. It is an alleviation of the spirit, it is a relief afforded to human infirmity, the liberty of a noble heart to strive after eternal and spiritual blessings. It is a satiety and abundance, in which the thirst after earthly treasures is allayed, and a sovereignty and ownership, in which a most noble enjoyment of all riches is established. All this, my daughter, and many other blessings are contained in voluntary poverty, and all this the sons of the world are ignorant and deprived of, precisely because they are lovers of earthly riches and enemies of this holy and opulent poverty." —Ven. Mary of Agreda, p. 85 An excerpt from The Mystical City of God Daily Verse "We know that we belong to God, and the whole world is under the power of the evil one. We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment to know the one who is true. And we are in the one who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life." — 1 John 5:19-20 | Saint Oscar Romero Óscar Arnulfo Romero y Galdámez was born on August 15, 1917 in Ciudad Barrios, a small town in El Salvador. Oscar discerned very early that God was calling him to be a priest. When he was only fourteen years old he left home to study for the priesthood. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of San Salvador in 1942. He was a parish priest, editor of the diocesan newspaper, worked with the bishops of El Salvador and in 1977 became Archbishop of San Salvador, the capital city of El Salvador. During this time there was much violence and unrest, with many civilians being killed. Archbishop Romero denounced the actions of the military and the government. He advocated for the poor and oppressed, becoming a "voice for the voiceless". The government turned against the Catholic Church and began arresting and killing priests and closing Catholic institutions. Despite all the violence, Archbishop Romero advocated for non-violent protests and urged the military to obey God, not the orders of men. On March 24, 1980, he was assassinated while saying Mass in the Chapel of the Hospital of Divine Providence. Pope John Paul II gave him the title of "Servant of God" in 1997. In 2015, Pope Francis declared Archbishop Romero a martyr. He was formally beatified on May 23, 2015 and canonized by Pope Francis on October 14, 2018. His feast day is October 14th. | Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 GAL 4:22-24, 26-27, 31–5:1 Brothers and sisters:
It is written that Abraham had two sons,
one by the slave woman and the other by the freeborn woman.
The son of the slave woman was born naturally,
the son of the freeborn through a promise.
Now this is an allegory.
These women represent two covenants.
One was from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery;
this is Hagar.
But the Jerusalem above is freeborn, and she is our mother.
For it is written:
Rejoice, you barren one who bore no children;
break forth and shout, you who were not in labor;
for more numerous are the children of the deserted one
than of her who has a husband.
Therefore, brothers and sisters,
we are children not of the slave woman
but of the freeborn woman.
For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm
and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery. Responsorial Psalm PS 113:1B-2, 3-4, 5A AND 6-7 R. (see 2) Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory.
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Who is like the LORD, our God,
who looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor.
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Alleluia PS 95:8 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 11:29-32 While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
"This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here."
| Daily Meditation: Luke 11:29-32 No sign will be given. (Luke 11:29) That sounds kind of harsh. Why would Jesus refuse to give the people a sign? They wanted to know who he was. Wouldn't a sign from God show them once and for all that he was the long-awaited Messiah? The problem was, Jesus had already given the people plenty of signs. There was the "sign" of his teaching: people hung on his every word as he displayed a wisdom that surpassed even that of King Solomon. Then there were the signs of his miracles. He healed the sick and cast out demons with just a word of command. He even raised people from the dead! And perhaps his greatest "sign" was right in front of them all the time: his very presence! His love, his power, his mercy. But none of these signs seemed to be enough—they wanted even more. Clearly, for some, there would never be enough signs. No matter how many they had, they would still refuse to believe. Before we start judging this "evil generation" (Luke 11:29), it's helpful to remember that Jesus' words are meant for every generation, including our own! His teachings still apply; his miracles still abound; and now that he is risen, his presence is with us even more powerfully. Still, despite these signs, many choose not to believe in him. They're still asking for more signs. Or to be more accurate, there are times that even we ask for more, despite all that we have already seen and experienced! The problem with asking for signs is that we tend to want them on our own terms. But the signs that God wants to give are all around. They're right in front of you every day: his presence in you, his mercy over you, and his Spirit guiding you. He's inviting you to make these signs the foundation of your faith in him. Just as he did for the people of his generation, Jesus wants you to trust in him based on all that you have already received. Know that Jesus himself, risen in glory, is God's greatest and final sign. Believe in him. Lean on him. And praise him for his faithfulness and mercy. "Jesus, open my eyes so I can see all the signs of your presence and your love!" Galatians 4:22-24, 26-27, 31–5:1
Psalm 113:1-7 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Click to hear Audio | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here....." end quote. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus tells the crowd that they will receive no sign except the sign of Jonah, which was a prophetic code for his death and Resurrection.
Everything Jesus said and did, in one way or another, is an anticipation of his Resurrection. The God of Israel, the God of Jesus Christ, is a God of life, a God of the living. He hates death and the ways of death.
He hates sin, which brings about spiritual death; he hates physical illness, which brings about bodily death; he hates corruption, which brings about societal death. And so he battles all these things all the way. Jesus heals blind eyes and deaf ears and crippled limbs; he illuminates darkened minds; he liberates imprisoned souls.
His ministry is a ministry of life, of the triumph of life over death"
end quote.
An evil generation seeks a sign.
Yesterday at the nursing home, I read the daily gospel, the Sunday Gospel to the elderly, in one side of the hospital, and the other side at the mental health unit. Me, my wife, and a few of our kids go almost every Sunday, in an effort to extend the Mass, and keep the whole day more holy. Yes, we must rest, but for the Lord, and focus on the Lord all the day, not any other stuff.
Anyhow, I asked the question to the people "what did you think of the rich man that went away sad from Jesus when the Lord asked him to selll his stuff and follow the Lord?" Mostly I get blank stares, but this time, one guy James said "that man was stingy". And another said almost the same, Lisa, and a man with a wheelchair and a hole in his head Bruce said "it's about faith". Boy, that guy illuminated my mind. I love it. The Holy Spirit is in the room. I said "Yes! you are so right, because like the time our Lord sent out his servants and commanded them to take no extra clothes, or money, just go! This meant we must solely depend on God, not ourselves, not on anybody! Just Go! Live on faith!".
And when we can't let go of ourselves, of our lives, of what we love, then, yes, we are stingy, but that means we are faithless, and you know how I equate the word love, with faith.
Today, an evil generation seeks signs, to believe, to live not by faith, but by the senses, of sight, touch, sound, and so forth. But our Lord is asking us to have faith in His message.
I want to thank anyone and all who prayed for us at our family festival, Bruce at the hospital too. I want to call this Family Festival, the year of the Jamaica Festival little miracles. There are too many to list. But a couple to enrich our faith. First, my cousin Luis. His sister Sandy came to me with a story that gave me goosebumps. She said Luis was so anxious, all the preparations, all the hard work to get their custom Food Trolley to the festival, the old train looking trolley wouldn't start, been parked for a year waiting for the festival. He was so fed up with it, she said he was about to dial my phone number, but he said he put his head down and prayed for about a minute, "Lord, you know how much time, effort, and money we have put into this, it is all for you, please if you can help". He turned the key, and the trolley fired right up! He was so shocked, so happy, and started driving and made it just in time to set up.
Another miracle, two miracles, an influx of helpers throughout the day, and our kids jumpers, not a single one deflated, and so many other "little miracles" that made the evening just about perfect, for the first time, I didn't experience major breakdowns, only one was a nervous breakdown I almost had when an unexpected funeral made us wait to set up almost a full day's worth of setups, and even that worked out.
Trust in God. He's got angels on hand. He's got the whole world in His hands. We are in good hands. Do you want to be in His hands?
Have faith. The signs come after faith comes first. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 135:5–7 [Psalm 135] 5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.
7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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