†Quote of the Day "The name of Jesus, pronounced with reverence and affection, has a kind of power to soften the heart."
–St. Philip Neri †Today's Meditation "I wonder if we understand the negative aspect of faith? I shake sometimes. I'm afraid. You mustn't worry that, because you don't know what the future is, you don't have faith. Faith means that in the midst of darkness and turmoil, you know that God is there and is taking care of you…Faith and presence go together, but it doesn't do anything for my adrenaline glands! My body may react to the fear of the moment, and I could still have faith…to use His Name means to be like Jesus. That means when the Father sees you as a Christian, He sees His Son. Now you can ask in His Name, because He looks at you and He sees His Son in all His compassion, gentleness, love, and peace. He sees all that in you. Now you can ask in His Name. Don't be a name-dropper, because faith and fear sometimes do go together."
—Mother Angelica, p. 83-84 An Excerpt From
Mother Angelica's Guide to the Spiritual Life †Daily Verse "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
–1 Corinthians 3:16-17 | Holy Name of Jesus The Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is historically associated with the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus. According to Jewish law, on the 8th day after his birth, a male child was circumcised and received his name, thus becoming a full member of God's covenant people. The name 'Jesus' means 'God Saves' and is the name that St. Joseph was instructed by an angel to name the Divine Child, the sacred name before which "every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil. 2:10-11). Devotion to the Most Holy Name of Jesus was popularized by St. Bernardine of Siena in the 15th century, often symbolized by the monogram IHS (denoting the first three letters of the Greek spelling of Jesus' name). Today the feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is celebrated on January 3rd. | St. Genevieve of Paris St. Genevieve (c.422-512 A.D.) was born to a respectable family in a small village outside Paris, France. When she was seven years old a famous bishop, St. Germain, spotted her in a crowd and prophesied to her parents about her future sanctity. At his invitation, St. Genevieve expressed her desire to live in a state of perpetual virginity and made her vows under him, after which St. Germain gave her a brass medal engraved with a cross as a reminder of her consecration to Christ. In her teens she received the religious veil under the Bishop of Paris and lived a devout life of prayer, charity, and austerity. She was especially known for her gifts of prophecy and reading consciences. When her parents died she lived with her grandmother in Paris, often visiting other cities where she would perform miracles. This led to her persecution, with a plot against her life, but when St. Germain came to her defense she was afterwards greatly revered by the people. St. Genevieve became venerated as the patron saint of Paris after she helped avert an attack against the city by Attila the Hun, and for saving the city from famine during a siege, when a boatload of grain overcame a military blockade due to her intercession. St. Genevieve is also the patron saint against fever, plague, and disasters. Her feast day is January 3rd. | Christmas Weekday Reading 1 1 JN 2:29–3:6 If you consider that God is righteous,
you also know that everyone who acts in righteousness
is begotten by him.
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.
Everyone who commits sin commits lawlessness,
for sin is lawlessness.
You know that he was revealed to take away sins,
and in him there is no sin.
No one who remains in him sins;
no one who sins has seen him or known him. Responsorial Psalm PS 98:1, 3CD-4, 5-6 R. (3cd) All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God. Alleluia JN 1:14A, 12A R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us.
To those who accepted him
he gave power to become the children of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 1:29-34 John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
"Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
'A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.'
I did not know him,
but the reason why I came baptizing with water
was that he might be made known to Israel."
John testified further, saying,
"I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky
and remain upon him.
I did not know him,
but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain,
he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God." | Daily Meditation: 1 John 2:29–3:6 See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. (1 John 3:1) What an amazing gift! God offers us the immense privilege of being children of God. Through Jesus, he has adopted us and made us his sons and daughters—a dignity so astounding that we can hardly grasp it. And yet, as John says, "So we are" (1 John 3:1). Our Father wants us to walk confidently in the world, with our hearts secure of our place in his divine family. But what does it really mean to be children of God? First, it means that we are re-created. Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, we can receive an entirely new life, God's own life. At the moment of our Baptism, that's what happened. God breathed his Holy Spirit into us and made us new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). He also began a process of renovation within us. For the rest of our lives, God is at work, changing us from the inside out so that we resemble his Son. Second, as children of God, we have a new connection with God. Our relationship with our Father is not driven by fear or by striving to win his affection; it is based on his unwavering faithfulness to us. It's a relationship of love, peace, and security. That connection with him fills us with gratitude and moves us to obey him. When we stumble, we can repent, because he will always take us back. His fatherly care remains with us no matter what! Finally, as God's children, we are beloved by our Father. He loves us so much that he gave his Son to be our Savior. At Jesus' Baptism, the heavens opened, and the Father's voice rang out, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11). When our Father looks at us, he sees Jesus and his life within us. He delights in us and says, These are my beloved sons and daughters, in whom I am well pleased. What wondrous love God has for us! Before you do anything else today, take a moment to be amazed that the maker of heaven and earth has made you his child. "Father, help me to never forget that you have called me into your family!" Psalm 98:1, 3-6
John 1:29-34 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
"John testified further, saying,
"I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him.
I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me,
'On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'
Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God."....." end of Gospel verse.
. . . | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, today's Gospel reports John the Baptist's testimony about Jesus.
One of the earliest descriptions of Baptism is vitae spiritualis ianua, which means "the door to the spiritual life." To grasp the full meaning of this is to understand something really decisive about Christianity.
For Christianity is not primarily about "becoming a good person" or "doing the right thing" or, in Flannery O'Connor's famous phrase, "having a heart of gold." Let's face it: anyone—pagan, Muslim, Jew, nonbeliever—can be any of those things.
To be a Christian is to be grafted on to Christ and hence drawn into the very dynamics of the inner life of God. We become a member of his Mystical Body, sharing in his relationship to the Father.
It is so important that we are baptized "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." For Baptism draws us into the relationship between the Father and the Son, which is to say in the Holy Spirit. Baptism, therefore, is all about grace—our incorporation, through the power of God's love, into God's own life.....". end quote Bishop Barron.
It is crucial that we baptize the world. I remember though, an argument, well, a discussion with my anti-catholic ex brother in law, saying that one only needs to be baptized in the name of Jesus. Where they came up with that, is not direct from our Lord's mouth, for He said before ascending into Heaven "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19-20)
That's several commands in one breath.
1.) Make disciples of ALL Nations
2.) Baptize them in the Holy Trinity
3.) Teach them to Obey everything He commanded And lastly, He said "remember, I am with you always".
How soon do we forget that!
And we see the Holy Trinity at the baptism of our Lord, where, there, the Father Speaks, and there, the Holy Spirit descends, and there is our Lord Himself.
This changes everything.
If an angel's announcement changes the world, can you imagine when God descends upon Himself in the waters of Baptism?
I've mentioned to you that I'm tuning into the Book of Heaven, I am at volume 13 of 36 volumes I believe. And I can see one thing is common about the dictations from the servant and author Luisa Piccarreta, and it is the dire importance of obedience. It is what seems to hold everything together, as if a language, or way of life, hard to explain, but Heaven is all about obedience. And Heaven should start right here and right now within us, where our Lord chooses to reside in a willing soul to do His Holy will. He wants to touch souls. He wants to save souls. He wants to baptize souls. He wants to heal souls. Will we let Him through us? He wants to preach to all Nations. He wants to reach all peoples. Will He do it through you and me? Pray with me:
Lord, give us grace and the Holy Spirit to do Your Holy Will. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 12:19 19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
