†Quote of the Day "Patience smooths away lots of difficulties."
–St. John Bosco Today's Meditation "Throughout Sacred Scripture, we find that when God's people fast, the power of their prayers is increased, especially when they are engaged in spiritual warfare. In the Old Testament, the Lord told Isaiah that a fast properly undertaken would 'loose the bonds of wickedness … undo the thongs of the yoke … let the oppressed go free' (Is. 58:6) … In the New Testament, we find that Jesus fasted for forty days and nights in the wilderness in preparation for His battle with Satan, who came to tempt Him (see Lk 4:1-2) … If prayer is a spiritual weapon, fasting is the spiritual whetstone on which it is sharpened. It's the spiritual muscle that, when exercised regularly, strengthens the thrust of that weapon to pierce the Enemy and drive him away."
—Paul Thigpen, p. 42 Daily Verse "My children, I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one. He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world."
–1 John 2:1-2 | Saint Paul Miki and Companions St. Paul Miki (1562–1597) and his twenty-five companions, known as the Martyrs of Nagasaki, were crucified for the faith in Nagasaki, Japan, in 1597. A Japanese layman of great nobility and wealth, Paul was converted to Christianity by St. Francis Xavier. Although the Christian missionaries did not meet with opposition initially, the Japanese rulers eventually launched a brutal campaign to wipe out its progress. The twenty-six men were forced to march 600 miles to meet their death in Nagasaki. The group included Franciscan and Jesuit missionaries and Japanese converts. They were repeatedly offered freedom if they would renounce Christianity; they all declined. When the march ended the martyrs were tied to crosses. They prayed and sang while Paul Miki preached the Gospel in a loud voice. The martyrs were then stabbed to death while they hung on their crosses. The crowd who witnessed the testimony of Paul Miki and his companions would immortalize his words and use them to further spread Christianity in Japan. Their collective feast day is February 6th. | Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Paul Miki, priest and martyr, and his companions, martyrs Reading 1 1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30 Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD
in the presence of the whole community of Israel,
and stretching forth his hands toward heaven,
he said, "LORD, God of Israel,
there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below;
you keep your covenant of mercy with your servants
who are faithful to you with their whole heart. "Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?
If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you,
how much less this temple which I have built!
Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O LORD, my God,
and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant,
utter before you this day.
May your eyes watch night and day over this temple,
the place where you have decreed you shall be honored;
may you heed the prayer which I, your servant, offer in this place.
Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel
which they offer in this place.
Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon." Responsorial psalm PS 84:3, 4, 5 and 10, 11 R. (2) How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young—
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
O God, behold our shield,
and look upon the face of your anointed.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God! Alleluia Ps 119:36, 29b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees;
and favor me with your law.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 7:1-13 When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"
He responded,
"Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written: This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
In vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts. You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."
He went on to say,
"How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
'If someone says to father or mother,
"Any support you might have had from me is qorban"'
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things."
| Daily Meditation: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30 Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth? (1 Kings 8:27) Solomon had finally done it. Years ago, his father, David, dreamed of building a temple for the Lord (2 Samuel 7:1-14). But God told David to let his son Solomon undertake the task. And that's exactly what happened. After becoming king, Solomon built a magnificent temple! Yesterday's reading showed us how, at the dedication ceremony, Solomon marveled over what he had done: "I have indeed built you a princely house, the base for your enthronement forever" (1 Kings 8:13). But then Solomon realized that he had it all wrong. Today we read how, at that very same ceremony, he asked, "Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?" (1 Kings 8:27). God was far too big, far too majestic, to live in any building made by human hands. "If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you," Solomon said to the Lord, "how much less this temple which I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27). At that moment, Solomon got it right. No one can contain the Lord. He is not a "small g" god who is limited to one place; he can't possibly be contained in a building, no matter how majestic it is. God is everywhere, and his glory fills the whole earth. The awe that Solomon felt at that moment is the kind of awe that we can experience. We can stand in wonder that Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, actually does dwell on earth. Through our Baptism and the gift of his Spirit, he has even taken up residence in our hearts! Everything Solomon proclaimed about God, you can proclaim about Jesus. What's more, everything Solomon said about the Temple, you can now say about yourself. Raised from death and ascended to heaven, Jesus inhabits the whole of creation. He dwells in every Eucharistic tabernacle. And he lives in you! You may feel unworthy. You may feel too small and insignificant. You may think of yourself as a run-down, rickety old shack. But God sees something different. He sees a beautiful, gleaming, glorious dwelling place for his Son. And he loves what he sees. "Jesus, I am in awe that you would choose to live in me!" Psalm 84:3-5, 10-11
Mark 7:1-13 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
""Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
In vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."
He went on to say,
"How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!....." end of Gospel verse.
. . . | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites because they "disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."
For instance: "If someone says to father or mother, 'Any support you might have had from me is qorban' (meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother." If you claim to be a person of love but fail to honor your parents, something is seriously off. Thus the hypocrisy of the Pharisees is a disregard of love.
In its essence, love is an act of the will—more precisely, the willing of the good of the other as other. To love is really to want what is good for someone else and then to act on that desire.
Real love is a leaping outside of the narrow confines of my needs and desires, and an embrace of the other's good for the other's sake. It is an escape from the black hole of the ego, which tends to draw everything around it into itself......." end quote Bishop Barron.
Have you ever noticed a human tradition in the church that supersedes God's laws? I have. It is those that take church laws so serious that they beat others up with them, make them feel bad for not doing what is supposed to be done. Often, and most often I'd say, it's not what we say to each other, but HOW we say it to each other. I have a clear truth to say, and I'm probably frustrated, but still, love has to win. I've never won a soul for God by abusing them with my words. NEVER. On the contrary, we've lost many souls because of our words. Words have power, for good or for worse. They can make beautiful things happen, or bring things to ruin. The good means we are with God, the bad means we have sided with the devil.
Things are very black and white. Every little thing we do, every little word we say matters. I am now trying to measure my words, because they carry power. Woe to me for the negative things I utter to say. I've been learning from books about purgatory souls, and even near death experiences when people see their judgement.
What we dismiss as nothing, or remain neutral in, can actually come back to haunt us. Want a couple silly examples?
Padre Pio, I believe it was him or another saint, once saw a lost soul in church one night. It was a recently deceased fellow monk. The conversation made Padre Pio realize this man was not in Heaven for little sins, one of which was for not being reverent in Church.
Or another soul said to a visionary sister said that watching Television and ignoring their kids was a reason to suffer now that they were dead.
Most everybody calls themselves good. But only God knows who and what is good.
Or take the words of a sacristan that told another helper "get away, you are stealing the wine...you alcoholic!" and that helper left the church for many years.
There is a a need to speak truth, but how you say it changes everything. For this, we need grace. The more, the better.
These Pharisees made laws to declare themselves "good". And so do we. We tailor our lives to make us seem good, but God our Father sees our heart.
It's as if the Lord has come to write on the wall with His finger, to remind us, that our Lord has counted our days, and that what we build for ourselves will come to an awful end, a house of cards built on sand.
Therefore, take heed as I write with the Holy Spirit taking over my body to message you: I am a prophet in the desert, and our Lord has declared to make straight the paths of the Lord. Do not be a stumbling block for others. Rather, let yourself be a block for others to step on, so they may reach higher than yourself the very Heavens our Lord has declared.
And what is Heaven on Earth? God's will. Let us pray today:
My Lord and My God, Thy Kingdom Come, They Will Be Done! |  Click for Audio | WOW. Amazing. Random Bible Verse 1
Ephesians 2:8–9 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
