†Quote of the Day "Every pious desire, every good thought, every charitable work inspired by the love of Jesus, contributes to the perfection of the whole body of the faithful. A person who does nothing more than lovingly pray to God for his brethren, participates in the great work of saving souls."
–Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich Today's Meditation "Jesus trembled and shuddered as He stood before the pillar, and took off His garments as quickly as He could, but His hands were bloody and swollen. The only return He made when His brutal executioners struck and abused Him was to pray for them in the most touching manner: He turned His face once toward His Mother, who was standing overcome with grief; this look quite unnerved her: she fainted, and would have fallen, had not the holy women who were there supported her. Jesus put His arms around the pillar, and when His hands were thus raised, the archers fastened them to the iron ring which was at the top of the pillar; they then dragged His arms to such a height that His feet, which were tightly bound to the base of the pillar, scarcely touched the ground. Thus was the Holy of Holies violently stretched, without a particle of clothing, on a pillar used for the punishment of criminals; and then did two furious ruffians who were thirsting for His blood begin in the most barbarous manner to scourge His sacred body from head to foot."
—Bl. Anne Cathrine Emmerich, p. 218-219 Daily Verse But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God; now he waits until his enemies are made his footstool. For by one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated."
–Hebrews 10:12-14 | Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) was born in Germany to a devout peasant family. From a young age she received divine knowledge imparted to her through extremely detailed visions of the lives of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the saints. As a child her guardian angel often appeared to her, and Jesus himself visited her while she was tending sheep. The suffering souls in purgatory often called upon her assistance to offer prayers and penances on their behalf. At the age of 28, after many years of longing for the religious life, Anne Catherine entered the novitiate with the Augustinians. She devoted her life to waging a spiritual battle for suffering souls, and in her great charity she accepted extreme physical, yet supernatural, sufferings which ultimately left her bedridden. This strange phenomena of physical suffering for the spiritual condition of other souls was not always accepted by others, and she endured much ridicule due to the astonishing manner in which her experiences displayed themselves. Her daily visions gave her special insight into the spiritual realm which have been recorded into now-popular books, and were used to discover what is believed to be the house of Mary in Ephesus. Her feast day is February 9th. | Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 kgs 11:29-32; 12:19 Jeroboam left Jerusalem,
and the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road.
The two were alone in the area,
and the prophet was wearing a new cloak.
Ahijah took off his new cloak,
tore it into twelve pieces, and said to Jeroboam: "Take ten pieces for yourself;
the LORD, the God of Israel, says:
'I will tear away the kingdom from Solomon's grasp
and will give you ten of the tribes.
One tribe shall remain to him for the sake of David my servant,
and of Jerusalem,
the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.'" Israel went into rebellion against David's house to this day. Responsorial Psalm PS 81:10-11ab, 12-13, 14-15 R. (11a and 9a) I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice.
"There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt."
R. I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice.
"My people heard not my voice,
and Israel obeyed me not;
So I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts;
they walked according to their own counsels."
R. I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice.
"If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
Quickly would I humble their enemies;
against their foes I would turn my hand."
R. I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice. Alleluia See Acts 16:14b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 7:31-37 Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man's ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
"Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")
And immediately the man's ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
"He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
| Daily Meditation: 1 Kings 11:4-13 His heart was not entirely with the Lord. (1 Kings 11:4) In the history of the Jewish people, David and his son Solomon were both powerful but flawed leaders. David used his position of power to have the husband of his mistress killed (2 Samuel 11). And Solomon began worshipping the false gods of the pagan nations (1 Kings 11:5-8). You could argue that David, with his trail of lust, conspiracy, and murder, sinned more grievously than Solomon did. But God saw it differently. For all his flaws and weaknesses, David tried to follow God "unreservedly" (1 Kings 11:6). From his earliest days, he was devoted to the Lord. He even risked his life in battle with Goliath simply because Goliath was mocking the Lord (1 Samuel 17:26). Even after the whole affair with Bathsheba, when he realized how far he had fallen, David offered sincere and humble repentance (Psalm 51). Rather than growing defensive or denying his responsibility, he admitted his sins and begged God to spare everyone who was affected by them (2 Samuel 12:15-17). Solomon, on the other hand, began well but then ended up showing little concern for his relationship with the Lord. As Scripture said, his "heart was not entirely with the Lord, his God, as the heart of his father David had been" (1 Kings 11:4). He let his foreign wives turn him away from worshipping God and honoring the Law of Moses. He spent a great deal of time consolidating his power, building up his army, and filling his own coffers with wealth (10:14-29). And he neglected to care for the poor and needy in his kingdom (12:1-5). The stories of David and Solomon show us that God can see into the deepest desires of our hearts. He doesn't look just at our actions; he also sees our intentions and motives. He sees how much we want to love him, even if we struggle to live out that love. And he always pours out grace to help us stay faithful. So even if you sin, and sin grievously, take heart. Your Father won't stop loving you. He won't stop offering you his mercy and his power to change. More than anything, he wants to purify your heart so that you can love him more and follow him more faithfully. "Lord, I place my heart in your hands. Teach me to live in your love!" Psalm 106:3-4, 35-37, 40
Mark 7:24-30 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
"And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man's ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
"Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")
And immediately the man's ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly. ....." end of Gospel verse.
. . . | Have you ever noticed someone that can't talk right? And I'm not talking about someone who stutters or has a brain disorder but someone who cannot talk about God! Someone that cannot pray or say our Lord's name right, these are the ones who could have some bad spirits inside of them. In some exorcisms, they are requested to pray, or say the name of our Lord or Mother Mary, and these people cannot! It costs them too much!
And so where can we experience the laying of the hands for healing?
Firstly, it should be with a priest, in any sickness you feel a need to be healed, especially interior and spiritual ailments.
In the anointing of the sick, the priest, with authorization from above, can lay his hands on you. He can absolve you even from your sins! How amazing is that? And when you can hear Him, then you can speak about Him.
But first...healing...and listening.
A person that cannot hear right cannot speak right.
And that is our problem, that we are not good listeners. And I am guilty of this too. I cannot stay quiet long enough to listen. And I'm not talking about listening just to people..but to God. I act and move faster than I think. Our reactions have to be controlled. Our speech has to be controlled. We were granted 2 ears, and one mouth. To listen twice as much, before we speak. We have a knee-jerk reaction to comments at times. Our hands are ready to strike right back when someone says something.
Silence is not a sign of stupidity, but of wisdom at times.
Our priest from Nigeria sometimes stays quiet when you ask him something or a conversation is picking up pace.
We need to involve prayer and the Holy Spirit in our everyday conversations and dealing with issues with each other.
Even a simple text message could be read all wrong! I've been involved in many of those too, for work, family, even church!
I always tell people "a text message is only about 50% communication". The best kind of communication is in person.
So wouldn't you rather be talking with our Father in person?
How?
The Holy Sacraments. And, visits to the Blessed Sacrament and Holy Adoration.
There you are one on one.
Sure you can talk anywhere you go, but to be really in person!
I'm talking Holy Eucharist here, Blood, Body, Soul, full divinity of Christ!
Let us pray today:
Lord, help us come to You for healing yes, but for listening. Open the ears and mouths of our souls to do Your Holy Will. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 26:12 12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
