Shrove Tuesday Veneration of the Holy Face of Jesus has its beginning during Christ's Passion, making it one of the oldest devotions in the Christian tradition. St. Veronica, as a sign of her love and compassion, offered Our Savior a veil to wipe the blood and sweat from his face as he carried his cross on the way to his crucifixion. In reward for her charity and compassion, Jesus left an impression of his Holy Face upon the veil. This meeting of Jesus and St. Veronica is forever memorialized in the Stations of the Cross. According to tradition, St. Veronica later entrusted the veil to St. Clement, a disciple of St. Peter who became the third Bishop of Rome. For the next three centuries the Holy Veil was kept in the Roman catacombs during the early persecutions of the Church. Veronica's Veil was later moved to the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome where it remains today. It is displayed annually from the relic niche above her statue in St. Peter's Basilica on the fifth Sunday of Lent. Shrove Tuesday (the day prior to Ash Wednesday) is the traditional feast day of the Holy Face of Jesus. | †Quote of the Day "The Lord manifests Himself to those who stop for some time in peace and humility of heart. If you look in murky and turbulent waters, you cannot see the reflection of your face. If you want to see the face of Christ, stop and collect your thoughts in silence, and close the door of your soul to the noise of external things."
–St. Anthony of Padua Today's Meditation God's delays are mysterious; sorrow is sometimes prolonged for the same reason for which it is sent. God may abstain for the moment from healing, not because Love does not love, but because Love never stops loving, and a greater good is to come from the woe. Heaven's clock is different from ours."
—Fulton J. Sheen, p. 357 Daily Verse "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers."
–Psalm 1: 1-3 | St. Catherine del Ricci St. Catherine del Ricci (1522-1590) was born with the name Alessandra in Florence, Italy, to a respectable merchant family. Her mother died while she was very young, so that from her childhood Alessandra took the Blessed Virgin Mary as her mother. She was given to prayer and religious fervor, and at the age of fourteen decided to enter a strict Third Order Dominican convent, taking Catherine as her religious name. She developed into a great mystic with an intense devotion to the Passion of Christ. For many years Catherine would go into ecstasy from noon every Thursday through 4 p.m. on Friday, experiencing in a mystical manner the sufferings of Christ during his Passion. She was also given the spiritual gift of the stigmata; Christ's wounds would appear on her body through the course of the ecstasy. After enduring much humiliation for years on account of these sufferings, she was eventually accepted as a holy woman and later became prioress. Her advice was widely sought on many spiritual and practical matters. Despite being cloistered, she kept up a loving correspondence with many relatives, friends, and her spiritual children. Among those in her correspondence were three future popes, Pope Marcellus II, Pope Clement VIII, and Pope Leo XI. Her feast day is February 13. | Tuesday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jas 1:12-18 Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation,
for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life
that he promised to those who love him.
No one experiencing temptation should say,
"I am being tempted by God";
for God is not subject to temptation to evil,
and he himself tempts no one.
Rather, each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire.
Then desire conceives and brings forth sin,
and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters:
all good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.
He willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. Responsorial Psalm Ps 94:12-13a, 14-15, 18-19 R. (12a) Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
Blessed the man whom you instruct, O LORD,
whom by your law you teach,
Giving him rest from evil days.
R. Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
For the LORD will not cast off his people,
nor abandon his inheritance;
But judgment shall again be with justice,
and all the upright of heart shall follow it.
R. Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.
When I say, "My foot is slipping,"
your mercy, O LORD, sustains me;
When cares abound within me,
your comfort gladdens my soul.
R. Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord. Alleluia Jn 14:23 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord;
and my Father will love him
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 8:14-21 The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, "Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod."
They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.
When he became aware of this he said to them,
"Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?
Do you not yet understand or comprehend?
Are your hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?"
They answered him, "Twelve."
"When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?"
They answered him, "Seven."
He said to them, "Do you still not understand?"
| Daily Meditation: James 1:12-18 All good giving and every perfect gift is from above. (James 1:17) What are you giving up for Lent? It's a familiar question to ask and answer on the day before Ash Wednesday. The forty days of Lent can provide a perfect opportunity to break a harmful habit like smoking or gossiping. But we don't give up desserts or social media or our favorite online game because we're on a self-improvement kick. We do it to open up space and time to love God and our neighbor better. And we might be surprised to see how we receive gifts from the Lord as a result. God's goodness and generosity mean that Lent can be a time of receiving, not just a time of giving up. So let's ask a different question: what gift might your heavenly Father want to give you? Perhaps you decide to spend more time in intercessory prayer. Maybe you set aside fifteen minutes a day—or an hour a week—to lift up all those people whose needs have come to your attention. Yes, you are "giving up" your time, but as you do, you might receive the gift of hope in difficult circumstances. Or you might start seeing situations with God's wisdom. Or you might feel the Holy Spirit leading you to pray with someone specific, or even see God give the good gift of healing. Perhaps you decide to try to reach out to at least one person each week and offer some practical help: a meal, a ride, or a time to babysit. You might receive the gift of a greater awareness of the needs around you. Or you might find yourself feeling more compassionate toward people. You might also receive a deeper understanding of the other person's burden or concern, even if you can't do anything to alleviate it. Perhaps you pray each morning and ask God to make you aware of his greatest concern for someone close to you—along with a concrete way to address it. As you act on these insights, you might see your priorities shifting. You might also see that ordering your day according to God's thoughts has brought you the gift of peace. Spend some time today inviting the Lord to open your eyes to a gift he longs to give you. Then ask him how your Lenten practices can help prepare you to receive it. "Father, what good gift are you preparing for me this Lent?" Psalm 94:12-15, 18-19
Mark 8:14-21 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
"The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them, "Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod." ....." end of Gospel verse.
. . . | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus warns his disciples against the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod. Conversely, he wanted them to be the leaven that would transform their culture.
The Second Vatican Council spoke of the universal call to holiness—the summons of all the baptized to be a transforming leaven in the wider society. The Vatican II fathers wanted to inspire a generation of great Catholic professionals in the hopes that such people would carry the holiness they learned in the Church out to their areas of specialization in the secular world.
The Church manifests the way of ordering things born of love—love for God and love for neighbor. Generosity, peace, nonviolence, and trust will give rise to a new way of ordering things. This is true of a family, a school, a parish, a community, a nation-state.
Now, how in the world does one get this project off the ground? As should be clear to even the most naïve person, this never happens all at once, overnight. Rather, in small ways, people begin living according to the Lord's ways. And then, in God's time, this new community begins to have a leavening effect on the wider society." end quote from Bishop Barron.
We heard today: "The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat." That's when our Lord spoke up, as if to be clearing His throat and as if to say "Excuse Me?...What am I to You? Didn't I just provide the bread for thousands and thousands of people, am I not God who is with You and among You?"
That's when He warned them to guard against the false providers of the world, and the providers of false reliance.
And you? What about you today? Are you running short? Short on food? Short on money for the bills? Or short on money even for food? Should we take a cue from the poor widow and give our last 2 cents to God? Who would dare do that?
Only one who completely trusts in the Lord!
How hard is it though, to trust like that? It can be very hard for a soul..that doubts...the soul that doubts God Himself.
And so, we find ourselves in the same boat, the same situation as the disciples. Let us not be quick to judge their words and actions!
Scriptures were very particularly written thousands of years ago, for all of us to realize in our very lives today.
It is for this purpose that you are hearing this message today.
You've relied on your own understanding until now. Now, do not try to understand, but completely love our Lord Jesus, the King, the provider, the giver, the sacrificed one, the one who is oozing blood out of His side forever on the cross because of our sins. It wasn't a one time thing.
And now, what will we give in return?
Lent is beginning tomorrow. God is asking us to journey with Him for 40 days (minus feast days) into a sacrificial love. So what are we to do again?
Increase in Prayer.
Decrease in worldliness: Fast.
Increase in giving: Almsgiving. I told the people in the nursing homes "you may not have money, but you sure can give still!" And we can, we can give what we got! A smile. Give someone a break for once! Let them be loved! We can give more money, and suffer. We can stop being so like the world this lent, and be more like Christ! Often praying, often with His loved ones showing them the Way to the Father. And this is a Holy Trinity for the Holy Trinity. Let us pray today:
Lord, open my eyes and heart to do this in Lent, to pray more beautifully and sincerely, to be more giving, and to fast to suffer in union with You for all the Sins that still hurt You today. Help me unit more with You! To Love You More my dearest King! |  Click for Audio | Amazing! Random Bible Verse 1
1 Peter 3:12–13 12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil." 13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
