†Quote of the Day "Love is the most beautiful sentiment the Lord has put into the soul of men and women."
–St. Gianna Molla Today's Meditation "Just as God's creature, the sun, is one and the same the world over, so also does the Church's preaching shine everywhere to enlighten all men who want to come to a knowledge of the truth. Now of those who speak with authority in the churches, no preacher however forceful will utter anything different—for no one is above the Master—nor will a less forceful preacher diminish what has been handed down. Since our faith is everywhere the same, no one who can say more augments it, nor can anyone who says less diminish it."
—St. Ignatius of Antioch, p. 194 Daily Verse "The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, "I know him," but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to live [just] as he lived."
–1 John 2:3-6 | St. David of Wales St. David of Wales (6th c.), also called Dewi Sant by the Welsh, was a missionary priest, Celtic monk, archbishop, miracle-worker, and the founder of many monasteries in Wales and western England. He was descended from Welsh royalty, and in medieval times many believed he was the nephew of the famed King Arthur. His great leadership abilities gave him influence over many Church affairs. In the dozen monasteries he founded he established strict asceticism modeled after the early desert hermits. St. David is often depicted standing on a mound with a dove on his shoulder. According to legend, one day while preaching a dove rested on his shoulder, and the earth rose to lift him above the crowd so that all could hear him speak. During a battle with the Saxons, St. David advised the Welsh soldiers to wear leeks in their hats to distinguish themselves from their enemy; this is the origin of the leek as an emblem of Wales. St. David is one of the great saints of the 6th century whose work helped to establish Christianity in Europe. He is the patron saint of Wales, and his feast, "St. David's Day," is a popular cultural celebration. The Cathedral of St. David's in Pembrokeshire was built over his remains and became a pilgrimage destination for centuries. St. David of Wales' feast day is March 1st. | Friday of the Second Week of Lent Reading 1 Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons,
for he was the child of his old age;
and he had made him a long tunic.
When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons,
they hated him so much that they would not even greet him. One day, when his brothers had gone
to pasture their father's flocks at Shechem,
Israel said to Joseph,
"Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem.
Get ready; I will send you to them." So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan.
They noticed him from a distance,
and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him.
They said to one another: "Here comes that master dreamer!
Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here;
we could say that a wild beast devoured him.
We shall then see what comes of his dreams." When Reuben heard this,
he tried to save him from their hands, saying,
"We must not take his life.
Instead of shedding blood," he continued,
"just throw him into that cistern there in the desert;
but do not kill him outright."
His purpose was to rescue him from their hands
and return him to his father.
So when Joseph came up to them,
they stripped him of the long tunic he had on;
then they took him and threw him into the cistern,
which was empty and dry. They then sat down to their meal.
Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead,
their camels laden with gum, balm and resin
to be taken down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers:
"What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood?
Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites,
instead of doing away with him ourselves.
After all, he is our brother, our own flesh."
His brothers agreed.
They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Responsorial Psalm Ps 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21 R. (5a) Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
When the LORD called down a famine on the land
and ruined the crop that sustained them,
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
They had weighed him down with fetters,
and he was bound with chains,
Till his prediction came to pass
and the word of the LORD proved him true.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done. Verse Before the Gospel Jn 3:16 God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son;
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life. Gospel Mt 21:33-43, 45-46 Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
"Hear another parable.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them,
thinking, 'They will respect my son.'
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
'This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.'
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?"
They answered him,
"He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times."
Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore, I say to you,
the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit."
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,
they knew that he was speaking about them.
And although they were attempting to arrest him,
they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.
| Daily Meditation: Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46 Did you never read? (Matthew 21:42) Jesus was incredulous. How could these chief priests and elders respond to his parable the way they did? Maybe a Roman soldier would expect the vineyard owner to destroy the tenants who had murdered his servants and his son. But these men were priests of the Lord, models of holiness immersed in God's mind as revealed in the Scriptures. They should know better! Jesus was amazed that the elders didn't grasp what he thought was a fairly elementary point: God, the vineyard owner, was not going to rain down destruction upon those who killed his servants—or his Son. Quite the opposite, he was going to redeem them. And he would do it by making his Son, the "stone rejected" and murdered, the "cornerstone" of his plan of salvation (Matthew 21:42). That salvation would come, not by destroying evildoers, but by surrendering to them. It would come, not through vengeance masquerading as justice, but through words like "Father, forgive" and "Peace be with you" (Luke 23:34; John 20:19). We can miss Jesus' point as well. Where we might expect God to retaliate against sinners—whether ourselves or someone else—he offers pardon. Where we might expect wrath, our Father extends mercy. And by extension, where we might want to exact retribution upon someone who has sinned against us, he urges us to forgive—even "seventy-seven times" if we need to (Matthew 18:22). As you gaze on Jesus' cross over the next few weeks, think about how far he was willing to go in order to save you. Think, also, about how far he was willing to go in order to save even your worst enemy. He was willing to become the rejected cornerstone, for you and for everyone else. Don't miss his message! Let his love—a love that chooses mercy over judgment—become the way you love as well. "Lord, I am in awe of your love! Truly 'It is wonderful in our eyes.'" (Matthew 21:42)." Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28
Psalm 105:16-21 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
_"Finally, he sent his son to them, thinking, 'They will respect my son.' But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
'This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.'
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?"
They answered him, "He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times."..."
. . . | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus tells the parable of the tenants. This is one of the most terrible anticipations of the cross. In a final attempt to make his vineyard fruitful, God sent his only begotten Son, but even he was rejected.
How are we tending the vineyard? We have received so much from God, but are we making the world fruitful? Are we responding to the Lord's invitation with the works of justice, love, peace, chastity, respect for others? Or are we more or less killing the messengers?
There are many ways to look at contemporary secularism and relativism. A secularist world is one that has grown intentionally deaf to the voice of the Spirit. St. John Paul II called it "the culture of death." God, as is his wont, allows us to feel the effects of our sin.
Okay, but we are never meant to read the Gospel and end up depressed. The Gospel is always Good News. God has not given up on us! He turns the sign of defeat into the sign of victory. The very one whom we reject is the one whom he gives back to us as a source of life." end quote from Bishop Barron.
I often tell those that I am teaching, that to understand our Lord Jesus, you must understand the Old Testament. And if you look at the books in the bible, just the mere volume of what has transpired in the Old Testament, you will see that it is about 2/3 of the bible, and then we have the 1/3, the new Testament. It is 3 parts, like the Holy Trinity. It reveals to us the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
In today's Gospel, we heard about those that rejected Jesus and killed him, much like in the Old Testament when the brothers of Joseph wanted to kill him, and put him down an old well, a hole in the ground, after selling him for some pieces of silver as a slave to some traders. If you keep reading daily scripture you will see what happens next. By the way, if you keep up with all these daily readings and Mass readings for Sunday, we actually cover most of the bible in the span of 3 years, but you must read the old and the new. I've begun this year to only reflect on the new because it takes so much.
I digress. Soon we will hear that Joseph in jail, a long convoluted story of love, would-be affair, and then thrown into jail. There he is revealed as the ultimate interpreter of dreams. And eventually interprets the Pharoa's dreams and is made his right hand man. And because of this one day, Joseph becomes his own people's savior during a drought and famine. There, I just summed up many chapters for you! LOL.
But to get back to our Lord who said today that He would be rejected and thrown out and killed, it gets much deeper than Joseph. Joseph didn't die. Jesus did. Joseph was sold for silver. Jesus was sold for silver too. Joseph was mishandled and treated and put in jail. Jesus was brutally scourged, beaten, and thrown in to jail. Joseph was put in a hole in the ground. Jesus was laid dead in a tomb, a hole in the mountain. Joseph becomes savior for his family, his people. Jesus becomes savior of the whole world.
And our Lord's words are still true today. He has ripped the Kingdom away from the old and put it in the hands of the new.
And if you will allow me to be blunt, the new is the Catholic Christendom. And in the last 600 years, protestants have been led astray by the devil causing much division among Christians. And it doesn't help when we have so many lax, lazy uneducated in the faith Catholics. We have what is called poor formation.
I am teaching those young ones what formation means. To conform ourselves to Christ our Lord and not to be conformed to the world.
Such is the purpose of Lent. That we learn to accept what is not normal. What if God can treat us like dogs? He can. But He won't if we treat Him like God, our Father. And I say that because even dogs deserves scraps from the table of the Master. All Christians deserve to eat of our Lord from the Cross. But we have to work, not our salvation, but to work on ourselves to be pure and holy in order to accept Him more and more fully.
Lord, help us cherish Thy Precious Blood, Body, Soul, and divinity, and not disregard Thee as You enter our lives. |  Click for Audio | WOW check out the random verse! Random Bible Verse 1
Revelation 3:20 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
