†Quote of the Day "We must faithfully keep what we have promised. If through human weakness we fail, we must always without delay arise again by means of holy penance, and give our attention to leading a good life and to dying a holy death. May the Father of all mercy, the Son by his holy passion, and the Holy Spirit, source of peace, sweetness and love, fill us with their consolation."
–St. Colette Today's Meditation ""Oh, how sweet and pleasant to that soul and to Me is holy prayer, made in the house of knowledge of self and of Me, opening the eye of the intellect to the light of faith, and the affections to the abundance of My charity, which was made visible to you, through My visible Only-begotten Son, who showed it to you with His blood! Which blood inebriates the soul and clothes her with the fire of divine charity, giving her the food of the Sacrament . . . that is to say, the food of the Body and Blood of My Son, wholly God and wholly man, administered to you by the hand of My vicar, who holds the key of the Blood."
—St. Catherine of Siena, p. 92 Daily Verse ""[I pray that you] may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
–Ephesians 3:18-19 | St. Colette St. Colette (1381-1447) was born in Picardy, France, the daughter of a poor carpenter who served the local Benedictine abbey. Her parents conceived her in their old age after praying to St. Nicholas for a child, naming Colette after him. She became well known for her faith and spiritual wisdom from a young age. After the death of her parents she joined the Third Order of St. Francis and became a hermit. She led a life of asceticism and solitude until a dream revealed that God willed her to reform the Poor Clares. She obeyed and joined the Poor Clares in 1406. Her mission of reformation was sanctioned by Benedict XIII of Avignon (the anti-pope) who appointed her superior of each of the convents she reformed. Despite resistance from within the Poor Clares, she successfully reformed several existing convents and founded 17 new ones dedicated to a stricter observance of the Poor Clares, known as the Colettines. She experienced visions and ecstasies of Christ's Passion, and even prophesied her own death. Through her life's work, St. Colette's reformation breathed new life into the Poor Clares and created a lasting model of spirituality. St. Colette's feast day is March 6th. | Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent Reading 1 Dt 4:1, 5-9 Moses spoke to the people and said:
"Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees
as the LORD, my God, has commanded me,
that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
'This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.'
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today? "However, take care and be earnestly on your guard
not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,
nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,
but teach them to your children and to your children's children." Responsorial Psalm PS 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20 R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
He spreads snow like wool;
frost he strews like ashes.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem. Verse Before the Gospel See Jn 6:63c, 68c Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;
You have the words of everlasting life. Gospel Mt 5:17-19 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
| Daily Meditation: Matthew 5:17-19 Whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:19) Imagine that you are at an awards ceremony. But this is not your typical awards show; this one is in heaven, and it's led by God, the ultimate Master of ceremonies. And the awards are for people who have done what Jesus speaks of in today's Gospel: "Whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:19). When it comes time to announce the winners, you are shocked. They are calling your name! You don't think of yourself as one of the "greatest in the Kingdom" (Matthew 5:19), but that's how God sees you. Each day you try to be as attentive to his voice as you can. As often as possible, you receive him in the Eucharist. There have been times when you have made a hard decision to forgive someone who has hurt you. You regularly donate to those in need, and you've tried to share God's love with many people in your life. Yes, the winners in the kingdom of heaven may not be the people you would have most expected. They are not always the best-looking, the most athletic, or even those whose good deeds have gone viral on social media. That's because God "looks into the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7) and sees what no one else may see. He sees you. He knows that you're not perfect, but he sees all the steps you've taken to listen to his voice, to obey him, and to allow his love to change your life. Today, think about that awards ceremony in heaven. Then invite the Lord to speak to you about how you can be the "greatest" in his eyes. Is he nudging you to be content with what you have? Is he asking you to take a day of rest? Or perhaps he's calling you to maintain an attitude of kindness toward people you find difficult to be around. Obey him today, and imagine his great pleasure as he gives you the kingdom of heaven award! "Lord, I know that you see me even when no one else does. Help me to live for your eternal reward and not for any other fleeting prizes." Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9
Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20 |  click to hear 2cents | Reflections with Brother Adrian:
Audio English | In the Gospel today we heard:
"Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven." end quote. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus declares that he has come to fulfill the Law.
The same Jesus who railed against the hypocritical legalism of the Pharisees also said, "I have come not to abolish the law but to fulfill it." And the same Jesus who threatened to tear down the temple in Jerusalem also promised to "raise it up" in three days.
The point is this: Jesus certainly criticized the corruption in the institutional religion of his time, but he by no means called for its wholesale dismantling. He was a loyal, observant, law-abiding Jew.
What he effected was a transfiguration of the best of that classical Israelite religion—temple, law, priesthood, sacrifice, covenant—into the institutions, sacraments, practices, and structures of his Mystical Body, the Church.
Lots of New Age devotees today want spirituality without religion, and lots of evangelicals want Jesus without religion. Both end up with abstractions. But the one thing Jesus is not is an abstraction. Rather, he is a spiritual power who makes himself available precisely in the dense institutional particularity of his Mystical Body across space and time. Jesus didn't come to abolish religion; he came to fulfill it." End quote from Bishop Barron.
"But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
This is what you came to read about. This is what you wanted to hear. How can I help fulfill God's Holy will. There you have it. Love God above all, and then teach others this law. God's laws should reign supreme, because His laws as we understand, are all about Him, and what He is consisting of...true Love. Teach God's laws and watch the world change. Live God our Father's laws, and see your own life change! You see, there is a difference. When you teach, you learn and when you learn, you live. And so ultimately, it is to our own benefit if we do God's will! Sounds selfish right? But it is a design of salvation. For your own salvation, and then others.
There are stories we tell in the oilfield about safety. For instance, we deal with deadly H2S gases on a daily basis and boy the lower concentrations are nasty smells. Anyhow, there is a story we heard of a father and son that were working in tanks, and enclosed space. The father was unresponsive suddenly, and the son went into see what happened. They say both died of gas poisoning. We were told that in order to save someone, you must take the proper precautions of saving yourself, protecting yourself first, gear up with the proper air breathing equipment. It is like that with firefighters and other examples.
And so it is with teaching others, this is how you gear up for salvation in order to save other souls. To save another soul is to save your own soul. And this goes hand in hand with God's laws of love which means to will the good of the other.
If then, someone is trying to teach you something, especially about the laws of Love, the law of God, then it is for our own good. We should take note, do as they say, and then teach others the same.
And listen more to the teachings than the teacher, especially if you see the teacher struggling to live the teachings. I say this because I find that in my own life and teachings, that I am a better teacher than a doer. I find that my pupils are better than myself. And this I pray, that if they are saved, and in Heaven, then, they can help me to Heaven from there. We build on each other, and the cement forever is God's love. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 135:5–7 5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.
7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
