†Quote of the Day "The bread you store up belongs to the hungry; the cloak that lies in your chest belongs to the naked; the gold you have hidden in the ground belongs to the poor."
–St. Basil the Great Today's Meditation "While we have no words of Joseph in all of Scripture, we know one thing he said: Jesus. His name is Jesus. Joseph is not perfectly silent. He speaks the name "Yahweh saves." Through Mary does the child receive a human nature, through Joseph his human name. The Word is spoken to Mary and she conceives. The word is spoken to Joseph and he breaths that name forth in utterance."
–Fr. Matthew Kauth, p.46 Daily Verse
"Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time, until the Lord comes, for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will manifest the motives of our hearts, and then everyone will receive praise from God."
–1 Corinthians 4:5 | St. Timon St. Timon (1st c.) is mentioned by name in the Acts of the Apostles. He belonged to the group of seventy disciples who followed Jesus during his earthly ministry. After Jesus' ascension into heaven, St. Timon was one of the original seven deacons, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, chosen by the Apostles to help with the work of ministering to the growing Christian community. Timon was later ordained a bishop by the Apostles. He baptized many Greeks and Jews into the Christian faith. He also had the supernatural ability to heal the sick and to cast out devils. St. Timon suffered martyrdom for preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. According to tradition he was thrown into a furnace, but by the power of God he came out of it unharmed, and later died by crucifixion. His feast day is April 19. | Monday of the Third Week of Easter Reading 1 Acts 6:8-15 Stephen, filled with grace and power,
was working great wonders and signs among the people.
Certain members of the so-called Synagogue of Freedmen,
Cyreneans, and Alexandrians,
and people from Cilicia and Asia,
came forward and debated with Stephen,
but they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.
Then they instigated some men to say,
"We have heard him speaking blasphemous words
against Moses and God."
They stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes,
accosted him, seized him,
and brought him before the Sanhedrin.
They presented false witnesses who testified,
"This man never stops saying things against this holy place and the law.
For we have heard him claim
that this Jesus the Nazorean will destroy this place
and change the customs that Moses handed down to us."
All those who sat in the Sanhedrin looked intently at him
and saw that his face was like the face of an angel. Responsorial Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30 R. (1ab) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Though princes meet and talk against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
I declared my ways, and you answered me;
teach me your statutes.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and favor me with your law.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me.
R. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Mt 4:4b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 6:22-29 [After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]
The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there,
and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,
but only his disciples had left.
Other boats came from Tiberias
near the place where they had eaten the bread
when the Lord gave thanks.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
"Rabbi, when did you get here?"
Jesus answered them and said,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."
So they said to him,
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."
| Daily Meditation: John 6:22-29 Believe in the one he sent. (John 6:29) How easily we can miss the deeper meaning of words that we use all the time! For example, the word "believe" is defined as accepting something to be true or having an opinion about something. But the ancient Greek word used in today's Gospel is pisteuó, which can be used to describe profound trust and confidence. Jesus tells the crowds to believe in the One that the Father sent (John 6:29). And who was that? Jesus himself—the One they had just seen multiply five barley loaves and two fish to feed thousands of people. He was the One who had healed people who were sick and delivered those possessed by demons. He fulfilled the words of the prophets and revealed that he truly was from the Father. He opened their hearts to the Father's loving mercy and healed their wounds. As they placed their faith in Jesus, they came to believe more deeply that he was "the Holy One of God" whom they had been longing for (John 6:69). That belief also caused them to follow him even when his teachings were hard. It inspired them to cling to Jesus when they were confused. Ultimately, it was their belief that moved them to give up their lives for him. What about you? You've heard the truth about Jesus. You know that he became man so he could lay down his life for you and forgive you. You have learned that he has restored you to the Father through his death and that he has conquered death by his resurrection. You know that all of creation bows before him, and that even today, he is at work in the world and in your life. So how do you respond? Believe! Trust him in your decision-making. Let him shape your desires to be like his own. Receive the grace to follow him, even when his teachings are hard. Run to him when you are confused. Affirm that you want to walk with him today, and be confident that he will take you by the hand. In other words, declare again that you believe in Jesus, the One sent by the Father. "Jesus, I believe you are the holy Son of God! I commit my life to following you." Acts 6:8-15
Psalm 119:23-24, 26-27, 29-30 |  corrected link 4/10/24 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"Jesus answered them and said,
"Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal."
So they said to him,
"What can we do to accomplish the works of God?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."....." end quote. | Don't work for food? Really? Is that what our Lord said today? But the bible says in II Thessalonians 3:10 "For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies." Our Lord speaks strongly in some terms, like when He said we must hate anyone but Him, remember? Luke 14:26: ""If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. Wow! He speaks super strong right? It is really meant to catch our attention, and it has, at least to me it has. Of course we must work for food to eat, but that's not the point of life!
Our Lord is saying to work for food that endures for eternal life! This is Eucharist! This is His life! This is to work for Christ! In all that we do in our vocation in life we are to work for Him and honor Him! It is the first holy commandment, to Love God our Father above all and not have strange gods before Him.
And so what can we do to "accomplish the works of God?" then? Our Lord answered "that you believe in the one He sent".
Ahh.
Today a couple of Spanish reflections asks us to ponder why we follow the Lord like the thousands in the crowds that followed Him daily.
Some went perhaps out of curiosity.
Some were poor and hungry.
Some went because mom and dad or some other wife or husband forced the other to follow Christ.
But what if many of them were lame ducks too like we have nowadays? We have many that just won't follow at all? They just stay home and try to follow on their phones, as a feed in their social media, one of the many gods they follow. OUCH! Could it truly be the Lord speaking to us right now?
Do not work for anything else! Work and strive for salvation! Read Philippians 2:12 and hear the words: "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling".
And that is what everything is hinging on. Daddy won't be around forever. Father God in Jesus wasn't going to be around, he was going to be absent, for He said in John 14: "Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own. Instead, it is the Father dwelling in Me, performing His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me—or at least believe on account of the works themselves. Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in My name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me for anything in My name, I will do it. " end quote.
Our Lord will ascend after the resurrection.
And don't we feel alone sometimes? That's why He will send the Holy Spirit after the Ascension. You won't have daddy giving you bread Himself but the Holy Spirit in the Church will, in the priest.
And that's what we all need.
To eat that Thanksgiving to be that Thanksgiving. How grateful are you really?
What are you living for? Is it for thanksgiving? I want to know how truly grateful can we be.
I went to daily Mass this morning as usual on Mondays. After receiving the Lord I had a thought, perhaps from the Lord or inspired from Him that said made me think and realize something: "what if passing from this life, we realize how precious the Eucharist is, so precious in fact that I would go on to regret thinking I should've adored every day and all the more and with all my heart in real love?".
I should have....believed! |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 15:29 [Proverbs 15] 29 The LORD is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
