† Quote of the Day "See, my children, we must reflect that we have a soul to save, and an eternity that awaits us. The world, its riches, pleasures, and honors will pass away; heaven and hell will never pass away. Let us take care, then. The saints did not all begin well; but they all ended well. We have begun badly; let us end well, and we shall go one day and meet them in heaven." — St. John Vianney Today's Meditation "The greatest suffering of the souls in purgatory, it seems to me, is the awareness that something in them displeases God, that they have deliberately gone against His great goodness. I can also see that the divine essence is so pure and light-filled—much more than we can imagine—that the soul that has but the slightest imperfection would rather throw itself into a thousand hells than appear thus before the divine presence." —St. Catherine of Genoa, p.41
An excerpt from Hungry Souls Daily Verse "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." — Colossians 3:16-17 | St. Rita Of Cascia St. Rita of Cascia (1381-1457) was born in Italy during an era of violent strife between cities and warring family tribes. As a child she repeatedly requested to enter the convent, but instead her parents arranged her marriage to a rich, ill-tempered, and violent man. He became physically abusive, yet she met his cruelty with kindness and patience. During her eighteen years of marriage she bore two sons whom she loved deeply. After many years of persistent prayer she eventually won her husband over to greater civility and kindness. When he was murdered, her sons plotted a bloody vendetta against the culprits. St. Rita labored to guide her children into forgiveness, without success. She earnestly prayed that God would change her son's murderous intentions, or allow them to die rather than commit a mortal sin. God heard St. Rita's prayers, and soon both of her sons became ill and died. St. Rita was then free to join the convent, however, she was rejected due to her family's connection with the local violence. She finally obtained entry only after much prayer, humility, patience, and perseverance. St. Rita's life in the convent was marked by heroic charity and penance as she closely united herself and her life of deep suffering to Christ. While praying before a crucifix, St. Rita mystically received a thorn in her forehead (stigmata) from Jesus' Crown of Thorns. St. Rita is the patron saint of impossible causes, difficult marriages, and abuse victims. Her feast day is May 22nd. | Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jas 4:13-17 Beloved:
Come now, you who say,
"Today or tomorrow we shall go into such and such a town,
spend a year there doing business, and make a profit"–
you have no idea what your life will be like tomorrow.
You are a puff of smoke that appears briefly and then disappears.
Instead you should say,
"If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that."
But now you are boasting in your arrogance.
All such boasting is evil.
So for one who knows the right thing to do
and does not do it, it is a sin. Responsorial Psalm Ps 49:2-3, 6-7, 8-10, 11 R. (Matthew 5:3) Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Hear this, all you peoples;
hearken, all who dwell in the world,
Of lowly birth or high degree,
rich and poor alike.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Why should I fear in evil days
when my wicked ensnarers ring me round?
They trust in their wealth;
the abundance of their riches is their boast.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
Yet in no way can a man redeem himself,
or pay his own ransom to God;
Too high is the price to redeem one's life; he would never have enough
to remain alive always and not see destruction.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs!
For he can see that wise men die,
and likewise the senseless and the stupid pass away,
leaving to others their wealth.
R. Blessed are the poor in spirit; the Kingdom of heaven is theirs! Alleluia Jn 14:6 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 9:38-40 John said to Jesus,
"Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."
Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us." | Daily Meditation: James 4:13-17 Instead you should say, "If the Lord wills it, we shall live to do this or that." (James 4:15) James is giving some pretty pointed advice to his readers. He's reminding them, and us, that no one is guaranteed tomorrow. We're like a "puff of smoke," appearing briefly and then disappearing (James 4:14). That means we need a good dose of humility in the way we think about our lives, especially as we discern our plans and submit them to the Lord. A humble disposition is the foundation of all good decision-making. As James tells us, it's shortsighted to make long-range plans or to propose that we will "go into such and such a town, spend a year there doing business, and make a profit" without even consulting God in the matter (4:13). Acknowledging our dependence on God can help us turn to him first, especially when we're making a big decision. It's a process that we embark upon with the Lord, with the goal of having our will and desires mesh with his. We can start by acknowledging our hopes and plans. Then we can pray and listen for how God might be leading us. We seek his wisdom and guidance; we open our hearts and wills to what moves him and what he desires for us. Far from trying to convince God to bless the decision we've already made, we're inviting him into our decision-making process, and we're asking him to guide us because we don't know what the future holds. Of course, not every choice is a matter of discernment. You don't need to pray over the question of what you'll eat for breakfast or get all tied up trying to decide which Mass you'll go to this weekend. You don't need to hear an audible voice giving you permission to do something. But you do need the humility to invite the Lord into your daily life and decisions. As you do that, you can have confidence that God knows and loves you. He knows the plans he has for you. And even if you don't get a clear answer from God about a particular plan, you can take comfort knowing that you have placed your life in the hands of the One who holds the future. "Lord, I am open to whatever you desire for me this day." Psalm 49:2-3, 6-11
Mark 9:38-40 |  try to hear it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"John said to Jesus,
"Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name,
and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us."
Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him.
There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us......" end quote. | From Bishop Barron today:
"John was undoubtedly angry that someone outside of their little circle was going to get credit. If you think that this sort of thing only happened in biblical times, you haven't spent too much time around the Church! I'm a proud churchman, and I love and admire all of the great people who do so much for Christ's kingdom, and for very little compensation. But I've also been around long enough to see this problem on parish staffs, in diocesan offices, within rectories, and among parish communities. We get so tied up in our little games and protecting our turf and making sure things go according to the bureaucratic structures that we have established that we forget what the mission is about.
What Jesus saw was that the mission is what matters. Bringing God's love to the world, being a conduit of grace: that's what matters. All of our personal glory, position, privilege—all of that is finally a matter of indifference. " end quote Bishop Barron.
"There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us" said our Lord today.
Our Lord speaks about His name often doesn't He?
The bible speaks about His name always, about no greater name on earth, and "Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name above all names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.…" Philippians 2:10.
I remember telling someone to stop blurting out the name of our Lord for everything, and that just caused even more friction. I explained that His name should only be used in prayer. I teach this to everybody, even my own kids, and for a time, even though we are not supposed to, I asked my kids to bow down every time we said His name in the Holy Rosary, so we would bow down about 53 times. You don't need to bow when in prayer mode, but if someone exclaims His name in conversation or even in Mass, we shall at the very least bow, whereas those in Heaven take to bending their knee.
I teach everyone that His name is the most powerful prayer on earth we can muster under our breath and when praying together.
But has this watered down lately? Protestants use His name for just about every single prayer they do by ending all their prayers with words like 'in your Precious name we pray" or "in the name of Jesus we pray". Isn't that repetitive? Isn't everything we do repetitive? I digress.
There were those already expelling demons in His name and they weren't even followers! The same thing happens today. Protestants can drive out some demons although not all, just by proclaiming His name. And truth be told, I do the same. When we say a Hail Mary for someone, we actually invoke Jesus and Mary! Double prayer really. And He is there.
Our Lord doesn't mind it at all, as long as we keep His name holy.
It is actually a command to Keep his Name Holy, isn't it? "Thou Shall not take Thy name in vain" God commands us. It is like commandment number two right alongside not having idols.
Yet, we make His name into nothing very often. And how? What does it mean to use His name in vain? It means to use it for nothing, just for vanity, just like everybody who loves to say "Oh My God" for everything all day long.
Let's get back on track.
I have driven bad spirits away just by saying His name in the just and right manner, to command in His Holy Name.
We bless everything in His name. I ask you to look inside yourself, and ask "how important is that name of God in my life?"
I remember racing in a coliseum, and I crashed and the ATV crashed on top of me, and I couldn't move my legs. I screamed at the top of my lungs in His name to come to my assistance. My wife and children watched in tears and shaking in the stands. I was hauled away in an ambulance. Every jolt and bump was pain, every hour was pain if someone so much as touched my bed.
But the Lord heard my prayer in agony. And I owe my life to Him today. The cracked pelvis healed. And now I'm afraid of many things. Namely, I'm afraid to disobey God. I still fail. But I am deathly afraid to sin. Why? Because it is a great sign that we do not love Him as we ought. Sin is something that pulls us from him. And He wants us together...forever...in His Name, In His Heart, in His life, in His Love in eternity. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Jeremiah 31:3 3 the LORD appeared to him1 from far away. I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
