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Quote of the Day
"The poor have much to teach you. You have much to learn from them." — St. Vincent de Paul Today's Meditation "Consider that the love of divine charity is so closely joined in the soul with perfect patience, that neither can leave the soul without the other. For this reason (if the soul elect to love Me) she should elect to endure pains for Me in whatever mode or circumstance I may send them to her. Patience cannot be proved in any other way than by suffering, and patience is united with love as has been said. Therefore bear yourselves with manly courage, for, unless you do so, you will not prove yourselves to be spouses of My Truth, and faithful children, nor of the company of those who relish the taste of My honor, and the salvation of souls." —St. Catherine Of Siena, p. 10 Daily Verse "O Lord, thou wilt ordain peace for us, thou hast wrought for us all our works." — Isaiah 26:12 | St. Laszlo St. Laszlo (c. 1040-1095), also known as St. Ladislaus I of Hungary, was born to a royal family in Krakow, Poland. His father became King Bela of Hungary, and his mother was the daughter of the King of Poland. He was raised as a Christian, spending his childhood in the court of the Polish king. After the death of his father and brother, he became the King of Hungary in 1077 and also later the King of Croatia in 1091. He was a beloved king, highly regarded as a moral and pious man and a great leader. He is remembered for his accomplishments in bringing peace and stability to his country following the strife of civil war, for his success in defending the kingdom of Hungary against the invading Cumans, and for politically and financially supporting the spread of Christianity in his kingdom. According to legend, while in battle he witnessed a Cuman warrior abducting a Hungarian girl. He pursued the enemy, defeated him, and liberated the girl. Because of his skills in military and diplomacy, as well as his religious devotion and chivalry, St. Laszlo was chosen to lead the first Crusade to the Holy Land, but died before the mission commenced. He was canonized by Pope Celestine III. His feast day is June 27. | Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 2 Kgs 24:8-17 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
His mother's name was Nehushta,
daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
He did evil in the sight of the LORD,
just as his forebears had done. At that time the officials of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
attacked Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
himself arrived at the city
while his servants were besieging it.
Then Jehoiachin, king of Judah, together with his mother,
his ministers, officers, and functionaries,
surrendered to the king of Babylon, who,
in the eighth year of his reign, took him captive.
And he carried off all the treasures
of the temple of the LORD and those of the palace,
and broke up all the gold utensils that Solomon, king of Israel,
had provided in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had foretold.
He deported all Jerusalem:
all the officers and men of the army, ten thousand in number,
and all the craftsmen and smiths.
None were left among the people of the land except the poor.
He deported Jehoiachin to Babylon,
and also led captive from Jerusalem to Babylon
the king's mother and wives,
his functionaries, and the chief men of the land.
The king of Babylon also led captive to Babylon
all seven thousand men of the army,
and a thousand craftsmen and smiths,
all of them trained soldiers.
In place of Jehoiachin,
the king of Babylon appointed his uncle Mattaniah king,
and changed his name to Zedekiah. Responsorial Psalm Ps 79:1b-2, 3-5, 8, 9 R. (9) For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
They have given the corpses of your servants
as food to the birds of heaven,
the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
They have poured out their blood like water
round about Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury them.
We have become the reproach of our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.
O LORD, how long? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name's sake.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us. Alleluia Jn 14:23 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 7:21-29 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?'
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.' "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined." When Jesus finished these words,
the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority,
and not as their scribes. | Daily Meditation: Matthew 7:21-29 The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew. (Matthew 7:25) As we do from time to time, we wanted to share a reader's testimony for today's meditation: "Today's Gospel may seem like an unlikely reading for a wedding, but my wife and I were sure that this was the right passage for us. In spite of the blush of young love, we knew our married life would have ups and downs. So we wanted Jesus to be our foundation from the very beginning. And he has been! "The rain fell. Like many newlyweds, we sometimes struggled to blend very different family traditions. My wife's family relished lively discussions, but mine was more reserved. When dinner conversations got stormy and led to hurt feelings, we tried to remember that we were forming a new family with Jesus as our foundation. Did we sometimes still feel offended? Of course. But we tried to let Paul's words from Philippians 2:3 guide us: 'Humbly regard others as more important than yourselves.' "The floods came. I was in the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, when a jetliner crashed into the building. I escaped unharmed, but the attack filled me with fear. Would God really take care of our family? As we grappled with these questions, we found strength in Romans 8:28—the promise that 'all things work for good' has become a refrain for our family. "The winds blew. Sending kids out into the world can whip your emotions around like a strong wind. 'Is this the best place for our son? Can he afford to live on his own?' As we prayed, the same Scripture passage kept coming up: 'After three days they found him in the temple' (Luke 2:46). So when our son decided to go to college halfway across the country, we hung onto that truth: God was calling each of our kids, and even if they went on different paths, they would find him in the end. "The house did not collapse. We've been married more than twenty-five years now. Things haven't always been picture-perfect, but we keep trying to trust Jesus. His word has helped us so far, and we're confident it will in the future." "Jesus, you help us weather the storms of life. Keep us on your firm foundation." 2 Kings 24:8-17
Psalm 79:1-5, 8-9 |  HEAR it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
_"Jesus said to his disciples:
Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,'
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?'
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.' "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock......"_ end quote. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus gives us the parable about building on rock or on sand. On what precisely is the whole of your life built?
Your heart is your deep center, the place where you are most authentically yourself. That is your point of contact with God. There you will find the energy that undergirds the other areas of your life: physical, psychological, emotional, relational, and spiritual.
If you are rooted in God at the level of your heart, then you will be following the intentions and commands of God, and you can withstand anything. But this does not mean that if we follow God's commands, the winds and floods will not come.
In Jesus' parable, both builders, the one who follows the commands of God and the one who doesn't, experience the rain and the floods that symbolize all the trials and temptations and difficulties at the surface of life. But if at the very center of your life you are linked with God—that power that is here and now creating the cosmos—then the storms and floods will come, but they will not destroy you......." end quote.
If you are keeping up daily, I try to relay real life situations to increase and encourage you in your faith. Yesterday was a stormy day. I thank you if you prayed! LOL. Prayers go a long way. There is some damages to contend with after a storm though. If there is a fight, there is some hurt stuff there to heal. If there was some physical damage in the storm, there is much work to clean up and rebuild. But in that rebuilding, there is a light effect that illuminates something to be learned.
In my case, I was told in the afternoon after divine mercy hour "go to the Blessed Sacrament". I said "yes dear" to my wife. I never thought about it and it felt strange to do it. I just wanted to get back into the fight of the day and suffer it out...unbeknownst to me, alone.
I walked into the church, a beautiful site with the new Tabernacle lights, one other brother was there praying. I knelt and soon the Lord said "you see what all it takes for you to come to me here?" A huge storm drove me there. I had not once tried to pray about my problems, at the church, I just prayed for church things, ministries and such. And still the Lord implied in my heart "you cannot do this alone". But I pray! I pray all day! I pray alot!
Today we heard our Lord say something to that effect:
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven."
I prayed all day "Lord, Lord", and we drive out demons and do mighty things in His name! But our Lord still says not all those will enter Heaven.
Say What?! Really?
In another Scripture our Lord says to many "get away from Me you evildoers!".
Ouch!
my child, where is your heart?
We believe we are doing God's will, but our hearts are somewhere else.
You are so engrossed with your problems and fantasies. You are so engrossed about it that it is becoming gross to the one who is jealous of our love.
What does this mean? It means God our Father loves you, so much so that He wants the Holy Spirit to send you His Heart...Jesus. Live life as Jesus Himself, offering your whole life happenings whether good or bad to Him.
OK? I stop my kids often in prayer, "slow down! we must concentrate and actually mean every word we pray!" Don't just say the rosary! But Pray the Rosary! Pray the Divine Mercy at 3pm, Pray the Mass, Pray the songs! Pray with me when I sing! Truly the heart of the matter is at stake.
OK. Today I want to give you 2 faith happenings before we go about the rest of our day, the life of this day:
Our youth went to a conference, and they saw popular Fr. Mike Schmitz, and they had a wonderful experience with the Blessed Sacrament.
At our family festival meeting a day ago, I spoke with our youth leaders and probed them into what I had heard happened at a cathedral in a daily Mass. I had heard that a small old lady had come up to them (reminding me of the prophetess Anna in the temple). I had heard that she had told them that "our youth needed much prayer." They corrected me though, that's how rumors go right LOL; they said that the lady had told them "Blessed Carlo Acutis says that what you are doing with the youth is good" and they were encouraged. I told them either way, it is an encouragement to even increase the faith of the youth. The astounding part is that one of my more favorite saints to be, Carlo Acutis had said this! I told them "that is even better than Fr. Mike Schmitz!" Someone in Heaven encouraging us! Right? Amen?
The last story is of a faithful brother in Cursillo and I was on team with him in prison ministry last month. He had told me he needed to spend time with his family, and he actually went where he said he was going, to Niagara Falls. While there, he told our prison team this week in a GoTo video conference call, he felt really bad and his wife convinced him to go to the emergency room. They took him in and he left her waiting. As he was taken in, he said he passed out, suffered a massive heart attack and flat lined, basically died there, and the code blue alarms began going off on the intercoms, and he said that his wife said she began praying for whoever had just had that code blue (little did she know it was her own husband)! He said they shocked him 7 times, his body left badly bruised from them trying to revive him, and he came back to life. He said that the doctors noticed something strange, that he was healing very fast. We had many praying for him from many ministries. He said it was because of all the prayers. He said it turned out that the hospital he was at was one of the best heart specialists in New York. He said it was no coincidence God had him here and that God gave him his life back to continue with more fervor the works of God. Doctors kept telling him, "this is not normal", and "this shouldn't be happening" over and over, as they couldn't explain his heart condition being normalized and no dead tissues as is the norm with weeks of watching over. And so, 3 days later they let him go home. He said He kept responding to everyone "My God is a good God". And the way he said it, you knew he was praising God and glorifying God the Father. God bless this beautiful brother David with his long pony tail and green eyes, we love you brother, if you somehow get this message.
First the storm, then the rebuilding.
And in the end, we come to find out....First Comes Love.
First Comes God. And his Heart, he will rebuild and make anew. Amen?! Sacred HEART of JESUS, Be My LOVE! BE MY LOVE FOREVER! |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
