† Quote of the Day "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee." — St. Augustine Today's Meditation "The virtue of fortitude always calls for a certain overcoming of human weakness and particularly of fear. Man, indeed, by nature, spontaneously fears danger, affliction and suffering. Therefore courageous men must be sought not only on battlefields, but also in hospital wards or on a bed of pain. Such men could often be found in concentration camps or in places of deportation. They were real heroes." –Thomas J. Olmsted, p.99
An excerpt from Manual for Men Daily Verse "Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen." — Hebrews 11:1 | St. Eleutherius St. Eleutherius (d. 585 A.D.) was a monk living in Spoleto, Italy. Little is known of his early life. He became the Abbot of St. Mark's Abbey and was well-known as a man of simplicity and penance. He also demonstrated the gift of miracles and exorcism, and raised a dead man to life. After he healed a boy from demonic possession and saw that the child was afterwards left unharmed, St. Eleutherius made a remark to this effect: "Since the child is among the servants of God, the devil dares not approach him." Then the boy, who came to live at St. Mark's Abbey to be educated by the monks, became possessed again. St. Eleutherius repented of his vain and presumptuous remark, and the whole monastery underwent a penitential fast before the devil would leave the boy for the final time. St. Eleutherius was a friend of Pope St. Gregory the Great, the latter having called upon the saint to pray for him in his illness. St. Eleutherius died in Rome in 585 A.D. His feast day is September 6th. | Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 COR 4:1-5 Brothers and sisters:
Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ
and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Now it is of course required of stewards
that they be found trustworthy.
It does not concern me in the least
that I be judged by you or any human tribunal;
I do not even pass judgment on myself;
I am not conscious of anything against me,
but I do not thereby stand acquitted;
the one who judges me is the Lord.
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. Responsorial Psalm PS 37:3-4, 5-6, 27-28, 39-40 R. (39a) The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Trust in the LORD and do good,
that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will grant you your heart's requests.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Commit to the LORD your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Turn from evil and do good,
that you may abide forever;
For the LORD loves what is right,
and forsakes not his faithful ones.
Criminals are destroyed
and the posterity of the wicked is cut off.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord. Alleluia JN 8:12 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 5:33-39 The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
"The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,
and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;
but yours eat and drink."
Jesus answered them, "Can you make the wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
then they will fast in those days."
And he also told them a parable.
"No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.
Otherwise, he will tear the new
and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins,
and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.
Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.
And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,
for he says, 'The old is good.'"
| Daily Meditation: Luke 5:33-39 No one pours new wine into old wineskins. (Luke 5:37) When wine is first pressed, it continues to expand. In Jesus' day, that meant it needed to be kept in a supple, flexible wineskin so that it had plenty of room to keep expanding. In a similar way, the life in the Spirit that we received at our Baptism is always new. It's always expanding and changing us—if we remain flexible like that new wineskin. One model of vibrant, "flexible" faith is Blessed Olinto Marella (1882–1969). Born in Venice, Italy, Marella entered the seminary as a young man and was classmates with the future Pope John XXIII. After his ordination in 1904, he began teaching in a local seminary. A few years later, when another priest friend ran into trouble for political activism, Fr. Marella had pity and welcomed him into his home. This "guilt by association" led the Church authorities to suspend Marella from priestly ministry for sixteen years. Throughout this time, Fr. Marella was careful not to let his heart become hardened by anger or bitterness. He trusted that the Lord would work out his plan over time—and he did. Fr. Marella was rehabilitated in 1925 and took up the humble work of a parish priest in Bologna. There he treated the poor and needy with extraordinary compassion. Pope Francis described him as a "pastor after Christ's heart" and honored him for his courage and humility (Angelus, October 4, 2020). Marella also spurred other people to deeper faith and acts of mercy. And he did it in his own unique way: he would sit on a stool at a street corner, proclaiming God's love and urging passersby to care for their suffering brothers and sisters. What a beautiful witness to a flexible heart that kept expanding with the Lord! And what a moving example for us to follow! It can be easy to look at the Christian life as a static set of doctrinal facts and historical data—like those old wineskins. But it's so much more than that! Jesus gave us his Spirit to soften our hearts and open us up to serving his people in ever new and creative ways. May we all yield to the Spirit as freely as Fr. Marella did! "Jesus, help me to be always flexible and open to the movements of your Spirit in my life!" 1 Corinthians 4:1-5
Psalm 37:3-6, 27-28, 39-40 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins,
and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.
Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.
And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,
for he says, 'The old is good.'"
- - -........"_ end quote. | From Bishop Barron: "Friends, in today's Gospel, people ask Jesus why he doesn't encourage fasting among his followers. Jesus' answer is wonderful: "Can you make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?" (That's a typically Jewish style, by the way, answering a question with another question.)
This great image of the wedding feast comes up frequently in the New Testament, most obviously in the wedding feast at Cana narrative. And it is echoed in the tradition. Jesus is the wedding of heaven and earth, the marriage of divinity and humanity; he is the bridegroom and the Church is the bride. In him, the most intimate union is achieved between God and the world.
Could you imagine people fasting at a wedding banquet? Could you imagine going into an elegant room with your fellow guests and being served bread and water? It would be ridiculous! The mark of the Christian dispensation is joy. Exuberance. Delight. God and the world have come together. What could be better news?...." end quote Bishop Barron.
What's all this talk about new and old wine and wine skins? If it were not important, the heart of God, Jesus would not have spoken it and it would not have been recorded.
We must consider that our Lord has made the old new in Himself. New skin, new wine. The old is good but how will you ever make new wine that needs to turn old?
That's where we're at. The wine of God Himself, the blood of Jesus is what we are talking about. We should be entering into a time of old wine after 2,000 years of Christ on earth. But some of us still reject the wine of Christ. New blood. New life. How?
In Mass at a nursing home this morning, Fr. Joseph said that it's llike when a new priest enters a parish, and old parishioners don't like the new priest, for the old people want things done they have always done them before.
We don't' want to crack the eggshell to come out of our hardened ways.
The Jews were hardened. They wanted the King of old, the warrior with a sword in hand to slay the "enemies". But they didn't want this humble king. Some guy off the street they thought that did some miracles they didn't want to look into much.
Yet, that's how it is today. The Catholic Church on the street corner most probably has no adoration. No visitor. The King is there in the Blessed Sacrament. We want someone else to have all our attention, and most of the time you know who that is... yourself. It's all about you, isn't it?
Your feelings. Your own little world and your own little problems.
Who wants the problems of the THAT King?
And so we make ourselves the focal point of life instead of Christ The King of the World.
If we can muster up the faith to break out of our shell, the hen will watch over us under the shadow of her wing. The baby bird will begin to grow and soon soar in the sky.
Let the Holy Spirit Soar in you.
Even if a mother forget you, He will not.
The Jews didn't want the new priest, they wanted a killer.
In our world, people want brute strength, but God wants the lamb.
We should desire the lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
We should develop a hunger to worship Him, serve Him, and by doing so, love Him with a sincere heart.
Today is the first Friday of the month. Let us crack open the door of our home, and our car, and then the door of the church, to visit our Lord.
He will be glad you are there. Our Father awaits for love from love. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 13:20 20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
