† Quote of the Day "God loves those who thank Him even in suffering." — St. Arnold Janssen Today's Meditation "Chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues. There is no getting away from it; the Christian rule is, 'Either marriage, with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence.' Now this is so difficult and so contrary to our instincts, that obviously either Christianity is wrong or our sexual instinct, as it now is, has gone wrong. One or the other. Of course, being a Christian, I think it is the instinct which has gone wrong ... God knows our situation; He will not judge us as if we had no difficulties to overcome. What matters is the sincerity and perseverance of our will to overcome them. Before we can be cured we must want to be cured. Those who really wish for help will get it; but for many modern people even the wish is difficult ... We may, indeed, be sure that perfect chastity—like perfect charity—will not be attained by any merely human efforts. You must ask for God's help. Even when you have done so, it may seem to you for a long time that no help, or less help than you need, is being given. Never mind. After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up and try again. Very often what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again. For however important chastity (or courage, or truthfulness, or any other virtue) may be, this process trains us in habits of the soul which are more important still. It cures our illusions about ourselves and teaches us to depend on God. We learn, on the one hand, that we cannot trust ourselves even in our best moments, and, on the other, that we need not despair even in our worst, for our failures are forgiven. The only fatal thing is to sit down content with anything less than perfection." —C. S. Lewis, p. 95
An excerpt from Mere Christianity Daily Verse "It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens." — Jeremiah 10:12 | St. Jerome St. Jerome (347 - 420) was born to a wealthy pagan family in Dalmatia. He was sent to Rome for his schooling and there converted to Christianity, being baptized by Pope Liberius. He studied theology and traveled widely to the important intellectual and theological centers across the newly-established Christian Empire. He was ordained a priest at Antioch and lived many years as a hermit in a nearby desert. He became an extraordinary scholar, considered to be the most learned of the Latin Church Fathers. Because of his many significant theological works, most notably the thirty years he spent writing the Latin translation of the Bible (the Latin Vulgate), he is one of the most influential and orthodox theologians in the life of the early Church. In his final years Saint Jerome lived in a monastery that he founded in the Holy Land near Bethlehem, where he worked on writing histories and biographies in addition to drawing deeper into a life of prayer and asceticism. For his important scholarly contributions St. Jerome was named a Doctor of the Church. He is the patron of libraries, archaeologists, students, and translators. St. Jerome's feast day is September 30th. | Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Jb 1:6-22 One day, when the angels of God came to present themselves before the LORD,
Satan also came among them.
And the LORD said to Satan, "Whence do you come?"
Then Satan answered the LORD and said,
"From roaming the earth and patrolling it."
And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you noticed my servant Job,
and that there is no one on earth like him,
blameless and upright, fearing God and avoiding evil?"
But Satan answered the LORD and said,
"Is it for nothing that Job is God-fearing?
Have you not surrounded him and his family
and all that he has with your protection?
You have blessed the work of his hands,
and his livestock are spread over the land.
But now put forth your hand and touch anything that he has,
and surely he will blaspheme you to your face."
And the LORD said to Satan,
"Behold, all that he has is in your power;
only do not lay a hand upon his person."
So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD. And so one day, while his sons and his daughters
were eating and drinking wine
in the house of their eldest brother,
a messenger came to Job and said,
"The oxen were ploughing and the asses grazing beside them,
and the Sabeans carried them off in a raid.
They put the herdsmen to the sword,
and I alone have escaped to tell you."
While he was yet speaking, another came and said,
"Lightning has fallen from heaven
and struck the sheep and their shepherds and consumed them;
and I alone have escaped to tell you."
While he was yet speaking, another messenger came and said,
"The Chaldeans formed three columns,
seized the camels, carried them off,
and put those tending them to the sword,
and I alone have escaped to tell you."
While he was yet speaking, another came and said,
"Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine
in the house of their eldest brother,
when suddenly a great wind came across the desert
and smote the four corners of the house.
It fell upon the young people and they are dead;
and I alone have escaped to tell you."
Then Job began to tear his cloak and cut off his hair.
He cast himself prostrate upon the ground, and said, "Naked I came forth from my mother's womb,
and naked shall I go back again.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away;
blessed be the name of the LORD!" In all this Job did not sin,
nor did he say anything disrespectful of God. Responsorial Psalm Ps 17:1bcd, 2-3, 6-7 R. (6) Incline your ear to me and hear my word.
Hear, O LORD, a just suit;
attend to my outcry;
hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.
R. Incline your ear to me and hear my word.
From you let my judgment come;
your eyes behold what is right.
Though you test my heart, searching it in the night,
though you try me with fire, you shall find no malice in me.
R. Incline your ear to me and hear my word.
I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my word.
Show your wondrous mercies,
O savior of those who flee
from their foes to refuge at your right hand.
R. Incline your ear to me and hear my word. Alleluia Mk 10:45 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man came to serve
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 9:46-50 An argument arose among the disciples
about which of them was the greatest.
Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child
and placed it by his side and said to them,
"Whoever receives this child in my name receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
For the one who is least among all of you
is the one who is the greatest." Then John said in reply,
"Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name
and we tried to prevent him
because he does not follow in our company."
Jesus said to him,
"Do not prevent him, for whoever is not against you is for you."
| Daily Meditation: Job 1:6-22 Have you noticed my servant Job? (Job 1:8) We're just at the beginning of the Book of Job. If you're familiar with the story, you know what's coming. Job will lose everything—his family, his wealth, his health. He will struggle and wrestle with God's goodness and will eventually come to know the loving provision of God. But how does it all start? God is with his angels when Satan presents himself. God asks him, "Have you noticed my servant Job, and that there is no one on earth like him?" (Job 1:8). God has noticed Job. He loves him and sees the good in him. Even though he needs to grow, Job is God's treasured child. God sees Job. There are countless people on the face of the earth. And yet God sees Job. He is aware of Job's righteous heart and his love. God sees you and loves you, too. He sees what you're going through, and he recognizes all the ways you seek to love him and love the people in your life. God knows Job. More than just the external details of Job's life, God knows everything in Job's heart—the goodness and also the pain, the maturity and wisdom and also the weakness. He appreciates Job and wants the best for him. And that's the same way he knows you. The good, the bad, the ugly. God knows it all, and still he treasures you. God loves Job. We might ask how God could love Job when he allowed such terrible things to happen to him. It's true: God did allow the testing Job endured. But beyond merely allowing it, he used it to bring Job to a deeper relationship with him and greater wisdom in his life. We might find the same thing when we face suffering or setbacks. Difficulty does not "prove" God has withdrawn his love from us. Rather, it invites us to enter more deeply into a relationship with the One who sees and knows and loves us. The Book of Job is a story that asks questions about unanswerable things. But the truth here is that God sees, knows, and loves us. He uses everything we experience—even our suffering—to deepen our relationship with him. And that relationship offers us all the healing and guidance we need. "Lord, help me trust in your goodness and love!" Psalm 17:1-3, 6-7
Luke 9:46-50 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"Whoever receives this child in my name receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
For the one who is least among all of you
is the one who is the greatest."........" end quote. | Bishop Barron said:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples that he will be rejected by men who will kill him and then he will rise from the dead. Having just heard a vision of self-forgetting love, the disciples commence to argue about which of them is the greatest.
At this point, Jesus proposes a solution. He sets a little child in their midst and says, "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me." What are children capable of? They are capable of being commanded. They have not yet learned the path of disobedience.
Also, little children are able to live radically in the present moment, to be lost in play or in the contemplation of something beautiful. Most of us live either in the past (savoring faded glory or licking old wounds) or in the future (aspiring, hoping, fearing what might come). But God is available, grace is available now.
Anthony de Mello's image is apt here: most of us are like people on a bus, passing through the most beautiful country imaginable, but we have the shades drawn and are arguing about who has first place on the bus!
. . . ." end of Bishop's quote.
From a Spanish reflection today:
"John presents Jesus with a problem: someone who is not one of us casts out demons and we have forbidden him to do so. In response, Jesus indicates that no one who does good, whether or not one of us, can be forbidden to do so. What is always important is that, with this, the Kingdom of God is announced.
This fact tells us something fundamental: evangelical brotherhood. This goes beyond groups and ideology. It is not necessary to be in Jesus' group or have authority to speak about Him. What counts, always, is not who speaks; what matters is that with his words or actions he announces the Kingdom of God, announces Jesus Christ. Jesus invites us to be tolerant, which is nothing other than accepting the different, valuing his condition as a child of God and announcing, from the acceptance of the other, the truth of Jesus Christ.
Today is a good day to reflect on pain or suffering in our lives. How do I live it? What helps me to be faithful to God in those moments and not to lose trust in Him?
Remembering the Gospel, we can ask ourselves: When do I live in humility? What level of tolerance is there in my life with respect to those with whom I live?" end quote. There is a picture I have as wallpaper on my phone. It is of the Blessed Mother holding the infant Jesus our Lord.
And now reflect on our Lord's words: "Whoever receives this child in my name receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
For the one who is least among all of you
is the one who is the greatest."
Receive the Lord.
How?
In the Eucharist. Yes.
In those around you? Yes.
How do you receive Him? With utmost love and care?
Our Mother embraces Jesus. She wraps herself around Him in her mantle of love and grace. And His heart is beating next to hers.
His heart is giving life to the world. My friend. Jesus is lives in every soul. The forgotten. Those loved ones that surround you. Treat Him with utmost love and care. Like you would give your life for a stranger, but Jesus doesn't call us strangers. I say this, because daily, I try to bite my tongue. I feel remorse for those I don't speak positively about, and my mind, my consciousness will not let me forget the things I said. I didn't curse. But I spoke negatively. Things like "why is he just standing around doing nothing?". Or "why do all these men not go to Mass when they know they could!". It's more of complaints, right? But these things go to all sorts of degrees in negativity.
Who embraces the naive? Who embraces the innocent? Who embraces those who do not know better? And this goes on so many levels. Our Lord knows.
And we should know better than to cast them away as if they are second class.
Jesus wants to love through us on all sorts of levels. A sacrificial love, to bite your tongue, to make your heart one of light. To embrace the cross. To raise up rather than to tear down. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Colossians 3:1–2 [Colossians 3]
Put On the New Self 3
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
