† Quote of the Day "At each step we can admire the grandeur, the power, the goodness of God. How bountifully He provides for all our wants—I would even say for our pleasures!" — St. Theodore Guerin Today's Meditation "Infinite grief I wish from My creature in two ways: in one way, through her sorrow for her own sins, which she has committed against Me her Creator; in the other way, through her sorrow for the sins which she sees her neighbors commit against Me. Of such as these, inasmuch as they have infinite desire, that is, are joined to Me by an affection of love, and therefore grieve when they offend Me, or see Me offended, their every pain, whether spiritual or corporeal, from wherever it may come, receives infinite merit, and satisfies for a guilt which deserved an infinite penalty, although their works are finite and done in finite time; but, inasmuch as they possess the virtue of desire, and sustain their suffering with desire, and contrition, and infinite displeasure against their guilt, their pain is held worthy. Paul explained this when he said: If I had the tongues of angels, and if I knew the things of the future and gave my body to be burned, and have not love, it would be worth nothing to me. The glorious Apostle thus shows that finite works are not valid, either as punishment or recompense, without the condiment of the affection of love." —St. Catherine of Siena, p. 4
An excerpt from Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena Daily Verse "What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it is written: "For your sake we are being slain all the day; we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us." — Romans 8:35-37 | St. Theodore Guerin St. Theodore Guerin (1798–1856), also known as St. Theodora, was born in Etables, France, towards the end of the French Revolution. She was a pious child who loved prayer and who knew her vocation was to be a nun. However, she was delayed in following this path after the murder of her father when she was 15, which, in addition to the previous death of two of her siblings, sent her mother into a deep depression. St. Theodore took on the household tasks and the care of her mother and her remaining sister. Finally, when she was 25, her mother gave her consent, and Theodore left home to enter the religious life. She joined the Sisters of Providence who served God by educating children and caring for the poor, the sick, and the dying. In 1840 she was asked to lead a band of missionary sisters and establish her order in the United States of America, specifically to serve the pioneers in Indiana. Even though her health was fragile, she crossed the Atlantic and then traveled by steamboat and stagecoach until she reached the wilderness mission of St. Mary of the Woods, which consisted only of a tiny log chapel. She and her five sisters endured the extreme hardships common to life on the frontier. Less than a year after arriving she opened an academy which became the first Catholic women's Liberal Arts college in the United States, still active today, called St. Mary of the Woods College. St. Theodore also established numerous schools, pharmacies, and orphanages throughout the state of Indiana. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II and canonized in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI. Her feast day is October 3rd. | Thursday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 JB 19:21-27 Job said:
Pity me, pity me, O you my friends,
for the hand of God has struck me!
Why do you hound me as though you were divine,
and insatiably prey upon me?
Oh, would that my words were written down!
Would that they were inscribed in a record:
That with an iron chisel and with lead
they were cut in the rock forever!
But as for me, I know that my Vindicator lives,
and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust;
Whom I myself shall see:
my own eyes, not another's, shall behold him,
And from my flesh I shall see God;
my inmost being is consumed with longing. Responsorial Psalm PS 27:7-8A, 8B-9ABC, 13-14 R. (13) I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living. Alleluia MK 1:15 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 10:1-12 Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say,
'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves his payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
'The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.'
Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you,
go out into the streets and say,
'The dust of your town that clings to our feet,
even that we shake off against you.'
Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand.
I tell you,
it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day
than for that town."
| Daily Meditation: Job 19:21-27 Why do you hound me? (Job 19:22) On top of all the sorrow and loss that Job experienced, he had to endure the judgment and misunderstanding of his wife and friends. "Curse God and die!" his wife told him (2:9). And his friends accused him at length of being prideful and not really loving God. No wonder Job asked, "Why do you hound me as though you were divine, and insatiably prey upon me?" (19:22). We can take a lesson from Job—and his wife and friends—on what we can do and what we should not do when people close to us experience times of trial and hardship. We can remember that times of difficulty can also be times of deep loneliness. Even Jesus needed the presence and support of his closest friends during his hour of need. He asked them to "keep watch" with him during his intense suffering (Matthew 26:38). When someone we know is suffering, they need our support, not necessarily our "help." Our natural impulse is often to offer them well-meaning words of advice when what they most need is to know that, no matter what happens, we will still be with them. Words of encouragement can have a lasting impact and infuse hope into our loved ones' weary hearts. Imagine how Job would have felt if his wife and friends had told him, "We don't understand why all this is happening. But we believe that somehow, God can bring good out of this. Know that we're standing with you in faith." Or, "How can we support you right now?" He might have found extra strength to persevere rather than facing his trials alone! When someone you love is suffering, try to avoid the mistakes that Job's wife and friends made. Try not to offer unsolicited advice or criticism. When you speak, let your words be filled with encouragement and faith and hope. Or maybe don't say anything at all! Sometimes we can be Christ's presence simply by showing up: sitting with them in the hospital, visiting them in prison, or joining them in their pew at Mass. Through our support and God's faithfulness, may our friends come to say, "I know that my Vindicator lives" (Job 19:25). "Lord, you are so faithful. Help me to be a faithful friend when someone needs me." Psalm 27:7-9, 13-14
Luke 10:1-12 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say,
'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will return to you........." end quote. | Bishop Barron said:
"We are a missionary Church. We are sent by the Lord to spread his word and do his work. The Christian Gospel is just not something that we are meant to cling to for our own benefit. Rather, it is like seed that we are meant to give away.. . . ." end of Bishop's quote.
From a Spanish reflection today:
"We live in times when vocations of all kinds are scarce, society is reluctant to the things of God and is lost in many aspects, so good workers are needed to take care of the harvest and now more than ever is the time to ask the Owner who sends them to us. Once again we must put ourselves in God's hands, entrust our concerns to Him (and the lack of vocations is one of the great ones) and ask Him with Faith to give His Church men and women with a generous heart and a spirit of service.
We have to trust in the Lord, ask Him WITH CONFIDENCE, in the certainty that our prayer will be heard. We should make a daily purpose to ask for vocations so that, just as Christ sent his disciples to announce the Kingdom, God the Father continues to send workers to his fields: good priests, good nuns, lay people with a desire to serve, men and women of all conditions who know how to listen to God's call and go to the harvest fields. There is a lot of work to be done and every little bit of help is enough. Let us do our part through our prayers and always trust in the Lord." end quote. Luis Maldonado Fernández de Tejada, OP. Sounds like our Lord was on a mission, and is He asking all of us to be on such a hard mission?
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves."
He sent them with no money, no extra clothes, nothing!
What is that all about? Faith.
It's all about relying on God for everything!
What is your mission? Go house to house knocking on doors? Bringing the Good news and healing them? Asking them to repent and turn from evil lifestyles? Can we? Will we do that? Will our will attach to His and make this happen?
Can you heal people? Jesus will heal. You just need to go there.
Can you preach? Jesus our Lord will speak in the Holy Spirit inside of you.
Just Trust In JESUS.
He will provide. That is where He comes from.
Today we hear in the news of people hoarding when scandal breaks loose. Why? Faithless selfishness. What are you hoarding up? God's gifts? Are you keeping to yourself and not preaching and healing? You want people to preach to you and heal you only? That's hoarding my friend.
We are called to do the hard stuff in Christianity, to go out into the world with scary hungry wolves, yes, but do you trust the Lord is with you in this world that wants to haunt you every day? They not only want to haunt Christians but in many parts of the world they are hunting Christians, persecuting them and killing them. In our nation, the hunt has been by attacking our beliefs, in hope, in love, in purity, in obedience, in tradition, in loving God above all else!
But it is to serve a purpose. Evil serves a purpose. Without evil in your life, how could you glorify God! We actually need evil to do good if you think about it. So next time negative and impossible things come your way, face it without fear, the Lord will provide, God will find a way, Love will find a way. God is our Father and is amazing. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Luke 12:15 15 And he said to them, "Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
