† Quote of the Day "The sacred heart of Christ is an inexhaustible fountain, and its sole desire is to pour itself out into the hearts of the humble so as to free them and prepare them to lead lives according to his good pleasure." — St. Margaret Mary Today's Meditation "If meekness is not exactly the worldly ideal, neither is it universally correlated with strength. Contrariwise, is not the first connotation of meekness in many minds that of supineness, spiritlessness, weakness? It is strange that this should be so, when Jesus set forth meekness as the expression of His own divine-human heart. It is interesting that Christ asked us to master only one lesson plan in life: "Learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart" (Matt. 11:29). It is certainly not without significance that He never specifically asked us to learn anything else." —Mother Francis, PCC, p.26
An excerpt from Blessed Are You Daily Verse "Then they will hand you over to persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. And then many will be led into sin; they will betray and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and deceive many; and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come." — Matthew 24:9-14 | St. Margaret Mary St. Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690) was born in France to a virtuous and distinguished family. As a child she showed great devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and by the age of 9 was practicing severe penances. In her childhood she became sick with rheumatic fever and was confined to bed for four years. She made a vow to the Blessed Virgin to consecrate herself to the religious life, after which she was instantly healed. She often had visions of Jesus, which she thought was a normal experience in the spiritual life. When she turned 17 her mother insisted that she establish a place for herself in the world. Margaret imagined that her childhood vow was not binding, and persuaded herself that she could serve God while living at home and continuing her penances and charity to the poor. She then joined her brothers at dances and began considering marriage. One day, upon returning home from a carnival ball, Jesus appeared to her and reproached her for her infidelity, reminding her of her promise. Margaret then entered a Visitation convent at the age of 24. Jesus appeared to her frequently, and entrusted to her the mission of establishing devotion to his Sacred Heart during a time when religion in France had grown rigorous and cold. Because of her visions she was greatly persecuted by those around her, until her virtue under suffering won over her enemies. Her visions were determined to be genuine and officially recognized by the Catholic Church 75 years after her death. Her feast day is October 16th. | Wednesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 GAL 5:18-25 Brothers and sisters:
If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious:
immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh
with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit. Responsorial Psalm PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6 R. (see Jn 8:12) Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life. Alleluia JN 10:27 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 11:42-46 The Lord said:
"Woe to you Pharisees!
You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.
These you should have done, without overlooking the others.
Woe to you Pharisees!
You love the seat of honor in synagogues
and greetings in marketplaces.
Woe to you!
You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk."
Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply,
"Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too."
And he said, "Woe also to you scholars of the law!
You impose on people burdens hard to carry,
but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them." | Daily Meditation: Luke 11:42-46 You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb. (Luke 11:42) When it comes to the practices of our faith, it can be easy to derive a sense of security from following "The Rules." We might also use those rules as a quick way to assess whether someone is a "good" Catholic. We might even use these rules as a checklist to determine if we are right with God. But such an approach risks draining the lifeblood from our practices. It risks reducing our relationship with the Lord to a set of obligations. And when that happens, the rules become a burden, not a way to freedom. This seems to be the trap that ensnared the Pharisees and scribes whom Jesus addressed in today's Gospel. He describes them as being meticulous in following the rules about tithing but neglecting the underlying reason for those laws: "judgment" and "love for God" (Luke 11:42). By focusing on the details, they failed to recognize and proclaim God's boundless mercy for his people. They also failed to extend patience and compassion to the people. Are there times when you have emphasized rules over the call to love? Pope Benedict XVI spoke about this when he said that instead of a heavy burden, Jesus "offers us 'his yoke,' the way of the wisdom of the Gospel, which is neither a doctrine to be learned nor an ethical system but rather a Person to follow" (Audience, December 7, 2011). That "Person" is Jesus, the One who offers us his life and who calls us to deepen that life within us through the practices of our faith. Of course, the habits and rhythms of faith are important. Without them, our relationship with the invisible God would descend to the level of theory and speculation. But if you ever find yourself just "ticking off a checklist" or judging someone who doesn't, perhaps that's a sign that you need to ask for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit. Perhaps that's a sign urging you to go back to the heart of the gospel: justice and the love of God. "Jesus, help me never to reduce my relationship with you to a matter of rules and practices!" Galatians 5:18-25
Psalm 1:1-4, 6 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Click to hear Audio | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"Woe to you Pharisees!
You love the seat of honor in synagogues
and greetings in marketplaces.
Woe to you!
You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk."
Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply,
"Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too."
And he said, "Woe also to you scholars of the law!
You impose on people burdens hard to carry,
but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them....." end quote. | "Teacher...you are insulting us too".
My, oh my. See how we get insulted easy?
How do you feel when you are "insulted"?
For me, it is a big alert, lights flashing, like when people are coming down hard on you.
The first thing we should do, when we feel insulted, is to send off an antibody agent to catch that insult, and then start to dissolve it, so it does not enter your soul and start making its home inside, festering, like a deadly disease, that eats away at you from the inside.
We cannot do this without grace. I was in a meeting yesterday, and this exact thing happened. They raised their voices, they accused me of being closed minded, and their tone and volume was condescending. It didn't ring good or true in my mind, but, I put my head down, and let them fizzle themselves out, let the rant go on. Until I am allowed to speak, with truth, and grace.
You see how important grace is? How do we obtain grace? Connect with God, in your heart, in your mind, in your soul. Be filled with grace like our Mother Mary. How? Sacraments, prayer, fasting, and be in tune with the life of Christ, living, ready to give a testimony of love.
Because the Pharisees knew all the laws, but they did not know the law of love anymore. No, it all came down to this point, the lawlessness they lived was darkness in the eyes of God. The law of love would now have to supersede even their over 600 Jewish laws they had accumulated over the centuries.
What does this mean for you? Are you a Pharisee? What should you take from this story?
Our Lord had started with the words: "Woe to you Pharisees!
You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.
These you should have done, without overlooking the others." You are going to church? Great? You are tithing? That's awesome!
But, my dear, where is your heart?
Do you leave church and come out worse than when you came in?
Do you go about your week the same as before, hating someone? Not able to forgive someone? Judging others, and treating them with disdain? What is that all about? The love for God is in the love for neighbor, those you encounter in your life.
This is something I am working on, and I invite you to the same.
Humility. That others may be more than you, and that we may be less.
That others get all the glory and praise, and that you may be forgotten.
Lately, I have been working on what wears at the heart. Talking about others in the negative light, no matter how slight. Others treat me unfair, but I do not want to put them in the negative light, like they have put me in; for instance, if they made me feel inconsiderate, I will attempt to take it with a grain of salt, bow my head, offer it up to Heaven, and obey, the law...the law of Love, the very law of God and Heaven. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 37:4 4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
