† Quote of the Day "Friendship is the source of the greatest pleasures, and without friends even the most agreeable pursuits become tedious." — St. Thomas Aquinas Today's Meditation "The Eucharist is alive. If a stranger who knew nothing about the Eucharist were to watch the way we receive, would he know this? When you and I approach the Eucharist, does it look like we believe we are about to take into our bodies the living person, Jesus Christ, true God and true man? How many times, Lord, have I forgotten that the Eucharist is alive! As I wait in line to receive you each day, am I thinking about how much you want to unite yourself with me? Am I seeing your hands filled with the graces you want to give me? Am I filled with awe and gratitude that you love me so much as to actually want to come to me in this incredibly intimate way? Or am I distracted, busy with other thoughts, preoccupied with myself and my agendas for the day? How many times, Jesus, have I made you sad, mindlessly receiving you into my body, into my heart, with no love and no recognition of your love? How many times have I treated you as a dead object? The Host that we receive is not a thing! It's not a wafer! It's not bread! It's a person – He's alive!" —Vinny Flynn, p. 8
An excerpt from 7 Secrets of the Eucharist Daily Verse "In the same way, the Spirit too comes to the aid of our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit itself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because it intercedes for the holy ones according to God's will." — Romans 8:26-27 | St. Adrian Of Canterbury St. Adrian of Canterbury (d. 710 A.D.), also known as St. Hadrian, was a native of North Africa who was sent to England to accompany his friend, Theodore of Tarsus, who was appointed to the prestigious archbishopric of Canterbury. St. Adrian was originally offered and turned down the ecclesiastical position, and instead was made abbot of St. Augustine's Abbey at Canterbury (originally called the Monastery of St. Peter). The monastic school grew and thrived under his leadership, and became an important center of learning where many future scholars, bishops, and abbots were educated in Latin, Greek, scripture, theology, Roman law, arithmetic, and other subjects. St. Adrian himself was well known for being a great teacher of religion, math, science, and literature. He also served as the Holy Father's assistant and adviser. During the lives of Adrian and Theodore, education and learning flourished in England. After his death, his tomb became famous for miracles. His feast day is January 9th. | Thursday after Epiphany Reading I 1 John 4:19–5:4 Beloved, we love God because
he first loved us.
If anyone says, "I love God,"
but hates his brother, he is a liar;
for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen
cannot love God whom he has not seen.
This is the commandment we have from him:
Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,
and everyone who loves the Father
loves also the one begotten by him.
In this way we know that we love the children of God
when we love God and obey his commandments.
For the love of God is this,
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 72:1-2, 14 and 15bc, 17 R. (see 11) Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
O God, with your judgment endow the king, and with your justice, the king's son;
He shall govern your people with justice and your afflicted ones with judgment. R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
From fraud and violence he shall redeem them, and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
May they be prayed for continually; day by day shall they bless him. R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
May his name be blessed forever; as long as the sun his name shall remain.
In him shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed; all the nations shall proclaim his happiness.
R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you. Alleluia Luke 4:18 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor
and to proclaim liberty to captives.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Luke 4:14-22 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.
He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
"Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
| Daily Meditation: 1 John 4:19–5:4 We love God because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19) What prompts an infant to smile, to coo, to make eye contact, and eventually to speak? It's the loving, attentive presence of her parents. So much essential development of an infant is initiated by parents simply engaging with their baby. And from those acts of love and affection, the child learns how to love them in return. Isn't this the way it is with God and each of us? As John states in today's first reading, we love God because he loved us first (4:19). Our faith begins with this truth, as Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher of the papal household, has pointed out: "Christianity doesn't start by telling people what they must do; it starts by telling people what God has done for them, to save them. . . . Christianity is a religion of grace" (Address to Regent University, April 30, 2014). When we discover that God indeed loves us—so much so that he died for us—we are moved to love him in return. And the best way we can do this is to "keep his commandments" (1 John 5:3). Cardinal Cantalamessa explains: "You know God wants your good. You know the will of God is in your favor, so you willingly do what God wants." We don't have to do things out of fear of punishment or out of a sense of duty. Instead, God wants to move us to obey his commandments because we know in our hearts how much he loves us and how much he desires what is best for us. Of course, we all battle temptations and give in to weakness and sin. Even in such times, however, you don't have to despair. Instead, remember: Jesus loved you first! Just as a parent loves their newborn child, God doesn't love you for what you do but for who you are. He understands your struggles, and he is always ready and willing to pour out his grace on you to help you keep his commandments. He knows how much you want to please him, and he will give you whatever you need to love him in return! "Lord, help me to never lose sight of your great love for me! Psalm 72:1-2, 14-15, 17
Luke 4:14-22 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Hear AI Read it for u | In the Holy Scripture we hear today: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
"Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing."
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth....." end Gospel quote, word of the Lord. | From Bishop Barron today:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me," he declared. The Ruach Yahweh, the breath of God—this is what has seized and animated Jesus. After the Resurrection, he breathed on his disciples, communicating to them (and the Church) something of this spirit.
Animated by the Ruach Yahweh, what does he do? "He has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor." The lowly hear this, those who are oppressed, the poor, the unjustly treated, the marginalized and forgotten. What are the glad tidings? That God's love is more powerful than the powers of this world.
This is the message of Christ. Therefore, when you place yourself on the side of this power, you are on the winning side, though dark powers gather around you. It is fully expressed in the Paschal Mystery. The world threw its entire power against Jesus, and God raised him up. Nothing can overwhelm or overcome the authority of the Lord God." end quote Bishop from Barron.
Our Lord said: "Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing." And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth."
What does a miracle feel like? Peace and grace. It almost feels all too natural. Someone heals miraculously, and it happens so subtly that it feels like it was meant to be and we knew it was going to happen.
And this is how it must have felt but even more graciously, when our Lord said that He was there to fulfill everything they had been reading.
And so it is. He has come to fulfill all of our old Testament, not taking away, but to fulfill the Messianic role and more.
God is amazing because He fills the void in our lives that we need...if we let Him. If God has caused a void in your life, perhaps it is that much more room to fill with Him, amen? Perhaps you don't get all those things you think you need, or need to get into, nothing has happened. There is a void. Fill it with God our Father who has filled the universe.
A person that is detached from the world and has found God, feels they have everything they could ever need, and for good reason. But if there is a void, and pain, then, for this, the Messiah must come into our lives. Blessed are those who find Him in such times and live with Him in such times, offering themselves totally throughout.
It almost seems we are now past Christmas but still, His Epiphany, His revelation to the world is still active. Today, He reveals Himself in the temple, and all were amazed.
Guess what? He is still there, in our Holy Catholic Tabernacle, waiting to reveal Himself as He has already done thousands of years ago. There, in the Holy Presence Bread consecrated for all time.
My Lord, this revelation of your essence, this one in being in Your presence should amaze us. Help us amaze You in faith, in love, in this world that is to shine to the next forever. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Matthew 6:2–4 2 "Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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