† 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. | Friday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Baruch 1:15-22 During the Babylonian captivity, the exiles prayed:
"Justice is with the Lord, our God;
and we today are flushed with shame,
we men of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem,
that we, with our kings and rulers
and priests and prophets, and with our ancestors,
have sinned in the Lord's sight and disobeyed him.
We have neither heeded the voice of the Lord, our God,
nor followed the precepts which the Lord set before us.
From the time the Lord led our ancestors out of the land of Egypt
until the present day,
we have been disobedient to the Lord, our God,
and only too ready to disregard his voice.
And the evils and the curse that the Lord enjoined upon Moses, his servant,
at the time he led our ancestors forth from the land of Egypt
to give us the land flowing with milk and honey,
cling to us even today.
For we did not heed the voice of the Lord, our God,
in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us,
but each one of us went off
after the devices of his own wicked heart,
served other gods,
and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God." Responsorial Psalm Psalm 79:1b-2, 3-5, 8, 9 R. (9) For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
They have given the corpses of your servants
as food to the birds of heaven,
the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth. R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
They have poured out their blood like water
round about Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury them.
We have become the reproach of our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.
O LORD, how long? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire? R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low. R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name's sake. R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us. Alleluia Psalm 95:8 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Luke 10:13-16 Jesus said to them,
"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented,
sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon
at the judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld.'
Whoever listens to you listens to me.
Whoever rejects you rejects me.
And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."
| Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Baruch 1:15-22 We did not heed the voice of the Lord. (Baruch 1:21) Picture an aspiring entrepreneur in a college classroom, listening to a teacher explain the best ways to run a business. Later, that student, graduated and running her own company, makes a mistake that costs her company thousands of dollars. Looking back, she realizes that the lessons she learned through this episode far surpassed anything she had learned in school. In today's first reading, we see Baruch—scribe to the prophet Jeremiah—admitting that the consequences of his people's sins have taught them valuable lessons that they never learned by studying the Law and the prophets. For centuries, these messengers told the people what God expected of them. But instead of following God's commands, they indulged in idolatry, selfish pleasure, and exploitation of the poor. All these sins led to their downfall when Jerusalem was conquered by the armies of Babylon. This traumatic event finally taught them. They confessed their sins and were ready to change their ways. The prayer of Baruch and the story of Israel show us that while God does not create evil, he does allow us to experience the consequences of our own sinful decisions. But he doesn't stop there. He loves us too much to leave us suffering these consequences. In his unending grace, he uses them to help us confess and own up to our sins. He offers us his healing and forgiveness. And he teaches us through them so that we can grow even closer to him. This doesn't happen automatically, of course. We need to yield to the Spirit so that he can use these consequences to soften our hearts. Then we can cooperate with his grace as we cast off our selfish desires and our ways of thinking and acting that go against his word. With the Spirit's help, we can choose to put away our pride and give the Lord authority over our lives. And when we do, we discover the Spirit's power to transform us, fill us with his joy, and strengthen us to live in holiness. It's amazing, isn't it? Not even our most tragic sins can stop the Lord from loving us. He's just waiting for us to turn to him in repentance, as Baruch did, so that he can teach us, forgive us, and heal us. "Jesus, give me a humble and contrite heart so that I can be set free!" Psalm 79:1-5, 8-9
Luke 10:13-16 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Ai Audio 2cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld.'
Whoever listens to you listens to me.
Whoever rejects you rejects me.
And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.
...." Word of the Lord. | From Bishop Barron:
"This Gospel and the verses leading up to it also contain a word for us. What is the first thing that the minister should do upon entering a city? "Cure the sick in it." Christ is Soter, healer of both body and spirit. So many of the saints were healers; so many of the apparitions of the Blessed Mother led to healing. Another great task of the Church is to proclaim, "The kingdom of God is at hand." The Church is an announcing, proclaiming, evangelizing organism. What we proclaim is that, in Jesus Christ, a whole new way of ordering things has appeared, that God, in Christ, is drawing all things to himself. The great ordering principles of the world—money, fame, power, sex, pleasure—are overthrown. A new King has come, a new way of organizing life. Love, inclusion, compassion, nonviolence, forgiveness, especially of enemies—this is now the way sanctioned by God." end quote.
Are these words fearsome? Our Lord speaks:
"Whoever listens to you listens to me.
Whoever rejects you rejects me.
And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."
Are we listening?
Are we asking for Him to speak?
Are we listening to Him speak through His people?
We keep praying, He keeps answering, but we aren't listening.
Such are the Holy Scripture readings as prophecies from the beginning of time.
He plays a flute, and we do not dance.
He plays a dirge of doom and gloom, and we aren't moved towards Him.
Or are we?
I am praying for a culture change. The kind that is fed up with rejecting God's desires of faith and unity.
I am praying that we become Christ, the light, the hope, the mercy, and grace that co-missions with Him in His Holy will of love and salvation.
God's will is Holy, and pure.
Are we listening? He awaits to speak, in the confessional, in the private visits, in the unity of community, prayer groups, in the discussion of His Holy will.
Do you repent of your evil ways? Have they not proved their ways?
Can we not see with our own eyes the disgrace of sin? Lord, I pray to see Thee and hear Thee, yet, I am weak to pray, visit, and do Your Holy will many times, with distractions and other feelings that inhibit me from seeing and hearing and being with Thee.
Lord, if only..we may do what You want, please help us do this to change the generations to come. |  Audio of Random Verse | Random Bible Verse 1
Philippians 4:13 [Philippians 4] 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
Word of the Lord! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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