† Quote of the Day "Behold Jesus Christ crucified, Who is the only foundation of our hope; He is our Mediator and Advocate; the victim and sacrifice for our sins. He is goodness and patience itself; His mercy is moved by the tears of sinners, and He never refuses pardon and grace to those who ask it with a truly contrite and humbled heart." -St. Charles Borromeo Today's Meditation "As St. Paul points out, Christ never meant that we were to remain children in intelligence: on the contrary. He told us to be not only 'as harmless as doves', but also 'as wise as serpents'. He wants a child's heart, but a grown-up's head. He wants us to be simple, single-minded, affectionate, and teachable, as good children are; but He also wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert at its job, and in first-class fighting trim." —C.S. Lewis, p. 77
An excerpt from Mere Christianity Daily Verse "So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the gospel of peace. In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all [the] flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." -Ephesians 6:14-17 | St Charles Borromeo St. Charles Borromeo (1538–1584) was born into an ancient and wealthy family in Lombardy, Italy. When his uncle became Pope Pius IV, Charles was brought to Rome to take over several important assignments connected with the Vatican. He was ordained to Holy Orders at the age of 25 and was later made Archbishop of Milan, a position of high influence in the Church, and Cardinal. He initiated large-scale reform of his enormous and dilapidated diocese, which had not seen a resident bishop in 80 years. Clergy were ignorant and disobedient, religious were negligent and scandalous, and the laity had drifted from Church teaching. He rectified abuses and maintained the integrity of the Church's internal structure, all for which he encountered strong opposition and threats against his life. He also established hospitals, seminaries, orphanages, and the first Sunday School classes. He was a key player in the Council of Trent and kept it going when it was in danger of breaking up. He was a prominent defender of Church teaching in the Counter-Reformation and helped produce an official catechism. His counsel was widely sought, especially by the Catholic kings and queens of Europe and the popes under whom he served, and his virtue was evident to all. Throughout his life he held his rank and authority with humility, living austerely and constantly striving for sanctity. When plague and famine hit Milan in 1576, Charles stayed in the city to care for those in need and borrowed large sums of money to feed tens of thousands of people each day. Exhausted from his reforming labors, he died at the age of 46. St. Charles Borromeo is the patron of catechists, catechumens, seminarians, spiritual directors, and bishops. His feast day is November 4th. | Romans 12:5-16b Brothers and sisters: We, though many, are one Body in Christ and individually parts of one another. Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us exercise them: if prophecy, in proportion to the faith; if ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; if one exhorts, in exhortation; if one contributes, in generosity; if one is over others, with diligence; if one does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be sincere; hate what is evil, hold on to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; anticipate one another in showing honor. Do not grow slack in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, endure in affliction, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the holy ones, exercise hospitality. Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly. Psalm 131:1-3 R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace. O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me. R. Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me. R. O Israel, hope in the Lord,
both now and forever. R. Gospel Acclamation Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord. Mt 11:28
Alleluia, alleluia. Luke 14:15-24 One of those at table with Jesus said to him, "Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God." He replied to him, "A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, 'Come, everything is now ready.' But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, 'I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.' And another said, 'I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.' And another said, 'I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.' The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.' The servant reported, 'Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.' The master then ordered the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.'" | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Romans 12:5-16 Let love be sincere. (Romans 12:9) It can be so rewarding to make your love for other people "sincere" by using your God-given gifts to help them (Romans 12:9). You get to see your friends benefit from your patient and gentle listening. You deliver a well-received presentation at work or church. People rave about the cookies you drop off at an ailing neighbor's house or about how simple you made it look when you walked them through a car repair. But what happens when it all goes wrong? What happens when your friend rejects your advice or your presentation falls flat? Maybe your neighbor's enthusiasm for your baking seems forced or the car repair doesn't work. When things like these happen, you might feel a range of emotions: frustration, fear, or even anger. It's hard to let your love "be sincere" in these situations, isn't it (Romans 12:9)? But think about Jesus. He had an impressive number of gifts, but people didn't always respond positively to him. He was an insightful teacher, but his hearers often misread or twisted his words. Not everybody appreciated his miracles—especially when they happened on a Sabbath. He was a charismatic leader, yet he died alone and abandoned by even his closest followers. Still, Jesus never gave up. He loved his people and he loved his Father too much to abandon his calling. It's this kind of sacrificial love that St. Paul urges us to show in today's first reading. Don't worry about how good a job you're doing. Instead, treat your gifts simply as your way to love as Jesus loves: "If ministry, in ministering; if one is a teacher, in teaching; if one exhorts, in exhortation" (Romans 12:7-8). If you're going to serve people, then serve them! Are you a leader? A speaker? A baker? Then go ahead and lead! Speak! Bake! A bad day does not invalidate your gifts. Neither does someone's negative reaction to your attempts to show love and concern. Remember, God didn't call you primarily to be successful. He called you to do his will. He called you to love, without exception and without condition. In fact, it's precisely when things seem to be going wrong that you have the greatest opportunity to "let love be sincere" (Romans 12:9)! "Lord, teach me how to use my gifts to share your complete, unconditional love." Psalm 131:1- 3
Luke 14:15-24 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Ai Audio 2cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "....I ask you, consider me excused.' And another said, 'I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.' The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.' The servant reported, 'Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.' ....." Word of the Lord. | From Roberto Juarez:
"The parable reminds us that our spiritual life and relationship with God must be a priority. How much do we value our relationship with God? The banquet represents the opportunity to commune with Him and to receive His grace. This meditation invites us to reorder our priorities and ask ourselves if we are giving God the central place in our lives or if we are letting our busyness take us away from Him.
Today we can reflect on our response to God's call and on the openness of our hearts to all, especially those who may be far away or excluded. This teaching reminds us of God's generosity and the courage to be willing to live according to His calling, without making excuses and valuing what truly matters: our relationship with Him and love of neighbor.
May this parable inspire us to live an active, generous and unexcused faith, responding to God's invitation with a willing heart full of love for others." end quote.
What angers the Lord?
There is a fire in the eyes of the Lord.
Why should we anger the Lord? Why would we dare?
Every day it seems, He is sending people to invite to His banquet.
What banquet? What feast? Surely, there is a Sunday feast at least, right? But, honestly, it is daily. There is daily Mass.
And our Lord is serving himself, on a golden platter.
I know this. I know He is there. How can I deny Him?
But there is another catch, how do you dress for the occasion? Do I dress with a suit and tie to dine with Him in this banquet? Physically it is impossible for all of us, but spiritually, it must be made possible, that we are in grace, ready to receive Him for when He arrives.
But set aside the true reality of what I have just said.
Our Lord invites us all to a full on meet and greet.
Every day.
The invitation to God things, ministry, meetups, retreats, and so forth, they always are extended to us.
What excuses do we put up?
The famous one nowadays is "I don't have time". That is sad. Because God gave us time. And not that much time on earth! How long will we procrastinate and keep saying no to Him?
A late and famous deacon,Jesse Guajardo in our area, would scream emphatically at retreats, "Don't say you 'have no time'! Say you have no love!".
So how can we have love to make time for God's thing?
We are so backwards from heaven.
The smallest thing makes our will very weak.
The weather is not right. There are sports that day, or a family birthday, or, someone comes over on Sunday and now they can't go to Mass? Who gave you that job? Who gave you that family? Where is our sincere gratitude?
And even without an invitation, to give thanks, we would go knocking on the door to the Feast, begging to give thanks, "Lord, Lord! Open up! It is me!".
Will He recognize you?
Yes, if every day of your life He was accepted, into your Heart in the fullness of true love. On earth, as it is in Heaven. |  Audio of Random Verse | WOW! Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 30:11–12 "You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!" . . . . . . . . Word of the Lord! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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