† Quote of the Day "It is not the actual physical exertion that counts towards a man's progress, nor the nature of the task, but by the spirit of faith with which it is undertaken." -St. Francis Xavier Today's Meditation "St. Joseph wants you to be docile to the direction of the Holy Spirit so that you can be led in the ways of holiness. What is holiness, anyway? Is it some unattainable spiritual summit you can never hope to reach? No, it is not. Holiness is living in intimate, loving communion with God. More specifically, holiness is observing the two great commandments of love of God and neighbor, avoiding sin, leading a life of virtue, and abiding in sanctifying grace. None of this is possible without the Holy Spirit in your life. –Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC, p. 21
An excerpt from Consecration to St. Joseph Daily Verse A slave of the Lord should not quarrel, but should be gentle with everyone, able to teach, tolerant, correcting opponents with kindness. It may be that God will grant them repentance that leads to knowledge of the truth, and that they may return to their senses out of the devil's snare, where they are entrapped by him, for his will. -2 Timothy 2:24-26 | St Francis Xavier St. Francis Xavier (1506–1552) was born in his family castle in Navarre in what is today Spain. While studying in Paris he met St. Ignatius of Loyola and joined him in the foundation of the Society of Jesus. Instead of devoting himself to academic pursuits as he had planned, and in which he enjoyed great success, he became the first Jesuit missionary priest. His missionary activity began in Goa, India and extended across the Orient. St. Francis Xavier was known throughout the Far East for his humility, care of the poor, and miracles including healings, speaking in tongues, and prophetic powers. His passion for Christ and zeal for souls won him many converts to the faith. It is said that during his missionary journeys he baptized over 40,000 people. He is considered by many to be one of the Church's greatest missionaries since St. Paul the Apostle. In his travels he left behind flourishing churches that were the foundations of the Catholic Church in Asia. He is the patron saint of navigators, missionaries, African missions, India, Japan, China, and New Zealand. St. Francis Xavier's feast day is December 3rd. | Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest Reading 1 Isaiah 25:6-10a On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken. On that day it will be said:
"Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!"
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6 R. (6cd) I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul. R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage. R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows. R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come. R. I shall live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life. Alleluia R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Behold, the Lord comes to save his people;
blessed are those prepared to meet him. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Matthew 15:29-37 At that time:
Jesus walked by the Sea of Galilee,
went up on the mountain, and sat down there.
Great crowds came to him,
having with them the lame, the blind, the deformed, the mute,
and many others.
They placed them at his feet, and he cured them.
The crowds were amazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the deformed made whole,
the lame walking,
and the blind able to see,
and they glorified the God of Israel. Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
"My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way."
The disciples said to him,
"Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place
to satisfy such a crowd?"
Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?"
"Seven," they replied, "and a few fish."
He ordered the crowd to sit down on the ground.
Then he took the seven loaves and the fish,
gave thanks, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied.
They picked up the fragments left over–seven baskets full. | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Matthew 15:29-37 The crowds were amazed . . . , and they glorified the God of Israel. (Matthew 15:31) Of course they were amazed! The crowds in today's Gospel had followed Jesus up the mountain, bringing with them their hopes and dreams and need for healing, and they saw Jesus work wonders! They had placed their loved ones at his feet, and he healed them all (Matthew 15:30). This was better than they could have imagined! Naturally, "they glorified the God of Israel," who was clearly at work in and through Jesus (15:31). Now, you might wonder if God could amaze you in this way. Sure, you might think, Advent is a special time of expectation and longing, but it can also be a very busy time. You don't have the time to imitate the crowds and follow Jesus up a mountain. But the good news is that you don't have to! Jesus can come to you. Just as he brought healing and freedom to the people who came to him in today's Gospel, he can bring you his healing touch. And just as he inspired them to glorify God, he can move you to words of awe, praise, and gratitude as you witness his wonders with your own eyes. So bring your hopes and dreams and needs to Jesus today. Ask him for the eyes to see how he's working in your life. Be open to the ways that he might amaze you. He might do for you what he did for the crowds in today's Gospel: he might heal you physically, he might deliver you from guilt or shame, or he might bring healing to a strained relationship. He might help you come to know him better as you read the Scriptures, or he might give you guidance for a thorny problem. He might unexpectedly lift your spirits through the encouraging words of a friend—or even a stranger! No matter how he does it, you can be sure that Jesus wants to bring you closer to himself. You can trust him to know best how to accomplish that for you. And when he does, be sure to follow the example of the crowds in today's Gospel: glorify the God of Israel! "Jesus, I believe that you still do amazing works today. So I come to you with an open heart and ask you to show me your power to heal and restore!" Isaiah 25:6-10
Psalm 23:1-6 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Audio of 2 Cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "... Jesus summoned his disciples and said,
"My heart is moved with pity for the crowd,
for they have been with me now for three days
and have nothing to eat.
I do not want to send them away hungry,
for fear they may collapse on the way."
The disciples said to him,
"Where could we ever get enough bread in this deserted place
to satisfy such a crowd?"...." Word of the Lord. | From Roberto Juarez: "Jesus takes the loaves, gives thanks, breaks them, and gives them to the disciples. And there the impossible happens:
the little becomes much, the small becomes abundant, the limited becomes superabundant. This is God's way: multiply the small. Multiply time, faith, patience, dedication, love. When we place our lives in his hands, Jesus makes fruitful what seems sterile. It makes what seemed insufficient grow.
The Gospel says: "They all ate their fill, and gathered seven baskets of leftovers." What a powerful image: God's love is not rationed, it is not minimal, it is not adjusted. It is superabundant. God does not give what is right. It gives more than we can imagine. You give him your tiredness... and He gives you peace. You give him your doubts... and He gives you light. You give it your fragility... and He turns it into a fortress. You give him your love, poor thing... and He multiplies it. At the end of this Gospel, Jesus asks us three things: 1. Come to my feet: Bring your wounds, your weariness, what worries you. That's where the real healing lies.
2. Give me the little you have: Do not wait until you have more faith, more strength, or more virtues. Give him what you are and have today.
3. Let yourself be satiated by me: Don't seek to fill your life only with things, activities or successes. Let Jesus be your food, your strength, and your peace.
| 1. | Come to my feet: Bring your wounds, your weariness, what worries you. That's where the real healing lies. | | 2. | Give me the little you have: Do not wait until you have more faith, more strength, or more virtues. Give him what you are and have today. | | 3. | Let yourself be satiated by me: Don't seek to fill your life only with things, activities or successes. Let Jesus be your food, your strength, and your peace. | Let us ask the Lord to give us a compassionate heart like his, to be moved by the hunger of others, and to know how to place our "little" in his hands, so that he may multiply it and turn it into a banquet of life for all. " end quote.
From Bishop Barron:
"The hungry people who gather around Jesus in this scene are symbolic of the hungry human race, starving, from the time of Adam and Eve, for what will satisfy. We have tried to fill up the emptiness with wealth, pleasure, power, honor, the sheer love of domination—but none of it works, precisely because we have all been wired for God and God is nothing but love." end quote.
From Brother Adrian:
If you don't believe our Lord Jesus is compassionate, just read today's Gospel again, where He feeds and heals the thousands that were with Him for 3 days straight. At about 3 days, the body is really suffering for food, and as we all know, we need food but Jesus said "man does not live by bread alone" amen? Our Lord said in the book of Matthew chapter 4: ""It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" And this is what sustains them, and this is our sustenance. And it is very obvious in the next life in the Spirit, the soul, how does it survive outside the body? Only by God's will do we live.
And so, consider the source...of everything! IT IS GOD.
And thank God that God is GOOD, Amen?
I have been glimpsing into a book called "The Holy Eucharist" by St. Alphonsus de Liguori (Redemptorist Fathers 1934) and he said that it is recommended to go to receive daily communion and if you cannot, then at least make a "spiritual act of communion". Why? The Holy Eucharist strengthens us against sin, and we make our bodies into eternal bodies of life with Him, and so many more blessings, and He asks us to go to glorify God, give thanks to God, to pray to God Himself, and more.
It is what our Lord calls "Our Daily Bread" and this bread is nothing else than His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. the soul sustenance. Amen?
In other words, if you have not caught on, we NEED HIM. And He has compassion on His followers that truly follow Him. And thankfully, He also knows the hearts of those who have strayed or do not know Him as we ought! That is true compassion.
That is the true love of Our Father, who art in Heaven! Lord we need You.
Help us Love Thee more and more...may we yearn for true love. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1 1 Peter 3:10–11 "Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit;
11 let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it." . . . . . . . . Word of the Lord! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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