† Quote of the Day "I know now that true charity consists in bearing all of our neighbors defects not being surprised at their weakness, but edified at their smallest virtues." — St. Therese of Lisieux - The Little Flower Today's Meditation "For those that devote themselves to mental work, reading can be one of the most habitual forms of laziness. How many people forbid themselves to think, to reflect, to compose—to work hard or to produce something, in whatever field it might be—because they find a journal, a magazine, or sometimes, but more rarely, a book, and they do not resist the temptation to take it and spend their time with it, quite often without much profit. They have the illusion of being occupied. Occupation is the counterpoint to real work. There are many people who are occupied and even busy, but there are few persons who really work, that is, produce. This in turn means to put their soul, or something of their soul, energetically and, if possible, powerfully into the activity which their duty assigns them." —Raoul Lus, S.J., p. 50-51
An excerpt from Uncommon Virtue Daily Verse "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears turned to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against evildoers." — 1 Peter 3:12 | St. Raymond Of Penafort St. Raymond of Penafort (1175–1275) was born in Spain to the noble family of Aragon. As a child he received an excellent education and displayed a great love for the Blessed Mother. After studying and teaching philosophy and law he entered the Order of Preachers. He preached the Crusades and encouraged the faithful to defend their civilization from foreign threats. To aid his preaching, Raymond requested that his fellow Dominican, St. Thomas Aquinas, write his epic Summa Contra Gentiles for the conversion of non-Catholics, especially Muslims. It is said that at least 10,000 Muslims were converted to the Catholic faith as a result of Raymond's evangelistic labors. Together with King James of Aragon and St. Peter Nolasco he founded the Order of Our Lady of Ransom (Mercedarians), a group that worked to free Christians enslaved by the Moors. Known for his great mind and great sanctity, St. Raymond was the Pope's personal confessor and close adviser. As a trained lawyer, he was also chosen to compile the Church's legal documents into one source of canon law which was then used for centuries. He also wrote a manual of moral theology for confessors. St. Raymond is famous for the miracle of sailing from the island of Majorca to Barcelona using his cape for a raft, in protest of the King of Aragon's refusal to dismiss his mistress. St. Raymond of Penafort is the patron of lawyers and canon lawyers. His feast day is January 7. | Tuesday after Epiphany Reading 1 1 John 4:7-10 Beloved, let us love one another,
because love is of God;
everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.
Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.
In this way the love of God was revealed to us:
God sent his only-begotten Son into the world
so that we might have life through him.
In this is love:
not that we have loved God, but that he loved us
and sent his Son as expiation for our sins. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 72:1-2, 3-4, 7-8 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.
The mountains shall yield peace for the people,
and the hills justice.
He shall defend the afflicted among the people,
save the children of the poor. R. Lord, every nation on earth will adore you.
Justice shall flower in his days,
and profound peace, till the moon be no more.
May he rule from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
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 Mark 6:34-44 When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them,
for they were like sheep without a shepherd;
and he began to teach them many things.
By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said,
"This is a deserted place and it is already very late.
Dismiss them so that they can go
to the surrounding farms and villages
and buy themselves something to eat."
He said to them in reply,
"Give them some food yourselves."
But they said to him,
"Are we to buy two hundred days' wages worth of food
and give it to them to eat?"
He asked them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see."
And when they had found out they said,
"Five loaves and two fish."
So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass.
The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties.
Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples
to set before the people;
he also divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied.
And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments
and what was left of the fish.
Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand men. | Daily Meditation: Mark 6:34-44 Give them some food yourselves. (Mark 6:37) Imagine what must have been running through the disciples' minds as the scene in today's Gospel unfolded: Apostles: It's late, and we're out in the middle of nowhere. Jesus, let's send the crowds off to find food wherever they can. Jesus: Give them some food yourselves. Apostles: What? We'd have to work more than six months to earn enough to buy food for this crowd. It's not our problem they decided to come all the way out here and listen to you! Jesus: How many loaves do you have? Go and see. Apostles: Jesus, clearly what we have isn't anywhere near enough for us, let alone all of them! We're going to look ridiculous making them sit down as if we were going to host a picnic! We know how the story ends. Jesus blesses, breaks, and distributes the five loaves and two fish. And it's enough for everyone, with lots left over! Doesn't this pattern sound familiar? You notice a need and bring it to Jesus in prayer, maybe even with a suggestion on how he could solve the problem. But then you sense that he is asking you to do something about it yourself. Baffled, you look at what you can contribute, and it seems so insignificant in comparison to the overwhelming need. But don't discount whatever "small thing" you have to offer! You may be able to afford only a small donation to an outreach to the hungry, but God might use your example to inspire other people to join you in giving. You might think all you can do for a hurting relative is to promise to pray for them every day. But God can use your prayers to heal that person and to prompt them to resolve a longstanding family resentment. A quick phone call to check on someone who hasn't been to church in a long time might be just the inspiration they need to seriously consider returning. It's always Jesus who does the lion's share of the work, yet he happily uses whatever we offer him to increase his blessings. So go ahead and give the Lord whatever you can. Then watch how he multiplies your efforts. "Jesus, I know that the needs on my heart are on your heart as well. Show me how I can join in your work." 1 John 4:7-10
Psalm 72:1-4, 7-8 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Hear AI Read it for u | In the Holy Scripture we hear today: "He asked them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see."
And when they had found out they said,
"Five loaves and two fish."
So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass.
The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties.
Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples
to set before the people;
he also divided the two fish among them all.
They all ate and were satisfied....." end Gospel quote, word of the Lord. | From Bishop Barron,
"There is no better exemplification in the Scriptures of what I have called the loop of grace. God offers, as a sheer grace, the gift of being, but if we try to cling to that gift and make it our own, we lose it.
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. In imitation of our first parents, 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.
It is only when we conform ourselves to the way of love that we are filled. Thus, the five loaves and two fish symbolize that which has been given to us, all that we have received as a grace from God. If we appropriate it, we lose it. But if we turn it over to Christ, then we will find it transfigured and multiplied, even unto the feeding of the world....." End quote from Bishop Barron.
Nobody can ever duplicate that miracle. We went from 5 loaves to 12 baskets of bread leftover after feeding 5,000 men. It is scientifically impossible, but to God, all things are possible.
Everyone was satisfied after eating the fish and the bread.
Notice how our Lord always identifies with the bread, all throughout the bible. Bread is important to the body. It nourishes with important vitamins critical for good health. But even more than that, the making, the baking, and the ways bread is used is amazing. But let's look beyond the physical aspects of the bread, because God is about to do something amazing with the bread we offer. He is going to infuse Himself in the bread to be bread that multiplies with an overabundance. In the end, He will want the 12 gathered to share for even more, multiplying to the next factor, the next degree to cover the world. He will tell His disciples to feed the world, His lambs.
To this, they were dumbfounded, as they still proclaimed as our faith ancestors in the desert with Moses, as they asked "Mana?" which means "what is this?".
Exactly, what is this and WHO is this? To the human intellect, we cannot compute what the spirit does to the body. But to the faithfully intact, we know what the spirit does to the body.
Even the number 12 would mean something. Later on, our Lord would rebuke His disciples asking why they have such disbelief as they were about tossed to death in the storm in the sea.
Our Lord said in Matthew: "You of little faith, why are you debating among yourselves about having no bread? 9 Do you still not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?"
They were dumbfounded about just WHO He is and the bread.
And this is evident immediately after the feeding miracle, when they are in a dark stormy night out on the sea, terrified for their lives, and He walks by them on the sea.
"But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. 50 They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, "Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!" 51He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were [completely] astounded. 52They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened."
What hardens our hearts so that we cannot see? What hardens our hearts so that we cannot believe? How about this hardener called "doubt". That's the only seed the devil has for us, and we gulp it down. Fear seizes us. Fear takes over. Fear causes death in many ways, and the most critical, spiritual death. We fear everything except the Lord.
The bread is meant to strengthen us, our faith, and by that, even our bodies, for we are not mere mortals alone.
And the number 12 means so many things, about His governance, for people followed whoever fed them, like lost dogs, creatures that we are. But this was more. This is the Kingdom of God that says "you can trust in Me".
Jesus, I trust in You. The number 12 in Hebrew, shnayim-eser (שְׁנֵים-עָשָׂר or יב), has many symbolic meanings, including: Perfection: The number 12 symbolizes perfection, wholeness, and totality. Governmental perfection: The number 12 symbolizes God's power and authority, and is considered the number of governmental perfection.
Divine order: The number 12 signifies divine order and God's government. The number 12 appears many times in the Bible, including: The 12 tribes of Israel The 12 apostles chosen by Christ The 12 gates and foundations of the New Jerusalem The 24 priestly divisions (12 x 2). Our Lord speaks volumes with actions in our lives. From sunrise to the sunset, and through the night, everything is speaking His message to us. His Kingdom is at hand. Jesus, We Trust In YOU! |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
1 Samuel 2:2 2 "There is none holy like the LORD: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
