† Quote of the Day "As the pilot of a vessel is tried in the storm; as the wrestler is tried in the ring, the soldier in the battle, and the hero in adversity: so is the Christian tried in temptation." — St. Basil the Great Today's Meditation "The most powerful thing we can do on this earth with our time is to spend it in Eucharistic adoration. Nothing can do more to change the world, to bring about peace, to convert hearts, to make reparation for the many evils committed. Spending time in prayer may seem, on the outside, to be a passive thing; however, it is anything but! Our world is in desperate need of hope, of renewal, of a 'turning back' to the things of God. By visiting Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament, we take up the best weapon for the battles of our age and contribute to the healing of our culture. Cultivating a Eucharistic life of adoration also bears tremendous fruit in our own hearts and lives. We cannot spend time in the rays of His Eucharistic Presence without receiving His grace, His love, His mercy, His peace. As we gaze upon Him Face to face, we are transformed little by little into a closer reflection of His divine image." —Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration, p. 37-38 An excerpt from Manual for Eucharistic Adoration Daily Verse "But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. We are confident of you in the Lord that what we instruct you, you [both] are doing and will continue to do. May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ." — 2 Thessalonians 3:3-5 | St. William Of Bourges St. William of Bourges (1155–1209), also known as St. William the Confessor, was born to a noble family in France. He was educated under his uncle who was an archdeacon, and from a young age turned away from the world and gave himself over to religion and learning. He became a priest and later entered religious life in a Cistercian monastery, an order famous for strict discipline. St. William was known to be a cheerful man and a hard worker, and pure of heart. He was chosen to be Archbishop of Bourges in the year 1200, much to his dismay. He left the solitude of the monastery out of obedience and entered into the public life of a bishop, throwing himself wholeheartedly into serving both the spiritual and physical needs of the poor. As bishop he continued his great austerities. He had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and would spend much time in prayer at the foot of the altar. He was known for performing miracles both during his life and after his death. He died kneeling at prayer, and by request was buried wearing his hair shirt and lying in ashes. His feast day is January 10. | Friday after Epiphany Reading I 1 John 5:5-13 Beloved:
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and Blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and Blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three who testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the Blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Whoever believes in the Son of God
has this testimony within himself.
Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar
by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son.
And this is the testimony:
God gave us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
Whoever possesses the Son has life;
whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life.
I write these things to you so that you may know
that you have eternal life,
you who believe in the name of the Son of God. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20 R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; he has blessed your children within you. R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders; with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth; swiftly runs his word! R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob, his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation; his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Matthew 4:23 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus proclaimed the Gospel of the Kingdom
and cured every disease among the people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Luke 5:12-16 It happened that there was a man full of leprosy in one of the towns where Jesus was;
and when he saw Jesus,
he fell prostrate, pleaded with him, and said,
"Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean."
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
"I do will it. Be made clean."
And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
"Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray.
| Daily Meditation: Luke 5:12-16 I do will it. (Luke 5:13) Imagine how awful it would be to have leprosy. An infectious disease, leprosy causes skin sores, nerve damage, and deformities. If you had this disease in biblical times, you would have had to leave family and neighbors and live alone on the outskirts of town with others who were suffering the same illness. People with leprosy were considered "unclean" and could not come near—much less touch—someone with the disease (Leviticus 13:45-46). The physical and emotional isolation must have been just as painful, if not more so, as the disease itself. So what happens in today's Gospel is out of the ordinary in a couple of ways. First, the fellow broke a powerful social barrier by coming up to Jesus. Then, Jesus did the same by touching the man. Jesus could have healed him in any way he wanted, but he chose to do it through touch. That's because he was concerned about more than healing a disease. He wanted to heal the man emotionally as well, and he did it by ending his isolation. Where do you need healing today? Are you suffering from a troubled relationship? Does the memory of a past hurt continue to sting? Or do you feel isolated and alone because of your sin? Don't be afraid to come to Jesus and ask for his help. Just as diseases like leprosy separated sufferers from their community, sin can separate us from those around us. It also separates us from Jesus, the very One who is so eager to heal our hearts. Jesus' hand is always outstretched. He is always ready to heal us—and to give us the strength to turn away from sin. Today's Gospel is proof that we can meet Jesus just as we are right now, even if we are "full" of sin (Luke 5:12). You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to eliminate every sinful habit, personal struggle, and doubt before he will love you. He is waiting for you to turn to him and say, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean" (5:12). "Lord, please heal anything that is separating me from you and my loved ones." 1 John 5:5-13
Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Hear AI Read it for u | In the Holy Scripture we hear today: "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean."
Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
"I do will it. Be made clean."
And the leprosy left him immediately.
Then he ordered him not to tell anyone, but
"Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing
what Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."
The report about him spread all the more,
and great crowds assembled to listen to him
and to be cured of their ailments,
but he would withdraw to deserted places to pray....." end Gospel quote, word of the Lord. | From Bishop Barron today:
"For biblical Jews, leprosy was especially frightening. According to Leviticus, the leper was expelled from the community, compelled to shout "Unclean, unclean!" to warn others away from him. The social ostracization was probably more severe than any physical suffering prompted by the disease—especially at a time when one depended so intimately on the support of others in order to survive.
Now, without denying for a moment this more "external" reading, I would like to follow the Church Fathers in proposing another sort of interpretation, this one more "interior." What in you has become leprous? What in you is being called back to intimacy with Christ?
Notice the dynamics of the cure in this story. The leprous man comes to Jesus and prostrates himself and asks to be healed. There is no example of healing in the New Testament that does not involve some sort of synergy between Jesus and the one to be cured.
That in you which needs healing must come and prostrate itself before Christ and ask to be received. And of course he wants to heal. That is why he has come." end quote Bishop from Barron.
"Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." This is a prayer that is not demanding. This is a prayer that says "as God wills, I will oblige in my plea". There is humility in that prayer. The prophets of our modern age, I would say, should include those who have died and come back to life. Some have said that many, if not most unanswered prayers are because of the way we pray. We pray with anxiety. We pray with cries and lamentations. Very few pray as we ought, with true faith. However that works, I am not sure, and not all prayers can be answered because...God's will will supersede.
I say that recalling the days and weeks of my cries in tears to the heavens, with a torn heart and soul, pleading for my dad to come back home from the hospital. I never had a real reply, except once, when God said in a stern voice to me "I HAVE HEARD YOUR PRAYER". I knew at that moment, I needed to watch myself, and I hung my head down in obedience. You see, at some point, we must realize, we must follow His designs.
My dad never returned.
And we've had to live with that. We've had to learn to adjust. We've had to learn many new things. And to trust in God here too.
Since then, there have been many answered prayers, after many hardships that still go on all the time, like accidents in the family, sicknesses, hardships in relations and dealing with one another, you know how life keeps happening.
But what did our Lord show us? He cares. He touches the leper. And then what does He say to all of us?
"Go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing".
Many times, our Lord heals, and then orders one to go to a priest. Why? They are acts of atonement, and this means reparation, but ultimately, it should mean acts of thanksgiving.
Eucharist means thanksgiving. We should go daily to Mass, if possible, at least that one time a week to give thanks, in atonement, in total gratitude, something the world has been lacking for a very long time.
Then, the world would set on fire for God's love, and nothing else.
Everything that happens, then, should lead us to thanksgiving, to Jesus, who touches us, heals us, for He is the Good Shepherd. He knows what we need. Yet, He suffers with us. Yet, He loves us. Yet, He knows why. Everything then, becomes amazing, if we truly begin to love Him as we ought. With Him, through Him, and with Him. We live, we suffer, we heal, much like the cycle of cleansing of our sins, when we sin, we repent, and we are healed in Him. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
John 8:36 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
