† Quote of the Day "Prayer purifies us, reading instructs us. Both are good when both are possible. Otherwise, prayer is better than reading." — St. Isidore of Seville Today's Meditation "As a result of the virtue of temperance, the body and our senses find the right place which pertains to them in our human condition. A temperate man is one who is master of himself. One in whom passions do not prevail over reason, will, and even the 'heart'. A man who can control himself! If this is so, we can easily realize what a fundamental and radical value the virtue of temperance has." –Thomas J. Olmsted, p.104
An excerpt from Manual for Men Daily Verse "But who can discern his errors? Clear thou me from hidden faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression." — Psalm 19: 12-13 St. Katharine Drexel St. Katharine Drexel (1858-1955) was a wealthy heiress from a prominent family in Philadelphia. From a young age she felt called to serve the spiritual and temporal needs of the underprivileged, particularly the African American and Native American communities. She learned the virtue of charity from her parents, who often opened their home to the poor. She began by donating money, but quickly realized this would not bring the lasting change these communities desperately needed. During an audience with Pope Leo XIII she requested that a religious order be sent to manage the institutions she was funding. In response, the Pope suggested that she herself enter the religious life for this purpose. St. Katharine then founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. From the age of 33 until her death in 1955, Katharine invested her personal fortune of 20 million dollars in this cause. She helped build the first missions school for Native Americans in Santa Fe, and founded Xavier University in New Orleans. At the time of her death, more than 500 sisters of her order taught in over 60 schools which had been founded throughout the country. Katharine Drexel was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in the year 2000, making her the second American-born saint. Her feast day is March 3rd. | St. Katharine Drexel St. Katharine Drexel (1858-1955) was a wealthy heiress from a prominent family in Philadelphia. From a young age she felt called to serve the spiritual and temporal needs of the underprivileged, particularly the African American and Native American communities. She learned the virtue of charity from her parents, who often opened their home to the poor. She began by donating money, but quickly realized this would not bring the lasting change these communities desperately needed. During an audience with Pope Leo XIII she requested that a religious order be sent to manage the institutions she was funding. In response, the Pope suggested that she herself enter the religious life for this purpose. St. Katharine then founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament for Indians and Colored People. From the age of 33 until her death in 1955, Katharine invested her personal fortune of 20 million dollars in this cause. She helped build the first missions school for Native Americans in Santa Fe, and founded Xavier University in New Orleans. At the time of her death, more than 500 sisters of her order taught in over 60 schools which had been founded throughout the country. Katharine Drexel was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in the year 2000, making her the second American-born saint. Her feast day is March 3rd.
Find a devotional for this saint Watch Today's Saint Of The Day Video | Monday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Sirach 17:20-24 To the penitent God provides a way back,
he encourages those who are losing hope
and has chosen for them the lot of truth.
Return to him and give up sin,
pray to the LORD and make your offenses few.
Turn again to the Most High and away from your sin,
hate intensely what he loathes,
and know the justice and judgments of God,
Stand firm in the way set before you,
in prayer to the Most High God. Who in the nether world can glorify the Most High
in place of the living who offer their praise?
Dwell no longer in the error of the ungodly,
but offer your praise before death.
No more can the dead give praise
than those who have never lived;
You who are alive and well
shall praise and glorify God in his mercies.
How great the mercy of the LORD,
his forgiveness of those who return to him! Responsorial Psalm Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 6, 7 R. (11a) Let the just exult and rejoice in the Lord.
Blessed is he whose fault is taken away,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
R. Let the just exult and rejoice in the Lord.
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
my guilt I covered not.
I said, "I confess my faults to the LORD,"
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
R. Let the just exult and rejoice in the Lord.
For this shall every faithful man pray to you
in time of stress.
Though deep waters overflow,
they shall not reach him.
R. Let the just exult and rejoice in the Lord.
You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me;
with glad cries of freedom you will ring me round.
R. Let the just exult and rejoice in the Lord. Alleluia 2 Corinthians 8:9 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mark 10:17-27 As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
""Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?""
Jesus answered him, ""Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother.""
He replied and said to him,
""Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.""
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
""You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.""
At that statement, his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
""How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the Kingdom of God!""
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
""Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For men it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God." | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Mark 10:17-27 His face fell, and he went away sad. (Mark 10:22) What makes for a good story? Many factors, of course, but every good story features a main character who has to make a choice that will change his or her life and the lives of everyone around them. Think of Hamlet, for instance, or Huck Finn, or even Frodo Baggins! Today's Gospel is no different: a rich young man must decide whether to sell his possessions and follow Jesus or to continue living as he is. And his choice? "He went away sad." His "many possessions" had too strong a hold on him (Mark 10:22). In real life, these moments of choice are seldom as public and dramatic as this. Every day we face opportunities to say no to temptation and to make decisions that align more closely with gospel values. Of course, no one is perfect at this. Looking back, you might recall times when, like the man in the Gospel, your face fell, and you left a situation feeling sad because you didn't make the right choice. But the same Jesus who looked at the rich young man and "loved him" also looked at you in those moments and loved you (Mark 10:21). So what does that love mean? It means that Jesus, the Lord of creation, is entirely committed to you. His love does not rise and fall based on your choices. If you walk away sad one day, he will make sure that you have more chances to make a different choice. That's because the call to follow him is not a one-time offer. It's more like a standing invitation. So don't look at these moments of decision as tests that you either pass or fail. Look at each one as a gift, another opportunity to build your relationship with the God who loves you perfectly. Today's Gospel ends with words of great encouragement from Jesus: "All things are possible for God" (Mark 10:27). That means it's possible for him to heal your sorrow over poor choices in your past. It also means he will make it possible for you to choose him today and into the future. It's never too late! "Lord, help me to choose to follow you—gladly—every time!" Sirach 17:20-24
Psalm 32:1-2, 5-7 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Hear AI Read it for u | From today's Holy Gospel: """Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.""
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
""You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.""
At that statement, his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions......." - Word of the Lord! | From Bishop Robert Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, a rich young man asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. There is something absolutely right about the young man, something spiritually alive, and that is his deep desire to share in everlasting life. He knows what he wants, and he knows where to find it....God is nothing but love, straight through, and therefore the life of friendship with him, in the richest sense, is a life of total love, self-forgetting love. Jesus senses that this young man is ready for the high adventure of the spiritual life: he is asking the right question and he is properly prepared.
But at this point, the young man tragically balks. The spiritual life, at the highest pitch, is about giving your life away, and this is why having many possessions is a problem....." end quote.
From Roberto Juarez:
"Jesus doesn't say it's impossible, but it's difficult. Riches can become a spiritual trap, because they give us a false sense of security and self-sufficiency, taking us away from trust in God.
Here's the key to the passage: Salvation doesn't depend on our strength or merit, but on God's grace. Only He can give us a heart that is free and capable of following Him without reservation.
What material, emotional, or spiritual things keep me from following Jesus with complete freedom?
Am I willing to trust God fully? Or do I continue to seek security in material things, in success or in the recognition of others?
Do I strive to abide by rules, but without a real change of heart? Like the rich young ruler, do I keep "the commandments" but without really being willing to give myself radically?
Do I believe in God's grace? Or do I get discouraged thinking I can't change? Jesus reminds me that with God all things are possible...." end quote.
The rich kid went away sad at the invitation to sell all he had.
Many of us cannot claim to be materially wealthy. But if you were, would you sell and give away everything like today's Saint Katherine Drexel, who back in the early 1900s gave upwards of $20,000,000 for the cause of the poor? And to top it off, she surrendered her whole life and became a nun to help lead the effort of investing in the poor in schools and institutions.
Most of us would probably give...a little, much like we are giving today, giving a little here and there. Do I give when someone asks? Our Lord says to give, and not expect nothing in return! Now what?
I have a cousin that I asked to go to a cursillo, a 3 day encounter and course in Christianity of our Lord. He said Ok, I paid his dues, and I waited for him at the door. He never showed up. Later he confessed "I am afraid to go, because of that scripture of the rich young man, I too cannot sell all I have and convert". That was about 8 years ago. Last week I heard that he said pretty much the same thing as he was invited to come to our Men's Conference this weekend. 8 years ago, his business was booming as he invested in a big franchise and was doing heating air conditioning. Today, he has lost control over that business, for health reasons, and faces bankruptcy daily. Yet, the response is still the same, he cannot come and give it all. What is our Lord asking?
That we give it our all! Right?
All our trust.
All our love.
And if you really love, you will give without counting what it will cost...for the Kingdom of God!
How much will I give? Endless love and mercy? Isn't that what we would like in return from God Himself forever?
And this is the question we will have to face...endless mercy.
I want endless mercy from God. Therefore, I have to be endless mercy on earth, as it is in Heaven.
After-all, our true life is not on earth...but with Him.
What is holding us back?
What is holding us down?
What is holding us from a life in total trust and abandonment in Him?
"Lord, Lent is coming. Please help me, and reveal what I need to be detached from, wasteful things, harmful things, things that inevitably keep me from fully immersing myself in a life given to God the Father, let my life be filled with eternal things, grace forever, to love on earth as it is in Heaven!". |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Matthew 18:21–22 The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant "Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" 22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times." Word of the Lord. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
