† Quote of the Day Quote of the Day
"If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion." — St. Maximilian Kolbe Today's Meditation "Intimacy with God requires quiet time, a scarce commodity during some seasons of life. Parents with little children at home, especially babies, might get a snippet of quiet time here and there. But when a baby starts to cry, a parent cannot say to them, "Honey, stop crying; I'm talking to God here!" In fact, performing one's duty to meet the needs of a crying baby or a hungry child is a wonderful way to listen to our Lord, who said in regard to the hungry, thirsty, naked, and sick, "Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you do to me" (Matthew 25:40) – Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ, p.108 Daily Verse "A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, and favor is better than silver or gold. The rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all." — Proverbs 22:1-2 | St. Nicholas Of Flue St. Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487) was born in Switzerland, a devout child of pious parents. At the age of 21 he joined the army and fought in local battles. In his mid-twenties, at the advice of his parents, he married a similarly pious woman and had five sons and five daughters. He served the public by holding various civil offices, and was esteemed by all for his moral integrity. After 25 years of marriage, upon discerning a special call from God, and with the consent of his wife, he went to live in a nearby valley as a hermit. He built a dwelling out of branches and left it only for daily Mass. He wore a tunic and kept his head and feet bare, spending his days in prayer and penance on behalf of the local people. With permission from the parish priest he abstained totally from food and drink, without any negative effect on his health, which was confirmed by the Church as a miracle. He lived in this manner for 20 years and became known as a visionary and a prophet. Distinguished persons from all over Europe came to him for counsel. The civil authorities built him a cell and chapel and assigned him a chaplain. The saint intervened as an arbiter when a civil war was imminent, resulting in the enduring union of the French and German-speaking parts of Switzerland. His hermitage became a place of pilgrimage after his death. St. Nicholas of Flue is the patron saint of Switzerland. His feast day is March 21st. | Reading 1 Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons,
for he was the child of his old age;
and he had made him a long tunic.
When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons,
they hated him so much that they would not even greet him. One day, when his brothers had gone
to pasture their father's flocks at Shechem,
Israel said to Joseph,
"Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem.
Get ready; I will send you to them." So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan.
They noticed him from a distance,
and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him.
They said to one another: "Here comes that master dreamer!
Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here;
we could say that a wild beast devoured him.
We shall then see what comes of his dreams." When Reuben heard this,
he tried to save him from their hands, saying,
"We must not take his life.
Instead of shedding blood," he continued,
"just throw him into that cistern there in the desert;
but do not kill him outright."
His purpose was to rescue him from their hands
and return him to his father.
So when Joseph came up to them,
they stripped him of the long tunic he had on;
then they took him and threw him into the cistern,
which was empty and dry. They then sat down to their meal.
Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead,
their camels laden with gum, balm and resin
to be taken down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers:
"What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood?
Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites,
instead of doing away with him ourselves.
After all, he is our brother, our own flesh."
His brothers agreed.
They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21 R. (5a) Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
When the LORD called down a famine on the land
and ruined the crop that sustained them,
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave. R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
They had weighed him down with fetters,
and he was bound with chains,
Till his prediction came to pass
and the word of the LORD proved him true. R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done. Verse Before the Gospel John 3:16 God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son;
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life. Gospel Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46 Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
"Hear another parable.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them,
thinking, 'They will respect my son.'
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
'This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.'
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?"
They answered him,
"He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times."
Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore, I say to you,
the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit."
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,
they knew that he was speaking about them.
And although they were attempting to arrest him,
they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet. | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28 They hated him so much that they would not even greet him. (Genesis 37:4) Why did Joseph's brothers hate him so much? Because Jacob, their father, seemed to be treating Joseph better than the rest of them. Jacob was probably unaware that he had favored Joseph over the others. He just saw him as the "child of his old age" and the son of his favorite wife, Rachel (Genesis 37:3). But his preferential treatment sparked a long-standing bitterness and rivalry among his sons—to the point that they conspired to sell Joseph into slavery! For many of us, the family dynamics this story portrays hit close to home. Yes, plotting to kill your brother or selling him into slavery is pretty extreme, but we can still relate to the way jealousy can tear a family apart. Envy, bitterness, resentment, lack of forgiveness—all of these can fester until the best we can do is give each other the "silent treatment." Ours is an age of increasing self-reliance, isolation, and mobility. That makes it easier for people to simply remove themselves from difficult friends and family. Of course, some situations clearly warrant this, especially in cases of abuse. But sometimes relationships sour for far less grave reasons. It may be a perceived slight or magnified political differences or a disagreement over a person's life choices. Whatever the cause, the season of Lent is a perfect opportunity to examine our relationships and to work toward reconciliation. It takes work to mend fences—especially if we are the ones to take that first step—but the effort never goes unrewarded. Even if the person you are trying to reconcile with isn't open to you, you can take comfort in knowing that the Lord sees your efforts. He sees it all and pours out grace in abundance. Remember, it took years for Joseph and his brothers to reconcile. But in the end, they saw how God was helping them through it all (Genesis 50:20). The same is true for you. God will bless you as you seek to sow peace and cultivate mercy, even with those you find difficult to love. He will empower you to see and to love more like Jesus, who loves us even when we are difficult to love! "Jesus, make me an instrument of your peace this Lent!" Psalm 105:16-21
Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | From today's Holy Gospel: "They answered him,
"He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times."
Jesus said to them, "Did you never read in the Scriptures: The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes? Therefore, I say to you,
the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit."
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,
they knew that he was speaking about them.
And although they were attempting to arrest him,
they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet......" - Word of the Lord! | From Bishop Robert Barron:
"We—Israel, the Church, the world—are not the owners of this vineyard; we are tenants. One of the most fundamental spiritual mistakes we can make is to think that we own the world. We are tenants, entrusted with the responsibility of caring for it, but everything that we have and are is on loan. Our lives are not about us.
Christ is God's judgment. We are all under his judgment. In the measure that we reject him or refuse to listen to him, we place our tenancy in jeopardy. And so the great question that arises from this reading: How am I using the gifts that God gave me for God's purposes? My money? My time? My talents? My creativity? My relationships? All is for God, and thus all is under God's judgment.
......" end quote from Bishop Barron.
A reflection by a Fernando Torres said:
"No matter how much high priests and elders tried to put barriers and limits on God, God has broken them all in Jesus. The Kingdom is open to Jews and Gentiles, men and women, slaves and free. The Kingdom welcomes everyone, it has its doors open to everyone, especially to those who suffer most for whatever reason.
Today we are the Kingdom bearers/announcers. It is not convenient for us to set limits or conditions. Our church needs to be open to all. Of course, also to sinners (although it should be recognized that it is really difficult to determine if our brother is a sinner; that is left to the conscience of each one, to the most intimate; and God who is pure understanding will know what is inside each one). Because God does not want any of his sons and daughters to be left out of his Father's embrace or removed from the common table of the Kingdom........."
From Roberto Juarez:
"Christ, rejected by the leaders of his people, is the cornerstone of God's new people, the Church. Do I build my life on Christ or on ephemeral values? • Am I bearing fruits of love and justice in my life? • Do I accept Jesus as the center of my existence or do I reject him with my actions? • Am I aware that God has entrusted me with a mission in his vineyard? 'Lord
make me a faithful vinedresser in your kingdom.
Give me a humble heart to acknowledge Jesus
as the cornerstone of my life.
Help me to bear fruits of love and justice,
so that my life may be a testimony of your grace.
Amen'......" end quote Roberto.
The vineyard was a lease deal.
Have you ever leased something? I have for work. In short, the equipment is not really yours, you are renting it, you are possibly trying to buy it if you make a deal in the end.
So what about God's vineyard? This is God's world. What are you doing with it?
We the baptized souls go even further already made citizens of God's Kingdom! What are we doing in this world for God's Kingdom to be spread and conquer the world in His name?
As men, as in mankind, we want to believe we have conquered the world, but much of it remains a mystery. We want to say we walked the moon, and now mars, but what about they Kingdom right before our eyes? Can we conquer other worlds really? My mom used to say in Spanish "every head is a world". Can we conquer souls for their salvation? Can we reach out beyond ourselves and listen to God right before us?
The Jews were obstinate. They were not moved by God. They were not moved by Love. If they truly loved, they would not shun love.
Now things get deep. Do you shun people? Do you stop talking to people? Do you push people out of your life? Do you even know that you are doing this inadvertently? Someone saw you the other day, and they had hoped that you had talked...but you were thinking of other things, you were not paying attention to love...you were not paying attention therefore...to God Himself.
You see, He hides daily among us, because we cannot see the spirit world. He is among us. We know evil is among us, but even more so, and more dangerous...is the mindfulness, to be attentive to God Himself, in the child in front of you, in the Priest, in the people you meet, day in and day out. And this is the vineyard we live in. God wants His vineyard to be fruitful. We are those that are to tend to the flock, to the attentiveness, in the selfless gestures, that change the world, that change the lives....that save souls. | WOW!
Random Bible Verse 1
John 14:16–17 "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,1 to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you." Word of the LORD! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
