† Quote of the Day "We must pray literally without ceasing— without ceasing—in every occurrence and employment of our lives . . . that prayer of the heart which is independent of place or situation, or which is rather a habit of lifting up the heart to God as in a constant communication with Him." — St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Today's Meditation "Who is Lucifer? He is a pure spirit, and was the most enlightened of all pure spirits, but is now at war with God and with His rule. The mystery of sin is merely the result of this conflict, which manifests itself in every possible way. Lucifer, as much as in him lies, will leave no stone unturned to destroy what God has made and ordered. Wherever he enters, there is the work of God defaced." —Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 114 Daily Verse "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall exult in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." — Isaiah 61:10 | St. Catherine Of Sweden St. Catherine of Sweden (1331-1381) was the fourth of eight children born to St. Bridget of Sweden and her husband, Ulfo. As a child she was sent by her parents to be educated in a convent, and was later given in marriage to a German nobleman. Catherine was able to persuade her husband, a virtuous young man, to live together in a mutual vow of perpetual chastity. They lived happily together in complete devotion to God. After the death of her father, and with her husband's consent, Catherine accompanied her mother to Rome. While there, Catherine's husband died. She continued to be a companion to her mother and rejected further offers of marriage. Her mother worked to establish a new religious order, called the Order of the Holy Savior, or the Bridgettines. After her mother's death, Catherine took her body back to Sweden for burial while continuing the work of establishing the Bridgettines. She later traveled back to Rome to advocate for her mother's canonization and for Pope Urban VI to ratify her Order. While in Rome she became great friends with St. Catherine of Siena. St. Catherine of Sweden finally returned to Sweden and became abbess of the newly founded Bridgettines, living the rest of her days as a model of prayer and penance. St. Catherine of Sweden is the patron saint against abortions and miscarriages. Her feast day is March 24th. | Monday of the Third Week of Lent Reading 1 2 Kings 5:1-15ab Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram,
was highly esteemed and respected by his master,
for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram.
But valiant as he was, the man was a leper.
Now the Arameans had captured in a raid on the land of Israel
a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman's wife.
"If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,"
she said to her mistress, "he would cure him of his leprosy."
Naaman went and told his lord
just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said.
"Go," said the king of Aram.
"I will send along a letter to the king of Israel."
So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents,
six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments.
To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read:
"With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you,
that you may cure him of his leprosy." When he read the letter,
the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed:
"Am I a god with power over life and death,
that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?
Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!"
When Elisha, the man of God,
heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments,
he sent word to the king:
"Why have you torn your garments?
Let him come to me and find out
that there is a prophet in Israel." Naaman came with his horses and chariots
and stopped at the door of Elisha's house.
The prophet sent him the message:
"Go and wash seven times in the Jordan,
and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean."
But Naaman went away angry, saying,
"I thought that he would surely come out and stand there
to invoke the LORD his God,
and would move his hand over the spot,
and thus cure the leprosy.
Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar,
better than all the waters of Israel?
Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?"
With this, he turned about in anger and left. But his servants came up and reasoned with him.
"My father," they said,
"if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary,
would you not have done it?
All the more now, since he said to you,
'Wash and be clean,' should you do as he said."
So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times
at the word of the man of God.
His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.
On his arrival he stood before him and said,
"Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,
except in Israel." Responsorial Psalm Psalm 42:2, 3; 43:3, 4 R. (see 42:3) Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
As the hind longs for the running waters,
so my soul longs for you, O God. R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God? R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
Send forth your light and your fidelity;
they shall lead me on
And bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling-place. R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God?
Then will I go in to the altar of God,
the God of my gladness and joy;
Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,
O God, my God!
R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.
When shall I go and behold the face of God? Verse Before the Gospel Psalm 130:5, 7 I hope in the LORD, I trust in his word;
with him there is kindness and plenteous redemption. Gospel Luke 4:24-30 Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:
"Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel
in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
| Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: 2 Kings 5:1-15 Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel. (2 Kings 5:15) How did Naaman, a powerful and successful Gentile general, come to experience a life-changing encounter with the God of Israel? It all started when he contracted leprosy. Desperate to overcome the dreaded illness, he reached out to Elisha, the prophet of God. But Elisha surprised him. Instead of working a flashy healing, he told Naaman merely to wash in the Jordan River. Naaman was offended—how could he be healed by something so simple? Naaman wasn't open to receiving a healing or, for that matter, to encountering the Lord until he humbled himself. This confident leader had his own ideas about how he might be healed. Dunking himself in a muddy river was certainly not one of them! Fortunately, he listened to his servants who urged him to do what Elisha said, and he was surprised to see the Lord's power at work in a way he would never have expected! As Jesus said, "There were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian" (Luke 4:27). Naaman's humility opened him to a deeper faith. Many times the Lord doesn't do what we think he should do. As he did with Naaman, he asks us to go beyond what's familiar or comfortable. Those are times when our faith can grow. We might think we know better. But as we humbly listen to the Lord—even when he's speaking to us in ways we don't expect—we have the chance to encounter him more deeply. Maybe something like this has happened to you: you went to Confession, and the priest gave you a penance that didn't make sense to you. But as you followed his direction, God blessed you in an unexpected way. Or maybe you were confused or struggling, and words of wisdom came from someone you would never have consulted—maybe even your own teenager. But as you took them to heart, God brought you peace or clarity. Today, ask the Lord to help you see these opportunities when they present themselves. Say yes to humility. You will never regret it. "Lord, help me to be humble enough to see how you might be working unexpectedly in my life!" Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4
Luke 4:24-30v | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | From today's Holy Gospel: "Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian."
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away......" - Word of the Lord! | From Bishop Robert Barron:
"As a baptized individual, you are commissioned as a prophet—which is to say, a speaker of God's truth. And the prophetic word is not your own. It is not the result of your own meditations on the spiritual life, as valuable and correct as those may be. The prophetic word is the word of God given to you by God.........." end quote from Bishop Barron.
From Roberto Juarez:
"They try to kill Jesus, but He passes in their midst and leaves. How do I react when God doesn't act as I expect? Do I accept His will with humility? • Am I open to God's truth, even if it makes me uncomfortable or challenges my ideas? • Do I recognize God's action in unexpected people and places? • Do I accept Jesus as the true prophet in my life, or do I reject him with my indifference? 'Lord
Open my heart to receive your word,
although sometimes it challenges and makes me uncomfortable.
Help me to see you in others
and to accept your will with humility.
Do not allow me to reject you as they did in Nazareth,
but that he welcomes you with faith and love.
Amen.'..." end quote Roberto.
Who was Naaman? We hear that he was "the army commander of the king of Aram, was highly esteemed and respected by his master".
The King of Aram needed him alive, and well. It is important to know these things, and why? Because, it all pertains to all of us.
Am I an army commander?
In a way yes. I lead many men, at work, at church, and so forth.
I've told my wife she too has an army at her disposal, all our kids and that is how we are, sometimes a soldier, sometimes a commander that gives commands. How so? We are in the Church Militant, but we are not exactly like an armed forced in physical manners but spiritual ways.
And on that note, Naaman went to the prophet Elisha to be healed at the command of the king. Naaman didn't like to hear what was prescribed, to go wash 7 times in a dirty river. And his fellow servants said ""My father," they said,
"if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary,
would you not have done it?
All the more now, since he said to you,
'Wash and be clean,' should you do as he said." All that he had to do was to wash, and be made clean.
Naaman had to be "docile" as our priest said today in daily Mass.
All the Mass long a spiritual message was coming to me in one word "humility". Thank God for all the mean people in my life. They are the only ones that can offer me opportunities to grow in humility, a strength we need in God's army. Like the ones that hurt you so much, "they are the only ones offering you a chance to forgive", as Mother Angelica once said on EWTN Television.
We don't like it! I don't like getting yelled at! I don't like people hurting me! But guess what? These are hidden gems we can take advantage of! For the greater good!
Just look at the cross. Just look at our Lord. Just do what He says. Just have faith. Be washed. Confess. Do the penance, what is prescribed in the law of the Lord. Be made clean. See what happens. A weight is lifted. A soul is saved in forgiveness. Wouldn't you like to offer just that too?
Lord, I have trouble with humility, and docility, and obedience. Please, I see this problem everywhere, problems arise when pride rises. Please help us this lent to let go of what really needs to be let go...my horrible ways, my wretched ways, my awful ways of thinking of others and treating others. Help me let You reign and live. Reign in my heart. Let Love reign forever! | Random Bible Verse 1
Acts 17:24–25 "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,1 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything." Word of the Lord. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
