† Quote of the Day "The school of Christ is the school of love. In the last day, when the general examination takes place ... Love will be the whole syllabus." — St. Robert Bellarmine Today's Meditation "Set free from human judgment, we should count as true only what God sees in us, what he knows, and what he judges. God does not judge as man does. Man sees only the countenance, only the exterior. God penetrates to the depths of our hearts. God does not change as man does. His judgment is in no way inconstant. He is the only one upon whom we should rely. How happy we are then, and how peaceful! We are no longer dazzled by appearances, or stirred up by opinions; we are united to the truth and depend upon it alone. I am praised, blamed, treated with indifference, disdained, ignored, or forgotten; none of this can touch me. I will be no less than I am. Men and women want to play at being a creator. They want to give me existence in their opinion, but this existence that they want to give me is nothingness. It is an illusion, a shadow, an appearance, that is, at bottom, nothingness. What is this shadow, always following me, behind me, at my side? Is it me, or something that belongs to me? No. Yet does not this shadow seem to move with me? No matter: it is not me. So it is with the judgements of men: they would follow me everywhere, paint me, sketch me, make me move according to their whim, and, in the end, give me some sort of existence ... but I am disabused of this error. I am content with a hidden life. How peaceful it is! Whether I truly live this Christian life of which St. Paul speaks, I do not know, nor can I know with certainty. But I hope that I do, and I trust in God's goodness to help me." —Bishop Jacques-Benigne Bossuet, p. 99-101
An excerpt from Meditations for Lent Daily Verse "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil." — 2 Corinthians 5:10 | St. John Of Egypt St. John of Egypt (4th c.), also known as John the Hermit or John the Anchorite, worked alongside his father, a carpenter, until he was twenty-five years old. He then discerned a call from God to go out into the desert and become a hermit. He spent sixteen years in spiritual training under the care of a religious superior who commanded him to perform difficult and unreasonable tasks, which John obeyed with childlike simplicity. After this time of spiritual training he withdrew into greater solitude in a small cell at the top of a cliff, praying incessantly and avoiding contact with people for the last fifty years of his life. He had the gift of prophecy and could perform miracles, and foretold to Emperor Theodosius his future victories as well as the time of his death. People traveled from afar for his counsel or blessings, and to hear him preach. He would receive visitors two days a week from a tiny window in his cell. He became so famous for his holiness that St. Augustine wrote of him, making reference to the devils who came to tempt John continually. St. John of Egypt's feast day is March 27th. | Thursday of the Third Week of Lent Reading 1 Jeremiah 7:23-28 Thus says the LORD:
This is what I commanded my people:
Listen to my voice;
then I will be your God and you shall be my people.
Walk in all the ways that I command you,
so that you may prosper. But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed.
They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts
and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.
From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day,
I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets.
Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed;
they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers.
When you speak all these words to them,
they will not listen to you either;
when you call to them, they will not answer you.
Say to them:
This is the nation that does not listen
to the voice of the LORD, its God,
or take correction.
Faithfulness has disappeared;
the word itself is banished from their speech. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;
let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us joyfully sing psalms to him. R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Come, let us bow down in worship;
let us kneel before the LORD who made us.
For he is our God,
and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Oh, that today you would hear his voice:
"Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,
as in the day of Massah in the desert,
Where your fathers tempted me;
they tested me though they had seen my works."
R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Verse Before the Gospel Joel 2:12-13 Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
for I am gracious and merciful. Gospel Luke 11:14-23 Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons."
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
"Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself,
how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters." | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Jeremiah 7:23-28 When you call to them, they will not answer you. (Jeremiah 7:27) Today's first reading is just one of Jeremiah's many urgent messages to the people of Judah. Over and over, he called them to repent for forsaking the Lord. And over and over again, the people failed to heed his words. Not only that, but they also turned against the prophet: he was jailed, reviled by the leaders, and subjected to more than one assassination attempt (Jeremiah 11:18; 37:15; 38:6). Given all this, don't you find it odd that God would tell Jeremiah to keep preaching? It didn't seem to be doing any good! But there is another way to look at Jeremiah's story. Today's reading is testimony to the fact that he accomplished quite a bit! Jeremiah left behind an account of his faithful service to God, beautiful passages that describe the Lord's love for us, and strong words of warning about the consequences of sin. For centuries, his prophecies have offered comfort, wisdom, and inspiration to people everywhere. He might have been a gifted prophet, but Jeremiah probably never foresaw just how influential his words would be! Few of us will ever experience hardships as difficult as Jeremiah's, but we can still feel as if our efforts to serve God are useless. Maybe our attempts to convince one of our adult children to return to Mass go unheeded. Maybe our contributions to our parish Bible study or small group appear to bear little fruit. Or maybe our persistent prayer for an ailing relative seems to go unanswered. Don't give up! Like Jeremiah, you might not see the full effects of your actions right now, but they are still making a difference. Your ability to persevere and overcome obstacles with grace and humility may be quietly inspiring someone else to turn to the Lord. Your example of prayerful faith might be gradually softening a resistant heart. One more thing: regardless of the fruit you may or may not be seeing right now, know that the Lord sees your efforts. He sees your devotion to him. And he rejoices in it. He will honor your work for him—even, like Jeremiah, in ways and places you can't even imagine now! "Father, give me the same perseverance you gave to your prophet Jeremiah!" Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9
Luke 11:14-23 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | From today's Holy Gospel: "But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters."....." - Word of the Lord! | From Bishop Robert Barron:
"The demonic power is always one of scattering. It breaks up communion. But Jesus, as always, is the voice of communio, of one bringing things back together.
Think back to Jesus' feeding of the five thousand. Facing a large, hungry crowd, his disciples beg him to "send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves." But Jesus answers, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."
Whatever drives the Church apart is an echo of this "dismiss the crowds" impulse, and a reminder of the demonic tendency to divide. In times of trial and threat, this is a very common instinct. We blame, attack, break up, and disperse. But Jesus is right: "They need not go away......." end quote Bishop Barron.
From Roberto Juarez:
"Jesus uses the image of a strong man guarding his house, but who is overcome by someone stronger. He is the strongest who overcomes evil and calls us to decide: "He who is not with me is against me." There is no neutrality in the faith. Am I truly with Jesus in my way of life? • Do I recognize God's presence and power in my life, or do I look for excuses not to commit? • Do I fight evil in God's strength, or do I rely only on my own strength?
• Am I really with Jesus in my daily decisions or do I sometimes drift away from Him? 'Lord
Open my eyes to recognize your work in my life.
Give me the strength to always be on your side
and not let evil divide my heart.
May Your Kingdom Grow in Me
and may my life be a testimony of your love.
Amen'......." end quote Roberto Juarez.
From brother Adrian: Oh boy, does the evil one love to scatter everyone. I see it everywhere, church ministries, families, and often at work. You see it everywhere, politics especially, where wants become needs and egos begin to override and supersede the greater good.
What can we do? Simple. Don't scatter! Do the opposite! Gather!
Gather to pray.
Gather no matter how difficult the situation.
Your children are leaving the faith! They are living in sin? Now what? Write them off? Or children writing off their parents? Or brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors all doing the same? What do we do?
There are only 2 things I remember from my dad's passing away, as if they were engraved in the heart of my soul, when he said "I want faith and unity".
Really, if you think about it, those words are from our Father in Heaven, and it is as if He were speaking through someone like my earthly dad.
What if for lent that is what you decided to do. Less of you, and more of faith and unity, a fight for love? And God is Love.
What if that was the purpose of Lent? A struggle, yes, but for a greater good? That we may become more true. There is one ministry that I have let fizzle after about 15 years of trying and failing, a cursillo ultreya. Every gathering of cursillistas was a struggle. Some would come, some would never come. The few of us that persisted eventually were blown to pieces by the pandemic we all suffered by being scattered and the fire has scattered and the embers are fizzling out.
Can God reignite the fire? Should He? The ultreyas were a powerhouse of our parish, fueling many ministries. Ministries continue but not with the same fire. What is this fire? The fire that we all need when our Lord comes down from Heaven. The power and fire of God's love, to burn in us, to yearn for more of His love. Yes, an insatiable fire that exists and is mind boggling, thus, the reason for more creation in the world. God loves love. We need to fuel His fire. I'm serious. And it takes guts to show the world God love, and God's love. This is painful, but the fruits are more than amazing, they are miraculous and life saving.
Let these words find a place to grow in your heart, both now and forever. | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 4:8 [Psalm 4] " In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety." Word of the Lord | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
