† Quote of the Day "The most deadly poison of our times is indifference. And this happens, although the praise of God should know no limits. Let us strive, therefore, to praise Him to the greatest extent of our powers." — St. Maximilian Kolbe Today's Meditation "I do not wish the soul to consider her sins, either in general or in particular, without also remembering the Blood and the broadness of My mercy, for fear that otherwise she should be brought to confusion. And together with confusion would come the Devil, who has caused it, under colour of contrition and displeasure of sin, and so she would arrive at eternal damnation, not only on account of her confusion, but also through the despair which would come to her, because she did not seize the arm of My mercy. This is one of the subtle devices with which the Devil deludes My servants, and, in order to escape from his deceit, and to be pleasing to Me, you must enlarge your hearts and affections in My boundless mercy, with true humility. Thou knowest that the pride of the devil cannot resist the humble mind, nor can any confusion of spirit be greater than the broadness of My good mercy, if the soul will only truly hope therein." —St. Catherine Of Siena, p. 94 Daily Verse He who pursues righteousness and kindness will find life and honor. A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust." — Proverbs 21:21-22 | St Maximilian Kolbe St. Maximilian Kolbe (1894–1941) was born in Poland to a devout Christian family. As a boy he had a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She showed him two crowns: a white one for virginity and a red one for martyrdom, and asked him which he would be willing to accept. He replied that he would accept both. He later joined the Franciscans. While studying for the priesthood in Rome, he organized a group of friars and founded the Militia of the Immaculata in 1917 to crusade for consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to oppose the evil of Freemasonry. From it came the Knights of the Immaculate magazine that reached a circulation of 750,000, as well as a radio show, both of which became a resource for strengthening faith across Poland. He also established a monastery which grew to 800 friars, the largest in the world at the time. In 1930 he traveled to the Far East and founded another monastery in Nagasaki, Japan. He returned to Poland in 1936. During World War II, St. Maximilian Kolbe housed over 3,000 Polish refugees at his monastery. He was eventually imprisoned because of his effective work, and was sent to Auschwitz in 1941. There he endured special cruelty because he was a Catholic priest. St. Maximilian ministered to the prisoners, and offered his life in place of a father who had been condemned to death. After being starved for two weeks and still found alive, Maximilian was killed by lethal injection on August 14, 1941. He is the patron saint of families, drug addicts, prisoners, journalists, and the pro-life movement. His feast day is August 14th | Memorial of Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest and Martyr • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Maximilian Mary Kolbe, Priest and Martyr Reading 1 Joshua 3:7-10a, 11, 13-17 The LORD said to Joshua,
"Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel,
that they may know I am with you, as I was with Moses.
Now command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant
to come to a halt in the Jordan
when you reach the edge of the waters." So Joshua said to the children of Israel,
"Come here and listen to the words of the LORD, your God.
This is how you will know that there is a living God in your midst,
who at your approach will dispossess the Canaanites.
The ark of the covenant of the LORD of the whole earth
will precede you into the Jordan.
When the soles of the feet of the priests carrying the ark of the LORD,
the Lord of the whole earth,
touch the water of the Jordan, it will cease to flow;
for the water flowing down from upstream will halt in a solid bank." The people struck their tents to cross the Jordan,
with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant ahead of them.
No sooner had these priestly bearers of the ark
waded into the waters at the edge of the Jordan,
which overflows all its banks
during the entire season of the harvest,
than the waters flowing from upstream halted,
backing up in a solid mass for a very great distance indeed,
from Adam, a city in the direction of Zarethan;
while those flowing downstream toward the Salt Sea of the Arabah
disappeared entirely.
Thus the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
While all Israel crossed over on dry ground,
the priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD
remained motionless on dry ground in the bed of the Jordan
until the whole nation had completed the passage. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 114:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 R. Alleluia!
When Israel came forth from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from a people of alien tongue,
Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his domain. R. Alleluia!
The sea beheld and fled;
Jordan turned back.
The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like the lambs of the flock. R. Alleluia!
Why is it, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
You mountains, that you skip like rams?
You hills, like the lambs of the flock?
R. Alleluia! Alleluia Psalm 119:135 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let your countenance shine upon your servant
and teach me your statutes.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Matthew 18:21–19:1 Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began the accounting,
a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.
Since he had no way of paying it back,
his master ordered him to be sold,
along with his wife, his children, and all his property,
in payment of the debt.
At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.'
Moved with compassion the master of that servant
let him go and forgave him the loan.
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants
who owed him a much smaller amount.
He seized him and started to choke him, demanding,
'Pay back what you owe.'
Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
But he refused.
Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison
until he paid back the debt.
Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened,
they were deeply disturbed,
and went to their master and reported the whole affair.
His master summoned him and said to him, 'You wicked servant!
I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to.
Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,
as I had pity on you?'
Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers
until he should pay back the whole debt.
So will my heavenly Father do to you,
unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart." When Jesus finished these words, he left Galilee
and went to the district of Judea across the Jordan.
| Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Matthew 18:21–19:1 Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you? (Matthew 18:33) The king in Jesus' parable didn't lose his temper over his servant's huge debt. He didn't lose it when the debtor begged for patience and promised to repay the impossible sum from his own paltry resources. Instead, he was "moved with compassion" and forgave the whole sum (Matthew 18:27). It wasn't until he discovered that this servant had harshly treated another debtor that the king lost his patience. In his eyes, refusing to show mercy to a fellow servant after receiving such great mercy was a far greater offense. By forgiving such an extraordinary debt, the master had revealed his mercy and the kind of household he wanted to lead. He wanted his servants to show the same patience and willingness to forgive that he had. But by refusing to mirror his master's mercy, the unforgiving servant cut himself off from it. If you have ever attempted to pay back a sizable debt, you know what a burden it can be. The weight of our sin is like this. Through "what we have done and what we have failed to do," we have amassed an immense debt that weighs us down and obscures our relationship with God. Accounts must be settled, and we simply do not have the resources. But Jesus has freed us from this debt so that we are free to forgive others as he has forgiven us. God's forgiveness changes us. The heavy weight of sin is lifted, and we are new people, with a new capacity to love and forgive, to share Christ's mercy. If we keep this mercy at the forefront of our minds, we will remain humble and grateful before the Lord. The mercy that we have received will keep us from hardening our hearts toward our "fellow servants." If you find someone's debt particularly hard to forgive, try recalling God's unlimited mercy toward you. He has completely wiped away your sins and failures! Then thank Jesus for forgiving you, and pray for his mercy to flow out to the other person. By God's grace, you can break the cycle of bitterness! You can live as his merciful servant. "Lord, help me to show your mercy to the 'debtors' in my life." Joshua 3:7-11, 13-17
Psalm 114:1-6 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Hear AI Read it for u | From today's Holy Gospel: "Peter approached Jesus and asked him,
"Lord, if my brother sins against me,
how often must I forgive him?
As many as seven times?" Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.
That is why the Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who decided to settle accounts with his servants.." Word of the Lord. | Roberto Juárez said today:
"The Gospel calls us to always remember two things: • That we have been forgiven by God infinitely. • That we are called to forgive without conditions or calculations. Forgiveness is the sign that we are children of the Father and disciples of Christ. There is no better witness in a world wounded by division and resentment than a heart that knows how to forgive.
Lord Jesus,
You have loved and forgiven me more than I deserve.
Teach me to forgive as You do: without measure, without reservation, without conditions.
Free me from all grudges and fill me with your peace,
so that my life may be a sign of your mercy in the world.
Amen." end quote.
Bishop Barron:
"And this is why Jesus tells the parable in today's Gospel. The man who had been forgiven so much should, at the very least, show forgiveness to the one who owed him so much less.
Here is the spiritual heart of the matter: Whatever anyone owes you (in strict justice) is infinitely less than what God has graciously given to you; the divine forgiveness you have received is infinitely greater than any forgiveness you might be called upon to offer.
Becoming an instrument of God's life, grace, forgiveness, and peace is what it is all about. Allow to flow through you what has been poured into you—that is the whole story. " end quote.
Wow. For some, it can be really difficult to forgive. And this hurts! It hurts the person that has a hard time forgiving. It hurts also, though, the person you decided not to forgive. And what's crazy, is that sometimes, the person that offended has no real clue how bad they hurt you!
When I see this problem hit home, around loved ones, I remind them of our Lord's prayer where it says "forgive us, as we forgive them". So if you do not forgive, neither will you be forgiven!
And so, the biggest secret of all today, that we are missing is hidden away, for the eyes of the humble to see. There are hidden messages, that can only be seen with the eyes of a grace filled heart. It all points to Jesus our Lord and Savior, our Love to behold forever.
Can you see what was missing in the man's heart that was forgiven a huge debt? Gratefulness, and grace. The attitude that comes from being truly grateful says in a person "because I have been forgiven so very much, how can I not forgive anyone else their smaller failures against me?". And humility enters the scene. Love begins to emerge. The great bulk and weight of debt that is removed reveals the heart.
And this can happen in a sincere confession, when you finally confess that atrocious thing you did. Perhaps you slandered someone's name? You drug them through the streets with your mouth and thoughts? Perhaps you deliberately decided not to give to someone in need, even though it wasn't much?
Perhaps your sin is that you just cannot forgive somebody?
I remember at my cursillo, our rector was Padre Andres. He recounted the story of a lady in the confessional, saying she couldn't forgive someone. He also noted she was suffering stomach cancer. He told her that she needs to forgive fully, it is of utmost importance, for her own good.
The lady obeyed, and forgave. She then, later came back, and said she was even healed of her cancer.
You see, we are not just physical bodies. The interior affects the exterior.
What happens in the soul, is manifesting itself in the metaphysical realms.
Therefore, what is happening in our interior in every soul is tremendous when we are combined together. The Holy Church has been for decades, having longer and longer exorcisms, whereas, instead of a few sessions, it now takes months, or years to help a soul. Why? They say because of the state of faith and grace of our body as the Church, the effectiveness of our prayers and state of being. Why? Because, and I will be blunt, we live in a mentality that inadvertently says "don't know, don't care".
How can we begin to care? How can love begin to grow?
Forgive. Why? Because God can do anything.
I told a brother not long ago about forgiving, "you hold that brother's neck by not forgiving, and their arm is also strangling yours". You see, what you do unto others, you do unto yourself.
And how we treat others, we treat even the Lord Himself! Lord, give us Your bread, Your grace! Help us have Your Sacred Heart for our life, burning deep within! St. Max Kolbe, pray for us! |  audio | Random Bible Verse Philippians 4:19 "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Word of the Lord. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
