† Quote of the Day "Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin." -St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta Today's Meditation "Oftentimes, we don't recognize the many gifts that God pours out to us in our daily lives. What we do recognize are daily annoyances, burdens, difficulties, and inconveniences. These win our attention. These get us complaining. These get us in a bad mood and sap our energy. Wouldn't it be a tragedy if, after we started receiving even more gifts and graces through our consecration [to Mary], we didn't change this negative attitude? Yes, it would be...St. Mother Teresa lived in some of the poorest environments on earth. She had to put up with burning heat, bad breath, stuffy rooms, nagging fatigue, endless responsibilities, bland food, hard beds, body odor, cold water bathing, and an agonizingly deep spiritual aridity. Yet, despite all this, she radiated joy. She smiled. She marveled at the good things God did in her life and in the lives of others, and she pondered the countless loving details arranged by Our Lady. Seeing and recognizing all this, she didn't complain. –Michael E. Gaitley, MIC, p.77 | St Mother Teresa Of Calcutta St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910–1997), known simply as Mother Teresa, was born to a family of Albanian descent in what is now Macedonia. As a young girl Mother Teresa was fascinated by stories she heard of missionaries serving in India. By age 12 she discerned a vocation to the religious life, and at the age of 18 joined the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary to India. She chose her religious name after St. Therese of Lisieux, the patron saint of missionaries. She arrived in Calcutta, India in 1929 and taught at a schoolhouse for wealthy children, eventually becoming head mistress. She enjoyed her work, but became increasingly disturbed by the extreme poverty and societal unrest she observed around her. In 1946 she received a "call within a call" and began her own religious order in Calcutta dedicated to ministering to, in her words, "the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind, the lepers, all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that have become a burden to the society and are shunned by everyone." This order was established in 1950 with 12 sisters and named the Missionaries of Charity. By the time of her death on September 5, 1997, the Missionaries of Charity had grown to 4,000 sisters operating 610 missions in 123 countries. She received the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize and the Nobel Peace Prize for her inspiring work with social outcasts. Mother Teresa was canonized by Pope Francis on September 4, 2016. Her feast day is September 5th. | Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time • Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saint Teresa of Calcutta, virgin Reading 1 Colossians 1:15-20 Brothers and sisters:
Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers;
all things were created through him and for him.
He is before all things,
and in him all things hold together.
He is the head of the Body, the Church.
He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead,
that in all things he himself might be preeminent.
For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell,
and through him to reconcile all things for him,
making peace by the Blood of his cross
through him, whether those on earth or those in heaven. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5 R. (2b) Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song. R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends. R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name. R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
For he is good,
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations. R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord. Alleluia John 8:12 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Luke 5:33-39 The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
"The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,
and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;
but yours eat and drink."
Jesus answered them, "Can you make the wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
then they will fast in those days."
And he also told them a parable.
"No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.
Otherwise, he will tear the new
and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins,
and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.
Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.
And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,
for he says, 'The old is good.'" | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Luke 5:33-39 No one pours new wine into old wineskins. (Luke 5:37) If you were to make your own wine or beer, there's one ingredient that you absolutely would need: yeast. That little bit of powder that you mix in generates enough energy to cause everything else to expand exponentially. And that's why old brittle wineskins can't hold back the pressure of the ever-expanding new wine. Jesus uses this image of new wine to illustrate the new life that he has come to give us. It's a life filled with divine energy. It's a life that is always seeking to expand outward. You can't bottle it up! It's the same creative, effervescent life that St. Paul describes when he quotes a hymn that says that "all the fullness was pleased to dwell" in Christ (Colossians 1:19, emphasis added). All the fullness . . . of God's own divine life. That's what was poured into you at your Baptism. Imagine: the life of the One who spoke all of creation into existence dwells in you. The life of the One whose death and resurrection overthrew the power of hell and opened the gates of heaven is with you in a special way every time you receive Communion. The life of the Holy Spirit, who set the apostles' hearts on fire at Pentecost, is burning in you, even if it sometimes feels more like a smoldering candlewick. We don't usually think about the presence of God in such an expansive way. But that's precisely the point of Jesus' parable. He doesn't want you to remain stuck, brittle, or inflexible. His life, active in you, is always moving, growing, seeking to pour itself into new areas of your life. It's always seeking to expand and deepen your relationship with the Lord, always helping you love the people around you with the love of Christ. It's always looking for ways to make you more like Jesus. Even in the most mundane moments, the life of Christ is at work in you! So don't settle for keeping the "new wine" in a tidy little box or a brittle old wineskin. Let it flow! Perform an act of spontaneous kindness or generosity for a person in need. Lift your voice to sing to the Lord. Invite a new neighbor to share a meal. Let the Spirit, who is infinitely creative, show you other ways that you can let the life of Christ grow in you and flow out of you. "Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of new wine!" Colossians 1:15-20
Psalm 100:1-5 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Hear AI Read it for u | From today's Holy Gospel: "Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins,
and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.
Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.
And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,
for he says, 'The old is good.'"......." Word of the Lord. | From Roberto Juarez spanish reflections:
"The "old wineskins" can symbolize rigid hearts, closed to the action of the Holy Spirit. Many times, spiritual rigidity prevents growth in faith and the reception of new graces that God wants to pour. Are we being like those "old wineskins" that can't hold the Spirit's "new wine"? Jesus' invitation is to be flexible and open so that He can do new things in our lives.
The parable of the old wine speaks to us of the temptation to cling to what is familiar to us. Many times we prefer the old because it is comfortable or because we are afraid of change. However, the Gospel calls us to step out of our comfort zones and be willing to accept God's newness in our lives. Are there areas in our lives where we are clinging to the old for fear of the new that God wants to give us?
Jesus brings a message that is revolutionary, that cannot simply fit into old structures of thought or behavior. He calls us to be open to transformation, to the joy of his presence, and to receive with new hearts the new wine of the Kingdom of God. In our daily lives, how can we be more receptive to the new ways God wants to work in us and in the world?" end quote.
You are never going to go anywhere, if you stay where you're at.
Amen?
We could say this about your physical health, or your mind, but most importantly, the soul.
Our Lord came in, to be just about completely rejected by the world, but not all. A few were touched. Thousands were fed. Hundreds and hundreds healed in His presence. But the scribes and Pharisees were to remain staunch, especially the rulers that wanted Him silenced, and their norms to remain intact, their 613 laws.
All God wanted was to clarify His holy will. The latest laws would actually hurt people, not help the greater whole.
And we can think of government laws that hurt people really, but no, we shouldn't just think of worldly lawmakers.
We should see the law within the Heart that God has written with his own finger and blood. As if He were to say "I have seen yourself crowned in the world, and in doing so, have rejected MY Crown". The usurping of the creator Himself, by doing what we want, and not doing what HE wants.
I see this often, especially in the Holy Church. We have factions and divisions on all levels, from lay people, to clergy on all levels. Ultimately, it is the evil one's work to divide all up. What's sad, is that most, like couples in marriage, dispute things, even though at the bottom of all, we are actually on the same page, just fighting over details. And they say the "devil is in the details", working its way with nothingness, little frivolous things turned into big things.
Had we not the life of Grace, we would be doomed.
Had we not the actual light of Christ, we would forever live in darkness.
How can the new covenant, Christ, ever be King, if we reject Him?
He is the ONLY way to God the Father, and salvation.
Christ, be my Love, my light, and my salvation! |  audio | Random Bible Verse 2 Timothy 1:8–9 "Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to1 a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began"
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