† Quote of the Day ""Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you."" -St. Thomas Aquinas Today's Meditation "There is not a moment in which God does not present Himself under the cover of some pain to be endured, of some consolation to be enjoyed, or of some duty to be performed. All that takes place within us, around us, or through us, contains and conceals His divine action. It is really and truly there present, but invisibly present, so that we are always surprised and do not recognise His operation until it has ceased. If we could lift the veil, and if we were attentive and watchful God would continually reveal Himself to us, and we should see His divine action in everything that happened to us, and rejoice in it. At each successive occurrence we should exclaim: 'It is the Lord', and we should accept every fresh circumstance as a gift of God. We should look upon creatures as feeble tools in the hands of an able workman, and should discover easily that nothing was wanting to us, and that the constant providence of God disposed Him to bestow upon us at every moment whatever we required." —Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 49 Daily Verse The way of the righteous is level; thou dost make smooth the path of the righteous. In the path of thy judgments, O Lord, we wait for thee; thy memorial name is the desire of our soul. My soul yearns for thee in the night, my spirit within me earnestly seeks thee. For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. -Isaiah 26:7-9 | St. Ignatius of Santhia (1686-1770) was born in Italy to an upper-class family. He received his early education from a devout priest, a relative of his mother, who inspired him to join the priesthood. He studied philosophy and theology, and after his ordination served as a diocesan priest for six years. St. Ignatius earned a reputation as an excellent preacher of retreats and missions, and he had a promising future within the diocese. His family and parishioners were surprised and disappointed when he decided to join the Capuchin Franciscans in Turin as a poor, humble friar. However, St. Ignatius flourished in the poverty and simplicity of the Franciscan way of life. He became well-known for his wisdom and sanctity, and many people from all walks of life came to him for confession and spiritual direction. He had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and prayed the rosary faithfully. He served God with humble obedience and inspired this virtue in the Franciscan novices over whom he had charge. He spent his last years on a sickbed where he continued to hear confessions and give direction to his visitors. St. Ignatius of Santhia's feast day is September 22nd. | Monday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 449
Reading 1 Ezra 1:1-6 In the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia,
in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah,
the LORD inspired King Cyrus of Persia
to issue this proclamation throughout his kingdom,
both by word of mouth and in writing:
"Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia:
'All the kingdoms of the earth
the LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me,
and he has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem,
which is in Judah.
Therefore, whoever among you belongs to any part of his people,
let him go up, and may his God be with him!
Let everyone who has survived, in whatever place he may have dwelt,
be assisted by the people of that place
with silver, gold, goods, and cattle,
together with free-will offerings
for the house of God in Jerusalem.'" Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin
and the priests and Levites–
everyone, that is, whom God had inspired to do so–
prepared to go up to build the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.
All their neighbors gave them help in every way,
with silver, gold, goods, and cattle,
and with many precious gifts
besides all their free-will offerings. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 126:1b-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6 R. (3) The Lord has done marvels for us.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing. R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed. R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing. R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves. R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Alleluia Matthew 5:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let your light shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Luke 8:16-18 Jesus said to the crowd:
"No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel
or sets it under a bed;
rather, he places it on a lampstand
so that those who enter may see the light.
For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible,
and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light.
Take care, then, how you hear.
To anyone who has, more will be given,
and from the one who has not,
even what he seems to have will be taken away." | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Psalm 126:1-6 They shall come back rejoicing. (Psalm 126:6) Today's first reading begins the story of a people who held onto God's promises for decades upon decades. In the year 586 BC, the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon descended upon Jerusalem. They destroyed the city, killed thousands of its inhabitants, and razed the Temple. Many of those who survived were taken into exile to Babylon. These exiles and their children after them tried their best to stay faithful to the Lord as they longed for the day when they could return home. Their only real hope came from the words of prophets like Jeremiah and Ezekiel. Speaking in the name of the Lord, Jeremiah promised, "I will . . . bring you back to the place from which I have exiled you" (29:14). And Ezekiel described a vision of a gleaming, restored Temple filled with the "glory of the Lord" (43:4). The reading for today begins the fulfilment of these very promises. In 539 BC, King Cyrus of Persia overthrew Babylon. As part of his goodwill campaign, he decreed that all the exiles were free to return to their homeland. What's more, he supplied them with the timber and other materials they would need to rebuild the house of the Lord. Imagine the joy the people must have felt—a joy that today's Psalm captures so beautifully! In one way or another, we are all held captive by situations that seem impossible to resolve. It might be a relationship that feels damaged beyond repair, a chronic health issue, or a problem at work that looks too complicated to solve. It can be hard in these situations to maintain a sense of hope or trust in the Lord. In fact, it can be tempting to give up on God altogether! But as you read the story of Ezra over the next few days, as well as the words of Haggai and Zechariah, who prophesied around the same time, know that you are not alone. They didn't give up, and they were rewarded. Now raised to heaven, they see you and your challenges, and they are supporting you in prayer. Let their persistent faith encourage you and lift you up. One day, you too will "come back rejoicing" to the wholeness and security you long for. "Lord, give me the same unrelenting hope that sustained Ezra and his fellow Israelites." | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Ai Audio 2cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "Jesus said to the crowd:
"No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel
or sets it under a bed;
rather, he places it on a lampstand
so that those who enter may see the light.
For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible,
and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light......" Word of the Lord. | What did you receive in Holy Mass yesterday?
The Word of the Lord?
The Word of the Lord made flesh?
The final blessing, the priest always sends us forth on what is called the great commission.
Usually, it is a charge, a command, and usually says something like "Let us go forth and....". The week's command is given.
What was your command yesterday? Did you miss it?
Was your mind already on breakfast or work, or other issues, or the football game? Tell me where your mind is and I will tell you where your heart is! LOL, right? Or wrong? Well, why don't we pay attention to every beckoning word of Our Father who is in Heaven?
John 8: 12 says: "Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Follow then, our Lord, and follow then, our Light, amen?
Follow closely, because if we follow further behind, things get less light, until suddenly you could be walking with a very small flickering of a match, rather than the full blown light of the sun, the Son of God!
So, what did you receive yesterday?
The light of God, the heart of God in the Eucharist, the words that become flesh on the altar and then inside of us all, in the Eucharist most especially.
How can we let the light extinguish?
Pretty easy, just drop the cross. Just drop obedience. Just drop out of the race. Just drop the very little our Lord asks of us, our very lives, our little lives...amen?
Or, we can let His light shine. We can let Jesus show in our lives. The world does not like His light, but, the Lord desires salvation of all souls. Therefore, the greater the darkness, the more the light is needed right where you are. Your life, and the light you allow to shine right where you are, is empowering the light across the world in this Holy Church. Lord, thank you for the Light. The Heavens are filled with Your light and Your glory...I pray that we can let You shine daily and nightly in every moment of our lives! So that the world sees hope, and mercy, grace...and Our Father's love for us. |  Audio of Random Verse | Random Bible Verse Romans 12:13 "Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality."
Word of the Lord! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
