† Quote of the Day ""You can't go to heaven hating somebody. Forgive now. Be compassionate now. Be patient now. Be grateful now. Love Jesus and Mary now. Accept God's will now."" -Mother Angelica Today's Meditation "All our perfection consists in being conformed, united and consecrated to Jesus Christ; and therefore the most perfect of all devotions is, without any doubt, that which the most perfectly conforms, unites and consecrates us to Jesus Christ. Now, Mary being the most conformed of all creatures to Jesus Christ, it follows that, of all devotions, that which most consecrates and conforms the soul to Our Lord is devotion to His holy Mother, and that the more a soul is consecrated to Mary, the more it is consecrated to Jesus." —St. Louis De Montfort, p. 65
An excerpt from True Devotion to Mary Daily Verse "Know this, my dear brothers: everyone should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of a man does not accomplish the righteousness of God." -James 1:19-20 | St. Francis Borgia (1510-1572) was born in Spain to a noble family, the son of a Duke. On his father's side of the family he was the great-grandson of Pope Alexander VI, one of the notorious "Borgia Popes," and on his mother's side he was the great-grandson of King Ferdinand of Aragon. Francis joined the Spanish court of King Charles V at the age of 18, married, and had 8 children. In 1539 he experienced a profound religious conversion which caused him to renounce the pomp of the royal court, yet he continued his life of public service as the Viceroy of Catalonia. He made great progress in the spiritual life, and after his father's death he became the Duke of Gandia. He built a university and invited the newly-founded Society of Jesus to work in his duchy. After the death of his wife, and after providing for his children, he joined the Jesuits in Rome and was given a prominent position in the order by St. Ignatius of Loyola. Under Francis' leadership and reforms, the Jesuits advanced to such a great extent that he is considered to be their second founder. In the years following Ignatius' death, Francis became head of the order and established Jesuit missions in multiple countries. He also counseled his missionaries in both practical strategies as well as spiritual discipline. St. Francis of Borgia was a celebrated preacher and a key figure in the Counter-Reformation movement. His feast day is October 10th. | Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading I Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2 Gird yourselves and weep, O priests! wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, spend the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God!
The house of your God is deprived of offering and libation.
Proclaim a fast, call an assembly;
Gather the elders, all who dwell in the land,
Into the house of the LORD, your God, and cry to the LORD!
Alas, the day! for near is the day of the LORD, and it comes as ruin from the Almighty.
Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming;
Yes, it is near, a day of darkness and of gloom, a day of clouds and somberness!
Like dawn spreading over the mountains, a people numerous and mighty!
Their like has not been from of old, nor will it be after them, even to the years of distant generations. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 9:2-3, 6 and 16, 8-9 R. (9) The Lord will judge the world with justice.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart; I will declare all your wondrous deeds.
I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, Most High. R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
You rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked; their name you blotted out forever and ever.
The nations are sunk in the pit they have made; in the snare they set, their foot is caught. R. The Lord will judge the world with justice.
But the LORD sits enthroned forever; he has set up his throne for judgment.
He judges the world with justice; he governs the peoples with equity. R. The Lord will judge the world with justice. Alleluia John 12:31b-32 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The prince of this world will now be cast out,
and when I am lifted up from the earth
I will draw all to myself, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Luke 11:15-26 When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd 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.
"When an unclean spirit goes out of someone,
it roams through arid regions searching for rest
but, finding none, it says,
'I shall return to my home from which I came.'
But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.
Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits
more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there,
and the last condition of that man is worse than the first."
| Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2 Blow the trumpet in Zion! (Joel 2:1) Today's first reading is frightening, isn't it? The prophet Joel summons the people to the Temple so that they can "cry to the Lord" in repentance. The "day of the Lord" has arrived—a day of judgment and of "darkness and gloom" (Joel 1:14; 2:1-2). The day comes in the form of a mysterious army bent on complete destruction. If you continue reading Joel's prophecy, you'll see that this army is in fact a plague of locusts advancing on Israel. They are so destructive that they can turn entire areas from a perfect Eden-like paradise into a "desolate wilderness" (Joel 2:3). Joel makes it clear that this bleak fate is the result of the people's sin, and their only hope for deliverance is to "return" to the Lord (2:12). If they do, not only will they be spared, but they will enjoy an overabundant harvest: "grain, new wine, and oil" (2:19). Once again, as he has always done, God offers his people a way out of the most devastating consequences of their sin. The Book of Joel is not just a story of how God offered mercy to a certain group of people at a certain time. It's also a story about what he wants to do all the time. Ultimately, it points to what Jesus will do for all people! Just as the locusts were devastating the land, our sin was devastating us. We were all courting death and destruction—until Jesus stepped in to save us. By his cross and resurrection, he turned back the power of sin and drove it far away. Of course, the damage caused by sin is still plain to see, both in the world and within our own hearts. But it doesn't have to remain. In his mercy, Jesus continues to offer forgiveness and healing to everyone who turns to him. He continues to offer the fruit of his Spirit: love and joy and peace, flowing more abundantly than the grain, the wine, and the oil that Joel promised. Even now, today and every day, Jesus is reaching out his hand to save us. Even now, today and every day, he calls us to turn back to him. Let's grasp his hand and welcome his mercy. "Jesus, thank you for rescuing me from the power of sin!" Psalm 9:2-3, 6, 8-9, 16
Luke 11:15-26 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Ai Audio 2cents | 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. | The finger of God? What does that mean? It means He is KING! It means what He says goes! It means the law, of righteousness, of His way, of His desire has come upon us. This is why He says that "the Kingdom of God has come upon you". It is good, and it should raise awareness, that now, we know, and by all means, we should "know better" than to accuse Him of anything bad, but to accuse ourselves, as will be the case on each one of our judgement days, the very day we meet our Lord and King.
And so our Lord speaks of armor, and strength, and power. This means, that He is to take away any shield, any protection from the enemy, and this leaves the enemy vulnerable, and exposed. What does this mean? The next verse explains as well. "Whoever is not with me, is against me". The enemy is against our Lord. His enemy, should be our enemy.
And how do we take away the enemy's armor? By joining with Christ, and thus, the very finger of God.
Our Lord says that whoever is not with Him, scatters. It is absolutely true. And there is a flock that is scattered, because, they are not with Him. Oh, how sin makes us scatter! Pride makes us scatter. Because everyone is looking out for themselves, they scatter. Because they are number one, instead of God our Father's will and heart being number one. Simply, by having loves above Him! And so we scatter, and it gets deeper, as our Lord continues.
"When an unclean spirit goes out of someone,
it roams through arid regions searching for rest
but, finding none, it says,
'I shall return to my home from which I came.'
But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.
Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits
more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there,
and the last condition of that man is worse than the first."
Evil spirits desire to dwell in a person. A place with walls. A shelter. A home. Evil needs people to hang out, and for its own good, because, like a bad temperament and deviated child, it does not care about the dwelling place, but to trash it.
And what happens to liberated souls after confession? What about a person that has finally got rid of a bad spirit from their life? That person better fill themselves up with Godly things and virtues, all good habits of our Lord, all things...Holy Spirit. All things that are the spiritual armor of God! The Armor of God:
Ephesians 6
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people. "
WORD of the LORD! |  Audio of Random Verse | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 28:22 "A stingy man1 hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him."
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