† Quote of the Day "Build an oratory within yourself, and there have Jesus on the altar of your heart. Speak to Him often while you are doing your work. Speak to Him of His holy love, of His holy sufferings and of the sorrows of most holy Mary." -St Paul of the Cross Today's Meditation "Whoever confesses his sins ... is already working with God. God indicts your sins; if you also indict them, you are joined with God. Man and sinner are, so to speak, two realities: when you hear 'man' - this is what God has made; when you hear 'sinner' - this is what man himself has made. Destroy what you have made, so that God may save what he has made ... When you begin to abhor what you have made, it is then that your good works are beginning, since you are accusing yourself of your evil works. The beginning of good works is the confession of evil works. You do the truth and come to the light." —The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1458
An excerpt from The Catechism of the Catholic Church Daily Verse "Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of any one, says the Lord God; so turn, and live." -Ezekiel 18:31-32 | St. Paul of the Cross (1694–1775) was born near Turin, Italy, the second of sixteen children—only six of whom survived infancy. His devout parents ensured his strong religious upbringing. In his childhood Paul went to daily Mass, spent much time before the Blessed Sacrament, and attended to his studies. He taught catechism in the local churches before experiencing a deep religious conversion at the age of 19 through the writings of St. Francis de Sales. After a brief stint as a soldier and declining an offer for a good marriage, at the age of 26 he learned through prayer that God was calling him to found a new religious order which came to be known as the Congregation of the Passion, or the Passionists. He was instructed in a vision as to what the new habit of his order should look like: a black tunic bearing a heart surmounted by a white cross, with the words "Passion of Jesus Christ" written inside the heart. To the religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience he added a fourth: to spread devotion to Christ's Passion among the faithful. His mission was to ignite a love for Jesus in the hearts of the faithful at a time when many saw Him only as a great moral teacher. St. Paul of the Cross was one of the most powerful preachers of his day, as well as a mystic, and he was known to bring even the most hardened sinners to tears. He also took special care of the sick, poor, and suffering. His feast day is October 20th. | Monday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 473
Reading 1 Romans 4:20-25 Brothers and sisters:
Abraham did not doubt God's promise in unbelief;
rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God
and was fully convinced that what God had promised
he was also able to do.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.
But it was not for him alone that it was written
that it was credited to him;
it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,
who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was handed over for our transgressions
and was raised for our justification. Responsorial Psalm Luke 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75 R. (see 68) Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
He has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David. R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant. R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life. R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people. Alleluia Matthew 5:3 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Luke 12:13-21 Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
"Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me."
He replied to him,
"Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?"
Then he said to the crowd,
"Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one's life does not consist of possessions." Then he told them a parable.
"There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, 'What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?'
And he said, 'This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, "Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!"'
But God said to him,
'You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?'
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God." | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Romans 4:20-25 [Abraham] was fully convinced that what God had promised he was also able to do. (Romans 4:21) What a great model of faith! St. Paul presents Abraham in today's first reading as a man "fully convinced" that God is always faithful to his promises (Romans 4:21). He believed that God would do as he said and make him "the father of many nations" despite his age and childlessness (4:18). It helps to have models of faith like Abraham to encourage us as we strive to hold fast to God's promises. So let's look at the lives of two remarkable young men from Uganda who lived at the turn of the twentieth century: Blessed Daudi Okelo and Blessed Jildo Irwa. Daudi and Jildo were recent converts to Catholicism when the catechist who had been evangelizing their Acholi people died. They volunteered to take his place, despite their youth. Every morning at dawn, they beat a drum to call children to some flat rocks on top of a hill where they taught basic prayers and truths from the catechism. The place came to be known as wiPolo (heaven) because the children were learning about "Our Father who art in heaven." Because of tribal and religious unrest, the young men's lives were in danger. In October 1918, five men dragged the catechists outside their hut, at spear point, and demanded they stop teaching the faith. Daudi, age sixteen, wouldn't renounce his faith, so they killed him then and there. Since Jildo was four years younger, the intruders hesitated. They urged him to flee for his life, but he refused. So they killed him as well. Both of these boys, like Abraham, were "fully convinced" that God would grant them eternal life (Romans 4:21). How about you? Jesus has promised you eternal life. He has promised that he will never abandon you. He has promised that you can live as his son or daughter here and now. These promises are solid, faithful, and true. Abraham was fully convinced. Daudi and Jildo were fully convinced. So take courage! When you read about heroes like these, you can almost taste heaven! "Lord, strengthen my faith as I recall the saints and martyrs who have gone before me!" (Psalm) Luke 1:69-75
Luke 12:13-21 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Ai Audio 2cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "..Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
"Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me."
He replied to him,
"Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?"
Then he said to the crowd,
"Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one's life does not consist of possessions..." Word of the Lord. | From Roberto Juarez:
"This gospel does not reject riches in themselves, but the wrong attitude toward them. It is not bad to have possessions, but it is bad when they become the center of our lives, when our security and happiness depend exclusively on material things. Jesus invites us to maintain balance, remembering that the most important thing is our relationship with God. What place do riches and material goods occupy in my life? Are they ordered toward the common good and toward God, or have I fallen into the delusion of believing that they are my source of happiness and security?
Let us ask the Lord not to help us fall into the trap of covetousness or to put our trust in material riches. Let us learn to be rich before the Lord, to live according to his values, and to be generous with the gifts the Lord has given us.
May our lives be centered on God and may our wealth not be measured by what we possess, but by the love and generosity with which we live."
Do you know anybody that is greedy? Was this man that stored up tons of harvests a greedy man? Sounds to me like he hit the lottery, or finally hit a great retirement plan!
We all want that...right? What is it? Security.
We want that "safety net", right?
But our Lord sent His disciples out with nothing. He commanded them to take no money, just a walking stick? "Take nothing for your journey, neither a staff, nor a bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not even have two tunics."
What does this mean? It means He is calling us out to faith, into the great unknown, with a great faith... a trusting in Him with our very lives.
So what was this rich harvester's problem?
The plan.
The plan on what to do with the amassed wealth. He said ""Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry".
The problem arises when it becomes about oneself. The issue was then, one of greed in its fullest sense.
Good thing we aren't like that guy, right?
We hear people say "I'm a good person, I have not killed anybody!". Right? Just because we have not murdered someone does not make you an automatic saint that deserves the Kingdom of Heaven. Our Lord takes note of the heart. Why?
Because, God wants to act in the human heart. How can He act when a person decides not to act in His name?
God wanted to be merciful to that person that struck you, but you said no.
God wanted to reach out to that person in great need, but...you said no.
God wants to envelop the world in His Word and grace and mercy...but...we say no, because we rather seek pleasure, instead of His treasure.
We've much to learn from the Gospel.
Lord, help me to see and feel, and love only through Your Sacred Heart. |  Audio of Random Verse | Random Bible Verse 1
Matthew 6:24 [Matthew 6] 24 "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.1
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