† Quote of the Day "Often, actually very often, God allows his greatest servants, those who are far advanced in grace, to make the most humiliating mistakes. This humbles them in their own eyes and in the eyes of their fellow men." -St. Louis de Montfort Today's Meditation "Know, dearest daughter, how, by humble, continual, and faithful prayer, the soul acquires, with time and perseverance, every virtue. Wherefore should she persevere and never abandon prayer... The soul should advance by degrees, and I know well that, just as the soul is at first imperfect and afterwards perfect, so also is it with her prayer. She should nevertheless continue in vocal prayer, while she is yet imperfect, so as not to fall into idleness. But she should not say her vocal prayers without joining them to mental prayer, that is to say, that while she is reciting, she should endeavor to elevate her mind in My love, with the consideration of her own defects and of the Blood of My only-begotten Son, wherein she finds the breadth of My charity and the remission of her sins." —St. Catherine Of Siena, p. 92
An excerpt from Dialogue of St. Catherine of Siena Daily Verse: When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice and said, "Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled. -Luke 1:41-45 | St Elizabeth Of The Visitation St. Elizabeth of the Visitation (1st c.) was the wife of Zachary (Zechariah), a temple priest, and the cousin and close companion of the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the one whom Our Lady visited in haste after the Annunciation. The Angel Gabriel had told Mary that Elizabeth was expecting a miraculous child in her old age. Upon hearing Mary's voice, who was then carrying the Son of God in her womb, Elizabeth's unborn child leaped in her womb by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was with Elizabeth that Mary first shared the joy of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. St. Elizabeth gave birth to St. John the Baptist, the prophet who prepared the way for Jesus' ministry. St. Elizabeth is described in the Gospel of Luke as "righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments of the Lord blamelessly." St. Elizabeth shares a feast day with her husband, Zachary, on November 5th. | Romans 13:8-10 Brothers and sisters: Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not covet, and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this saying, namely, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no evil to the neighbor; hence, love is the fulfillment of the law. Psalm 112:1-2, 4-5, 9 R. Blessed the man who is gracious and lends to those in need.
or R. Alleluia. Blessed the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed. R. He dawns through the darkness, a light for the upright;
he is gracious and merciful and just.
Well for the man who is gracious and lends,
who conducts his affairs with justice. R. Lavishly he gives to the poor;
his generosity shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory. R. Gospel Acclamation Alleluia, alleluia. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you,
for the Spirit of God rests upon you. 1 Pt 4:14 Alleluia, alleluia. Luke 14:25-33 Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, 'This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.' Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple." | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Romans 13:8-1 Love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10) Quick Bible quiz: what is the first "fruit of the Spirit" that St. Paul lists in Galatians 5:22? The verse cited above gives a big clue: it's love! That can help explain today's first reading, where Paul tells us that love is "the fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13:10). How does something like love fulfill the whole of God's laws to his people? Because the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Blessed Trinity, is the key to all loving. Think about it: every commandment is answered by love. Each one is founded on the call to love God fully and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). That kind of love puts the good of the other person first. It's selfless, sacrificial, and unconditional. And it is meant to spring from the love that God has lavished on us. It's hard to love like that on our own strength, though, isn't it? We all tend to want to take care of ourselves and those closest to us. But love involves more than our feelings. It's a choice to do something for someone else even when we don't feel like it. And that's where the Holy Spirit comes in. When you choose to turn away from envious thoughts or angry words, the Holy Spirit is at work. When you choose to respect your vocation in the face of temptation, the Holy Spirit is helping you to love God and his will for you. When you take time to pray or make Sunday a special day for your family, the Holy Spirit is leading you to love them as he loves them. In each of these situations, the Spirit is bringing God's own love to life in you and empowering you to share it! As you experience God's love, the Holy Spirit is forming that love in your heart. You start to care for people as you have been cared for. You begin to look upon everyone, even those you might consider enemies, through the lens of the love you've received. And that perspective changes the way you treat people. It moves you to look out for their needs and place a priority on their good. You are learning to love the way that God does. And that means you are fulfilling the law! "Holy Spirit, teach me to love today!" Psalm 112:1-2, 4-5, 9
Luke 14:25-33 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Ai Audio 2cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "....Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, "If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. ...." Word of the Lord. | From Roberto Juarez today:
"Today, perhaps our crosses are not persecutions or martyrdoms, but they can be the effort to keep the faith in an indifferent environment, patience with those who find it difficult to love, forgiveness that hurts to give, fidelity in daily service. Jesus ends by saying, "Whoever does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple." It is not a matter of despising the material, but of not letting anything possess us. The problem is not having things, but that things have us.
The disciple of Christ learns to live with open hands, to use goods freely and with a sense of responsibility. Giving up is, in the end, a way of living in gratuitousness: not to put our security in what we have, but in who we are before God.
If we had to summarize this gospel in one sentence, it would be this: Following Christ is not for the undecided, but for those who truly love.
The Lord is not looking for admirers, but for disciples. He does not want fascinated crowds, but committed hearts. He does not expect perfection, but sincerity and perseverance. And this radical following is not lived once and for all, but every day, in small and large decisions: in choosing good over comfort, in forgiving instead of holding grudges, in serving without expecting reward, in continuing to love even when we do not see the fruit. At first glance, Jesus' demands may seem harsh. But if we look at them with the eyes of faith, we discover that they are the way to true freedom and joy. When one puts Christ at the center, everything else is transformed: family, work, worries... everything takes on a new meaning. Following Jesus does not take away anything essential from us; on the contrary, he gives us everything, because he gives us him. To be a disciple is to have Christ as a reference, as a horizon, as an inner strength. And even if it costs, we know that whoever loses his life for Him, gains it. 'Lord Jesus,
You who call us to follow you without reservation,
Give us a determined and free heart,
capable of loving you above all things.
Teach us to carry our cross every day,
not to be afraid of losing for love,
to trust that with you every renunciation becomes gain.
Grant that, following you faithfully,
let us discover the joy of true disciples,
that joy that the world cannot give or take away.'
Amen." end quote from Roberto.
Our Lord said ""If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." And, just like when He said we must eat His body to live, we can also think like those that heard those words "this saying is too hard!". How can our Lord say things like this?
Once again, He is demanding faith, and a faith like no other. In essence, He is asking for total surrender to God's will.
With how much of your life can you Trust Him?
In the things of God, you will either love one and hate the other. In the book of Revelation, it says we will need to be hot or cold, not lukewarm, because it is repulsive to Him to be lukewarm, sickening.
How would you like for your lover to halfway love you? Sickening, no? Gross, no? Repulsive, no?
But what about if you do it to God? That you only love Him when it is convenient, or you feel like it? Feelings can be very deceptive! Evil can work with feelings too you know.
And so, love is actually a choice. A forever choice.
Every time in our family rosary, when we pray the last sorrowful mystery, the crucifixion, here, we kneel, and I say "Lord, just like you gave your life for us, help us give our lives to you". And it is scary to say that, but the whole rosary began with the first mystery at Gethsemanie when our Lord is sweating tears but ends His prayer with "not my will, but Yours be done".
And the onslaught began.
Total surrender began.
God's will....would be accomplished....Salvation for Humanity availed.
Because God gave us Himself and the greatest of Gifts, the Way to Himself....Jesus our Lord.
Amazing love. |  Audio of Random Verse | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 10:4–5 [Proverbs 10] " A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame."
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God Bless You! Peace | | |
