† Quote "Crosses release us from this world and by doing so bind us to God." -Saint Charles de Foucauld Today's Meditation "In giving us this regular hunger for food, we are also given opportunity to sacrifice for each other and for God and to discipline our appetites. Always cognizant of our nature, the liturgical year is rife with periods of both fasting and feast. In order to feast, we must also know sacrifice; in fact, it's only in sacrifice that we understand what a feast really is. Our lives can contain an ever-repeating rhythm of each in its proper time. In the same way that it would be profane to feast on Good Friday, so would it be improper to fast on Easter. This rhythm is a reminder of both a need to be filled as well as a need to strengthen our resolve so that we might long first and foremost for the feast that has no end." –Carrie Gress and Noelle Mering, p. 88 Daily Verse "So submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you of two minds. Begin to lament, to mourn, to weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you." -James 4:7-10 | St. Columbanus (543 - 615 A.D.) was born in West Leinster, Ireland. He was a noble, well-educated, and handsome man who was pursued by many women. He sought the advice of a pious religious woman who advised him to flee from his temptations for the sake of his soul, which he did, leaving the world to become a monk against the wishes of his family. He embraced the monastic life and excelled in virtue before being called by God to be a preacher in foreign lands. At the age of 40 he left his monastery with a band of twelve fellow monks on an apostolic mission to spread the Gospel throughout Europe. The holiness and zeal of Columbanus and his companions combatted the laxity of the clergy and the negative influence of the barbarian invaders. Columbanus preferred the solitude of nature and would often live withdrawn from others in a nearby cave, which attracted followers to imitate his lifestyle. He founded and served as abbot of several monasteries known for their strictness, writing a monastic rule governing their life which emphasized obedience, silence, poverty, humility, and chastity. The Rule of St. Columbanus was approved by the Council of Mâcon in 627 A.D., but was later superseded by the Rule of St. Benedict. His feast day is celebrated on November 24th. | Memorial of Saint Andrew Dŭng-Lạc, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Andrew Dũng-Lạc, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs Reading 1 Daniel 1:1-6, 8-20 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came
and laid siege to Jerusalem.
The Lord handed over to him Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
and some of the vessels of the temple of God;
he carried them off to the land of Shinar,
and placed the vessels in the temple treasury of his god. The king told Ashpenaz, his chief chamberlain,
to bring in some of the children of Israel of royal blood
and of the nobility, young men without any defect,
handsome, intelligent and wise,
quick to learn, and prudent in judgment,
such as could take their place in the king's palace;
they were to be taught the language and literature of the Chaldeans;
after three years' training they were to enter the king's service.
The king allotted them a daily portion of food and wine
from the royal table.
Among these were men of Judah: Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah. But Daniel was resolved not to defile himself
with the king's food or wine;
so he begged the chief chamberlain to spare him this defilement.
Though God had given Daniel the favor and sympathy
of the chief chamberlain, he nevertheless said to Daniel,
"I am afraid of my lord the king;
it is he who allotted your food and drink.
If he sees that you look wretched
by comparison with the other young men of your age,
you will endanger my life with the king."
Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief chamberlain
had put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah,
"Please test your servants for ten days.
Give us vegetables to eat and water to drink.
Then see how we look in comparison with the other young men
who eat from the royal table,
and treat your servants according to what you see."
He acceded to this request, and tested them for ten days;
after ten days they looked healthier and better fed
than any of the young men who ate from the royal table.
So the steward continued to take away
the food and wine they were to receive, and gave them vegetables.
To these four young men God gave knowledge and proficiency
in all literature and science,
and to Daniel the understanding of all visions and dreams.
At the end of the time the king had specified for their preparation,
the chief chamberlain brought them before Nebuchadnezzar.
When the king had spoken with all of them,
none was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah;
and so they entered the king's service.
In any question of wisdom or prudence which the king put to them,
he found them ten times better
than all the magicians and enchanters in his kingdom. Responsorial Psalm Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56 R. (52b) Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages." R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and glorious above all forever." R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you on the throne of your Kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever." R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever." R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,
praiseworthy and glorious forever." R. Glory and praise for ever! Alleluia Matthew 24:42a, 44 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Stay awake!
For you do not know when the Son of Man will come.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Luke 21:1-4 When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people
putting their offerings into the treasury
and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.
He said, "I tell you truly,
this poor widow put in more than all the rest;
for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood."
| Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Luke 21:1-4 He noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. (Luke 21:2) Picture this poor widow for a moment. She is probably dressed in old clothes and perhaps walks with difficulty. She slowly makes her way to the Temple treasury and drops two small coins into one of the boxes set up around the courtyard. The coins make a very faint sound compared to the louder noise made by the larger contributions of the wealthy. Just as slowly, she makes her way out past the crowd. It's likely no one would have noticed her. To the priests who ran the treasury, her offering was just another contribution—a small one at that. She would have been completely forgotten, except that Jesus picked her out of the crowd. Now she is immortalized in Scripture as someone who gave everything to the Lord. And because Jesus pointed her out, we now have the privilege of witnessing a deeply personal encounter between her and her God. An encounter and an example of what Jesus is looking for from us. Was it advisable for this widow to give away her last two coins? Judging strictly by financial calculation, maybe not. But Jesus pointed her out because her actions were the complete opposite of the wealthy, who gave "from their surplus." She gave out of a love that trusted in God's goodness, a love that moved her to freely offer him "her whole livelihood" (Luke 21:4). When we give something, we naturally want some kind of notice or thanks, and sometimes that does happen. But even if no one congratulates us, even if we are ignored by everyone just as this widow was, we can take comfort in knowing that the Lord sees us, and he rejoices in our generosity. Even more, we can take comfort in knowing that every act of kindness or generosity toward someone in need is more than just a kind gesture. It's also an encounter with Jesus. He assures us that everything we do for "one of these least" brothers and sisters of his, we do for him (Matthew 25:40). He promises that he will notice every time we give of our money, our possessions, our time, or whatever we have. Our gift may not make an impression on anyone else, but we can be sure it will be pleasing to him! "Lord, help me to give without counting the cost!" Daniel 1:1-6, 8-20
(Psalm) Daniel 3:52-56 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | From today's Holy Gospel: "... When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people
putting their offerings into the treasury
and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.
He said, "I tell you truly,
this poor widow put in more than all the rest;
for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood."...." Word of the Lord. | From Roberto Juarez: "Let's look at something beautiful: the widow gives everything she has to live. Jesus will also give all he has to live—his very life—for us. The widow anticipates the total surrender of Christ on the cross.
She is an image of Jesus himself. And Jesus is the measure of the true offering.
Therefore, to look at the widow is to look at the Lord. And to look to the Lord is to discover that the Christian journey is a path of total love.
Brothers and sisters, today the Word invites us to look at our hearts: What do I give? Where do I give from? How do I give? Do I give from trust? From faith? Do I give what I have left over or do I give what means something true to me?
Let us ask the Lord for a simple, generous, poor and trusting heart like that of the widow; a heart capable of recognizing that everything I have is His gift and that the more I give, the richer He makes me." end quote.
In daily Mass today, Fr. Joseph said a clue word to describe the poor widow that gave her only 2 cents in the collection basket, and that big clue word was...faith.
It takes great faith to give it all to Him.
How many of us trust Him very little?
How many of us only give what loose change is in our...hearts?
Who then is generous with the Lord?
Have you ever been generous with somebody, and they just kept coming back for more? LOL.
It's happened to me many times. Is there a limit we should put on handouts?
The poor will never have enough. That is why it is not fair to listen to the negative comments about "the vatican being so rich and they should sell all and give it to the poor". That does not make sense, because just as soon as you sell your house and give it to the poor, the next day, you will have the poor being poor again, they will spend that money quickly. Now you have two broke people.
And so, the church exists to give, and this means, all of us are the church, and we are to give as much as possible.
But that is the question...how much is possible? 1% ? 5 or 10 percent?
How about 100 percent?
The widow was in...at 100%. Why?
Because she knew she had the upper hand, like those who play cards, she knew she could totally trust...she was not afraid.
And God sees the heart. Only God can read the heart. No human being can read the heart like God does.
Jesus is God. He knew full well what this widow did. And our Lord becomes indebted to that....type of love and trust. The Lord hears the cry of the orphan and the widow. He is right there with them, if they only knew!
Question is though, are you all in?
I hope so, not just a little, but totally into the faith, and totally open to His every beckoning call. I'm trying and sometimes I am a better coach than a player, so pray for me as well.
For instance, before Mass yesterday, someone asked me for gas money to go to church. My mind is like "well they live 2 blocks away, and they want 20 bucks, don't make sense" and what's funny is that not but 7 days ago I had topped off their car with fuel.
What do I do now?
I always think of the Lord as hiding in the poor. I know for sure these people are poor, I know their income situation, and I've been helping them for 20 years with cars and houses. Some poor cannot stop being poor, for various reasons, mental, spiritual, physical, and so forth. We can't fix everyone and everything...but we can give with our heart.
And that's where it hurt me...the heart. I want endless generosity from God, don't you?
So, I said yes, just in case it was the Lord...but my yes would've been better, had I given with greater faith...which I equate with love.
One prayer with great love and sincerity goes much further than 100 empty prayers form the teeth out as they say.
So is love.
So is God reading the hearts of all who are reading this. God sees love where others do not.... |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Romans 14:8 "For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's." . . . . . . . . Word of the Lord! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
