Quote: "Act, and God will act, work and He will work." -St. Joan of Arc "Act, and God will act, work and He will work." -St. Joan of Arc Today's Meditation "God's delays are mysterious; sorrow is sometimes prolonged for the same reason for which it is sent. God may abstain for the moment from healing, not because Love does not love, but because Love never stops loving, and a greater good is to come from the woe. Heaven's clock is different from ours." —Fulton J. Sheen, p. 357
An excerpt from Life of Christ Daily Verse "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers." -Psalm 1: 1-3 |  EWTN Daily Saint | | St Catherine Del Ricci St. Catherine del Ricci (1522-1590) was born with the name Alessandra in Florence, Italy, to a respectable merchant family. Her mother died while she was very young, so that from her childhood Alessandra took the Blessed Virgin Mary as her mother. She was given to prayer and religious fervor, and at the age of fourteen decided to enter a strict Third Order Dominican convent, taking Catherine as her religious name. She developed into a great mystic with an intense devotion to the Passion of Christ. For many years Catherine would go into ecstasy from noon every Thursday through 4 p.m. on Friday, experiencing in a mystical manner the sufferings of Christ during his Passion. She was also given the spiritual gift of the stigmata; Christ's wounds would appear on her body through the course of the ecstasy. After enduring much humiliation for years on account of these sufferings, she was eventually accepted as a holy woman and later became prioress. Her advice was widely sought on many spiritual and practical matters. Despite being cloistered, she kept up a loving correspondence with many relatives, friends, and her spiritual children. Among those in her correspondence were three future popes, Pope Marcellus II, Pope Clement VIII, and Pope Leo XI. Her feast day is February 13. | Friday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 333 Reading 1 1 Kings 11:29-32; 12:19 Jeroboam left Jerusalem,
and the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite met him on the road.
The two were alone in the area,
and the prophet was wearing a new cloak.
Ahijah took off his new cloak,
tore it into twelve pieces, and said to Jeroboam: "Take ten pieces for yourself;
the LORD, the God of Israel, says:
'I will tear away the kingdom from Solomon's grasp
and will give you ten of the tribes.
One tribe shall remain to him for the sake of David my servant,
and of Jerusalem,
the city I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel.'" Israel went into rebellion against David's house to this day. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 81:10-11ab, 12-13, 14-15 R. (11a and 9a) I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice.
"There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt."
R. I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice.
"My people heard not my voice,
and Israel obeyed me not;
So I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts;
they walked according to their own counsels."
R. I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice.
"If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
Quickly would I humble their enemies;
against their foes I would turn my hand."
R. I am the Lord, your God: hear my voice. Alleluia See Acts 16:14b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mark 7:31-37 Jesus left the district of Tyre
and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee,
into the district of the Decapolis.
And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man's ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
"Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")
And immediately the man's ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
"He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! |  click to see website | |  wau.org | Daily Meditation: Mark 7:31-37 People brought to him a deaf man. (Mark 7:32) "Come here; you've got to see this!" You've probably had someone say this as they dragged you along to witness something amazing. Or a friend calls to tell you that something you need is on sale at the store. "Quick! Get over there while you can still get it!" So it seems to have been with these people in the Decapolis as they hurried a deaf man up to Jesus. "Quick! He's here now. Let's get him to heal you!" Being deaf, the man couldn't hear Jesus. And being impeded in speech, he couldn't ask Jesus for healing on his own. So he had to trust his friends and their enthusiastic faith in a rabbi from Galilee. The man had to do something similar when he went along with Jesus away from the crowd. He had to trust that Jesus could truly help him. And the results—complete restoration of his hearing and speech—tell us that this is exactly what happened. This man's limited ability to communicate with the Lord didn't keep Jesus from working a miracle. He showed that healing doesn't depend absolutely on whether we can say or do just the right things. Know this: whether you're eager or baffled, believing or skeptical, Jesus can heal you. He can work wonders, even in the face of the things we consider extreme obstacles. Sometimes, as in the case of this man, Jesus does exceedingly astonishing things. Other times we might feel let down because we aren't healed exactly as we imagined. But God is supreme, and we are children whom he loves. He will never betray us or abandon us. So ask! Imitate this deaf man. Be present to Jesus and be open to what happens. Because if you ask, something will happen. Keep looking for the gift God has for you, especially if you haven't seen precisely what you are expecting. God is good. He is faithful; he hears you when you call on him. He loves you, and he loves to give you good gifts. "Jesus, I open my heart to you today. Take me off by myself with you and heal me." 1 Kings 11:29-32; 12:19
Psalm 81:10-15 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Audio of 2 Cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "... He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man's ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
"Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!")
And immediately the man's ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly.
He ordered them not to tell anyone.
But the more he ordered them not to,
the more they proclaimed it.
They were exceedingly astonished and they said,
"He has done all things well.
He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." ....." Word of the Lord.
| From Roberto Juarez: ""He has done everything well; he makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." These words evoke the prophecies of Isaiah: when the Messiah comes, the deaf will hear and the mute will speak. In other words, in Jesus the promise of a restored humanity is fulfilled. But this gospel does not speak only of physical healing. It has a very deep spiritual meaning. Deafness and slurred speech can represent our inner situation. How many times are we deaf to God's Word? How many times do we hear, but don't understand? How many times do we hear the gospel but don't let it sink into our hearts? And not only deaf. Also mute. Mute to bear witness. Mute to defend the weak. Mute to express our faith in environments
where we may be uncomfortable doing so. Mute even to say a word of forgiveness or reconciliation. Jesus today continues to pronounce that word over each one of us: Ephphatha, open yourself. Open yourself to listening. Open yourself to conversion. Open yourself to true relationship with others. Open yourself to the mission. This gesture also has a very concrete echo in the life of the Church. In the rite of Baptism there is precisely the gesture of "Ephphatha", when the celebrant touches the ears and mouth of the baptized saying: "May the Lord Jesus, who made the deaf hear and the mute speak, grant you to hear his Word and proclaim the faith." That is, this gospel is not just a memory of the past. It is a reality that is actualized in every Christian: we have been open to listen and to proclaim. There is also a significant detail: Jesus separates the man from the crowd. Healing begins in silence, in intimacy. In order for our ears to be opened to God, we need spaces of silence. The constant noise of the world makes us spiritually deaf.
And finally, the reaction of the people: "Everything has been done well." It is a phrase that recalls Genesis, when God creates and "saw that everything was good." In Jesus, God makes things right again, restores what was damaged.
Today the Lord also wants to restore our deafness and our muteness. He wants to open our ears to hear his voice in the midst of so many voices, and to loosen our tongue to proclaim his love in word and deed. Let us ask him to pronounce his "Ephphatha" upon us. That opens us up from the inside. May he make us attentive disciples and courageous witnesses." end quote.
From Bro. Adrian: The reflections are beautiful. But what makes them beautiful? If the reflections are beautiful, the reflections across the waters, the things we see are supposed reflections...then, we must consider the sources. The eyes sees what is bounced back as rays of colors that give us sense of depths and color and so forth. Now, let us consider the sources of light that lets us see properly.
And what about the audible source? That there is another amazing feet. Think of how sound waves bounce off of objects, and how distances affect our hearing. It is almost like sonar powers, that also give us a perception of distance, depths so to speak. They say we can hear things even if we are about unconscious. They say hearing and even smelling is about the last things to ever go in our body. Some of those that are seemingly in a coma, can sometimes hear although they cannot react! I suggest all people to be given a couple of weeks at the very least to wake up from these things. I have digressed.
Today, our Lord heals a man, as he set him apart from the crowd. Our Lord put His finger in the ears of the man, and then, touched the man's tongue and spat. That's strange, is it not? Spit it out! Spit what out? SPEAK! Out with it! That is where the power lays. There IS POWER IN THE WORD. And then...God SPEAKS.
Suddenly the man speaks. Suddenly, the man hears! Suddenly, the crowds are amazed, so amazed that they cannot contain the command to keep it quiet about the whole ordeal. It was like a bomb for the Decapolis.
And as the man went speaking and hearing songs and proclaiming the God of gods, JESUS, they all turned to Him and said amazed "He has done all things well...makes the deaf hear and the mute talk".
Get ready to be amazed yourself.
Lent is approaching, and, like this man, if you set yourself apart with Him after seeking Him, pleading for Him to lay His hand on you, be ready to be amazed. Those who truly seek Him will truly find Him.
The blind man yelled for help. The deaf and mute were taken by others like the paralytic. We need not only help ourselves...but others...and in doing so, be prepared to be amazed. This...is a promise.
And guess what? Being amazed at God is a true sign of fear, a true sign of the Holy Spirit at work! He reveals Himself as He does...unending mercy. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 100:4–5 "Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations." . . . Word of the Lord! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
No comments:
Post a Comment