 From: MorningOffering Website | † Quote of the Day "Dismiss all anger and look into yourself a little. Remember that he of whom you are speaking is your brother, and as he is in the way of salvation, God can make him a saint, in spite of his present weakness." -St. Thomas of Villanova Today's Meditation "Moreover, beseech daily the eternal Father, His divine Son, and the Blessed Virgin, that you may be particularly under the protection of St. Joseph, the worthy spouse of the most chaste of virgins. Then addressing yourself to this loving protector, ask with great humility to be received into his care. For innumerable are the instances of assistance afforded to those who have called upon St. Joseph in their spiritual or temporal necessities. Particularly has he aided them when they stood in need of light from heaven, and direction in their prayers. And if God shows so much regard for the other saints who have loved and served Him here below, how much consideration and deference will He not show for the person He so honored as to pay him filial homage and obedience?" —Dom Lorenzo Scupoli, p. 154
An excerpt from The Spiritual Combat and A Treatise on Peace of Soul Daily Verse "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately corrupt; who can understand it? "I the Lord search the mind and try the heart, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings." -Jeremiah 17:9-10 |  EWTN Daily Saint | | St Abraham Of Edessa St. Abraham of Edessa (300-360 A.D.), also known as Abraham of Kidunaia, was a rich nobleman from Mesopotamia. He married according to his parents' wishes, despite his desire to give himself totally to God. After the wedding ceremony he fled to a cave and hid himself, leaving only a small window to receive food. He lived there as a hermit, and after the death of his parents gave his inheritance to the poor. The Bishop of Edessa ordained him as a priest and sent him to lead a notoriously sinful city. There Abraham was beaten and maligned for three years until his prayers prevailed and every citizen came to him for baptism. He then returned to his hermitage and lived there the rest of his life. After his brother's death his young niece was left to his care. He set her up to live as a religious in a cell next to his, which she did for twenty years until she succumbed to the seduction of a rogue hermit. She was so ashamed of her sin that she despaired of God's mercy and became a prostitute. St. Abraham prayed for his niece earnestly for two years; then, discovering her location, left his cell and came to her disguised as a suitor. When they were alone he revealed his identity to her, and, pleading with her throughout the night, prevailed upon her to return with him to her life of prayer and penance. She came back to her cell, which Abraham relocated directly behind his own for her protection, and became St. Mary of Edessa. St. Abraham's feast day is March 16th. | Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent Lectionary: 244 Reading 1 Isaiah 65:17-21 Thus says the LORD:
Lo, I am about to create new heavens
and a new earth;
The things of the past shall not be remembered
or come to mind.
Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness
in what I create;
For I create Jerusalem to be a joy
and its people to be a delight;
I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and exult in my people.
No longer shall the sound of weeping be heard there,
or the sound of crying;
No longer shall there be in it
an infant who lives but a few days,
or an old man who does not round out his full lifetime;
He dies a mere youth who reaches but a hundred years,
and he who fails of a hundred shall be thought accursed.
They shall live in the houses they build,
and eat the fruit of the vineyards they plant. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 30:2 and 4, 5-6, 11-12a and 13b R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
"Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper."
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me. Verse Before the Gospel Amos 5:14 Seek good and not evil so that you may live,
and the LORD will be with you. Gospel John 4:43-54 At that time Jesus left [Samaria] for Galilee.
For Jesus himself testified
that a prophet has no honor in his native place.
When he came into Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him,
since they had seen all he had done in Jerusalem at the feast;
for they themselves had gone to the feast. Then he returned to Cana in Galilee,
where he had made the water wine.
Now there was a royal official whose son was ill in Capernaum.
When he heard that Jesus had arrived in Galilee from Judea,
he went to him and asked him to come down
and heal his son, who was near death.
Jesus said to him,
"Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe."
The royal official said to him,
"Sir, come down before my child dies."
Jesus said to him, "You may go; your son will live."
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.
While the man was on his way back,
his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.
He asked them when he began to recover.
They told him,
"The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon."
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
"Your son will live,"
and he and his whole household came to believe.
Now this was the second sign Jesus did
when he came to Galilee from Judea. | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! |  From Word Among Us WAU.org | Daily Meditation: John 4:43-54 Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe. (John 4:48) Ouch! Instead of sympathy for this desperate father, Jesus appears to be giving him the cold shoulder. But what seems like a rebuke is actually an invitation for this royal official to deepen his faith. By testing and challenging him, Jesus is asking this man to persist in his request for his son so that he can learn the blessings that come from putting his faith and trust in the Lord. So the man does persist: "Sir, come down before my child dies" (John 4:49). Rather than being put off, he presses on. And when Jesus tells him, "You may go; your son will live" (4:50), he actually believes Jesus' words and starts the journey home. On the way, he receives word that his son has indeed been healed—at just the time Jesus had spoken to him. As a result, "he and his whole household came to believe" (4:53). That's a faith story worth celebrating! This anxious father progressed from wanting what Jesus could do, to believing in his word, to coming to saving faith in Jesus himself. Jesus wants no less for each one of us. He wants to be our friend and healer. Of course, he wants us to bring our needs to him. But he wants us to go beyond thinking of him only as a last resort when our back is against a wall. He wants us to find ongoing healing and transformation in his friendship. Just as Jesus is forever known as the One who healed this official's son, he wants to be known as the One who brought faith and healing into your life. Imagine the stories of your growing in faith and Jesus' generous response that will be retold and marveled about in heaven along with this man's story! So go deeper with your faith today. Perhaps you are concerned about a strained relationship, a dead-end job, or a health issue. Bring your need before Jesus. If you feel as if your faith is being tested, imitate the royal official and persist. Take a concrete step of faith, and let Jesus draw you closer to himself. Then add your story of deepening faith to Jesus' ever-expanding list of marvels and wonders. "Jesus, as I come to you in my need, lead me to deeper faith and a growing friendship with you." Isaiah 65:17-21
Psalm 30:2, 4-6, 11-13 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Audio of 2 Cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "... Jesus said to him,
"Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe."
The royal official said to him,
"Sir, come down before my child dies."
Jesus said to him, "You may go; your son will live."
The man believed what Jesus said to him and left.
While the man was on his way back,
his slaves met him and told him that his boy would live.
He asked them when he began to recover.
They told him,
"The fever left him yesterday, about one in the afternoon."
The father realized that just at that time Jesus had said to him,
"Your son will live,"
and he and his whole household came to believe. ..." | From Bishop Barron:
"
Jesus's ministry of healing expresses in history God's ultimate intention for the world. In Jesus we see a hint of that world to come where there will be no more suffering, no more sadness, no more sickness. He does not wait for the sinner, the sufferer, the marginalized to come to him. In love and humility, he goes to them. This same Jesus, risen from the dead, present and alive in the Church, is still seeking us out, coming into our homes—not waiting for us to crawl to him but seeking us out in love and humility." end quote.
From Roberto Juarez:
"The attitude of the royal official teaches us something very important for our Christian life. Many times we would like to have clear evidence, visible signs, immediate answers. But faith often consists of setting out on a journey trusting in the word of the Lord. It is walking even when we still do not see the result. It is trusting in God in the midst of difficulties, uncertainty, worries.
Today's Gospel invites us to ask ourselves: what is our faith like? Is it a faith that depends only on what we see, or is it a faith that trusts in the word of Christ? Let us ask the Lord to strengthen our trust in Him. May we learn to listen to his word and to lean on it, even in difficult moments. Like that father of the Gospel, we too are called to believe and to set out on a journey. And when we trust in the Lord, we discover that His word always brings life. For even today Christ continues to say to us: "Your son lives... your life is in my hands." end quote.
"The man believed what Jesus said to him and left."
The man believed and because of this, the rest of his household began to believe.
And this is what I believe the purpose of a miracle is to be...a sign to flourish the faith. But notice...first...the man believed.
You see, we got it backwards, most people want to see first, and THEN they will believe...but the only way we will see is if we first seek, and then believe.
Another man had cried to Jesus " but...I DO BELIEVE! HELP MY DISBELIEF!" Right? Remember? This particular father was pleading to Jesus because his child had an unclean spirit.
So many were flocking to him. In this case, people were running, crowds were approaching the pleading daddy and suffering son.
Back in the day, parents cared so much for their children.
They cried if they couldn't have a child. They would plead and sacrifice to God for a child.
Yet, we have the inverse, those who do not care for children. And this is nothing new, and there is a false god for them type of people too, and they give to abortions child sacrifice. I digress.
Back to those who care. The parents want their children delivered from evil spirits. How about that? How about today? What evil spirits are tormenting our children today? They want God, they need our Savior...Jesus! Our Lord said to believe.
Have you ever been asked to believe?
Today, our Lord is asking for us to believe in Him.
Our lives are in His hands. Can we trust then, the one who can carry us through it all?
What if God is calling us to a tighter union with Him, so that not only you will believe, but your whole household!
You are effecting the world, right where you are. If I cannot touch them myself...you can. If I cannot help them, you can.
Such is the power of God in each of us...if only we let Him accomplish His Holy will...in you. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 84:11 [Psalm 84] 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. . . . Word of the Lord! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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