 From: MorningOffering Website | Quote: "Our perfection does not consist of doing extraordinary things, but to do the ordinary well." -St. Gabriel Possenti Today's Meditation "Little by little, we can make our daily life more and more prayerful, as we are able, over time, to incorporate those suggestions that work with our schedule and that we are ready for spiritually. There is a particular spiritual practice that Francis [de Sales] highly recommends that is possible for all of us: even on those 'impossible' days when we are perhaps unable to undertake our normal spiritual practices, we can stay rooted in prayer by constantly addressing brief prayers to the Lord. These can be acts of love, of adoration, of faith, of hope, of petition, or simply saying the name of Jesus—throughout the course of the day. Francis places a very high value on these simple utterances, traditionally called ejaculatory prayers or aspirations." —Ralph Martin, p. 135
An excerpt from The Fulfillment of All Desire Daily Verse "O God, thou art my God, I seek thee, my soul thirsts for thee; my flesh faints for thee, as in a dry and weary land where no water is. So I have looked upon thee in the sanctuary, beholding thy power and glory. Because thy steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise thee. So I will bless thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on thy name." -Psalm 63:1-4 |  EWTN Daily Saint | | St. Gabriel Possenti St. Gabriel Possenti (1838-1862), also known as St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, was one of thirteen children born to a well-to-do Italian family in Assisi. As a young man he enjoyed the society and the worldly life of a typical teenager. He was known as a fancy dresser and a good dancer, he possessed good horsemanship and marksmanship, he frequented parties, and twice was engaged to be married. After his graduation from school he shocked everyone by announcing that he was going to be a Passionist priest, having been inspired to his vocation by the Blessed Virgin Mary, to whom his family had a great devotion. His life was then marked with prayer, sacrifice, and devotion to Our Lady of Sorrows, taking the religious name Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother. He was stricken with tuberculosis about a year before he was to be ordained, and died at the age of 24. Many miracles were attributed to him after his death, including the healing of St. Gemma Galgani. St. Gabriel Possenti is the patron saint of Catholic youth, seminarians, clerics, students, and Catholic Action. His feast day is February 27th. | Friday of the First Week of Lent Lectionary: 228 Reading 1 Ezekiel 18:21-28 Thus says the Lord GOD:
If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed,
if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just,
he shall surely live, he shall not die.
None of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him;
he shall live because of the virtue he has practiced.
Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked?
says the Lord GOD.
Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way
that he may live? And if the virtuous man turns from the path of virtue to do evil,
the same kind of abominable things that the wicked man does,
can he do this and still live?
None of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered,
because he has broken faith and committed sin;
because of this, he shall die.
You say, "The LORD's way is not fair!"
Hear now, house of Israel:
Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?
When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies,
it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.
But if the wicked, turning from the wickedness he has committed,
does what is right and just,
he shall preserve his life;
since he has turned away from all the sins that he committed,
he shall surely live, he shall not die. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8 R. (3) If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
My soul waits for the LORD
more than sentinels wait for the dawn.
Let Israel wait for the LORD.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand? Verse Before the Gospel Ezekiel 18:31 Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD,
And make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Gospel Matthew 5:20-26 Jesus said to his disciples:
"I tell you,
unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother, Raqa,
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny." | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! |  From Word Among Us WAU.org | Daily Meditation: Matthew 5:20-26 Come and offer your gift. (Matthew 5:24) Sacrifices to God of grain and animals were a regular part of Jewish worship. People would bring these gifts to the Temple to express their devotion to God, to offer thanksgiving, or to make atonement for sin. These were the "gift[s] at the altar" that Jesus was referring to in today's Gospel (Matthew 5:24). People often went to great lengths to make these offerings. They might have traveled long distances, and they often sacrificed their finest animals or best crops. But Jesus warned them that the state of their relationships mattered as well. They needed to come to the altar free of anger and resentment toward their brothers and sisters. Even more challenging, they had to make sure that nobody held "anything" against them (Matthew 5:23). So he wanted them to reflect on any discord in their relationships. If they recalled that they had offended someone, he told them, "Go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (5:24). Every time we come to church, we participate in a sacrifice as well—the sacrifice of the Mass. We offer to the Lord, not animals or grain, but our own lives. Jesus gathers these offerings and unites them to the sacrifice of his own Body and Blood as one offering to his Father. What if we were to offer Jesus our repentance for hurting someone—and our willingness to humbly reconcile with them? What if we offered our forgiveness of the people who have hurt us? Those would be precious gifts indeed! Today ask the Spirit to show you if you are harboring resentment against anyone. If so, ask for the grace to forgive. If the offense is too big or your emotions are too strong, then offer your pain to the Lord. Try your best to surrender it into his hands and ask him to help you take the next step toward forgiveness. And if you have offended someone, try to apologize and reconcile with that person. Then, the next time you are at Mass, offer these "gifts" to Jesus. Come to the altar to receive the greatest gift of all—the Body and Blood of your Savior! "Jesus, I offer you my heart of mercy!" Ezekiel 18:21-28
Psalm 130:1-8 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Audio of 2 Cents | From today's Holy Gospel: "... whoever says, 'You fool,' will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift. ..." Word of the Lord.
| From Roberto Juarez: The passage ends with a call to settle conflicts "while you are on the road." It is an invitation not to postpone reconciliation. Pride often says, "Time will pass."
But time does not always heal; sometimes it hardens. Reconciliation requires humility. It requires acknowledging part of the responsibility. It requires taking the first step, even when we think we are right. The "greater justice" that Jesus asks for is not more rigorism. It's more love. It is not accumulating norms, but transforming the heart. The Christian does not live alone asking: "Is it a sin or not?" He asks: "Does he build communion or does he break it?" That is the logic of the Kingdom. This Gospel invites us to make three clear decisions: 1. **Watch the heart**: do not allow anger to set in.
2. **Watch your words**: avoid insults, destructive judgments, contempt.
3. **Seek reconciliation**: do not postpone necessary conversations.
| 1. | **Watch the heart**: do not allow anger to set in.
| | 2. | **Watch your words**: avoid insults, destructive judgments, contempt.
| | 3. | **Seek reconciliation**: do not postpone necessary conversations.
| Perhaps today the Lord is pointing out to us a specific name, a specific relationship that needs healing. True Christian justice is not cold legality; it is operative charity. Jesus does not lower the demand; deepens it. He is not satisfied that we do not kill; He wants us to love. He is not satisfied with our compliance; He wants us to live reconciled. The Kingdom of heaven begins in the heart that allows itself to be transformed. Let us ask for the grace of a greater justice: not that of the minimum necessary, but that of love that seeks communion. And may our offering before God always be accompanied by a reconciled heart. " end quote.
From brother Adrian: What gift to what altar? What gifts are you offering to the altar? Do you even bring yourself to church to offer gifts? What if that is the very gift He wants! You! His baby! What if He wants His baby's heart to be kept pure and innocent and to be just like Father God in Heaven?
In the fatherly context, imagine gifts kids are bringing on Father's day (think of the Sabbath Sunday and Church).
Imagine my kids are bringing me gifts, flowers, cards and well wishes...but, I know these kids are fighting and hurting each other with words mostly. I'd rather the gift of love be true. I would rather them come to me with a small gift offering, but great love for one another.
That is what God wants. I see often, in many ministries the mysteries of how God works. He truly can make good out of bad.
But so much more good can come out of good!
Like what? Uniting. I want people reading and hearing this to do that. My dad was dying and all I heard from is "I want faith and unity." And in my reflections for years I've equated the word faith with love. Faith in God is love of God. And so "Faith and unity" would mean "Love and unity". In my many ministries I'm noticing the extreme importance of getting together. With at least 2 or 3, we become power houses, because we unite with our Lord.
The importance is the love of God between all so even more power is worked through us.
I say this because, as the priest raised the consecrated Eucharist in daily Mass today, I envisioned the Eucharist like the Tesla sphere and I was allowing myself to be the receptor of the energy.
You see, evil works with weakness. The greater the weakness, the greater the power there. But, the inverse is true. Strength then. We need strength. The very strength of God! To unite. Not to fight. What unification? Mass? Yes. Faith groups? Yes. Bible studies? Yes. Anything that involves 2 or more gathering and praying for His cause and His Kingdom. Not gathering to have fun, but gathering for the purpose. I say this, because, we just had an impromptu men's conference, a summit for some of the main men's ministries representatives in the Diocese. There was no music. There were no games. But we had a task. To encourage one another for lent and for the year in our ministries.
And the same happens for any reunion. God is there. And God is illuminating the way to a greater faith, a greater love.
I've much to say about our offering to the Father at the altar. But I have digressed. I once had a vision when I was writing songs for God in my studio. I went into a trance and was swept up high into the universe and I knew I was taken up in Mother Mary's mantle, as if hidden under her mantle like a little creature, because as I looked up to see her face, it felt like hundreds of feet tall, I was so small! But, where I was taken, was even bigger, a world really, in what seemed to resemble the Mass, where the King was at center, and all around were witnesses, and coming up the middle isle, myriads and myriads, millions of light offerings being offered and placed in the great center light. Wow. Light to light. What were the lights offered? Souls? Who was ministering? I wish I could tell you, but thing were a blur behind the mantle, the veil. But in the realms beyond our earthly beings, things are known that need little explanation. Like I knew Mother Mary was the one hiding me. And, I know where I was at. And so, I say all of this, because I have a gut feeling those offerings...were love offerings.
The fruit of our life, the fruit of our labors, the sacrificial love offerings that perhaps are offered to God through our guardian angels! I don't know, I couldn't see, but, we have to take this to heart.
Jesus. The Sacred Heart. What is the heart a symbol of? Life? Sure. But we all know on valentine's day what it means. Love. Therefore, the heart means life and love. Love is life. God is the life of the world. It is because of Him that we exist and will always exist if baptized...and we will actually live in Him if we so choose to surrender our will to His.
Therefore, as Mother Mary said...."Do Whatever He Tells You".
Such was the name of our summit conference. That is the mantra for the year...and forever. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 11:28 " Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf." . . . Word of the Lord! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
