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Saint Quote of the Day
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Heaven could not span its Creator, but the faithful soul, and only it, becomes its dwelling place and seat, and it becomes so in virtue of charity of which the impious lack. St. Clare of Assisi
Today's Meditation“Virtues allow us to become excellent – more fully and perfectly human – by disposing us to perform good acts, to perfect ourselves, and to give the best of ourselves. When we possess the virtues, it becomes easier and more natural and enjoyable for us to do the right things. We’re able to maximize our human powers. Virtues make us and our actions good.” —Kevin Vost, PSY.D., p.112-113
Daily Verse †Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him. John 14:21
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EWTN Daily Saint
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St. Ambrose Edward BarlowPatron Saint of: England, converts, and Benedictines
Feast Day: September 10 St. Ambrose Edward Barlow (1585-1641) was born near Manchester, England, to a noble family. He was baptized Catholic at his birth, but was raised Protestant when Catholicism was outlawed by the reigning monarchy. His grandfather died while imprisoned for his Catholic faith, and his father had two-thirds of his estate confiscated for refusal to conform to the Church of England. Ambrose returned to Catholicism as an adult, recognized his vocation to the priesthood, and traveled to France to enter seminary. He was ordained in 1617 in the Order of St. Benedict. He returned to England to minister to underground Catholics in his native south Lancashire for 24 years, being financially supported with a pension arranged by his grandmother. Ambrose said Mass daily and administered the sacraments secretly to avoid detection by the authorities. He was arrested four times during his priesthood, each time being released without charge. When the king issued a decree that all Catholic priests should immediately flee the country or be arrested and condemned as traitors, St. Ambrose chose to stay, reasoning that he could not die a better death than to be martyred for being a Catholic priest. On April 25, 1631, just as he ended Easter Sunday Mass at Morley Hall near Manchester, he was arrested by a 400-strong armed mob led by the local Anglican vicar. He freely admitted to the charge of being a Catholic priest, and gave a defense of the true faith before his judge. He was sentenced to be hanged, drawn, quartered, and boiled in oil on September 10, 1641. His dead body was publicly displayed on a pike as a warning to other Catholic priests. St. Ambrose Edward Barlow is one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. His feast day is September 10th.
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Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary TimeLectionary: 440 Reading 11 Corinthians 8:1b-7, 11-13 Brothers and sisters:
Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.
If anyone supposes he knows something,
he does not yet know as he ought to know.
But if one loves God, one is known by him. So about the eating of meat sacrificed to idols:
we know that there is no idol in the world,
and that there is no God but one.
Indeed, even though there are so-called gods in heaven and on earth
(there are, to be sure, many “gods” and many “lords”),
yet for us there is one God, the Father,
from whom all things are and for whom we exist,
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom all things are and through whom we exist. But not all have this knowledge.
There are some who have been so used to idolatry up until now
that, when they eat meat sacrificed to idols,
their conscience, which is weak, is defiled. Thus, through your knowledge, the weak person is brought to destruction,
the brother for whom Christ died.
When you sin in this way against your brothers
and wound their consciences, weak as they are,
you are sinning against Christ.
Therefore, if food causes my brother to sin,
I will never eat meat again,
so that I may not cause my brother to sin. Responsorial PsalmPsalm 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 23-24 R. (24b) Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Probe me, O God, and know my heart;
try me, and know my thoughts;
See if my way is crooked,
and lead me in the way of old.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way. Alleluia1 John 4:12 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If we love one another,
God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelLuke 6:27-38 Jesus said to his disciples:
“To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful. “Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you.
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Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ!
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From Word Among Us WAU.org
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Daily Meditation: Luke 6:27-38Love your enemies. (Luke 6:27) Let’s be honest—this is one of the hardest commands Jesus has given us. Just think about how many aspects of life in this world are built on the idea of triumphing over your enemies or crushing the competition. You see it most clearly in business and military conflicts, but it can also show up at work, in neighborhoods, and in families at times. Even a glimpse into our own hearts reveals a similar pattern: when you learn that someone “hates” you, the immediate instinct quite often is not to forgive them but to hate them back. If someone treats you poorly, it’s not unusual to want to strike back at them. But Jesus commands us to love our enemies—the total opposite of all of this. How can we possibly live it out? By fixing our eyes on him. In the face of all the enmity, indifference, and hatred he encountered, Jesus returned love. Even when he suffered the hatred of those who crucified him, he responded, “Father, forgive” (Luke 23:34). Jesus is calling us to treat everyone around us with his kindness, regardless of how they treat us. He wants them to be struck to the heart when they see our love. He wants them to be moved to seek out the One whose love they see in us. Yes, Jesus’ command is challenging. But he knows how hard it can be. That’s why he is always with you, offering you his grace and help. And it’s why he is also ready to forgive you when you fall short. Just remember that every time you choose love—especially in the face of hatred or opposition—you are joining Jesus in his mission of building his kingdom. Every time you find the grace to put aside selfishness, you are making room for his joy and his peace. And every time you reject the false wisdom of an eye for an eye, you open yourself to the true wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit. So try your best to “love your enemies” (Luke 6:27). Resolve to “do good to those who hate you” (6:27). “Stop condemning” and offer mercy instead (6:37). You never know whose life you might change—including your own! “Jesus, I am weak, but you are strong. Help me to love as you love.” 1 Corinthians 8:1-7, 11-13
Psalm 139:1-3, 13-14, 23-24
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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From today's Holy Gospel: "…Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful. “Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you….”
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From Roberto Juarez: "Everything that Jesus asks of us we will see fulfilled in him. When his enemies reject him, he does not respond with hatred, they beat him, he does not seek revenge, they crucify him, he prays: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do". There we understand that the words of the Gospel are not a theory. Jesus does not ask us for something that he himself has not experienced. On the cross we see how far God's love goes. And it is precisely from the Cross that Christ conquers evil not by returning violence, but by giving himself up out of love. That is why, every time we forgive, every time we renounce vengeance, every time we do good to those who have wronged us, we are making something of Christ's love present in the world. Today's Gospel presents us with one of the great challenges of the Christian life: to love when we are not loved. To do good when we receive evil. To forgive when we have reasons to hold grudges. Not to judge rashly. To give without expecting reward. And all this not because evil does not matter, but because God's love is stronger than evil. Perhaps today we cannot resolve all our wounds, we cannot immediately reconcile ourselves with all people. But we can take a first step, stop nurturing resentment, start praying for that person, give up speaking ill of him, ask God for the grace to forgive and we can always remember the words of Jesus: "Be merciful as your Father is merciful".
May the Lord grant us a heart similar to his. A heart that does not return evil for evil, that knows how to forgive, that knows how to love gratuitously. And may Mary, Mother of mercy, teach us to live as true disciples of her Son." end of quote from Roberto.
From Brother Adrian: Bishop Barron ended his reflection today with:
"Some have pointed out that there is a great deal of this in Jesus’s strategy of nonviolence and love of the enemy. You creatively absorb the aggression of your opponent, really using it against him, to show him the futility of violence. So when someone insults you, send back a compliment instead of an insult." On Sunday, we will hear a climax to these readings. How many times must you forgive somebody? How many times is too many? This was really the question to our Lord, right? "What is the limit!" And it is not really a question, but almost a fact of life, that we have limits on things, right? You can only "stand so much" before you do something?
In this study, we have to realize what mercy is, and what right order is, righteousness.
For those of us that like to complicate things, let us go back to the Word of Truth, Christ Himself: "Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, Treat them as you want to be treated. And how does our Lord want to treat them?
That is a question we had to answer yesterday in this study. "How does calling Him Lord affect your ability to forgive?" This question screams His message "But, who do YOU say that I am?" Right?
Is He really Lord and Master…of your life?
Then, if so, shouldn't we be doing as He asks, everything He pleases? "So what if I want to be generous to others?" He asks in another story.
"What does it affect you if you too have received the same?"
But we have our own opinions, false ideas of "what is fair".
Today, our Lord asks us to give, and how? Forgive.
Give what? Mercy. And in mercy…is a hidden gift…grace. See what happens when you stop choking others….you might find it that you can breathe better….
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Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 28:22 "A stingy man1 hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him."
Word of the Lord!
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Month of Our Lady of Sorrows (Mater Dolorosa)
Devotion of the Month Opening prayer of Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows: O, Mother most holy and sorrowful, Queen of Martyrs, you who stood by your Son as He agonized on the cross; by the sufferings of your life, by that sword of pain that pierced your heart, by your perfect joy in heaven, look down on me kindly as I kneel before you, sympathizing with your sorrows and offering you my petition with childlike trust. Dear Mother, since your Son refuses you nothing, ask of His Sacred Heart to mercifully grant what I ask, through the merits of His sacred passion, along with those of your sufferings at the foot of the cross. Mother most merciful, to whom shall I go in my misery if not to you who pities us poor, sinful exiles in this valley of tears? In our name, offer Jesus but one drop of His most precious blood, but one pang of His loving heart. Remind Him that you are our sweetness, our life, and our hope, and your prayer will be heard. Amen.
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God Bless You! Peace
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