†Saint Quote of the DayGrant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you. ▪ St. Thomas Aquinas
Today's Meditation“There is not a moment in which God does not present Himself under the cover of some pain to be endured, of some consolation to be enjoyed, or of some duty to be performed. All that takes place within us, around us, or through us, contains and conceals His divine action. It is really and truly there present, but invisibly present, so that we are always surprised and do not recognise His operation until it has ceased. If we could lift the veil, and if we were attentive and watchful God would continually reveal Himself to us, and we should see His divine action in everything that happened to us, and rejoice in it. At each successive occurrence we should exclaim: ‘It is the Lord’, and we should accept every fresh circumstance as a gift of God. We should look upon creatures as feeble tools in the hands of an able workman, and should discover easily that nothing was wanting to us, and that the constant providence of God disposed Him to bestow upon us at every moment whatever we required.” — Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 49
Daily Verse †the righteous. In the path of thy judgments, O Lord, we wait for thee; thy memorial name is the desire of our soul. My soul yearns for thee in the night, my spirit within me earnestly seeks thee. For when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. ▪ Isaiah 26:7-9
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EWTN Daily Saint
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Saint Ignatius of SanthiaPatron Saint of: Soldiers and peacemakers
Feast Day: September 22 St. Ignatius of Santhia (1686-1770) was born in Italy to an upper-class family. He received his early education from a devout priest, a relative of his mother, who inspired him to join the priesthood. He studied philosophy and theology, and after his ordination served as a diocesan priest for six years. St. Ignatius earned a reputation as an excellent preacher of retreats and missions, and he had a promising future within the diocese. His family and parishioners were surprised and disappointed when he decided to join the Capuchin Franciscans in Turin as a poor, humble friar. However, St. Ignatius flourished in the poverty and simplicity of the Franciscan way of life. He became well-known for his wisdom and sanctity, and many people from all walks of life came to him for confession and spiritual direction. He had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and prayed the rosary faithfully. He served God with humble obedience and inspired this virtue in the Franciscan novices over whom he had charge. He spent his last years on a sickbed where he continued to hear confessions and give direction to his visitors. St. Ignatius of Santhia’s feast day is September 22nd.
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Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary TimeLectionary: 450 Reading 1Proverbs 21:1-6, 10-13 Like a stream is the king’s heart in the hand of the LORD;
wherever it pleases him, he directs it. All the ways of a man may be right in his own eyes,
but it is the LORD who proves hearts. To do what is right and just
is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice. Haughty eyes and a proud heart–
the tillage of the wicked is sin. The plans of the diligent are sure of profit,
but all rash haste leads certainly to poverty. Whoever makes a fortune by a lying tongue
is chasing a bubble over deadly snares. The soul of the wicked man desires evil;
his neighbor finds no pity in his eyes. When the arrogant man is punished, the simple are the wiser;
when the wise man is instructed, he gains knowledge. The just man appraises the house of the wicked:
there is one who brings down the wicked to ruin. He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself also call and not be heard. Responsorial PsalmPsalm 119:1, 27, 30, 34, 35, 44 R. (35) Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Lead me in the path of your commands,
for in it I delight.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
And I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands. AlleluiaLuke 11:28 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are those who hear the word of God
and observe it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelLuke 8:19-21 The mother of Jesus and his brothers came to him
but were unable to join him because of the crowd.
He was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside
and they wish to see you.”
He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”
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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 8:19-21My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it. (Luke 8:21) What would it be like to be one of Jesus’ relatives? How privileged would you feel to be his cousin, like John the Baptist? In many cultures in Jesus’ time, and even today, kinship bonds are extremely important. When an aunt or uncle or a cousin needs a favor, you’re expected to come through! We see this dynamic in today’s Gospel. Jesus is preaching in his home province of Galilee, where he has made quite a splash. Crowds are following him, listening to his teaching, hoping to see a miracle. They are packed in and around the house where Jesus is teaching. Unfortunately, this means that Mary and some of his relatives can’t get into the house because of the press of people. They send word to Jesus through his disciples and, no doubt, expect to get a private moment or at least a front-row seat for his preaching. They are, after all, his family! That has to count for something, right? But maybe not. To their surprise, Jesus replies by saying, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and act on it” (Luke 8:21). If this answer sounds brusque to you, imagine how shocking it must have been in a culture where family was more important than almost anything else! Jesus seemed to want to underline the “almost.” Of course he honored his family and cared for his mother, even from the cross (John 19:25-26). But he also knew that he had come to create a new, wider family built on obedience to his word and the power of the Holy Spirit. You are part of that family! You entered it through faith in Jesus’ word and the gift of the Holy Spirit at Baptism. You are now a son or daughter of God! You honor and deepen that relationship as you continue to hear and act on Jesus’ words, especially as you love your brothers and sisters. In fact, your bond with Jesus and the people who belong to him can become as strong as the closest family bond—and it will last through eternity. What a privilege it is to belong to the Lord and one another as members of his spiritual family! “Thank you, Lord, for bringing me into your family!” Proverbs 21:1-6, 10-13
Psalm 119:1, 27, 30, 34-35, 44
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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From today's Holy Gospel: "….He said to them in reply, “My mother and my brothers
are those who hear the word of God and act on it.”
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From Roberto Juarez: "There is something else we can discover. In the Gospel, people are physically close to Jesus. But Jesus points out that true closeness does not depend only on being physically close to Him. One can be very close outwardly and have one's heart far away. And the opposite can also happen: a person can live in a simple place, lead a seemingly normal life, and be deeply united to Christ. True closeness to Jesus is born of listening and complying. That is why the question is not only: "Do I go to Mass?" The question is: "Does what I celebrate at Mass transform my life when I walk out the door of the church?" Because we are going to listen to the Word and receive Christ and then bring Him into our lives. Perhaps the question that Jesus leaves us today is very simple: Am I just listening to the Word of God or am I letting it transform my life? At the end of this reflection, may we take a concrete word from Jesus and put it into practice. Because then we will not only be people who have heard about Christ. We will truly be his family, his disciples, his brothers and his friends." end quote.
From Brother Adrian: Bishop Barron said: "Only when we make Christ the cornerstone of our lives are we truly ready for mission. Keep in mind that every encounter with God in the Bible conduces to mission, to being sent to do the work of the Lord. If we try to do this work while we are stuck to any number of attachments, we will fail. Period." end quote. It is in this Gospel that the deviation begins for many protestants, and they declare that our Lord had all sorts of blood brothers and sisters, and if you go by that train of thought, then our Lord had at least 20 brothers and sisters according to some bible scholars.
So, were all of them blood brothers and sisters chasing after Him to get him pulled from the crowded house? I think not. It is illogical. I digress. But the truth is hidden, and it is lost for many.
The truth is, what our Lord says. And what He says…goes…for He is King. His words are truth and life, and when we speak of life here, it means….eternal life. Our Lord says that His mother, brothers, and sisters are those who hear His word and….ACT ON IT.
This flies in the face of protestants as well, because many say "faith alone" and "works are dead". Deviation again. I digress…again.
Our Lord is a God of action. Not inaction.
The Mass is a meaning and an action. And even the end of it as a command for action, called the co-commissioning.
The Deeper Theological Meaning: From Dismissal to Mission Over the centuries, the noun missa evolved into the English word "Mass." Because the entire liturgy took its name from this final line, theologians view the dismissal not as an expiration date, but as the actual purpose of the gathering.
And for those that walk out before the final words and blessing… we leave without the Father's blessing Himself. I have veered from the point of it all…or have I?
You see, we find our Lord gathered in a gathering. This weekend, we were on a family trip and went to Mass there in that city or town, a suburb it seemed in what appeared to be a neighborhood, large church. I asked the priest after Mass how many people fit because we were standing at the back of the cry room chapel. He pointed to the capacity sign at the foyer….1,762 people. It was standing room only for many of us.
Were all these His brothers and sisters? And mothers?
The mass ended quick without a choir, out in about 40 minutes or so it seemed. Everyone disappeared, only a trickling handful were dangling like me and my wife and kids.
The church was beautiful, the people were nice…but…where did everybody go so fast?
And that is my point to you. What do you do after Mass? I go daily to Mass, what do I do?
For many years I would notice after Sunday Mass, a high stress level. I was no better off than before it seemed.
My whole life, I never missed a mass. But…I didn't know I was missing the point.
The end of the Mass, points us in a direction, a final command.
Many times they say simply "Go in peace", but in the parking lot, we got people rushing already, back to road rage even.
We miss the point and to miss the point can be deadly for a soul.
We can bless the world with our attitudes and words, or, the opposite, we can curse the world with our attitudes and words.
What our Lord said today was short, and DEEP.
Those who HEAR HIS WORDS and ACT ON IT, are those He considers true family.
ACTIONS speak volumes about the Gospel of our Lord every day.
Are you truly the follower of the Way? Can people tell you are Christian just by the way you walk? Or dress? Or talk?
Can people tell you truly care?
Last night, I asked a class how they see God in relationships.
Most said grandparents and one said an in-law. But they expressed that a feeling of compassion no matter where they went, was how they saw God in relationships.
This is deep. A few people make a big difference. This is a call from God Himself.
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Random Bible Verse Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear."
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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