†God writes his name on the soul of every man.
- Archbishop Fulton Sheen
- - - Today's Meditation“The search for God present outside demands a certain effort of the imagination, which results in a greater struggle and subsequent fatigue. The return of God present within us presupposes a simple glance of faith. The divine indwelling in a soul in a state of grace is a reality that requires no composition of place, nor that, in order to reach it, I should set off on a sort of audacious and fantastic pilgrimage to the confines of space. I have only to enter into my interior, and God is there.
— Raoul Plus S.J., p.101
Daily Verse †Beloved, let us love one another, because love is of God; everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:7-8
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EWTN Daily Saint
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Blessed Ambrose of SienaPatron Saint of: Siena and peacemakers
Feast Day: October 8 Blessed Ambrose (1220-1286) was born in Siena, Italy, the son of a book illuminator. He was born so severely deformed that his parents could not bear the sight of him. They put their son in the care of a nurse who took the child with her to daily Mass at the Dominican church. The child, often fussy, would become calm when he was placed near the altar of relics, and would cry when he was removed. While praying at the altar, the nurse would conceal the child’s hideous face with a scarf. This practice continued for a year. One day a pilgrim told the nurse to remove the baby’s scarf and prophesied that the child would one day become a great man. A few days later, before the same altar, the child Ambrose stretched out his deformed limbs and pronounced the name of Jesus; from that moment he was miraculously healed into a beautiful and perfectly formed child. Blessed Ambrose grew in piety and was determined to become a Dominican friar. His family and friends opposed his plan and attempted to dissuade such a handsome and talented youth from becoming a poor friar. Ambrose overcame these obstacles and joined the Dominicans at the age of 17. He studied under St. Albert the Great along with St. Thomas Aquinas, and went on to become a preacher, teacher, missionary, diplomat, and peace-broker. His skills with diplomacy earned him the respect of kings and popes alike. His feast day is October 8th.
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Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary TimeLectionary: 464 Reading 1Galatians 3:1-5 O stupid Galatians!
Who has bewitched you,
before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
I want to learn only this from you:
did you receive the Spirit from works of the law,
or from faith in what you heard?
Are you so stupid?
After beginning with the Spirit,
are you now ending with the flesh?
Did you experience so many things in vain?–
if indeed it was in vain.
Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you
and works mighty deeds among you
do so from works of the law
or from faith in what you heard? Responsorial PsalmLuke 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75 R. (68) Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight
all the days of our life.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; He has come to his people. AlleluiaActs 16:14b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelLuke 11:5-13 Jesus said to his disciples:
“Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight and says,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,’
and he says in reply from within,
‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.’
I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence. “And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him?”
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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: Galatians 3:1-5 Did you receive the Spirit from works of the law? (Galatians 3:2) The news coming out of the church in Galatia was grim. So grim, in fact, that St. Paul felt the need to send a scorching letter to the believers there. He told them how “amazed” he was that they were “so quickly forsaking” the Lord and following “a different gospel” (Galatians 1:6). And what was this gospel? That gentile Christians were obligated to accept Jewish circumcision and to obey all the commands of the Law of Moses. In other words, they started to believe that baptism into Christ wasn’t sufficient. They had to complete their salvation by living like Jews. For Paul, it was unthinkable that gentile Christians should have to follow the Law to be justified in Christ. He knew that Jesus had come to fulfill the Law by pouring out his Spirit. And with his own eyes, he saw the Spirit work “mighty deeds” among the Galatians (3:5). He saw them break free from sin. He saw miraculous healings, relationships restored, and hearts transformed. What more did they need? What more do you need? You—along with every other baptized Christian—have received “so many things” from the hand of a loving, merciful God (Galatians 3:4). You have been baptized into Christ, just as the Galatians were. You have been filled with the Holy Spirit, just as they were. Like them, you have received the gift of a relationship with almighty God. The question before each of us today is, “Am I experiencing the blessings of my inheritance in Christ?” God has poured so much grace into our lives, and he is eager to see us lay hold of it. As Paul makes clear, we don’t have to keep kosher or observe other traditions in order to receive it. What we do have to do is turn from sin, believe in the gospel, and hold fast to the promise that Jesus is with us and wants to help us. So turn to the Lord today in prayer, and ask him to show you how close he is. Let him prove that it is enough that you love him, that you trust him, and that you want to follow him. Lean into his love so that the Spirit can do his own “mighty deeds” in your midst. “Lord, thank you for the grace and power of your Holy Spirit!” (Psalm) Luke 1:69-75
Luke 11:5-13
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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“For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him?”.”
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From Roberto Juarez: "….Jesus uses three verbs that teach us to live our relationship with God. First, ask. To ask means to recognize that we need help. We live in a culture that sometimes identifies strength with needing no one. But the Gospel teaches us that recognizing our frailty can be an act of humility and faith. We can pray for our material and spiritual needs, for our family, for the Church, for peace, for those who suffer and for those who have drifted away from God. We do not have to hide anything from the Lord. We can present our joys and our worries to Him. Then seek. Prayer is not just about waiting for things to change. We are also to seek God's will and discover what we are supposed to do. If we pray for a divided family, we must seek ways of dialogue and reconciliation. If we pray for those in need, we must look for ways to help them. If we ask for light to make a decision, we need to listen, reflect, and act responsibly. Prayer opens our eyes to discover the paths that God sets before us.
Finally, knock. Knocking means persevering, not closing the door to hope, keeping our relationship with the Lord alive even when we do not feel his closeness. Faith is not always an intense emotion. It is often the simple fidelity of those who, every day, put themselves back in God's hands." end quote.
- - - From Bishop Barron:
“Friends, our Gospel offers a wonderful promise of answered prayer: “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”
Petitionary prayer is one of the most fundamental ways that we raise our minds and hearts to God. It is also the most common form of prayer in the Bible. Every major scriptural character—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Solomon, Ezra, Nehemiah, Peter, James, Paul, and John—prays in this way; they all ask God for things.
There is something, of course, primal and elemental about this kind of prayer: “O God, please help me! O Lord, save my child!” If we could place a net capable of catching prayers as they waft their way to heaven from hospitals and churches, we would corral millions upon millions of them. Finally, the paradigmatic prayer that Jesus taught us—the Our Father—is nothing but a series of petitions, and Jesus urged his followers, again and again, to persevere in prayer." end quote.
From Brother Adrian:
It's almost as if all people know how to do with God is to ask Him for things.
That's the whole knowledge of prayer life. And, we know we don't get what we want all the time! So, what else is in the message besides petitioning the Heavens?
The Holy Mass seems to be a petition, a continuous pleading for mercy, a sacrifice.
The Mass, though, is super deep. Things happen there that can blow your mind. I know it did Saint Thomas Aquinas, a most learned doctor of the church. One Mass made him stop writing any more because of what was revealed to Him. What that was…we may never know fully.
But there is a clue in what our Lord said today…perseverance.
Oh what a gift very few people shoot for or even pray for!
What if I told you a couple of weird findings or theories about prayer that are even proven to be true?
What if you insist, persist in prayer, and finally God answers?
Or, what if you persist for years and you do not receive the outcome….but in the process you came so much closer to Him….to accept His Holy Will ? Now that would be even better than what you wished for, amen?
But what if we are at times pray aside from His will? We want something to work out, but does not. But, later you find out, it was better this way?
You see, God sees hundreds of years in advance. And we see only a few years in advance if any years at all.
And so here comes that big word again: Faith!
That persistent man looking for bread in the middle of a night, he knew, he had faith he would get that bread, and he did. There is that faith element, in the dark.
But the bread was not for that man, but for another man, another family to feed. It was an act of love from the neighbor, to feed and welcome others.
Are we a reluctant giver too? Do you see yourself in that reluctant neighbor? Or do you see yourself as that persistent pleading neighbor? Or both? You see, we must give, in order to receive. Sometimes plead when in need.
I didn't get my dad back when he was dying in the pandemic of Covid. We miss him years later, and you should see how crazy I went in prayer mode, promising God the world. But, we lost him. I had to be that reluctant giver to God.
But God our Father wants a cheerful giver.
And now, I have to say "God, Father in Heaven, you can have the best in the world, and I know you have even better in store for us now".
There is much to learn here…
Some prayers have to become big prayers. And for that, a big heart.
Mary had big prayers for God our Father…she desire to usher in the Messiah with all her mind, body, heart, and soul.
Those are big prayers, and God is listening to the heart of the soul….
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Random Bible Verse 1 Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
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Word of the Lord!
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God Bless You! Peace
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