†Realize it, my brethren; —every one who breathes, high and low, educated and ignorant, young and old, man and woman, has a mission, has a work. We are not sent into this world for nothing; we are not born at random; . . . God sees every one of us; He creates every soul, He lodges it in the body, one by one, for a purpose. He needs, He deigns to need, every one of us. He has an end for each of us; we are all equal in His sight, and we are placed in our different ranks and stations, not to get what we can out of them for ourselves, but to labor in them for Him. As Christ has His work, we too have ours; as He rejoiced to do His work, we must rejoice in ours also. St. John Henry Newman
- - - “O my God, you and you alone are all wise and all knowing! You know, you have determined everything that will happen to us from first to last. You have ordered things in the wisest way, and you know what will be my lot year by year until I die. You know how long I have to live. You know how I shall die. You have precisely ordained everything, sin excepted. Every event of my life is the best for me that it could be, for it comes from you. You bring me on year by year, by your wonderful Providence, from youth to age, with the most perfect wisdom, and with the most perfect love.” —St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, p. 103
Daily Verse †Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy. Hebrews 10:23
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EWTN Daily Saint
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Saint John Henry NewmanPatron Saint of: Educators, students, and converts
Feast Day: October 9 Saint John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801–1890) was the eldest of six children born to a nominal Protestant family in London, England. As a child he loved reading the Scriptures and experienced a conversion to Christianity at the age of fifteen. He became a brilliant academic, an extremely influential Oxford scholar, and an Anglican priest. He was a leader in what was called the “Oxford Movement,” which argued for a revival of traditional religious practice in the Church of England. Once anti-Catholic in his religious sentiments, sentiments that were common in England, Newman was increasingly impacted by the Church Fathers and other Catholic writers. His theological views gradually aligned with the Catholic Church in opposition to Anglican doctrine. Through his continued study of Church history he became unable to remain a Protestant in good faith. He made the decision to convert to Catholicism in 1845, which exposed him to much ridicule in his academic and religious circles. Two years later he was ordained a Catholic priest in Rome. He was made Cardinal in 1879. John Henry Newman is remembered for his influential writings on theology and philosophy as well as his founding of the famous London Oratory. Newman wrote forty books and 21,000 letters, some of which had profound influence on the Second Vatican Council, making him one of the most important theologians of his day. His most famous work is his Apologia in which he defends his conversion to the truths of the Catholic Church. His feast day is October 9th.
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Friday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary TimeLectionary: 465 Reading 1Galatians 3:7-14 Brothers and sisters:
Realize that it is those who have faith
who are children of Abraham.
Scripture, which saw in advance that God
would justify the Gentiles by faith,
foretold the good news to Abraham, saying,
Through you shall all the nations be blessed.
Consequently, those who have faith are blessed
along with Abraham who had faith.
For all who depend on works of the law are under a curse;
for it is written, Cursed be everyone
who does not persevere in doing all the things
written in the book of the law.
And that no one is justified before God by the law is clear,
for the one who is righteous by faith will live.
But the law does not depend on faith;
rather, the one who does these things will live by them.
Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us,
for it is written, Cursed be everyone who hangs on a tree,
that the blessing of Abraham might be extended
to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus,
so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Responsorial PsalmPsalm 111:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6 R. (5) The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
Majesty and glory are his work,
and his justice endures forever.
He has won renown for his wondrous deeds;
gracious and merciful is the LORD.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever.
He has given food to those who fear him;
he will forever be mindful of his covenant.
He has made known to his people the power of his works,
giving them the inheritance of the nations.
R. The Lord will remember his covenant for ever. AlleluiaJohn 12:31b-32 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The prince of this world will now be cast out,
and when I am lifted up from the earth
I will draw all to myself, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelLuke 11:15-26 When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said:
“By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons.”
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters. “When an unclean spirit goes out of someone,
it roams through arid regions searching for rest
but, finding none, it says,
‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’
But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.
Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits
more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there,
and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.”
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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 11:15-26The Kingdom of God has come upon you. (Luke 11:20) Imagine the speculation that followed Jesus everywhere he went: How could this rabbi from Nazareth do all these marvelous things? What’s the source of his power? What gives him so much authority? Some said that he was a prophet. But others claimed that he was wielding demonic power and leading people astray. But Jesus “knew their thoughts” (Luke 11:17). So in traditional rabbinic style, he answered their questions with questions of his own: “If Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?” (11:18). His logic was indisputable. Why would someone use demonic power to cast out . . . demons? It would be absurd! It had to be by the “finger”—the power—of God that he did so much good. But if that was the case, then the only conclusion could be that “the Kingdom of God” truly had come (11:20). Jesus’ words reveal something so fundamental but so often overlooked: the kingdom of God is not hidden. It’s obvious! You can see it in people being set free from the devil’s harassment or from the grip of disease. In sins being forgiven and the burden of guilt and shame being lifted. In broken relationships being restored, fears being released, anxiety melting into peace. In other words, you may not be able to give a perfectly worded theological definition of the kingdom, but you certainly can recognize it when you see it. So how has the kingdom of God come upon you? Have you experienced the “finger of God” writing his promises on your heart (Luke 11:20)? Have you experienced a sense of joy or peace in knowing the love of the Lord? Maybe a verse from Scripture has come alive and left your heart “burning” with a greater desire to follow Jesus (24:32). These are just some indications that the kingdom has come to you—there are many more. If you see any of them, rejoice that the Lord has opened your eyes! Rejoice, too, that he is calling you to be a living sign of the kingdom to the people around you. May the light of the kingdom shine through you so that other people can see it and believe! “Jesus, may your kingdom come—as you work through me!” Galatians 3:7-14
Psalm 111:1-6
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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“Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters. “When an unclean spirit goes out of someone,
it roams through arid regions searching for rest
but, finding none, it says,
‘I shall return to my home from which I came.’
But upon returning, it finds it swept clean and put in order.
Then it goes and brings back seven other spirits
more wicked than itself who move in and dwell there,
and the last condition of that man is worse than the first.””
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From Roberto Juarez: "….Let us ask him to help us to make our hearts a true dwelling place of the Lord. May we not be satisfied with removing from our lives what is wrong, but may we know how to fill them with prayer, faith, hope, charity and service. May Christ be the master of our interior home. And may we make visible wherever we are, that the Kingdom of God has already come.." end quote.
- - - From Brother Adrian:
We heard once: "John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” 39 Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me." For they are not against Him, but with Him, amen? And so there is this whole talk about divisions. The evil one is about divisions, and our Lord is about the opposite…He is interested in unity, His flock to remain intact, and to grow.
And so there is much to learn from here.
Watch for false accusations. If you know they are not true, then you will know where they are coming from, not so much as people, but evil spirits aiming to divide the flock.
And if you get accused of something, do not be surprised, even our Lord was being accused…constantly.
And then…He was abused.
We all face these accusations, but it is about HOW we face these accusations that makes His Kingdom come and His light shine. If we follow His Way. His way of dealing with things. His way of treating others. His way of answering these false accusations.
And there is talk about the "finger of God". Michaelangelo painted it in the Sistine chapel, the almighty and powerful God in Heaven reaching with all His might to touch humanity, and the humanity figure is vaguely interested in touching His finger.
That is how we tend to be. Lax in faith, lazy. Not interested. All these things we see throughout the Old Testament, and going into the New Testament.
This Sunday, we will speak about a big feast of a King's son's wedding. All are invited, all the "citizens". But they deny with excuses, and even mistreat the invitation servants.
God is speaking through prophets, and He Himself becomes the ultimate prophet, our Lord.
Even today, there is a huge invitation for baptized people to follow God's will.
But, very few want to. Disinterest. Other interests are more appealing. Self pleasure. Self aggrandizement. Self preservation. Last night we studied Maccabees in bible studies, sadly, books the Protestants ripped out of their bibles and are not interested in it. It speaks about those that are martyrs for the faith. And what is a martyr? A witness of faith, one who dies for the faith. And we can all become a witness, a living witness, until the day we are called to meet our Lord face to face.
The Finger of God wrote in the Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old, the Lord said to the King using his cups from the temple to party, that his days were counted, and his kingdom would end. A mockery of our Lord will be accounted for. And in the new? Our Lord Jesus wrote on the sand when an adulterous woman was thrown at him to judge. And He judged in deed….writing on the sand. The days are accounted, and mercy is being availed.
If only we would turn to Him and what He is about to say….to the heart of humanity.
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Random Bible Verse 1
John 3:36
" Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him."
Word of the Lord!
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