SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Thursday - November 01, 2018

Thursday - November 01, 2018

The Saints rejoiced at injuries and persecutions, because in forgiving them they had something to present to God when they prayed to Him.

-- St. Teresa of Avila

 

November 1, 2018

 

« October 31  |  November 2 »

Solemnity of All Saints
Lectionary: 667

Reading 1RV 7:2-4, 9-14

I, John, saw another angel come up from the East,
holding the seal of the living God.
He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels
who were given power to damage the land and the sea,
"Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees
until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."
I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,
one hundred and forty-four thousand marked
from every tribe of the children of Israel.

After this I had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice:

"Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne,
and from the Lamb."

All the angels stood around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures.
They prostrated themselves before the throne,
worshiped God, and exclaimed:

"Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor, power, and might
be to our God forever and ever. Amen."

Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,
"Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?"
I said to him, "My lord, you are the one who knows."
He said to me,
"These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb."

Responsorial PsalmPS 24:1BC-2, 3-4AB, 5-6

R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Reading 21 JN 3:1-3

Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.

AlleluiaMT 11:28

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 5:1-12A

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 
He began to teach them, saying:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven."

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YOU are a Saint!

YOU are a saint. Don't argue with me, I know you're a saint, because a saint is anyone who's either in heaven or on their way to heaven by following Christ. In the Apostle's Creed we say, "I believe in the communion of saints...." That includes you! It's the whole community of Christ-followers.

As followers of Christ, we have been redeemed from the power of sin. We have been reborn as "saints" and are no longer "sinners." Yes, we do sin every day; we have not yet perfected our sainthood. So we grow in holiness by becoming more and more who we truly are. This is life as an earthly saint.

Look at today's first reading. We could see this as a huge prayer meeting in heaven, but it's not just about the after-life. You, right now, are part of that "great multitude" when you worship God enthusiastically. Every time we praise God, we're joining ourselves to the whole communion of saints, including our loved ones who left earth in the Lord's arms.

We're also united to them after our sins are absolved in the mercy of God through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, for then we, too, have "washed our robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Until the next time we sin, we're on the Lord's mountain, standing in a holy place, because our hands are sinless, our hearts are clean, and we are not desiring what is vain (as the responsorial Psalm says).

The same unity occurs when we receive the Eucharist after making a heartfelt journey through the prayers of repentance and requests for forgiveness that the Church provides during each Mass. (Oops, until we get mad at the guy in the parking lot who briefly blocks our escape from church into the world.)

As the second reading points out, we are saints because we are God's children. The saints in heaven have the advantage of being free from evil, while we live in a sin-filled world. But notice how we become pure: The hope (i.e., belief in God's promise) that eventually we'll behave like Christ all the time should energize us to purge our lives of unholiness now. This hope is based on knowing that Christ redeems us from sin, the Father forgives us, and after death, whatever clean-up still remains to be done, it will be accomplished thanks to purgatory.

The Gospel reading reminds us that we are saints because we are blessed. Isn't anything that God blesses made holy? Therefore, any person whom God blesses is made holy by his love: the poor in spirit, those who mourn and receive the Holy Spirit's comfort, the meek who submit to God's will, and so on down the list of beatitudes. Meditate on each blessing and notice your sainthood and the challenge to become more saintly by improving how you live the truth of each beatitude.

The Church canonizes saints so we can have role models and so we know they're available for prayer support to assist us on our journey to heaven. We should not compare our lives to theirs, however, for we all have different circumstances in which to grow in holiness. We can only compare ourselves to what we used to be like. Meanwhile, we can pray with the saints and accept their spiritual guidance.

God Bless You.....

Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”

SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY - Wednesday - October 31, 2018

Wednesday - October 31, 2018

 

October 31, 2018

 

« October 30  |  November 1 »

Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 481

Reading 1EPH 6:1-9

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
Honor your father and mother.
This is the first commandment with a promise,
that it may go well with you
and that you may have a long life on earth.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger,
but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord.

Slaves, be obedient to your human masters with fear and trembling,
in sincerity of heart, as to Christ,
not only when being watched, as currying favor,
but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart,
willingly serving the Lord and not men,
knowing that each will be requited from the Lord
for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. 
Masters, act in the same way towards them, and stop bullying,
knowing that both they and you have a Master in heaven
and that with him there is no partiality.

Responsorial PsalmPS 145:10-11, 12-13AB, 13CD-14

R. (13c) The Lord is faithful in all his words.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. The Lord is faithful in all his words.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. The Lord is faithful in all his words.
The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
R. The Lord is faithful in all his words.

AlleluiaSEE 2 THES 2:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God has called us through the Gospel
to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 13:22-30

Jesus passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
"Lord, will only a few people be saved?"
He answered them, 
"Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.
After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
'Lord, open the door for us.'
He will say to you in reply,
'I do not know where you are from.'
And you will say,
'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.'
Then he will say to you,
'I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!'
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth
when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God
and you yourselves cast out.
And people will come from the east and the west
and from the north and the south
and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God.
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last."

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STRENGTH TO REACH THE NARROW GATE

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus says that some "will not be strong enough" to enter the narrow gate into heaven, and so our worry is: Will my faith weaken between now and the day I die?

Yes, it's likely that it will. But weak faith is not what keeps us from entering heaven. Faith is a gift we received from the Holy Spirit when we were baptized. It's always strong enough, because the Holy Spirit is always strong enough.

Those who find a locked door at the entrance to heaven are weak -- very weak -- in their desire to do God's will and to love as he loves. They want to be their own god. They don't want to live for eternity under the authority of God who is completely holy and completing loving.

It takes effort -- spiritual strength -- to submit to God's will, especially when our will contradicts his. Selfish desires pull us toward sin, and spiritual strength is needed to resist that pull. While the world floats lazily downstream in the currents of self-serving whims and immoral trends, we have to swim against the tide if we want to remain with Jesus and follow him to heaven.

Only those who rely on the Lord for strength can swim upstream successfully. This requires daily determination. If we stop and rest, if we take any sort of break from spiritual growth and repentance from sin, we get caught in the downstream currents.

Notice that Jesus did not say that few are strong and most are too weak to enter through the narrow gate. He never answered the question, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" Instead, he pointed the listeners toward the narrow gate. The reason the gate is narrow is not because it's used only rarely. Rather, it's narrow because there are many ways to reach hell but only one path into heaven. Jesus said, "I am the way...."

Do you desire to follow Jesus by imitating all of his holy, loving ways, even though you do this imperfectly? Then you will enter heaven, because that's where he's leading you. Even when you weaken, God knows the true desires of your heart. If you want to spend eternity with him, you will. If you want Jesus to show you the way, he will.

We don't need to be perfect to get into heaven; we only need to desire forgiveness for our sins and to seek God's help in being holy. 

Today's Prayer

Lord, I want to do my best so, with Your grace, my works will be reflections and instruments of Your great love for humankind. Amen.

God Bless You.....

Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”

SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY - Tuesday - October 30, 2018

Tuesday - October 30, 2018

 

October 30, 2018

 

« October 29  |  October 31 »

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 480

Reading 1EPH 5:21-33

Brothers and sisters:
Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is head of his wife
just as Christ is head of the Church,
he himself the savior of the Body.
As the Church is subordinate to Christ,
so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ loved the Church
and handed himself over for her to sanctify her,
cleansing her by the bath of water with the word,
that he might present to himself the Church in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish.
So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one hates his own flesh
but rather nourishes and cherishes it,
even as Christ does the Church,
because we are members of his Body.

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.

This is a great mystery,
but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.
In any case, each one of you should love his wife as himself,
and the wife should respect her husband.

Responsorial PsalmPS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

R. (1a) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

AlleluiaSEE MT 11:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
You have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 13:18-21

Jesus said, "What is the Kingdom of God like?
To what can I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.
When it was fully grown, it became a large bush
and 'the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.'"

Again he said, "To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?
It is like yeast that a woman took
and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch of dough was leavened."

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THE TRUE MEANING OF SUBMISSIVENESS

 

A little bit of goodness goes a long way. It spreads like ripples in a swimming pool. Dip your toe in the water, and you create a ripple that makes its way to the other side of the pool, bounces off the wall and returns back to you. By the time it reaches you, the little waves look different than the original ones you'd sent out, but they are waves nonetheless.

So it is with the goodness that we spread when we submit ourselves to one another. This is the meaning behind the message of today's first reading, which is one of the scripture readings recommended for weddings. Many couples choose not to use this scripture because they misunderstand it. They read it apart from the Gospels and assume that it tells the wife to be inferior to the husband and that wives must always give up their own desires and goals when conflicts arise between the two of them.

This is far from the truth, as is made clear by what Saint Paul says about the husband's role in the marriage. For a man to love his wife the way Christ loves the Church, he has to be a lover who is also a servant. This is what the wife is to submit herself to: To be served by her husband the way Christ serves us!

The husband, as head of the family, is the High Priest of the home, making self-sacrifices like Jesus did. He's to be a good shepherd who pastors the family into lush fields of spiritual nourishment, like Jesus the Good Shepherd. He's to be a loving provider who takes care of the needs of his family, and he's to be a holy prophet who delivers God's wisdom to them - like Jesus.

This is what the wife is to submit herself to, and nothing else. If the husband treats his wife this way, it's a no-brainer that she will want to submit to his caring priestliness! 

Marriage is not a soul-crushing superior-inferior relationship; it is equality in true love. We are Christ for each other. Holy submission means mutual respect and cooperation.

When a husband is not being Christ to his wife, she's under no obligation to submit to his sinfulness or worldliness. She is still called to love him and to do good to him, but if he's abusive or unfaithful, she might have to love him from afar.

The same Ephesians 5 principle carries over into other relationships involving headship: parishioners and their priests, employees and their bosses, citizens and their government leaders, and dependent children and their parents. Each person who has authority over us is called to be Christ for us, and we are called to submit to whatever is Christ-like.

Today's Prayer

Lord, I thank You and praise You, because You take my life far beyond my own limitations. I want to follow Your loving paths till the end. Amen.

God Bless You.....

Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”