SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Saturday - January 12, 2019

Saturday - January 12, 2019 "Right is right  even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong  even if everyone is doing it. " ~~ Saint Augustine   January 12 2019   « January 11  |  January 13 » Saturday after Epiphany Lectionary: 217 Reading 11 JN 5:14-21 Beloved: We have this confidence in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, we know that what we have asked him for is ours.  If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life.  This is only for those whose sin is not deadly.  There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray.  All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly. We know that anyone begotten by God does not sin; but the one begotten by God he protects, and the Evil One cannot touch him.  We know that we belong to God, and the whole world is under the power of the Evil One.  We also know that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment to know the one who is true.  And we are in the one who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ.  He is the true God and eternal life.  Children, be on your guard against idols. Responsorial PsalmPS 149:1-2, 3-4, 5-6A AND 9B R. (see 4a)  The Lord takes delight in his people. or: R. Alleluia. Sing to the LORD a new song of praise in the assembly of the faithful. Let Israel be glad in their maker, let the children of Zion rejoice in their king. R. The Lord takes delight in his people. or: R. Alleluia. Let them praise his name in the festive dance, let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp. For the LORD loves his people, and he adorns the lowly with victory. R. The Lord takes delight in his people. or: R. Alleluia. Let the faithful exult in glory; let them sing for joy upon their couches; Let the high praises of God be in their throats. This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia. R. The Lord takes delight in his people. or: R.  Alleluia. AlleluiaMT 4:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia. The people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelJN 3:22-30 Jesus and his disciples went into the region of Judea, where he spent some time with them baptizing.  John was also baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was an abundance of water there, and people came to be baptized, for John had not yet been imprisoned.  Now a dispute arose between the disciples of John and a Jew about ceremonial washings.  So they came to John and said to him, "Rabbi, the one who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you testified, here he is baptizing and everyone is coming to him." John answered and said, "No one can receive anything except what has been given from heaven.  You yourselves can testify that I said that I am not the Christ, but that I was sent before him.  The one who has the bride is the bridegroom; the best man, who stands and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice.  So this joy of mine has been made complete.  He must increase; I must decrease." *************************************************************************** Why are loved ones trapped in the lies of the world? Why are there so many loved ones believing the lies of the world? It's because there are too few of us speaking the truth -- in a way that heals, in a way that invites, in a way that leads people to Christ and salvation. And in a way that inspires a desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit, because it is the Holy Spirit who convicts people of what is true and what is not. Although we might want to tell our loved ones that they need to go to church and they need to understand the value of a true and lively faith, it's usually not us who can make a difference. It takes others whom the Lord sends into their lives. But there are not enough others saying yes to the Lord's calling to be an evangelizer. And by the way, we are the "other" for someone else's loved ones. Jesus never gives up. He pursues the lost sheep continually. But he doesn't have a physical body to reach out with, except the Body of Christ that is the Church. You and me. And everyone else who professes to be a Christian. In many parts of the world, the Church is being reduced to a remnant, though it doesn't always look like it. The liturgy can be filled with people attending Mass, but how many of them are truly celebrating Mass? How many are earnestly seeking to learn the truth and keep learning, aware that there is always more to know about God and about living the holy life? How many are in fact interested in living the holy life, becoming counter-cultural, obviously different from the world? Saint Apollinaris the Apologist says, "We therefore grossly deceive ourselves in not allotting more time to the study of divine truths. It is not enough barely to believe them, and let our thoughts now and then glance upon them: that knowledge which shows us heaven will not bring us to the possession of it, and will deserve punishments, not rewards, if it remain slight, weak, and superficial." Jesus said that more people go to hell than to heaven. ("For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" -- Matthew 7:13-14 NIV.) How many Christians are on the road to destruction? How many of our children have grown up and left the Church to follow the ways of the world? How many loved ones are disinterested in working on their purification to increase their holiness? Don't despair. We must be concerned, very concerned, but without despairing, because despair and worry are temptations from the devil to make us distrust Jesus the Good Shepherd. So is feeling too inadequate to make a difference, which makes us sit back, blend in with the world, and don't try very much to be the disciple of Christ who speaks up about the truth of salvation and the need for repentance -- in a way that heals, in a way that invites, in a way that leads people to Christ and the in-filling of the Holy Spirit. First we ourselves must be infilled by the Holy Spirit. It is from our personal relationship with the Holy Spirit that we receive the discernment to recognize the One who is true, Jesus Christ, and to know what to speak up about him and when and how. I always recommend this prayer to everyone who is not yet fully alive in the Spirit: Come Holy Spirit, renew me. Come Holy Spirit, fill me. Come Holy Spirit, You have my permission to change me. Pray it daily, even if you already have a profound, personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. Pray it throughout the day whenever you feel tempted to sin or powerless to help others overcome the lies of the world. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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!” ReplyReply allForward