Saint Quote of the Day - Wednesday - October 02, 2019

     SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY 

 Wednesday - October 02, 2019

“We never give more honor to Jesus than when we honor his Mother, and we honor her simply and solely to honor him all the more perfectly. 

We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek – Jesus, her Son.”

– Saint Louis Marie de Montfort

 

TODAY'S READINGS

 

October 2 2019

 

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Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels
Lectionary: 457/650

Reading 1NEH 2:1-8

In the month Nisan of the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,
when the wine was in my charge,
I took some and offered it to the king.
As I had never before been sad in his presence,
the king asked me, “Why do you look sad?
If you are not sick, you must be sad at heart.”
Though I was seized with great fear, I answered the king:
“May the king live forever!
How could I not look sad
when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins,
and its gates have been eaten out by fire?”
The king asked me, “What is it, then, that you wish?”
I prayed to the God of heaven and then answered the king:
“If it please the king,
and if your servant is deserving of your favor,
send me to Judah, to the city of my ancestors’ graves,
to rebuild it.”
Then the king, and the queen seated beside him,
asked me how long my journey would take
and when I would return.
I set a date that was acceptable to him,
and the king agreed that I might go.

I asked the king further: “If it please the king,
let letters be given to me for the governors
of West-of-Euphrates,
that they may afford me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah;
also a letter for Asaph, the keeper of the royal park,
that he may give me wood for timbering the gates
of the temple-citadel and for the city wall
and the house that I shall occupy.”
The king granted my requests,
for the favoring hand of my God was upon me.

Responsorial PsalmPS 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6

R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
Though there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
"Sing for us the songs of Zion!"
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
How could we sing a song of the LORD
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
R. Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!

AlleluiaPS 103:21

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Bless the LORD, all you angels,
you ministers, who do his will.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 18:1-5, 10

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?"
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
"Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

"See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."

*************************** ************************

The Guidance of Angels  

Holy angels are ready to help us with every sort of need.

After returning home from a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the year 2000, I suffered a bit of intestinal problems -- the traveler's typical demise. It occurred to me that my angels could help. In the midst of a stomach pain, I said, "Guardian angels, pray for me to be healed of this! Bring in the angels who specialize in healing. Ask Jesus to give me his healing touch." Immediately, the pains stopped.

Praise God who is so good to us that he gives us angels to assist us in all things!

Then my son David (age 20 at that time) called. He had just been in a car accident, he said, but amazingly it was no worse than a blown out tire with a damaged rim, and the steering had been thrown out of alignment. He said an angel had helped him avoid a serious collision with another car; something unseen had gripped the steering wheel.

Who but God knows how often we are helped by angels. Every day we experience them in little "coincidences" and so-called "hunches" we follow that turn out to be blessings. However, the role of angels is much more important than that. Angels teach us how to live holy lives. As Psalm 91 (an alternate reading for today's Memorial) declares, God has put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.

Exodus 23:20-23 (an alternate first reading for today's Memorial) points out that "guarding us in all our ways" includes giving us messages (guidance) from God, and we had better not rebel against this help. The word "angel" means "messenger from God."

When we're tempted to sin, our angels guard us from evil by warning us with "No! Don't do that!" When we have decisions to make, it's safe to assume that our angels are trying to tell us what God wants us to do.

To hear the guidance that our angels give us, we have to ask the Holy Spirit to teach us to be open to their help. We might never hear them speak in audible voices nor see them appear in physical form, although many Saints have, but our human spirits can become attuned to their holy spirits.

We develop good listening skills by working on improving our friendship with Christ. The better we are at listening to God, the more natural it becomes to be guided by angels. Then, if we ask for their help and it's within God's will, they always rush to the task. Always!

Today's Prayer

Beloved Lord, give me a humble heart to receive Your help and to listen to You. Thank You, Lord, because You want to change my life. 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!”