Good News of the Day : Saturday - October 01, 2022

 

                           Saturday - October 01, 2022

“When people love and recite the Rosary 

they find it makes them better.”

– St. Anthony Mary Claret

October 1, 2022

 

MEMORIAL OF SAINT THÉRÈSE OF THE CHILD JESUS, VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

Lectionary: 460

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    JB 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17

 

Job answered the LORD and said:

 

I know that you can do all things,

and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.

I have dealt with great things that I do not understand;

things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.

I had heard of you by word of mouth,

but now my eye has seen you.

Therefore I disown what I have said,

and repent in dust and ashes.

 

Thus the LORD blessed the latter days of Job

more than his earlier ones.

For he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels,

a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.

And he had seven sons and three daughters,

of whom he called the first Jemimah,

the second Keziah, and the third Kerenhappuch.

In all the land no other women were as beautiful

as the daughters of Job;

and their father gave them an inheritance

along with their brothers.

After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years;

and he saw his children, his grandchildren,

and even his great-grandchildren.

Then Job died, old and full of years.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  PS 119:66, 71, 75, 91, 125, 130

 

R. (135) Lord, let your face shine on me.

 

Teach me wisdom and knowledge,

for in your commands I trust.

R. Lord, let your face shine on me.

It is good for me that I have been afflicted,

that I may learn your statutes.

R. Lord, let your face shine on me.

I know, O LORD, that your ordinances are just,

and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me.

R. Lord, let your face shine on me.

According to your ordinances they still stand firm:

all things serve you.

R. Lord, let your face shine on me.

I am your servant; give me discernment

that I may know your decrees.

R. Lord, let your face shine on me.

The revelation of your words sheds light,

giving understanding to the simple.

R. Lord, let your face shine on me.

 

Alleluia                                                                      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

 

Gospel                                                                     LK 10:17-24

 

The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,

“Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.”

Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.

Behold, I have given you the power

‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions

and upon the full force of the enemy

and nothing will harm you.

Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,

but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.

 

”At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,

“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,

for although you have hidden these things

from the wise and the learned

you have revealed them to the childlike.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father.

No one knows who the Son is except the Father,

and who the Father is except the Son

and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

 

Turning to the disciples in private he said,

“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.

For I say to you,

many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,

but did not see it,

and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

 

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

Holiness of Life

That would have been impressive.  The seventy-two had power over demons when they called on the name of the Lord Jesus.  This was a power they had that amazed them more than anything.

 

Most likely if we saw someone actually possessed by a demon and we went over and demanded the demon leave in the name of Jesus, and the demon left, we’d also be impressed.  Though this is an uncommon experience in the strictest sense.  There are a few things to say about it.

 

First, yes, it is impressive and, yes, Jesus has full authority over the evil one.  Therefore, the seventy-two should have been overjoyed at seeing His power at work through them.

 

Second, we should be aware of the fact that even though we may not encounter people who are fully possessed, we do encounter the workings of the evil one on a daily basis.  So one thing this Scripture should tell us is that we need to trust in the power of Jesus to act through us as evil is combated.  We must confidently pray that our world be delivered from the evil one and we must have full faith that the power of Christ will work through our prayer.

 

Third, though combating evil directly is essential, Jesus takes this occasion to point out that there is something far more important.  He says that we should primarily rejoice because our “names are written in Heaven.”  In other words, power over the evil one is not the end goal.  Heaven is.  Growth in holiness and virtue are the primary goals we must have in life.

 

Reflect, today, upon your duty to rebuke the evil one and his works in Jesus’ name.  But reflect even more upon your calling to holiness of life and growth in virtue.  These, more than anything else, are the pathway to Heaven!

 

Today's Prayer

 

Lord of true holiness, help me to have confidence in Your power to overcome the evil one and his works.  But more importantly, help me to continually turn my eyes to You and Heaven, making holiness of life my primary goal.  Jesus, I trust in You. 

 

 

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

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

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Friday - September 30, 2022

 

Friday - September 30, 2022

"Virtues are formed by prayer.

Prayer preserves temperance.

Prayer suppresses anger.

Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy.

Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises man to Heaven."

-- St Ephraem

September 30, 2022

 

Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church

Lectionary: 459

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Jb 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5

 

The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said:

 

Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning

and shown the dawn its place

For taking hold of the ends of the earth,

till the wicked are shaken from its surface?

The earth is changed as is clay by the seal,

and dyed as though it were a garment;

But from the wicked the light is withheld,

and the arm of pride is shattered.

 

Have you entered into the sources of the sea,

or walked about in the depths of the abyss?

Have the gates of death been shown to you,

or have you seen the gates of darkness?

Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth?

Tell me, if you know all:

Which is the way to the dwelling place of light,

and where is the abode of darkness,

That you may take them to their boundaries

and set them on their homeward paths?

You know, because you were born before them,

and the number of your years is great!

 

Then Job answered the LORD and said:

 

Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you?

I put my hand over my mouth.

Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again;

though twice, I will do so no more.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  Ps 139:1-3, 7-8, 9-10, 13-14ab

 

R. (24b) Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.

 

O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;

you know when I sit and when I stand;

you understand my thoughts from afar.

My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,

with all my ways you are familiar.

R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.

Where can I go from your spirit?

From your presence where can I flee?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I sink to the nether world, you are present there.

R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.

If I take the wings of the dawn,

if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

Even there your hand shall guide me,

and your right hand hold me fast.

R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.

Truly you have formed my inmost being;

you knit me in my mother's womb.

I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;

wonderful are your works.

R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.

 

Alleluia                                              Phil 2:8          Ps 95:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

If today you hear his voice,

harden not your hearts.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                                     LK 10:13-16

 

Jesus said to them,

"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst

had been done in Tyre and Sidon,

they would long ago have repented,

sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon

at the judgment than for you.

And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven?

You will go down to the netherworld.'

Whoever listens to you listens to me.

Whoever rejects you rejects me.

And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

 

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

Can you hear God’s voice in the storm?

In today’s first reading, we hear God speaking to Job “out of the storm.” Think of a storm that’s raging in your life right now. Have you been able to hear God’s voice in it? Today’s scriptures are that voice. What is he saying to you?

 

He told Job, “What are you worried about? I AM still in charge of your life.” Job had been thinking that God was letting things get out of control. We often feel that way, too, don’t we? We say by our actions and by our words: “God, You’re late! This problem should be fixed by now. I’d better explain to You what You should do, so that we can get this finished in a more timely manner.”

 

And God replies, “Tell me, if you know all: Which is the way to the dwelling place of light, and where is the abode of darkness? Do you really know how to obtain good instead of bad?” And then God gets a little sarcastic: “Oh yeah, of course you do – you were born before I created light and dark, you’re so old!”

 

Job, humbled by the reminder of his inadequacies compared to the greatness of God, speaks for all of us as he says, “All right, I’ll shut up! I’ll even put my hand over my mouth … oops, I spoke again. I won’t do that again. Oops, I just did.”

 

(You didn’t know there was humor in that book of the Bible, did you?!)

 

To hear God speak in the storm, we have to repent of our prideful assumption that we know the right way to end our troubles. We must acknowledge that God truly is in charge, even if it doesn’t seem so, and that his timing is always perfect, even when we think he’s late.

 

Today’s responsorial Psalm reminds us that God can be trusted because of one big reason: He knows us better than we know ourselves. Therefore, his guidance and his timing are much better than our own. We can be certain that he cares about us, because he formed our innermost being (our souls) and our bodies (which he knit in our mother’s wombs). He loved us even before we were born. He made us wonderfully.

 

Did you hear that? He made you to be one of his wonderful works. Do you think he’d ruin one of his masterpieces?

 

The Gospel reading is God’s voice in the storm saying, “Don’t forget how I’ve helped you before! Of course I’ll help you again.” If we look only at our problems and neglect to spend time recollecting what he’s done for us in the past, it’s easy to distrust him. This kind of faith is no faith and it leads to destruction, just like what happened to Capernaum.

 

Capernaum was an important, busy town when Jesus taught the Good News there. Today, the little towns of Bethlehem and Nazareth continue to thrive, but Capernaum has been lost to the “realm of death.”

 

God is taking very good care of you! Listen for his voice.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Forgive me Lord for my hard heart and for trying to find mistakes in those around me. Thank You for Your merciful love that forgives and heals everything. Amen. 

 

 

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

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