GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Thursday - September 29, 2022

 

Thursday - September 29, 2022

September 29, 2022

Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels
Lectionary: 647

 

Reading 1                                                     Dn 7:9-10, 13-14

As I watched:

 

    Thrones were set up

        and the Ancient One took his throne.

    His clothing was bright as snow,

        and the hair on his head as white as wool;

    His throne was flames of fire,

        with wheels of burning fire.

    A surging stream of fire

        flowed out from where he sat;

    Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,

        and myriads upon myriads attended him.

 

The court was convened, and the books were opened.

As the visions during the night continued, I saw

 

    One like a son of man coming,

        on the clouds of heaven;

    When he reached the Ancient One

        and was presented before him,

    He received dominion, glory, and kingship;

        nations and peoples of every language serve him.

    His dominion is an everlasting dominion

        that shall not be taken away,

        his kingship shall not be destroyed.

 

OR:

 

Rv 12:7-12ab

 

War broke out in heaven;

Michael and his angels battled against the dragon.

The dragon and its angels fought back,

but they did not prevail

and there was no longer any place for them in heaven.

The huge dragon, the ancient serpent,

who is called the Devil and Satan,

who deceived the whole world,

was thrown down to earth,

and its angels were thrown down with it.

 

Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have salvation and power come,

and the Kingdom of our God

and the authority of his Anointed.

For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,

who accuses them before our God day and night.

They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony;

love for life did not deter them from death.

Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,

and you who dwell in them.”

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 4-5

 

R.    (1)  In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

 

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,

    for you have heard the words of my mouth;

    in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;

I will worship at your holy temple

    and give thanks to your name.

R.    In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

Because of your kindness and your truth;

    for you have made great above all things

    your name and your promise.

When I called, you answered me;

    you built up strength within me.

R.    In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

All the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O LORD

    when they hear the words of your mouth;

And they shall sing of the ways of the LORD

    “Great is the glory of the LORD

R.    In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord.

 

Alleluia                                                                      Ps 103:21

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Bless the LORD, all you angels,

you ministers, who do his will.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Jn 1:47-51

 

Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him,

“Here is a true child of Israel.

There is no duplicity in him.”

Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?”

Jesus answered and said to him,

“Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

Nathanael answered him,

“Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.”

Jesus answered and said to him,

“Do you believe

because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?

You will see greater things than this.”

And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you,

you will see heaven opened

and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

 

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The Ministry of Angels

What kind of relationship do you have with your personal angels? Are you aware that you might have more than one angel working for you, according to your needs and prayer requests and the work you do for God's kingdom? Do you realize that even the archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael know who you are and, because of this, they want to be involved in God's plans for you?

Belief in angels is popular even among non-Christians, but unless it unites us to Jesus, it can do more harm than good. In today's Gospel reading, Jesus says, "You shall see heaven open up and the angels of God ascend and descend on the Son of Man."

The word "you" in the original Greek is plural; it's meant for all of us. Jesus wants us to know that angels travel between heaven and earth to work for our benefit, but their ministry depends upon him. Angels deliver God's messages to us. Angels help us every day, in big ways and in small ways. Angels love us; they enjoy assisting us - but only through Jesus and under the authority of Jesus.

When the archangel Michael battled the dragon, as depicted in Rev. 12:7-12, he defeated Satan and his minions because of the future victory that Jesus would win on the cross. The holy angels defeated the evil ones "by the blood of the Lamb" that would be shed millennia later for our sake. Their victory depended upon what Jesus was eventually going to do for us.

The responsorial psalm is a song with the angels. Whenever we praise God, angels sing with us. If we praise God in the midst of difficulties, angels surround us in a chorus that fills the air with their trust in God and their love for us and their holiness. Then, evil spirits won't stay near us! Why not? Because this trust and love and holiness surround us with the presence of Jesus; He is always in the midst of our praise.

No concern of yours is too small - or too big - for your angels. Have you lost something? Ask your ministering angels to lead you to it. Are you waiting to get through the red tape of bureaucratic paperwork? Send an angel to put your papers on the top of the pile. Are you going on a long drive? Ask the angels to clear the way before you. Ever need a parking space near the store on a rainy day? Ask an angel to go save a spot for you. Try it, it works!

Angels listen to us and wait for permission to minister to us. We need to ask them for their help. I rely on this fact daily, with good results every time! For example, once when I was in the Holy Land, our group was climbing a steep hill and I was running out of breath and energy. I said, "Ministering angels, push me!" Immediately, I moved faster and easier to the top of the hill. What a great witness to the exhausted people who heard me and saw the results!

Today's Prayer:

Beloved Jesus, You always amaze us with Your work in our lives. Give us the grace to be docile to be led into the wonderful paths of Your Spirit! Amen.

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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 : Wednesday - September 28, 2022

 

Wednesday - September 28, 2022

"Our true worth does not consist in what human beings think of us.

What we really are consists in what God knows us to be."

~St. John Berchmans

September 28, 2022

 

Wednesday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 457

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    Jb 9:1-12, 14-16

 

Job answered his friends and said:

 

I know well that it is so;

but how can a man be justified before God?

Should one wish to contend with him,

he could not answer him once in a thousand times.

God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;

who has withstood him and remained unscathed?

 

He removes the mountains before they know it;

he overturns them in his anger.

He shakes the earth out of its place,

and the pillars beneath it tremble.

He commands the sun, and it rises not;

he seals up the stars.

 

He alone stretches out the heavens

and treads upon the crests of the sea.

He made the Bear and Orion,

the Pleiades and the constellations of the south;

He does great things past finding out,

marvelous things beyond reckoning.

 

Should he come near me, I see him not;

should he pass by, I am not aware of him;

Should he seize me forcibly, who can say him nay?

Who can say to him, "What are you doing?"

 

How much less shall I give him any answer,

or choose out arguments against him!

Even though I were right, I could not answer him,

but should rather beg for what was due me.

If I appealed to him and he answered my call,

I could not believe that he would hearken to my words.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  Ps 88:10bc-11, 12-13, 14-15

 

R. (3) Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

 

Daily I call upon you, O LORD;

to you I stretch out my hands.

Will you work wonders for the dead?

Will the shades arise to give you thanks?

R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

Do they declare your mercy in the grave,

your faithfulness among those who have perished?

Are your wonders made known in the darkness,

or your justice in the land of oblivion?

R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

But I, O LORD, cry out to you;

with my morning prayer I wait upon you.

Why, O LORD, do you reject me;

why hide from me your face?

R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

 

Alleluia                                              Phil 2:8          Phil 3:8-9

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Christ is risen, who made all things;

he has shown mercy on all people.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           Jn 6:16-21

 

When it was evening, the disciples of Jesus went down to the sea,

embarked in a boat, and went across the sea to Capernaum.

It had already grown dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them.

The sea was stirred up because a strong wind was blowing.

When they had rowed about three or four miles,

they saw Jesus walking on the sea and coming near the boat,

and they began to be afraid.

But he said to them, “It is I. Do not be afraid.”

They wanted to take him into the boat,

but the boat immediately arrived at the shore

to which they were heading.

 

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How much are you willing to lose?

In today’s first reading, because Job had lost nearly everything that was dear to him, he is now in danger of also losing his trust in God. Isn’t that how we feel when bad things happen to us? We wonder why God has let us down. We think he’s being unfair and cruel. It feels like his love has abandoned us, and we choose to trust in our feelings instead of what we cannot see, hear or feel from the Lord.

 

God never abandons us. The fact is we need to abandon everything that is not Godly.

 

This does not mean that all of us are called to give everything away and embrace poverty in order to be holy, like some of the Saints have done. There are other ways to abandon everything to God, namely, by considering everything as less important than Jesus. Everything is less important than our obedient dependence upon God.

 

Even those activities that God has called us to do, and even the possessions he has provided for us through our jobs, and even the people he has given to us in relationships: All must be abandoned into an awareness that God is more important.

 

God and me alone – that’s the foundation of true holiness. From this intimate friendship everything else is built up: our families, our friends, our ministries, our jobs, our homes, our possessions, etc. Whatever is good and right for us, whatever will enhance our friendship with God, whatever is a gift of his love for us, these come from the solitude and solidarity we experience with God.

 

Job protected himself from a loss of faith by recalling God’s awesomeness. He realized that nothing truly matters except God, for he is far greater than all else. He recognized this awesomeness in the vast difference between God and himself: “If I appealed to him and he answered me, how amazing that he would hear my words!” Humility put his terrible situation into the right perspective.

 

Nothing really matters but God. We can lose everything, and as long as we still have God, we are doing exceedingly well. It might not feel that way, but it’s the reality.

 

Today’s Gospel passage reminds us that we have to lose (abandon, sublimate, reduce in priority) everything earthly to follow Jesus. He set the example: He gave up his home, his career in carpentry, and his earthly life for our sake. If we look back and miss what we’ve given up, wishing to once again make them a higher priority than our union with Christ, we break our unity with him. Who, then, are we following? Where will it lead us?

 

We must keep our eyes on Jesus. By abandoning everything into his hands, he gives back to us whatever truly is right and good.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Beloved Jesus: Today I let go everything that stops me from following You unconditionally. Today I accept being filled with Your Holy Spirit for the great mission of spreading Your word. 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!”

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Tuesday - September 27, 2022

 

Tuesday - September 27, 2022

O Lord, give me the fire that you sent forth when coming on earth. . . .

Enable me to be aflame with the ardor of charity, to glow with the splendor of obedience, and to grow ardent with love. Help me to be saved from destruction amid dangers, to escape all perils, and to hasten toward Your goodness. Grant me to come peacefully into Your presence, to be satiated forever by its manifestation, and to praise You unceasingly for all eternity.

-- Saint Ildephonsus of Toledo

September 27, 2022

Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest
Lectionary: 456

 

Reading 1                                                     Jb 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23

 

Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.

Job spoke out and said:

 

Perish the day on which I was born,

the night when they said, “The child is a boy!”

 

Why did I not perish at birth,

come forth from the womb and expire?

Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth,

like babes that have never seen the light?

Wherefore did the knees receive me?

or why did I suck at the breasts?

 

For then I should have lain down and been tranquil;

had I slept, I should then have been at rest

With kings and counselors of the earth

who built where now there are ruins

Or with princes who had gold

and filled their houses with silver.

 

There the wicked cease from troubling,

there the weary are at rest.

 

Why is light given to the toilers,

and life to the bitter in spirit?

They wait for death and it comes not;

they search for it rather than for hidden treasures,

Rejoice in it exultingly,

and are glad when they reach the grave:

Those whose path is hidden from them,

and whom God has hemmed in!

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              Ps 88:2-3, 4-5, 6, 7-8

 

R. (3) Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

 

O LORD, my God, by day I cry out;

at night I clamor in your presence.

Let my prayer come before you;

incline your ear to my call for help.

R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

For my soul is surfeited with troubles

and my life draws near to the nether world.

I am numbered with those who go down into the pit;

I am a man without strength.

R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

My couch is among the dead,

like the slain who lie in the grave,

Whom you remember no longer

and who are cut off from your care.

R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

You have plunged me into the bottom of the pit,

into the dark abyss.

Upon me your wrath lies heavy,

and with all your billows you overwhelm me.

R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

 

Alleluia                                                                      MK 10:45

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man came to serve

and to give his life as a ransom for many.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Lk 9:51-56

 

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled,

he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,

and he sent messengers ahead of him.

On the way they entered a Samaritan village

to prepare for his reception there,

but they would not welcome him

because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.

When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,

“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven

to consume them?”

Jesus turned and rebuked them,

and they journeyed to another village.

 

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The True Measure of Holiness

How do we react when someone blocks us from doing the work or ministry that we want to do, or persecutes our faith, or makes our life difficult in any way? Normally, we want to retaliate. In today’s Gospel reading, the disciples wanted to retaliate against the Samaritans. But Jesus rebuked them, because holiness means doing good in spite of the bad.

In the first reading today, poor Job despaired because he lost nearly everything that was dear to him. Satan had told God that the only reason why Job was holy was because God had surrounded him with goodness. This story was written to teach that true holiness is the desire to do good in spite of the bad.

Opportunities for practicing holiness arise every day. Christ’s disciples and the Samaritans whom they wanted to destroy all loved the same God. Seven centuries earlier, Jews who lived in Samaritan territory had intermarried with pagans, and when the “pure” Israelites rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem after their Babylonian captivity, the Samaritans offered to help, but they were rejected because of their racial impurities. Thus began a long-lasting prejudice and bitter misunderstandings from both sides.

Are we any different toward Christians who don’t worship the same way we do?

During the Protestant rebellions of the Reformation – a reformation that was sorely needed – both sides handled it with battles and cruelty. Thus began long-lasting prejudices and stubborn misunderstandings, which have prevented the restoration of unity in the Body of Christ. Vatican Council II instilled in the Catholic Church the truth that Protestants love the same Lord and Savior as we do (see paragraph 818 in the Catechism), but sadly many Protestants still cling to 16th Century prejudices. Misunderstandings about Catholicism are rampant, and the spirit of prejudice is revealed in an unwillingness to listen to the truth about us.

And how do we Catholics feel about this? How do we handle it? Do we retaliate? Or perhaps we avoid Protestants who want to “save” us, which is a passive form of retaliation.

One of the most profound statements I ever heard was from a Protestant preacher who prophesied: “Mourn and weep, for the Body of My Son is broken.”

Jesus reprimanded his disciples for wanting to do battle. Despite having the power to punish those who were religiously impure, he retaliated not at all.

Prejudices are cured through love, not force, through mercy, not punishment. It’s harder and slower to make changes this way, but nothing else is holy. Nothing else reveals the true nature of Christ.

Today’s Prayer

My Lord, help me to understand that love is sacrifice and, above all, forgiveness. 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!”