Archive for February 29th, 2008

Every man’s treasure is that which he desires. If it is based on earthly ambitions, its acquisition makes men not blessed but wretched.

February 29, 2008

When: Friday, February 29, 2008 12:00 AM to Saturday, March 01, 2008 12:00 AM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).

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Words of Jesus

'you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' The second is this, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'

Mark 12:30-31

Every man's treasure is that which he desires. If it is based on earthly ambitions, its acquisition makes men not blessed but wretched. But many people use their wealth as a tool of devotion. By distributing what might be superfluous to support the poor, they are amassing imperishable riches.

— Pope St. Leo the Great

Abba, Father, Lord God, thank You for showing me again that You walk with me. O how I pray I would be able to stay in each moment aware of that presence so that I can feel, see and react as Jesus would, according to His Sacred Heart in truth and with love. O that You would continue to bless me and enlarge my territory, keeping me from evil and from causing pain. That You would liken my heart to that of Jesus' and that the Holy Spirit would help me follow Your will. For at the end of each day that is what I hold most dear – did I serve You, did I act in a way that reflected Your presence within me. For after of 40 years of doing it my way, thinking I could judge and listening to the counsel of man and measuring myself against the ways under the sun; I now know just how foolish I have been. So now I truly seek to walk accordingly to the words Jesus spoke in Luke 12:22-32, but need Your constant help to overcome the doubts the walking under the sun creates. Hear this prayer and as the Palmist so often writes delivery me out from under thumb of man and my enemies, place my feet on solid ground and strengthen me for battle so I will never again bring shame to You through my actions. This I ask in the name of the father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Hosea 14:2-10<http://www.ewtn.com/vbible/search.asp?abbr=Hos&ch=14&bv1=2&ev1=10>

2 Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to him, "Take away all iniquity; accept that which is good and we will render the fruit of our lips. 3 Assyria shall not save us, we will not ride upon horses; and we will say no more, `Our God,' to the work of our hands. In thee the orphan finds mercy." 4 I will heal their faithlessness; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. 5 I will be as the dew to Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, he shall strike root as the poplar; 6 his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. 7 They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow, they shall flourish as a garden; they shall blossom as the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon. 8 O E'phraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress, from me comes your fruit. 9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.

Psalm 81:6-11, 14, 17<http://www.ewtn.com/vbible/search.asp?abbr=Ps&ch=81&bv1=6&ev1=11&bv2=14&ev2=14&bv3=17&ev3=17>

6 "I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket. 7 In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Mer'ibah. [Selah] 8 Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to me! 9 There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. 10 I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 11 "But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would have none of me. 14 I would soon subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their foes.

Mark 12:28-34<http://www.ewtn.com/vbible/search.asp?abbr=Mark&ch=12&bv1=28&ev1=34>

28 And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, "Which commandment is the first of all?" 29 Jesus answered, "The first is, `Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' 31 The second is this, `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 32 And the scribe said to him, "You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that he is one, and there is no other but he; 33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And after that no one dared to ask him any question.

Lenten Reflections<http://origin.ewtn.com/faith/lent/>

Pope Benedict XVI Encyclical Letter<http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html>

The more we have denied ourselves during the day, the nearer we are each evening to the heart of our Lord.

February 29, 2008

When: Thursday, February 28, 2008 12:00 AM to Friday, February 29, 2008 12:00 AM (GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada).

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Words of Jesus

And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat, nor about your body, what you shall put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And which of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass which is alive in the field today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O men of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be of anxious mind. For all the nations of the world seek these things; and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things shall be yours as well. "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Luke 12:22-32

The more we have denied ourselves during the day, the nearer we are each evening to the heart of our Lord.

— St. Madeleine Sophie Barat

Abba, Father, Lord God, thank You for hearing me, for helping me, but Lord I lack Your wisdom, and I tend to look beyond the moment, and at how the moments tie together – call it worrying about tomorrow, call it questioning the past. Help me Jesus to put Your words into being, feed my spirit so I will have the courage and strengthen to do Your will, and quench my thirst so my our desire will only be fulfilling Your purpose. O Lord how petty I can be, how weak in spirit I am – forgive my lack of discipline. Use this time to help me prepare for the day and eliminate all doubts. O Lord that You would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory let Your hand guide me and keep me from evil, and from causing any pain. That You would find favor with my love ones, protecting them in all they do and uniting us in Your name. These things I ask and pray in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Jeremiah 7:23-28<http://www.ewtn.com/vbible/search.asp?abbr=Jer&ch=7&bv1=23&ev1=28>

23 But this command I gave them, `Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.' 24 But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. 25 From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day; 26 yet they did not listen to me, or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. 27 "So you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall call to them, but they will not answer you. 28 And you shall say to them, `This is the nation that did not obey the voice of the LORD their God, and did not accept discipline; truth has perished; it is cut off from their lips.

Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9<http://www.ewtn.com/vbible/search.asp?abbr=Ps&ch=95&bv1=1&ev1=2&bv2=6&ev2=9>

1 O come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 6 O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would hearken to his voice! 8 Harden not your hearts, as at Mer'ibah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, 9 when your fathers tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

Luke 11:14-23<http://www.ewtn.com/vbible/search.asp?abbr=Luke&ch=11&bv1=14&ev1=23>

14 Now he was casting out a demon that was dumb; when the demon had gone out, the dumb man spoke, and the people marveled. 15 But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Be-el'zebul, the prince of demons"; 16 while others, to test him, sought from him a sign from heaven. 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a divided household falls. 18 And if Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Be-el'zebul. 19 And if I cast out demons by Be-el'zebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 20 But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace; 22 but when one stronger than he assails him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoil. 23 He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.

Lenten Reflections<http://origin.ewtn.com/faith/lent/>

Pope Benedict XVI Encyclical Letter<http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html>