Posts Tagged ‘St. Pio of Pietrelcina’

[Christ Crucified Is God’s Power and Wisdom] For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

April 17, 2011

My Daily Prayers and Readings for 4/17/2011

< >< My Prayer >< >

Your blessings are all around me and Your hand is visible as I feel it resting on me and mine, especially these last few months. I keep looking to You through Christ Jesus so that You will help me keep my mind and heart one with Him; for I feel I know what You expect and know I cannot be or do it without Him. He most keep increasing and I most keep decreasing. Fed by the truth of Your Words and Wisdom, moved to the joy of having felt Your hand and seen Your blessings.

Abba Father in the name of Christ Jesus who lives within me through the Holy Spirit I pray that You create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me, for my one walk in and with Jesus today. Asking that You bless me and mine in fulfillment of Your will and keep us from evil and pain; and if we get nothing else done this day, let us spend it loving You and others as You love us. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

< >< My Utmost for His Highest >< >

NECK OR NOTHING

“Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him . . . and did cast himself into the sea.” John 21:7

Have you ever had a crisis in which you deliberately and emphatically and recklessly abandoned everything? It is a crisis of will. You may come up to it many times externally, but it amounts to nothing. The real deep crisis of abandonment is reached internally, not externally. The giving up of external things may be an indication of being in total bondage.

Have you deliberately committed your will to Jesus Christ? It is a transaction of will, not of emotion; the emotion is simply the gilt-edge of the transaction. If you allow emotion first, you will never make the transaction. Do not ask God what the transaction is to be, but make it in regard to the thing you do see, either in the shallow or the profound place.

If you have heard Jesus Christ’s voice on the billows, let your convictions go to the winds, let your consistency go to the winds, but maintain your relationship to Him.

< >< Today in the Word Devotion >< >

Those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. Luke 14:33

Many American Christians rarely link discipleship with hospitality. We like our individual space, and besides, we’re always busy! Hospitality can be viewed as an imposition or a Better Homes and Gardens-style performance. When we realize, however, that the people we are to invite into our homes are the same ones God has invited to His kingdom banquet, we realize how important it can be. Done as an act of discipleship, hospitality can be an expression of God’s love to others.

< >< Today’s Mass Readings >< >

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24
Philippians 2:6-11
Matthew 26:14 – 27:66

< >< Today’s Video Reflection >< >

Never rise from the table without having given thanks to the Lord. If we act in this way we need have no fear of the wretched sin of gluttony. — St. Pio of Pietrelcina

< >< Online Sources for Devotion Scripture References & Daily Mass Readings >< >

Link to Devotion Scriptures unless noted from New International Version BibleGateway.com

Links for today’s readings from USCCB using the New American Bible or

Links for today’s readings from EWTN using the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

For audio link to today’s readings from USCCB using the New American Bible click:

http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_04_17.mp3

For link to today’s video Reflection http://www.usccb.org/video/reflections.shtml

< >< Bible Online >< >

BibleGateway.com

just1word.com

YouVersion.com

< >< Other sources of inspiration on God’s Word >< >

Christianity – Faith in God and Jesus Christ

EWTN

Light Source – Christian Video Broadcasts and Ministry Television Online

Moody Ministries – From the Word to Life

Moody Radio Online

Sermon Index

Today in the Word Radio Online

Today in the Word

Today in the Word Devotional

< >< One Walk – Continuity in Change >< >

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For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

April 5, 2011

My Daily Prayers and Readings for 4/05/2011

< >< My Prayer >< >

I do ‘seek to live in accordance with my confession and repentance today.’ As ‘Jesus preached this: “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit”’

Abba Father in the name of Christ Jesus who lives within me through the Holy Spirit I pray that You create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me, for my one walk in and with Jesus today. Asking that You bless me and mine in fulfillment of Your will and keep us from evil and pain; and if we get nothing else done this day, let us spend it loving You and others as You love us. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

< >< My Utmost for His Highest >< >

HIS AGONY AND OUR FELLOWSHIP

“Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, tarry ye here, and watch with Me.” Matthew 26:36, 38

We can never fathom the agony in Gethsemane, but at least we need not misunderstand it. It is the agony of God and Man in one, face to face with sin. We know nothing about Gethsemane in personal experience. Gethsemane and Calvary stand for something unique; they are the gateway into Life for us.

It was not the death on the cross that Jesus feared in Gethsemane; He stated most emphatically that He came on purpose to die. In Gethsemane He feared lest He might not get through as Son of Man. He would get through as Son of God – Satan could not touch Him there; but Satan’s onslaught was that He would get through as an isolated Figure only; and that would mean that He could be no Saviour. Read the record of the agony in the light of the temptation: “Then the devil leaveth Him for a season.” In Gethsemane Satan came back and was again overthrown. Satan’s final onslaught against our Lord as Son of Man is in Gethsemane.

The agony in Gethsemane is the agony of the Son of God in fulfilling His destiny as the Saviour of the world. The veil is drawn aside to reveal all it cost Him to make it possible for us to become sons of God. His agony is the basis of the simplicity of our salvation. The Cross of Christ is a triumph for the Son of Man. It was not only a sign that Our Lord had triumphed, but that He had triumphed to save the human race. Every human being can get through into the presence of God now because of what the Son of Man went through.

< >< Today in the Word Devotion >< >

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Luke 3:8

Repentance is much more than a prayer. Confession must be followed by turning away from sin toward righteousness: “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance” (v. 8). Scripture gives specific, concrete instructions to those who repent, such as to share with those in need and not to abuse positions of power. Jesus preached this: “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit” (6:43). Seek to live in accordance with your confession and repentance today.

< >< Today’s Mass Readings >< >

Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12
Psalm 46: 2-3, 5-6, 8-9
John 5:1-16

< >< Today’s Video Reflection >< >

Never rise from the table without having given thanks to the Lord. If we act in this way we need have no fear of the wretched sin of gluttony. — St. Pio of Pietrelcina

< >< Today in the Word >< >

End Times: The Rapture – The Second ComingListen now

Dr. Louis Barbieri answers a personal question regarding the Rapture – Program Notes & Quotes

< >< Online Sources for Devotion Scripture References & Daily Mass Readings >< >

Link to Devotion Scriptures unless noted from New International Version BibleGateway.com

Links for today’s readings from USCCB using the New American Bible or

Links for today’s readings from EWTN using the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

For audio link to today’s readings from USCCB using the New American Bible click:

http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/11_04_05.mp3

For link to today’s video Reflection http://www.usccb.org/video/reflections.shtml

< >< Bible Online >< >

BibleGateway.com

just1word.com

YouVersion.com

< >< Other sources of inspiration on God’s Word >< >

Christianity – Faith in God and Jesus Christ

EWTN

Light Source – Christian Video Broadcasts and Ministry Television Online

Moody Ministries – From the Word to Life

Moody Radio Online

Sermon Index

Today in the Word Radio Online

Today in the Word

Today in the Word Devotional

< >< One Walk – Continuity in Change >< >

See what I’m thinking, listening and reading visit www.RichardAngulo.com follow me on Twitter @richardangulo

See what I’m doing, visit www.raagroup.com follow me on Twitter @raagroup

Visit Catholics Come Home

 

A cheerful heart is good medicine but a crushed spirit dries up the bones; I can equip you to do absolutely anything as long as it is My will;When I let Your love, grace and mercy flow through me to cleanse my heart and renew a right spirit.

March 16, 2010

My Daily Prayers and Readings for 03/16/2010

< >< My Prayer >< >

Abba Father, Lord Jesus, in the Spirit, one God the Abba Father, Christ Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit.

I know You can equip me to do absolutely anything as long as it is in line with Your will;

I know that a cheerful heart is good medicine but a crushed spirit dries up the bones;

I know that my weakness often requires or seeks signs, even though I have felt Your signs and there are always many around me; this is where You have shown me how love is like faith – strongest in the unseen.

I know the more progress I make, the further I have to go; for in these times with You, Your wisdom lights my path, and Your secrets come together to strengthen me.

I know I am nothing without You, yet with You I can do anything; help me stay focused on the prize, help me to enjoy the journey, help me to run a good race and fight a good fight in line with Your will. Let Your love, grace and mercy flow through me to cleanse my heart and renew a right spirit.

In Jesus name I ask and pray, that You bless me and mine for fulfillment of Your will and that You create in me a clean heart, renew a right spirit within me, for one walk; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

< >< Today’s Jesus Calling Daily Devotion >< >

March – When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. John 10:4

Today – IT IS GOOD THAT YOU RECOGNIZE YOUR WEAKNESS. That keeps you looking to Me, your Strength. Abundant life is not necessarily health and wealth; it is living in continual dependence on Me. Instead of trying to fit this day into a preconceived mold, relax and be on the lookout for what I am doing. This mindset will free you to enjoy Me and to find what I have planned for you to do. This is far better than trying to make things go according to your own plan.

Don’t take yourself so seriously. Lighten up and laugh with Me. You have Me on your side, so what are you worried about? I can equip you to do absolutely anything, as long as it is My will. The more difficult your day, the more I yearn to help you. Anxiety wraps you up in yourself, trapping you in your own thoughts. When you look to Me and whisper My Name, you break free and receive My help. Focus on Me, and you will find Peace in My Presence.

PHILIPPIANS 4:13 (AMP); PROVERBS 17:22

< >< Today’s Mass Readings >< >

Reading I
Ez 47:1-9, 12
The angel brought me, Ezekiel,
back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD,
and I saw water flowing out
from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east,
for the façade of the temple was toward the east;
the water flowed down from the right side of the temple,
south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate,
and around to the outer gate facing the east,
where I saw water trickling from the right side.
Then when he had walked off to the east
with a measuring cord in his hand,
he measured off a thousand cubits
and had me wade through the water,
which was ankle-deep.
He measured off another thousand
and once more had me wade through the water,
which was now knee-deep.
Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade;
the water was up to my waist.
Once more he measured off a thousand,
but there was now a river through which I could not wade;
for the water had risen so high it had become a river
that could not be crossed except by swimming.
He asked me, “Have you seen this, son of man?”
Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me,
“This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah,
and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows,
every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live,
and there shall be abundant fish,
for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow;
their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail.
Every month they shall bear fresh fruit,
for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary.
Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.”

Responsorial Psalm
46:2-3, 5-6, 8-9
R.        (8)  The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
R.        The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
R.        The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.
R.        The Lord of hosts is with us; our stronghold is the God of Jacob.

Gospel
Jn 5:1-16
There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep Gate
a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.
In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there
and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him,
“Do you want to be well?”
The sick man answered him,
“Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool
when the water is stirred up;
while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me.”
Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your mat, and walk.”
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked.

Now that day was a sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who was cured,
“It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.”
He answered them, “The man who made me well told me,
‘Take up your mat and walk.’“
They asked him,
“Who is the man who told you, ‘Take it up and walk’?”
The man who was healed did not know who it was,
for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.
After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him,
“Look, you are well; do not sin any more,
so that nothing worse may happen to you.”

The man went and told the Jews
that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus
because he did this on a sabbath.

< >< Today’s Video Reflection >< >

Never rise from the table without having given thanks to the Lord. If we act in this way we need have no fear of the wretched sin of gluttony. — St. Pio of Pietrelcina

< >< Online Sources for Devotion Scripture References & Daily Mass Readings >< >

Link to Devotion Scriptures unless noted from New International Version BibleGateway.com

Links for today’s readings from USCCB using the New American Bible or

Links for today’s readings from EWTN using the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

For audio link to today’s readings from USCCB using the New American Bible click:

http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_03_16.mp3

For link to today’s video Reflection http://www.usccb.org/video/reflections.shtml

< >< Other sources of inspiration on God’s Word >< >

EWTN

Today in the Word

Moody Radio Online

Today in the Word Radio Online

< >< Bible Online >< >

BibleGateway.com

< >< One Walk >< >

Follow what I am thinking, listening and reading visit www.RichardAngulo.com

Follow what I am doing, visit www.raagroup.com

I can fit everything into a pattern for good, but only to the extent that you trust Me. Every problem can teach you something, transforming you little by little into the masterpiece I created you to be.

March 5, 2010

My Daily Prayers and Readings for 03/05/2010

< >< My Daily Prayer >< >

Abba Father, Lord Jesus, in the Spirit, one God the Abba Father, Christ Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Time, Listening and Trust – all attributes of Love; where and how I spend my time, who and how I listen to and I put my trust.

A lot has changed in my life Lord and while I feel those closest to me do not necessarily like all the changes I know and feel these attributes to be true for You and mine; and while the things under the sun may not be going the way I would like and I am likely only falling further behind and maybe evening losing them I stay focused on You!

For I hold true and close the time that I share with You each morning; always looking to cleanse my heart and renew a right spirit within me. I listen closely for Your call, always seeking to perfect my discernment of the voice of the Spirit from the voices under the sun. And I seek to put my trust only in You, even when I doubt, for I feel my doubts are only the voices under the sun that seek to keep me from becoming that which You created and are willing me to be.

You have taught me using the ways and errors of my past and while many problems lay ahead; I know now how much time, listening and trust are all acts of love. This is why I fight off the ways under the sun to make and keep these my focus and first with You and mine.

In Jesus name I ask and pray, that You bless me and mine for fulfillment of Your will and that You create in me a clean heart, renew a right spirit within me, for one walk; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.

< >< Jesus Calling Daily Devotion >< >

March – When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. John 10:4

Today – MAKE FRIENDS WITH THE PROBLEMS IN YOUR LIFE. Though many things feel random and wrong, remember that I am sovereign over everything. I can fit everything into a pattern for good, but only to the extent that you trust Me. Every problem can teach you something, transforming you little by little into the masterpiece I created you to be. The very same problem can become a stumbling block over which you fall, if you react with distrust and defiance. The choice is up to you, and you will have to choose many times each day whether to trust Me or defy Me,

The best way to befriend your problems is to thank Me for them. This simple act opens your mind to the possibility of benefits flowing from your difficulties. You can even give persistent problems nicknames, helping you to approach them with familiarity rather than with dread. The next step is to introduce them to Me, enabling Me to embrace them in My loving Presence. I will not necessarily remove your problems, but My wisdom is sufficient to bring good out of everyone of them.

ROMANS 8:28 (AMP); 1 CORINTHIANS 1:23-24

< >< Today’s Mass Readings >< >

Reading I
Gn 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a

Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons,
for he was the child of his old age;
and he had made him a long tunic.
When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons,
they hated him so much that they would not even greet him.

One day, when his brothers had gone
to pasture their father’s flocks at Shechem,
Israel said to Joseph,
“Your brothers, you know, are tending our flocks at Shechem.
Get ready; I will send you to them.”

So Joseph went after his brothers and caught up with them in Dothan.
They noticed him from a distance,
and before he came up to them, they plotted to kill him.
They said to one another: “Here comes that master dreamer!
Come on, let us kill him and throw him into one of the cisterns here;
we could say that a wild beast devoured him.
We shall then see what comes of his dreams.”

When Reuben heard this,
he tried to save him from their hands, saying,
“We must not take his life.
Instead of shedding blood,” he continued,
“just throw him into that cistern there in the desert;
but do not kill him outright.”
His purpose was to rescue him from their hands
and return him to his father.
So when Joseph came up to them,
they stripped him of the long tunic he had on;
then they took him and threw him into the cistern,
which was empty and dry.

They then sat down to their meal.
Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead,
their camels laden with gum, balm and resin
to be taken down to Egypt.
Judah said to his brothers:
“What is to be gained by killing our brother and concealing his blood?
Rather, let us sell him to these Ishmaelites,
instead of doing away with him ourselves.
After all, he is our brother, our own flesh.”
His brothers agreed.
They sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces of silver.

Responsorial Psalm
105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21
R.        (5a) Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
When the LORD called down a famine on the land
and ruined the crop that sustained them,
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave.
R.        Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
They had weighed him down with fetters,
and he was bound with chains,
Till his prediction came to pass
and the word of the LORD proved him true.
R.        Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.
R.        Remember the marvels the Lord has done.

Gospel
Mt 21:33-43, 45-46

Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people:
“Hear another parable.
There was a landowner who planted a vineyard,
put a hedge around it,
dug a wine press in it, and built a tower.
Then he leased it to tenants and went on a journey.
When vintage time drew near,
he sent his servants to the tenants to obtain his produce.
But the tenants seized the servants and one they beat,
another they killed, and a third they stoned.
Again he sent other servants, more numerous than the first ones,
but they treated them in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them,
thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’
But when the tenants saw the son, they said to one another,
‘This is the heir.
Come, let us kill him and acquire his inheritance.’
They seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
What will the owner of the vineyard do to those tenants when he comes?”
They answered him,
He will put those wretched men to a wretched death
and lease his vineyard to other tenants
who will give him the produce at the proper times.”
Jesus said to them, Did you never read in the Scriptures:

The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
by the Lord has this been done,
and it is wonderful in our eyes?

Therefore, I say to you,
the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you
and given to a people that will produce its fruit.”
When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables,
they knew that he was speaking about them.
And although they were attempting to arrest him,
they feared the crowds, for they regarded him as a prophet.

< >< Today’s Video Reflection >< >

Oh how precious time is! Blessed are those who know how to make good use of it. Who can assure us that we will be alive tomorrow? Let us listen to the voice of our conscience, to the voice of the royal prophet: “Today if you hear God’s voice, harden not your heart.” Let us not put off for one moment to another what we “should” do, because the next moment is not yet ours! — St. Pio of Pietrelcina

< >< Daily Mass Readings Online Sources>< >

USCCB and EWTN

For link to Scripture readings and Bible search click:

New American Bible USCCB

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition EWTN

For audio link to today’s readings click:

http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/10_03_05.mp3 Audio

For link to today’s video Reflection click:

http://www.usccb.org/video/reflections.shtml Video

< >< Other sources of inspiration on God’s Word >< >

EWTN

Today in the Word

Moody Radio Online

Today in the Word Radio Online

< >< Bible Online >< >

BibleGateway.com Devotion Scriptures unless noted from New International Version

< >< One Walk >< >

Follow what I am thinking, listening and reading visit www.RichardAngulo.com

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