Whispers – Daily Mass Quotes begins after this Intro.
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Elijah’s Whisper – My Whisper
Then the LORD said (to Elijah), “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD – but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake – but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire – but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave. A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?”
1 Kings 19:11-13
Why are YOU here, beloved?
Was it to discover magnificent colors? Was it to find colorful music or awesome videos? Was it just curiosity? Was it accidental? Were you really looking for God, for Hope, for true LOVE somewhere in this menagerie we call the web?
Or were you just hiding in a cave, waiting on the Lord to Whisper in your ear – a Word – LIFE! Life, it’s in You! And YOU are beautiful in the Eyes of God, no matter what the world may say or think.
You are Loved!!
Every day the Lord whispers in our ears – Words of HOPE, Words of LOVE, and maybe not even words – just His JOY in our hearts.
Let’s follow the Scriptures of our daily Mass and see if we can catch those Words – simple but beautiful – Whispers to the Wind . . .
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03-31-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 31, 2105
The LORD called me from birth, from my mother’s womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Is_49:1-6
YOU are God’s servant too, beloved.
Called to love and tell of God’s great love for all.
A love so great that he sacrificed His only begotten Son
for YOU!
NO GREATER GIFT!
(P.S. Though I’ve lost all visitors for the past 5 days, I know that our Lord is watching over you, beloved, and I look forward to your return. May He bless you richly!)
03-30-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 30, 2015
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness. Is 42:1-7
Jesus IS our covenant with God. He is our light and our sight and our redeemer. Through Him we are freed from the prison and confinement of sin. Oh that we may see. Oh that we may hear. Oh that we may believe! And if we do, then we become His “ambassadors” to the world. Then we become His light, His healing and His redeemer to those who still live in that darkness. Come beloved and share. Come and be His Light to the world. And together we can show them what Freedom really is!!!
03-29-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 29, 2015
(Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion)
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross. Phil 2:6-11
A very blessed Palm Sunday, beloved!
Today we commemorate the beginning of the end of the human life of Jesus Christ. And it all begins in celebration and great joy, as Jesus enters triumphantly into the city of Jerusalem. With the waving of palm branches, He humbly enters on the back of a young donkey colt. But the cheers soon turn into jeers, as the crowd is so easily deceived by the malice and lies of the enemy, over the Truth and compassion of the Lord. And the waving of the palm branches of exaltation soon turn into the scourging pain of a Roman flagrum used on the blessed body of Jesus, our Lord and Savior.
How obedient can we be, beloved, when that obedience may involve some suffering, some pain? What are these lives worth, to save the souls of ourselves or our loved ones?
And are we willing to die for our Lord,
as He was for us?
A very blessed day, indeed.
And may Holy Week lead us to our Easter Joy again!
03-28-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 28, 2015
The LORD spoke through the prophet Ezekiel saying, “My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Ez 37:21-28
Imagine, beloved, the Lord living with us. And actually, he is! Have we opened our hearts to welcome Him? Have we shared our coffee and our bagel with the Lord? Have we shared our deepest concerns and given Him thanks? Today, let’s make it a day especially for our Lord. And then watch out, because He will make it 100x better for us.
03-27-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 27, 2015
“I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.”
“My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! Praised be the LORD, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies.” Ps 18
Troubled? Persecuted? Ignored? Lonely?
I love you Lord!
And with You they can all be conquered.
Please help me to always remember and never forget . . Your love.
03-26-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 26, 2015
Jesus said to the Jews: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” Jn 8:51-59
What is death, beloved, except a doorway to something more. It can be a doorway to eternal death or eternal life. If we choose to follow Jesus, to love one another and God with all our heart, it is life that awaits us! Choose life then, beloved. And I’ll see you soon!
03-25-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 25, 2015
(The Annunciation of the Lord)
The Prophet Isaiah said to King Ahaz, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us!’” Is_7:10-14; 8:10
The Angel Gabriel said to Mary, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus.” Lk 1:26-38
Sign, Sacrifice and Salvation
It seems that throughout the recorded history of humanity, people have always had this great need for signs. We saw it in the Old Testament with the prophets who offered signs to the Israelites to try to entice them to come back to the ways of God. We saw it in the New Testament, when the Pharisees constantly pestered Jesus for signs, while they ironically, seemed to miss or ignore all the signs He did give them. And even today, if we look around, there are signs of warning, signs of invitation, and signs of hope all
around us.
And it’s funny, because, with all those signs, many people, still, never seem to be satisfied. And the reason for their dissatisfaction is because they’ve lost all sense of sacrifice. We might say that it all goes back to that old cliche, “No pain – no gain.”
And by our age, we have certainly had our share of pain. And every time that pain subsides, or that hurt fades, or those clouds give way to sunshine, that sunshine seems 100-times brighter than it ever was – before those clouds appeared.
You see, without the clouds, without the sacrifice of the loss of the sunshine, we might never have appreciated the beauty, and the warmth and the glory of that sun. And the next time those clouds build up again, we know that they are just another sign of something much, much better to come.
You see, when there is sacrifice, it makes the fulfillment of the sign a certainty – and not a dreaded fear.
In today’s first reading, King Ahaz didn’t want to see Isaiah’s sign, because he thought it would aggravate God. But God will not give us signs unless He feels they are very important for us to see. And the sign that King Ahaz’s received was not only a sign of God’s care for him, but it also prefigured God’s sign of love for ALL of humanity and for all of time – through the Blessed Virgin Mary and through Jesus Christ.
You see, Mary’s “Yes” to accept the Angel Gabriel’s sign and to follow the will of God, was an incredible Sacrifice on the part of Mary. She risked not only her reputation, but the possibility of losing her husband, and even facing death by stoning – which all led to our Salvation.
Jesus’ “Yes” to the will of God, His Father, to become human, to suffer, just as we do in this physical humanity, and to even face humiliation, physical pain and death by crucifixion – all led to our Salvation because of God’s great love for us.
So the next time we see any sign from God, beloved, it may be a warning, or an invitation, or even a promise of hope, then that’s the time for us to open up our hearts and know – that even though it may involve some sacrifice, our salvation is most certainly close at hand, and we have absolutely nothing to dread or fear, because we know that our God Loves us, and His signs truly are – all around us!
03-24-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 24, 2015
Jesus said, “if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” . . “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me.” Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him. Jn 8:21-30
If this Scripture passage is cryptic to you, beloved, don’t get too stressed. When we get to know the Scriptures a little better we come to know that the I AM is the Name that refers to God. And our Trinitarian God is the three persons of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And all three are ONE.
Here Jesus is professing that he IS part of that Trinitarian I AM, Jesus is the promised Savior or Messiah, the Son. And if we believe in Him, we surely have life. And only God can give us that life. And only we can choose to live in and with our God!
So Choose Life, beloved! Choose Jesus!
03-23-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 23, 2015
Jesus said to the condemning judges, or maybe it was the judging condemned, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Jn 8:1-11
And no stones were thrown! At least there was honesty in their dishonesty.
And Jesus said to her, to the condemning crowd, and to us, beloved, “Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” ibid
In His compassion for us, God wants only the best for us – of our own free will! And the Holy Spirit will give us all the help we need!
03-22-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 22, 2015
(Fifth Sunday of Lent, B)
Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will preserve it for eternal life.” Jn_12:20-33
Death to sin. New life in Christ (baptism). New life, better than the old. And all of that brings us HOPE. So don’t cling on to the material life beloved, which will die. Strive instead for the eternal life with God and “hate” the things of the world!
03-21-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 21, 2015
In arguing about Jesus, the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them (the guards), “Why did you not bring him?” The guards answered, “Never before has anyone spoken like this man.” So the Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law, is accursed.” Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him (Jesus) earlier, said to them, “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” Jn_7:40-53
Jesus said that a house divided cannot not stand. Mk 3:25
It was pretty obvious that the Pharisees who wanted Jesus eliminated were not all in agreement. Unfortunately, the one with the biggest mouth always seems to get his way. And it was no different for Jesus. But little did they know that their own condemnation brought life, not only for Jesus, but for the whole world. And thanks be to God for that life!
03-20-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 20, 2015
The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright: “Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings,
Wis 2:1a, 12-22
If a goal or a part of our lives is righteousness, then this quote from the Book of Wisdom really does strike a chord. That intent is all around us, and they call it ‘political correctness.’ It’s really evil in disguise. From the commonplace use of cursing, which we can now hear coming from the “mouths of babes,” to the persecution of those who stand against the murder of abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, same sex marriage (which is an oxymoron) and terrorism. Beware if we stand up for moral righteousness instead of relativism. We will be persecuted! And yet, Jesus said, “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Mt 5:10
So be strong, beloved, for God IS with us!
And in our ‘worldly’ end, is our heavenly birth!
03-18-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 18, 2015
Jesus said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes in the one who sent me has eternal life and will not come to condemnation, but has passed from death to life.” Jn 5:17-30
Believe!
03-17-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 17, 2015
(St. Patrick, Bishop)
At the healing waters of the Pool of Bethesda, a 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. Jn 5:1-16
Oh, stop your belly-aching!
What are you really looking for, a healing or just a bunch of attention? Sometimes, beloved, we tend to lose focus on what we’re really looking for and settle for the ever pitiable attention our illness attracts. Jesus says, “Rise,” pick up that cross of yours and move on with LIFE! We all have something we can belly-ache about – but nobody really wants to hear it anyway. So, together let’s rise out of our self-pity and become what God really wants us to be . . . His beloved children!
03-16-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 16, 2015
The LORD said through the prophet Isaiah, “Thus says the LORD: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; The things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; Is_65:17-21
No more death. No more pain. No more suffering. No more lies and murders. No more terrorism or jealousy, fanaticism or greed. A NEW heavens and a new earth, beloved! Praise the Lord. When we can begin to envision this. When we can begin to embrace this, then we are on the road to that Kingdom. Seek Jesus with all your heart, beloved, and all this will come to pass in exchange for the NEW!
Special blessings this evening to a special deacon friend and his family. As David enters that Kingdom to be with our God, our prayers and love go out to him and his loved ones!
03-15-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 15, 2015
(Fourth Sunday Lent, B; Laetare Sunday)
Jesus said to Nicodemus: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.” For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.
Jn 3:14-21
And just as Jesus was lifted up on that cross in order to give us eternal life, so we lift each other up in communion with Jesus! And what’s it all worth? ETERNAL LIFE – with one another, with Jesus, with God the Father in union with the Holy Spirit – FOREVER!
Couldn’t hope for anything better, beloved!
So, REJOICE!
03-14-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 14, 2015
Jesus told a story about a “righteous” Pharisee and a despised tax collector. “The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’” Lk 18:9-14
Do we ever do that, beloved: 1. think that we are so righteous because of the things we DO, or 2. compare ourselves to others, thinking how much better, blessed, or even lucky we are, that we’re not in their position? Funny, as life goes on, we very often find ourselves, at some later time, EXACTLY in the position they were in: unemployed, poor, sinful, despised, ill and in pain…
Today’s Scriptures tell us that God is not looking for sacrifice, but for love! It may not be in our human natures, not to compare, not to judge, not to try to be great in our own eyes, but that is what Jesus is asking us to work on. And that may be a whole lot harder than giving up some chocolate or even volunteering at the Food Bank for Lent. Again, it’s all about love! How much can we really LOVE: God and our fellow humankind, in recognition that we are JUST LIKE THEM – in greatness AND in need?
03-13-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 13, 2015
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mk_12:28-34
That’s it, beloved! It’s all about Love.
03-12-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 12, 2015
Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.” Lk 11:14-23
Wisdom! That goes not only for our belief and support of Jesus, but for spouses, families, corporations, cities, nations and even our own world. Are we UNITED or are we divided? Will we stand or will we fall? Jesus gives the answer. So be ONE in every endeavour you are involved with beloved, from your faith in God to your support for one another in this ONE world we live in.
BE ONE!
03-11-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 11, 2015
(Third Wednesday of Lent, B)
Moses spoke to the people and said: “Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees which I am teaching you to observe, that you may live,” Dt 4:1, 5-9
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” “. . . whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.” Mt 5:17-19
Do you remember learning how to ride a bicycle or drive a car when you were a youngster?
I remember my dad teaching me how to drive on his souped up, stick shift Chevy.
There were so many things we had to remember . . .
– Remember your turn signal.
– Stop at the stop signs and lights.
– Don’t forget to push in the clutch when you want to change gears.
– And ever so slowly, let the clutch out while giving it some gas at the same time, in order to get moving. And if it wasn’t done perfectly, that car would stall on the spot. For us, that was quite a trick, especially on the hills of North Jersey.
– And of course, there was always that most important Rule: to watch for the other cars. It seemed like the list was endless.
Having now had to teach my own kids how to drive, I can truly understand my dad’s motivations:
Number one: we didn’t want our kids to get hurt or killed in an accident.
Number two: we didn’t want to have to deal with expensive repair bills or insurance costs, if they did have an accident – so DON’T have an accident!
And number three: well, it was just the law, and we didn’t want our own kids breaking the law and getting in trouble for something we didn’t teach them about.
Funny, after all that, I still remember that fender-bender on my first solo day out. And, as clear as yesterday, that first encounter with a speed trap, not much later.
In today’s Scriptures we have two dads teaching us the importance of following the Rules of Life. And it’s pretty much for the same reasons our parents had, in teaching us to drive:
Love, Cost and Responsibility!
Moses had been with those Israelites, through what may have seemed like an eternity . . . From the arguments with Pharoah, to the crossing of the Red Sea. From feeding them with manna, to getting water from a rock, and wandering in the desert for 40-years, these people became his beloved children.
And now Moses had the responsibility of making sure that they learned and obeyed what He taught, what God taught – through the Ten Commandments. It was all those details, just like when we learned to drive. And it was all about love and cost and responsibility.
And then some 1300-years later, Jesus comes along, and teaches the people that – the most important Rules are: to Love God and to Love our neighbor. So the people may have been wondering, “What about all those other rules.”
You know, after we got a few weeks and months under our belts, – driving, out in the real world, our dads didn’t remind us every time we borrowed the car keys, to stop at the stop signs, and push in the clutch, and watch for the other drivers . . .
No! All he would say, was to “BE CAREFUL!”
And that didn’t negate all those other rules. It just put them all together in a short statement . . .
“Our Heavenly Dad Loves us.”
And He only wants to have us together with Him forever. That’s all! And that’s why we have some rules. They’re just our little reminders of His Love for every one of us.
And then, Jesus paid the Cost.
So we don’t have to worry about repairs or insurance. All we have to do is follow the rules.
And those rules now include, answering His call to pass-on that Love to every person we meet. It’s our Responsibility.
Love, Cost and Responsibility.
They’re ours to receive and they’re OURS to Give!
03-10-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 10, 2015
Peter approached Jesus and asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” Mt 18:21-35
The intensity of this Love is almost unbearable. How could we possibly be that incredibly forgiving? Remember, with Jesus, all things are possible. So we bite our tongues, we say a prayer and we FORGIVE anyway. And we remember that God IS the “just judge.” All things will balance out in the long run! We just need to keep our focus on our own actions and be sure that we don’t “sin” against others!
03-09-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 9, 2015
In the time of Elisha the prophet, during the Jewish diaspora to foreign lands, a leading commander of their adversary came to the land of Judah seeking a miraculous healing. After a rather disappointing route to that healing, Naaman – returned with his whole retinue to the man of God. On his arrival he stood before him and said, “Now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel.” 2 Kgs 5:1-15ab
Sometimes, beloved, miracles come from the most unlikely of places. Sometimes we are endowed with the grace of forgiveness, the grace of compassion and the grace of healing, even when we might not deserve it. THIS is what Jesus is offering us all! All we need do is come and ask.
And if we are already strong believers, that just might be the time for a good Lenten check to reignite that love – for as Jesus said: “Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place. .. there were many lepers in Israel during the time of Elisha the prophet; yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” Lk 4:24-30
The Grace of Conversion often happens when we let go of our preconceptions of what conversion is supposed to look like and accept it in whatever way it comes to us. Maybe it’s the smile of an infant. Maybe the nod of a stranger. And maybe even the seemingly undeserved thanks from a homeless street person. Every day, beloved, we should be converted over and over again to a stronger love for God – and for ALL of His Children!
03-08-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 8, 2015
(Third Sunday of Lent, B)
St. Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth,
“Brothers and sisters: Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 1 Cor 1:22-25
As Jesus zealously defended the holiness of the Temple by expelling the money changers and sales people, His disciples would later recall the Old Testament Scripture that described His love for God in His Temple as, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” Jn_2:13-25
How consumed by our Love for God are we, beloved? Are we consumed enough to be called “zealous?” Are we consumed enough to give thanks to God for the immeasurable Gifts He constantly showers upon us – EVEN IN PUBLIC. Are we consumed enough to share the love of Jesus with those who do not yet know Him, or with those who may misunderstand God’s love for EVERYONE?
We are ALL in need of salvation, beloved. And Jesus is there with its offer. Come to Him. Fall in love with Him. And then share that love ZEALOUSLY (despite the ‘world’s’ opinion)!
03-07-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 7, 2015
(Sts. Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs)
The Lord is kind and merciful.
He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion. Ps 103
Today Jesus tells the parable of the Prodigal Son. It’s the story of all of our lives: Greed and it’s consequences; Recognition of our errant ways and begging for mercy; The LOVE of a merciful and compassionate Father; The Jealousy of a bitter brother; And how sometimes the Jealousy can be much worse than the Greed ever was.
When we come back to God, beloved, and ask His forgiveness for all of our errant ways. When we seek his help in showing us where we have gone wrong and how we can improve, God will ALWAYS come respond to us with forgiveness and love. And in that Love, we will come to know that He was never gone in the first place. He IS always there. It is we who sometimes get lost and leave His side. Come back, beloved, and know that – WE ARE NEVER ALONE!
03-06-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 6, 2015
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?” Mt 21:33-43, 45-46
In Jesus’ parable today, it’s pretty obvious that the landowner that he’s referring to – is God. The tenants in the story are the Israelites and the servants are the Prophets. Jesus talks about how the Israelites would not listen to God’s warnings that were spoken through the prophets, but instead, just had them killed. And when God, the Landowner, finally sent His Son – who, of course, is Jesus; we hear Jesus prophesying about what will happen in the very near future – with His own crucifixion and death.
But it’s interesting to see how the Pharisees didn’t immediately catch the tie. And then they proceeded to condemn themselves, when they recognized the injustice of it all.
After Jesus made the accusation of the parable clear to everyone, the Pharisees went off in a huff, planning to kill Jesus, and thus, fulfilling the parable’s prophesy, just as Jesus had said.
You see, the Pharisees were well versed in the Old Testament Scriptures. They knew well the story of Joseph and his brothers. And how the brothers’ jealousy led to the destruction of their own sibling, Joseph, or so they thought. And even though the brothers did not know – that the consequences of their actions would actually fulfill a dream that Joseph prophesyed – about their bowing down to him; nor did they know that Joseph would actually end up being their savior, the Pharisees did know it all by heart. And they also knew the quote about the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone. And yet they still chose to ignore it, based on their own jealousy and greed, thus fulfilling not only the Old Testament prophesies and prefiguring of the Joseph story, but also fulfilling the prophesy of Jesus’ parable of the landowner and the tenants.
It’s funny how sometimes, even we, can become blind to our own actions. When we become too over-focused with our own goals, and ignore the subtle consequences – that can actually be pretty devastating to others, or ourselves, we become the Pharisees of our own time. And when signs of warning start popping up in our lives, just as they did BY the Prophets to the Israelites, and just as they did BY Jesus to the Jewish Temple leaders, we’ll often find all kinds of excuses to “kill the messenger,” rather than actually listening to the message.
And that is exactly why we have Lent.
Lent is a time to step a little bit out of ourselves, to listen a little more attentively to the signs all around us, and to see what we can do to answer God’s call to Holiness a little better. Maybe it’s as simple as taking care of ourselves – a little more. Or maybe it’s finding a need of someone else – that we can help fill. But whatever it is, we need to always remember that the Holy Spirit is right there beside us, ready and willing to guide, to encourage, and to help us. And that’s a pretty comforting thought!
03-05-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 5, 2015
The LORD spoke through the Prophet Jeremiah,
“Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh, . . .
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD. . . .
More tortuous than all else is the human heart,
beyond remedy; who can understand it?
I, the LORD, alone probe the mind
and test the heart,” Jer 17:5-10
The ultimate MRI.
How is your mind and heart, beloved?
Will it pass the probing test of the LORD?
Is your trust in people or things: computers, house, car, job?
They can all disappear in the blink of an eye!
Blessed is he or she who trusts in the LORD!
Beyond human flesh, beyond ‘worldly’ life and death, beyond all the cares and worries we have in this world – we are at peace when our minds and hearts trust purely in the Lord – That’s our Jesus!
Be blessed, beloved, trust!
03-04-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 4, 2015
After being asked by his disciples about their heredity in His Kingdom, Jesus responded, “whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.” Mt 20:17-28
Not quite what they were expecting for an answer. Jesus constantly spoke about the importance of OTHERS rather than ourselves. If we’re looking for greatness, beloved, especially in God’s kingdom, THIS is where we need to go!
03-03-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 3, 2015
(St. Katharine Drexel)
Jesus said, “The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Mt_23:1-12
It’s called “Servant Leadership.” And it means: leading by example, caring enough for our people that we are willing to stand beside them to learn exactly what they are going through, so that we can fill their needs better, quicker and with true compassion. Servant leadership is washing our employees feet in order to teach them what they should do for one another. In being that servant leader, following the example set forth to us by Jesus, we WILL not only find happier employees, but productivity will increase, absenteeism will diminish, and we, as those servant leaders, will feel great about it too. Eventually we will even be exalted by God the Father. Jesus assures us of that!
03-02-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 2, 2015
Jesus said to his disciples: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you;” Lk_6:36-38
Sound advice, beloved, for all of us (me included)! Might just be a good way to start out a new month.
03-01-15 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 1, 2015
(Second Sunday of Lent, B)
As Jesus was transfigured before Peter, James and John on the mountain top, a cloud overshadowed them and from the cloud came a voice, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.” Mk_9:2-10
The revelation of Jesus’ Divinity.
The tie to Old Testament prophesy and law.
LISTEN!
Link to today’s homily: “No Surprise”
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Happy March, beloved!
Please stop by and visit February’s Daily Mass Quotes too…
Link below.
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EARLIER MONTH’S QUOTES can be found
in monthly subcategories of – “Whispers“
Link to Previous Month’s Whispers
Link to Next Month’s Whispers
Link back to Whispers to the Wind
Link to Saint of the Day
(also in Time page, under Liturgical Seasons section)
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