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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03-31-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 31, 2024
(The Resurrection of the Lord, Easter Sunday)
Peter proceeded to speak and said: . . . “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree. This man God raised on the third day and granted that he be visible, not to all the people, but to us, the witnesses chosen by God in advance, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commissioned us to preach to the people and testify that he is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.” Acts_10:34a,37-43
And THIS is why we believe! Though we have not seen for ourselves, we long for the love of God, the mercy of God, the forgiveness of anything we’ve done, knowingly or unknowingly, that contradicts this great love that He has for us and we should have for one another.
St. Paul wrote: If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory. Col_3:1-4
So, focus, beloved, NOT on the places, the relics, the architecture, the liturgies, the rules, the laws, though not to disrespect them in any way, but these are not what we are ultimately seeking. What we are seeking with all our hearts and souls is the love of God and the love of one another. And it all starts with our own attitudes. LOVE one another and give all the Glory to God!
Happy Easter!
Jesus IS risen,
for love of us, for the Glory of God the Father,
and through the grace of the Holy Spirit given to us!
03-30-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 30, 2024
Holy Saturday
Something strange is happening – there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear. Non-Biblical Reading, No. 13 for Holy Saturday, entitled “The Lord Descends into Hell,” an Ancient homily on Holy Saturday. Christian Prayer.
Silencio . . .
___________________________
03-29-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 29, 2024
Good Friday
He was spurned and avoided by people, a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity, one of those from whom people hide their faces, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. Yet it was our infirmities that he bore, our sufferings that he endured, while we thought of him as stricken, as one smitten by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins; upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed. We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all. Is_52:13-53:12
It is all WHY we cling to that cross so tightly. It is our reminder of what was done – just for us! OH, the love, OH the sacrifice! We will not stray. We will not turn away. We will not ever forsake Him by allowing the hurt and the pain of others to drive us to anger, to drive us to revenge, to drive us to hatred of anyone, ANYONE! OH the LOVE!
03-28-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 28, 2024
Holy Thursday
The LORD charged Moses with instructing the Israelites with specific tasks for their first “Passover.” If they were to be saved on that terrible and yet emancipating night, they were to follow, exactly, God’s instructions. And we remember the sacrifice of the perfect lamb, the blood on the doorposts, the totally consumed meal, the UNLEAVENED bread, and the wine and the bitter herbs. Moses said, “This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight. It is the Passover of the LORD.” Ex_12:1-8,11-14
It was their salvation from a land of slavery. It was their reminder of exactly who their God really was, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, their ancestors. And it was the beginning of a purification process that would end in death for many of the unbelievers among them, but eventual freedom for their own descendants.
As those descendants would slowly fall away again from recognizing, worshiping and relying upon their God, He would again share that Passover meal with them, with the name of Jesus. It was a NEW Covenant of God with His faithful believers. And with it came the charge, the instruction to LOVE! Not simply to love ourselves, but to love others even more than ourselves by giving of ourselves, just as Jesus did for us.
And yet, like the Israelites, we are also eating on the run. With our feet and bodies, minds and hearts clothed in the “armor of God,” we RUN from the enticements of a world gone mad. We cling to an UNLEAVENED life of humility and devotion and love for our God and for our neighbor. And we anxiously await the coming of that “Promised Land,” that Jesus has informed us, will be ours, IF we stay faithful to Him! And, we REMEMBER!
03-27-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 27, 2024
(Wednesday of Holy Week)
. . while they were eating, he (Jesus) said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me.” Mt_26:14-25
“Surely it is not I!!!”
You see, they ALL dipped! Peter denied. The rest all ran away, save for John. NO, not I!
Can we actually make it through one whole day, beloved, without betraying our Lord?
Oh, despite the rosaries, the prayers, the Masses, the intercessions, SURELY it IS I! OH Lord, help my unbelief! Strengthen my resolve! Help me to give it ALL for you! That one day I actually may truly be able to say NO, it wasn’t I! In the meantime, I DO thank you, Jesus, for Your Divine Mercy for all of us!
03-26-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 26, 2024
(Tuesday of Holy Week)
Hear me, O islands, listen, O distant peoples. 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
“From my mother’s womb,” I was named and called!
Do we feel that calling beloved?
Have we answered it, even in the least?
Have we acknowledged and given the Glory (for ourselves) to God?
To God goes all the glory for the mystery of ourselves, the mystery of His Glory in us!
I am His “sharp-edged sword.”
And it’s not really the “I” that has that power, but God in me.
Are we using that sword to share His Word, to share His Love?
It’s exactly that love that sometimes cuts, just like a sword, between bone and marrow, between pride and humility, between giving and taking, between bitterness and thanksgiving joy, and between heaven and hell. Which have we chosen, beloved? Or is our sword just getting rusty in its scabbard?
All the GLORY to God, for giving us Jesus, and for giving us YOU! For loving and dying and loving some more! Choose life, beloved! Choose Jesus! And choose to give all the Glory to God! Blessed be His name forever!
03-25-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 25, 2024
(Monday of Holy Week)
Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. Is_42:1-7
The large crowd of the Jews found out that he (Jesus) was there and came, not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him. Jn 12:1-11
The utter and obvious contradiction of how the Scriptures (the Jewish Scriptures) depicted this “messiah,” this “suffering servant” of God, and how the Jewish leaders (the Scripture Scholars) behaved. Filled with jealousy, filled with hatred, they would even eliminate those whom Jesus cured, in order to stifle the obvious Truth of who Jesus was. And exactly as those same Scriptures prophesied, Jesus would not quench the smoldering wick, nor break the bruised reed even up to death, His own death on a cross. All done to teach us how a true disciple should act as well – always in and out of Love (even of our enemies)! And yes, beloved, we are among those bruised reeds too! Maybe it’s time to take up that second and third and hundredth chance that we’ve been given – to change!
03-24-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 24, 2024
(Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion)
When Jesus and his disciples drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately on entering it, you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone should say to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ reply, ‘The Master has need of it and will send it back here at once.’” Mk_11:1-10
Unlike Jonah, who refused the risk, the challenge of the Lord’s commands, the disciples obediently listened to Jesus’s orders and followed them. And they always turned out exactly as He predicted. The disciples didn’t want to be accused of theft, but Jesus knew what he was doing and anticipated all repercussions. It was all in the big plan, the big scheme of things that they did not yet understand. Shortly thereafter, case in point, Mark describes another order . . .
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.” The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover. Mk_14:1-15:47
Now, what were the odds of that they would actually find ONE man carrying a water jar, and not twenty, and not none! And then, what were the odds that the man they decided was the right one was not just going to the store or to the bathroom. THIS is OUR Jesus! And when this Jesus asks us not to sin, or to fast, or to volunteer for some unimaginable task, who are we to question His motives. He wants only the very BEST for us, His children, even when it might not seem reasonable, or might cost a little! Are we willing, beloved (despite the cost of pride or tears or even blood)?
Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge • Painting, 1892
03-23-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 23, 2024
(St. Toribio of Mogrovejo, Bishop)
Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them (the Sanhedrin), “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” He did not say this on his own, but since he was high priest for that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him. So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples. Jn_11:45-56
Want to get rid of someone? Let it be well known that you and your cohorts are aiming to kill them. Well for those pompous Jewish leaders, even though they may have thought that they were carrying out the will of God, (which in essence, they were), it would all backfire in time for them. Not only will they lose their venerated positions, but their entire so-called holy city and temple would be lost to the Roman’s destruction in just a short 40-years from then. And Jesus, whom they were so set on destroying would not only be physically back among them, but would still be present to God’s children 2000+ years later. This is OUR Jesus, our Lord, whom we commemorate, worship and adore, especially in the week to come! Blessed be God forever!!!
03-22-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 22, 2024
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
Our hope, our life, our salvation,
Thank you Jesus!
03-21-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 21, 2024
Jesus said to the Jews: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never see death.” Jn_8:51-59
“Love!”
03-20-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 20, 2024
Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jn_8:31-42
True freedom IS God’s Truth. It is belief in Jesus. It is – that not even death will keep us away from God’s love. And God’s love is eternal life. Thus, death has no hold over us. And whenever someone holds the threat of death over us, thinking that they’re taking away our freedom, we know better. We know God’s Truth, that physical death has nothing to do with freedom. The freedom of being a Child of God! The freedom of eternal life with God, as our free will choice and our faith!
03-19-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 19, 2024
(St. Joseph, Husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ. . . . the angel of the Lord appeared to him (Joseph) in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home. Mt_1:16,18-21,24a
St. Joseph
Joseph of Nazareth, the dreamer, the carpenter, the husband of Mary (the Mother of God), and the stepfather of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
100-years ago, on the second day of Spring, in the year of our Lord 1921, a little Italian immigrant by the name of Teresa gave birth to the sixth of her eight living offspring. Being a pious Sicilian Catholic, with this new arrival just 2-days after the, all-important, March 19th Feast Day of St. Joseph, Teresa was unable to prepare her traditional St. Joseph Table feast that year, because of her pregnancy. So, along with her husband, George, they dedicated the name of this new child to St. Joseph, calling him, Joseph Matthew (after Teresa’s favorite Gospel).
Coincidentally, or maybe providentially, 32-years later, young Joseph and his beautiful, red-headed, Irish-descendant wife, Marion, gave birth to their second child and 1st son. The child was quite unoriginally dubbed, Joseph Matthew, Jr. And, most likely, unbeknownst to his parents, Joseph Matthew Jr. just happened to be born on the Feast Day of St. Matthew, September 21st.
And maybe, equally providentially, the precise day and year of Jr’s birth turned out to be the exact same day and year that a 17-year young, Argentinean, by the name of Jorge (that’s George) heard his call to a priestly vocation. The budding Chemist, Jorge, never imagined that 59-years later, and just 6-days prior to the Feast Day of St. Joseph, in 2013, he would become the 266th Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Catholic Church, taking the name, Pope Francis. . . .
And neither did the young Chemist, Joseph Jr., ever imagine himself as “Deacon Joe,” as being a professed, Secular Franciscan, or, as having a Franciscan Priest as a son, through his marriage to Mary Ann, another beautiful Irish descendant, just like his mom. And so it is of no coincidence, that this Joseph, ordained at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, some 17-years ago, has the honor, in this year of St. Joseph, to present to you: the Dreamer, the Carpenter, the Husband of another famously beautiful Mary, and the Step-Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, whose name – is Joseph of Nazareth.
Never in My Wildest Dreams
Maybe, in order to know a little bit about the heart of St. Joseph, the Step-father of God, of Jesus, we should also know a little bit about his Jewish Patron, Joseph, the 1st-born-son of Jacob and Rachel, and the great-grandson of the Patriarch Abraham. You see, Joseph was the obedient son of a rebellious, but . . .
03-18-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 18, 2024
(St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Doctor of the Church)
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come. Ps 23
Among my all time favorite Scriptures, the Twenty-third Psalm. We used to read this often in our fourth grade of Public School. Oh that the world could find the Hope of God, the Love of Jesus and the security of the Holy Spirit again!
03-17-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 17, 2024
(5th Sunday Lent, B, St. Patrick, Bishop)
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
Before we can ever reach the next step on any ladder, we must let go of the one we’re clinging onto. And so it goes with life. If we cling to the world and all its possessions, we already know that we and it will one day cease to exist. But if we let go of it, if we “die” to it, then we will be ready to grab ahold of our eternal life which will well surpass anything we’ve ever experienced on this “ladder” so far. It’s our hope. And Jesus holds the key!
Happy St. Pat’s
03-16-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 16, 2024
While the crowds in Jerusalem were listening to Jesus, some began to ponder if He really was the promised Messiah, the Christ. Though others were still skeptical. In the meantime the Pharisees were stoking the fires of their anger and hatred toward Him. Even the temple guards were impressed by His teaching, which heightened the anger of the Pharisees enough to begin pointing accusatory fingers at them and at everyone else who had the least bit of compassion toward Jesus. In the midst of their outbursts, a voice of reason, a voice of rationality was heard from none less than, Nicodemus, one of their members who had come to him earlier, (who) said to them, “Does our law condemn a man before it first hears him and finds out what he is doing?” They answered and said to him, “You are not from Galilee also, are you? Look and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.” Jn_7:40-53
And so we come, full circle, back to Sunday’s introduction to Nicodemus, the famous teacher and Pharisee, who came in secret to meet with Jesus. Nicodemus wasn’t satisfied with the prejudgment and condemnation of Jesus by his brother Pharisees, and wanted to find out for himself what Jesus was all about. And having done so, the faith of Nicodemus had now grown to the point of actually (gently) standing up for him in the midst of a wild bunch of vigilantes. That was probably among the bravest supports of Jesus in all the Gospel writings, especially coming from a Pharisee in the presence of his own clan, who had proven to be staunch enemies of everything Jesus stood for. And it all makes us ponder, ourselves, beloved, could I come even close to that kind of brave Faith in our Lord and Savior? Faith strong enough to risk a lifetime of work to get to where I think is so important a position in life? Life that would not even exist without His creation of my very cells and spirit? How far are WE willing to go, beloved??? How strong is OUR faith?
03-15-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 15, 2024
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, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. . . . Let us condemn him to a shameful death; for according to his own words, God will take care of him.” These were their thoughts, but they erred; for their wickedness blinded them, and they knew not the hidden counsels of God; Wis_2:1a,12-22
Jesus cried out in the temple area as he was teaching and said, “You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me.” So they tried to arrest him, but no one laid a hand upon him, because his hour had not yet come. Jn_7:1-2,10,25-30
As we move closer and closer to that highlight, that climax of the Church year – Easter, just two weeks away, we can see the tension rising in our Scriptures. Tension building to the very climax we’re anticipating.
We can see the unsureness of those living in the presence of something quite different, something, actually, rather extraordinary, and yet something very dangerous to their own lives, as well. And it was causing great anxiety, fear, introspection and even a little hope in some of the Jewish people. And His name was Jesus.
You see, living in a land that was occupied by the Romans. Romans who were constantly battling against, not only other nations, but even among themselves, as we remember on this “Ides of March,” the Jews saw that these people were truly a mixture of some pretty powerful, some totally crazy, and even some pretty immoral people.
And in the midst of all the differences between the Jewish leaders, the zealots and the Romans, they found themselves stuck in the middle. A middle, where they never knew when the next mass murder, the next power turnover, or the next impact on their own existence might happen.
And with their own Church leaders not very sympathetic to their plight of over-taxation, innumerous laws and constant threat, their self-introspection, skepticism and constant words of gossip became the norm, even to the extreme of not believing what their own eyes saw, nor what their own ears heard. And that runaway skepticism, blinded them from the very Truth – who was walking right there, among them.
You know, sometimes we can surround ourselves with a darkened bubble of protection. And we can’t see anything outside of it. And when something, or someone, comes bumping against our little, sacred bubble of safety, our imaginations can go wild. And not always or necessarily in a sane direction. And instead of trying to understand those new bumps of revelation, we tend to just eliminate their source instead. And there, we have the presence of Jesus in a world of insanity.
The question is, and us not being very far from their own world situation, 2000 years later, the question is, ‘What do WE do with it?’ Sure, by now, oceans of libraries have been filled with the Theology, the History, the Commentaries, the Saints, and the Revelations of Jesus. But what do WE do . . . when it all comes bumping into OUR own little Bubbles of Protection?
It’s something to think about, beloved, as we approach the Greatest Revelation the world has ever known. Resurrection, and our own eternal life, with Jesus! Bump…..Bump….Bump
03-14-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 14, 2024
Jesus said to the Jews: . . . How can you believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that comes from the only God? Jn_5:31-47
Hmmm, one to think about. From whom are we seeking praise, beloved? Is it from the only One who really matters? God praises us even though we don’t realize it, even though we may refuse to accept it. Recognize that praise, beloved. And then live up to it!
03-13-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 13, 2024
Jesus answered and said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the Son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for what he does, the Son will do also. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything that he himself does, and he will show him greater works than these, so that you may be amazed. For just as the Father raises the dead and gives life, so also does the Son give life to whomever he wishes. Nor does the Father judge anyone, but he has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Jn_5:17-30
And so it is, Belief, Respect, Obedience, Action and Goodness (through our love for God and for one another) are what we should be seeking if we’re looking for passing the Judgment test and not being condemned for all eternity. Good reason! Good goals!
03-12-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 12, 2024
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 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.” Ez_47:1-9,12
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. Jn_5:1-16
Jesus, our healing. “Springs of living water!” Come and drink from the fountain of eternal life!
Ever wonder where all these places they name in the Scriptures were?
Here’s a great reference (with source shown in the image)
Also, for direction – North is at top, Temple faces east. . .
03-11-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 11, 2024
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; For I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; Is_65:17-21
Hmmmmmm!??? Pray for Jerusalem and Israel and Palestine and Russia and Ukraine and South America and Central America and Africa and China and ourselves, beloved, that somehow or other we can rediscover the Joy, God has created us to have with one another! The beautiful Joy of companionship, of brotherhood, of unity!
03-10-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 10, 2024
(4th Sunday of 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
We’re living in a world where we have this incredible information capability, right there at our fingertips, or even, at the sound of our inquiring voices. For example, if I were to say something like “Hey Siri,” or “Hey Alexa,” or “Hey Google,” I’d bet that half of our phones just buzzed; . . . Sorry.
And as annoying as that may be; you know, it really makes our lives a whole lot easier, especially if, you’re anything like me, having grown, or as C.S. Lewis would say, “aged,” to the point of knowing so much, that we can’t quite remember half of it.
All we have to do today, is to say, or type into our little pocket brains, something as concise as: “I pledge . . .” and instantly, we’ll get the response, “allegiance,” along with 3-billion other options for more information.
And that can go for a lot of famous quotes, like:
“I believe in one …” – God
“Bless us O …” – Lord
“There but for the …” – Grace of God
“On my honor I will do my …” – duty to God and my country, Yup, remember that Boy Scout Pledge.
Or, how about, “Forgive us our …” – Trespasses
“Forever and ever …” – Amen
And then, there’s that Greatest of all Bible Quotes, the world has ever known: “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. John 3:16
You see within that concise, 27-word statement, is the Answer to every problem we could ever possibly conceive in this life – LOVE,
And, within that quote is the greatest Hope we could ever possibly imagine – ETERNAL LIFE,
And within that quote is the very MEANS by which we can achieve both the Answer and the Hope – and it’s called BELIEF.
And THERE, is the cause for our REJOICING, on this Laetare, or 4th, Rose Sunday of Lent. . . .
“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.”
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And yet, the light, the hope, and the promise that we find in this statement, is not really something new.
– God’s Love has been around, since the very beginning of time, as we know it.
– Eternal life has been an option, a grace, given to us by God, since His earliest creation of Adam and Eve.
– And Belief in God’s love for us,
– Belief that His Commandments were really designed for our own benefits, and not for some great exhibition of His power,
– Belief that our choices really DO make a difference, not just for us, but for the whole, interacting world around us,
– is the “clincher” between death and eternal life, for us.
And, all of it, ALL OF IT, is summed up – in the Name – of Jesus!
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The ancient Israelites were first-hand witnesses to the consequences of unbelief in God’s boundless love, as we heard in our first reading today. And we can extend their trend of rising and falling, of mountain tops and ocean bottoms all the way from Adam and Eve to our very own life-experiences, today.
Which brings us to this Pharisee, named Nicodemus, whom we heard about in our Gospel reading. We might call Nicodemus a ‘case study in faith,’ in Belief in Jesus. And we might even be asking ourselves: What does “belief” in God, belief in Jesus, really mean?
You see, Nicodemus, kinda believed! He kinda believed, strongly enough to risk, actually talking with the Jesus, the enemy of the Pharisees, even though, he thought, that it was under the cover, the safety, of the darkness of night. And yet, we know, that there is NEVER darkness in the presence of Jesus. A fact that Nicodemus had yet to learn.
A little later on, in his faith journey, Nicodemus believed, boldly enough to actually defend the life of Jesus, in a debate with his companion Pharisees, who, like a pack of wolves, were sharpening their teeth to pounce on this “Lamb of God,” (Jn_7:50) – this LIGHT that threatened the very existence of their personal darkness.
Nicodemus kinda believed.
And yet, his kinda belief was not daring enough to actually surrender his position as co-leader of those wolves. His belief was not uncomfortable enough to give up his notoriety, his fame, his wealth. And his belief was not understanding enough to join Jesus: in stepping out of the darkness and into the light, in accepting both death and new life, and in taking the full plunge into the baptismal waters of new birth in the Spirit!
As his faith continued to grow, Nicodemus finally did begin to believe, deeply enough, to help Joseph of Arimathea in preparing the crucified body of Jesus for burial. Jn_19:39
‘It was OVER,’ he thought.
‘He missed his chance.’
‘Maybe it was all, just a dream.’
‘Maybe it was all, just a lie.’
BELIEF!
With one foot in the world and one foot with Jesus, Nicodemus, like the Apostles, thought, they could always go back to their “old” lives.
And yet, maybe not! Maybe something within them, underwent a permanent change, an Ontological Change, a change in the very essence of their being!
You see, we might argue, “Yeah, but!” Yeah, but, we need people to keep one foot in the world, and one foot in God, in order to bring this lost world into conversion. And we need people to read, and to watch, all those magical and mystical stories of witches and evil, of death and revenge, so that we know what’s influencing that nasty world out there; and what’s stealing the minds of our children away from “our” God, OUR God! Hmmm, the God whom, we ourselves, are still struggling to believe in.
And yet, IS it – out of Love for us – that Satan wants to shower us with enticing, though insidious, sinfulness? Is it out of Thanksgiving, out of Compassion, that he wants to bless us – with eternal darkness and death?
And, is our own belief in God, deep enough, to let go of . . . EVERYTHING, even the temporary enticements, the temporary illusions – that evil has deceived us into believing to be so essential to our lives, as we wander about, lost in the mediocrity of twilight darkness?
You see, neither Satan, nor Jesus wants just one foot from us. They want ALL of us!
– Darkness or Light,
– Despair or Rejoicing,
– Death or Life!
Either / Or, but no straddling the line.
Our God is calling us to the Light. And He wants us to know, wants us to believe, in the very depths of our being, that His Love, His Mercy, His Grace in our lives can conquer every possible reservation we may have – to Trust and to Believe in Him!
And He proves it – in 27-simple words:
“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.” †
jmp 03-09-24
03-09-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 9, 2024
(St. Frances of Rome, Religious)
God spoke through the prophet Hosea saying, “For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Hos_6:1-6
Jesus addressed a parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else, concluding, “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” Lk_18:9-14
Paradigm breakers! Sometimes, beloved, the way it has always been done is not really the BEST way nor even the right way. After all those years of burning cows and killing lambs we come to find out that that wasn’t God’s priority anyway. His priority was us burning away our sins, our evil, our disobedience to his commandments. If the sacrifices don’t make a change in us, what’s the point of the sacrifices. So if we give up food, we should be giving what we don’t eat to those who HAVE NOTHING to eat. And do it out of love, not some desire for reward or exaltation. The way to God’s heart is not thinking we’re holy or doing lots of pious things, but in humbly sharing His Love with those in most need of it. Love!
03-08-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 8, 2024
(St. John of God, Religious)
The Scribe said to Jesus, “To love God ‘with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” Mk_12:28-34
What trumps the things we do, the prayers we say, the sacrifices we make to try to come closer to God, beloved? LOVE! Unlike many of the Pharisees who were so focused, so concentrated on all the trivial incidentals of Law and sacrifice, this Scribe seemed to Jesus to understand the fact that Love trumps it all. And that means, not just love of those who love us, but even those who don’t! Even as far as our enemies. Love has no boundaries. And it shouldn’t for us any differently than it should for God. God loves us all, and so should we! And when and if we can ever get to that point of true, Godly, love, as Jesus said to the Scribe, he’ll say to us, we’ll be “not far from the Kingdom of God.” It may take a lifetime to get there, but it’s worth it, to never stop trying!
03-07-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 7, 2024
(Ss. Felicity and Perpetua, Martyrs)
Jesus said, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.” And again He said, “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Lk 11:14-23
Jesus IS our everything! How can we stand against ourselves? Jews, Palestinians, blacks, whites, Russians, Ukrainians, Mexicans, Americans, Democrats, Republicans, men, women and children, we are all one, ONE body of Christ. Maybe it’s time to start living it, to start believing it! God is God of all, in Love, in Unity! Let’s start standing together ♥
03-06-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 6, 2024
Moses spoke to the Israelites, saying, “take care and be earnestly on your guard not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live, but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.” Dt_4:1,5-9
. . . Freedom from Egyptian oppressors; food and drink in the barren desert; guidance, protection and warmth against the desert heat and cold; success against brutal enemies; and a brand new and “promised” homeland with an abundance of milk and honey, crops and livestock – these were the gifts that their loving God showered upon the Israelites who were faithful to Him.
So, how many can we number, beloved, in our short lifespans, thousands of years later? The gift of Jesus, the gift of freedom, the gift of choice, the gift of survival against the brutal enemies of our own time. The gift of relative health. The gift of wisdom, the gift of community, the gift of Church. The gift of power and water and food and work and home and security and air and nature and ………
How very blessed we are, beloved!
Rejoice, together with our children,
in the Lord of ALL!
03-05-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 5, 2024
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
Jesus constantly spoke about the virtue of mercy over revenge. In this instance with Peter, He presented a parable about man who begged forgiveness of his master, to whom was owed a great debt. And after he was forgiven the debt, the man proceeded to chastise and punish someone who owed to him a much smaller debt. The point being, that God is constantly forgiving us for a multitude of transgressions that we make every day against Him and one another. So who are we not to forgive those who transgress against us? Thus we have Jesus’ prayer “forgive us our trespasses AS WE FORGIVE those who trespass against us!”
Contrary to the theme of most of our movies and games and innate human nature, we really do not have the right or privilege or even common sense to throw stones at the transgressor on the other side of the glass bubbles that we’re living in. For in the process, we’ll be rained upon by the very glass we’ve broken by our own volition.
The Bible is just chock full of examples of unjust harm, unsuccessful revenge and God’s bountiful mercy: Cain and Abel, Jonah and Nineveh, Satan and Job, Absalom and David, David and Uriah, the Prophets and unfaithful Israelites, John the Baptist and Herod, and Jesus himself. You see, revenge never pays in a way that we’d actually like in the end, or even benefit from. For justice never comes from anything we, sinners, invoke, but from the very mercy we extend and the mercy we receive from the ONLY just judge – God Himself. And the battle that we fight is not one of flesh against flesh, but a spiritual one that only Jesus can and did win for us. All we need do is stand behind Him within the bubbles of our own mercy!
03-04-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 4, 2024
(St. Casimir, Prince of Poland)
Naaman, the Aramean leper, came with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. The prophet sent him the message: “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.” But Naaman went away angry, saying, “I thought that he would surely come out and stand there to invoke the LORD his God, and would move his hand over the spot, and thus cure the leprosy. . . . But his servants came up and reasoned with him. “My father,” they said, “if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary, would you not have done it? All the more now, since he said to you, ‘Wash and be clean,’ should you do as he said.” So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times at the word of the man of God. His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. 2_Kgs_5:1-15ab
How do we, beloved, because of our pride, because of our preconceptions of how the world should turn (in OUR way), because of our stubbornness, or any other “justification,” how do we miss the GRACE of God that is so freely available to us in our humility and obedience to His Word? God wants nothing less than the very best for us. And sometimes that’s provided in unconventional ways, in surprises! Are we open to the SURPRISES? Are we open to HIS will, and sometimes not ours? Jesus said “Ephphatha,” be opened! And that’s some pretty good all-around advice!
03-03-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 3, 2024
(Third Sunday of Lent, B)
In those days, God delivered all these commandments: . . .
You shall not have other gods besides me. “You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished the one who takes his name in vain. “Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.
Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you. You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him.” Ex_20:1-17
In a nutshell, Love the Lord your God, and Love your neighbor as yourself!
No greater commandment is there than these!
Nothing about revenge, nothing about justice, nothing about priorities.
Only LOVE!
03-02-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 2, 2024
The young man, Coming to his senses (he) thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger. I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”‘ Lk_15:1-3,11-32
So why do we, beloved, have to get to the point of “starving” in order to recognize how much we really do need our Heavenly Father? Jesus calls us back home! And God tells us, “Listen to him!”
Birthday blessings to my dearest sister, Patricia!
Oh how I miss, and sometimes don’t miss too – HOME!
03-01-24 Catholic Daily Mass Quotes
March 1, 2024
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. Gn 37:3-28a
In Jesus’ parable, after sending entourage after entourage of emissaries to collect his crops from the tenants of his land to no avail, the landowner 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. Then Jesus asked, “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.” Mt_21:33-43,45-46
Little did the Pharisees realize that they were condemning themselves with that answer.
A long time after Joseph’s plight, and a long time before the plight of Jesus, there was a prophet by the name of Nathan. Nathan was not listed in the Bible, as one of the great, or Major Prophets, like Elijah, or Jeremiah, or Isaiah. And he wasn’t listed among the Minor Prophets, like Amos, or Micah, or Malachi. As a matter of fact, Nathan didn’t even have a Bible Book named after himself.
But what Nathan DID have to his credit, was that he was the Prophet for the great, King David. And as great, and as famous, and as mighty as King David was, he wasn’t quite perfect either. You see, within David’s long reign as King of Israel, he had done some pretty nasty, some pretty selfish, and some, not so pretty, atrocious deeds.
And if you’re the Advisor to as mighty and ferocious, and yet as Godly of a man – as King David, you might just wonder how you get someone like that to see the error of his ways – without getting your own head lopped off in the process.
Well, just as Jesus subtly twisted the empathy of the Pharisees to pointing a finger of blame on their very own atrocities, so Nathan, with a very well thought out story, got King David to see the insensitivity, the selfishness and the horror of his interactions with the beautiful Bathsheba and her intently dedicated husband, Uriah.
So, how does one open the eyes of a needlepoint-focused sinner, of a professional spear-thrower, when the target is painted on our own backs? Well, just like Nathan and Jesus, we introduce him or her – to the Boomerang! In a needlepoint-focused way, using their own tactics, we subtly open their eyes to a different, a wider, a bigger point of view.
We’ve all read the stories of the “sell-out” of Joseph, a thousand times. But did we ever consider the REASON WHY – those ten other brothers were so incensed, so obsessed with his downfall? Maybe Joseph wasn’t quite that perfect either, despite all of his glorious visions and his father’s favoritism.
Maybe the story is meant, instead, to point US in another direction, besides it’s prefiguring Jesus, in Joseph the Savior. Maybe it’s meant to point us in a direction of empathy, not only for the plight of Joseph, the victim, but, for understanding the underlying victimization of his oppressors – for the brothers – who had to put up with his arrogant behavior for years!
And maybe the tenants in Jesus’s parable, were likewise victimized in some way: by their environment, by their past, or even by the landowner himself. . . You see, in the end, it’s not our place to judge. But it IS our place to look INSIDE, and to find the Victim and the Oppressor – within.
Maybe we’re victims to our own needlepoint focus of what or whom we’re allowing ourselves to bejudged by, or to be the judges of.
Jesus is calling us today, to zoom out, and then back in, in order to see the bigger picture of life – from the outside-in and from the inside-out, and then, to find our Peace in it all. And, even better, to find God’s Peace in His Love!
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Happy March, beloved!
God’s blessings!
Please come 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“
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(also in Time page, under Liturgical Seasons section)
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