Final Hour

From ibelieve.com

When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.  And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”

He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately.  Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

Matthew 8:1-4

"Lord, I give my heart to You.  Make it clean and new, the way Your mercies are fresh every morning.  Amen."

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What's In A Name?

From thecatholictelegraph.com

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist,* others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.  And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

Matthew 16:13-19

"Father, thank You for the gift of Christ who redeemed us.  Grant us the grace to follow His footsteps and become effective witnesses to the faith.  Amen."

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

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Disturbed

From cedarview.org

Some time afterward, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: Do not fear, Abram! I am your shield; I will make your reward very great.

But Abram said, “Lord GOD, what can you give me, if I die childless and have only a servant of my household, Eliezer of Damascus?”  Abram continued, “Look, you have given me no offspring, so a servant of my household will be my heir.”

Then the word of the LORD came to him: No, that one will not be your heir; your own offspring will be your heir.  He took him outside and said: Look up at the sky and count the stars, if you can. Just so, he added, will your descendants be.

Abram put his faith in the LORD, who attributed it to him as an act of righteousness.

He then said to him: I am the LORD who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land as a possession. 

“Lord GOD,” he asked, “how will I know that I will possess it?”

He answered him: Bring me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old female goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.

He brought him all these, split them in two, and placed each half opposite the other; but the birds he did not cut up.  Birds of prey swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram scared them away.

As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a great, dark dread descended upon him.

When the sun had set and it was dark, there appeared a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch, which passed between those pieces.  On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi of Egypt to the Great River, the Euphrates,

Genesis 15:1-12,17-18

"Disturb me, Lord, when I become too pleased with myself.  Teach me to remember that faith is not receiving what I want from You, but graciously accepting what You want from me.  Help me grow in my trust in You.  Amen."

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The Challenge

From catholicreadings.org

“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.i This is the law and the prophets.

“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many.  How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.

Matthew 7:6,12-14

"Whenever I let the world consume my being, Lord, guide me back to You.  You alone are my heart's ultimate desire, the One who can satisfy the hunger and thirst."

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Changed

From idioms4eslstudents.blogspot.com

“Stop judging, that you may not be judged.  For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye?  You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:1-5

"Lord, through Your eyes and Your love, help me to change.  Awaken me to Your presence and the depth of Your love for me.  Amen."

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Cancel Culture

From cfhh.ca

“Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.  What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.  And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.  Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.  Even all the hairs of your head are counted.  So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.  Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.  But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.

Matthew 10:26-33

"Lord, thank You that no matter how grave my sin, You never cancel me.  Instead, You give me chance after chance to repent and mend my ways."

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God Honors

From blog.givecentral.org

Hear me, coastlands,
listen, distant peoples.

Before birth the LORD called me,
from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.

He made my mouth like a sharp-edged sword,
concealed me, shielded by his hand.

He made me a sharpened arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.

He said to me, You are my servant,
in you, Israel, I show my glory.

Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
for nothing and for naught spent my strength,
Yet my right is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.

For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
I am honored in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!

It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 49:1-6

"Lord, may I listen to You as You speak to me.  Grant me boldness to follow what You want me to do."

Solemnity of the Nativity of John the Baptist

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Real Dream Home

From in.pinterest.com

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.  But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

“The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.

Matthew 6:19-23

"Lord Jesus, may our eyes, minds, and hearts be fixed on You.  Amen."

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Market Preacher

From catholicfaithdefender.blogspot.com

If only you would put up with a little foolishness from me! Please put up with me.  For I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God, since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.  But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted from a sincere [and pure] commitment to Christ.  For if someone comes and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough.

For I think that I am not in any way inferior to these “superapostles".  Even if I am untrained in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.  Did I make a mistake when I humbled myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge?  I plundered other churches by accepting from them in order to minister to you.  And when I was with you and in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.  By the truth of Christ in me, this boast of mine shall not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.  And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

2 Corinthians 11:1-11

"God, remind me that nothing is too small for a big God who moves mountains and calms storms.  Amen."

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Grace Abounds

From pinterest.com

Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.  Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.

As it is written:
“He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”

The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.  You are being enriched in every way for all generosity, which through us produces thanksgiving to God,

2 Corinthians 9:6-11

"Open our eyes and heart to receive Your grace, O Lord.  May we use Your grace for good work."

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Significant

From phdessay.com

We want you to know, brothers, of the grace of God that has been given to the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their profound poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.  For according to their means, I can testify, and beyond their means, spontaneously, they begged us insistently for the favor of taking part in the service to the holy ones, and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us through the will of God, so that we urged Titus that, as he had already begun, he should also complete for you this gracious act also.  Now as you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you, may you excel in this gracious act also.

I say this not by way of command, but to test the genuineness of your love by your concern for others.  For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

2 Corinthians 8:1-9

"Father God, thank You for all the blessings and protection You have bestowed on my family.  I pray You make me a blessing to others every day."

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Mid-Year Bonus

From depositphotos.com

Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

For he says:
“In an acceptable time* I heard you,
and on the day of salvation I helped you.”

Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

We cause no one to stumble* in anything, in order that no fault may be found with our ministry; on the contrary, in everything we commend ourselves as ministers of God, through much endurance,* in afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, fasts; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in a holy spirit, in unfeigned love, in truthful speech, in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness at the right and at the left; through glory and dishonor, insult and praise. We are treated as deceivers and yet are truthful; as unrecognized and yet acknowledged; as dying and behold we live; as chastised and yet not put to death; as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things.

2 Corinthians 6:1-10

"Jesus, I receive Your grace, providence, and blessing today.  Amen."

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The Gift

From slideserve.com

At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.

The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town.  Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’  Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.

Matthew 9:36-10:8

"Lord, help me heal and be willing to share the gifts of healing You have given."

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Momme

From catholicnewsworld.com

Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom.  After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.  Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.  After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers.  When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”

And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  But they did not understand what he said to them.

He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.

Luke 2:41-51

"Lord, thank You that Mama Mary remembered everything about You.  When I turn to her, she always leads me to You."

Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

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Take Part In The Pain

From pinterest.com.mx

At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.  Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Matthew 11:25-30

"Lord, thank You that Mama Mary remembered everything about You.  When I turn to her, she always leads me to You."

Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

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See As You See

From pinterest.com

To this day, in fact, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts, but whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed.  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.  All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.

Therefore, since we have this ministry through the mercy shown us, we are not discouraged.

And even though our gospel is veiled, it is veiled for those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they may not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For we do not preach ourselves* but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus.  For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of [Jesus] Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:15-4:1,3-6

"Father, I am about to make a terrifying move in my life.  Help me to see as You see.  Amen."

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The Clash

From wnd.com

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.  Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place.  Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 5:17-19

"Lord, give me courage and resolve to stand by my faith in times of conflict.  May I live by Your ultimate law of love at all times, in Jesus' name."

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Shine Your Light

Using Nokia 7.2

“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.  Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house.  Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.

Matthew 5:13-16

"Jesus, help us to shine Your light to the world."

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Been There, Done That

From echotraining.org

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the holy ones throughout Achaia:  grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.

For as Christ’s sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow.  If we are afflicted, it is for your encouragement and salvation; if we are encouraged, it is for your encouragement, which enables you to endure the same sufferings that we suffer.  Our hope for you is firm, for we know that as you share in the sufferings, you also share in the encouragement.

2 Corinthians 1:1-7

"Lord, open my eyes to the deeper truth and meaning behind my struggles and pain.  Use me to help others who may go through the same trials."

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Our Daily Bread

I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.  For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.  Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.  This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”  These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

John 6:51-58

"Lord, please let Your words nourish me every day."

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ

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Thank God For Everything

When the wedding celebration came to an end, Tobit called his son Tobiah and said to him, “Son, see to it that you pay his wages to the man who made the journey with you and give him a bonus too.”

So Tobiah called Raphael and said, “Take as your wages half of all that you have brought back, and farewell!”

Raphael called the two of them aside privately and said to them: “Bless God and give him thanks before all the living for the good things he has done for you, by blessing and extolling his name in song. Proclaim before all with due honor the deeds of God, and do not be slack in thanking him.  A king’s secret should be kept secret, but one must declare the works of God and give thanks with due honor. Do good, and evil will not overtake you.  Prayer with fasting is good. Almsgiving with righteousness is better than wealth with wickedness. It is better to give alms than to store up gold,  for almsgiving saves from death, and purges all sin. Those who give alms will enjoy a full life, but those who commit sin and do evil are their own worst enemies.

“I shall now tell you the whole truth and conceal nothing at all from you. I have already said to you, ‘A king’s secret should be kept secret, but one must declare the works of God with due honor.’  Now when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed, it was I who presented the record of your prayer before the Glory of the Lord; and likewise whenever you used to bury the dead.  When you did not hesitate to get up and leave your dinner in order to go and bury that dead man, I was sent to put you to the test. At the same time, however, God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah.  I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand and serve before the Glory of the Lord.”

So now bless the Lord on earth and give thanks to God. Look, I am ascending to the one who sent me. Write down all that has happened to you.”  And he ascended.

Tobit 12:1,5-15,20

"Dear God, thank You for the little things that You bless us with.  May we see the good in every situation.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

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Forgiven

Meanwhile, Anna sat watching the road by which her son was to come.  When she saw him coming, she called to his father, “Look, your son is coming, and the man who traveled with him!”

Raphael said to Tobiah before he came near to his father: “I know that his eyes will be opened.  Apply the fish gall to his eyes, and the medicine will make the white scales shrink and peel off from his eyes; then your father will have sight again and will see the light of day.”

Then Anna ran up to her son, embraced him, and said to him, “Now that I have seen you again, son, I am ready to die!” And she sobbed aloud.

Tobit got up and stumbled out through the courtyard gate to meet his son. Tobiah went up to him with the fish gall in his hand and blew into his eyes. Holding him firmly, he said, “Courage, father.” Then he applied the medicine to his eyes, and it made them sting.  Tobiah used both hands to peel the white scales from the corners of his eyes. Tobit saw his son and threw his arms around him.

Weeping, he exclaimed, “I can see you, son, the light of my eyes!” Then he prayed,

“Blessed be God,
blessed be his great name,
and blessed be all his holy angels.

May his great name be with us,
and blessed be all the angels throughout all the ages.

God it was who afflicted me,
and God who has had mercy on me.

Now I see my son Tobiah!”

Then Tobit went back in, rejoicing and praising God with full voice. Tobiah related to his father how his journey had been a success; that he had brought back the money; and that he had married Raguel’s daughter Sarah, who was about to arrive, for she was near the gate of Nineveh.  Rejoicing and blessing God, Tobit went out to the gate of Nineveh to meet his daughter-in-law. When the people of Nineveh saw him coming, walking along briskly, with no one leading him by the hand, they were amazed.

Before them all Tobit proclaimed how God had shown mercy to him and opened his eyes. When Tobit came up to Sarah, the wife of his son Tobiah, he blessed her and said: “Welcome, my daughter! Blessed be your God for bringing you to us, daughter! Blessed are your father and your mother. Blessed be my son Tobiah, and blessed be you, daughter! Welcome to your home with blessing and joy. Come in, daughter!” That day there was joy for all the Jews who lived in Nineveh.

Tobit 11:5-17

"Heal me, Lord, that I may be healed; save me, that I may be saved, for you are my praise." (Jeremiah 17:14, NABRE)

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Peace Offering

From philrood.blogspot.com

One of the scribes,i when he came forward and heard them disputing and saw how well he had answered them, 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.”

The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’  And ‘to love him 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.” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Mark 12:28-34

"Father, let me look beyond myself to the situation of others so I can respond to them with compassion, patience, and love."

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The Evidence

From citytravelhub.com

Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to him and put this question to him, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’  Now there were seven brothers. The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants.  So the second married her and died, leaving no descendants, and the third likewise.  And the seven left no descendants. Last of all the woman also died.  At the resurrection [when they arise] whose wife will she be? For all seven had been married to her.”

Jesus said to them, “Are you not misled because you do not know the scriptures or the power of God?  When they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but they are like the angels in heaven.  As for the dead being raised, have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God told him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, [the] God of Isaac, and [the] God of Jacob’?  He is not God of the dead but of the living. You are greatly misled.”

Mark 12:18-27

"Jesus, I believe again.  Embrace me with Your living presence today like never before.  Thank You."

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Gentle Souls

Using GIMP

That same night I washed and went into my courtyard, where I lay down to sleep beside the wall. Because of the heat I left my face uncovered.

I did not know that sparrows were perched on the wall above me; their warm droppings settled in my eyes, causing white scales on them. I went to doctors for a cure, but the more they applied ointments, the more my vision was obscured by the white scales, until I was totally blind. For four years I was unable to see, and all my kindred were distressed at my condition. Ahiqar, however, took care of me for two years, until he left for Elam.

At that time my wife Anna worked for hire at weaving cloth, doing the kind of work women do.

When she delivered the material to her employers, they would pay her a wage. On the seventh day of the month of Dystrus, she finished the woven cloth and delivered it to her employers. They paid her the full salary and also gave her a young goat for a meal.

On entering my house, the goat began to bleat. So I called to my wife and said: “Where did this goat come from? It was not stolen, was it? Give it back to its owners; we have no right to eat anything stolen!”

But she said to me, “It was given to me as a bonus over and above my wages.” Yet I would not believe her and told her to give it back to its owners. I flushed with anger at her over this. So she retorted: “Where are your charitable deeds now? Where are your righteous acts? Look! All that has happened to you is well known!”

Tobit 2:9-14

"Lord, let my actions and words lead others closer to You."

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Persistent Pursuit

From joydigitalmag.com

He began to speak to them in parables.a “A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey.  At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard.  But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed.  Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully.  He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed.

He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’

But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’  So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard.

What [then] will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others.  Have you not read this scripture passage:

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

They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.

Mark 12:1-12

"Lord, grant me the courage and the right words to speak to others about You so that their hearts may be open to Your words.  Amen."

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Peace To Peace

From pinterest.com

Finally, brothers, rejoice. Mend your ways, encourage one another, agree with one another, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.

Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the holy ones greet you.  The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the holy Spirit be with all of you.

2 Corinthians 13:11-13

"Lord, I claim Your peace over my life, my family, and our home.  May Your peace reign forever in my heart."

Solemnity of the Holy Trinity

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Childhood Trauma

From aztrauma.org

He saved me from every evil
and preserved me in time of trouble.

For this reason I thank and praise him;
I bless the name of the LORD.

When I was young and innocent,
I sought wisdom.

She came to me in her beauty,
and until the end I will cultivate her.

As the blossoms yielded to ripening grapes,
the heart’s joy,
My feet kept to the level path
because from earliest youth I was familiar with her.

In the short time I paid heed,
I met with great instruction.

Since in this way I have profited,
I will give my Teacher grateful praise.

I resolved to tread her paths;
I have been jealous for the good and will not turn back.

I burned with desire for her,
never relenting.

I became preoccupied with her,
never weary of extolling her.

I spread out my hands to the heavens
and I came to know her secrets.

For her I purified my hands;
in cleanness I attained to her.

At first acquaintance with her, I gained understanding
such that I will never forsake her.

Sirach 51:12-20

"Father, it's a miracle that I'm wounded but healed.  My wounds are nothing compared to the sacrifice Your Son Jesus made on the cross.  Thank You for receiving me.  Do with me as You wish."

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Depend Only On Him

He entered Jerusalem and went into the temple area. He looked around at everything and, since it was already late, went out to Bethany with the Twelve.

The next day as they were leaving Bethany he was hungry.  Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went over to see if he could find anything on it. When he reached it he found nothing but leaves; it was not the time for figs.  And he said to it in reply, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again!” And his disciples heard it.

They came to Jerusalem,e and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves.  He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area.  

Then he taught them saying, “Is it not written:
‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples’?
But you have made it a den of thieves.”

The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death, yet they feared him because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching.

When evening came, they went out of the city.

h Early in the morning, as they were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered to its roots.  Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”

Jesus said to them in reply, “Have faith in God.  Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him.  Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.  When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.”

Mark 11:11-25

"Forgive us, Lord, when we hold on to other gods more than You."

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To Laugh Is A Miracle

From staugustinebristol.co.uk

Sacrifice and offering you do not want;
you opened my ears.
Holocaust and sin-offering you do not request;
so I said, “See; I come
with an inscribed scroll written upon me.

When I sing of your righteousness
in a great assembly,
See, I do not restrain my lips;
as you, LORD, know.
I do not conceal your righteousness
within my heart;
I speak of your loyalty and your salvation.
I do not hide your mercy or faithfulness from a great assembly.

While those who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you.
May those who long for your salvation
always say, “The LORD is great.”

Psalm 40:7-8,10-11,17

"You want us to be joyful, Lord.  And so today, let me laugh with You."

Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, The Eternal High Priest

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