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"{Someone asked Abba Nisterus,} "What good
work is there that I could do?" He said to him, "Are not all actions equal? Scripture says that Abraham was hospitable and God was with him. David was humble, and God was with him. Elias loved interior peace and God was with him. So, do whatever you see your soul desires according to God and guard your heart."
- Sayings of the Desert Fathers -
(There is nothing so small or insignificant as to escape God's attention. Let this awareness help you to be present to God all through the day.) |
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https://tinyurl.com/yvjnsdrj Scripture Readings
RV 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9A; PS 100:1B-2, 3, 4, 5
LK 21:20-28 Jesus said to his disciples:
“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies,
know that its desolation is at
hand.
Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.
Let those within the city escape from it,
and let those in the countryside not enter the city,
for these days are the time of punishment
when all the Scriptures are fulfilled.
Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days,
for a terrible calamity will come upon the
earth
and a wrathful judgment upon this people.
They will fall by the edge of the sword
and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles;
and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles
until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. "There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars,
and on earth nations will
be in dismay,
perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
People will die of fright
in anticipation of what is coming upon the world,
for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
And then they will see the Son of Man
coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
But when these signs begin to happen,
stand erect and raise your heads
because your redemption is at hand.”
Praying the Daily Gospels: A Guide to Meditation, by Philip St. Romain, 2018 (3rd ed.) Luke 21: 20-28 (The Second Coming) The Church has always believed that her risen Lord would return. Just how, when, and where this will occur we do not know, despite the insistence of Fundamentalist exegetes to the contrary. Jesus’ teachings concerning his return come to us couched in the words of apocalyptic literature, which is highly symbolic and difficult to understand. It is enough for us to believe that history will not terminate in some
catastrophic dead end; Christ shall one day be all in all.” • What does the Second Coming mean to you? • Do you believe you will be faced with the prospect of living through personal and/or national catastrophe before you die? If so, how do you propose to remain hopeful when those
times come?
Treatise on the Love of God, by St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) ____________ BOOK III: OF THE PROGRESS AND PERFECTION OF LOVE Chapter 4: Of holy perseverance in sacred love So, Theotimus, following the advice of the holy Council, we ought to place our whole hope in God, who will perfect the work of our salvation which he has begun in us, if we be not wanting to his grace: for we are not to think that he who said to the
paralytic: Go, and do not will to sin again: gave him not also power to avoid that willing which he forbade him: and surely he would never exhort the faithful to persevere, if he were not ready to furnish them with the power. Be thou faithful until death, said he to the bishop of Smyrna, and I will give thee the crown of life. Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, do manfully, and be strengthened. Let all your actions be done in charity. So run that you may obtain. We must often then with the great
King demand of God the heavenly gift of perseverance, and hope that he will grant it us. Cast me not off in the time of old age; when my strength shall fail, do not thou forsake me. |
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