O the debt of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgements, and his ways past finding out. Romans 11:33 KJV
A Christian’s goal should be to create the Kingdom of God here on earth, as it is in Heaven. Not only, to get to Heaven.
To finish the Bible in one year, Read Wisdom of Solomon 1-4:19 and John 14:22-31
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Reflection for Today.
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Wisdom of Solomon 1
1 Love uprightness you who are rulers on earth, be properly disposed towards the Lord and seek him in simplicity of heart;
2 for he will be found by those who do not put him to the test, revealing himself to those who do not mistrust him.
3 Perverse thoughts, however, separate people from God, and power, when put to the test, confounds the stupid.
4 Wisdom will never enter the soul of a wrong-doer, nor dwell in a body enslaved to sin;
5 for the holy spirit of instruction flees deceitfulness, recoils from unintelligent thoughts, is thwarted by the onset of vice.
6 Wisdom is a spirit friendly to humanity, though she will not let a blasphemer’s words go unpunished; since God observes the very soul and accurately surveys the heart, listening to every word.
7 For the spirit of the Lord fills the world, and that which holds everything together knows every word said.
8 No one who speaks what is wrong will go undetected, nor will avenging Justice pass by such a one.
9 For the schemes of the godless will be examined, and a report of his words will reach the Lord to convict him of his crimes.
10 There is a jealous ear that overhears everything, not even a murmur of complaint escapes it.
11 So beware of uttering frivolous complaints, restrain your tongue from finding fault; even what is said in secret has repercussions, and a lying mouth deals death to the soul.
12 Do not court death by the errors of your ways, nor invite destruction through the work of your hands.
13 For God did not make Death, he takes no pleasure in destroying the living.
14 To exist — for this he created all things; the creatures of the world have health in them, in them is no fatal poison, and Hades has no power over the world:
15 for uprightness is immortal.
16 But the godless call for Death with deed and word, counting him friend, they wear themselves out for him; with him they make a pact, worthy as they are to belong to him.
Wisdom of Solomon 2
1 And this is the false argument they use, ‘Our life is short and dreary, there is no remedy when our end comes, no one is known to have come back from Hades.
2 We came into being by chance and afterwards shall be as though we had never been. The breath in our nostrils is a puff of smoke, reason a spark from the beating of our hearts;
3 extinguish this and the body turns to ashes, and the spirit melts away like the yielding air.
4 In time, our name will be forgotten, nobody will remember what we have done; our life will pass away like wisps of cloud, dissolving like the mist that the sun’s rays drive away and that its heat dispels.
5 For our days are the passing of a shadow, our end is without return, the seal is affixed and nobody comes back.
6 ‘Come then, let us enjoy the good things of today, let us use created things with the zest of youth:
7 take our fill of the dearest wines and perfumes, on no account forgo the flowers of spring
8 but crown ourselves with rosebuds before they wither,
9 no meadow excluded from our orgy; let us leave the signs of our revelry everywhere, since this is our portion, this our lot!
10 ‘As for the upright man who is poor, let us oppress him; let us not spare the widow, nor respect old age, white-haired with many years.
11 Let our might be the yardstick of right, since weakness argues its own futility.
12 Let us lay traps for the upright man, since he annoys us and opposes our way of life, reproaches us for our sins against the Law, and accuses us of sins against our upbringing.
13 He claims to have knowledge of God, and calls himself a child of the Lord.
14 We see him as a reproof to our way of thinking, the very sight of him weighs our spirits down;
15 for his kind of life is not like other people’s, and his ways are quite different.
16 In his opinion we are counterfeit; he avoids our ways as he would filth; he proclaims the final end of the upright as blessed and boasts of having God for his father.
17 Let us see if what he says is true, and test him to see what sort of end he will have.
18 For if the upright man is God’s son, God will help him and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies.
19 Let us test him with cruelty and with torture, and thus explore this gentleness of his and put his patience to the test.
20 Let us condemn him to a shameful death since God will rescue him — or so he claims.’
21 This is the way they reason, but they are misled, since their malice makes them blind.
22 They do not know the hidden things of God, they do not hope for the reward of holiness, they do not believe in a reward for blameless souls.
23 For God created human beings to be immortal, he made them as an image of his own nature;
24 Death came into the world only through the Devil’s envy, as those who belong to him find to their cost.
Wisdom of Solomon 3
1 But the souls of the upright are in the hands of God, and no torment can touch them.
2 To the unenlightened, they appeared to die, their departure was regarded as disaster,
3 their leaving us like annihilation; but they are at peace.
4 If, as it seemed to us, they suffered punishment, their hope was rich with immortality;
5 slight was their correction, great will their blessings be. God was putting them to the test and has proved them worthy to be with him;
6 he has tested them like gold in a furnace, and accepted them as a perfect burnt offering.
7 At their time of visitation, they will shine out; as sparks run through the stubble, so will they.
8 They will judge nations, rule over peoples, and the Lord will be their king for ever.
9 Those who trust in him will understand the truth, those who are faithful will live with him in love; for grace and mercy await his holy ones, and he intervenes on behalf of his chosen.
10 But the godless will be duly punished for their reasoning, for having neglected the upright and deserted the Lord.
11 Yes, wretched are they who scorn wisdom and discipline: their hope is void, their toil unavailing, their achievements unprofitable;
12 their wives are reckless, their children depraved, their descendants accursed.
13 Blessed the sterile woman if she be blameless, and has not known an unlawful bed, for she will have fruit at the visitation of souls.
14 Blessed, too, the eunuch whose hand commits no crime, and who harbours no resentment against the Lord: a special favour will be granted to him for his loyalty, a most desirable portion in the temple of the Lord.
15 For the fruit of honest labours is glorious, and the root of understanding does not decay.
16 But the children of adulterers will not reach maturity, the offspring of an unlawful bed will disappear.
17 Even if they live long, they will count for nothing, their old age will go unhonoured at the last;
18 while if they die early, they have neither hope nor comfort on the day of judgement,
19 for the end of a race of evil-doers is harsh.
Wisdom of Solomon 4 : 1-19
1 Better to have no children yet to have virtue, since immortality perpetuates its memory; for God and human beings both recognise it.
2 Present, we imitate it, absent, we long for it; crowned, it holds triumph through eternity, having striven for untainted prizes and emerged the victor.
3 But the offspring of the godless come to nothing, however prolific, sprung from a bastard stock, they will never strike deep roots, never put down firm foundations.
4 They may branch out for a time, but, on unsteady foundations, they will be rocked by the wind and uprooted by the force of the storm;
5 their branches, yet unformed, will be snapped off, their fruit be useless, too unripe to eat, fit for nothing.
6 For children begotten of unlawful bed witness, when put on trial, to their parents’ wickedness.
7 The upright, though he die before his time, will find rest.
8 Length of days is not what makes age honourable, nor number of years the true measure of life;
9 understanding, this is grey hairs, untarnished life, this is ripe old age.
10 Having won God’s favour, he has been loved and, as he was living among sinners, has been taken away.
11 He has been carried off so that evil may not warp his understanding or deceitfulness seduce his soul;
12 for the fascination of evil throws good things into the shade, and the whirlwind of desire corrupts a simple heart.
13 Having come to perfection so soon, he has lived long;
14 his soul being pleasing to the Lord, he has hurried away from the wickedness around him. Yet people look on, uncomprehending; and it does not enter their heads
15 that grace and mercy await his chosen ones and that he intervenes on behalf of his holy ones.
16 The upright who dies condemns the godless who survive, and youth quickly perfected condemns the lengthy old age of the wicked.
17 These people see the end of the wise without understanding what the Lord has in store or why he has taken such a one to safety;
18 they look on and sneer, but the Lord will laugh at them.
19 Soon they will be corpses without honour, objects of horror among the dead for ever. For he will shatter them and fling them headlong and dumbfounded. He will shake them from their foundations; they will be utterly laid waste, a prey to grief, and their memory will perish.
John 14:22-31
22 Judas — not Judas Iscariot — said to him, ‘Lord, what has happened, that you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?’
23 Jesus replied: Anyone who loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him and make a home in him.
24 Anyone who does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not my own: it is the word of the Father who sent me.
25 I have said these things to you while still with you;
26 but the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all I have said to you.
27 Peace I bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace which the world cannot give, this is my gift to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid.
28 You heard me say: I am going away and shall return. If you loved me you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
29 I have told you this now, before it happens, so that when it does happen you may believe.
30 I shall not talk to you much longer, because the prince of this world is on his way. He has no power over me,
31 but the world must recognise that I love the Father and that I act just as the Father commanded. Come now, let us go.
Sermons by various teachers about these verses.
Catholic Daily Readings and Reflections
Reading 1, Ezekiel 18:1-10, 13, 30-32
1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,
2 ‘Why do you keep repeating this proverb in the land of Israel: The parents have eaten unripe grapes; and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
3 ‘As I live — declares the Lord Yahweh — you will have no further cause to repeat this proverb in Israel.
4 Look, all life belongs to me; the father’s life and the son’s life, both alike belong to me. The one who has sinned is the one to die.
5 ‘But if a man is upright, his actions law-abiding and upright,
6 and he does not eat on the mountains or raise his eyes to the foul idols of the House of Israel, does not defile his neighbour’s wife or touch a woman during her periods,
7 oppresses no one, returns the pledge on a debt, does not rob, gives his own food to the hungry, his clothes to those who lack clothing,
8 does not lend for profit, does not charge interest, abstains from evil, gives honest judgement between one person and another,
9 keeps my laws and sincerely respects my judgements — someone like this is truly upright and will live — declares the Lord Yahweh.
10 ‘But if he has a son prone to violence and bloodshed, who commits one of these misdeeds-
13 lends for profit, or charges interest, such a person will by no means live; having committed all these appalling crimes he will die, and his blood be on his own head.
30 So in future, House of Israel, I shall judge each of you by what that person does — declares the Lord Yahweh. Repent, renounce all your crimes, avoid all occasions for guilt.
31 Shake off all the crimes you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why die, House of Israel?
32 I take no pleasure in the death of anyone — declares the Lord Yahweh — so repent and live!’
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 51:12-13, 14-15, 18-19
12 Give me back the joy of your salvation, sustain in me a generous spirit.
13 I shall teach the wicked your paths, and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from bloodshed, God, God of my salvation, and my tongue will acclaim your saving justice.
15 Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will speak out your praise.
18 In your graciousness do good to Zion, rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will delight in upright sacrifices,-burnt offerings and whole oblations — and young bulls will be offered on your altar.
Gospel, Matthew 19:13-15
13 Then people brought little children to him, for him to lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples scolded them,
14 but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children alone, and do not stop them from coming to me; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of Heaven belongs.’
15 Then he laid his hands on them and went on his way.
Dr. Myles Munroe
I am including a video by Dr. Myles Munroe, I’ve listened to him back in the nineties, and rediscovered him recently. Now his perspective seems to be a good way to also look at scripture. In Pursuit of Purpose – Book Highlights
Sermons Rosary Prayers Catholic Answers
Did Mary have other children? No, Listen here
Called to Communion
Pray the Rosary
Rosary Mysteries
The following 4 videos are the 4 Mysteries that we pray on certain days of the week. I like these videos, because I can pray it alone, with only the images, or go along with the sound. The images help me to focus on the particular mystery that I am contemplating as I say the Hail Mary on each bead.
Joyful Mysteries
Luminous Mysteries
Sorrowful Mysteries
Glorious Mysteries
Prayers of the Rosary
Links to “How to pray the rosary” Popular Catholic Prayers
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord;
Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried,
He descended into hell; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty, from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.
Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
(this prayer is optional and may be said after all Glory Be to the Fathers…..)
O my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of hell.
Lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in most need of thy mercy.
Console the souls in Purgatory, particularly those most abandoned. Amen
Hail Mary,
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee, blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen.
The Hail, Holy Queen
Hail Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life our sweetness and our hope.
To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve;
To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears.
Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!
That we maybe made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Closing Prayer
O God, whose only begotten Son, by His life, death, and resurrection, has purchased for us the rewards of eternal salvation.
Grant, we beseech Thee, that while meditating on these mysteries of the most holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
that we may imitate what they contain and obtain what they promise, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(The Fatima Prayer:)
Most Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – I adore thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference’s whereby He is offended. And through the infinite merits of His Most Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of Thee the conversion of poor sinners.
Prayer to St. Michael
Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do you, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
Thurzo Gizella Bible Study 
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