The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me; your love O LORD, endures forever — do not abandon the works of your hands. Psalm 138:8 NIV
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 17-19 and John 16:17-33.
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Verses for today – Listen here: For explanations
Reflection for Today.
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Wisdom of Solomon 17
1 Yes, your judgements are great and impenetrable, which is why uninstructed souls have gone astray.
2 While the wicked supposed they had a holy nation in their power, they themselves lay prisoners of the dark, in the fetters of long night, confined under their own roofs, banished from eternal providence.
3 While they thought to remain unnoticed with their secret sins, curtained by dark forgetfulness, they were scattered in fearful dismay, terrified by apparitions.
4 The hiding place sheltering them could not ward off their fear; terrifying noises echoed round them; and gloomy, grim-faced spectres haunted them.
5 No fire had power enough to give them light, nor could the brightly blazing stars illuminate that dreadful night.
6 The only light for them was a great, spontaneous blaze — a fearful sight to see! And in their terror, once that sight had vanished, they thought what they had seen more terrible than ever.
7 Their magical illusions were powerless now, and their claims to intelligence were ignominiously confounded;
8 for those who promised to drive out fears and disorders from sick souls were now themselves sick with ludicrous fright.
9 Even when there was nothing frightful to scare them, the vermin creeping past and the hissing of reptiles filled them with panic;
10 they died convulsed with fright, refusing even to look at empty air, which cannot be eluded anyhow!
11 Wickedness is confessedly very cowardly, and it condemns itself; under pressure from conscience it always assumes the worst.
12 Fear, indeed, is nothing other than the failure of the help offered by reason;
13 the less you rely within yourself on this, the more alarming it is not to know the cause of your suffering.
14 And they, all locked in the same sleep, while that darkness lasted — which was in fact quite powerless and had issued from the depths of equally powerless Hades-
15 were now chased by monstrous spectres, now paralysed by the fainting of their souls; for a sudden, unexpected terror had attacked them.
16 And thus, whoever it might be that fell there stayed clamped to the spot in this prison without bars.
17 Whether he was ploughman or shepherd, or somebody at work in the desert, he was still overtaken and suffered the inevitable fate, for all had been bound by the one same chain of darkness.
18 The soughing of the wind, the tuneful noise of birds in the spreading branches, the measured beat of water in its powerful course, the headlong din of rocks cascading down,
19 the unseen course of bounding animals, the roaring of the most savage of wild beasts, the echo rebounding from the clefts in the mountains, all held them paralysed with fear.
20 For the whole world shone with the light of day and, unhindered, went about its work;
21 over them alone there spread a heavy darkness, image of the dark that would receive them. But heavier than the darkness was the burden they were to themselves.
Wisdom of Solomon 18
1 For your holy ones, however, there was a very great light. The Egyptians, who could hear them but not see them, called them fortunate because they had not suffered too;
2 they thanked them for doing no injury in return for previous wrongs and asked forgiveness for their past ill-will.
3 In contrast to the darkness, you gave your people a pillar of blazing fire to guide them on their unknown journey, a mild sun for their ambitious migration.
4 But well those others deserved to be deprived of light and imprisoned in darkness, for they had kept in captivity your children, by whom the incorruptible light of the Law was to be given to the world.
5 As they had resolved to kill the infants of the holy ones, and as of those exposed only one child had been saved, you punished them by carrying off their horde of children and by destroying them all in the wild water.
6 That night had been known in advance to our ancestors, so that, well knowing him in whom they had put their trust, they would be sure of his promises.
7 Your people thus were waiting both for the rescue of the upright and for the ruin of the enemy;
8 for by the very vengeance that you exacted on our adversaries, you glorified us by calling us to you.
9 So the holy children of the good offered sacrifice in secret and with one accord enacted this holy law: that the holy ones should share good things and dangers alike; and forthwith they chanted the hymns of the ancestors.
10 In echo came the discordant cries of their enemies, and the pitiful wails of people mourning for their children could be heard from far away.
11 One and the same punishment had struck slave and master alike, and now commoner and king had the same sufferings to endure.
12 Struck by the same death, all had innumerable dead. There were not enough living left to bury them, for, at one stroke, the flower of their offspring had perished.
13 Those whose spells had made them completely incredulous, when faced with the destruction of their first-born, acknowledged this people to be child of God.
14 When peaceful silence lay over all, and night had run the half of her swift course,
15 down from the heavens, from the royal throne, leapt your all-powerful Word like a pitiless warrior into the heart of a land doomed to destruction. Carrying your unambiguous command like a sharp sword,
16 it stood, and filled the universe with death; though standing on the earth, it touched the sky.
17 Immediately, dreams and gruesome visions overwhelmed them with terror, unexpected fears assailed them.
18 Hurled down, some here, some there, half dead, they were able to say why they were dying;
19 for the dreams that had troubled them had warned them why beforehand, so that they should not perish without knowing why they were being afflicted.
20 Experience of death, however, touched the upright too, and a great many were struck down in the desert. But the Retribution did not last long,
21 for a blameless man hurried to their defence. Wielding the weapons of his sacred office, prayer and expiating incense, he confronted Retribution and put an end to the plague, thus showing that he was your servant.
22 He overcame Hostility, not by physical strength, nor by force of arms; but by word he prevailed over the Punisher, by recalling the oaths made to the Fathers, and the covenants.
23 Already the corpses lay piled in heaps, when he interposed and beat Retribution back and cut off its approach to the living.
24 For the whole world was on his flowing robe, the glorious names of the Fathers engraved on the four rows of stones, and your Majesty on the diadem on his head.
25 From these the Destroyer recoiled, he was afraid of these. This one experience of Retribution was enough.
Wisdom of Solomon 19
1 But the godless were assailed by merciless anger to the very end, for he knew beforehand what they would do,
2 how, after letting his people leave and hastening their departure, they would change their minds and give chase.
3 They were actually still conducting their mourning rites and lamenting at the tombs of their dead, when another mad scheme came into their heads and they set out to pursue, as though runaways, the people whom they had expelled and begged to go.
4 A well-deserved fate urged them to this extreme and made them forget what had already happened, so that they would add to their torments the one punishment outstanding
5 and, while your people were experiencing a journey contrary to all expectations, would themselves meet an extraordinary death.
6 For the whole creation, submissive to your commands, had its very nature re-created, so that your children should be preserved from harm.
7 Overshadowing the camp there was the cloud; where there had been water, dry land was seen to rise; the Red Sea became an unimpeded way, the tempestuous waves, a green plain;
8 sheltered by your hand, the whole nation passed across, gazing at these amazing prodigies.
9 They were like horses at pasture, they skipped like lambs, singing your praises, Lord, their deliverer.
10 For they still remembered the events of their exile, how the land had bred mosquitoes instead of animals and the River had disgorged millions of frogs instead of fish.
11 Later they were to see a new way for birds to come into being, when, goaded by greed, they demanded something tasty,
12 and quails came up out of the sea to satisfy them.
13 On the sinners, however, punishments rained down not without violent thunder as early warning; and they suffered what their own crimes had justly deserved since they had shown such bitter hatred to foreigners.
14 Others, indeed, had failed to welcome strangers who came to them, but the Egyptians had enslaved their own guests and benefactors.
15 The sinners, moreover, will certainly be punished for it, since they gave the foreigners a hostile welcome;
16 but the latter, having given a festive reception to people who already shared the same rights as themselves, later overwhelmed them with terrible labours.
17 Hence they were struck with blindness, like the sinners at the gate of the upright, when, yawning darkness all around them, each had to grope his way through his own door.
18 A new attuning of the elements occurred, as on a harp the notes may change their rhythm, though all the while preserving the same tone; and this is just what happened:
19 land animals became aquatic, swimming ones took to the land,
20 fire reinforced its strength in water, and water forgot the power of extinguishing it;
21 flames, on the other hand, did not char the flesh of delicate animals that ventured into them; nor did they melt the heavenly food resembling ice and as easily melted.
22 Yes, Lord, in every way you have made your people great and glorious; you have never failed to help them at any time or place.
John 16:17-33
17 Then some of his disciples said to one another, ‘What does he mean, “In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again,” and, “I am going to the Father”?
18 What is this “short time”? We don’t know what he means.’
19 Jesus knew that they wanted to question him, so he said, ‘You are asking one another what I meant by saying, “In a short time you will no longer see me, and then a short time later you will see me again.”
20 ‘In all truth I tell you, you will be weeping and wailing while the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy.
21 A woman in childbirth suffers, because her time has come; but when she has given birth to the child she forgets the suffering in her joy that a human being has been born into the world.
22 So it is with you: you are sad now, but I shall see you again, and your hearts will be full of joy, and that joy no one shall take from you.
23 When that day comes, you will not ask me any questions. In all truth I tell you, anything you ask from the Father he will grant in my name.
24 Until now you have not asked anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and so your joy will be complete.
25 I have been telling you these things in veiled language. The hour is coming when I shall no longer speak to you in veiled language but tell you about the Father in plain words.
26 When that day comes you will ask in my name; and I do not say that I shall pray to the Father for you,
27 because the Father himself loves you for loving me, and believing that I came from God.
28 I came from the Father and have come into the world and now I am leaving the world to go to the Father.’
29 His disciples said, ‘Now you are speaking plainly and not using veiled language.
30 Now we see that you know everything and need not wait for questions to be put into words; because of this we believe that you came from God.’
31 Jesus answered them: Do you believe at last?
32 Listen; the time will come — indeed it has come already — when you are going to be scattered, each going his own way and leaving me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
33 I have told you all this so that you may find peace in me. In the world you will have hardship, but be courageous: I have conquered the world.
Sermons by various teachers about these verses.
Catholic Daily Readings and Reflections
Reading 1, Ezekiel 34:1-11
1 The word of Yahweh was addressed to me as follows,
2 ‘Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them, “Shepherds, the Lord Yahweh says this: Disaster is in store for the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Are not shepherds meant to feed a flock?
3 Yet you have fed on milk, you have dressed yourselves in wool, you have sacrificed the fattest sheep, but failed to feed the flock.
4 You have failed to make weak sheep strong, or to care for the sick ones, or bandage the injured ones. You have failed to bring back strays or look for the lost. On the contrary, you have ruled them cruelly and harshly.
5 For lack of a shepherd they have been scattered, to become the prey of all the wild animals; they have been scattered.
6 My flock is astray on every mountain and on every high hill; my flock has been scattered all over the world; no one bothers about them and no one looks for them.
7 “Very well, shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh:
8 As I live, I swear it — declares the Lord Yahweh — since my flock has been pillaged and for lack of a shepherd is now the prey of every wild animal, since my shepherds have ceased to bother about my flock, since my shepherds feed themselves rather than my flock,
9 very well, shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh:
10 The Lord Yahweh says this: Look, I am against the shepherds. I shall take my flock out of their charge and henceforth not allow them to feed my flock. And the shepherds will stop feeding themselves, because I shall rescue my sheep from their mouths to stop them from being food for them.
11 “For the Lord Yahweh says this: Look, I myself shall take care of my flock and look after it.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
1 [Psalm Of David] Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2 In grassy meadows he lets me lie. By tranquil streams he leads me
3 to restore my spirit. He guides me in paths of saving justice as befits his name.
4 Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death I should fear no danger, for you are at my side. Your staff and your crook are there to soothe me.
5 You prepare a table for me under the eyes of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup brims over.
6 Kindness and faithful love pursue me every day of my life. I make my home in the house of Yahweh for all time to come.
Gospel, Matthew 20:1-16
1 ‘Now the kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner going out at daybreak to hire workers for his vineyard.
2 He made an agreement with the workers for one denarius a day and sent them to his vineyard.
3 Going out at about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place
4 and said to them, “You go to my vineyard too and I will give you a fair wage.”
5 So they went. At about the sixth hour and again at about the ninth hour, he went out and did the same.
6 Then at about the eleventh hour he went out and found more men standing around, and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day?”
7 “Because no one has hired us,” they answered. He said to them, “You go into my vineyard too.”
8 In the evening, the owner of the vineyard said to his bailiff, “Call the workers and pay them their wages, starting with the last arrivals and ending with the first.”
9 So those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came forward and received one denarius each.
10 When the first came, they expected to get more, but they too received one denarius each.
11 They took it, but grumbled at the landowner saying,
12 “The men who came last have done only one hour, and you have treated them the same as us, though we have done a heavy day’s work in all the heat.”
13 He answered one of them and said, “My friend, I am not being unjust to you; did we not agree on one denarius?
14 Take your earnings and go. I choose to pay the lastcomer as much as I pay you.
15 Have I no right to do what I like with my own? Why should you be envious because I am generous?”
16 Thus the last will be first, and the first, last.’
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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