Paul and his companions… having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” Acts 6,7,9. 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 Sirach : 11-14:2 and John 18:28 – 19:16.
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Verses for today – Listen here: For explanations
Reflection for Today.
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Sirach 11
The Deceptiveness of Appearances
11 The wisdom of the humble lifts their heads high
and seats them among the great.
2 Do not praise individuals for their good looks
or loathe anyone because of appearance alone.
3 The bee is small among flying creatures,
but what it produces is the origin of sweet things.
4 Do not mock those wearing only a loincloth
or make fun of those whose day is bitter,[a]
for the works of the Lord are wonderful
and his works are concealed from humans.
5 Many oppressed have sat upon a throne,[b]
and one whom no one expected has worn a crown.
6 Many rulers have been utterly disgraced,
and the honored have been handed over to others.
Deliberation and Caution
7 Do not find fault before you investigate;
examine first and then criticize.
8 Do not answer before you listen,
and do not interrupt when another is speaking.
9 Do not argue about a matter that does not concern you,
and do not sit with sinners when they judge a case.
10 My child, do not busy yourself with many matters;
if you multiply activities, you will not be held blameless.
If you pursue, you will not overtake,
and by fleeing you will not escape.
11 There are those who work and struggle and hurry
but are so much the more in want.
12 There are others who are slow and need help,
who lack strength and abound in poverty,
but the eyes of the Lord look kindly upon them;
he lifts them out of their lowly condition
13 and raises up their heads
to the amazement of the many.
14 Good things and bad, life and death,
poverty and wealth, come from the Lord.[c]
17 The Lord’s gift remains with the devout,
and his favor brings lasting success.
18 A person becomes rich through diligence and self-denial,
and the reward allotted to him is this:
19 when he says, “I have found rest,
and now I shall feast on my goods!”
he does not realize how time passes by;
he will leave them to others and will die.
20 Stand by your agreement and attend to it,
and grow old in your work.
21 Do not wonder at the works of a sinner,
but trust in the Lord and keep at your job,
for it is easy in the sight of the Lord
to make the poor person suddenly rich, in an instant.
22 The blessing of the Lord is[d] the reward of the pious,
and quickly his blessing flourishes.
23 Do not say, “What do I need,
and what further benefit can be mine?”
24 Do not say, “I have enough,
and what harm can come to me now?”
25 In the day of prosperity, adversity is forgotten,
and in the day of adversity, prosperity is not remembered.
26 For it is easy for the Lord on the day of death
to reward individuals according to their conduct.
27 An hour’s misery makes one forget delights,
and at the close of one’s life one’s deeds are revealed.
28 Call no one happy before his death;
by how he ends, a person becomes known.[e]
Care in Choosing Friends
29 Do not invite everyone into your home,
for many are the tricks of the crafty.
30 Like a decoy partridge in a cage, so is the mind of the proud,
and like spies they observe your weakness,[f]
31 for they lie in wait, turning good into evil,
and to worthy actions they attach blame.
32 From a spark many coals are kindled,
and a sinner lies in wait to shed blood.
33 Beware of scoundrels, for they devise evil,
and they may ruin your reputation forever.
34 Receive strangers into your home, and they will stir up trouble for you
and will make you a stranger to your own family.
Sirach 12
If you do good, know to whom you do it,
and you will be thanked for your good deeds.
2 Do good to the devout, and you will be repaid—
if not by them, certainly by the Most High.
3 No good comes to one who persists in evil
or to one who does not give alms.
4 Give to the devout, but do not help the sinner.
5 Do good to the humble, but do not give to the ungodly;
hold back their bread, and do not give it to them,
for by means of it they might subdue you;
then you will receive twice as much evil
for all the good you have done to them.
6 For the Most High also hates sinners
and will inflict punishment on the ungodly.[a]
7 Give to the one who is good, but do not help the sinner.
8 A friend is not known[b] in prosperity,
nor is an enemy hidden in adversity.
9 One’s enemies are friendly[c] when one prospers,
but in adversity even one’s friend disappears.
10 Never trust your enemy,
for like corrosion in copper, so is his wickedness.
11 Even if he humbles himself and walks bowed down,
take care to be on your guard against him.
Be to him like one who polishes a mirror,
to be sure it does not become completely tarnished.
12 Do not put him next to you,
or he may overthrow you and take your place.
Do not let him sit at your right hand,
or else he may try to take your own seat,
and at last you will acknowledge my words
and be stung by what I have said.
13 Who pities a snake charmer when he is bitten
or all those who go near wild animals?
14 So no one pities people who associate with sinners
and become involved in their sins.
15 They stand by you for a while,
but if you falter, they will not be there.
16 Enemies speak sweetly with their lips,
but in their hearts they plan to throw you into a pit;
enemies may have tears in their eyes,
but if they find an opportunity they will never have enough of your blood.
17 If evil comes upon you, you will find them there ahead of you;
pretending to help, they will trip you up.
18 Then they will shake their heads and clap their hands
and whisper much and show their true faces.
Sirach 13
Caution Regarding Associates
13 Whoever touches pitch gets dirty,
and whoever associates with the proud will become like them.
2 Do not lift a weight too heavy for you
or associate with one mightier and richer than you.
How can the clay pot associate with the iron kettle?
The pot will strike against it and be smashed.
3 A rich person does wrong and even adds insults;
a poor person suffers wrong and must add apologies.
4 Rich people[a] will exploit you[b] if you can be of use to them,
but if you are in need they will abandon you.
5 If you own something, they will live with you;
they will drain your resources without a qualm.
6 When they need you, they will deceive you
and will smile at you and encourage you;
they will speak to you kindly and say, “What do you need?”
7 They will embarrass you with their delicacies,
until they have drained you two or three times,
and finally they will laugh at you.
Should they see you afterwards, they will pass you by
and shake their heads at you.
8 Take care not to be led astray
and humiliated when you are enjoying yourself.[c]
9 When the influential invite you, be reserved,
and they will invite you more insistently.
10 Do not be forward, or you may be rebuffed;
do not stand aloof, or you will be forgotten.
11 Do not try to treat them as equals
or trust their lengthy conversations,
for they will test you by prolonged talk,
and while they smile they will be examining you.
12 Cruel are those who do not keep your secrets;
they will not spare you harm or imprisonment.
13 Be on your guard and very careful,
for you are walking about with your own downfall.[d]
15 Every creature loves its like
and every person a neighbor.
16 All living beings associate with their own kind,
and people stick close to those like themselves.
17 What does a wolf have in common with a lamb?
No more has a sinner with the devout.
18 What peace is there between a hyena and a dog,
and what peace between the rich and the poor?
19 Wild asses in the wilderness are the prey of lions;
likewise the poor are feeding grounds for the rich.
20 Humility is an abomination to the proud;
likewise the poor are an abomination to the rich.
21 When the rich person totters, he is supported by friends,
but when the humble[e] falls, he is pushed away by friends.
22 If the rich person slips, many come to the rescue;
he speaks unseemly words, but they justify him.
If the humble person slips, they even criticize him;
he talks sense but is not given a hearing.
23 The rich person speaks, and all are silent;
they extol to the clouds what he says.
The poor person speaks, and they say, “Who is this fellow?”
And should he stumble, they push him down.
24 Riches are good if they are free from sin;
poverty is evil only in the opinion of the ungodly.
25 The heart changes the countenance
either for good or for evil.[f]
26 The sign of a happy heart is a cheerful face,
but to devise proverbs requires strenuous thinking.
Sirach 14 : 2
Happy are those who do not blunder with their lips
and are not stricken with grief for sin.
2 Happy are those whose hearts do not condemn them
and who have not given up their hope.
John 18: 28-40
28 They then led Jesus from the house of Caiaphas to the Praetorium. It was now morning. They did not go into the Praetorium themselves to avoid becoming defiled and unable to eat the Passover.
29 So Pilate came outside to them and said, ‘What charge do you bring against this man?’ They replied,
30 ‘If he were not a criminal, we should not have handed him over to you.’
31 Pilate said, ‘Take him yourselves, and try him by your own Law.’ The Jews answered, ‘We are not allowed to put anyone to death.’
32 This was to fulfil the words Jesus had spoken indicating the way he was going to die.
33 So Pilate went back into the Praetorium and called Jesus to him and asked him, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’
34 Jesus replied, ‘Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others said it to you about me?’
35 Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? It is your own people and the chief priests who have handed you over to me: what have you done?’
36 Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. As it is, my kingdom does not belong here.’
37 Pilate said, ‘So, then you are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘It is you who say that I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice.’
38 ‘Truth?’ said Pilate. ‘What is that?’ And so saying he went out again to the Jews and said, ‘I find no case against him.
39 But according to a custom of yours I should release one prisoner at the Passover; would you like me, then, to release for you the king of the Jews?’
40 At this they shouted, ‘Not this man,’ they said, ‘but Barabbas.’ Barabbas was a bandit.
John 19:16
1 Pilate then had Jesus taken away and scourged;
2 and after this, the soldiers twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on his head and dressed him in a purple robe.
3 They kept coming up to him and saying, ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ and slapping him in the face.
4 Pilate came outside again and said to them, ‘Look, I am going to bring him out to you to let you see that I find no case against him.’
5 Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said, ‘Here is the man.’
6 When they saw him, the chief priests and the guards shouted, ‘Crucify him! Crucify him!’ Pilate said, ‘Take him yourselves and crucify him: I find no case against him.’
7 The Jews replied, ‘We have a Law, and according to that Law he ought to be put to death, because he has claimed to be Son of God.’
8 When Pilate heard them say this his fears increased.
9 Re-entering the Praetorium, he said to Jesus, ‘Where do you come from?’ But Jesus made no answer.
10 Pilate then said to him, ‘Are you refusing to speak to me? Surely you know I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?’
11 Jesus replied, ‘You would have no power over me at all if it had not been given you from above; that is why the man who handed me over to you has the greater guilt.’
12 From that moment Pilate was anxious to set him free, but the Jews shouted, ‘If you set him free you are no friend of Caesar’s; anyone who makes himself king is defying Caesar.’
13 Hearing these words, Pilate had Jesus brought out, and seated him on the chair of judgement at a place called the Pavement, in Hebrew Gabbatha.
14 It was the Day of Preparation, about the sixth hour. ‘Here is your king,’ said Pilate to the Jews.
15 But they shouted, ‘Away with him, away with him, crucify him.’ Pilate said, ‘Shall I crucify your king?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king except Caesar.’
16 So at that Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. They then took charge of Jesus,
Sermons by various teachers about these verses.
Catholic Daily Readings and Reflections
Reading 1, Isaiah 66:18-21
18 I am coming to gather every nation and every language. They will come to witness my glory.
19 I shall give them a sign and send some of their survivors to the nations: to Tarshish, Put, Lud, Meshech, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coasts and islands that have never heard of me or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory to the nations,
20 and from all the nations they will bring all your brothers as an offering to Yahweh, on horses, in chariots, in litters, on mules and on camels, to my holy mountain, Jerusalem, Yahweh says, like Israelites bringing offerings in clean vessels to Yahweh’s house.
21 And some of them I shall make into priests and Levites, Yahweh says.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 117:1, 2
1 Alleluia! Praise Yahweh, all nations, extol him, all peoples,
2 for his faithful love is strong and his constancy never-ending.
Gospel, Luke 13:22-30
22 Through towns and villages he went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem.
23 Someone said to him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ He said to them,
24 ‘Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.
25 ‘Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself standing outside knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us,” but he will answer, “I do not know where you come from.”
26 Then you will start saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets,”
27 but he will reply, “I do not know where you come from; away from me, all evil doers!”
28 ‘Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrown out.
29 And people from east and west, from north and south, will come and sit down at the feast in the kingdom of God.
30 ‘Look, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.’
Reading 2, Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13
5 Have you forgotten that encouraging text in which you are addressed as sons? My son, do not scorn correction from the Lord, do not resent his training,
6 for the Lord trains those he loves, and chastises every son he accepts.
7 Perseverance is part of your training; God is treating you as his sons. Has there ever been any son whose father did not train him?
11 Of course, any discipline is at the time a matter for grief, not joy; but later, in those who have undergone it, it bears fruit in peace and uprightness.
12 So steady all weary hands and trembling knees
13 and make your crooked paths straight; then the injured limb will not be maimed, it will get better instead.
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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