THE FEAST OF ST MARTIN DE PORRES, OP.

THE FEAST OF ST MARTIN DE PORRES, OP.  DOMINICAN BROTHER.

I WANT MY HOUSE TO BE FULL.

"One of those at table with Jesus said to him,

“Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”

"He replied to him,

“A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many.

"When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited,

‘Come, everything is now ready.’

"But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves.

"The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’

"And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’

"And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’

"The servant went and reported this to his master.

"Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant,

‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’

"The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.’

"The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled.

For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner." (Luke 14: 15 - 24).

Tuesday November 3rd 2026 in the 31st Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Martin de Porres, OP. 

Saint Martin de Porres was born in Lima Peru in 1579 to a black mother and a Spanish gentleman.

 He first entered the Dominican Priory in Lima at the age of 11 as a servant.

 Later, he applied to be accepted as a lay brother since he could not apply for the priesthood because of his color. 

He was trained as a barber/pharmacist and soon used his gifts and talents to heal both humans and animals.

 He lived such a life of heroic sanctity that even while he was alive, many miracles were attributed to him. After he died, he was famed as a miracle worker.

The context of today's parable is the enthusiastic statement of a fellow dinner guest with Jesus:

"One of those at table with Jesus said to him,

“Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.”

Dining in the Kingdom of God is the summit of blessings. It is the ultimate aspiration.

The Marriage feast of the Lamb is the mother of all feast.

"Blessed are you who are invited to the Supper of the Lord."

"I want My House to be full." I hear Jesus saying.

Why will anyone in his right mind turn down such an invitation?

The answer is that there is something akin to insanity with regard to pride and sin.

When the Prodigal Son came back to his senses, he wondered why he ever did what he did. Ran away from the gorgeous home of his loving father to live like a scum of the earth for a number of years.

The Church is the seed of the Kingdom of God on earth.

The Eucharist is the Marriage feast of the Lamb on this side of Heaven.

If you have been avoiding the Eucharist, forget your foolish pride and ask the gracious Lord to rescue you from "the highways and hedgerows" before it is too late.

November is the Month we pray for the Souls in PURGATORY.

“I saw my guardian angel, who ordered me to follow him. In a moment I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They were praying fervently, but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid. The flames, which were burning them, did not touch me at all. My guardian angel did not leave me for an instant. I asked these souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me in one voice that their greatest torment was longing for God.” (St. Maria Faustina Kowalski).

For Catholic Church teaching on the Souls in PURGATORY and how to help them, click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/10/10-ways-to-assist-poor-souls-in.html

ALL THE SOULS IN PURGATORY.

ALL SOULS DAY. 

THE COMMEMORATION OF THE SOULS OF THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED. 

"Jesus said to the crowds:

“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.

"And this is the will of the one who sent me, 

that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day.

"For this is the will of my Father,

 that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”  (John 6: 37 - 40).

Monday 2nd November 2026 in the 31th Week in Ordinary Time is the Commemoration of all the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Jesus prays, yearns, cries for the salvation of all men and women.

 The loving mercy of God makes this possible through the providential existence of Purgatory.

 Without Purgatory, only a few people will be saved. 

Without Purgatory, Christian Hope will be very thin.

 When we pray in the Creed: "I believe in life everlasting", we should thank God for Purgatory. 

The Church teaches from the very beginning that:

"All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; 

but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven." (CCC 1030).

Where do people go for the cleansing or purification after they take their last breath and close their eyes in death?

 "The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned." (CCC 1031).

The unbelievers think that the dead are lost and would decay in the ground like organic matters.

 They do not believe that man has a soul. 

But the word of God answers the unbelievers thus:

"They [the dead] seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace." (Wisdom 3: 2 - 3).

PURGATORY: ONLY GOD CAN MEND A BROKEN EGG. 

We celebrate the feast of All Souls because the Church teaches that the souls in Purgatory can benefit from our prayers.

The Book of Wisdom, our first Reading gives us the end game of Divine Providence on the Souls in Purgatory:

"Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself.

As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself." (Wisdom 3: 5 - 6).

"My intercession is everlasting even in the glory of eternity because I chose to keep the wounds in My hands and in My feet and in My side. They constitute an uninterrupted pleading for the sake of all: for those in glory that they may go from light to light and from sweetness to sweetness; for those on earth that they may find in My wounds healing, purity, and holiness; and for the souls in purgatory that by the merits of My holy wounds they may be refreshed and delivered."  (IN SINU JESU, Friday, March 28, 2008).

The month of November is traditionally dedicated in the Catholic Church to honoring the dead and relieving the sufferings of the souls in purgatory.

Do not neglect your loved ones.

Remember the Poor Souls in Purgatory daily in your prayers.

For Catholic Church teaching on the Souls in PURGATORY and how to help them, click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/10/10-ways-to-assist-poor-souls-in.html

THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS.

THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS. 

SUNDAY, NOVENA 1st, 2026.

THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS.

NOVEMBER 1.

"I, John, saw another angel come up from the East, holding the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were given power to damage the land and the sea, “Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”

"I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked from every tribe of the children of Israel.

"After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.

They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.

They cried out in a loud voice:

“Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.”

"All the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures.

They prostrated themselves before the throne, worshiped God, and exclaimed:

“Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanks­giving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

"Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,

“Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”

I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.”

He said to me, “These are the ones who have sur­vived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7: 2 - 4, 9 - 14).

Sunday November 1st is the Solemnity of All Saints.

In the vision from Revelations, the two elders asked John: “Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”

These are the Saints whose feast we celebrate today.

The Church venerates in one huge celebration the merits of All the Saints. From Abel the Just to the newest Saint who enters Paradise Now. 

“These are the ones who have sur­vived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.”

Saints are now in Heaven enjoying the reward that Jesus Christ promised.

What is Heaven? "Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness." (CCC 1024).

The Saints tell us that our experience of Heaven begins right here and now. 

Our Baptism makes us children of God. If you are in sanctifying grace, you experience the presence of the Blessed Trinity living in you.

What does this mean? You enjoy to the extent of your capacity the gifts and the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

This is what the Saints in Heaven enjoy all the time.

St Catherine of Siena says that the joy of Heaven begins here and all the way to eternity.

Jesus promises that He is glorified when we honor His saints.

The Communion of Saints is one of the most powerful and comforting doctrines in the Church.

You can have as close friends many of the saints. These friend saints take your petitions to the Prince of Saints who has promised to be favorable to their intercessions on your behalf.

All Saints come from all races, countries, backgrounds and occupations. They give us powerful example and motivation to imitate them.

Become a Saint. Become holy.

The month of November is traditionally dedicated in the Catholic Church to honoring the dead and relieving the sufferings of the souls in purgatory.

Do not neglect your loved ones.

For Catholic Church teaching on the Souls in PURGATORY and how to help them, click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/10/10-ways-to-assist-poor-souls-in.html

DO NOT EXALT YOURSELF.

Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled.

“If you should ask me what are the ways of God, I would tell you that the first is humility, the second is humility, and the third is humility. Not that there are no other precepts to give. But if humility does not precede all that we do, our efforts are fruitless.” (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church.)

THE GOODNEWS:

"On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.

"He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor.

A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say,

‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place.

"Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say,

‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14: 1, 7.-14).

Jesus Christ our Teacher gives us a poignant lesson on Humility in the Gospel of today. 

One of our great theologians writes that humility is the queen of virtues.  St Augustine writes that you can get into heaven without perfect chastity but you cannot enter heaven without humility.

Humility is the queen of virtues.

Jesus teaches us a very practical lesson on humility today.  The type of lesson a dad will give his son or a mother her daughter to spare them embarrassment.

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor."  (Luke 14: 8). 

That seat may have been reserved for someone else.

Everyone struggles with some type of pride. 

My best lesson on humility is from the autobiography of St Ignatius Loyola which the saint dictated to his secretary, Father Gonzalez.  Father Gonzalez who said he struggled with pride asked St Ignatius how to overcome it.

"Pray about it sincerely to the Lord."  St Ignatius said simply. He reminded Father Gonzalez of Jesus' promise of "Ask, Seek and Knock and Receive."  I know I have tried many things to obtain humility until I read this. I pray for humility always and believe that the Lord will grant me the gift.

Even if humility is granted me incrementally, I will thank the Lord for it with all my heart.

Through St Ignatius, Jesus teaches me to trust Him to deal with my pride in His own way and in His time.

"Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls."  (Matthew 11: 29).

Tomorrow Saturday is October 31st, the last day of the Beautiful Month of October. We say Aurevoir to Our Blessed Mother, Mary the Virgin. We shall continue to honor her every day through the Holy Rosary.

"Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, pray for us."

Say the Holy Rosary every day.

For Prayers, Consecration, Litany, Testimony of Jesus about those who pray the Rosary, click the link below:

https://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/09/october-devotion-to-holy-rosary.html?m=1

PUT ON THE FULL ARMOR.

PUT ON THE FULL ARMOR. 

WE ARE IN SPIRITUAL WARFARE.

PUT ON THE FULL ARMOR. 

"Brothers and sisters: Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power. 

"Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the Devil.

"For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.

"Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. 

"So stand fast with your loins girded in truth, clothed with righteousness as a breastplate, and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace.

"In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield, to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

"With all prayer and supplication, pray at every opportunity in the Spirit. 

To that end, be watchful with all ­perseverance and supplication for all the holy ones and also for me, that speech may be given me to open my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the Gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, so that I may have the courage to speak as I must. (Ephesians 6: 10 -  20)

Thursday 29th October 2026 in 30th Week in Ordinary Time. 

Do you realize that we are in covert spiritual warfare? 

The first Reading today Ephesians 6: 10 - 20 is a call to arms especially  to the brethren who do not know the meaning of the Signs of the Times. 

Christians are constantly in spiritual warfare and Jesus our Captain promises: To be our strength in proportion to the trust we place in Him.

Do you doubt the severity of the warfare? 

The power of darkness is everywhere.  "For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens." (Ephesians 6: 12). 

Consider a few of the great ones of this world that had been used by the Evil One and then discarded:

 Judas, Nero, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin. These are some of the high priests of Satan.  

In another passage, St Paul elaborates on our weapon:

"For the weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. We destroy arguments  and every pretension raising itself against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ." (2 Corinthians 10: 4 - 5).

Our faith is our shield in this warfare. For God promises that His faithful promises are our armor and protection. (Cf Psalm 91: 4).

So brothers and sisters, "Put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground." (Ephesians 6: 13).

We still have a couple of days to the end of the Holy Rosary Month of October. 

If you have been faithful, have confidence that our Blessed Mother will reward you. 

"The rosary shall be a powerful armor against hell, it will destroy vice, decrease sin, and defeat heresies." (The 3rd Promise of Mary to Devotees of the Holy Rosary).

For Prayers, Consecration, Litany, Testimony of Jesus about those who pray the Rosary, click the link below:

https://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/09/october-devotion-to-holy-rosary.html?m=1

THE GREAT FEAST OF SAINTS SIMON AND JUDE. APOSTLES.

FEAST OF SAINTS SIMON AND JUDE, APOSTLES.

The Choice and the Call of the Twelve.

"Jesus went up to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.

"When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:

"Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called a Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor." (Luke 6: 12 - 16).

Wednesday 28th October 2026 in the 30th Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of Saints Simon and Jude.

They are among the 12 Apostles chosen by Jesus in today's Gospel. 

"Tradition has it that they preached in Mesopotamia and Persia and there were martyred." (Roman Missal).

St Jude is a very popular Saint. He is the patron saint of lost and impossible causes.

Jesus called the 12 after a  night spent in prayer to His heavenly Father.

He chose twelve men who had been with Him from the Baptism of John.

He chose them to become the pillar and foundation of the truth, the Church. (Cf 1 Timothy 3: 15).

Jesus built His worldwide Church on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets.

Each year, we celebrate the glory of Saints Simon and Jude and the other Apostles.

Why do we not celebrate the glory of Caesar, King Henry VIII, Napoleon, Churchill or Stalin?

The message of the Apostles still goes out throughout the world.

It is the mind of Christ that the Church He founded be built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets.

What are the characteristics of this Church by which she can be recognized all over the world?

There are four marks.

We profess every Sunday in the Apostles' Creed that the Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.

What do these words mean?

#1 One:  One faith, one Baptism, one Shepherd.

#2 Holy: The Holy Spirit that indwells the Church is the source of her holiness. The Holy Spirit continually cleanses the Bride of Christ from defilements.

In every Liturgy of the Mass, the Church confesses her sins as individuals and as a family.

#3 Catholic:  Means Universal.

The Church is found in all the countries of the United Nations and in every other place of human habitation.

Watch the Bishops of the world gather in Synod or Council or some other important meeting in Rome in Rome and you will understand what I mean.

I watched the closing Mass of the Synod led by Pope Francis in Rome on television on.

There were Cardinals, Bishops, Priests, Deacons and Laity from all over the world.

This is an amazing testimony that the Catholic Church is the true Church founded by Jesus Christ.

#4 Apostolic:  Every Bishop is directly traceable to the original 12 Apostles who were constituted in today's Gospel.

Many Bishops would have their lines run through Saints Simon and Jude, our saints of today.

"Simon and Jude are the holy men whom the Lord chose in his own perfect love; to them he gave eternal glory." (Cf Entrance Antiphon).

October is the Holy Rosary Month.

"As for you, dear son of mine, persevere in praying to me. Hold fast to my Rosary and beware of every ploy of the Evil One to separate you from it. My Rosary is your safeguard and your weapon in the fight against the forces of evil. At the same time, for you it is a remedy and a comfort. Do you not see how the Rosary has stabilized you? Do you not experience its healing and all its benefits? Pray my Rosary and teach others to do the same." (IN SINU JESU).

Say the Holy Rosary every day in October.

For Prayers, Consecration, Litany, Testimony of Jesus about those who pray the Rosary, click the link below:

https://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/09/october-devotion-to-holy-rosary.html?m=1

THE TINY MUSTARD SEED AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

THE TINY MUSTARD SEED AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

What is the Kingdom of God like?

"Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like?

To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.

When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”

Again he said, “To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?

It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened.” (Luke 13: 18 - 21).

Tuesday, 27th October 2026 in the 30th Week in Ordinary Time.

“What is the Kingdom of God like?"

The Kingdom of God can be compared to many things.

You can compare it to the yeast that leavens dough, or to a fishing net that catches all types of fish.

The Kingdom of God has been compared to a wedding feast.

What is your favorite comparison of the Kingdom of God?

My favorite comparison is this:

"It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.

When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”

This is what happens when the tiny mustard seed is planted in your soul.

It grows and gives birth to your awareness of the Person of the Holy Spirit. Then of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The seed continue to grow and develop branches.

Awareness of the Church and the Sacraments.

Now you know Holy Scriptures, Rosary and so forth.

Now the tiny seed planted by the Lord Jesus Christ is becoming a bush, ready to welcome birds of the sky.

The seed, the

Word of God is planted in your heart when you were baptized.

You cultivate and nourish the Seed daily through daily prayers, reading and studying the word of God, daily examination of conscience, frequent Confession, and spiritual reading.

Prayer is the key and efficient cause of blessings.

October is the Holy Rosary Month.

"The whole purpose of the Rosary is to lead to this deep experience of Our Lady, who together with Jesus breathes the Spirit into us."  Thomas Keating).

The Great Month of October ends in a few days. If you have been faithful, be prepared for a rich harvest.  The Rosary can be compared to the tiny mustard seed that the Holy Spirit planted in our heart this October. If we nourish this tiny mustard seed and allow it to grow, what will it become in 10 years, 20 years or 30 years?

For Prayers, Consecration, Litany, Testimony of Jesus about those who pray the Rosary, click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/09/october-devotion-to-holy-rosary.html?m=1

WOMAN, YOU ARE SET FREE.

WOMAN, YOU ARE SET FREE FROM YOUR INFIRMITY. 

THE GOODNEWS:

"Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath.

"And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit;

she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.

"When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said,

“Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.”

He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.

"But the leader of the synagogue, indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath, said to the crowd in reply,

“There are six days when work should be done.

Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.”

"The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites!

Does not each one of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his ass from the manger and lead it out for watering?

This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?”

"When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated; and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him. (Luke 13: 10 - 17).

Monday 26th October 2026 in the 30th Week in Ordinary Time.

In the Gospel of today, we see a selfish leader of the synagogue thinking like man.

Making your interests paramount in every situation is thinking like man.

This is Selfishness.  A fake politician thinks and acts, "I think of whatever concerns me as top priority."

But for Jesus, "This daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now, ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day from this bondage?”(Luke 13: 16).

This is Why the Savior and Redeemer came. To set us free from the shackles of Satan.

And the Sabbath Day is the best day for the work of healing and restoration.

"The Sabbath is made for man and not man for the Sabbath.

Prayer is the key and efficient cause of blessings.

Pray always. Pray everywhere. Pray for everything.

If you pray well, you live well. If you live well, you die well. If you die well, all is well. (St Augustine).

If you pray more, you sin less. If you pray less, you sin more. (Anonymous Priest).

October is the Holy Rosary Month.

“The Rosary is the scourge of the devil” (Pope Adrian VI).

Say the Holy Rosary every day in October. The Great Month of October ends in a couple of days. Are you ready to count your blessings?

For Prayers, Consecration, Litany, Testimony of Jesus about those who pray the Rosary, click the link below:

https://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/09/october-devotion-to-holy-rosary.html?m=1

THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT.

LOVE YOUR GOD. LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR. 

“You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. 

You shall not wrong any widow or orphan." (Exodus 22: 20).

Sunday 25th October 2026, 30th Week in Ordinary Time.

In the Gospel for this Sunday from Matthew 22: 34 - 40, the Pharisees asked Jesus which commandment is the greatest.

 Jesus went beyond their narrow standard in His answer: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 

This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22: 34 - 40).

The first Reading today is from Exodus 22: 20 - 26. 

We read of the magna carta of love of neighbor: the poor, the weak, the sick, the homeless, the hungry. All these are represented by the immigrants, orphans and widows. 

God commands: Do not oppress or molest them. To oppress or molest them is to break all the laws in the Decalogue.

If we consider this law oppressive, then God reminds us:

 "You were once aliens residing in the land of Egypt." Right?

 What is the incontestable reason for pardoning someone who has offended you? 

You were forgiven a debt of $500,000.

Our Father in Heaven, increase our faith, hope and love.

Make us love the immigrants, the orphans and widows as You command us,

so that we may merit what you promise.

October is the Holy Rosary Month.

"The greatest saints, those richest in grace and virtue will be the most assiduous in praying to the most blessed virgin, looking up to her as the perfect model to imitate and as a powerful helper to assist them."

• (Saint Louis Marie de Montfort)

Say the Holy Rosary every day in October.

For Prayers, Consecration, Litany, Testimony of Jesus about those who pray the Rosary, click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/09/october-devotion-to-holy-rosary.html?m=1

THE FEAST OF ST ANTHONY MARY CLARET. MISSIONARY BISHOP.

THE FEAST OF ST ANTHONY MARY CLARET. MISSIONARY BISHOP. 

 

WHEN THE FIG TREE IS BARREN. 

"And Jesus told them this parable: 

“There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ 

"He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’” (Luke 13: 1 - 9).

Saturday 24th October 2026 in the 29th Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Anthony Mary CLARET. 

 (1807 - 1870).

 Spanish missionary and Archbishop of Santiago, Cuba. He founded the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Claretians).

St Anthony Mary Claret was no stranger to the type of cruelty inflicted on the poor and marginalized people in most countries of the world. 

Saint Anthony Mary Claret (1807–1870) was a Spanish missionary, archbishop, writer, and founder whose life was devoted to bringing souls to Christ. 

Born in Sallent, Spain, he worked as a weaver before answering God’s call to the priesthood.

 Ordained in 1835, he preached throughout Catalonia and the Canary Islands, encouraging repentance, prayer, and devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In 1849, he founded the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, known as the Claretians. As Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, he promoted education, renewed parish life, and served the poor, persevering despite opposition and an assassination attempt.

Recalled to Spain in 1857, he became confessor to Queen Isabella II while continuing his preaching and publishing apostolate. His love for the Eucharist and Mary sustained his tireless ministry.

He fought for the rights of these people in Cuba and at the end of his life, he wrote: “I have fulfilled my mission, I have preached the Gospel, I have kept holy poverty.”

He died in exile in France on October 24, 1870. Canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1950, he remains an inspiring example of missionary courage. His feast day is October 24.

Our key Scripture is the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree. This is an allegory for the People of Israel. The People of Israel is the Vineyard of the Lord. The Vineyard of the Lord is the Church. 

God wants a good return on His investment in Israel, in the Church and in you and me. 

How do we bear much fruit in the Church, which is the seed of the Kingdom of God on earth?

We remain in Jesus.  What is the principle of productivity in the Church?  We abide in Christ.  How do we abide in Christ? 

We live in Jesus through His word, the Sacraments, particularly the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is a holy exchange of gift. Through it, Jesus shares with us His divine life. Another word for God's divine life in us is sanctifying grace.

Our fruitfulness depends therefore on this dynamic relationship with Christ living inside us.

"Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord;

whoever remains in me will bear much fruit."  (John 15: 14, 15).

Fruitfulness is not addiction to activity.  It is believing God. It is knowing the will of God for you and doing it. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. He will accomplish the work.

"I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion that he may live." (Ezekiel 33: 11).

"I am the source of all fruitfulness in the vineyard that is My Church. Apart from Me, you can do nothing. Come to Me, then. Remain with Me. Act for Me, guided by My Holy Spirit, and return to Me with thanksgiving. This is the secret of a priestly life that will be pleasing to Me, will build up My Church, and will glorify My Father." (IN SINU JESU page 103).

October is the Holy Rosary Month. 

 

“From Mary we learn to surrender to God's Will in all things. From Mary we learn to trust even when all hope seems gone. From Mary we learn to love Christ her Son and the Son of God!” “As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.” (St John Paul II).

Say the Holy Rosary every day in October. 

For Prayers, Consecration, Litany, Testimony of Jesus about those who pray the Rosary, click the link below:

https://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2023/09/october-devotion-to-holy-rosary.html?m=1