The Widow trusts God’s Providence.

"He [Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”  (Mark 12: 38.... 44).

Sunday 7th November 2021 in the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time.

Our key Scripture, the Widow's Mite and the first Reading from first Book of Kings teach us lessons on how to give to God.

Before you give, know that God owns everything and needs absolutely nothing. Giving to God actually is a test of how much you trust God. Then consider all that God has given for you: life, health, family, job, food, etc.
Then respond to what your heart tells you knowing that you can not out do God in generosity.

"The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Fresh and green are the pastures where he gives me repose, near restful waters he leads me." (Psalm 23:1 - 2).

"So much time and energy is wasted in futile worrying and in endless discussions about what is needed and how to go about getting it. Simply present your needs to Me with a trusting heart and I will show you that I am a lavish provider for those who let Me take charge of their needs. The obstinate desire to control all things and to obtain by purely human means the things necessary to My work is an affront both to My merciful love and to My infinite generosity. Has this not been My message all through sacred history: “Trust Me, and you shall see wonders”?  (IN SINU JESU, Tuesday, February 3, 2009).

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Go for the genuine riches.

"Jesus said to his disciples: “...... The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?
...... No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”  (Luke 16: 9.... 15).

Saturday 6th November 2021, in the 31st Week in Ordinary Time is the First Saturday in November. We celebrate the Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The Gospel today shouts one clear lesson:
We are stewards of God's Time, Talent and Treasure.
The conclusion of Jesus is simple to understand:
“I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings."
Invest part of your money in spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Contribute to missionary endeavors, distribute Bibles and Rosaries. Sponsor seminarians.

When you arrive at the gate of Heaven after your death, there will be a crowd to welcome you. "Without you, I wouldn't have been a priest, a Christian, a missionary, etc."

You will find that "dishonest wealth" has procured your salvation. This is taught St John Chrysostom, St Ambrose and other teachers.

"Blessed is the womb of the Virgin Mary, which bore the Son of the eternal Father." (Communion Antiphon Cf. Luke 11: 27).

"Above all there is My Holy Mother, My all-beautiful and Immaculate Mother Mary. She is where I am. She is close to the priest who is close to Me in the Sacrament of My love. Nothing gives so much joy to her Immaculate Heart as seeing one of her priest sons in adoration before My Eucharistic Face. She opens her hands over him—as she is doing over you at this very moment—and causes a shower of graces to fall into his soul. Love My Mother, love My Mother more and more. You will never approach the love of My own Heart for her by yourself, but I, by My free gift, can and will unite you to the love of My Sacred Heart for her. Thus will you come to experience the ineffable union of our two Hearts in your own heart."  (Thursday, April 24, 2008).

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Honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus this First Friday. November 5th.

November 5th, 2021 First Friday in November.

The 12 Promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus:  Jesus promised 12 special favors to all those who will honor His Sacred Heart especially on the First Friday of every month.  In the 11th month of the year 2021, we look at Promise #11.

#11. "Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in My Heart, and it shall never be effaced."

Promise #11 is not hard to fulfill.  Just promote the Sacred Heart Devotion.  Since nobody can give that which he has not, make sure you have some testimonies in case someone asks you: "What has the Sacred Heart done for you?"

Start your promotion small.  Order 20 to 50 Sacred Heart of Jesus cards from Amazon or from your local Catholic Bookstore.  Few dollars. Get the ones with the picture of the Sacred Heart in front and the Promises on the back. Give them to family, relatives and friends.  Leave some in the Church lobby.  You are already on the way as a promoter of the Sacred Heart devotion. I have left some cards in public libraries.

Remind the Lord often of these promises especially those that touch your present need. Jesus loves to be reminded of His promises.  Not that He forgets.  It is important for you to know deeply that the Lord is faithful.  Friends, this is really a question of whether you trust the promises Jesus or not. Review the 12 Promises about once a month to see which promises have been fulfilled.

Honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus this Friday.

For the Sacred Heart of Jesus Promises, Prayers, Prayer intentions, click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2020/08/12-promises-of-sacred-heart-of-jesus.html?m=1

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The Feast of St Charles Borrowmeo.

"What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep."  (Luke 15: 1... 10).

Thursday 4th November 2021, 31st Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Charles Borromeo. (1538 - 1584). Cardinal, Archbishop of the famous See of Milan, the See of St Ambrose. Borromeo was born into wealth and splendor but was not possessed by his wealth and patrimony.
St Charles Borromeo was one of the architects of the successful conclusion of the Council of Trent. A great reformer, he worked hard for the implementation of the decrees of the Council. He established seminaries and had catechisms produced.

In our key Scripture from the famous Luke's Chapter 15, Jesus exclaims joyfully "Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep."  Thank You Jesus for the lesson You have taught me in this parable. You have taught me the power of One. You have also reminded me of the power of the mustard seed. Help me to follow Your example My Good Shepherd.

"I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance."

Some people like St Charles Borromeo are born into wealth but are detached from material things. Other people are born into poverty and become scrooges all their life. Great mystery. It profits a man nothing to own the whole world and lose his eternal soul. Here is one of the powerful sayings of St Charles Borromeo:

"Know and recall that there is no greater wealth and treasure, nothing more excellent and fruitful, than to love God and serve him, and that everything else passes like smoke and shadow."

St Charles Borromeo is the patron saint of catechists and seminarians.

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The Feast of St Martin de Porres.

"Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish."  (Luke 14 :  25... 33).

Wednesday 3rd November 2021 in the 31st Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Martin de Porres.

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.

Our key Scripture from Luke 14 invites us to consider carefully the cost of discipleship before we say Yes to Jesus. Having calculated the cost of following Jesus, in order to succeed in this Enterprise, two conditions are absolutely necessary:
#1. Be prepared to give up your pet projects, fanciful possessions and self will.
#2. Make the Kingdom of God or following Jesus your top priority. Make Jesus way of being righteous your way.

On the 1st of November, we celebrated the witness of billions of Saints who witnessed by their lives that the teachings of Jesus work. They were not intimidated by the cost of discipleship. Do not be intimidated by the cost of following Jesus. The reward is unbelievable.

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ALL SOULS DAY.

"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."  (John 6: 37... 40).

Tuesday 2nd November 2021, in the 31st Week in Ordinary Time is the Commemoration of all the holy souls in 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).

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 Father. 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).

Remember the Poor Souls in Purgatory in your prayers.

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The Great Feast of All the Saints.

“Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?” (Revelation 7: 13).

Monday 1st November 2021, in the 31st Week in Ordinary Time is the Solemnity of All Saints.

In the vision, 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. 
“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.”

The 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. 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.

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind.

"One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Mark 12: 28... 34).

Sunday 31st October 2021 in the 31st Week in Ordinary Time.

Love may well be the theme of the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time. The first Reading is from the famous Shema Israel which devout Jews recite several times during the day.

“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.” (Deuteronomy 6: 4 - 6).

How do we love God with all our heart, all our mind and all our strength? Jesus says:
"Whoever loves me will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him."
In order words, knowing the word of Jesus and keeping it is the way to know that you love the Lord Jesus.
All the saints will agree with this.

The Little Flower, St Therese of the Child Jesus may put her doctrine of Love this way: "I, Therese I am incapable of doing great things. I am not a scholar nor can I boost of great gifts of grace. I am going to do the little things with great love."
Therese lived this doctrine. It pleased Jesus so much that He awarded Therese Doctor of the Church.

St Catherine of Siena may put her doctrine this way:
"I will seek to know the Will of God in everything. I will endeavor to do it. In the Will of God is our peace." Jesus was also very pleased with Catherine and made her a great teacher in the Church with the title of Doctor of the Church.

St Ignatius Loyola sought loving God with all his heart, mind and soul through doing everything "For the Greater Glory of God."

Whether you choose St Therese's "Way of Love" or St Catherine's "Will of God," you will find that all ways lead to Jesus. The masters of spirituality list the Seven Daily Habits of Saints thus:
Prayer, word of God, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Examination of Conscience, Faith sharing (ministry) and Spiritual reading.

"I love you, O Lord, my strength,
O Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer." (Responsorial Psalm 18).

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com