My words will not pass away.

"Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." (Matthew 24: 34 - 35).

Sunday 14th November 2021, in the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time.

With the end of the Church Liturgical Year in one week, the Gospel of this Sunday focuses on the End Times. When will it be? How will it happen? Who are the big players? How do we recognize the signs of the times?

The Church devotes paragraphs #675 to 679 of the Catechism to answer the questions of the End Times. Below is a very illuminating paragraph into what to know and what to expect:

"Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh." (CCC 675).

For those who may not take Christ's pronouncements on the End Times seriously, Jesus says:
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."

Come Lord Jesus!

"If you would abide in Me, according to My word, you must begin by abiding with Me. The union to which I have called you, a fruitful union with Myself, will begin in the time you dedicate exclusively to Me and to My companionship. Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock. If any man shall hear My voice, and open to Me the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. (Apocalypse 3:20). Those souls who never abide with Me remain closed to the graces of union with Myself that I so desire to give them. Time spent in My presence softens the heart and makes it permeable to the love that radiates from My Eucharistic Heart. Time spent in My presence allows the eyes of the soul to adjust, in faith, to the brightness of My Eucharistic Face." (IN SINU JESU, Thursday, April 7, 2016).

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The Feast of St Frances Xavier Cabrini.

"Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary. He said, “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. And a widow in that town used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary." (Luke 18: 1.... 18).

Saturday 13th November 2021, 32nd Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Frances Xavier Cabrini. (1850 - 1917). Virgin. Italian. Patroness of Immigrants.

Our saint for today overcame the first obstacle to her vocation: fear of drowning.  She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to serve immigrants in schools, hospitals and parishes in the United States. Before she died in 1917, St Frances Xavier Cabrini had traversed the seas about 30 times planting missionary services to the vulnerable in many countries of the world.

"Jesus told his disciples a parable about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary." The Widow in today's Gospel proves that even with God, persistence breaks resistance. So pray always. Pray everywhere. Pray about everything. God hears the prayers of the widow, the orphan and the immigrant. 

Jesus Christ chose St Frances Xavier Cabrini to be a symbol of His tender care for immigrants. This is why the Church honors her today. In honoring her, we glorify Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd of all immigrants.

"There are no sufferings that cannot be borne peacefully, so long as a soul is praying the Rosary. Through the Rosary, all the grace and power of My mysteries passes through My Mother’s Immaculate Heart into the hearts of the little ones who invoke her, repeating the angel’s “Ave” over and over again. There are illnesses that can be cured through the Rosary. There are clouds of darkness and confusion that only the Rosary can disperse, and this because it is My Mother’s favourite prayer, a prayer that originated in the heights of heaven and was carried to earth by My Archangel, a prayer echoed and amplified in the Church through the ages, a prayer loved by all My saints, a prayer of disarming power and of immense depth." (IN SINU JESU, Tuesday, December 2, 2014).

To see the 15 Promises of Mary to those who say the Holy Rosary, click the link below Or copy and paste::

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-15-promises-of-mary-to-those-who.html?m =1

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The Feast of St Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr.

"Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it."  (Luke 17: 33).

Friday 12th November 2021, in the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Josaphat, Bishop and Martyr.  (1580 - 1623). Born in Poland, ministered and martyred in Ukraine. Josaphat spent his life working for the reconciliation and unity of the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church. He paid the supreme price for this with his life.

"Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it."  How do you seek to preserve your life? Example:  After the Corona Virus vaccine was approved in the US, there was a great scramble to get the shot. Why? People were terrified of dying from the virus. They did everything within their power to preserve their lives.

Is their great scramble to get to the Church on Easter Sunday or Christmas? Or Ordinary Sunday?
Our saint of today, St Josaphat had the opportunity to preserve his life by hiding from his killers. He chose to die as Jesus did when He refused to come down from the Cross when His enemies taunted Him to do so and prove that He is the Son of God.

No man can serve two masters at the same time. If you elect to serve the world, you must be running here and there trying to preserve your life. First from any pandemics, next from any terminal disease, then from inflation and so forth and so on.

Stop running and realize that it is impossible for any human being to preserve his life. When God, the Lord of life calls a soul home, there is no negotiation.

"The attack on My priesthood that appears to be spreading and growing is, in fact, in its final stages. It is a satanic and diabolical onslaught against My Bride the Church, an attempt to destroy her by attacking the most wounded of her ministers in their carnal weaknesses; but I will undo the destruction they have wrought and I will cause My priests and My Spouse the Church to recover a glorious holiness that will confound My enemies and be the beginning of a new era of saints, of martyrs, and of prophets."  (IN SINU JESU, Tuesday, March 2, 2010).

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The Feast of St Martin of Tours.

"I shall raise up for myself a faithful priest who will act in accord with my heart and my mind, says the Lord." (1 Samuel 2: 35 Entrance Antiphon).

Thursday 11th November 2021, 32nd Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of St Martin of Tours. (316 - 397). Bishop. St Martin was born of pagan parents in modern day Hungary.

Martin was a soldier in the imperial army of Rome. After he encountered Jesus Christ, he became a Christian and a man of peace. Today is also Veteran Day in the USA, Armistice Day in other countries. November 11  served in the past as a day of memorial of signing peace treaties.  The treaty to end World War 1 was signed on the Feast of St Martin of Tours, November 11th. Hail Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace. Happy Veterans Day!

Our key Scripture for today is taken from the Entrance Antiphon on the Feast of St Martin of Tours. The Lord made Martin a faithful priest who embraced God's will in everything. Martin founded a monastery in France and was consecrated later as the Bishop of Tours. He sent missionaries to evangelize France. France is one of the earliest Christian countries in the world and is known as the Elder Daughter of the Church.

St Martin de Tours can help us appreciate the truth that God's gracious and mysterious will is our peace and prosperity.  Lust for power and greed for riches lead nations to war. Consider the end of these nations: The France of Napoleon, the Germany of Hitler, the liquidation of the Soviet Union of Stalin. The Prince of Peace warns that those who live by the sword will perish by the sword. (Cf Matthew 26: 52).

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The Feast of St Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church.

"As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him. They stood at a distance from him and raised their voice, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” (Luke 17: 11... 19).

Wednesday 10th November 2021, 32nd Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of a giant of our faith: St Leo the Great. (+ 461). Pope. Italian. Doctor of the Church.
Leo was from a Roman aristocratic family. He was the first of three popes in the history of the Church to be called "the Great."

Pope Benedict XVI said that Leo's papacy "was undoubtedly one of the most important in Church history." Leo is remembered in history for many things. Here are the two things that stand out for me:
#1 Leo put his stamp on the authoritative definition of who Jesus Christ is: Jesus Christ is true God (100%) and true Man (100%).
#2 The mighty Roman Empire was collapsing right and left during the pontificate of Pope Leo. Leo persuaded Attila the Hun to turn back from the gates of Rome and Rome was spared destruction.

The Gospel of today deals with the cleansing of Ten Lepers. “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!” And when he saw them, he said, “Go show yourselves to the priests.” The Ten were all healed on their way to the priest.
"As they were going they were cleansed. And one of them, realizing he had been healed, returned, glorifying God in a loud voice; and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him."

Why did the other nine not come back to give thanks to God? Every parent teaches their young ones to always give thanks for gifts they receive or favors done to them. "Junior, have you said 'thank you"? You hammer this lesson in until it is learned. Why then do adults forget this lesson as they grow older?

The Scripture teaches us to give thanks to God always and for everything. When this sacred and simple injunction is not obeyed, it is a symptom of deep spiritual malaise: The offender has not realized that all the good things he enjoys in life come from God alone. There is no such thing as luck or chance in life. "T'is not from chance comes our blessings but from Your gracious ordaining O Lord our God." (Cf 2 Corinthians 1: 3 - 4).

The Eucharist is God’s greatest gift to us. Eucharist means Thanksgiving to remind us to give thanks always for this tremendous gift.

"Jesus said in reply, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.”

"Believe in My promises, and go forward full of thanksgiving and hope. I will teach you all that you need to know as you go forward. I will not give you My words ahead of time, but I will give them to you as you need them, at the moment chosen by My loving providence. Renounce the desire to control and arrange things ahead of the time that I have decreed. Each thing has its own moment, and that moment alone and no other brings with it the grace sufficient to your need, to your weakness, and to the task at hand. I am proceeding this way with you because I want you to trust Me completely, to trust Me in all things, great and small."  (Thursday, July 10, 2008).

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The Feast of the Dedication of St John Lateran Basilica.

"Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.....
Jesus made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.” (John 2: 13.... 22).

Tuesday 9th November 2021, 32nd Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica. The Church of the Pope as the Bishop of Rome. The Lateran has been known as the "Mother and head of all churches of Rome and the world."

Why is this an important feast and why are we celebrating it? In the Gospel of today,  Jesus expressed an outrage at the way the holy Temple was desecrated. It is therefore appropriate to reflect on the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica the theme of the sanctity of the Place of Abode of God. Every Catholic Church is consecrated to be holy and equipped with the Altar of the Blessed Sacrament. Below are other reasons why today's feast is very important.

#1 The Church is the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The destiny of the Church is prophesied in the key Scripture for today: "A new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband."
#2 The Lateran Basilica is the Church of the Pope, Successor St Peter and Universal  Pastor of the flock of Jesus Christ.
#3 This feast is celebrated worldwide and makes the faithful remember these important truths of our salvation. Especially the truth that the Church is Catholic, that is, universal.
#4 It is God's desire to dwell with us. The physical church is a symbol of this mystery. (Cf Revelation 21: 3).

As we celebrate this feast with joy, we remember that we are the chosen and living stones that form  the eternal Temple of the Most Holy God.

Let us pray especially today for the growth of the Church, for the unity of all Christians, for many vocations to the priesthood, consecrated life, missionaries, catechists and evangelists and of course for the Holy Father Pope Francis.

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Lord Jesus increase our faith.

"And the Apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” The Lord replied, “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” (Luke 17: 1... 6).

Monday 8th November 2021, in the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time.

Our key Scripture deals with the all important question of faith.
"What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead." (Hebrews 11: 1 TLB).

I thank our Lord Jesus for the mustard size faith that I have. Because of this small faith, I am who I am. Everything I enjoy in life like the Eucharist, Reconciliation, Sunday leisure, etc comes from faith.

In the 11th Chapter of Hebrews, we see the portrait of faith drawn through the key characters of the Hebrew Scriptures. For example: Abraham, David, Elijah, etc. We may add to this list: Mary, John the Baptist, John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene, Paul, etc. All these people lived by faith and fulfilled the spiritual law that "the just man shall live by faith." (Cf Habakkuk 2: 4, Romans 1: 17, Galatians 3: 11, Hebrews 10: 38).

How do we get faith?
"So faith comes from hearing [what is told], and what is heard comes by the [preaching of the] message concerning Christ." (Romans 10: 17 AMP).

Do you believe the message below?
"God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son, so that all who believe in him may not perish, but may have eternal life." (John 3: 16).

"Why do you think I have spoken to you so often of My Eucharistic Face? It is because “face” signifies “presence.” The devotion to My Eucharistic Face is the remedy to the loss of faith in My real presence that has swept through My Church at every level, extinguishing the fire of Eucharistic charity and causing even My elect, My priests, to grow cold and distant from Me. This is My word to you tonight and this is why I brought you to this place. Any loneliness you may feel is an invitation to seek Me out in the Sacrament of My divine friendship and to console My Eucharistic Heart." (IN SINU JESU, Sunday, October 19, 2008 Saint Paul of the Cross).

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