Saturday of the Third Week of Lent Lectionary: 242

Saturday of the Third Week of Lent

Lectionary: 242

Reading 1

HOS 6:1-6

“Come, let us return to the LORD,

it is he who has rent, but he will heal us;

he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds.

He will revive us after two days;

on the third day he will raise us up,

to live in his presence.

Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;

as certain as the dawn is his coming,

and his judgment shines forth like the light of day!

He will come to us like the rain,

like spring rain that waters the earth.”

What can I do with you, Ephraim?

What can I do with you, Judah?

Your piety is like a morning cloud,

like the dew that early passes away.

For this reason I smote them through the prophets,

I slew them by the words of my mouth;

For it is love that I desire, not sacrifice,

and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21AB

R. (see Hosea 6:6) It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;

in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.

Thoroughly wash me from my guilt

and of my sin cleanse me.

R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.

For you are not pleased with sacrifices;

should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.

My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;

a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.

Be bountiful, O LORD, to Zion in your kindness

by rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem;

Then shall you be pleased with due sacrifices,

burnt offerings and holocausts.

R. It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.

Verse Before The Gospel

PS 95:8

If today you hear his voice,

harden not your hearts.

Gospel

LK 18:9-14

Jesus addressed this parable

to those who were convinced of their own righteousness

and despised everyone else.

“Two people went up to the temple area to pray;

one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.

The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,

‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity — 

greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.

I fast twice a week,

and I pay tithes on my whole income.’

But the tax collector stood off at a distance

and would not even raise his eyes to heaven

but beat his breast and prayed,

‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’

I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;

for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,

and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Pope Frances 2nd Anniversary

Pope Frances 2nd Anniversary 

  On this day, two years ago, March 13, 2013, Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope and took the name Frances.  Today I ask that we all say a prayer for our Pope that He will listen to the Holy Spirit and lead our Church in the right direction. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and pray for our Priests. 

Friday of the Third Week of Lent

Lectionary: 241

Reading 1

HOS 14:2-10

Thus says the LORD:

Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;

you have collapsed through your guilt.

Take with you words,

and return to the LORD;

Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,

and receive what is good, that we may render

as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.

Assyria will not save us,

nor shall we have horses to mount;

We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’

to the work of our hands;

for in you the orphan finds compassion.”

I will heal their defection, says the LORD,

I will love them freely;

for my wrath is turned away from them.

I will be like the dew for Israel:

he shall blossom like the lily;

He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,

and put forth his shoots.

His splendor shall be like the olive tree

and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.

Again they shall dwell in his shade

and raise grain;

They shall blossom like the vine,

and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?

I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.

“I am like a verdant cypress tree”– 

Because of me you bear fruit!

Let him who is wise understand these things;

let him who is prudent know them.

Straight are the paths of the LORD,

in them the just walk,

but sinners stumble in them.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 81:6C-8A, 8BC-9, 10-11AB, 14 AND 17

R. (see 11 and 9a) I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

An unfamiliar speech I hear:

“I relieved his shoulder of the burden;

his hands were freed from the basket.

In distress you called, and I rescued you.”

R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

“Unseen, I answered you in thunder;

I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

Hear, my people, and I will admonish you;

O Israel, will you not hear me?”

R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

“There shall be no strange god among you

nor shall you worship any alien god.

I, the LORD, am your God

who led you forth from the land of Egypt.”

R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

“If only my people would hear me,

and Israel walk in my ways,

I would feed them with the best of wheat,

and with honey from the rock I would fill them.”

R. I am the Lord your God: hear my voice.

Verse Before The Gospel

MT 4:17

Repent, says the Lord;

the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Gospel

MK 12:28-34

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.

There is no other commandment greater than these.”

The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.

You are right in saying,

He is One and there is no other than he.

And to love him with all your heart,

with all your understanding, 

with all your strength,

and to love your neighbor as yourself

is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,

he said to him,

“You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

Waiting on God

Waiting on God

      When I saw this cartoon it made me smile and laugh. Have you ever been in a conversation with someone either on text or instant message and it comes up “typing” or like on the iMessage you see the three dots moving? You are watching it waiting for the message to appear. Then it stops and you are waiting and waiting and waiting then it finally appears. That waiting especially if you are waiting for an answer seems to take forever. Even sometimes it seems like they are answering you and then nothing. You are saying “come on why is it taking so long now. It has stopped with the dots...Where is my message?” This is like waiting for an answer to a prayer or a question you have for God. 

  

      One part that I liked with this is that you know that person is there in the conversation at that time. Either they are answering you, asking you a question or relaying something to you. You see it. That question of “Did God hear me?” or “Is He going to respond?” will not be asked. You would be able to see that something is coming and now you just need to wait. I know this will not happen but in todays age when we are getting, if not already used to, this quick answer or reply we lack that idea of faith with patience. We do need to... well I should say I know I sure need that “faith with patience” more. I am not good at waiting for that answer. 

     God always hears us. We may think that He doesn’t at times because we are not hearing a reply at all. With iMessages we can see that it was delivered and even sometimes read, if the person has that setting. We shouldn’t need that with God. He does hear each and everything we say to Him. When you text someone off your network all you get is that it was sent. Thats all. You don’t know they got the message or if they even read it, until they respond directly to you. God is not off our network, He is the network. We do not have to say to Him as in the Verizon commercial “ Can you hear me now?”, He does hear us. It is God who says to us “ Can you hear Me now?” .  We are the ones that do not respond, read or get impatient. 

      This cartoons shows to us that we all must wait for God’s word to come to us like Moses. God speaks to us the same as He spoke to everyone in the bible from day one till now. We may have many ways to reach each other 24/7 and ways to make sure the message was received and read but God has that same connections as before. Open your heart, soul and mind and make that connection and wait for the reply. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and God said “Can you hear Me now”? 

       Thursday of the Third Week of Lent

Lectionary: 240

Reading 1

JER 7:23-28

Thus says the LORD: 

This is what I commanded my people:

Listen to my voice;

then I will be your God and you shall be my people.

Walk in all the ways that I command you,

so that you may prosper.

But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed.

They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts

and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.

From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day,

I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets.

Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed;

they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers.

When you speak all these words to them,

they will not listen to you either;

when you call to them, they will not answer you.

Say to them:

This is the nation that does not listen

to the voice of the LORD, its God,

or take correction.

Faithfulness has disappeared;

the word itself is banished from their speech.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;

let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation.

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

let us joyfully sing psalms to him.

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Come, let us bow down in worship;

let us kneel before the LORD who made us.

For he is our God,

and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Oh, that today you would hear his voice:

“Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,

as in the day of Massah in the desert,

Where your fathers tempted me;

they tested me though they had seen my works.”

R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Verse Before The Gospel

JL 2:12-13

Even now, says the LORD,

return to me with your whole heart,

for I am gracious and merciful.

Gospel

LK 11:14-23

Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,

and when the demon had gone out,

the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.

Some of them said, “By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,

he drives out demons.”

Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.

But he knew their thoughts and said to them,

“Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste

and house will fall against house.

And if Satan is divided against himself, 

how will his kingdom stand?

For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.

If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,

by whom do your own people drive them out?

Therefore they will be your judges.

But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,

then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.

When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,

his possessions are safe.

But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,

he takes away the armor on which he relied

and distributes the spoils.

Whoever is not with me is against me,

and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent Lectionary: 239

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

Lectionary: 239

Reading 1

DT 4:1, 5-9

Moses spoke to the people and said:

“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees

which I am teaching you to observe,

that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land 

which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 

Therefore, I teach you the statutes and decrees

as the LORD, my God, has commanded me,

that you may observe them in the land you are entering to occupy.

Observe them carefully,

for thus will you give evidence

of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,

who will hear of all these statutes and say,

‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’

For what great nation is there

that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us

whenever we call upon him?

Or what great nation has statutes and decrees

that are as just as this whole law

which I am setting before you today?

“However, take care and be earnestly on your guard

not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen,

nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live,

but teach them to your children and to your children’s children.”

Responsorial Psalm

PS 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20

R. (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;

praise your God, O Zion.

For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;

he has blessed your children within you.

R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

He sends forth his command to the earth;

swiftly runs his word!

He spreads snow like wool;

frost he strews like ashes.

R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,

his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.

He has not done thus for any other nation;

his ordinances he has not made known to them.

R. Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Verse Before The Gospel

SEE JN 6:63C, 68C

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life;

you have the words of everlasting life.

Gospel

MT 5:17-19

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.

I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.

Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,

not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter

will pass from the law,

until all things have taken place.

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments

and teaches others to do so

will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.

But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments

will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

12, 13 & 14 Stations

 12th, 13th, &14th Stations Jesus' Death, Jesus' Taken Down from Cross, & Burial

 I wanted to combine the Twelfth, Thirteenth and Fourteenth station because it is that transition from this life to the next. Jesus takes His last breath on the cross and dies, then He is taken down from the cross and placed in the arms of His Mother, Mary. After She holds Her Son, He is placed in the tomb. The end has come to Jesus’ mission here on earth but the mission continues on. 

   Jesus’ human side can no longer survive the pain and torture of this world and commends His spirit into His Father’s hands. It is His last act before taking His last breath.  Jesus may not be physically on earth but His spirit resides in all those who hears His voice and picks up their cross and follows after Him. 

   His Mother, Mary, watches as Her Son dies for all of our sins. The pain and suffering she felt is unimaginable. Mary waits by the cross and as Her son is taken down from the cross, so She may hold Her Son one last time before being placed in the tomb. We see Jesus as our Savior, yet Mary sees Him as Her only Son. 

    It is very difficult when we loss those who are close to us. We all suffer during those days that may lead up to their passing and suffer the days that follow the passing. There are no words to express the pain that is felt. We gather together to honor, remember and lay them in peace. We leave them but they never leave our hearts and minds. 

     We can turn to Mary when we are feeling that loss stronger then other days. She understands what it is to lose and feel pain. She watched Her Son suffer, die for things that He did not do and understood this was to be the path for both of Them. We focus on Jesus’ path to the cross but I always wondered how was that path for Mary. I know painful but what were Her stations of the cross? As Her son fell, did She as well? Who was there  to help Mary as Simon of Cyrene helped Jesus? Who wiped Her tears like Veronica did for Jesus? 

      Jesus is laid in the tomb and many thought that this may be the end of His mission. The mission was not only not over but was just the catalyst and start of the Catholic Church. Those who followed Jesus gathered and waited. What was to come has continued for 2000 years. This should give us all hope. That even though our loved ones are not with us here on earth, that we all will be reunited because Jesus saved us and gave us salvation. 

       Until tomorrow, God Bless, and may we continue the journey through Lent. 

Monday of the Third Week of Lent

Lectionary: 237

Reading 1

2 KGS 5:1-15AB

Naaman, the army commander of the king of Aram,

was highly esteemed and respected by his master,

for through him the LORD had brought victory to Aram.

But valiant as he was, the man was a leper.

Now the Arameans had captured in a raid on the land of Israel

a little girl, who became the servant of Naaman’s wife.

“If only my master would present himself to the prophet in Samaria,”

she said to her mistress, “he would cure him of his leprosy.”

Naaman went and told his lord

just what the slave girl from the land of Israel had said.

“Go,” said the king of Aram.

“I will send along a letter to the king of Israel.”

So Naaman set out, taking along ten silver talents,

six thousand gold pieces, and ten festal garments.

To the king of Israel he brought the letter, which read:

“With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you,

that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

When he read the letter,

the king of Israel tore his garments and exclaimed:

“Am I a god with power over life and death,

that this man should send someone to me to be cured of leprosy?

Take note! You can see he is only looking for a quarrel with me!”

When Elisha, the man of God,

heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments,

he sent word to the king:

“Why have you torn your garments?

Let him come to me and find out

that there is a prophet in Israel.”

Naaman came with his horses and chariots

and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house.

The prophet sent him the message:

“Go and wash seven times in the Jordan,

and your flesh will heal, and you will be clean.”

But Naaman went away angry, saying,

“I thought that he would surely come out and stand there

to invoke the LORD his God,

and would move his hand over the spot,

and thus cure the leprosy.

Are not the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar,

better than all the waters of Israel? 

Could I not wash in them and be cleansed?”

With this, he turned about in anger and left.

But his servants came up and reasoned with him.

“My father,” they said,

“if the prophet had told you to do something extraordinary,

would you not have done it?

All the more now, since he said to you,

‘Wash and be clean,’ should you do as he said.”

So Naaman went down and plunged into the Jordan seven times

at the word of the man of God.

His flesh became again like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

He returned with his whole retinue to the man of God.

On his arrival he stood before him and said,

“Now I know that there is no God in all the earth,

except in Israel.”

Responsorial Psalm

PS 42:2, 3; 43:3, 4

R. (see 42:3) Athirst is my soul for the living God.

When shall I go and behold the face of God?

As the hind longs for the running waters,

so my soul longs for you, O God.

R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.

When shall I go and behold the face of God?

Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.

When shall I go and behold the face of God?

R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.

When shall I go and behold the face of God?

Send forth your light and your fidelity;

they shall lead me on

And bring me to your holy mountain,

to your dwelling-place.

R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.

When shall I go and behold the face of God?

Then will I go in to the altar of God,

the God of my gladness and joy;

Then will I give you thanks upon the harp,

O God, my God!

R. Athirst is my soul for the living God.

When shall I go and behold the face of God?

Verse Before The Gospel

SEE PSALM 130:5, 7

I hope in the LORD, I trust in his word;

with him there is kindness and plenteous redemption.

Gospel

LK 4:24-30

Jesus said to the people in the synagogue at Nazareth:

“Amen, I say to you,

no prophet is accepted in his own native place.

Indeed, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel

in the days of Elijah

when the sky was closed for three and a half years

and a severe famine spread over the entire land.

It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,

but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.

Again, there were many lepers in Israel

during the time of Elisha the prophet;

yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

When the people in the synagogue heard this,

they were all filled with fury.

They rose up, drove him out of the town,

and led him to the brow of the hill

on which their town had been built, 

to hurl him down headlong.

But he passed through the midst of them and went away.

Third Sunday of Lent Lectionary: 29

Third Sunday of Lent

Lectionary: 29

Reading 1

EX 20:1-17

In those days, God delivered all these commandments:

“I, the LORD, am your God, 

who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.

You shall not have other gods besides me.

You shall not carve idols for yourselves 

in the shape of anything in the sky above 

or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; 

you shall not bow down before them or worship them.

For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, 

inflicting punishment for their fathers’ wickedness 

on the children of those who hate me, 

down to the third and fourth generation; 

but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation 

on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.

“You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.

For the LORD will not leave unpunished 

the one who takes his name in vain.

“Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.

Six days you may labor and do all your work, 

but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God.

No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, 

or your male or female slave, or your beast, 

or by the alien who lives with you.

In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, 

the sea and all that is in them; 

but on the seventh day he rested.

That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

“Honor your father and your mother, 

that you may have a long life in the land 

which the LORD, your God, is giving you.

You shall not kill.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, 

nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, 

nor anything else that belongs to him.”

Or

EX 20:1-3, 7-8, 12-17

In those days, God delivered all these commandments:

“I, the LORD am your God, 

who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.

You shall not have other gods besides me.

“You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.

For the LORD will not leave unpunished 

the one who takes his name in vain.

“Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.

Honor your father and your mother, 

that you may have a long life in the land 

which the Lord, your God, is giving you.

You shall not kill.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.

You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, 

nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, 

nor anything else that belongs to him.”

Responsorial Psalm

PS 19:8, 9, 10, 11

R. (John 6:68c) Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The law of the LORD is perfect,

refreshing the soul;

The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,

giving wisdom to the simple.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The precepts of the LORD are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the command of the LORD is clear,

enlightening the eye.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

The fear of the LORD is pure,

enduring forever;

the ordinances of the LORD are true,

all of them just.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

They are more precious than gold,

than a heap of purest gold;

sweeter also than syrup

or honey from the comb.

R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

Reading 2

1 COR 1:22-25

Brothers and sisters:

Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 

but we proclaim Christ crucified, 

a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 

but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, 

Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, 

and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Verse Before The Gospel

JN 3:16

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,

so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.

Gospel

JN 2:13-25

Since the Passover of the Jews was near,

Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, 

as well as the money changers seated there.

He 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.”

His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, 

Zeal for your house will consume me.

At this the Jews answered and said to him,

“What sign can you show us for doing this?”

Jesus answered and said to them, 

“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”

The Jews said, 

“This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, 

and you will raise it up in three days?”

But he was speaking about the temple of his body.

Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, 

his disciples remembered that he had said this, 

and they came to believe the Scripture 

and the word Jesus had spoken.

While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, 

many began to believe in his name 

when they saw the signs he was doing.

But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, 

and did not need anyone to testify about human nature.

He himself understood it well.

Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

Eleventh Station: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

  Jesus is nailed to the cross. With each hit of the hammer it drives the nails deeper and deeper through Jesus and the wood. Each time the hammer hits the nails our Lord cries out in pain. He is taking this pain and suffering for us. Our sins are the nails that hold Him on the cross and our sins aid in nailing Him to the cross.

   The suffering of Jesus is coming to an end. He has carried all of our sins with Him on this journey. Now He is lifted up on the cross for all around to see the Savior. He is looking down at all those who He has helped, healed, feed, gave council and taken their sins. Jesus does not curse them for what they do but says “ Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”. He asks for the forgiveness for them from His Father. How many of us could do that? How many of us could forgive those who have wronged us? 

    In the midst of suffering on the cross, Jesus still ministers to the other men on the cross. He does not turn from God, His Father, but continues on His mission of salvation of the people. How many times do we stop working in ministry because we are to tired to go on? Turn away because of the few that make it difficult for us? Leave so we can have it easier? I know I was guilty of this. It is not easy to do the work of Jesus sometimes. It is draining and challenging at times. Yet, we must go on. We have to reach those who do not know Him. Reach those who have left. Reach those who are struggling. Reach those who doubt. It will not be easy but it is rewarding and pleasing to God. 

    Sometimes we are not carrying our own cross but are being nailed to them because of what we believe. Being a Catholic is not always excepted. Our faith is nailed to the cross over things that a small portion of the clergy and laity do. Each time our faith is attacked and nailed, we are as well. I believe times will come where we have to stand taller for the faith and we are lucky in the United States where we can practice the faith openly. Think of those who are crucified and die for the faith. Each time blood is shed for the faith we must lift our heads on the cross and cry out to Jesus to help us and strengthen us and the church. 

     Whether we are carrying our crosses or being nailed to them, know that Jesus did it first. That we can turn to Him and ask Him to give us the strength to carry on and make a difference in the world. Jesus is not asking us to do anything He has not already done for us. Turn to Him. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and remember the journey you have already taken till this point and carry on.