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August 13, 2013 Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Dt 31:1-8 When Moses had finished speaking to all Israel, he said to them,“I am now one hundred and twenty years oldand am no longer able to move about freely;besides, the LORD has told me that I shall not cross this Jordan.It is the LORD, your God, who will cross before you;he will destroy these nations before you,that you may supplant them.It is Joshua who will cross before you, as the LORD promised.The LORD will deal with them just as he dealt with Sihon and Og,the...

Unintended Consequences: How the “relevant” church and segregating youth is killing Christianity. I recently spent six-months doing a rotation as a hospital chaplain. One day I received a page (Yes, hospitals actually still use pagers). Chaplains are generally called to the rooms of people who look ill: People gray with kidney disease, or yellow with liver failure, discouraged amputees, nervous cancer patients. In this room, however, was a strikingly attractive 23 year-old young lady sitting up cheerfully in the hospital bed, holding her infant daughter and chatting with family and friends. Confused, I stepped outside and asked her nurse, “Why...

Just Ask Today's Scripture “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7, NIV) Today's Word from Joel and Victoria What do you need from God today? A lot of times, it’s easy to think that we’re not supposed to ask for too much, but scripture encourages us to go to God with all of our needs. He longs to give you the desires of your heart and pour out His favor and blessing on you. In fact, Jesus said, “You have not because...

The Theology of Resting in God "Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?" —Matthew 8:26 When we are afraid, the least we can do is pray to God. But our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His name have an underlying confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the ones who are reliable. Yet our trust is only in God up to a certain point, then we turn back to the elementary panic-stricken prayers of those people who do not even...

� Why This Generation Doesn’t “Get” Hell… This Guy Understands… Take a few minutes and listen to this stirring speech by Rafael Cruz, the Father of Senator Ted Cruz. He speaks for the rapidly marginalized true America, which is unapologetically Christian. Whatever happens is up to God. I don’t see a political solution to our spiritual problem, but Truth is refreshing to hear, especially when passionately presented, Enjoy, and pray! Pastor Rafael Speaks

August 12, 2013Monday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Dt 10:12-22 Moses said to the people:“And now, Israel, what does the LORD, your God, ask of youbut to fear the LORD, your God, and follow his ways exactly,to love and serve the LORD, your God,with all your heart and all your soul,to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORDwhich I enjoin on you today for your own good?Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens,belong to the LORD, your God,as well as the earth and everything on it.Yet in his love for your fathers the...

This Experience Must Come "Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha . . . saw him no more" —2 Kings 2:11-12 It is not wrong for you to depend on your “Elijah� for as long as God gives him to you. But remember that the time will come when he must leave and will no longer be your guide and your leader, because God does not intend for him to stay. Even the thought of that causes you to say, “I cannot continue without my ’Elijah.’ � Yet God says you must continue.Alone at Your “Jordan�...

August 11, 2013 Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time    Reading 1 Wis 18:6-9 The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers,that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith,they might have courage.Your people awaited the salvation of the justand the destruction of their foes.For when you punished our adversaries,in this you glorified us whom you had summoned.For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrificeand putting into effect with one accord the divine institution. Responsorial Psalm Ps 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22 R. (12b) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen...

The Holy Suffering of the Saint "Let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good . . ." —1 Peter 4:19 Choosing to suffer means that there must be something wrong with you, but choosing God’s will— even if it means you will suffer— is something very different. No normal, healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he simply chooses God’s will, just as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not. And no saint should ever dare to interfere with the lesson of suffering being taught in another saint’s life.The saint...

August 10, 2013 Feast of Saint Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr   Reading 1 2 Cor 9:6-10 Brothers and sisters:Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly,and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion,for God loves a cheerful giver.Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you,so that in all things, always having all you need,you may have an abundance for every good work.As it is written: He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;his righteousness endures forever. The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for foodwill supply...

Pope Francis discovers charismatic movement a gift to the whole church By Francis X