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

Friday 29th October 2021, in the 30th Week in Ordinary Time.

Jesus might have known that the invitation to dine in the house of this prominent Pharisee on the Sabbath is a trap. He accepted the invitation and went. Sure enough there was a man there suffering from dropsy (a type of severe skin inflammation).  Jesus went on the offensive:  “Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?”

Why did they keep silent?  Probably because of malicious intent.  They did not care for the condition of the man with dropsy and watched intently to see what Jesus would do on the Sabbath. They consider any type of medical care on the Sabbath forbidden.

Some days ago, we read:
"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."  (Luke 13: 10 - 11).

The Pharisees and the law makers opposed her healing. Jesus sees another teaching moment in the house of the Pharisee. God gave us the Sabbath Rest to bless mankind and not to handicap him. The teachers of the law know as much. They rescue animals which fall into wells on the Sabbath. Man is worth more than animals. That is why the Sabbath is made for man and not man for the Sabbath.

Keep holy the Lord's Day. The Sabbath is a rehearsal for eternal life.

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com