Monday 11th October 2021, in the 28th Week in Ordinary Time, is the feast of Pope St John XXIII. (1881 - 1963). Italian. Pontiff.
Pope St John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council which transformed the Church. He wrote the popular encyclical Pacem in Terris. He was a humble and well beloved Pope and was popularly called the Good Pope. I like very much this quote below him:

"Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but what is still possible for you to do." (Pope St John XXIII).

The Church starts reading the Letter to the Romans today. We draw our key Scripture from Romans 1: 1 - 7.  Paul was not boasting when he said that he was called and set apart to preach the Good News to the nations. One prerequisite for greatness is to know and believe that you are unique and irrepeatable not just in your DNA but in your Mission DNA.
Everyone has a unique and special purpose. Because of Paul's special charism, Jesus Himself reveals Paul's special mission:
"But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and Israelites." (Acts 9: 15).

Do you know your purpose on earth? The excitement that St Paul felt throughout his ministry came from his knowledge of his purpose. Paul knew what he was doing and why he was doing it.
How do you find out your purpose in life? There are many books on how to do this. Most are in the area of self-development psychology.
If you really want to find out your purpose on earth, JUST ASK GOD.
"Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you." (Matthew 7: 7 NLT).
This is THE PROMISE FROM GOD. JESUS KEEPS HIS PROMISES AS GOD.

"Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

"If there are so few priests in certain places, it is above all because those that are there have forsaken Me in the Sacrament of My love and no longer live in My friendship. Let every priest present himself as a friend of Jesus, and his ministry will soon take on the efficacy and fruitfulness that characterized that of Saint John, of Saint Paul, and of My first apostles. The friend speaks with the authority that only experience can confer." (IN SINU JESU, March 30, 2008 Sunday of Divine Mercy).

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com

Saturday 9th October 2021, 27th Week in Ordinary is the feast of St Denis, First Bishop of Paris, martyr and companion martyrs. (3rd century).
We honor too St John Leonardi (1541 - 1609). Italian priest. John qualified first as a pharmacist before he decided to become a priest. He founded the Order of Clerics Regular to serve sick people and those in prison.

In the short Gospel of today, Jesus praised His Mother saying: "Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.”  What does it mean to be counted among the very happy because we hear the word of God and keep it? A clearcut example is the words of Jesus below:

"Jesus said to his disciples: “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." (Luke 6: 27.... 38).

When we love our enemies,
When we do good to those who hate us,
When we bless those who curse us,
When we pray for those who mistreat us,
Then we do what Jesus says to us.

How about the joy and happiness that should follow our obedience? This is automatic. You may not notice the change at once. It could take months or even years. But when you notice the change you are happier.
I have two examples on this:
Last night before going to bed, I had a serious headache. It was as if my head was on fire. I turned to God the Father in such emergencies. I was inspired to take four tablets of Ibuprofen. I slept very soundly and felt good in the morning, it took some time before I remembered my condition last night. When I did, I thanked God.

I prayed to God for years to remove from me anxiety about money. A little while ago, I was reading something when I realized I had not worried about money for a long time. How long? Possibly a couple of years. Why did God not act as human and say to me: "SEE I HAVE JUST ANSWERED YOUR PRAYER!" That is not the way of the Almighty. God wants us to walk by faith and not by sight or feelings.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11: 5.... 13).

The Archangel declared to Mary and she was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  "Behold I am the servant of the Lord, let it be done to me as You promised."  At that instant, the Word became flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

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Sunday 10th October 2021, in the 28th Week in Ordinary Time.

The Spirit of Wisdom is more precious than gold and silver. This is the message of the first Reading in this 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time. A rich young man in today's Gospel comes to Jesus to ask for wisdom for his life. Jesus looks at him, loves and offered him the best of the best wisdom: “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

What would you do if you are this rich young man? I might say to Jesus: "This is a hard saying. Let me think about it for a while."
The Gospel reports that when the man heard the reply of Jesus,  "his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions."

At the root of the young man's response is: Lack of faith and lack of wisdom. It is a sad and tragic response. The many possessions of the man have now possessed him and made him a slave. We see this situation too often in life. The Lord Jesus provides a solution in Matthew 6: 33.

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need." (NLT).

"The riches of My kingdom are for all whom I have redeemed with My own Blood, but it pleases Me to bestow them through My Mother, the Queen and Mediatrix who stood at the foot of My Cross, offering Me and offering herself with Me. Today she reigns with Me in paradise.  All that I won for souls from My Father on the altar of the Cross, with My Mother at My side, I will now pour out on souls through her Heart and through her hands. This, too, is the secret of a fruitful priesthood. In every priestly act and in all of life, place your hands in the hands of My Mother and your heart in her Heart." (IN SINU JESU, Tuesday, January 8, 2008).

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com

Friday 8th October 2021, in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time. We shall honor the Sacred Heart of Jesus in our devotiins.

In our key Scripture for today, the Prophet rang out a dire warning to priests and all ministers of the Altar. Weep, wail, spend the night in sackcloth. Do your pastors need to hear these words? Now listen my fellow Christians.

No priest, No Eucharist.
No Eucharist, No Church.

Satan's design for the Church is no longer a secret.

#1. Infiltrate the Church with lying lips who have political agenda.
#2. Strike the priesthood with a mortal blow.
#3. Attack the magisterium with a withering, coordinated campaigns.
#4. Once the mighty Roman Church totters, wipe out the remnants with a mop up operation.

St Paul teaches that every prophecy in the Bible is there to warn us and prepare us for what will happen. Jesus says in Revelation 19: 10, "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."  What the word prophesies will happen.

What shall we do brothers and sisters?
#1. Repentance and Sacramental Reconciliation.
#2. Prayer and the Eucharist.

"Reparation is at the heart of this work: adoring Me for the priests who do not adore Me; seeking Me for those who flee from before My Face; trusting Me for those who place all their trust in themselves and in the ways of the world. Above all, love Me. Love Me for the sake of those priests of Mine whose hearts have grown cold. Priests must offer themselves as victims for their brother priests. This is how I intend to purify, and heal, and sanctify, and restore the beauty of holiness to My priesthood: by associating victim priests to My own Sacrifice renewed on the altar, and by taking the offering of their sufferings into My own, so as to make them co-redeemers with Myself, co-redeemers of those priests who must be brought back from the distant regions of sin where Satan has held them captive for too long."  (IN SINU JESU, Friday, July 10, 2009).

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com