by Faith Central & Steve Welsh
“Jesus said, ‘What is the Kingdom of God like?
To what can I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.
When it was fully grown, it became a large bush
and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.’ …”
“… ‘You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first Commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole Law and the Prophets depend on these two Commandments.”
“Jesus said to His Disciples:
‘I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division. …'”
“… You also must be prepared,
for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.
* * *
Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,
and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.'”
“Jesus said to His Disciples:
* * *
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. …'”
“Prayer offered during the hours of night possesses great power …. That is why all the Saints were in the habit of praying at night, combating the body’s drowsiness and the sweetness of sleep and overcoming their bodily nature. …. For every request for which the Saints desired to importune God they armed themselves with nocturnal prayer and at once received what they were asking for. …”
“Anthony spent 10 years giving popular missions and retreats, always placing great emphasis on the Eucharist and devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. It was said that his rosary was never out of his hand. At age 42, he founded a religious institute of missionaries …. Anthony was appointed to head the much-neglected archdiocese of Santiago in Cuba. He began its reform by almost ceaseless preaching and hearing of confessions, and suffered bitter opposition mainly for opposing concubinage and giving instruction to black slaves. …. His solution for the misery of Cubans was family-owned farms producing a variety of foods for the family’s own needs and for the market. This invited the enmity of the vested interests who wanted everyone to work on a single cash crop — sugar. Besides all his religious writings are two books he wrote in Cuba: Reflections on Agriculture and Country Delights. …”
“… ‘Therefore give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.’ We are to give back to each their due. Now this is a saying that is truly full of wisdom and heavenly understanding because it teaches us that there are two sorts of power, one earthly and human, the other heavenly and divine… * * * We have been created in the Image and Likeness of God (Gn 1:26). …. From now on if I ask with Christ: ‘Whose image and inscription are these?’, you reply: ‘God’s’. And I answer: ‘So why do you not give back to God what is His?’ If we truly want to be God’s image then we must resemble Christ, since he is the Image of God’s Goodness and ‘the very imprint of His Being” (Heb 1:3). ….”
“… ‘Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God.’ …”
“… Here are some things we might include in a list of what we owe to God:
1. Adoration, love, and gratitude
2. Obedience to His Word and His Law
3. Worship
4. Repentance
5. Support of His Church by attendance at sacred worship, financial support, and sharing of our gifts and talents
6. Proclamation of his Word both verbally and by witness
7. Devoted reception of the sacraments
8. Raising our children in His truth and in reverence of Him
9. Evangelization (making disciples)
10. Preparing for death and judgment through a holy and reverent sojourn in this world. …”