Wednesday 27th October 2021 in the 30th Week in Ordinary Time.

The Spirit prays in us.  This is the great promise and gift of Prayer. Are you aware of this promise? Do you ask the Holy Spirit to help you to pray well?
The Spirit of God knows the mind of God. He knows the plan of God for our life. The Spirit knows the providences of God laid out for our entire life.

The best thing we can do is to befriend the Holy Spirit. Writing of the Holy Spirit St Basil, the great Father of the Church writes:

"From the Spirit comes foreknowledge of the future, understanding of the mysteries of faith, insight into the hidden meaning of Scripture, and other special gifts. Through the Spirit we become citizens of heaven, we enter into eternal happiness, and abide in God. Through the Spirit we acquire a likeness to God; indeed, we attain what is beyond our most sublime aspirations – we become God." (St Basil).

To learn more about the Holy Spirit click the link below:

http://seekfirst.blogspot.com/2020/10/the-abc-of-holy-spirit.html?m=1

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com

Thursday 28th October 2021, 30th Week in Ordinary Time is the feast of Saints Simon and Jude who are among the 12 Apostles called by Jesus in today's Gospel. Both Apostles suffered martyrdom. St Jude is a very popular Saint. He is the patron saint of lost and impossible causes.

Jesus built His worldwide Church on the foundation of the Apostles and prophets. Each year, we celebrate the glory of Saints Simon and Jude and the other Apostles. We do not celebrate the glory of Caesar, King Henry VIII, Napoleon, Churchill or Stalin.
The message of the Apostles still go out throughout the world.

It is the mind of Christ that the Church He founded be built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets. What are the characteristics of this Church by which she can be recognized all over the world? There are four marks. As we profess every Sunday, the Church is One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. What do these words mean?
#1 One = One faith, one Baptism, one Shepherd.
#2 Holy = The Holy Spirit that indwells the Church is the source of her holiness. The Holy Spirit continually cleanses the Bride of Christ from defilements.
#3 Catholic = Universal. Found in all the countries of the United Nations and every other place of human habitation.
#4 Apostolic = Every Bishop is directly traceable to the original 12 Apostles who were constituted in today's Gospel. Many Bishops would have their lines run through Saints Simon and Jude, our saints of today.

"Simon and Jude are the holy men
whom the Lord chose in his own perfect love; to them he gave eternal glory." (Cf Entrance Antiphon).

"When I choose a soul for a work of Mine, I begin always by drawing that soul very close to Me with the leading bands of My most sweet love. I have given you the gift of My divine friendship, just as I gave it to John and to the other apostles in view of the great work that I entrusted to them: the foundation and growth of My Mystical Body, the Church on earth. Every work of Mine begins in this way." (IN SINU JESU, Thursday, April 10, 2008).

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com

(Romans 8: 18.... 25).

Tuesday 26th October 2021, in the 30th Week in Ordinary Time.

Our key Scripture  highlights the opportunity of suffering. Only Christianity has an answer to the problem of suffering. The Catholic Church has the most complete and inspired teaching on the question of suffering.

St Paul who wrote the Letter to the Romans suffered a lot in the course of his ministry and at the end of his life was beheaded by Emperor Nero.   Jesus Himself predicted the sufferings of St Paul. "For I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” (Acts 9:15-16)

Suffering may be a mystery to man but not to God. Suffering is in God's grand design for the salvation of mankind.

Everyone must suffer one thing or the other before leaves this earth.
Kings suffer; common man suffers. Popes and priests suffer. Doctors and nurses suffer.

All sufferings come from disease, ignorance and poverty. Ultimately, Sin is the cause of human suffering.

"Consider it all joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  And let perseverance be perfect, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1: 2 - 4).

The Church teaches that all suffering can be salvific as shown above by the Letter of St James to the Universal Church. If you invest in understanding the teaching of the Church on sufferings, you will be happy and enjoy peace and contentment in life.

"You cannot see from where you are in this life now the power and value of sufferings united to My own. Anything given to Me, anything placed in My priestly hands, I lift up and offer to the Father, covered with My precious Blood. It is this that makes your sufferings, even the smallest ones, precious to Me, and precious in the sight of My Father." (IN SINU JESU, Saturday, October 25, 2008).

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com