By your endurance you will gain your lives. ? Luke 21:19

One day, a laundry worker had a dream to be a writer. His supportive wife worked nights, typing his manuscripts and sending them to publishers. Each was rejected,  even never read.
      Finally, one publisher rejected a manuscript, but with the note that the writer should keep trying. So he forwarded two more manuscripts for the next 18 months, and as before, they were rejected. Money got so tight for the couple they had to disconnect their phone to buy meds for their baby.
      The laundry worker got so discouraged, he threw his latest manuscript into the garbage. But his wife got it out from the trash and sent it one more time to the same publisher.
      That book, Carrie, sold over 5 million copies, and as a movie, was top-grossing film of the year.
      That laundry worker was Stephen King? who now writes one bestseller every three months!
      My friend, do you have a dream?
      Something you want to happen in your life?
      Never give up.
      No matter how many rejections you receive. Benedict S.

REFLECTION:
What dreams has God placed in your heart? Stir it to full flame.

Lord, give me the endurance I need to work until I reach the dreams You have assigned for my life.

G O S P E L

Luke 21:12-19

The only One we can be absolutely sure who will never abandon or betray us is God. We have to have a certain wariness regarding what anyone else may say to us, as even if they may intend to do good, they may not have gotten it right. The enemy of humanity has a way of deceiving us and the human heart can be easily deceived at times! Let us be alert so that we will not miss the temptations that the enemy sends our way. Instead, let?s reject them and refocus our lives upon Jesus and His will for us. Let us be sure that everything we do is with the Lord?s blessing and in obedience to His perfect will for our lives.

12 ?Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. 13 It will lead to your giving testimony. 14 Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, 15 for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. 16 You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17 You will be hated by all because of my name, 18 but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. 19 By your perseverance you will secure your lives. 

my reflections
think: The only One we can be absolutely sure who will never abandon or betray us is God.

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God?s special verse/thought for me today________________

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T O D A Y ? S BLESSING LIST

Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Romans 8-11

We are such curious creatures. How we would like to know what the future has in store for us! One month from now, horoscopes will sell like hot cakes and ?prophets? will tell what the year 2007 will bring. Even though we sense that they only fool us we lend them an ear. ?Who knows, they might be right,? we are tempted to think.
      When Jesus predicted the destruction of the Temple in yesterday?s Gospel, he did not announce the end of the world, as some Jews thought, but the end of a world. Other catastrophes will happen. But they, too, are not signs of an imminent end; they are reminders that everything in this world has an end and that we ourselves have to prepare for our own end.
      Yet the people who listened to Jesus reacted the way we do. They asked: ?When will this happen?? But Jesus did not entertain their curiosity. ?Not your business,? he said in effect. ?You live as each day were the last of your life.? Jesus wants us to live responsibly ?before these things occur.? The question is not when these things will happen, but what we do now to let God?s kingdom come in our midst. Jesus speaks about frightening events, like wars, earthquakes, plagues, famines and horrible persecutions. These are events that accompany history. There is no time without war or earthquake. There are always people somewhere in the world who die of famine or epidemics, but Jesus makes it clear that these are not signs of an immediate end of the world. These are false alarms, no doubt impressive ones, but which should not distract us from the essentials. These frightening events are warnings that make us alert to the fact that we do not live forever. We become aware that we live on borrowed time. Jesus is not out to scare us, but to give us the assurance that not matter what happens in this life or in the world we may trust in God who is in charge of the world and of our lives. ?Not a hair of your head will be lost,? he assures us. Fr. Rudy H.

REFLECTION QUESTION:
Am I trying too much to know what the future might bring? Do I neglect to do my duty today, in the present situation? Do I have enough trust in the Lord to face the future?

Lord, I was scared when I read the gospel passage. You speak of persecution and trials. I am afraid of it. But your last words assure me that even in trial you will never abandon me but be there, right beside me. Lord, give me the gift of endurance that will win me eternal life.

St. Hurbert, bishop confessor, pray for us.