SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Monday - August 20, 2018

Monday - August 20, 2018

Prayer ought to be humble, fervent, resigned, persevering, and accompanied with great reverence. One should consider that he stands in the presence of a God, and speaks with a Lord before whom the angels tremble from awe and fear.

~~St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi

 

 

August 20, 2018

 

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Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 419

Reading 1EZ 24:15-23

The word of the LORD came to me: 
Son of man, by a sudden blow
I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes,
but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears.
Groan in silence, make no lament for the dead,
bind on your turban, put your sandals on your feet,
do not cover your beard, and do not eat the customary bread.
That evening my wife died,
and the next morning I did as I had been commanded.
Then the people asked me, "Will you not tell us what all these things
that you are doing mean for us?"
I therefore spoke to the people that morning, saying to them:
Thus the word of the LORD came to me:
Say to the house of Israel: 
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I will now desecrate my sanctuary, the stronghold of your pride,
the delight of your eyes, the desire of your soul.
The sons and daughters you left behind shall fall by the sword.
Ezekiel shall be a sign for you:
all that he did you shall do when it happens.
Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
You shall do as I have done,
not covering your beards nor eating the customary bread.
Your turbans shall remain on your heads, your sandals on your feet.
You shall not mourn or weep,
but you shall rot away because of your sins and groan one to another.

Responsorial PsalmDEUTERONOMY 32:18-19, 20, 21

R. (see 18a) You have forgotten God who gave you birth.
You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you.
You forgot the God who gave you birth.
When the LORD saw this, he was filled with loathing
and anger toward his sons and daughters.
R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.
"I will hide my face from them," he said,
"and see what will then become of them.
What a fickle race they are,
sons with no loyalty in them!"
R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.
"Since they have provoked me with their 'no-god'
and angered me with their vain idols,
I will provoke them with a 'no-people';
with a foolish nation I will anger them."
R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.

AlleluiaMT 5:3

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 19:16-22

A young man approached Jesus and said,
"Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"
He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."
He asked him, "Which ones?"
And Jesus replied, "You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself."
The young man said to him,
"All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?"
Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me."
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.

*************************************************************************** 

FOR THE SAKE OF LOVE    

What are you willing to give up for the sake of Love? Or, to put it another way, what are you willing to give up for the sake of Jesus? Since God is Love, it's the same question.

In today's Gospel reading, the rich young man walked away from Jesus, unwilling to give to others what God had given to him in abundance. He didn't really want to be perfected spiritually.

In scripture, "perfection" doesn't mean doing everything perfectly right all the time. It means being just like our Creator, i.e., living in a state of total and complete unconditional love. Jesus is saying, "If you want to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect, love him with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, all your gifts, all your talents, all your skills, all your time, and all your possessions."

He is not asking us to take everything we own and sell it in a yard sale, then donate the proceeds to charity. What he is telling us to do is to honor God with all we've got and get rid of everything that interferes with Love. The most powerful, successful way to do this is in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where we get rid of everything that interferes in our union with God. The Penitential Rite at the beginning of Mass and the Sacrament of the Eucharist further unites us to Love.

What are you attached to that prevents greater intimacy with God? Which of the following apply to you?

·  friendships that slow or reverse your spiritual growth

·  a job that contributes to your sinful weaknesses

·  bad attitudes, negative mindsets

·  a fascination with violence, the occult, or immoral entertainment

·  the "I've got to be right" mentality that puts others down

·  clinging to money (do you give God 10% of your income as scriptures command?)

·  possessions you're not even using that others need

·  business methods that contradict God's ways

·  addictions you have not yet turned over to God the Higher Power

·  disobeying a Church teaching because you don't like it

·  society's consensus that approves of same-sex marriages and claims that the Bible is wrong about it

·  (fill in the blank)

Look at what Jesus gave up for the sake of loving you:

·  a carpentry business (or whatever employment he had)

·  a safe, familiar home in Nazareth

·  family and friends in Nazareth

·  his own preferences for how to spend his time

·  his freedom

·  his perfect health

·  his desire to avoid pain and suffering

·  his desire to avoid pain and suffering  

            ·  his life    

God Bless You.....

Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”