Tuesday - August 21, 2018
God refuses only the person who does not admit his own weakness; ...The life of a soul who seeks true happiness clearly and indisputably depends on this: that those who seek their joy in God are the ones who give joy to God.
~~St. Raphael Kalinowski
August 21, 2018
Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope
Lectionary: 420
Reading 1EZ 28:1-10
The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man,
say to the prince of Tyre:
Thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you are haughty of heart,
you say, "A god am I!
I occupy a godly throne
in the heart of the sea!"—
And yet you are a man, and not a god,
however you may think yourself like a god.
Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel,
there is no secret that is beyond you.
By your wisdom and your intelligence
you have made riches for yourself;
You have put gold and silver
into your treasuries.
By your great wisdom applied to your trading
you have heaped up your riches;
your heart has grown haughty from your riches–
therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you have thought yourself
to have the mind of a god,
Therefore I will bring against you
foreigners, the most barbarous of nations.
They shall draw their swords
against your beauteous wisdom,
they shall run them through your splendid apparel.
They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to die
a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the sea.
Will you then say, "I am a god!"
when you face your murderers?
No, you are man, not a god,
handed over to those who will slay you.
You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners,
for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.
say to the prince of Tyre:
Thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you are haughty of heart,
you say, "A god am I!
I occupy a godly throne
in the heart of the sea!"—
And yet you are a man, and not a god,
however you may think yourself like a god.
Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel,
there is no secret that is beyond you.
By your wisdom and your intelligence
you have made riches for yourself;
You have put gold and silver
into your treasuries.
By your great wisdom applied to your trading
you have heaped up your riches;
your heart has grown haughty from your riches–
therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you have thought yourself
to have the mind of a god,
Therefore I will bring against you
foreigners, the most barbarous of nations.
They shall draw their swords
against your beauteous wisdom,
they shall run them through your splendid apparel.
They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to die
a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the sea.
Will you then say, "I am a god!"
when you face your murderers?
No, you are man, not a god,
handed over to those who will slay you.
You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners,
for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.
Responsorial Psalm DT 32:26-27AB, 27CD-28, 30, 35CD-36AB
R. (39c) It is I who deal death and give life.
"I would have said, 'I will make an end of them
and blot out their name from men's memories,'
Had I not feared the insolence of their enemies,
feared that these foes would mistakenly boast."
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
"'Our own hand won the victory;
the LORD had nothing to do with it.'"
For they are a people devoid of reason,
having no understanding.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
"How could one man rout a thousand,
or two men put ten thousand to flight,
Unless it was because their Rock sold them
and the LORD delivered them up?"
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
"I would have said, 'I will make an end of them
and blot out their name from men's memories,'
Had I not feared the insolence of their enemies,
feared that these foes would mistakenly boast."
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
"'Our own hand won the victory;
the LORD had nothing to do with it.'"
For they are a people devoid of reason,
having no understanding.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
"How could one man rout a thousand,
or two men put ten thousand to flight,
Unless it was because their Rock sold them
and the LORD delivered them up?"
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
Alleluia2 COR 8:9
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich
So that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich
So that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 19:23-30
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich
to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Again I say to you,
it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God."
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,
"Who then can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible."
Then Peter said to him in reply,
"We have given up everything and followed you.
What will there be for us?"
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
"Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich
to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Again I say to you,
it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God."
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,
"Who then can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible."
Then Peter said to him in reply,
"We have given up everything and followed you.
What will there be for us?"
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first."
******************************
How To Enter The Kingdom Of God
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus says, "Only with difficulty can one who is rich enter the kingdom of heaven." Lest we think we're exempt from this warning if we're not wealthy or because, if wealthy, we use church attendance as a guarantee for living in God's kingdom, God gives us today's first reading for an examination of conscience.
He says in those verses: "By your wisdom and your intelligence you have made riches for yourself." Your wisdom, your intelligence. We can ask ourselves, "What am I rich in (and not necessarily material wealth) by my own doing? What did I achieve in abundance without prayerfully seeking God's approval and relying on his guidance and help?
Jesus tells us that we must let go of our attachments to the world so that we can enter fully into the kingdom of God, not just when we die, but now, so that we can experience his unconditional love each moment of every earthly day.
We pile so many worldly (unGodly) attachments upon our backs that we're like camels laden with luggage! None of this baggage can squeeze through the gate into God's kingdom. If we try to hold onto them, we don't fit through the gate.
We are rich in "doing things my way." In the kingdom of God, everything is done his way, which of course is the best way. No "conditional" love can get through, because it's not truly love. The attitude of, "If you make me happy, I will approve of you and accept you and be nice to you" is a huge load of trash. It's not love at all. And so is, "If same-sex lovers love each other, then we should believe that God approves of same-sex marriages."
The garbage that others have thrown at us won't fit either. Nor will the emotional bandages that we use for covering the wounds they inflicted upon us. Jesus has already taken all of our blows upon himself. If we're still wounded by them, it's only because we haven't surrendered to every method of healing that he knows will heal us.
We can't include the baggage of self-righteousness or pride. We don't need it anyway, because Jesus is proud enough of us. We have to drop the baggage of low self-esteem, because Jesus shows us our true worth, and it is far greater than we think it is.
Identifying all of our worldly bags so that we can free ourselves from their weight seems impossible. The disciples asked, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus answered, "For you this is impossible, but if you seek God's help, it will become very possible."
It starts with this daily attitude: "Forgive me, Lord, and help me to identify all my bad habits, addictions, unloving ways, and worldly wisdom. With your gentle but persistent help, I will let go of my baggage and live more fully in your kingdom now and become more ready for heaven when I die. Increase my desire to get rid of everything that does not belong to you. Amen!"
Today's Prayer
I praise You, Lord, because Your immense love takes me Home. I thank You because You have a beautiful place for me there, to be with You and my loved ones for all eternity. Amen.
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!”
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