SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Wednesday - July 01, 2020

Wednesday - July 01, 2020

He who wants to win the world for Christ must have the courage to come in conflict with it.

~~Blessed Titus Brandsma

 

July 1 2020

 

« June 30  |  July 2 »

Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 379

Reading 1AM 5:14-15, 21-24

Seek good and not evil,
that you may live;
Then truly will the LORD, the God of hosts,
be with you as you claim!
Hate evil and love good,
and let justice prevail at the gate;
Then it may be that the LORD, the God of hosts,
will have pity on the remnant of Joseph.

I hate, I spurn your feasts, says the LORD,
I take no pleasure in your solemnities;
Your cereal offerings I will not accept,
nor consider your stall-fed peace offerings.
Away with your noisy songs!
I will not listen to the melodies of your harps.
But if you would offer me burnt offerings,
then let justice surge like water,
and goodness like an unfailing stream.

Responsorial Psalm50:7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 16BC-17

R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Hear, my people, and I will speak;
Israel, I will testify against you;
God, your God, am I.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“For mine are all the animals of the forests,
beasts by the thousand on my mountains.
I know all the birds of the air,
and whatever stirs in the plains, belongs to me.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“If I were hungry, I should not tell you,
for mine are the world and its fullness.
Do I eat the flesh of strong bulls,
or is the blood of goats my drink?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

AlleluiaJAS 1:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Father willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 8:28-34

When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes,
two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him.
They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.
They cried out, “What have you to do with us, Son of God?
Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?”
Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding.
The demons pleaded with him,
“If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine.”
And he said to them, “Go then!”
They came out and entered the swine,
and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea
where they drowned.
The swineherds ran away,
and when they came to the town they reported everything,
including what had happened to the demoniacs.
Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus,
and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.

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Stop living in the tombs!

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus delivers two men from the imprisonment of a deadly life: from the tombs not only of their dwelling place but of their hearts. Before Jesus came along, do you think they felt lonely in their graveyard dwellings?

Let me ask you this: Have you ever seen people try to fill their inner emptiness without God? They try to cure loneliness by filling their lives with money, promiscuity, addictions, workaholism or some other "ism." It's an indication of a deeply rooted, often hidden fear that they are unloved and unlovable. This fear is so painful that they anesthetize themselves with alcohol or busyness or whatever can distract them from feeling what's deep inside.
UnGodly choices separate people from God, and this causes soul-felt loneliness, which no human can completely soothe.

Conversely, when a person turns to God, divine love is now able to fill every hole, even the empty places vacated by people who've abandoned them. But this is only accomplished within community life. That's why, whenever Jesus delivered someone from their personal hells, he sent them back into community life.

And yet, even church-going Christians feel lonely. Why? We're never alone, because God is always with us and we're surrounded by people in every Mass. But that's never enough. He created us in his Triune image with a need for fellowship. We experience incompleteness when we seek communion with God without letting him love us through community.

Since we cannot physically feel his hugs or hear his voice, communing with God alone is never sufficient. We only receive all that we need when we turn to God first and then let him minister to us through the human relationships he has given us within the Church family.
The degree to which Christ-centered believers feel lonely is the degree to which they do not avail themselves of God's community. Christ has many friends and he wants to share some of them with us. Going to church and worshipping God in community isn't enough. We need to nurture on-going and growing relationships with other members of the Body of Christ.

Our tombs are the closed-in, sealed-off areas of our hearts where life in the Spirit of God has died because we haven't let Jesus minister to us through others. Every healing that we need, every torment and problem we pray to overcome has Christian community as part of the solution. Jesus wants to deliver us from the tombs of individualism, divisiveness, and a self-sufficiency that goes too far.

Jesus is calling you to come out of the tombs. Let him free you from the old ideas and behaviors that have limited your relationships with his friends.

Prayer
My Lord: Grant me the grace of not dwelling on my past, so that it doesn't prevent me from recognizing You as alive, next to me. I want to look at You and follow You, building my new life in You. Amen.

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God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

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

SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Tuesday - June 30, 2020

 

Tuesday - June 30, 2020

Never address your words to God

while you are thinking of

something else.

-- Teresa of Avila

 

June 30 2020

 

« June 29  |  July 1 »

Tuesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 378

Reading 1AM 3:1-8; 4:11-12

Hear this word, O children of Israel, that the LORD pronounces over you,
over the whole family that I brought up from the land of Egypt:

You alone have I favored,
more than all the families of the earth;
Therefore I will punish you
for all your crimes.

Do two walk together
unless they have agreed?
Does a lion roar in the forest
when it has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from its den
unless it has seized something?
Is a bird brought to earth by a snare
when there is no lure for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground
without catching anything?
If the trumpet sounds in a city,
will the people not be frightened?
If evil befalls a city,
has not the LORD caused it?
Indeed, the Lord GOD does nothing
without revealing his plan
to his servants, the prophets.

The lion roars--
who will not be afraid!
The Lord GOD speaks--
who will not prophesy!

I brought upon you such upheaval
as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah:
you were like a brand plucked from the fire;
Yet you returned not to me,
says the LORD.

So now I will deal with you in my own way, O Israel!
and since I will deal thus with you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel.

Responsorial Psalm5:4B-6A, 6B-7, 8

R.    (9a)  Lead me in your justice, Lord.
At dawn I bring my plea expectantly before you.
For you, O God, delight not in wickedness;
no evil man remains with you;
the arrogant may not stand in your sight.
R.    Lead me in your justice, Lord.
You hate all evildoers;
you destroy all who speak falsehood;
The bloodthirsty and the deceitful
the LORD abhors.
R.    Lead me in your justice, Lord.
But I, because of your abundant mercy,
will enter your house;
I will worship at your holy temple
in fear of you, O LORD.
R.    Lead me in your justice, Lord.

AlleluiaPS 130:5

R.    Alleluia, alleluia.
I trust in the LORD;
my soul trusts in his word.
R.    Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 8:23-27

As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him.
Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea,
so that the boat was being swamped by waves;
but he was asleep.
They came and woke him, saying,
“Lord, save us!  We are perishing!”
He said to them, “Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”
Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea,
and there was great calm.
The men were amazed and said, “What sort of man is this,
whom even the winds and the sea obey?”

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Calming the Storms We Fail to Avoid

What's stormy in your life right now? From where did this turmoil come? Have you wondered, "Why me?"

Some storms occur because we're living in a world that's full of bad weather and we can't avoid the tumult no matter what we do. These are opportunities to grow stronger in faith by learning from the troubles. We become more humble through them. We have a greater need to rely on God and so we grow closer to him. And then we can help others more effectively endure their own storms. (Our sufferings are pointless if we don't turn them into ministry for others.)

Some storms feel like punishments from God, especially when we know that we deserve it. We have sailed into a hurricane's path by sinning or making other bad decisions. While these storms should make us crawl into the Father's lap for security, if we're feeling guilty, we might see them as a reason to be afraid of God and maybe even angry at him.

One example of just such a storm is the suffering caused by enduring miserable employment, because we have not put forth enough effort to go out and find a better job with God's help. Another example is suffering through division in a significant relationship because we have not put forth the effort to examine and deal with our own shortcomings.
When we make bad decisions and sail into sinful territory, we create our own storms. The choice is ours -- it's always ours. God never wants us to get punished by life. He sends plenty of warnings and then, if we get into a mess anyway, Jesus beckons us. He's eager to calm our storms, and he can do it. Storms are only an interruption in the peaceful skies of God's love.
While it is true that we deserve to be punished because of our sins, Jesus took the Father's righteous wrath upon his own flesh, so that we could receive mercy instead of punishment. As we see in today's Gospel reading, Jesus wants to calm our storms, not cause them.

When we, like the disciples, cry out, "Lord, save us!" Jesus replies, "Where's your courage? How little faith you have! My peace is already here." It's our insufficient faith -- our lack of awareness of his calming presence -- that causes us to wander away from his peace and to fear troubled waters.

If we really knew that he loves us beyond all measure, if we truly understood that he wants what's best for us, if we fully trusted that his ways are the best ways, we would recognize the bad weather warnings and steer away from the avoidable storms, and we'd survive all the other storms without sinking our boats.

What do you need Jesus to save you from today? Trust him, and he will calm your fears today and lead you to peaceful shores.

Prayer
Lord, help me to remember that in the most difficult times of my life, You are always with me in a special way. I believe You will conquer every problem and raise me up from it. Thank You, Lord! Increase my faith! Amen.

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God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

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

SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Monday - June 29, 2020

 

Monday - June 29, 2020

While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, 

be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.

-- St. Francis of Assis

 

June 29 2020

 

« June 28  |  June 30 »

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
Mass during the Day
Lectionary: 591

Reading 1ACTS 12:1-11

In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church to harm them.
He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword,
and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews
he proceeded to arrest Peter also.
–It was the feast of Unleavened Bread.–
He had him taken into custody and put in prison
under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each.
He intended to bring him before the people after Passover.
Peter thus was being kept in prison,
but prayer by the Church was fervently being made
to God on his behalf.

On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial,
Peter, secured by double chains,
was sleeping between two soldiers,
while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison.
Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him
and a light shone in the cell.
He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying,
“Get up quickly.”
The chains fell from his wrists.
The angel said to him, “Put on your belt and your sandals.”
He did so.
Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.”
So he followed him out,
not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real;
he thought he was seeing a vision.
They passed the first guard, then the second,
and came to the iron gate leading out to the city,
which opened for them by itself.
They emerged and made their way down an alley,
and suddenly the angel left him.
Then Peter recovered his senses and said,
“Now I know for certain
that the Lord sent his angel
and rescued me from the hand of Herod
and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.”

Responsorial Psalm34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R.    (5) The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R.    The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R.    The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R.    The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R.    The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

Reading 22 TM 4:6-8, 17-18

I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have competed well; I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.
From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.

The Lord stood by me and gave me strength,
so that through me the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.
And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat
and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom.
To him be glory forever and ever.  Amen.

AlleluiaMT 16:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 16:13-19

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Simon Peter said in reply,
“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And so I say to you, you are Peter,
and upon this rock I will build my Church,
and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

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Leadership that succeeds for Christ

What is good leadership? We see examples of it in Saints Peter and Paul and, of course, in Jesus himself.

In today's Gospel story, Peter recognizes that Jesus is the Messiah, and then he is called to help others discover the same truth. All of us who are in any kind of leadership role have been given this same responsibility. It's our primary mission as followers of Christ. It's not just priests who are shepherds. Parents have been commissioned by Christ to shepherd their families. Teachers have been commissioned to shepherd their students. Employers have been commissioned to shepherd those who work under them.

Shepherding means this: Even when we cannot evangelize with words, we are to show, through our behaviors and attitudes and our compassion, what Jesus is like.

Paul suffered in his shepherd's ministry (see the first reading), like Jesus did and like we do if we're involved enough to really make a difference. The good news is that the strongholds of evil ("the gates of the netherworld") cannot prevail against our Christ-inspired efforts.
The "gates" are people's escape routes from evil. For followers of Christ, every leadership responsibility includes shepherding those who need to be rescued, guiding them toward Jesus who is The Gate. A Christian leader who does not go into Satan's territory to rescue lost souls nor protects his flock from wandering into danger is no follower of Christ, because this was Christ's entire mission.

Those who are enslaved to sinful lifestyles and the devil's deceptions do reject our efforts, but don't let that stop you. Consider instead what's imprisoning them: The root motivation for nearly everything they do comes from an unmet need to find the safe pasture of unconditional love. This means that, with a lot of unconditional love from us that stubbornly refuses to be chased away, they can be shepherded closer and closer toward the forgiveness and saving power of God. Meanwhile the Holy Spirit is working in their hearts. Even if we cannot see progress in them yet, change is coming.

We cannot drag them through the gate, but we can show them the way -- the way of love and mercy -- and pray that they will eventually recognize their escape opportunity. This is our calling!

Today's Prayer
Beloved Lord, may Your Spirit guide me in all my paths, and may the holy anointing give me the strength I need to go wherever You send me. Amen.

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God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

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