SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Saturday - July 04, 2020

Saturday - July 04, 2020

It is difficult to live a saintly life in this world even with the best of intentions. There always exists the dangerous menace of one's being left entirely to oneself and also the probability of one's being absorbed by work, by the necessities of life, and by the occupations of every sort which conditions or our own will impose. Then too, one is most always ignorant of the right road to pursue!

-- St. Peter Eymard

 

July 4 2020

 

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Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 382

Reading 1AM 9:11-15

Thus says the LORD:
On that day I will raise up
the fallen hut of David;
I will wall up its breaches,
raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
That they may conquer what is left of Edom
and all the nations that shall bear my name,
say I, the LORD, who will do this.
Yes, days are coming,
says the LORD,
When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
and the vintager, him who sows the seed;
The juice of grapes shall drip down the mountains,
and all the hills shall run with it.
I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel;
they shall rebuild and inhabit their ruined cities,
Plant vineyards and drink the wine,
set out gardens and eat the fruits.
I will plant them upon their own ground;
never again shall they be plucked
From the land I have given them,
say I, the LORD, your God.

Responsorial Psalm85:9AB AND 10, 11-12, 13-14

R. (see 9b) The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.

AlleluiaJN 10:27

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 9:14-17

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.
No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,
for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.
People do not put new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.
Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

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GOD BLESS OUR FUTURE

Opening Prayer: Lord Jesus, I want to approach you today, as did your disciples, with my questions, my doubts, and my concerns. I am confident that you hear me and that you have a message especially for me as I reflect on your words.
Encountering Christ:
1. Our Future: The Lord recommended to his listeners that they put new wine into fresh wineskins, “so that both are preserved.” He was recommending that they accommodate the new ways Jesus wanted to be worshiped, the new church he was forming, the new graces he would leave for all of us in the Sacraments, etc. Many of his teachings seemed radical to Pharisees and followers alike, so that even Peter said, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). In our own lives, following Jesus can require the abandonment of the future we planned for ourselves. Only when we place our future in his hands can we be assured that we will age well, like wine in new wineskins.
2. Fasting/Feasting: When Jesus walked the earth, fasting was unnecessary because, as Jesus told his disciples, the bridegroom was present! Modern-day disciples of Jesus follow the church’s liturgical year, which is cyclical, and includes seasons for fasting (Advent and Lent) and even longer seasons for feasting (Easter and Christmas). We exert self-control during fasts to unite ourselves with Christ and open our hearts to become more receptive to grace. Feasting is especially sweet, temporally and spiritually, when we’ve fasted well. Wanting only the best for us, our Church never demands that we fast without feasting, nor vice versa.
3. Living with the Bridegroom: Our bridegroom lives! Does this fact fill us with joy? Are we fervent, and faithful to him? Do we act like a bride, striving to keep ourselves pure and undefiled? Attentive and obedient to the groom? Willing to bear fruit? We are invited to a nuptial union with Christ. As the saints describe it, this union is infinitely more intimate than conjugal love. What a reason to rejoice that the bridegroom lives!
Conversing with Christ: Lord, everywhere I look today in the Scriptures I see your protective care: in the institution of the Church; in its cyclical nature, which encourages us to fast and feast; and in the spousal intimacy you want to share with me. You are a mighty and powerful God, but you remind me in these lines of Scripture that you care for me tenderly.  
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will open my heart to greater intimacy with you, and with those souls you place in my life.

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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!”