SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Tuesday - September 14, 2020

Tuesday - September 14, 2020

Strive to acquire the virtues you think your brothers lack, and then you will no longer see their defects, because you yourselves will not have them.

-- St. Augustine

September 15, 2020  

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

Reading 1

1 COR 12:12-14, 27-31A

Brothers and sisters:

As a body is one though it has many parts,

and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,

so also Christ.

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body,

whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,

and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

Now the body is not a single part, but many.

Now you are Christ’s Body, and individually parts of it.

Some people God has designated in the Church

to be, first, Apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers;

then, mighty deeds;

then gifts of healing, assistance, administration,

and varieties of tongues.

Are all Apostles?  Are all prophets?  Are all teachers?

Do all work mighty deeds?  Do all have gifts of healing?

Do all speak in tongues?  Do all interpret?

Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 100:1B-2, 3, 4, 5

R. (3) We are his people: the sheep of his flock.

Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;

serve the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful song.

R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.

Know that the LORD is God;

he made us, his we are;

his people, the flock he tends.

R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

his courts with praise;

Give thanks to him; bless his name.

R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.

For he is good, the LORD,

whose kindness endures forever,

and his faithfulness, to all generations.

R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary;

without dying you won the Martyr’s crown

beneath the Cross of the Lord.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GOSPEL

John 19:25-27

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother

and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas,

and Mary Magdalene.

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved

he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.”

Then he said to the disciple,

“Behold, your mother.”

And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

or

Luke 2:33-35

Jesus’ father and mother were amazed at what was said about him;

and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,

“Behold, this child is destined

for the fall and rise of many in Israel,

and to be a sign that will be contradicted

and you yourself a sword will pierce

so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

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God Wants to Embrace You in Your Sorrows

What's the purpose of your tears when you cry? Usually, my tears mean I want something to change and I'm not going to be happy until it does change. But that only results in swollen eyes and messy tissues.

But turn it into a prayer and our sorrow becomes very valuable!

It's healthy to get emotional and pour our sadness into a conversation with God. Our tears are not bullets that shoot our frustrations heavenward in order to force God to hurry up and make things better -- even though it can feel that way. In our sorrows, each tear is itself a prayer. When you're tired of using words, just cry.

If tears were not prayer-diamonds, why would our Blessed Mother cry in heaven? Why would she be Our Lady of Sorrows? Isn't heaven a place of joy, where there is no more sorrow? Yet, Mary cries because people are being hurt by sin in the world. She cries for you when you turn away from her Son. She cries with you when you cry because of the sins of others.

Tears shed during prayer time are valuable to God because this is a moment of surrender. We've quit trying to change what we cannot change. We might still want to, but while we're crying we have stopped trying. In that humble surrender, we give God clearance to move in and comfort us.

When the Father heard his Son's prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane, he didn't change what Jesus would have to endure, but he did comfort him. He embraced his Son with tender compassion and sympathy. He sent angels to him for additional support. This gave Jesus the strength to choose obedience and say, "Your will be done, not mine" and to endure his sufferings.

Jesus knew from the Psalms, which he had memorized as a boy, that God would rescue him. Now he also knew it in his heart while he cried. The resurrection would come, the promises would be fulfilled, and by surrendering to the Father's comforting strength, Jesus would be able to travel the path of pain that would eventually lead to the promised victory.

In the Gospel reading today, we see this comforting embrace repeat itself in the relationship between Mary and the disciple John. This was Mary's moment of greatest sorrow; she grieved with a heartbreak that only mothers can know. John grieved over the suffering and loss of his dearest friend. And Jesus, despite his own sorrow-filled pain, passed his Father's inheritance of comfort on to his mother and friend by permanently unifying their mutual embrace into a bond of supportive friendship.

It's in Christian community that we receive God's comfort. He is giving you caring friends who will embrace you with his love. If you don't know who these comfort-companions are, look closer and reach out wider; they are here for you. God wants to embrace you through them to give you his tender compassion and sympathy.

Today's Prayer
Jesus, I give you each of my tears through the hands of Your Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary. May not my will but Yours be done in my life. 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!”