SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Monday - July 19, 2021

Monday - July 19, 2021

If God seems slow in responding, it is because He is preparing a better gift. He will not deny us. God withholds what you are not yet ready for. He wants you to have a lively desire for His greatest gifts. All of which is to say, pray always and do not lose heart.

— St. Augustine

July 19, 2021

Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 395

 

Reading 1                                                     Ex 14:5-18

When it was reported to the king of Egypt

that the people had fled,

Pharaoh and his servants changed their minds about them.

They exclaimed, “What have we done!

Why, we have released Israel from our service!”

So Pharaoh made his chariots ready and mustered his soldiers

six hundred first-class chariots

and all the other chariots of Egypt, with warriors on them all.

So obstinate had the LORD made Pharaoh

that he pursued the children of Israel

even while they were marching away in triumph.

The Egyptians, then, pursued them;

Pharaoh’s whole army, his horses, chariots and charioteers,

caught up with them as they lay encamped by the sea,

at Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.

 

Pharaoh was already near when the children of Israel looked up

and saw that the Egyptians were on the march in pursuit of them.

In great fright they cried out to the LORD.

And they complained to Moses,

“Were there no burial places in Egypt

that you had to bring us out here to die in the desert?

Why did you do this to us?

Why did you bring us out of Egypt?

Did we not tell you this in Egypt, when we said,

‘Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians’?

Far better for us to be the slaves of the Egyptians

than to die in the desert.”

But Moses answered the people,

“Fear not! Stand your ground,

and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today.

These Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again.

The LORD himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still.”

 

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me?

Tell the children of Israel to go forward.

And you, lift up your staff and, with hand outstretched over the sea,

split the sea in two,

that the children of Israel may pass through it on dry land.

But I will make the Egyptians so obstinate

that they will go in after them.

Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army,

his chariots and charioteers.

The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD,

when I receive glory through Pharaoh

and his chariots and charioteers.”

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              Exodus 15:1bc-2, 3-4, 5-6

 

R. (1b) Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

 

I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant;

horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

My strength and my courage is the LORD,

and he has been my savior.

He is my God, I praise him;

the God of my father, I extol him.

R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

The LORD is a warrior,

LORD is his name!

Pharaoh’s chariots and army he hurled into the sea;

the elite of his officers were submerged in the Red Sea.

R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

The flood waters covered them,

they sank into the depths like a stone.

Your right hand, O LORD, magnificent in power,

your right hand, O LORD, has shattered the enemy.

R. Let us sing to the Lord; he has covered himself in glory.

 

Alleluia                                                                      Ps 95:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

If today you hear his voice,

harden not your hearts.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Mt 12:38-42

Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,

“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”

He said to them in reply,

“An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,

but no sign will be given it

except the sign of Jonah the prophet.

Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights,

so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth

three days and three nights.

At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation

and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;

and there is something greater than Jonah here.

At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation

and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth

to hear the wisdom of Solomon;

and there is something greater than Solomon here.”

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DIVISION FOR THE LOVE OF CHRIST

God is a God of reconciliation. He provides it as a sacrament so that we can receive directly from Jesus the healing that reunites us to his Divinity and to his Body, which on earth is now the Church.

 

In Confession, we acknowledge that we have divided ourselves from God and from others. In Confession, the priest sits in for Christ and for the whole Church and accepts our repentance. Through this communal confession and absolution of our sins, we are then reconciled with everyone. We might still have to apologize to specific individuals, but in this sacrament, Christ wipes away the division that was caused by our sins.

 

Isn't it odd, then, that in our Gospel reading today Jesus says he came not to bring peace between people, but division -- especially within families.

 

Think about it: If we have a parent who disagrees with our Christian decisions and behaviors, do we really honor them if we give up the virtue that divides us? When spouses interfere with our spiritual growth, do we really honor the love that unites us if we allow them to control our faith? When relatives want us to approve of abortions or homosexual activities or couples living together outside the holy graces of sacramental marriage, do we really honor the truths that we share in common with them if we look like we also agree with the falsehoods they believe?

 

In situations like these, maintaining unity in the family has a high cost: It reinforces immoral behavior and gives the impression that behaving unlike Christ is good and that disobeying God's commandments is not destructive.

 

Standing firm on what divides us shows that we care more about what Jesus taught than what the relatives say or think about us. The cost of this division is the cross, because those who should be loving us will surely reject us. They will nail us to the cross with our Lord. But remember what comes after Good Friday!

 

Maintaining unity can be spiritually deadly. Division can produce new life.

 

How willing are we to be persecuted by our families and by friends who are like family to us? It hurts more when we're nailed by the people who should love us more. Is it good to protect ourselves by compromising our values for the sake of an easier life? Or should we argue and insist that they believe what we tell them about the truth? Neither option is Christ-like.

 

Jesus spoke in parables for those who weren't ready for the whole truth. Our lives are his modern parables. We must live in such a way that it's clear where we stand on the issues that divide us. At the same time, we must also make known that we do not condemn anyone for disagreeing with us, for we cannot judge their hearts and we will always love them, oh so deeply.

 

Today's Prayer 

My Lord, Strengthen my heart and my faith when, after receiving You in my life, I receive the rejection of the people I love most. Give me courage to surrender to You fearlessly and wisdom to understand that You are the true source of the love that unites people. 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!”