SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Saturday - July 17, 2021

Saturday - July 17, 2021

In her voyage across the ocean of this world,  the Church is like a great ship being pounded by the waves of life's different stresses. Our duty is not to abandon the ship but to keep her on her course.

 

- - Saint Boniface

July 17, 2021

Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 394

 

Reading 1                                                     Ex 12:37-42

The children of Israel set out from Rameses for Succoth,

about six hundred thousand men on foot,

not counting the little ones.

A crowd of mixed ancestry also went up with them,

besides their livestock, very numerous flocks and herds.

Since the dough they had brought out of Egypt was not leavened,

they baked it into unleavened loaves.

They had rushed out of Egypt and had no opportunity

even to prepare food for the journey.

 

The time the children of Israel had stayed in Egypt

was four hundred and thirty years.

At the end of four hundred and thirty years,

all the hosts of the LORD left the land of Egypt on this very date.

This was a night of vigil for the LORD,

as he led them out of the land of Egypt;

so on this same night

all the children of Israel must keep a vigil for the LORD

throughout their generations.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              136:1 and 23-24, 10-12, 13-15

 

R.    His mercy endures forever.

or:

R.    Alleluia.

 

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

    for his mercy endures forever;

Who remembered us in our abjection,

    for his mercy endures forever;

And freed us from our foes,

    for his mercy endures forever.

R.    His mercy endures forever.

or:

R.    Alleluia.

Who smote the Egyptians in their first-born,

    for his mercy endures forever;

And brought out Israel from their midst,

    for his mercy endures forever;

With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,

    for his mercy endures forever.

R.    His mercy endures forever.

or:

R.    Alleluia.

Who split the Red Sea in twain,

    for his mercy endures forever;

And led Israel through its midst,

    for his mercy endures forever;

But swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,

    for his mercy endures forever.

R.    His mercy endures forever.   

or:

R.    Alleluia.

 

Alleluia                                                                      2 Cor 5:19

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,

and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Mt 12:14-21

The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus

to put him to death.

 

When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place.

Many people followed him, and he cured them all,

but he warned them not to make him known.

This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

 

    Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,

        my beloved in whom I delight;

    I shall place my Spirit upon him,

        and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

    He will not contend or cry out,

        nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

    A bruised reed he will not break,

        a smoldering wick he will not quench,

    until he brings justice to victory.

        And in his name the Gentiles will hope.

 

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What is Jesus Doing About Evil Today?

Have you been bruised by the weak or nonexistent faith of others? Jesus cares about you, shares your pain, and promises to bring his victory into your situation.

Think of the people who are hurting themselves and others because of their rejection of Christ and/or the true teachings of the Church. Jesus the Just Judge is giving them opportunity after opportunity to turn to him and humbly, genuinely seek the Truth. He promises that his justice will be victorious in getting their attention when they finally admit, even a little, that they need the Truth.

Whose faith is weak? Whose Light of Christ within them has become a smoldering wick because they've accepted the false teachings of darkness? Who barely recognizes the fire of the Holy Spirit? Without a lively, personal relationship with the Holy Spirit, they won't be able to recognize deception, propaganda, and beliefs that undermine their faith.

We who burn brightly with the Truth are responsible for participating in the mission of Christ -- the mission of bringing his justice to victory, the mission of judging between right and wrong, between truth and deception, so that others can be victorious in overcoming what is evil. We are called to openly judge the false teachings and to proclaim the truth. We're not judging the sinner -- we are judging the beliefs that lead to sin.

Refusing to judge between right and wrong, and between truth and deception -- this is the sin of moral relativism. Judging it rightly but hiding our judgments in order to avoid being disliked and persecuted -- this is the sin of not caring about the souls of others.

The propaganda of evil has spread far and infiltrated so many lives, and "the smoke of Satan" that's been permeating the Church (a term that goes back to Pope Saint Paul VI in 1972) has blinded so many; it's become so thick. Being silent about it has become a dangerous sin of omission.

I'm firmly convinced that we're currently living in a period of time when God is exposing evil more and more so that more people will recognize evil for what it is and choose to side themselves firmly with Christ. This, by the way, is an answer to all of those Divine Mercy chaplets that have been prayed since Saint Faustina brought it to our attention. God in his great mercy is giving everyone plenty of evidence that evil is indeed evil. At the same time, he's raising up in his faithful followers an activation of the Holy Spirit that gives evidence that God is good, he cares about each of us, and he is victorious over evil.

If you're doing what Jesus calls all of his followers to do -- standing up for the truth despite the objectors and persecutors and today's version of pharisees -- you know how Jesus felt in this Saturday's Gospel reading. And you can proceed with the assurance that he knows how you feel about it!

Developing a thick skin and learning to cope with the ugliness of persecution is more imperative now than ever.

Today's Prayer

I love you Jesus, but I know You love me more. Thank you Jesus, I praise you Jesus, I worship you Jesus. 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!”