SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Thursday - June 03, 2021

Thursday - June 03, 2021

This divine heart is an abyss filled with all blessings, and into the poor should submerge all their needs. It is an abyss of joy in which all of us can immerse our sorrows. It is an abyss of lowliness to counteract our foolishness, an abyss of mercy for the wretched, an abyss of love to meet our every need.

- St. Margaret Mary Alacoque

June 3, 2021

Memorial of Saint Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs
Lectionary: 355

 

Reading 1                                                                 Tb 6:10-11; 7:1bcde, 9-17; 8:4-9a

When the angel Raphael and Tobiah had entered Media

and were getting close to Ecbatana,

Raphael said to the boy,

“Tobiah, my brother!”

He replied: “Here I am!”

He said: “Tonight we must stay with Raguel, who is a relative of yours.

He has a daughter named Sarah.”

 

So he brought him to the house of Raguel,

whom they found seated by his courtyard gate.

They greeted him first.

He said to them, “Greetings to you too, brothers!

Good health to you, and welcome!”

And he brought them into his home.

 

Raguel slaughtered a ram from the flock

and gave them a cordial reception.

When they had bathed and reclined to eat, Tobiah said to Raphael,

“Brother Azariah, ask Raguel to let me marry

my kinswoman Sarah.”

Raguel overheard the words; so he said to the boy:

“Eat and drink and be merry tonight,

for no man is more entitled

to marry my daughter Sarah than you, brother.

Besides, not even I have the right to give her to anyone but you,

because you are my closest relative.

But I will explain the situation to you very frankly.

I have given her in marriage to seven men,

all of whom were kinsmen of ours,

and all died on the very night they approached her.

But now, son, eat and drink.

I am sure the Lord will look after you both.”

Tobiah answered,

“I will eat or drink nothing until you set aside what belongs to me.”

 

Raguel said to him: “I will do it.

She is yours according to the decree of the Book of Moses.

Your marriage to her has been decided in heaven!

Take your kinswoman;

from now on you are her love, and she is your beloved.

She is yours today and ever after.

And tonight, son, may the Lord of heaven prosper you both.

May he grant you mercy and peace.”

Then Raguel called his daughter Sarah, and she came to him.

He took her by the hand and gave her to Tobiah with the words:

“Take her according to the law.

According to the decree written in the Book of Moses

she is your wife.

Take her and bring her back safely to your father.

And may the God of heaven grant both of you peace and prosperity.”

Raguel then called Sarah’s mother and told her to bring a scroll,

so that he might draw up a marriage contract

stating that he gave Sarah to Tobiah as his wife

according to the decree of the Mosaic law.

Her mother brought the scroll,

and Raguel drew up the contract, to which they affixed their seals.

 

Afterward they began to eat and drink.

Later Raguel called his wife Edna and said,

“My love, prepare the other bedroom and bring the girl there.”

She went and made the bed in the room, as she was told,

and brought the girl there.

After she had cried over her, she wiped away the tears and said:

“Be brave, my daughter.

May the Lord grant you joy in place of your grief.

Courage, my daughter.”

Then she left.

 

When the girl’s parents left the bedroom

and closed the door behind them,

Tobiah arose from bed and said to his wife,

“My love, get up.

Let us pray and beg our Lord to have mercy on us

and to grant us deliverance.”

She got up, and they started to pray

and beg that deliverance might be theirs.

And they began to say:

 

    “Blessed are you, O God of our fathers,

        praised be your name forever and ever.

    Let the heavens and all your creation

        praise you forever.

    You made Adam and you gave him his wife Eve

        to be his help and support;

        and from these two the human race descended.

    You said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone;

        let us make him a partner like himself.’

    Now, Lord, you know that I take this wife of mine

        not because of lust,

        but for a noble purpose.

    Call down your mercy on me and on her,

        and allow us to live together to a happy old age.”

 

They said together, “Amen, amen,” and went to bed for the night.

 

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              128:1-2, 3, 4-5

 

R. (see 1a) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

 

Blessed are you who fear the LORD,

    who walk in his ways!

For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;

    Blessed shall you be, and favored.

R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine

    in the recesses of your home;

Your children like olive plants

    around your table.

R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

Behold, thus is the man blessed

    who fears the LORD.

The LORD bless you from Zion:

    may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem

    all the days of your life.

R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.

 

Gospel Acclamation                                              2 Tm 1:10

Alleluia Alleluia

Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death

and brought life to light through the Gospel.

Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                                       Mk 12:28-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,

“Which is the first of all the commandments?”

Jesus replied, “The first is this:

    Hear, O Israel!

    The Lord our God is Lord alone!

    You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,

    with all your soul, with all your mind,

    and with all your strength.

The second is this:

    You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no other commandment greater than these.”

The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.

You are right in saying,

    He is One and there is no other than he.

And to love him with all your heart,

    with all your understanding,

    with all your strength,

    and to love your neighbor as yourself

is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,

he said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

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LOVING AND BELIEVING WHOLE-HEARTEDLY

In our Gospel reading today, Jesus gives us that very familiar commandment to love God with all of our everything, and to love our neighbors as much as we care about ourselves. Loving God and believing in God are closely tied together. Our belief in God is proven by how we love, not by the words we speak. Words only prove that we have vocal chords (or a keyboard).

 

Every Sunday in Mass, we speak the Creed, a summary of our Christian beliefs. But do we really believe what we say we believe? For example, if we truly believe that God is the Father of all, this truth is revealed in our respect and love for every person -- even for non-Christians and evil-doers -- because he created them and cares about them, too.

 

If we truly believe that Jesus is true God from true God, we love him so much that we cling to every Word that he speaks in scripture, we eagerly learn from his example, and we follow him everywhere, trusting him totally wherever he leads us.

 

If we truly believe that through him all things were made, we care about all of creation. In our love for God, we're good stewards of the natural world (we recycle, we utilize "green" alternatives, we reduce waste, etc.), and of the relationships he has formed in our lives, of the talents he's given us, of the time he's allotted for us on earth, and of the money he's given us the ability to earn and has called us to share generously.

 

If we truly believe that for us and for our salvation, Jesus came down from heaven and became man, we love Jesus as our closest, dearest brother, and we treat all of his/our brothers and sisters the way we want Jesus to treat us.

 

If we truly believe that Jesus suffered, died, and was buried but then rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures, we embrace our own crosses with hope, believing that by following Christ we will eventually experience resurrection glory.

 

If we truly believe in the Holy Spirit as the giver of life, we cherish the life that God gave us and we realize that we are important. We also value everyone else's life as precious, including unborn babies, the handicapped, the elderly, and even the criminally insane.

 

If we believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, we love ourselves and our neighbors so much that we want to grow in holiness so that we can become even more loving. We treat all Christians as important members of the Body of Christ, honoring and respecting them, even when we can't see their holiness. And we cherish our personal vocations as apostles, actively serving God, bringing his love and truth to the world in which we live.

 

The entire Creed is full of reasons to express our love for God, for ourselves, and for our neighbor. Reflect on this before reciting the Creed at Mass this weekend.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Thank you Lord, for I can love You because You love me. Thank you because I can love my brothers and sisters, because You loved me first. Thank you because my life has meaning as I discover anew Your love every day. 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 : Wednesday - June 02, 2021

 

Wednesday - June 02, 2021

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, fountain of eternal life, Your Heart is a glowing furnace of Love. You are my refuge and my sanctuary. 

- St. Gertrude the Great

June 2, 2021

Wednesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 355

 

Reading 1                                                                 Tb 3:1-11a, 16-17a

Grief-stricken in spirit, I, Tobit, groaned and wept aloud.

Then with sobs I began to pray:

 

    “You are righteous, O Lord,

        and all your deeds are just;

    All your ways are mercy and truth;

        you are the judge of the world.

    And now, O Lord, may you be mindful of me,

        and look with favor upon me.

    Punish me not for my sins,

        nor for my inadvertent offenses,

        nor for those of my ancestors.

 

    “We sinned against you,

        and disobeyed your commandments.

    So you handed us over to plundering, exile, and death,

        till you made us the talk and reproach of all the nations

        among whom you had dispersed us.

 

    “Yes, your judgments are many and true

        in dealing with me as my sins

        and those of my ancestors deserve.

    For we have not kept your commandments,

        nor have we trodden the paths of truth before you.

 

    “So now, deal with me as you please,

        and command my life breath to be taken from me,

        that I may go from the face of the earth into dust.

    It is better for me to die than to live,

        because I have heard insulting calumnies,

        and I am overwhelmed with grief.

 

    “Lord, command me to be delivered from such anguish;

        let me go to the everlasting abode;

        Lord, refuse me not.

    For it is better for me to die

        than to endure so much misery in life,

        and to hear these insults!”

 

On the same day, at Ecbatana in Media,

it so happened that Raguel’s daughter Sarah

also had to listen to abuse,

from one of her father’s maids.

For she had been married to seven husbands,

but the wicked demon Asmodeus killed them off

before they could have intercourse with her,

as it is prescribed for wives.

So the maid said to her:

“You are the one who strangles your husbands!

Look at you!

You have already been married seven times,

but you have had no joy with any one of your husbands.

Why do you beat us? Is it on account of your seven husbands,

Because they are dead?

May we never see a son or daughter of yours!”

 

The girl was deeply saddened that day,

and she went into an upper chamber of her house,

where she planned to hang herself.

 

But she reconsidered, saying to herself:

“No! People would level this insult against my father:

‘You had only one beloved daughter,

but she hanged herself because of ill fortune!’

And thus would I cause my father in his old age

to go down to the nether world laden with sorrow.

It is far better for me not to hang myself,

but to beg the Lord to have me die,

so that I need no longer live to hear such insults.”

 

At that time, then, she spread out her hands,

and facing the window, poured out her prayer:

 

    “Blessed are you, O Lord, merciful God,

    and blessed is your holy and honorable name.

    Blessed are you in all your works for ever!”

 

At that very time,

the prayer of these two suppliants

was heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God.

So Raphael was sent to heal them both:

to remove the cataracts from Tobit’s eyes,

so that he might again see God’s sunlight;

and to marry Raguel’s daughter Sarah to Tobit’s son Tobiah,

and then drive the wicked demon Asmodeus from her.

 

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              25:2-3, 4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9

 

R. (1) To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

 

In you I trust; let me not be put to shame,

    let not my enemies exult over me.

No one who waits for you shall be put to shame;

    those shall be put to shame who heedlessly break faith.

R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;

    teach me your paths,

Guide me in your truth and teach me,

    for you are God my savior.

R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Remember that your compassion, O LORD,

    and your kindness are from of old.

In your kindness remember me,

    because of your goodness, O LORD.

R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Good and upright is the LORD;

    thus he shows sinners the way.

He guides the humble to justice,

    he teaches the humble his way.

R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

 

Gospel Acclamation                                              Jn 11:25a, 26

Alleluia Alleluia

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;


whoever believes in me will never die.

Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                                       Mk 12:18-27

Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection,

came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying,

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,

‘If someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child,

his brother must take the wife

and raise up descendants for his brother.’

Now there were seven brothers.

The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants.

So the second brother married her and died, leaving no descendants,

and the third likewise.

And the seven left no descendants.

Last of all the woman also died.

At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be?

For all seven had been married to her.”

Jesus said to them, “Are you not misled

because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?

When they rise from the dead,

they neither marry nor are given in marriage,

but they are like the angels in heaven.

As for the dead being raised,

have you not read in the Book of Moses,

in the passage about the bush, how God told him,

    I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,

    and the God of Jacob?

He is not God of the dead but of the living.

You are greatly misled.”

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A FORETASTE OF HEAVENLY LOVE

The Book of Tobit tells an interesting story. It was written as a fictional story, like an extended parable, possibly based on true people, to teach piety and morality, especially in marriage. The tale is interwoven with lessons about help from angels and the importance of prayer and fasting.

 

Tobit is a God-loving, wealthy Israelite who, with other captives, had been deported to Nineveh. After a series of misfortunes, he sends his son, Tobiah, to far-off Media to fetch money. Tobiah is met by a man who is really the archangel Raphael, the angel of healing.

 

Meanwhile, a young lady named Sarah has been crying to God. She has had seven husbands, all of whom were killed on their wedding night by a demon named Asmodeus. Raphael takes Tobiah to meet her. They fall in love, but she's afraid that if they marry, Asmodeus will kill him. With God's help, they defeat the demon and live happily ever after.

 

This story has lessons for all of us, married or not. I can't explain it sufficiently in this brief reflection, so please take time to read the whole Book of Tobit. Read it like a novel and keep an eye open to what it teaches about God's helpfulness.

 

It’s the experience of many that angels and prayers, along with a mutual willingness to do whatever it takes to reach happy endings, are essential for a marriage's survival.

 

In today's Gospel reading, Jesus takes the message of Tobit to its ultimate truth. Marriage is an earthly image of God and his faithfulness and his unconditional love. Marriage is a gospel that God writes to reveal himself to unbelievers. Every Christian couple should examine: What kind of image of God are we portraying to the world? Are we evangelizing those around us through the example of our relationship?

 

Jesus said that in heaven marriage does not exist. People live like the angels. We don't become angels; we live in love with everyone -- absolutely everyone -- like the angels do. Our supreme love for one another will supersede marital love. Of course my Ralph will always be special to me, but I will love you and everyone else as much as (in fact, more than) I love him now. My relationship with him is a hint of the love that I will have for everyone after I reach heaven. It's also a hint of how I will be loved by everyone.

 

Imagine dying and being greeted by the spouse you divorced or the baby you aborted or the friend you tossed aside. Will you be ready to give him or her a love that's greater than the strongest love you have experienced on earth? Don't worry; your distaste for loving everyone completely and unconditionally will be purged from you. Thank God for purgatory!

 

Today's Prayer

 

Lord, May my works always be favorable for eternal life. May the hope of arriving one day at Your dwelling be my support, peace and confidence whenever I lose someone I love. 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!”