†Quote of the Day
"Do not be anxious: go straight on, forgetful of self, letting the spirit of God act instead of your own."
–St. Julie Billiart †Today's Meditation
"True devotion to Our Lady is holy; that is to say, it leads the soul to avoid sin and to imitate the virtues of the Blessed Virgin, particularly her profound humility, her lively faith, her blind obedience, her continual prayer, her universal mortification, her divine purity, her ardent charity, her heroic patience, her angelic sweetness and her divine wisdom. These are the ten principal virtues of the most holy Virgin."
— St. Louis De Montfort, p. 55 An Excerpt From
True Devotion to Mary †Daily Verse
"For God did not call us to impurity but to holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not a human being but God, who [also] gives his holy Spirit to you."
–1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 |  click to read more | | St. Marcellin Champagnat St. Marcellin Champagnat (1789–1840) was born to a peasant family near Lyons, France, in the same year the French Revolution erupted. He grew up amid the havoc and instability it left in every area of life. Like many other children, St. Marcellin was poor and illiterate due to the collapse of education. Yet a visiting priest encouraged him to enter the seminary, which he did at the age of sixteen despite his poverty. Because of his lack of education he struggled academically, which inspired him to combat the illiteracy and spiritual poverty resulting from the violence and chaos of the French Revolution. With hard work, prayer, and the support of his family, he was ordained in 1816. The following year he bought a simple house, opened a school, and recruited other peasant men to join him in a new community devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary and committed to giving young people a proper Christian education. He made his school year flexible with the farming seasons, and the fees were affordable to the poor. His congregation became The Little Brothers of Mary, now called The Marist Brothers. They were dedicated to the education of youth, especially the most neglected. When Marcellin died his order had 48 establishments in France with 278 Brothers. Today there are 5,100 Brothers working in over 80 countries. St. Marcellin Champagnat's feast day is June 6th. | Tuesday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Tb 2:9-14 On the night of Pentecost, after I had buried the dead,
I, Tobit, went into my courtyard
to sleep next to the courtyard wall.
My face was uncovered because of the heat.
I did not know there were birds perched on the wall above me,
till their warm droppings settled in my eyes, causing cataracts.
I went to see some doctors for a cure
but the more they anointed my eyes with various salves,
the worse the cataracts became,
until I could see no more.
For four years I was deprived of eyesight, and
all my kinsmen were grieved at my condition.
Ahiqar, however, took care of me for two years,
until he left for Elymais. At that time, my wife Anna worked for hire
at weaving cloth, the kind of work women do.
When she sent back the goods to their owners, they would pay her.
Late in winter on the seventh of Dystrus,
she finished the cloth and sent it back to the owners.
They paid her the full salary
and also gave her a young goat for the table.
On entering my house the goat began to bleat. I called to my wife and said: "Where did this goat come from?
Perhaps it was stolen! Give it back to its owners;
we have no right to eat stolen food!"
She said to me, "It was given to me as a bonus over and above my wages."
Yet I would not believe her,
and told her to give it back to its owners.
I became very angry with her over this.
So she retorted: "Where are your charitable deeds now?
Where are your virtuous acts?
See! Your true character is finally showing itself!" Responsorial Psalm Ps 112:1-2, 7-8, 9 R. (see 7c) The heart of the just one is firm, trusting in the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
R. (see 7c) The heart of the just one is firm, trusting in the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
An evil report he shall not fear;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear
till he looks down upon his foes.
R. (see 7c) The heart of the just one is firm, trusting in the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Lavishly he gives to the poor;
his generosity shall endure forever;
his horn shall be exalted in glory.
R. (see 7c) The heart of the just one is firm, trusting in the Lord.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia See Eph 1:17-18 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know what is the hope
that belongs to his call.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mk 12:13-17 Some Pharisees and Herodians were sent
to Jesus to ensnare him in his speech.
They came and said to him,
"Teacher, we know that you are a truthful man
and that you are not concerned with anyone's opinion.
You do not regard a person's status
but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?
Should we pay or should we not pay?"
Knowing their hypocrisy he said to them,
"Why are you testing me?
Bring me a denarius to look at."
They brought one to him and he said to them,
"Whose image and inscription is this?"
They replied to him, "Caesar's."
So Jesus said to them,
"Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God."
They were utterly amazed at him. | Daily Meditation: Mark 12:13-17 Why are you testing me? (Mark 12:15) Many people approached Jesus in the Gospels. They came from all walks of life: rich and poor, upper class and working class, clean and unclean. They also came for many different reasons. Some came for his teaching, some for his mercy, and more than a few out of desperation to be healed. The Pharisees and Herodians in today's Gospel came to Jesus for a different reason: they wanted to test him. They began by flattering him, calling him a "truthful man" who wasn't concerned with what people thought of him (Mark 12:14). Then they asked a question meant to ensnare him: "Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?" (12:14). Jesus's response cut through their hypocrisy and went to the heart of the matter: they needed to pay to God "what belongs to God" (12:17). We don't know exactly why these men had so much trouble accepting Jesus. Perhaps they felt he was undercutting their authority with the people. Perhaps they were worried about losing status or respect. Whatever the reason, they approached Jesus with ulterior motives. All of this raises the question: how do you approach Jesus? Do you come to him with honesty and humility? Or, like these men, is your heart more guarded or suspicious toward him? Maybe you are having trouble accepting a Church teaching. Maybe you are struggling with giving up a bad habit or sin. Or maybe you have grown weary from the sufferings of life and doubt his goodness. In situations like these, it's easy to build up protective defenses instead of freely sharing all that you have stored up in your heart. But there's no need to hide anything from Jesus. He won't condemn you; instead, he will give you all the grace you need to deal with the struggles you are facing. What the Pharisees said was true: Jesus does not regard status; he cares about the truth. Thank goodness for that! You can come to him in complete honesty, without any pretenses. After all, our pretenses only deceive ourselves, not God. So give him an open, trusting, truthful heart. It's what he longs for, and it's what will help you grow closer to him. "Jesus, I want to share with you all that is on my heart today." Tobit 2:9-14
Psalm 112:1-2, 7-9 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"She said to me, "It was given to me as a bonus over and above my wages."
Yet I would not believe her,
and told her to give it back to its owners.
I became very angry with her over this.
So she retorted: "Where are your charitable deeds now?"
End of verse. A bonus for doing good work, and a blind husband claiming it was a stolen goat. Boy, what a story, right? So what's the point? Who does the goat belong to? That was the question. And who is right? And who has the right to be angry? It all boils down to the truth. | We pray today:
"Blessed the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commands.
His posterity shall be mighty upon the earth;
the upright generation shall be blessed.
The heart of the just one is firm, trusting in the Lord." | In the Gospel today we heard:
""Why are you testing me?
Bring me a denarius to look at."
They brought one to him and he said to them,
"Whose image and inscription is this?"
They replied to him, "Caesar's."
So Jesus said to them,
"Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar
and to God what belongs to God."
They were utterly amazed at him."
end of verse. So...does this mean we really got to pay our taxes? LOL, right?
Yes. We must be law abiding citizens, unless the law asks you to give your whole entire heart to them, instead of God our Lord in Heaven.
And this is the problem, in a dictatorship, the dictator really is asking for more than the house or money or lands, they want your "fidelity", and they will try to earn it the wrong way. It is not a true giving either from the dictator or the citizens, and so their only option is to become like gods, so you will worship them.
Sounds terrible right? But it is happening right now as it has happened for thousands of years.
So can religion really be separated from Politics? Nope! Even though we have Church and State, it is not clear and cut, because of the ideals. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus enunciates a principle that is an implicit resolution of the vexing problem of religion and politics: "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
God is the deepest source and inspiration for everything in life, from sports to law to the arts to science and medicine. Everything comes from God and returns to God. So what about our famous question of religion and politics?
Politics is not in a realm separate from the religious; rather, its deepest ground is spiritual. Thomas Aquinas held that law comes from the eternal law, which is identical to the mind of God. This eternal law is reflected in the human mind and heart, those basic principles that are called the natural law. Positive laws—from traffic regulations to antitrust laws—are then concrete applications of the natural law.
Hence all law—the very stuff of politics—has to do with God, since positive law nests in the natural law, which nests in the eternal law. This is why we should expect our politicians and judges to be acting in accord with moral and spiritual goods."
end quote Bishop Barron.
. . . . . And this is why our Lord says: "Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
And so the question is: What exactly belongs to God?
We are about to read the answer in the following verses of the Gospel:
"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength;' this is the first commandment." Let us pray:
Lord, teach us to number our days aright, let us consider the brevity of our life on earth and the eternal life away from this earth. Let us learn with every minute that there is nothing worth more than loving You in Heaven more and more..forever. |  Hear it click | Psalm 94:14–15 14 For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;
15 for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
