†Quote of the Day
"Do not seek to be regarded as somebody, don't compare yourself to others in anything. Leave the world, mount the cross, discard all earthly things, shake the dust from off your feet."
–St. Barsanuphius †Today's Meditation
"He that sacrifices to God his property by alms-deeds, his honor by bearing insults, or his body by mortifications, by fasts and penitential rigours, offers to Him a part of himself and of what belongs to him; but he that sacrifices to God his will, by obedience, gives to Him all that he has, and can say: Lord, having given you my will, I have nothing more to give you."
—St. Alphonsus Liguori, p. 191 †Daily Verse
"Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made."
–Romans 1:20a |  click to read more | | St. Zoe of Rome St. Zoe of Rome (d. 286 A.D.) was a noblewoman married to a Roman court official during the reign of the infamous Emperor Diocletian. For six years she suffered from a condition that left her unable to speak; when she met St. Sebastian she fell at his feet so that he would heal her. St. Sebastian made the Sign of the Cross over her, and from that moment her speech miraculously returned. As she was being healed she had a vision of an angel standing next to St. Sebastian holding a book in which was written everything that St. Sebastian preached. Her first words were ones of thanks and praise to God, and many witnesses of the miracle were brought to faith in Christ. Zoe and her husband then received baptism at the hands of St. Polycarp, along with many others who had come to believe in Christ through St. Sebastian's miracles. Of this new group of Christians, St. Zoe was the first to be martyred for her faith. She was greatly devoted to St. Peter the Apostle, and was arrested while praying at his tomb. She was martyred by being hung from a tree by her hair, with a fire lit under her feet. After her death her body was thrown into the Tiber River. She then appeared in a vision to St. Sebastian, who was in prison awaiting his execution, to tell him of her martyrdom and subsequent glory. St. Zoe of Rome's feast day is July 5th. | Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Gn 21:5, 8-20a Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Isaac grew, and on the day of the child's weaning
Abraham held a great feast. Sarah noticed the son whom Hagar the Egyptian
had borne to Abraham
playing with her son Isaac;
so she demanded of Abraham:
"Drive out that slave and her son!
No son of that slave is going to share the inheritance
with my son Isaac!"
Abraham was greatly distressed,
especially on account of his son Ishmael.
But God said to Abraham: "Do not be distressed about the boy
or about your slave woman.
Heed the demands of Sarah, no matter what she is asking of you;
for it is through Isaac that descendants shall bear your name.
As for the son of the slave woman,
I will make a great nation of him also,
since he too is your offspring." Early the next morning Abraham got some bread and a skin of water
and gave them to Hagar.
Then, placing the child on her back, he sent her away.
As she roamed aimlessly in the wilderness of Beer-sheba,
the water in the skin was used up.
So she put the child down under a shrub,
and then went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away;
for she said to herself, "Let me not watch to see the child die."
As she sat opposite Ishmael, he began to cry.
God heard the boy's cry,
and God's messenger called to Hagar from heaven:
"What is the matter, Hagar?
Don't be afraid; God has heard the boy's cry in this plight of his.
Arise, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand;
for I will make of him a great nation."
Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water.
She went and filled the skin with water, and then let the boy drink. God was with the boy as he grew up. Responsorial Psalm Ps 34:7-8, 10-11, 12-13 R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Fear the LORD, you his holy ones,
for nought is lacking to those who fear him.
The great grow poor and hungry;
but those who seek the LORD want for no good thing.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
Come, children, hear me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Which of you desires life,
and takes delight in prosperous days?
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor. Alleluia Jas 1:18 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Father willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 8:28-34 When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes,
two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him.
They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.
They cried out, "What have you to do with us, Son of God?
Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?"
Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding.
The demons pleaded with him,
"If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine."
And he said to them, "Go then!"
They came out and entered the swine,
and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea
where they drowned.
The swineherds ran away,
and when they came to the town they reported everything,
including what had happened to the demoniacs.
Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus,
and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district. | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"she demanded of Abraham:
"Drive out that slave and her son!
No son of that slave is going to share the inheritance
with my son Isaac!" end of verse. Abraham came to our Lord in prayer, what to do now with this issue. It is good to come to our Lord, not get into a fight. Too often we try to deal with things without coming to our Lord for direction...spiritual direction. Did you know that a better Catholic spiritual life calls for one to have a "Spiritual Director" and see them maybe once a month? And also, one should try to go to confession, not just the minimum once a year, but once a month would be better. They say that the closer you can confess to the time you sinned, the more effective...and this can drive demons and bad spirits away more effectively.
I digress.
Abraham was called to obey his wife. Most of the things I hear about in the "Book of Heaven" is all about obedience, to the priest, to those above you. There is too often too much rebellion against priests, too many decide to leave because they don't like priest...the way he talks, the way he deals with things, the way he drives people away...and what I see on my end? I see a lack of humility on the people's part. We are called to obey the father of the parish. He has authority over our territory, it is actually way more critical and important than people know, for when it comes to demonics and our Lord in Heaven too...we are all subject to authority. And the allowance of authority in our lives, who do we obey, makes all the difference. | We pray today:
_"Fear the LORD, you his holy ones,
for nought is lacking to those who fear him.
The great grow poor and hungry;
but those who seek the LORD want for no good thing. The Lord hears the cry of the poor."_ end of Psalm. | In the Gospel today we heard:
"They cried out, "What have you to do with us, Son of God?
Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?"
Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding.
The demons pleaded with him,
"If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine."
And he said to them, "Go then!" end of Gospel verse. The demons called out to our Lord "Son of God" and pleaded "do not torment us!". What would've our Lord done to torment them? The light torments them. Obeying Him torments them. Having to leave their gains would torment them. Having to be chastised would torment them. And who knows how much more would torment them.
They say the only people in hell are those who didn't want to follow God. And so, instead of our Lord making a deal, he deals with the demons by allowing their request.
See how our Lord is gentle even with demons. They say our Lord wouldn't even come to vanquish, or destroy the demons. What then did He destroy? He destroyed a temple. He destroyed the bonds of sin and death. He dispelled darkness and revealed the dark demons by being the very light of God, in truth, and purity. Now we can see, if we want to see.
I'm reminded of a new movie where Jim Caviezel Plays Tim Ballard, Former US Agent On a Dangerous Mission to Rescue Children, mostly sex slaves, stolen, kidnapped, exploited, all for money. The movie actually serves as a light, on a demonic world that exists, even though we don't see it or hear about it often. So we avoid it. But not really.
We just hide it from our consciousnesses. But we are all tied together in this world through God our Father. We cannot hide demons, we need to expose them and expel them from our lives. This is where the battle is.
That if you defeat your own demons, expel them, and if you can be a more pure light by allowing God to be what He is in your life, the Almighty, the number one priority, then the world would be that much better for it. Every soul counts and makes a difference. | Let's pray:
Lord, I'd like to be what You designed me to be, a child of God, yes, Your child, but I can't....I cannot do it without Your help, Your grace, Your guidance, please, I am a drifting vessel without an anchor without You helping every step of the way on this journey. |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Luke 6:27–28 Love Your Enemies 27 "But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
