† Quote of the Day "What is a vocation? It is a gift from God, so it comes from God. If it is a gift from God, our concern must be to know God's will. We must enter that path: if God wants, when God wants, how God wants. Never force the door." — St. Gianna Molla Today's Meditation "Christ Himself taught humility of heart, and the heart must not remain idle, nor fail to produce the necessary acts... It would be absurd to hope for the reward which is promised to the humble without being humble, or at least making acts of humility; humility of heart without the heart's humbling itself—what folly! Are you foolish enough to believe that this can be done? ... it is necessary to humble ourselves when we approach God with prayer to obtain some grace, because God does not regard nor heed nor impart His grace except to the humble ... When, therefore, you come to ask God for some grace of the body or of the soul, do you always remember to practice this humility? When we pray, and especially when we say the 'Our Father', we are speaking to God; and how many times when you are saying your prayers, do you speak to God with less respect than if you were speaking to one of your fellow creatures? —Rev. Cajetan da Bergamo, p. 138
An excerpt from Humility Of Heart Daily Verse "For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and preserving the way of his saints." — Proverbs 2:6-8 | St. Peter Chrysologus St. Peter Chrysologus (406-450 A.D.) was born in Imola, Italy. He was an adult convert to Christianity and studied under his bishop, Cornelius, who ordained him a deacon. In his day the city of Ravenna was the center of the Roman Empire, making the Archbishop of Ravenna an important position in the Church. When the Archbishop of Ravenna died, a new archbishop was elected by the clergy and the people of Ravenna. Bishop Cornelius of Imola went to Rome with his deacon, St. Peter Chyrsologus, to have the Ravenna appointment confirmed by Pope Sixtus III. When the pope saw St. Peter, he appointed him the new Archbishop of Ravenna instead. St. Peter was an effective shepherd who stamped out paganism, heresy, and ecclesiastical abuses from his diocese, earning the high regard of Emperor Valentinan III who resided in Ravenna. He also organized services to help the poor of the city. St. Peter was renowed for his profound and eloquent sermons, and his skill with taking complex theological truths and putting them in plain language, earning him the name 'Chrysologus' meaning 'the man of golden speech' or 'golden word' as well as the 'Doctor of Homilies.' In 1729, Pope Benedict XIII declared him a Doctor of the Church. His feast day is July 30. | Tuesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jer 14:17-22 Let my eyes stream with tears
day and night, without rest,
Over the great destruction which overwhelms
the virgin daughter of my people,
over her incurable wound.
If I walk out into the field,
look! those slain by the sword;
If I enter the city,
look! those consumed by hunger.
Even the prophet and the priest
forage in a land they know not. Have you cast Judah off completely?
Is Zion loathsome to you?
Why have you struck us a blow
that cannot be healed?
We wait for peace, to no avail;
for a time of healing, but terror comes instead.
We recognize, O LORD, our wickedness,
the guilt of our fathers;
that we have sinned against you.
For your name's sake spurn us not,
disgrace not the throne of your glory;
remember your covenant with us, and break it not.
Among the nations' idols is there any that gives rain?
Or can the mere heavens send showers?
Is it not you alone, O LORD,
our God, to whom we look?
You alone have done all these things. Responsorial Psalm Ps 79:8, 9, 11 and 13 R. (9) For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name's sake.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
Let the prisoners' sighing come before you;
with your great power free those doomed to death.
Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
through all generations we will declare your praise.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us. Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live for ever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 13:36-43 Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
"Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the Evil One,
and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his Kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear." | Daily Meditation: Matthew 13:36-43 The righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. (Matthew 13:43) Did you ever have some good news that you just had to share with someone else, only to be met with disinterest? Your excitement probably diminished quickly, and you may have regretted sharing it at all. It's even more challenging when we share the good news of Jesus. Maybe you were moved by the image of the Good Shepherd in Scripture or by your time with Jesus in Adoration. You really wanted to tell someone else about your experience, but you feared what their reaction might be. So you refrained from sharing the light and joy of Christ. If that's your experience, then today's Gospel is for you. Jesus explains to his disciples that at "the end of the age, . . . the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:39, 43). Imagine: you will beam with the glory of God as the good news of the gospel naturally shines forth from you. What a glorious day that will be! There will be no more opposition or indifference—and no discouragement! But did you know that even today, you already shine? At your Baptism, you received Jesus, "the true light," and you have become "light" yourself (Catechism, 1216). You carry the light of hope, joy, and peace. You carry the light that can pierce the darkness in and around other people. Yes, you will encounter opposition—maybe an eye roll or a rude remark or cold indifference. But don't let that stop you from sharing encouraging words, insights, joy, and your bright smile. One day, joined with all the saints, you will glorify your Father in his kingdom. You will blaze more brightly than ever! But don't forget that you have the light of Christ in you today. In fact, your light might be just the thing that someone else needs. So don't put it under a bushel basket. Instead, let it shine for all to see (Matthew 5:14-15)! Don't let fear or discouragement cover over that light. Let it burn brightly as you look forward to that day when you will glow like the sun in the kingdom of your Father! "Lord, thank you for your presence in me. Help me to shine your light brightly today." Jeremiah 14:17-22
Psalm 79:8-9, 11, 13 |  Hear AI Read it to you. Updated 7/10/24 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
""Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the Evil One,
and the enemy who sows them is the Devil......" end quote. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in our Gospel today, Jesus explains the parable of the weeds among the wheat. God's word creates the Church, the community of those who strive to build up the kingdom. But this Church is never absolutely pure and untrammeled, for God's ways are opposed by a spiritual power, an enemy. His task is to sow weeds among the wheat—clandestinely, quietly, unobtrusively.
This sort of coming together of good and evil is to be expected. The Church will always be a place of saints and sinners, and the sinners will often look like saints. The enemy of the Church, who never rests, ensures it.
Vigilance in regard to evil is necessary in a fallen world, yet we must be wary of a zeal that, in its passion for setting things right, comes to believe that evil can be dealt with by destroying what is good.
In the midst of a fallen world, what is expected of us is that we live in hope that at the end, at harvest time, the Master will separate the good from the bad....." end quote Bishop Barron.
Our Lord explained the parable of the seeds. The bad weeds, the evil children, ,and the good children.
This weekend, as we were practicing for choir before Mass, a fellow guitarist said it was the day of his grandson baptism at that Mass and he said jokingly, "yes, today we're going to knock the hooves and horns off of him", we smiled and I thought and said "you know, that statement is actually theoretically correct, because we are born into sin, and because of that, we are born with evil". I heard a priest, I believe a leading exorcist, say the same principle, that you are just about a devil's child when you are born and not baptized yet.
In comes the message of the seed and the weeds.
What is peculiar is that, in my opinion, this parable goes into many dimensions. It is not simply one sided.
Weeds can be good seeds and seeds can get choked by weeds to become weeds and we have to deal with the weeds inside of us as well, so that there are many fronts in this battle of life for souls.
Do you have to be baptized to be saved? Holy Baptism in the right form as we are baptized in the Holy Trinity with water is the normal way for salvation to be availed. We are all though, in the end, saved by the grace of God.
Back to the weeds and seeds. We know those who die in their sin and refuse to repent are going to be gathered and burned in the afterlife. What does this mean? Torment. A life of death to God that was brought upon the decision. In the Sacred Rite of a Holy Baptism, we hear the Father to be ask these questions: Question: "Dost thou renounce Satan and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the carnal desires of the flesh, so that thou wilt not follow, or be led by them?
Answer. I renounce them all." But we must live out our baptismal call to be children, true children of God our Father. At Baptism, we are born again of water and Spirit, for then we receive the Holy Spirit in the Holy Trinity and this enables us to let our seed grow into a true love of Christ our Lord and Savior. And thus, we can truly savor the Savior, in the Holy Sacraments, especially that of the Holy Eucharist. We enter into the life of Christ. This is the seed. The word of God made flesh. We are made of dirt, and the seed is planted in us that it may give life to life eternal.
The weeds of life are all around.
Just turn on social media and see what they feed in their weeds. Just turn on worldly news and see the weeds at work.
Therefore, we must tune into God's endless message of mercy, that we might savor and desire mercy, and in doing so, become mercy.
The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church. And we can all be white or red martyrs, giving of ourselves to God. The more, the better, not so much for yourself, but for the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Love. Precious Blood of Jesus, be my love and my salvation! |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 135:5–7 5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.
7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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