† Quote of the Day "To put into practice the teachings of our holy faith, it is not enough to convince ourselves that they are true; we must love them. Love united to faith makes us practise our religion." — St. Alphonsus Liguori Today's Meditation "How great is the sweetness which a soul experiences, when, in the time of prayer, God, by a ray of his own light, shows to her his goodness and his mercies towards her, and particularly the love which Jesus Christ has borne to her in his passion! She feels her heart melting, and, as it were, dissolved through love. But in this life we do not see God as he really is: we see him, as it were, in the dark. 'We see now through a glass in a dark manner, but then face to face' (1 Cor. 13:12). Here below God is hidden from our view; we can see him only with the eyes of faith: how great shall be our happiness when the veil shall be raised, and we shall be permitted to behold God face to face! We shall then see his beauty, his greatness, his perfection, his amiableness, and his immense love for our souls." —St. Alphonsus Liguori, p. 133
An excerpt from The Sermons of St. Alphonsus Liguori Daily Verse "And if you be unwilling to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." — Joshua 24:15 | St. Alphonsus Liguori St. Alphonsus Liguori (1696–1787) was born near Naples, the eldest of eight children of a noble family. He became a lawyer after receiving doctorates in canon and civil law at the age of 16. For many years he was successful in practicing law, but grew disenchanted with the profession. After losing a case for the first time at the age of 27 after eight years of practicing the law, he discerned a call to enter the seminary and became a priest. Alphonsus spent the early years of his priesthood ministering to homeless and marginalized youth, and through this work eventually founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, known as the Redemptorists, which aimed to preach in city slums. He was known best for his sermons, especially his ability to convert those who were estranged from the faith, and for his great works in moral and spiritual theology. He was a practical and prudent theologian, avoiding the extremes of being too rigid and legalistic on the one hand, and too lax on the other, despite the fact that he struggled with scrupulosity in his personal life. He suffered much from arthritis in his old age, his neck becoming so bent that his chin left an open sore on his chest. His most famous written works were on the Virgin Mary and the Blessed Sacrament. For his work in moral theology he was declared a Doctor of the Church. He is the patron saint of moral theologians, vocations, arthritis sufferers, and those who struggle with scrupulosity. St. Alphonsus Ligouri's feast day is August 1st. | Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Reading 1 Jer 18:1-6 This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Rise up, be off to the potter's house;
there I will give you my message.
I went down to the potter's house and there he was,
working at the wheel.
Whenever the object of clay which he was making
turned out badly in his hand,
he tried again,
making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
Can I not do to you, house of Israel,
as this potter has done? says the LORD.
Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter,
so are you in my hand, house of Israel. Responsorial Psalm Ps 146:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6AB R. (5a) Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, O my soul;
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Put not your trust in princes,
in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.
When his spirit departs he returns to his earth;
on that day his plans perish.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God.
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R. Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Acts 16:14 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our heart, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt13:47-53 Jesus said to the disciples:
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." "Do you understand all these things?"
They answered, "Yes."
And he replied,
"Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom
both the new and the old."
When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there. | Daily Meditation: Jeremiah 18:1-6 Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand. (Jeremiah 18:6) God often gave Jeremiah vivid images to illustrate the messages he wanted his prophet to proclaim: almond trees and boiling kettles and wine flasks, for example (1:11-14; 13:12-14). Today we hear how God used the image of a potter's wheel. Just as a potter can shape and reshape a lump of clay, God said, so could he shape and reshape the people of Jerusalem as he saw fit. This message came at a crucial time for Jerusalem. God knew the once-great City of David was facing destruction at the hands of the Babylonians. So he gave Jeremiah the image of the potter to help Jerusalem's king and priests understand that it was their faithlessness that had brought about the city's fate. But just as the potter kept working with his clay, so God would not give up on Jerusalem. Even after all their sin, he would continue molding them. He would keep loving them, consoling them, teaching them, and even rebuking them when they needed it. This is the same way God loves you. As St. Paul once said, nothing can separate you from his love (Romans 8:38-39). Like Jeremiah's potter, he will continue to form you. Even if you fall into sin, he will still pick you up and keep working with you, offering his forgiveness and healing, his grace and power. What an encouraging vision! What extraordinarily good news! God loves you too much to give up on you. He loves you so much that he didn't even spare his only Son to save you. All he asks is that you become like clay in his hands: softhearted, willing to be molded, submitting to him as much as you can. So accept him as the potter and give him permission to shape your life as he sees fit. Try your best to obey him so that you can become a beautiful vessel in his hands. "Here I am, Lord! Mold me and shape me according to your perfect will!" Psalm 146:1-6
Matthew 13:47-53 |  Hear AI Read it to you. Updated 7/10/24 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."....." end quote. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, today's Gospel reminds us of the final judgment when the wicked will be separated from the righteous. When good and evil are confused or intermingled, divine judgment separates them, clarifying the issue.
Bob Dylan said, "The enemy I see wears the cloak of decency." One of the favorite ruses of evil is to cover itself in the mantle of justice and piety, at the same time aping and hiding behind that which it opposes. Christ's judgment rips away these cloaking devices, these deceits, and shows things as they are.
Authentic Christianity is a fighting religion, and it calls evil by its name. The Church knows what stands outside of itself, and it turns its back on it. The bearer of light and truth, it separates good from evil, sometimes painfully, like a "two-edged sword."......" end quote Bishop Barron.
The other day, we heard about the good seed and bad seed, and the weeds that will be picked up and burned. Today, we have a similar story, of good fish, and the bad fish, and the bad fish that will be thrown away.
Remember the time our Lord said to Simon who was Peter our first Pope, and to his brother Andrew "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of people. Immediately they left their nets and followed Him."
Immediately they left everything and followed Him.
These are good fish. Fishers of people for God are good fish.
Are you a good fisher? Is it easy to catch fish?
How can we become good fishers of people for God our Father? How can we attract them and catch their hearts for God our Father?
What fishing lures can we use?
For sure, there are no tricks that I know of. And even an authentic life of following Christ doesn't always do the trick either, but it helps more than not.
So what can we do to catch fish? Sometimes it's easier to catch fish, like when I help at prisons, there seems to be a captive audience, and sometimes at the nursing home, where a few will take the morsel, the bread, the Word of God and be hooked on Christ Jesus.
Those of us that are hooked on Christ Jesus are lovers of God Himself.
So where is the fishing line we can use? It is the Holy Spirit.
What is the bait? It is the bread, the Word of God.
Where can we fish? Anywhere. So often, we get frustrated when fishing, some even take to drinking when they are fishing to pass the time, but is getting drunk and losing your head the answer to catching fish? No. Of course not! Patience then. Some seeds we throw can last years before they start growing. The same it is with fishing. Sometimes, depends where you are, it takes a long time of working different areas and baits to catch a single fish! But don't give up!
What we need to do with our fishing line is pray, with the Holy Spirit.
Yesterday, my godson, my nephew was presenting a practice presentation and he was nervous, as he is probably presenting it as I write. It is for a summer long worldwide internship, and I said at the end of my evaluation that he seemed nervous, but overall seemed to do well, and then I told him how he could cheat, which is what I do before talking to someone about God or when I am in serious need, I invoke the Holy Spirit. Just by saying the name "Holy Spirit" and ask him to help. And let God's will be done, but at least we get guidance, awareness, and help in the best possible way.
There is your fishing line.
Let's go fishing with our Lord.
Let the Holy Angels sort everything out from there.
We are not good judges, so just throw the seed everywhere.
Fish out anything that comes out of the ocean or the lake, or the puddle you are at!
We do our best and God takes care of the rest.
Grace be upon you.
Our Lord is waiting on the shoreline. God Help Us Help You with our Lives! |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Matthew 5:43–45 [Matthew 5]
Love Your Enemies 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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