† Quote of the Day "The devotion to the Eucharist is the most noble, because it has God as its object; it is the most profitable for salvation, because it gives us the Author of Grace; it is the sweetest, because the Lord is Sweetness Itself." — St. Pius X Today's Meditation "The life of faith is nothing less than the continued pursuit of God through all that disguises, disfigures, destroys and, so to say, annihilates Him. It is in very truth a reproduction of the life of Mary who, from the Stable to the Cross, remained unalterably united to that God whom all the world misunderstood, abandoned, and persecuted. In like manner faithful souls endure a constant succession of trials. God hides beneath veils of darkness and illusive appearances which make His will difficult to recognize; but in spite of every obstacle these souls follow Him and love Him even to the death of the Cross." —Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 25
An excerpt from Abandonment to Divine Providence Daily Verse "Finally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble. Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing." — 1 Peter 3:8-9 | Pope St. Pius X Pope St. Pius X (1835-1914) was born Giuseppe Melchiore, one of ten children from an impoverished family living in Venetia, then under the political control of the Austrian Empire. His parents valued education and ensured that Giuseppe walked nearly four miles to school every day. Drawn to the priesthood, he received a scholarship to enter one of the best seminaries of his day, and was ordained in 1858. After the death of Pope Leo XIII, who made him cardinal, he was elected Supreme Pontiff in 1903. Saint Pius X was a man of virtue, sanctity, and zeal, and a great defender of the Catholic faith against heresy. He ranks as one of the greatest reforming popes in history. In his eleven-year pontificate he contributed to reforms in papal elections, seminary life, Eucharistic practice, liturgy, biblical studies, the Divine Office, catechesis, the organization of the Roman Curia, and canon law. He was also known as a pastoral pope for encouraging Catholic social action as well as the development of personal holiness, piety, and a daily lifestyle which reflected deep Christian values. He promoted the reading of Sacred Scripture by all the lay faithful, and harshly denounced the evil of Modernism as "the summation of all heresies." He also lowered the age of First Holy Communion to the age of reason. He was particularly devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Confidence. Pope St. Pius X is the patron of pilgrims and first communicants. His feast day is August 21st | Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope Reading 1 Ez 34:1-11 The word of the Lord came to me:
Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel,
in these words prophesy to them to the shepherds:
Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the shepherds of Israel
who have been pasturing themselves!
Should not shepherds, rather, pasture sheep?
You have fed off their milk, worn their wool,
and slaughtered the fatlings,
but the sheep you have not pastured.
You did not strengthen the weak nor heal the sick
nor bind up the injured.
You did not bring back the strayed nor seek the lost,
but you lorded it over them harshly and brutally.
So they were scattered for the lack of a shepherd,
and became food for all the wild beasts.
My sheep were scattered
and wandered over all the mountains and high hills;
my sheep were scattered over the whole earth,
with no one to look after them or to search for them.
Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
As I live, says the Lord GOD,
because my sheep have been given over to pillage,
and because my sheep have become food for every wild beast,
for lack of a shepherd;
because my shepherds did not look after my sheep,
but pastured themselves and did not pasture my sheep;
because of this, shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I swear I am coming against these shepherds.
I will claim my sheep from them
and put a stop to their shepherding my sheep
so that they may no longer pasture themselves.
I will save my sheep,
that they may no longer be food for their mouths.
For thus says the Lord GOD:
I myself will look after and tend my sheep. Responsorial Psalm Ps 23:1-3A, 3B-4, 5, 6 R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me in right paths
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness will follow me
all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. Alleluia Heb 4:12 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
able to discern the reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 20:1-16 Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o'clock,
he saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.'
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o'clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o'clock,
he found others standing around, and said to them,
'Why do you stand here idle all day?'
They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.'
He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.'
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
'Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.'
When those who had started about five o'clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
'These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day's burden and the heat.'
He said to one of them in reply,
'My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?'
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."
| Daily Meditation: Ezekiel 34:1-11 . . . with no one to look after them or to search for them. Elie Wiesel, the famed activist and Holocaust survivor, once said, "The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference." Wiesel saw this kind of indifference every day during his captivity as Nazi soldiers treated their prisoners as numbers, as "units" awaiting extermination. By contrast, to hate someone implies having feelings for that person, however negative. Just as Wiesel devoted himself to awakening the world to injustice and suffering, so Ezekiel called the "shepherds of Israel"—the kings and rulers—to account for their injustices (Ezekiel 34:2). Their sin was not just plundering the people. It was their indifference to the people God had called them to care for. They ignored the needs of the poor and the sick and the lost. Their failure to love and the absence of any sign of concern for their people manifested the exact opposite of the kind of love God was calling them to. It can be tempting to dismiss Ezekiel's condemnation, thinking it is intended for a different audience. After all, not many of us would consider ourselves equivalent to the "shepherds" the prophet confronted in his day. But then again, maybe we are. Each of us is a "shepherd" because Jesus has called us to love our neighbor as ourselves. And he has made it clear that we are all neighbors to one another (Luke 10:29-37). At each Mass, we ask God's forgiveness "for what I have done and what I have failed to do." It's that failure that Ezekiel is calling our attention to. How often do we fail to care about someone's needs—especially if that person is poor or marginalized? Isn't that a form of indifference? So try something a little different today. At your next meal, pray for the people who made it possible: the ones who farmed your food, the ones who packaged and delivered it, and the ones who prepared it. Pray also for those who will go without a meal today. Acknowledge how you are connected to people you may never meet, your "neighbors" near and far. As you do, the Lord will gradually turn your indifference to love that bears fruit in action. "Jesus, teach me how to love all my neighbors." Psalm 23:1-6
Matthew 20:1-16 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
'These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day's burden and the heat.'
He said to one of them in reply,
'My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?'
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."......."_ end quote. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Our knowledge is comparatively minuscule in both depth and breadth. What we can see of God's canvas is laughably small. And yet we make bold to declare certain things just or unjust.
Recall the story of the gangster who called for a priest as he lay dying on the street in New York. The priest declared him forgiven, and there was a flood of protest: How could this be fair to all of those who had been good and devout Christians all of their lives?
My ways are not your ways, says the Lord. Let us have the humility to allow God to distribute his graces as he sees fit. And let us not ask "why" in a spirit of rebellion, but "why" in a spirit of awe and expectation." end quote.
It's all about perspective right? Like when there are arguments, usually the fight is because of opposing perspectives.
God's perspective though, can you imagine it? To begin to see into His insight and views, we have to be open to the Holy Spirit and take to heart the words of our Lord, the very heart message of God. Therefore, Jesus is God Himself. And this is why, to dismiss Him, is an atrocity, a true sin.
But, we do. We become worse than haters, but people who do not care. How can God call our attention? Do we need more famines and wars? Why should it get to that point? Why?
I remember a near death experience story I heard once, and I know we got to be careful with these because some are very strange and do not ring true, but this one stayed in my memory. It was a thin looking black man, he had an accident and the car wound up in a lake where he drowned to death, and found himself in hell, where he saw who he claims was the devil himself, a huge figure with long horns on his head sitting looking straight ahead, and the man was afraid, very afraid, but, as he stood there, he noticed nothing was happening, the devil was not acknowledging him at all. This was his experience of hell, where the devil don't care. And so it is fitting to read a reflection today where we heard about those in communist death camps and prison guards and leaders treated everyone like a number.
Isn't that horrible? To be treated like a number and not as a person?
Yet, that's the world we live in. And we see this most often in the "dog eat dog' business world. Or we can see that in youth or cliques, where others are treated as lesser and often forgotten and then the lifestyle becomes one of ignoring the most needy without a second thought or second glance.
And then we want forgiveness for the sin of "omission". Right?
Only with the heart of God can we see with the eyes of God.
Therefore, we must be more and more open to what He wants, not what we think we need above His needs.
Lord, let us be truly One Holy Body in You my God in Heaven. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Isaiah 26:8 8 In the path of your judgments, O LORD, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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