† Quote of the Day "The stillness of prayer is the most essential condition for fruitful action. Before all else, the disciple kneels down." — St. Gianna Molla Today's Meditation "The true reason for which God bestows so many graces upon the humble is this, that the humble are faithful to these graces and make good use of them. They receive them from God and use them in a manner pleasing to God, giving all the glory to Him, without reserving any for themselves. ... It is certainly true that he who is humble is also faithful to God, because the humble man is also just in giving to all their due, and above all, in rendering to God the things that are God's; that is, in giving Him the glory for all the good that he is, all the good that he has and for all the good that he does; as the Venerable Bede says: 'Whatever good we see in ourselves, let us ascribe it to God and not to ourselves.' To give thanks to God for all the blessings we have received and are continually receiving is an excellent means of exercising humility, because by thanksgiving we learn to acknowledge the Supreme Giver of every good. And for this reason it is necessary for us always to be humble before God. St. Paul exhorts us to render thanks for all things and at all times: 'In all things give thanks.' (1 Thess. 5:18). 'Giving thanks always for all things.' (Eph. 5:20). But that our thanksgiving may be an act of humility it must not only come from the lips but from the heart, with a firm conviction that all good comes to us through the infinite mercy of God." —Rev. Cajetan da Bergamo, p. 87-88
An excerpt from Humility Of Heart Daily Verse "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you." — Matthew 7:1-2 | Our Lady of the Snows is one of the oldest devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It commemorates a miraculous event that happened during the reign of Pope Liberius. A wealthy, childless Roman couple prayed to know how their fortune should be used for God. Our Lady answered them in a dream and asked that a church be built in her honor. She also appeared in a dream to the Holy Father with the same request. On August 5, 352 A.D., a hot summer day, snow fell on Esquiline Hill. All of Rome proclaimed it a miracle, and a basilica was built on the spot according to the outline of the pattern of snow. The church, the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major), is the largest church in the world, and one of the first, dedicated to Our Lady. August 5th celebrates its rebuilding and dedication in 434 A.D. | Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Jer 28:1-17 In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah,
in the fifth month of the fourth year,
the prophet Hananiah, son of Azzur, from Gibeon,
said to me in the house of the LORD
in the presence of the priests and all the people:
"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
'I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.
Within two years I will restore to this place
all the vessels of the temple of the LORD which Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, took away from this place to Babylon.
And I will bring back to this place Jeconiah,
son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,' says the LORD,
'for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.'"
The prophet Jeremiah answered the prophet Hananiah
in the presence of the priests and all the people assembled
in the house of the LORD, and said:
Amen! thus may the LORD do!
May he fulfill the things you have prophesied
by bringing the vessels of the house of the LORD
and all the exiles back from Babylon to this place!
But now, listen to what I am about to state in your hearing
and the hearing of all the people.
From of old, the prophets who were before you and me prophesied
war, woe, and pestilence against many lands and mighty kingdoms.
But the prophet who prophesies peace
is recognized as truly sent by the LORD
only when his prophetic prediction is fulfilled.
Thereupon the prophet Hananiah took the yoke
from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it,
and said in the presence of all the people:
"Thus says the LORD: 'Even so, within two years
I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
from off the neck of all the nations.'"
At that, the prophet Jeremiah went away.
Some time after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke
from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah,
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:
Go tell Hananiah this:
Thus says the LORD:
By breaking a wooden yoke, you forge an iron yoke!
For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
A yoke of iron I will place on the necks
of all these nations serving Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
and they shall serve him; even the beasts of the field I give him.
To the prophet Hananiah the prophet Jeremiah said:
Hear this, Hananiah!
The LORD has not sent you,
and you have raised false confidence in this people.
For this, says the LORD, I will dispatch you from the face of the earth;
this very year you shall die,
because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.
That same year, in the seventh month, Hananiah the prophet died. Responsorial Psalm PS 119:29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 102 R. (68b) Lord, teach me your statutes.
Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and favor me with your law.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Take not the word of truth from my mouth,
for in your ordinances is my hope.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let those turn to me who fear you
and acknowledge your decrees.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let my heart be perfect in your statutes,
that I be not put to shame.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Sinners wait to destroy me,
but I pay heed to your decrees.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
From your ordinances I turn not away,
for you have instructed me.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes. Alleluia Mt 4:4 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 14:13-21 When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
"This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves."
He said to them, "There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves."
But they said to him,
"Five loaves and two fish are all we have here."
Then he said, "Bring them here to me,"
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over–
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children. | Daily Meditation: Matthew 14:13-21 Five loaves and two fish are all we have here. (Matthew 14:17) Jesus had just learned that his cousin, John the Baptist, had been killed. So you can understand why he might want to withdraw "to a deserted place by himself" (Matthew 14:13). But when he arrived at his destination, exhausted and still grieving John's death, he found that a crowd of people had followed him. And so, trusting in his Father's grace, he got out of the boat and started ministering to them. In so doing, he showed everyone there that day what his Father's mercy and love looks like. As evening fell, Jesus invited his disciples to follow his lead and place their trust in his Father as well. Imagine their surprise when he told them to give that vast crowd some food (Matthew 14:16)! They had barely enough for themselves—just five loaves and two fish. In that moment, they did the only thing they could do: they offered to Jesus all that they had and trusted that God would provide the rest. Being in this place of scarcity, where what they had wasn't enough, gave the disciples an opportunity to rely on God, who is good and powerful and trustworthy. As they stared open-mouthed at the twelve baskets of leftovers, they were blessed by his overflowing love and generosity (Matthew 14:20). Are you like Jesus in the boat, weary and hoping for rest? Are you like the disciples, feeling empty-handed in the face of some great need? You might look at a situation in your life and think, "This is all the energy I have; there's nothing left." Or "This is all the certainty I have; I don't know what to do next." But that's a blessed place to be! Like the disciples, you can lay what you do have before your Father and trust him to provide whatever it is that you need. Times like these are invitations to stay close to the Lord and grow in trust. They give you a chance to recognize that uncertainty or weariness are a call to give what you have to God. And as you exercise your trust in him, you can watch what your heavenly Father can do with what you've given him! "Father, I love you. I offer you what I have and trust you to use it to accomplish your will." Jeremiah 28:1-17
Psalm 119:29, 43, 79-80, 95, 102 |  Hear AI Read it to you. Updated 7/10/24 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"He said to them, "There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves."
But they said to him,
"Five loaves and two fish are all we have here."
Then he said, "Bring them here to me,"
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass......" end quote. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, we see Jesus' miracle of feeding the five thousand. Jesus went up on a mountain and sat down with his disciples. In Scripture, mountains are places of encounter, where God comes down and men and women go up.
The disciples want to dismiss the hungry crowd, but Jesus says, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." Jesus is interested not only in instructing the crowds but in feeding them as well. The disciples bring forth a poor pittance—five barley loaves and two fish—and observe that this is woefully inadequate for so many. But Jesus presses forward, taking, giving thanks, and having the disciples distribute the bread. And everyone is fed.
A significant theological principle is in play here: God has no need vis-à-vis the world that he has made. Precisely because he stands to gain nothing from the world, whatever is given to him breaks against the rock of the divine self-sufficiency and redounds to the benefit of the giver. From this principle follows as a corollary what St. John Paul II called the law of the gift—namely, that one's being increases in the measure that one gives oneself away......." end quote Bishop Barron.
Imagine, the news comes to you that your childhood friend, a relative, has just been beheaded while he was in custody, namely, for standing up for the righteousness and the truth of God. You want to get away, but the multitudes come at you in great need.
And there come these words that we often overlook: "When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick."
The Lord is held forever in my mind, as a man with open arms, always. Mother Mary is always in clasped hands or low asking for children to come to God. But our Lord is holding His arms stretched to the max on the cross.
They came to Him by the thousands. The sheep, without a shepherd. The sheep that met him where there was as in the scriptures said "lots of grass". They came to Him, suffering, and hungry. Is that the only time to come to God? They were lost, they wanted a guide, deep inside.
And so, He fed them. And the multiplication of loaves and fish is an astounding miracle of grace that is availed to us from Heaven.
It is the parable of the mustard seed, and many more parables tied into a reality of life with God. Little things matter.
I was talking with family over the weekend at a visit with them out of town. My nephew sounded despondent in his overall theory of life and salvation. He made it sound like everyone is saved in the end, so...."what does it matter what we do".
Everything matters. The devil wants you to feel like you have way too little to offer. Or nowadays, the dark side makes you believe that all is good, you have nothing to do, 'just live on how you want". But if we dabble with sin, we dabble with darkness. That matters tremendously.
But if we dabble with grace, this matters tremendously too.
I told the nursing home elderly yesterday "a thought hit me after receiving our Lord in Mass, that although we think we are locked up doing nothing for God, we can live for God all our lives". I went on to tell them about my truck decal that says "He Died For Me, I'll Live for Him"
Your grace, your state of being matters in the body of Christ.
The little you offer, when offered with humility and in thanksgiving, can go into the thousands and thousands.
Notice how one little positive thing can make a very huge difference in your life.
And that's how we are, in this vast world for the Lord. Are we lost without the Lord? Are we hungry in the world? Do we need healing? I saw a youtube video of a priest that decided to do a "social experiment". He put a table at a park with a huge sign that said "need healing? come.
The vast majority passed him by, most saying they needed no healing, one older man jogged by waving him off "I'm a secular humanist who identifies as christian", or something to that effect. Very awkward excuses to pass right by our Lord offering Himself in a special way.
Truth is, we all need healing. We should develop a hunger for our Lord.
What healing do we need? The kind that heals all our wounds in the soul. For that, our Lord is offering with open arms thanksgiving to God, waiting for us all for that special embrace we need to live forever. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Jeremiah 29:11 11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare1 and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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