† Saint Quote“We are born to love, we live to love, and we will die to love still more.”
-St. Joseph Cafasso Today’s Meditation"Faith is the key that puts every other truth into its proper place. Triumphs become opportunities for gratitude instead of pride. Tragedies become opportunities for growth instead of despair. Life just makes more sense and our faith in God gives us joy even when we face what can feel like insurmountable trials." —Matt Fradd, p.96 Daily VerseHe is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile all things for him, making peace by the blood of his cross [through him], whether those on earth or those in heaven.
-Colossians 1:18-20
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EWTN Daily Saint
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St Joseph CafassoSt. Joseph Cafasso (1811–1860) was born in Castelnuovo d'Asti, Italy, to a peasant family. He was born with a physical deformity of the spine, which caused him to grow into a stunted and crippled man. Discerning a call to Holy Orders, he entered the seminary in Turin where he later met another famous saint—John Bosco. Joseph taught John Bosco and encouraged him in his mission to minister to the town's impoverished street youth. Joseph was an excellent professor of moral theology, as well as a famed preacher and confessor. He performed his duties so well that he became known as the "Priest's Priest." He spent entire days preaching in prisons, offering comfort to the prisoners, hearing their confessions, and even advocating to improve the poor conditions of the prison. For this work he also earned the name, "Priest of the Gallows." St. Joseph Cafasso is the patron saint of prisoners, prisons, and prison chaplains. His feast day is June 23rd.
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Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 2 Kings 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent envoys to Hezekiah
with this message:
“Thus shall you say to Hezekiah, king of Judah:
‘Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you
by saying that Jerusalem will not be handed over
to the king of Assyria.
You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done
to all other countries: they doomed them!
Will you, then, be saved?’”Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it;
then he went up to the temple of the LORD,
and spreading it out before him,
he prayed in the LORD’s presence:
“O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned upon the cherubim!
You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.
You have made the heavens and the earth.
Incline your ear, O LORD, and listen!
Open your eyes, O LORD, and see!
Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.
Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations
and their lands, and cast their gods into the fire;
they destroyed them because they were not gods,
but the work of human hands, wood and stone.
Therefore, O LORD, our God, save us from the power of this man,
that all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that you alone, O LORD, are God.”Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent this message to Hezekiah:
“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
in answer to your prayer for help against Sennacherib, king of Assyria:
I have listened!
This is the word the LORD has spoken concerning him:“‘She despises you, laughs you to scorn,
the virgin daughter Zion!
Behind you she wags her head,
daughter Jerusalem.“‘For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant,
and from Mount Zion, survivors.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.’“Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria:
‘He shall not reach this city, nor shoot an arrow at it,
nor come before it with a shield,
nor cast up siege-works against it.
He shall return by the same way he came,
without entering the city, says the LORD.
I will shield and save this city for my own sake,
and for the sake of my servant David.’”That night the angel of the LORD went forth and struck down
one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp.
So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, broke camp,
and went back home to Nineveh. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 48:2-3Ab, 3cd-4, 10-11R. (see 9d) God upholds his city for ever.
Great is the LORD and wholly to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain, fairest of heights,
is the joy of all the earth. R. God upholds his city for ever.
Mount Zion, “the recesses of the North,”
is the city of the great King.
God is with her castles;
renowned is he as a stronghold. R. God upholds his city for ever.
O God, we ponder your mercy
within your temple.
As your name, O God, so also your praise
reaches to the ends of the earth.
Of justice your right hand is full. R. God upholds his city for ever. Alleluia John 8:12R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Matthew 7:6, 12-14Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.“Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.”
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Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ!
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From Word Among Us WAU.org
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Daily Meditation: 2 Kings 19:9-11, 14-21, 31-36 I have listened. (2 Kings 19:20) King Hezekiah knew this day would come. One by one, all the city-states surrounding Judah had fallen to the Assyrian army. Then, Hezekiah received a message from Sennacherib, king of Assyria, boasting that Judah was next. “Do not let your God . . . deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be handed over” (2 Kings 19:10). It was a blunt message—the kind meant to intimidate and strike terror in the heart of its reader. But notice how Hezekiah reacted. He “went up to the temple of the Lord, and . . . prayed in the Lord’s presence” (2 Kings 19:14, 15). It can be easy to gloss over this detail. Of course he prayed, we might say; that’s what you’re supposed to do. But we also know how easy it can be to either shrink in fear or to respond aggressively when someone comes at us aggressively. It’s like a natural reflex to respond in kind, even if it means escalating an already tense situation. But Hezekiah chose a different path. What a model for us—even if our challenges don’t rise to the level of international diplomacy! First, Hezekiah didn’t react right away. He took hold of the letter and made a beeline for the Temple, where he could find peace in God’s presence. Rather than trust his initial reactions, he went to the Lord first. Second, Hezekiah sought guidance from the Lord. Spreading out the letter before the Lord, he opened his heart to God and asked for help. He needed to distinguish between the thoughts arising from his emotions and the thoughts that come from a heart established in faith and trust. In response, God assured Hezekiah that he had “listened” and that he would indeed protect Jerusalem (2 Kings 19:20). And sure enough, he did! Hezekiah’s example shows us that we don’t have to give in to the first thoughts that come to mind—especially when we are feeling anxious, fearful, or upset. Instead, we can seek the help of the God who listens. If we learn to listen as well, we’ll find the peace that we need to move forward in confidence. “Lord, help me always to run to you when I am in trouble and I don’t know what to do!” Psalm 48:2-4, 10-11
Matthew 7:6, 12-14
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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From today's Holy Gospel: ".... This is the Law and the Prophets.“Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few. ... ”
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From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, today’s Gospel raises a crucial question about heaven and hell: Who will be in and who will be out? Origen argued that all people will be saved. For how could God’s love allow even one person to be damned? And St. Augustine argued that the vast majority of human beings were going to be damned. Here’s how I approach this issue. The doctrine concerning hell is a corollary of two more fundamental truths: that God is love and that we are free. Love is all that God is. He’s not loving to some and not to others. No act of ours can possibly make him stop loving us. However, we are free. Hence, we can say yes or we can say no to his love. If we turn toward it, we open like a sunflower; if we turn away from it, we get burned. The very resistance to love causes pain. Think of a spelunker trapped in a cave for many weeks. When he emerges into the light of the sun, he experiences it as a torture. The same sun that delights someone who is accustomed to it tortures someone who has been turned from it." End quote.From Roberto Juarez: "The Gospel of today leaves us with three great teachings. It invites us to value the treasure of faith and to proclaim it with prudence and love. It teaches us that the true measure of our life is to treat others as we want to be treated. And it reminds us that the path of the Kingdom passes through a narrow door: the door of demanding love, conversion and fidelity. Let us ask the Lord for the grace to acknowledge the immense value of the Gospel, to live the golden rule every day in our relationships and not to be afraid to follow the narrow path that leads to life. Because that door, even if it seems small, opens to the eternal joy of God." End quote.My mom used to tell us that the road to hell is wide and comfortable with beautiful flowers everywhere, while the road to Heaven is small, constricted and full of thorns and stickers.
Why would ANYBODY in their right mind go through the path less taken?
Right?
But it is true.
The path less taken is the path hated by most.
Men hate to pray.
Women hate forcing men to pray.
And their children grow up hating to pray...and getting up on Sunday morning to praise God...is a chore.
Everything our Lord says is true.
In another Gospel, our Lord says "strive to enter the narrow gate, because many will try...but will not be STRONG enough".
Many will be too weak.
Too weak to sin.
Weak to the world power.
Weak to temptation.
Weak in the flesh.
But those who are strong will enter.
Strong in resisting temptation.
Strong in mercy and grace.
Strong in faith.
Strong light in the dark.
Strong in God's love.
Strong to pick up the weak...and lead them to Salvation. I do not normally see men in daily mass.
Lines to confession are short or nonexistent. But I do see one Man....the strongest there.
It is our Lord.
Awaiting...His Will.
His love.
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Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 17:22
[Proverbs 17] 22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
Word of the Lord!
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God Bless You! Peace
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