† Saint Quote:You must not abandon the ship in a storm because you cannot control the winds . . . What you cannot turn to good, you must at least make as little bad as you can. St. Thomas More Meditation quote“Do you know what it is to be truly spiritual? It is for men to make themselves the slaves of God—branded with His mark, which is the Cross. … Unless you make up your minds to this, never expect to make much progress, for as I said humility is the foundation of the whole building and unless you are truly humble, Our Lord, for your own sake, will never permit you to rear it very high lest it should fall to the ground. Therefore, sisters, take care to lay a firm foundation by seeking to be the least of all and the slave of others, watching how you can please and help them, for it will benefit you more than them. Built on such strong rocks, your castle can never go to ruin. I insist again: your foundation must not consist of prayer and contemplation alone: unless you acquire the virtues and praise them, you will always be dwarfs; and please God no worse may befall you than making no progress, for you know that to stop is to go back—if you love, you will never be content to come to a standstill.”
—St. Teresa of Avila, p. 209-210 Daily VerseFor the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good. Titus 2:11-14
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EWTN Daily Saint
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St. Margaret of AntiochPatron Saint of: Childbirth, pregnant women, and nurses
Feast Day: July 20 St. Margaret (289-304 A.D.) was born in Antioch, the daughter of a pagan priest. Her mother died when she was an infant, and she was raised by a Christian nurse who baptized her and gave her a Christian education. St. Margaret grew into a pious and virtuous young woman under her nurse’s care, to the delight of her father. When she came of age, Margaret returned to live with her father. She quickly angered him, however, when she refused to take part in offering sacrifices to idols. Furious at her steadfast refusals, he drove her out of his home. Margaret then returned to live with her nurse as a household servant. One day a Roman prefect noticed Margaret’s beauty and desired to have her for himself. Margaret declined, citing that she had consecrated her virginity to Jesus Christ, a reply for which she was severely persecuted. She was brought to trial for her Christian faith, scourged, tortured, and thrown into prison by her suitor. In her moment of weakness, the devil appeared to her in the form of a dragon to intimidate her and break her faith. Margaret trusted in God and made the Sign of the Cross, and the dragon fled defeated. At this triumph over her enemy, Margaret’s cell was filled with light and her wounds were miraculously healed. Enraged to find her healed, her suitor had new tortures applied to her body, which did her no harm and caused many witnesses to convert to the Christian faith. She was finally killed by beheading. St. Margaret of Antioch was one of the saints who appeared to St. Joan of Arc. She is the patron saint against sterility, of the dying, and of pregnancy, labor, and childbirth. Her feast day is July 20th.
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Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary TimeLectionary: 395 Reading 1Micah 6:1-4, 6-8 Hear what the LORD says:
Arise, present your plea before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice!
Hear, O mountains, the plea of the LORD,
pay attention, O foundations of the earth!
For the LORD has a plea against his people,
and he enters into trial with Israel. O my people, what have I done to you,
or how have I wearied you? Answer me!
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
from the place of slavery I released you;
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam. With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow before God most high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with myriad streams of oil?
Shall I give my first-born for my crime,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
You have been told, O man, what is good,
and what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God. Responsorial PsalmPsalm 50:5-6, 8-9, 16bc-17, 21, 23 R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God. AlleluiaPsalm 95:8 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelMatthew 12:38-42 Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
He said to them in reply,
“An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,
but no sign will be given it
except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights,
so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth
three days and three nights.
At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;
and there is something greater than Jonah here.
At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and there is something greater than Solomon here.”
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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: Micah 6:1-4, 6-8You have been told . . . what is good. (Micah 6:8) Did you ever notice how complicated life becomes as we grow up? Simple answers give way to the complex realities of the world, and the certainties of our idealistic younger years become not so certain after all. But today’s first reading shows us that as far as God is concerned, some simple answers remain—and they tend to be the most important ones. When the Israelites asked, somewhat facetiously, how many sacrifices and burnt offerings they needed to please the Lord, the prophet Micah answered with a disarmingly simple clarity: they need to be concerned only with upholding justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly with their God (Micah 6:8). Somewhere in our consciences, we all sense that the first two of these commands—upholding justice and loving mercy—should be top priorities in how we relate to our neighbor. But it can be easy to overlook the third: our need to walk humbly with God. And that’s a shame because walking with the Lord in humility gives us the peace of knowing that the One who is so much greater than us is ready and eager to guide us and help us every step of the way. God doesn’t expect us to rely on our own strength or wisdom to do his will. He is unfailingly generous when it comes to pouring out grace and strength. Even before we were born, God knew each of us intimately and promised to watch over us, walk with us, and fill us with his Holy Spirit. From the beginning, God knew every situation we would face. He knew what our family would be like. He knew the struggles we would encounter growing up. Nothing in our life comes as a shock to him. No matter what our situation may be, his overflowing grace is always available to us. So remember that no matter how complex the world becomes, God’s promises remain as simple as the day you were born. He has called you by name, and everything you need is found in him. Nothing brings him more joy than when you turn to him for guidance in every situation. He wants to walk with you every step. All he asks is that you walk humbly with him! “Holy Spirit, teach me how to walk humbly with my Father.” Psalm 50:5-6, 8-9, 16-17, 21, 23
Matthew 12:38-42
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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From today's Holy Gospel: "... Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
He said to them in reply,
“An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,
but no sign will be given it
except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights,
so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth
three days and three nights. .... ”
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From Roberto Juarez: "...The Gospel ends by inviting us also to be a sign. The world needs Christians whose lives make Christ visible. Not so much people who talk a lot. But people whose way of life raises questions. A life full of peace, joy, service, humility, mercy. That is the sign that convinces the most. The saints evangelized above all with their lives.
The scribes asked for an extraordinary sign. Jesus responds by pointing to the greatest of all signs: his death and resurrection. We too might be tempted to continually ask for new proofs from God. But the Lord invites us today to open our eyes to recognize all that he has already done for us, the cross, the Resurrection, the Eucharist, his Word, the sacraments, the Church, his constant presence in our lives.
Let us ask him for the grace to have a grateful heart, capable of recognizing the daily signs of his love. May we never get used to his presence. And may our own lives become a transparent sign of the Gospel for those around us, so that others, seeing our works, may also discover the merciful face of Jesus Christ.
..." end of Roberto quote.
Your brother Adrian: A sign from Heaven came.
Multiple signs really.
From the annunciation...until the crucifixion.
And all we have now is what...word of mouth? Tradition? Writings? That's all we can go by?
Do you believe what others are saying about what happened a couple thousand years ago?
Do you believe something someone told you about that happened a week or two ago? Or couple years ago? Is it harder to believe the further back in time it happens?
When it is about a tragedy, the length of time does not really affect it though.
And the tragedy here is about the crucifixion.
Because our Lord was hung on a tree, so to speak, left to die, and was buried, gone for at least 3 days, until He came back again...for us all.
Mary's only son, the love of her life, came back to her...I wonder what her eyes beheld, at the moment she saw Him again.
And so, we have more than a sign. We have more than we could ask for. A sign of 3 days. A sign that He is bringing a call for repentance. A sign of hope. A sign of...mercy.
If you think God is terrible at doing His job...and we are His creation, then we are doing a terrible job at listening.
What message did He ask for?
Only the humble will hear it...
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Random Bible Verse 1 Kings 8:56 “Blessed be the LORD who has given rest to his people Israel, according to all that he promised. Not one word has failed of all his good promise, which he spoke by Moses his servant.
Word of the Lord!
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God Bless You! Peace
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