† Saint Quote of the DayIn everything, whether it is a thing sensed or a thing known, God Himself is hidden within. St. Bonaventure
Today's Meditation“Worrying appeals to us because it gives us a sense that we are in control of what might happen–that by thinking through what could happen, we could somehow stave off potential harm or damage. There can be advantages to thinking problems through and trying to prepare ourselves for whatever may come, but we can often take it to an extreme, leading to decision making based on fear and anxiety rather than balance and trust.”
–Carrie Gress and Noelle Mering, p.71
Daily VerseThen Jesus said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible."
Matthew 19:23-26
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EWTN Daily Saint
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St. Orontius of LeccePatron Saint of: Lecce and against plague
Feast Day: August 26 St. Orontius of Lecce (1st c.) was the son of the Roman imperial treasurer in Lecce, Italy. Upon his father’s death he inherited the position. Orontius was converted to the Christian faith along with his nephew, Fortunatus, by Justus, a disciple of St. Paul the Apostle. Orontius was later denounced to the authorities as a Christian and was ordered to sacrifice to the pagan gods. He refused and was arrested, removed from his office, tortured, and exiled to Corinth together with Fortunatus. In Corinth the pair met St. Paul the Apostle, who consecrated Orontius as the first bishop of Lecce. When Orontius and Fortunatus returned to Lecce they were persecuted and imprisoned again, but were released and ordered to stop preaching. They continued to preach in the surrounding cities, and were arrested a third time and executed. St. Orontius’ feast day is August 26th.
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Wednesday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary TimeLectionary: 427 Reading 12 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18 We instruct you, brothers and sisters,
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to shun any brother
who walks in a disorderly way
and not according to the tradition they received from us.
For you know how one must imitate us.
For we did not act in a disorderly way among you,
nor did we eat food received free from anyone.
On the contrary, in toil and drudgery, night and day we worked,
so as not to burden any of you.
Not that we do not have the right.
Rather, we wanted to present ourselves as a model for you,
so that you might imitate us.
In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that
if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat. May the Lord of peace himself
give you peace at all times and in every way.
The Lord be with all of you. This greeting is in my own hand, Paul’s.
This is the sign in every letter; this is how I write.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Responsorial PsalmPsalm 128:1-2, 4-5 R. (1) Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. Blessed are those who fear the Lord. Alleluia1 John 2:5 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever keeps the word of Christ,
the love of God is truly perfected in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelMatthew 23:27-32 Jesus said,
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside,
but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth.
Even so, on the outside you appear righteous,
but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out!”
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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 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18We wanted to present ourselves as a model for you. (2 Thessalonians 3:9) If you’ve ever observed parents with a baby, you’ve probably seen them lean close and say to their child, “Say Mama” or “Can you say Dada?” Children learn language by imitation. But more than merely learning language, children also develop social skills and come to understand how to look at the world as they take their cues from the behaviors modeled by the people around them. In today’s first reading, St. Paul mentions four times the idea of “imitating” and “walking according to” his example and teaching. He was trying to counteract a tendency among some believers in Thessalonica who thought that Jesus would return soon. They had stopped working and thought the community ought to provide for them—and their example led others to do the same. By contrast, Paul and his companions worked and earned their keep while they preached there. He knew it was important for believers to see authentic examples of what it looks like to live in the hope of Jesus’ return but also to continue to contribute to the upbuilding of the community. We, too, need to look to friends or mentors who can show us how to follow Jesus in practical ways. Your friend who takes the time to listen to you and pray with you is demonstrating the compassion of Jesus. Your relative who spends his Saturdays volunteering at the local soup kitchen is imitating the generosity of Jesus. They are models who can inspire you to do the same. You can also find models in the saints—St. Paul, of course, but there are so many others whose life stories might resonate with yours. If you want to be a digital evangelist, get to know St. Carlo Acutis. Or if you are trying to balance career and faithful family life, let St. Gianna Molla or St. Louis Martin inspire you. It doesn’t stop there. You yourself are a model for other people. Your words and actions set an example to your children or grandchildren, your coworkers or friends, even to strangers or enemies! So don’t just follow the example of good teachers—strive to be an example yourself! “Jesus, help me to learn from those who are imitating you, and help me to be someone people want to imitate!” Psalm 128:1-2, 4-5
Matthew 23:27-32
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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From today's Holy Gospel: "....Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You build the tombs of the prophets
and adorn the memorials of the righteous,
and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors,
we would not have joined them in shedding the prophets’ blood.’
Thus you bear witness against yourselves
that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets;
now fill up what your ancestors measured out! ....”
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Bishop Barron said:
"What Jesus so vehemently critiqued in the Pharisees was just this kind of egotism: “You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of dead men’s bones.” Sin is not a weakness that we can overcome but a condition from which we have to be saved. This insight should allow us, at an elemental psychological and spiritual level, to relax and to surrender. What happens often in the hearts of sinners is a kind of tightening of the spirit as the mind and will strive to break out of the prison of fear. All of this stretching and straining serves only to throw the ego back on itself in a misery of failure and self-reproach." end quote.
From Roberto Juarez: "Today's Gospel may be uncomfortable, but it is profoundly liberating. Jesus invites us to stop worrying so much about looking good and start worrying about being good before God. It does not ask us what image we project. He asks us what is really in our hearts. That is why today we can pray a very simple prayer: "Lord, take away from me everything that is apparent. Cleanse my heart. Make me humble, sincere. May my outer life be a reflection of what You are doing within me." And when we discover our miseries, let us not be discouraged. Let us not forget that Christ has not come for the perfect. He came for sinners, precisely to transform that which we are not capable of transforming.
Let us ask him that our prayer is not only something we do out of habit, but a true encounter that transforms our interior. May we come out of this prayer not with a more religious appearance, but with a heart more like Christ's. May Mary, Mother of the Church, help us to live with a clean, humble and sincere heart." end of quote from Roberto.
From Brother Adrian: Our Lord said: "but inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of filth. Even so, on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and evildoing."
Everybody says "the inside is what counts".
Right?
But what is going on inside...of you? And what is going on inside of others?
Do you really know yourself? Do you truly know what is inside of others? Are you better at knowing others than yourself?
What if the only way to know others truly, is to know yourself truly?
And what if the only way to truly know yourself...is to know Christ our Lord?
Whoa! How does that work?
Simple. He is the light. That is the answer. Christ is the answer.
But wait. How do we get to know Him?
Mother Mary said to Archangel Gabriel "How can this be since I DO NOT KNOW man?". This meant in the old language, that she was not to be intimate in relations with a man, she was a dedicated virgin of the temple as tradition holds.
So, back to you. How can you get to "know" our Lord?
People call it an "intimate relationship with Jesus".
They say that in the Holy Catholic Church, the most intimate we can be with Christ is in the Holy Eucharist. For it is Christ Himself.
Back to ourselves, our bodies, and our souls. How do we prepare ourselves for Him? Confessions? Yes. Clean house.
Clean out bad spirits. Yes.
But how else? Before being intimate with Him, before approaching the groom at the altar, how else?
He tells to "leave our gift at the altar and reconcile".
Sacrifice is not so much desired as is mercy.
And this was the problem with the Pharisees and such people.
They appeared to be tight with God, but they were way off. They were missing the entire point of God.
To be Holy, meant to be set apart...for God, yes. But this means, more than just purity as man sees.
What is the purity God desires? Pure Love. And God is in each soul now. This is a hard pill to swallow, because we like to judge people.
This was a hard pill to swallow for Pharisees. So much in fact, that they rather chose to kill Him, the truth, than to surrender to Him, the Truth.
You see...truth is not an idea, but a person...Christ our Lord.
Today, Our Lord still probes the human heart.
Where are you? Where do you desire to be?
Where have you been?
Daddy is calling you. Father "Aba" to our Lord Christ meant "daddy!".
He awaits in confessionals, He is alone in prisons, nursing homes, hospitals, and homes. Remember too, He is in that person that is giving you a hard time, ready to judge you. He isn't the one acting out, but the dark working within.
And for that, we must be totally one, in the Light, and the Truth.
AMEN?
AMEN!
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Random Bible Verse
Hebrews 13:16 " Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God."
Word of the Lord!
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