St. William of York
(d. 1154)
 A disputed election as archbishop of York and a mysterious death. Those are the headlines from the tragic life of today's saint. Born into a powerful family in 12th-century England, William seemed destined for great things. His uncle was next in line for the English throne—though a nasty dynastic struggle complicated things. William himself faced an internal Church feud. Despite these roadblocks, he was nominated as archbishop of York in 1140. Local clergymen were less enthusiastic, however, and the archbishop of Canterbury refused to consecrate William. Three years later a neighboring bishop performed the consecration, but it lacked the approval of Pope Innocent II, whose successors likewise withheld approval. William was deposed, and a new election was ordered. It was not until 1154—14 years after he was first nominated—that William became archbishop of York. When he entered the city that spring after years of exile, he received an enthusiastic welcome. Within two months he was dead, probably from poisoning. His administrative assistant was a suspect, though no formal ruling was ever made. Despite all that happened to him, William did not show resentment toward his opponents. Following his death, many miracles were attributed to him. He was canonized 73 years later.
 Saint of the DayLives, Lessons and FeastBy Leonard Foley, O.F.M.; revised by Pat McCloskey, O.F.M.
Daily Prayer - 2015-06-08 Presence Dear Lord as I come to you today
Fill my heart and my whole being
with the wonder of Your presence Freedom Lord, grant me the grace to be free from the excesses of this life.
Let me not get caught up with the desire for wealth.
Keep my heart and mind free to love and serve you. Consciousness In the presence of my loving Creator, I look honestly at my feelings over the last day, the highs, the lows and the level ground.
Can I see where the Lord has been present? The Word of God Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Timothy our brother,
to the Church of God that is at Corinth,
with all the holy ones throughout Achaia:
grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion and the God of all encouragement,
who encourages us in our every affliction,
so that we may be able to encourage
those who are in any affliction
with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.
For as Christ's sufferings overflow to us,
so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow.
If we are afflicted,
it is for your encouragement and salvation;
if we are encouraged,
it is for your encouragement,
which enables you to endure the same sufferings that we suffer.
Our hope for you is firm,
for we know that as you share in the sufferings,
you also share in the encouragement. R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad;
for your reward will be great in heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven.
Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
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Some thoughts on today's scripture - Often compared with the Ten Commandments the Beatitudes are something quite different - they are blessings or gifts offered by God. They are not to be "observed" as commandments are, but desired and nurtured in prayer. It is in prayer that their strangely paradoxical meanings reveal themselves. So ponder them slowly and see if they resonate with your own life experiences. Do you have a favourite among the Beatitudes, one that touches you deeply?
Conversation I begin to talk to Jesus about the piece of scripture I have just read. What part of it strikes a chord in me? Perhaps the words of a friend - or some story I have heard recently - will slowly rise to the surface in my consciousness. If so, does the story throw light on what the scripture passage may be trying to say to me? Conclusion Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end.
10th Week in Ordinary Time Blessed are you. (Matthew 5:11) The Beatitudes are Jesus' explanation of what it is to be well-off spiritually: to know God's grace and protection and to feel his blessing, even despite what you are experiencing in life. "Blessed" means happy, or fortunate, and Jesus meant it. He is saying, "Happy are you who are poor in spirit, you who recognize that life, even all the world's riches, is not enough. God has so much more for you, and so you can raise your heart and soul heavenward, and cry, 'Abba, Father, I need you!' Blessed are you who know that my Father delights in answering that prayer. It pleases him to give you the kingdom. "Happy are you who mourn. Your heart is like my Father's. He saw the men and women he created, the apple of his eye, turn from him. He saw the darkness that crept in because of their sin, and he mourned over the way that darkness obscured the light he made. He mourned, too, as he watched me, his only Son, die in agony. My Father knows what it is to mourn, and he will comfort you. He will never abandon or forsake you." "Happy are you who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for that hunger reveals a desire for me! I am your righteousness, and when you seek me, you will find me. I gave my life for you so that you could find me. I died so that you could live in holiness before my Father. Day after day, I send you my Holy Spirit to lead you in all righteousness." We can experience this happiness because God has made our hearts like his; he has set eternity in them. Because our hearts are made in the image of his heart, we also can become as he is: merciful, peaceful, pure, meek, humble, and gentle. He can satisfy us as no one else can—and he delights in doing it! Think about that. It makes God happy to make you happy! He is happy to bestow on you the riches of his kingdom. He is happy to comfort you. He is happy to bring you to maturity as you take on his very nature! "All praise to you, Father! When I seek you, I know I will find you. Should I mourn, you will comfort me. You will satisfy my longing for righteousness. Happy am I indeed!" 2 Corinthians 1:1-7
Psalm 34:2-9
my2cents: The beautifuls that our Lord taught are attitudes, and thus together are the "beautiful attitudes" or, "Beatitudes". And it is Christ. For our Lord taught us what He is to the world and what we are to be to the world. The first Holy Scripture said "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God." What comes from the Father comes from Jesus. The Holy Spirit encourages. It is so easy to lose courage right? Not if you're tapped into the source of encouragement though! If this has reached your eyes, now let it reach your heart, be of great courage, because we are of God. The Psalms pray today "Let my soul glory in the LORD; the lowly will hear me and be glad. . Taste and see the goodness of the Lord. ...Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame. When the poor one called out, the LORD heard, and from all his distress he saved him." The "lowly" will hear the Lord and be glad. Who are the "lowly"? The humble, the obedient, they will hear the Lord and be glad. You will taste if you are humble, and obedient. This is what leads to Him speaking, but truth is, He was always speaking, we were just never listening. The reason we don't hear is because we turn the other way...the way of sin. That is why the Psalms proclaim "LOOK TO HIM, that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame". If the beatitudes show us anything it is to repent from sin, to accept the Lord, that is to say, reject the joy of the world, and accept the joy of the Lord...His Life, His Way. And so our Lord goes up the mountain and teaches His disciples, and disciples means followers, and we are followers of Christ. Usually when our Lord speaks from the mountain, the message is to resound forever. So let us digest it: there are about ten lines our Lord says, sort of like the 10 commandments Moses said in the Exodus. And 9 out of 10 begin with Blessed. Blessed be the one who understands. Blessed be the one who suffers. Blessed be the one who understands the one who suffers. Blessed be the one who understands and reaches out to the suffering. Blessed be the one who suffers and reaches out to the one who understands everything perfectly. Blessed be the one who unites their suffering with the one who suffered for all of us. Blessed be the loving and most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Lord is close to the broken hearted, even more than when you are joyful and problem-free. So can you begin to see the blessedness? Because Jesus came to bless, and we are called to same. In the most distraught moments of my life, I have been revealed the mercy and love of God, I never knew Him when all was good and stress free. I was so frustrated for goofing a song yesterday for the choir, 9 out of 10 songs came out fine, but no encouragement could get to my heart, not even visitors from out of town saying how wonderful the choir sounded, I couldn't look beyond my goof up. So hard on myself. And this is wrong, because Jesus was trying to encourage and I wasn't letting Him. Funny thing though was...I was trying to do my best for Jesus and perfect. Yet, we forget, we aren't perfect, we are poor in His eyes, in dire need of His endless love and mercy. We were made with that little defect...that only He can perfect by inserting Himself...if we allow. Suddenly, the beautiful attitude is being revealed. Our Lord finds those that say they can't, and He says "with ME you can". Thus is our faith, and thus is our trust. And it's not about seeking his so called "favor" as many prosperity preachers use on TV. No. It is about striving to live in the grace of our Lord, humble, lowly, grateful, and so much in love with Jesus that it hurts...hurts to be away from Him. Those that truly love Him starve for the next encounter. Mother Teresa suffered this greatly, the dark night of the soul. I want you to learn what this means. To be engulfed and so enamored with Him that your sufferings are all for Him, living a daily cross of severe love and no lack of it because God is extracting it out of a little human body to a God that created more than a universe  adrian |
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