 from Franciscanmedia.org | | The Courage to Be Yourself Francis prayed day and night that God would give all people the courage to be themselves instead of what others expected them to be. He did not want everyone to enter the brotherhood or to join the Lady Clare and her sisters. He only wanted people to be free, to be what they wanted to be in their own hearts. For God spoke differently to each person, calling one to marriage, another to virginity; one to the city, another to the country; one to work with the mind, another with the hands. But who was brave enough to look inside and ask: "Is this what I should be doing, what I really want to do with my life?" –from the book Francis: The Journey and the Dream | ✞ "Put your heart aside. Duty comes first. But when fulfilling your duty, put your heart into it. It helps."
— St. Josemaria Escriva ✞ MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"In the old days, when there was less education and discussion, perhaps it was possible to get on with a very few simple ideas about God. But it is not so now. Everyone reads, everyone hears things discussed. Consequently, if you do not listen to Theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones—bad, muddled, out-of-date ideas. For a great many of the ideas about God which are trotted out as novelties today are simply the ones which real Theologians tried centuries ago and rejected."
— C. S. Lewis, p. 155
AN EXCERPT FROM
Mere Christianity ✞ VERSE OF THE DAY
"Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand."
Isaiah 41:10 |  click to read more | | Saint Peter Julian Eymard Saint of the Day for August 3 (February 4, 1811 РAugust 1, 1868) Born in La Mure d'Is̬re in southeastern France, Peter Julian's faith journey drew him from being a priest in the Diocese of Grenoble in 1834, to joining the Marists in 1839, to founding the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament in 1856. In addition to those changes, Peter Julian coped with poverty, his father's initial opposition to Peter's vocation, serious illness, a Jansenistic overemphasis on sin, and the difficulties of getting diocesan and later papal approval for his new religious community. His years as a Marist, including service as a provincial leader, saw the deepening of his Eucharistic devotion, especially through his preaching of Forty Hours in many parishes. Inspired at first by the idea of reparation for indifference to the Eucharist, Peter Julian was eventually attracted to a more positive spirituality of Christ-centered love. Members of the men's community which Peter founded alternated between an active apostolic life and contemplating Jesus in the Eucharist. He and Marguerite Guillot founded the women's Congregation of the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament. Peter Julian Eymard was beatified in 1925, and canonized in 1962, one day after Vatican II's first session ended. Reflection In every century, sin has been painfully real in the life of the Church. It is easy to give in to despair, to speak so strongly of human failings that people may forget the immense and self-sacrificing love of Jesus, as his death on the cross and his gift of the Eucharist make evident. Peter Julian knew that the Eucharist was key to helping Catholics live out their baptism and preach by word and example the Good News of Jesus Christ. | Thursday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 40:16-21, 34-38 Moses did exactly as the LORD had commanded him.
On the first day of the first month of the second year
the Dwelling was erected.
It was Moses who erected the Dwelling.
He placed its pedestals, set up its boards, put in its bars,
and set up its columns.
He spread the tent over the Dwelling
and put the covering on top of the tent,
as the LORD had commanded him.
He took the commandments and put them in the ark;
he placed poles alongside the ark and set the propitiatory upon it.
He brought the ark into the Dwelling and hung the curtain veil,
thus screening off the ark of the commandments,
as the LORD had commanded him. Then the cloud covered the meeting tent,
and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling.
Moses could not enter the meeting tent,
because the cloud settled down upon it
and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling.
Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling,
the children of Israel would set out on their journey.
But if the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward;
only when it lifted did they go forward.
In the daytime the cloud of the LORD was seen over the Dwelling;
whereas at night, fire was seen in the cloud
by the whole house of Israel
in all the stages of their journey. Responsorial Psalm Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a, 11
R. (2) How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young–
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
Blessed the men whose strength you are!
They go from strength to strength.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God! Alleluia See Acts 16:14b
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Open our hearts, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 13:47-53 Jesus said to the disciples:
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." "Do you understand all these things?"
They answered, "Yes."
And he replied,
"Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom
both the new and the old."
When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.
| Meditation: Psalm 84:3-6, 8, 11
17th Week in Ordinary Time How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord! (Psalm Response) Why did the psalmist consider the Temple—God's "dwelling place"—so lovely? Well, first, and most obvious, it was a stunning building. Gold-leafed walls; elaborate carvings of angels; timbers made of Lebanese cedar; soaring "lampstands"—it was enough to take anyone's breath away! But in addition to proclaiming such beauty, the psalmist also sang of God's presence in the Temple. This building had been consecrated to the Lord of Hosts, and God had made it the one place on earth where people could come into contact with him in all of his holiness. God's presence made his dwelling place glorious. Let's join the psalmist today and thank God for some of the ways he has made his dwelling place among us—in the Exodus, in Mary, in the Church, and in our hearts. "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord! "Lord, heaven and earth cannot contain you, but you revealed yourself to Moses in a burning bush. You were a pillar of fire for your people by night and a pillar of cloud by day as they journeyed to the Promised Land. Thank you, Lord, that you never abandon your people. "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord! When the time was right, Lord, you took the next step and made your dwelling in the womb of the Virgin Mary. She became the new tabernacle, the bearer of your holy presence. Thank you, Lord, for giving Mary to us as both your Mother and as the perfect model of holiness. "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord! "Finally, Lord, after your own death and resurrection, you sent the Holy Spirit to establish your Church. You have made your home in sanctuaries both grand and humble, as the Eucharist of your presence is reserved in tabernacles throughout the earth. Thank you, Lord, for making yourself available to all your children this way! "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord! "Most amazing, Lord, is the fact that you dwell in me. You have poured your Spirit into my heart and made me your own temple, your dwelling place. Not only that, but you live in every person I meet. Thank you for giving me so many living, breathing opportunities to meet you! "Lord, I want to dwell with you forever." Exodus 40:16-21, 34-38
Matthew 13:47-53 | my2cents: "Moses did exactly as the LORD had commanded him". And me? And you? We prayed today "How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God! My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the LORD. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God." Deep down, our souls are crying, searching for what fills...which is the Lord Himself. In comes the Lord of our lives ""The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind...What is bad they throw away." So it would be beneficial to us to weed ourselves out, throw out what is bad now, because many good things or bad things can come into us. Confess, but don't stop there. This weeding thing isn't a one time thing. Saying the Lord is your God is not a one time thing but every moment of life thing. And this is where the truth is. The new and the old is here and now. The Glory of the Lord was shown in the pillar of cloud, the pillar of our foundation. It is the Lord Himself that is with us, day and night... | |
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