You Are the Gift God Wants What is God showing you that you are to do with your life? However small or great that is, it must be yours and not someone else's. What a stripping, for example, is sickness or aging, or the loss of loved ones, or ultimately the stripping that is the embrace of Sister Death. The important thing is to give humbly and honestly of what God asks you to give. In the end you are the gift God wants; in the meantime each person struggles to know what God wants and whether or not one is really giving the gift of one's self to God. —from Enter Assisi: An Invitation to Franciscan Spirituality | ✞Quote
"When you pray, you only have to ask for two things: You should ask for the light to see the will of God, and you have to ask for the courage to be able to do the will of God." — Venerable Msgr. Aloysius Schwartz ✞Meditation of the Day "My great God, you know all that is in the universe, because you yourself have made it. It is the very work of your hands. You are omniscient, because you are omnicreative. You know each part, however minute, as perfectly as you know the whole. You know mind as perfectly as you know matter. You know the thoughts and purposes of every soul as perfectly as if there were no other soul in the whole of your creation. You know me through and through; all my present, past, and future are before you as one whole. You see all those delicate and evanescent motions of my thought which altogether escape myself. You can trace every act, whether deed or thought, to its origin and can follow it into its whole growth and consequences. You know how it will be with me at the end; you have before you that hour when I shall come to you to be judged. How awful is the prospect of finding myself in the presence of my judge! Yet, O Lord, I would not that you should not know me. It is my greatest stay to know that you read my heart. Oh, give me more of that openhearted sincerity which I have desired. Keep me ever from being afraid of your eye, from the inward consciousness that I am not honestly trying to please you. Teach me to love you more, and then I shall be at peace, without any fear of you at all." — Bl. John Henry Newman, p.150 ✞Verse of the Day "He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me." Colossians 1:28-29 |  click to read more | | St. Henry II Saint Henry II (972-1024 A.D.) was born to the Duke of Bavaria and the Princess of Burgundy. He was a pious child and was given the education of a priest. However, his destiny changed when he succeeded his father as the Duke of Bavaria and took a holy woman as his wife. Upon the sudden death of his cousin he also became the King of Germany. Then, in 1014 A.D. he was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in St. Peter's Basilica by Pope Benedict VIII. St. Henry was determined to rule the empire with justice for the greater glory of God. He was known for his virtue and great faith; when entering any town, he would first pray in a church dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He also invoked the saints to help him in battle against pagan armies. He did much good for his subjects and for the Church, and was graced with many mystical experiences. He and his wife, St. Cunegundes, observed perfect chastity during their marriage and therefore remained childless. Henry tried to enter a monastery after the death of his wife, however, his application was refused because it was thought he would continue to do much good if he remained in the world. St. Henry is the patron of dukes, kings, childless people, the handicapped, and people rejected by religious orders. His feast day is July 13th. | Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Hos 14:2-10 Thus says the LORD:
Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God;
you have collapsed through your guilt.
Take with you words,
and return to the LORD;
Say to him, "Forgive all iniquity,
and receive what is good, that we may render
as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, 'Our god,'
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion."
I will heal their defection, says the LORD,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned away from them.
I will be like the dew for Israel:
he shall blossom like the lily;
He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
and put forth his shoots.
His splendor shall be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
Again they shall dwell in his shade
and raise grain;
They shall blossom like the vine,
and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. Ephraim! What more has he to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but I will prosper him.
"I am like a verdant cypress tree"—
because of me you bear fruit! Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them.
Straight are the paths of the LORD,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble in them. Responsorial Psalm pS 51:3-4, 8-9, 12-13, 14 and 17 R. (17b) My mouth will declare your praise.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. My mouth will declare your praise.
Behold, you are pleased with sincerity of heart,
and in my inmost being you teach me wisdom.
Cleanse me of sin with hyssop, that I may be purified;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
R. My mouth will declare your praise.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. My mouth will declare your praise.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R. My mouth will declare your praise. Alleluia Jn 16:13a; 14:26d R. Alleluia, alleluia.
When the Spirit of truth comes,
he will guide you to all truth
and remind you of all I told you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 10:16-23 Jesus said to his Apostles:
"Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves;
so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.
But beware of men,
for they will hand you over to courts
and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake
as a witness before them and the pagans.
When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will hand over brother to death,
and the father his child;
children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
You will be hated by all because of my name,
but whoever endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.
Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel
before the Son of Man comes."
| Meditation: Matthew 10:16-23 Saint Henry (Optional Memorial) Behold, I am sending you. (Matthew 10:16) Do you feel just a little intimidated by Jesus' words, that he is sending you to evangelize? Maybe you doubt that you're holy enough. Or skilled enough. Or winsome enough. If so, try to look at "being sent" from a different angle. Think about sending a letter in the mail. When you mail a letter to a friend, you try to make it look presentable. You pick nice paper, a clean envelope, and use your best penmanship. You try to choose just the right words. But you realize that the real "power" sending the letter is the stamp attached to the envelope. If there's a misspelled word or bent corner, you don't worry about it; the letter will still be delivered as long as it has a stamp. You trust your friend will receive it and appreciate the gesture. Being sent out by Jesus is not so different. We are like letters sent by God. Our every encouraging word and caring deed can communicate God's love to the people around us. In fact, St. Paul called the Corinthians "a letter of Christ . . . , written . . . on tablets that are hearts of flesh" (2 Corinthians 3:3). So of course you'll want to make your letter the best letter possible. Of course you'll want to live in a way that reflects God's goodness and to speak words that lift up people's hearts. But you also know that the real work of evangelization doesn't rest only on your skill or effort. You need the stamp of God's grace. Yes, the Lord calls us to be shrewd. Yes, being sent out does require our time and effort. But remember: the call to evangelize hinges on two things: the stamp of God's grace and the letter of your life. Don't discount the grace! Don't forget that God wants his word to get out. Don't forget that he wants to help you be as effective as possible. So keep on speaking words of hope and performing deeds of kindness. But also rest in the knowledge that it's not only about you. It's also about the One who sends you, the God who has sealed you with his grace. He knows about your smudges and bent corners, and he's sending you anyway because he trusts in the power of the stamp he has affixed to your life. "Here I am, Lord. Send me." Hosea 14:2-10
Psalm 51:3-4, 8-9, 12-14, 17 | my2cents:
"Let him who is wise understand these things;
let him who is prudent know them. Straight are the paths of the LORD,
in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them."
The way to our Lord is straight...but we stray and fall. Who then is the good samaritan? Who can help the fallen? God? Yes. And you? Yes, with God our Father. Lets pray: "My mouth will declare your praise. Behold, you are pleased with sincerity of heart, and in my inmost being you teach me wisdom.
Cleanse me of sin with hyssop, that I may be purified;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. " They say they put up a sponge with hyssop to our Lord's lips on the cross. A purge was happening. The altar server was the Roman Soldier. Soon it would finish. In the Holy Gospel our Lord speaks "...beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues," To this day Christians are taken to courts, many scourged. Our Lord said " I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves".
Some despise our Lord...some say He plays games with us. That is devil talk. We live in freedom. Freedom to choose God. Be smart. Be humble. "..o not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say."
When I write, i pray. I have no words...but the Lord speaks. The Holy Spirit speaks.
Have courage says our Lord.
I Am with you.
Always.
Be with Me | |
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