The Sea of God's Boundless Love In the weakness and frailty of our lives, we can turn to God with the confidence of children and enter into communion with him. In the face of so many wounds that hurt us and could harden our hearts, we are called to dive into the sea of prayer, which is the sea of God's boundless love, to taste his tenderness. —from the book Believe in Love: Inspiring Words from Pope Francis | † QUOTE
"When we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice."
— Pope Saint Gregory the Great † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Some people who think themselves naturally gifted don't want to touch either philosophy or logic. They don't even want to learn natural science. They demand bare faith alone—as if they wanted to harvest grapes right away without putting any work into the vine. We must prune, dig, trellis, and do all the other work. I think you'll agree the pruning knife, the pickaxe, and the farmer's tools are necessary for growing grapevines, so that they will produce edible fruit. And as in farming, so in medicine: the one who has learned something is the one who has practiced the various lessons, so that he can cultivate or heal. And here, too, I say you're truly educated if you bring everything to bear on the truth. Taking what's useful from geometry, music, grammar, and philosophy itself, you guard the Faith from assault."
— St. Clement of Alexandria, p. 13
AN EXCERPT FROM
A Year with the Church Fathers † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come into his presence with singing. Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise. Give thanks to him, bless his name. For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations."
Psalm 100 |  click to read more | | ST. JEAN-GABRIEL PERBOYRE St. Jean-Gabriel Perboyre (1802-1840) was one of eight children born to a farming family in France. He was a pious child and served as a model of virtue for his childhood companions. He discerned a call to the priesthood and joined the Vincentians along with a younger brother, with the full support of his parents. He served as a seminary professor for many years, and his sanctity impressed even his superiors. He longed to serve in the missions to China, but his poor health prevented him and his brother was sent instead. He prayed and begged to also be sent to preach in China and to suffer martyrdom there. After his brother died on the voyage to China, Jean-Gabriel was allowed to take his place in the mission. He arrived in China in 1835 and his labors there were met with great success. In 1839 persecutions broke out against the Christian missionaries, and Jean-Gabriel was one of the first to be arrested. The events leading to his death bear a striking resemblance to the Passion and Death of Christ. He was betrayed to the authorities by one of his new converts for thirty pieces of silver, stripped of his garments and clothed with rags, bound, and dragged from tribunal to tribunal. At each trial, he was brutally treated and tortured. He was finally condemned to death along with seven other criminals on September 11, 1840. He was martyred by being strangled to death as he hung on a cross. His feast day is September 11th. | Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Cor 6:1-11 Brothers and sisters:
How can any one of you with a case against another
dare to bring it to the unjust for judgment
instead of to the holy ones?
Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world?
If the world is to be judged by you,
are you unqualified for the lowest law courts?
Do you not know that we will judge angels?
Then why not everyday matters?
If, therefore, you have courts for everyday matters,
do you seat as judges people of no standing in the Church?
I say this to shame you.
Can it be that there is not one among you wise enough
to be able to settle a case between brothers?
But rather brother goes to court against brother,
and that before unbelievers? Now indeed then it is, in any case,
a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another.
Why not rather put up with injustice?
Why not rather let yourselves be cheated?
Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat, and this to brothers.
Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived;
neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers
nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites nor thieves
nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers
will inherit the Kingdom of God.
That is what some of you used to be;
but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified,
you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and in the Spirit of our God. Responsorial Psalm Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b
R. (see 4) The Lord takes delight in his people.
Sing to the LORD a new song
of praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel be glad in their maker,
let the children of Zion rejoice in their king.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
Let them praise his name in the festive dance,
let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.
For the LORD loves his people,
and he adorns the lowly with victory.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people.
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy upon their couches;
Let the high praises of God be in their throats.
This is the glory of all his faithful. Alleluia.
R. The Lord takes delight in his people. Alleluia See Jn 15:16
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I chose you from the world,
That you may go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Lk 6:12-19 Jesus departed to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground.
A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people
from all Judea and Jerusalem
and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon
came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases;
and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.
Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him
because power came forth from him and healed them all.
| Meditation: Luke 6:12-19 Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God. (Luke 6:12) Wouldn't you love to retreat to a quiet place and spend hours in prayerful adoration of the Lord—even if it meant staying up all night? But we know how hard it can be to stay awake: our eyelids might begin to droop, our minds might begin to wander, and our bed might start looking softer and softer. Don't feel too bad. Even the apostles had a hard time staying awake with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. But don't give up either. God is the One who gave you the desire to pray. So when you find yourself struggling with sleepiness or distractions in prayer, remember one thing: your effort in itself is pleasing to God. Every time you decide to turn to God, every effort you make to come into his presence, makes him happy, regardless of the outcome. In his book Time for God, Fr. Jacques Philippe develops this idea. He says that if you try hard but are still unable to pray well, you should not be sad. He explains that if "we are incapable of praying well, or producing any good sentiments or beautiful reflections, that should not make us sad. We should offer our poverty to the action of God. Then we will be making a prayer much more valuable than the kind that would leave us feeling self-satisfied." If you don't feel satisfied with your prayer, you can be confident that God is supporting you in your struggle. When you are aware of your weakness and your need, you are much more open to receiving the grace that God wants to give you. Consider these stories: Pope Francis has admitted to falling asleep in prayer on occasion. St. Jane de Chantal has said, "Neither should we be troubled when we sleep at prayer, provided we resist it. Let us . . . keep ourselves before God as a statue to receive all he sends." And St. Therese of Lisieux, who would also fall asleep in prayer, assures us that like all parents, God loves his children best when they are asleep. So don't give up; you're in good company! "Lord, thank you for accepting even my meager efforts in prayer. Lord, help me to stay awake with you." 1 Corinthians 6:1-11
Psalm 149:1-6, 9 | my2cents: Saint Paul ends today with "That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." You used to be...what kind of sinner? He mentions in their all sorts of sexual sins, fornication, idolatry, and adultery, and sodomy. Sodomy is the kind that will not pro-create, which is God's intention to create, from the book of Genesis to today. God creates. He chose it to be so. What does God choose for us as well? Justification. To make Holy what He made Holy. Let us pray: "The Lord takes delight in his people. Let them praise his name in the festive dance, let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp. For the LORD loves his people, and he adorns the lowly with victory." God can be found in the congregation more surely in faith and in spirit "for where there are two or 3 gathered in My Name" says the Lord. I have confidence in this Word, this Word of God. And how many makes for two? You and one other. What if at times that other is...Christ our Lord? In the cursillo, we are taught that "Christ and I are an overwhelming majority". The majority rule on justice. What is right. What is truth. The world is losing the truth. As fast as technology races to be faster, the darkness is working hard to eradicate the truth and spread lies in every social media it can get involved in. How can I say this? I am supposed to be Mr. Positive, Mr. Holy, right? This weekend we held a Diocese invitational to all men to a conference. About half the men that said they'd go, went. So a gym full was more like a class full. Notice how I said "full". I see full. I drove to the conference with my cousin/brother in Christ, and he said before we prayed the rosary "I dreamed that this conference was full, shoulder to shoulder with men". His brother said he'd join us there. He didn't go. I got a few texts that morning from brothers "I will not be able to make it". So the world has fewer and fewer men. I would say most at fault are men. Prisons are overloaded with men who had no men in their lives to show the Way. Pornography affects men more than women because men have highly trained eyes genetically and programmed for men to see and be ingrained in the brain. Men have the greatest percentage of faith on their children. But where are the men? Distracted. Usually its about work or family. I tell men "it is better that you are in church so you can better serve your family" and even work. Let us turn to our Lord: " Jesus departed to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God." Jesus went on retreat. He retreated often. I always tell everyone "Go to the next retreat you are invited to". The day of the conference, before dawn we gathered at church to carpool. A prison ministry brother shows up and in conversation invites me to a prison retreat this fall. A quick glimpse on my phone's calendar..."Ok, I'll go". I digress, Jesus goes into the night and on a mountain to pray. To offer this sacrifice for God, this dangerous sacrifice for God on the mountain. Would you go up a mountain and stay there all night just to pray? And He comes down and chooses His disciples. 12 men, ordinary men made just and extraordinary, even the traitor. Extraordinarily chosen. When you are chosen, (think the sacrament of confirmation or ordination/Holy Orders), you are anointed with a special power. What do you do with this new muscle? Atrophy of muscle happens when you don't use it, it weakens and then becomes unusable. When Jesus heals a withered hand, it becomes usable again. Makes ordinary, extraordinary. After choosing the disciples, He begins healing. "Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all." But today, crowds are not coming to touch Him. Today prayers "tell God what to do". There are no true Marian prayers like Mother Mary's. She was asking God "please, allow me to be a part of salvation history". It wasn't about her. It was a lowly prayer, a servant's prayer. God let His Son be used as a broom, dragged across the floor, and the cleaning detergent was His blood. Touch the blood and be healed. A purification is taking place. The weak are being chopped like weeds. I go to daily Mass ( I try) and once a message came to me in an out of town Mass "God is God of little things". We can set our lives on a trajectory with little things, steering a big ship with little things. We want God to rock the world and change the world, just like the Jews wanted their Messiah to be.
But, instead, God sends a man from nowhere, and He is despised, rejected and left alone, even by His followers at the moment of testing.
He dies. . . . .
And He comes back.
And He meets His chosen ones except one who despaired.
And He manifests Himself. He no longer heals. The chosen ones would heal. He no longer teaches, His disciples teach. Think Bishops, and even traitor Bishops. Despair. His chosen and justification is still at hand. He can heal. One thing He still does though...feeds. He feeds us through His chosen ones. Today, priests are despised, Bishops more, they say "a Bishop is just a priest with bad luck". It is not about rank, but more service, more responsibility. More sacrifice is what is called for. But don't look so far now yourself, for you are baptized a priest, a prophet, and a king.
You think your mark and power is for nothing? Atrophy. Use it or lose it.
Jesus works in HIs people to this day. He works and loves and feeds and heals and reaches the unreachable.
A retreat is meant to bring something more powerful back to the people.
Salvation.
This message has reached your eyes for a reason | |
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