 clickable | | God at the Center of My Life Because of the human condition, I do not have the ability to place God at the center of my life. God will have to place himself there. My job is to stay out of the way and let God do his thing. I need to stop doing and allow God to do the doing to me, in me, for me. My part is so simple, and yet, because I am so stuck in the rut of the human condition, it will take my whole lifetime—maybe more—to completely surrender to God. God will indeed make himself my God, but he will not do so against my free will. He will not push me off the throne. He will patiently, lovingly, slowly take over my life as I awkwardly, painfully, begrudgingly allow him to do so. First, I may allow him to sit on a corner of the throne. After a long while, I will inch over and allow him to sit beside me. Only in the end will I finally sit in my Father's lap and rest there from the childish games of my life. —from the book Armchair Mystic: How Contemplative Prayer Can Lead You Closer to God by Mark Thibodeaux, SJ |  MorningOffering.com | † Saint Quote
"Let all nations know that Thou art God alone, and that Jesus Christ is Thy Son, and that we are Thy people and the sheep of Thy pasture."
— St. Clement † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Let us say boldly with St. Bernard that we have need of a mediator with the Mediator Himself, and that it is the divine Mary who is the most capable of filling that charitable office. It was through her that Jesus Christ came to us, and it is through her that we must go to Him. If we fear to go directly to Jesus Christ, our God, whether because of His infinite greatness or because of our vileness or because of our sins, let us boldly implore the aid and intercession of Mary, our Mother. She is good, she is tender, she has nothing in her austere and forbidding, nothing too sublime and too brilliant. In seeing her, we see our pure nature."
— St. Louis de Montfort, p. 42
AN EXCERPT FROM
True Devotion to Mary ⛪TODAY'S FEAST DAY QUEENSHIP OF MARY
August 22nd is the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This title of Our Lady, Queen of Heaven (Regina Caeli), is rooted in biblical history where the mother of Israel's king had the royal title of Queen Mother. Church Tradition holds that once Mary, the Mother of God, was assumed body and soul into heaven at the end of her earthy life, she was crowned as Queen of Heaven and Earth to reign alongside her Son, Jesus the King of Kings. †VERSE OF THE DAY
"You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near."
James 5:8 |  click to read more | | Queenship of Mary Saint of the Day for August 22 Pope Pius XII established this feast in 1954. But Mary's queenship has roots in Scripture. At the Annunciation, Gabriel announced that Mary's Son would receive the throne of David and rule forever. At the Visitation, Elizabeth calls Mary "mother of my Lord." As in all the mysteries of Mary's life, she is closely associated with Jesus: Her queenship is a share in Jesus' kingship. We can also recall that in the Old Testament the mother of the king has great influence in court. In the fourth century Saint Ephrem called Mary "Lady" and "Queen." Later Church fathers and doctors continued to use the title. Hymns of the 11th to 13th centuries address Mary as queen: "Hail, Holy Queen," "Hail, Queen of Heaven," "Queen of Heaven." The Dominican rosary and the Franciscan crown as well as numerous invocations in Mary's litany celebrate her queenship. The feast is a logical follow-up to the Assumption, and is now celebrated on the octave day of that feast. In his 1954 encyclical To the Queen of Heaven, Pius XII points out that Mary deserves the title because she is Mother of God, because she is closely associated as the New Eve with Jesus' redemptive work, because of her preeminent perfection, and because of her intercessory power.
Reflection As Saint Paul suggests in Romans 8:28–30, God has predestined human beings from all eternity to share the image of his Son. All the more was Mary predestined to be the mother of Jesus. As Jesus was to be king of all creation, Mary, in dependence on Jesus, was to be queen. All other titles to queenship derive from this eternal intention of God. As Jesus exercised his kingship on earth by serving his Father and his fellow human beings, so did Mary exercise her queenship. As the glorified Jesus remains with us as our king till the end of time (Matthew 28:20), so does Mary, who was assumed into heaven and crowned queen of heaven and earth. | Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary Reading 1 Jgs 11:29-39a The Spirit of the LORD came upon Jephthah.
He passed through Gilead and Manasseh,
and through Mizpah-Gilead as well,
and from there he went on to the Ammonites.
Jephthah made a vow to the LORD.
"If you deliver the Ammonites into my power," he said,
"whoever comes out of the doors of my house
to meet me when I return in triumph from the Ammonites
shall belong to the LORD.
I shall offer him up as a burnt offering." Jephthah then went on to the Ammonites to fight against them,
and the LORD delivered them into his power,
so that he inflicted a severe defeat on them,
from Aroer to the approach of Minnith (twenty cities in all)
and as far as Abel-keramim.
Thus were the Ammonites brought into subjection
by the children of Israel.
When Jephthah returned to his house in Mizpah,
it was his daughter who came forth,
playing the tambourines and dancing.
She was an only child: he had neither son nor daughter besides her.
When he saw her, he rent his garments and said,
"Alas, daughter, you have struck me down
and brought calamity upon me.
For I have made a vow to the LORD and I cannot retract."
She replied, "Father, you have made a vow to the LORD.
Do with me as you have vowed,
because the LORD has wrought vengeance for you
on your enemies the Ammonites."
Then she said to her father, "Let me have this favor.
Spare me for two months, that I may go off down the mountains
to mourn my virginity with my companions."
"Go," he replied, and sent her away for two months.
So she departed with her companions
and mourned her virginity on the mountains.
At the end of the two months she returned to her father,
who did to her as he had vowed. Responsorial Psalm Ps 40:5, 7-8a, 8b-9, 10 R.(8a and 9a) Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Blessed the man who makes the LORD his trust;
who turns not to idolatry
or to those who stray after falsehood.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
Sacrifice or oblation you wished not,
but ears open to obedience you gave me.
Burnt offerings or sin-offerings you sought not;
then said I, "Behold I come."
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
"In the written scroll it is prescribed for me.
To do your will, O my God, is my delight,
and your law is within my heart!"
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.
I announced your justice in the vast assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know.
R. Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. Alleluia Ps 95:8 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 22:1-14 Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders of the people in parables
saying, "The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast."'
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then the king said to his servants, 'The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.'
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
He said to him, 'My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?'
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, 'Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'
Many are invited, but few are chosen." | The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Memorial) Whoever comes out of . . . my house to meet me . . . I shall offer him up as a burnt offering. (Judges 11:31) What a horrifying story! Jephthah makes a vow that, if he is victorious, he will sacrifice the first person who greets him when he returns home from battle. And who comes running out of the house to celebrate the victory? His only child! That hasty vow ended up costing him the life of his daughter. Now, just because this story is in the Bible, that doesn't mean God approved of Jephthah's actions. Child sacrifice, although practiced in ancient times, was never accepted by God. Jephthah's story is a chilling example of the chaotic nature of this time in Israel's history. Moses and Joshua were gone, and the tribes of Israel struggled to remain faithful to the God who had brought them to the Promised Land. Without a leader, the people "did what was right in their own eyes" (Judges 17:6; see 21:25). The culture that surrounded them chipped away at their tradition and their moral compass. In the end, they tolerated many practices of the surrounding pagan nations, including child sacrifice. Jephthah's tale should shake us up. The fact that he was one of the leaders God raised up for his people was not enough to gloss over this horrible sin. Yes, his military victories for Israel confirm that he was blessed by God. But he made and, even worse, carried out a vow that was abhorrent to God. Obviously, there's a difference between being raised up by God and staying raised up. There's no way around it: we have to fight to stay faithful to the Lord. You know that you have been touched by God. But you need to keep moving forward in your faith. That's why it's so important to do things like pray every day and seek out the sacraments. That's also why it's important to seek the support of a brother or sister who loves you and knows you well enough to speak God's word to you. Jephthah appears to have had no close friends or counselors. Such a good friend might have saved him and his daughter. God has given us so many ways to be sure we stay close to him and not go our own way like Jephthah. Let's take hold of them! "Father, help me follow you with all my heart." Psalm 40:5, 7-10
Matthew 22:1-14 |  clickable | Begin your prayer with thanksgiving. Acknowledge that the Lord is with you by saying something like the following: "Heavenly Father, I come into Your presence. Jesus, I know You are here and love me. Thank You, Lord, that I belong to You. Thank You, Jesus, that You want to speak to my heart today through Scripture. Open my heart as I reflect on Your Word. Come, Holy Spirit, and enlighten my mind to Your truth.
—Karen L. Dwyer, PhD & Lawrence A. Dwyer, JD
from WRAP Yourself in Scripture | my2cents:
"I shall offer him up as a burnt offering." Jephthah made a vow. A promise. Was it a good one? Did he get what he deserved? And what do you want? To conquer the world too? Why gain the whole world, and lose...the love of your life? How crazy of promises do we make to the Lord! "Lord, if you do this...then...". Watch out. There is something important to learn here. God didn't ask for his princess. God didn't ask for human sacrifice. These were the "accidents" the incidentals that occur along the way of life in this world. Where one innocent winds up paying the price. All because...what? I'm thinking now, of a relative I met, and I had just found out that her daughter, a high school student, is now pregnant. I said "I heard you are going to be a grandma!" and her face fell. You could tell it had been the source of great stress in their lives and she said "all her career, softball, and everything will no longer be" and I said "so you are worried about her career and all that?" and she said "well, the boy (father) will probably not be in the baby's life" and my husband is not letting this go. In the end I said "You are a strong mother, you will help everyone get through". I asked how old the daughter was, "17", I said that I knew another girl about 15 that had just had a baby and they were really feeling turmoil. But, I walked away feeling only one thing...admiration for these folks going through these "tough" times. Why? Because, the tough thing was....Choosing life. Do they not know that life wins? They did not choose human sacrifice to gain the whole world. The innocent did not pay. We must pay together for the innocent. We must choose life above sin, Light before Dark. Follow the role of the strongest Mother that ever existed...Mary. | Let us pray: "Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will. Blessed the man who makes the LORD his trust; who turns not to idolatry or to those who stray after falsehood." Doing the will of God is not as tough to figure out. What is His will? He told us!!! Jesus told us what to do! Told us what to expect! Told us how to live! Told us to live on our toes, on guard, always watchful, hopeful, and be found doing His will, with our lights on, salty lights at that! Amen? | In the Holy Gospel, our Lord begins ""The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son." Archbishop, future saint, Fulton Sheen said that the crucifixion of our Lord is the wedding feast. If this is true, then, this parable takes on whole new meaning. Let us continue: "He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come." And the parable continues on and on about why people refused and what happens to people that refused and killed the messengers. And it is the Christian story of centuries, moreover, the Catholics and martyrdom. To kill the truth. To silence the truth. How do people silence it nowadays? They mostly turn up the volume on other channels, drown out the truth. What channels are tuned into? I know of families that turn up sports, instead of celebrating Mass, keeping Holy the Sabbath, they go on sporting trips, even traveling hundreds of miles spending hundreds. I know of some that say they have to work, tend to business, just like in the parable. They turned up that channel.
But, what about you? How do you drown the light? One need not travel hundreds of miles and spending hundreds away from Him, no, one can be there heartless! | 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come." And so the good and the bad were brought in. Think Mass. The Re-Presentation of the Holy Sacrifice. It is a feast. The groom awaits the bride. The imperfect bride, you and me. He wants to give his life to you, and He does. And we come up unworthy. But He still says "come to Me".
One snuck into the banquet and was kicked out. It seems that, you have to be wearing a garment.
I see many baptisms, but sadly, even more funerals lately, and there I see a garment introduced, a white garment, from birth to death, a sign, yes a symbol, but it is to remind us of what we are called to...purity, Holiness. Sin is washed away in Baptism, through the blood of Jesus. Back to the feast. We re-celebrate our baptism through Jesus. It almost seemed that the people not only refused, but hated the king, for they killed even his messengers, who represent the King Himself perhaps saying things like "oh boy, here comes Mr. Holyroller", and "just look at that Hypocrite!".
Who got into Heaven without the wedding garment?
Someone impure.
Impurity was kicked out.
It is what should be in our lives. A sign, a symbol if you will. (LOL I say this because some denominations hate signs and symbols).
Kick out impurities. Be Holy. Be found always holy. Be found spreading the light, the truth. Even when it is not brought up in conversation, bring it up.
My mom tends to do that alot. Even yesterday as we ate lunch at her house, she kept on and on about church things, at one point I got to thinking so much that I almost choked on my food. But most times when she brings stuff up, it hits a chord of dis-chord. It doesn't feel like appropriate timing, and that is a real eye opener..."then, when is the appropriate time"?
I'll tell you when, and she is right, Maria, my mom is right, the appropriate time is always "Now". And my mom was speaking about relatives she was telling to go to church and they said no for various reasons, just like in the parable today.
When was it appropriate for Mother Mary to speak to Jesus about God? Always.
When was it appropriate to pray with Jesus? Always.
When was it appropriate to introduce Jesus to the world? Always, from birth, to death.
Then, the wedding garments are worn, always worn. †Mother Mary, Queen of Heaven and Queen of my heart, please pray for me, pray for us, so that we may be found worthy and living the promises of Christ! |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
Proverbs 22:6 (Listen) 6 Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it. Thank You Jesus | |
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