 clickable | | We Are Rich in Our Poverty Clare puts forth the tremendous mystery of the human person both as rich and poor. The mystery can be stated in this way: We are rich in our poverty but we must possess poverty to know our wealth in God. Clare does not see the meaning of poverty as living in deprivation but living fulfilled in God. Her understanding of poverty is paradoxical. To embrace poverty is to be endowed with riches; to possess and desire poverty is to receive God's promise of the kingdom of heaven. The poor person is not the one in need of material things but the one in need of God and the one who needs God possesses God and to possess God is to possess all. —from the book Clare: A Heart Full of Love by Franciscan Sister Ilia Delio |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote AUGUST 5, 2019
"In this life no one can fulfill his longing, nor can any creature satisfy man's desire. Only God satisfies, he infinitely exceeds all other pleasures. That is why man can rest in nothing but God."
— St. Thomas Aquinas MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"In the spiritual life, I can promise myself nothing without the special help of God . . . From one moment to another, I may fall into mortal sin: consequently, even though I may have labored many years in acquiring virtues, I may in one instant lose all the good I have done, lose all my merit for eternity, and lose even that blessed eternity itself. How can a king rule with arrogance when he is besieged by his enemies and from day to day runs the risk of losing his kingdom and ceasing to be a king? And has not a saint abundant reasons, from the thought of his own weakness, to live always in a state of great humility, when he knows that from one hour to another he may lose the grace of God and the kingdom of Heaven, which he has merited by years of laboriously acquired virtues? 'Unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it' (Ps. 126:1). However spiritual and holy a man may be, he cannot regard himself as absolutely secure. The Angels themselves, enriched with sanctity, were not safe in Paradise. Man, endowed with innocence, was not safe in his earthy paradise. What safety, therefore, can there be for us with our corrupt nature, amid so many perils and so many enemies who within and without are ever seeking insidiously to undermine our own eternal salvation? In order to be eternally damned, it is enough that I should follow the dictates of nature; but to be saved, it is necessary that divine grace should prevent (go before) and accompany me, should follow and help me, watch over me and never abandon me. Oh, how right therefore was St. Paul in exhorting us to 'work out our salvation'—which is for all eternity—'with fear and trembling' (Phil. 2:12)."
— Fr. Cajetan da Bergamo, p. 21-22
AN EXCERPT FROM
Humility Of Heart RECOMMENDED READS TODAY'S MASS READING - ORDINARY TIME MASS READINGS
HOMILY RECOMMENDED READS TODAY'S FEAST DAY OUR LADY OF THE SNOWS
Our Lady of the Snows is one of the oldest devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. It commemorates a miraculous event that happened during the reign of Pope Liberius. A wealthy, childless Roman couple prayed to know how their fortune should be used for God. Our Lady answered them in a dream and asked that a church be built in her honor. She also appeared in a dream to the Holy Father with the same request. On August 5, 352 A.D., a hot summer day, snow fell on Esquiline Hill. All of Rome proclaimed it a miracle, and a basilica was built on the spot according to the outline of the pattern of snow. The church, the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major), is the largest church in the world, and one of the first, dedicated to Our Lady. August 5th celebrates its rebuilding and dedication in 434 A.D. VERSE OF THE DAY
Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.
Matthew 7:1-2 |  click to read more | | ST. OSWALD OF NORTHUMBRIA St. Oswald (605-642 A.D.) was the second of seven sons born to the pagan king of Northumbria in northern England. After his father was killed in battle, the kingdom was split. His uncle claimed the throne, while Oswald fled with his mother and brothers to Scotland for safety. There his family was converted to Christianity by the renowned monks of Iona. Oswald was educated by the holy monks and grew into a brave and pious warrior. After the death of his uncle and elder brother, Oswald moved to reclaim his father's throne and liberate it from enemy rule. On the eve of a decisive battle, he received a vision of St. Columba who promised him success. Before battle, Oswald erected a cross and knelt before it in prayer, along with his army. Following his victory, St. Oswald reunited Northumbria and was made king. His influence as a monarch was so great that he was considered the Emperor of almost all of Britain, uniting the the Britons, Picts, Scots, and the English. He requested a bishop to be sent to his kingdom to aid in the conversion of his people to Christianity; he also invited St. Aidan and a group of Irish monks from Iona to found a monastery for the kingdom at Lindisfarne. This ushered in Northumbria's "golden age" as the most important centre of learning and arts in the British Isles. Oswald ruled as a saintly and powerful Christian king, in justice, humility, and generosity to the poor and strangers, as noted by the prestigious historian, the Venerable Bede. St. Oswald was killed in battle, and afterwards the place of his death was noted for many miracles. His feast day is August 5th. | Dedication of Saint Mary Major Basilica First raised at the order of Pope Liberius in the mid-fourth century, the Liberian basilica was rebuilt by Pope Sixtus III shortly after the Council of Ephesus affirmed Mary's title as Mother of God in 431. Rededicated at that time to the Mother of God, St. Mary Major is the largest church in the world honoring God through Mary. Standing atop one of Rome's seven hills, the Esquiline, it has survived many restorations without losing its character as an early Roman basilica. Its interior retains three naves divided by colonnades in the style of Constantine's era. Fifth-century mosaics on its walls testify to its antiquity. St. Mary Major is one of the four Roman basilicas known as patriarchal cathedrals in memory of the first centers of the Church. St. John Lateran represents Rome, the See of Peter; St. Paul Outside the Walls, the See of Alexandria, allegedly the see presided over by Mark; St. Peter's, the See of Constantinople; and St. Mary's, the See of Antioch, where Mary is supposed to have spent most of her later life. One legend, unreported before the year 1000, gives another name to this feast: Our Lady of the Snows. According to that story, a wealthy Roman couple pledged their fortune to the Mother of God. In affirmation, she produced a miraculous summer snowfall and told them to build a church on the site. The legend was long celebrated by releasing a shower of white rose petals from the basilica's dome every August 5.
Reflection Theological debate over Christ's nature as God and man reached fever pitch in Constantinople in the early fifth century. The chaplain of Bishop Nestorius began preaching against the title Theotokos, "Mother of God," insisting that the Virgin was mother only of the human Jesus. Nestorius agreed, decreeing that Mary would henceforth be named "Mother of Christ" in his see. The people of Constantinople virtually revolted against their bishop's refutation of a cherished belief. When the Council of Ephesus refuted Nestorius, believers took to the streets, enthusiastically chanting, "Theotokos! Theotokos!" | Monday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Nm 11:4b-15 The children of Israel lamented,
"Would that we had meat for food!
We remember the fish we used to eat without cost in Egypt,
and the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks,
the onions, and the garlic.
But now we are famished;
we see nothing before us but this manna." Manna was like coriander seed and had the color of resin.
When they had gone about and gathered it up,
the people would grind it between millstones or pound it in a mortar,
then cook it in a pot and make it into loaves,
which tasted like cakes made with oil.
At night, when the dew fell upon the camp, the manna also fell. When Moses heard the people, family after family,
crying at the entrance of their tents,
so that the LORD became very angry, he was grieved.
"Why do you treat your servant so badly?" Moses asked the LORD.
"Why are you so displeased with me
that you burden me with all this people?
Was it I who conceived all this people?
Or was it I who gave them birth,
that you tell me to carry them at my bosom,
like a foster father carrying an infant,
to the land you have promised under oath to their fathers?
Where can I get meat to give to all this people?
For they are crying to me,
'Give us meat for our food.'
I cannot carry all this people by myself,
for they are too heavy for me.
If this is the way you will deal with me,
then please do me the favor of killing me at once,
so that I need no longer face this distress." Responsorial Psalm Ps 81:12-13, 14-15, 16-17 R.(2a)Sing with joy to God our help.
"My people heard not my voice,
and Israel obeyed me not;
So I gave them up to the hardness of their hearts;
they walked according to their own counsels."
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
"If only my people would hear me,
and Israel walk in my ways,
Quickly would I humble their enemies;
against their foes I would turn my hand."
R. Sing with joy to God our help.
"Those who hated the LORD would seek to flatter me,
but their fate would endure forever,
While Israel I would feed with the best of wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would fill them."
R. Sing with joy to God our help Alleluia Mt 4:4 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 14:13-21 When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
"This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves."
He said to them, "There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves."
But they said to him,
"Five loaves and two fish are all we have here."
Then he said, "Bring them here to me,"
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over–
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.
| Meditation: Numbers 11:4-15 The Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Optional Memorial) We remember the fish we used to eat. (Numbers 11:5) Have you ever heard of selective memory? Psychologists say that it's not as rare as we might think. People tend to remember some facts about the past while apparently forgetting others, especially the inconvenient or difficult ones. It often shows itself as nostalgia for the past, especially in comparison to present difficulties. You can certainly see this principle at work in today's first reading. Bored with their desert diet of manna every morning, the children of Israel looked back longingly on their meals in Egypt. But they conveniently forgot that they had eaten those meals as slaves. How could they fall prey to such negativity? Let's face it—we can all suffer from selective memory. It's easy to feel dissatisfied with the present when you're comparing it with an idealized past. That dissatisfaction can even go so far as to make us wonder, like the Israelites, whether God is really taking care of us. So how do we counteract this tendency? We can retrain our memories so that we are focusing on the things that are important to us. Instead of spending all our time comparing our current situation to the "good old days," or dwelling only on bad experiences, we can focus our memories on times when we knew God was looking out for us. We can recount moments of grace and joy and turn our attention toward the good things God has done—not only for us, but also for the people around us. The more you practice this type of active, positive remembering, the more deeply you will be convinced that God is trustworthy. As you remind yourself of his faithfulness, you will begin to rely on him more, and the temptation to worry or complain will diminish. Bitterness over your current challenges will slowly give way to trust and confidence that God will never abandon you and that he is walking with you every step of the way. God wants to help you look toward the future with hope. Let him remind you that the One who has been faithful to you so far will always take care of you. "Lord, help me remember the ways you have been faithful to me. Help me to trust that you are loving and generous." Psalm 81:12-17
Matthew 14:13-21 |  clickable | A loving God has given us the dignity of causing. He has not tyrannically determined everything we do, as if we were cosmic robots, in order to avoid even the slight possibility of evil. A loving God, instead, has given us choice as an act of love. And sometimes we choose poorly.
—Leo Severino
from Going Deeper | my2cents:
"But now we are famished;
we see nothing before us but this manna." Ever heard of a Catholic say "I'm not being spiritually fed"? And so they leave, looking for something to "fill" them, better music, more hype, more lights, more glamor, more things to appease to their senses as they look for "real meat". It happens. I see them, and I don't see them any more nourished, they look the same. So what is Manna? That's the question, and funny thing is, that's what Manna means "What is this?" | Let us pray: "If only my people would hear me, and Israel walk in my ways,
Quickly would I humble their enemies; against their foes I would turn my hand." Sing with joy to God our help."
Why were the people groaning and moaning and weeping in the desert following God? Because, it was hard. They weren't babies, they were mature grown people crying and complaining, but spiritually, they weren't ready for the promised land. They still yearned for things they had in Egypt, they were not fully satisfied to be stripped of everything and have only God.
Humility was being fed to them and they wanted it no more. When will we become what we eat in the Eucharist? | In the Holy Gospel, our Lord wanted to get away and go pray in the "desert" by himself hearing of the death of His cousin and brother, Saint John the Baptist. But the flock followed Him everywhere. They were hungry, in all senses, spiritually, mentally, physically.
Five loaves and two fish later, He said "Bring them here to me," and had everyone sit down in the grass fields by the lakeshore.
Manna was coming. Only Kings could feed thousands at a time without cost. Romans would do this to win people's hearts. But Jesus did this with nothing, out of a mere handful of loaves. God does miracles with the little we offer, if we'd only offer Him everything. | Yesterday we had a bible study in the afternoon. It touched on the rich man who wanted to know what he had to do to inherit the Kingdom of God. Jesus said to do the commandments, and then said "sell all you got and follow Me". The rich man's face fell and he walked away sad.
Jesus was offering real pearls for fake pearls. Like the story of the daddy who wanted to give a real pearl necklace to his daughter in exchange for her fake plastic necklace. She didn't want to give it up, and the daddy had a hard time convincing her that His was of more value.
The question at the end of study had me thinking....what must I give up that I love so much to follow Jesus to Heaven?
What would I have to be stripped of?
EVERYTHING? Sure...if that's what it takes.
Then I'd only be left with Manna....bread from Heaven. That what Angels could only dream of consuming and tasting and becoming....JESUS |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
1 Timothy 6:12 (Listen) 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Thank You Jesus | |
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