 clickable | | Ready-made Prayers Even when we're exploring contemplative prayer, ready-made prayers like the Our Father and the Hail Mary have their place. They are a way of letting God know that, "I can't talk now (because I'm tired, angry, confused, scared or maybe I just don't know how), but I do care about our relationship and I want it to grow." But if God is all-knowing, shouldn't he already know this, and if so, why do I have to say anything at all? It's true that God knows this, but I must continue saying it for the same reason a husband must continue telling his beloved wife of many years that he loves her. It's not so much to give her factual information as to express his love in some concrete fashion. By saying, "I love you," to his wife, he is actually participating in an act of love. In the same way, saying ready-made prayers is not so much about giving God information as about performing an act of love for God. —from the book Armchair Mystic: How Contemplative Prayer Can Lead You Closer to God by Mark Thibodeaux, SJ |  MorningOffering.com | † Saint Quote
"To join two things together there must be nothing between them or there cannot be a perfect fusion. Now realize that this is how God wants our soul to be, without any selfish love of ourselves or of others in between, just as God loves us without anything in between."
— St. Catherine of Siena † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"Often Jesus asks the sick to believe. He makes use of signs to heal: spittle and the laying on of hands, mud and washing. The sick try to touch him, 'for power came forth from him and healed them all'. And so in the sacraments Christ continues to 'touch' us in order to heal us. Moved by so much suffering Christ not only allows himself to be touched by the sick, but he makes their miseries his own: 'He took our infirmities and bore our diseases'. But he did not heal all the sick. His healings were signs of the coming of the Kingdom of God. They announced a more radical healing: the victory over sin and death through his Passover. On the cross Christ took upon himself the whole weight of evil and took away the 'sin of the world', of which illness is only a consequence. By his passion and death on the cross Christ has given a new meaning to suffering: it can henceforth configure us to him and unite us with his redemptive Passion."
— (CCC, 1504-05)
AN EXCERPT FROM
Catechism of the Catholic Church † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.' When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astounded and said, 'Then who can be saved?' But Jesus looked at them and said, 'For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.'"
Matthew 19:23-26 |  click to read more | | St. Orontius of Lecce (1st c.) was the son of the Roman imperial treasurer in Lecce, Italy. Upon his father's death he inherited the position. Orontius was converted to the Christian faith along with his nephew, Fortunatus, by Justus, a disciple of St. Paul the Apostle. Orontius was later denounced to the authorities as a Christian and was ordered to sacrifice to the pagan gods. He refused and was arrested, removed from his office, tortured, and exiled to Corinth together with Fortunatus. In Corinth the pair met St. Paul the Apostle, who consecrated Orontius as the first bishop of Lecce. When Orontius and Fortunatus returned to Lecce they were persecuted and imprisoned again, but were released and ordered to stop preaching. They continued to preach in the surrounding cities, and were arrested a third time and executed. St. Orontius' feast day is August 26th. | Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Thes 1:1-5, 8b-10 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy to the Church of the Thessalonians
in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you,
remembering you in our prayers,
unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love
and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ,
before our God and Father,
knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen.
For our Gospel did not come to you in word alone,
but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with much conviction.
You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake.
In every place your faith in God has gone forth,
so that we have no need to say anything.
For they themselves openly declare about us
what sort of reception we had among you,
and how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead, Jesus,
who delivers us from the coming wrath. Responsorial Psalm Ps 149:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6a and 9b R. (see 4a) The Lord takes delight in his people.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Jn 10:27 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 23:13-22 Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men.
You do not enter yourselves,
nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You traverse sea and land to make one convert,
and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna
twice as much as yourselves. "Woe to you, blind guides, who say,
'If one swears by the temple, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.'
Blind fools, which is greater, the gold,
or the temple that made the gold sacred?
And you say, 'If one swears by the altar, it means nothing,
but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.'
You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,
or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it;
one who swears by the temple swears by it
and by him who dwells in it;
one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God
and by him who is seated on it."
| Meditation: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 8-10 21st Week in Ordinary Time . . . calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope. (1 Thessalonians 1:3) What comes to mind when you think about a faith-filled friend or family member? Maybe it's the time your friend prayed with you for a wayward child or your grandmother fingered her rosary beads. You knew their love and faith, not in the abstract, but in the doing, in the concrete tasks of daily life. This is how Paul remembers the Thessalonians in today's first reading too: through their deeds. We tend to think of Paul as heroic and larger-than-life, but here he seems tender, even humble. Something about the way the Thessalonians embraced the gospel touched his heart. Their faith in Jesus, their love for one another, and their endurance in the midst of suffering encouraged him to keep going with his mission. Paul knew that they weren't blameless, but he couldn't help but focus on the evidence of God's grace at work in them. Imagine how the Thessalonians must have felt to read these words. They were probably well aware of their shortcomings—and so was Paul. But Paul also wanted them to see what he saw: God was working in them and through them. The seeds of the gospel were already growing and bearing fruit in their lives, a few weeds notwithstanding. We all need help seeing the signs of God's grace in our lives from time to time. It's easy to overlook our growth in faith, hope, and love amid our weaknesses. But just as Paul helped the Thessalonians, we can help one another by pointing out the evidence that we see in each other. Where do you see faith, love, and hope in another person? Can you see it in a friend who prayerfully maintains the family home? Can you see it in the older couple who care for each other in their declining health? Can you see it in the single dad who works hard and comes home to his kids without anyone to help him out? When you do, speak up! Who knows? You might lift that person's spirits and help them see the grace of God in their lives in a new way. "Lord, open my eyes to see you at work in the people around me. And open my mouth to encourage them." Psalm 149:1-6, 9
Matthew 23:13-22 |  clickable | Just as two friends, frequently in each other's company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditating on the mysteries of the Rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddenness, patience, and perfection.
—Saint John Paul II
from The Rosary of Saint John Paul II | my2cents:
Because it bears repeating, let us turn to the Holy 1st Scripture:
"We give thanks to God always for all of you, remembering you in our prayers, unceasingly calling to mind your work of faith and labor of love and endurance in hope of our Lord Jesus Christ, before our God and Father, knowing, brothers and sisters loved by God, how you were chosen."
It speaks about works, and even more important, works of great love, and endurance and hope...and how you were chosen. As much as you want this for someone else...the message is for your eyes only at this moment in time.
So let us give thanks to God for one another and pray for one another...always! Amen? You are an important part of God's Kingdom, believe it or not. Let us venture into that call right now. | Today we pray:
"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. The Lord takes delight in his people." Can we constantly sing new songs to the Lord in the assembly of the faithful? Ask me, a choir guy. Is this possible? For mortals it is not, but for God all things are. Ask not the futile, the negative, the ones who say things are impossible. Ask not the one who has tapped out. Ask not the one who has ceased to grow. Ask not the one who is full, but empty. Ask not the rich, but the poor. Ask not the hopeless, but the hopeful. Ask then, God for God. Truly I say to you, this Psalm is being carried out this very day in Heaven! | On that same note, let us then, turn to our Lord who says today "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter." So, who do you believe are these modern day scribes and Pharisees? Who are they in your life? What kind of people lock Heaven before you? Do you have a teacher that teaches you that God is not good?
I think many in the world have fallen for these false scribes and Pharisees. How? These are teachers of the "law". They teach things that lock out God. They teach that man is superior, that one is superior, and that God therefore, is some "thing" and not some "ONE". You see? Then it becomes all about you and not about the other. | And these scribes are in the real world and working up the next modern heresy, but it is all still the same old heresy of modernism, an intellectual attempt to hijack the Holy Catholic Faith with advanced education. You ever wonder or try to figure out God? Modernism doesn't. It substitutes God rather. You see? Where the Pharisees made their robes and tassels longer, they attempted to be bigger and not less than the Lord. Did they do it on purpose? Over time the intention became known, truth is always revealed.
"You blind ones, which is greater, the gift,
or the altar that makes the gift sacred? "
Now our Lord is talking about swearing. Swearing by the temple or gold, the altar or the gift. The Pharisees swore by gold, man made riches, and God swears by the temple, the human person made by GOD! Which is worth more to GOD? YOU! Silly you! You are worth more than you can imagine. And to swear by the gift rather than the altar? What's that all about? Well, the gifts were the man's gift! It was all about the man again, instead of the altar! As if the gift were more important than the reason for the gift! How does this apply to you? I don't know, maybe your time is more important? I've been trying hard to look at why our Cursillo movement in the area has dwindled. I look back at the last 10 years or so, to the people that would make them happen, one by one they stopped serving the movement. Now, the movement serves Christ, a sparatic few still serve Christ...they are now Deacons, and a couple lay faithful, but the rest? In my neck of the woods, it seems as though they simply reverted, turned back to their old ways and beliefs and lifestyles. What happens to the gift? It is taken back! Why these Indian givers! They ask back for what they promised to give! LOL.
But how many of us are like that? We are afraid to give wholeheartedly. We want to give not 10% but maybe 2%. Right? That's more comfortable, "and if we can get a return on that, well that would be great." YIKES! Let's keep in mind the talents that we are leading to for this Sunday. The talents will wind up being a part of our lives...or better...all of our lives. Amen?
And our Lord finished today with:
"one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it."
So who swears to Heaven anyways? Well, we do some swearing in the Holy Sacraments. Dr. Scott Hahn wrote a book called "Swear to God". In the book, we see what the covenant means, and it is a swearing that is binding, with life and death ramifications. Yet the promise of life is ever more. Why? Because, you are binding with Mercy. More mercy and grace and availed in the Holy Sacraments. To be fruitful with talents you must adhere to the Sacraments, till the soil, prune the branches, and water the roots! Amen? You have already made a promise to God. Sing a new song my friend. Start singing a new tune every day that gives more and more praise to God, which is basically, a new day, a new life for Him! Amen? That is what a glimpse of Heaven is, where sights and sounds unseen unlock unlimited potential for praise and worship and glorification of God. God thrives on good, not evil. Remember that for where we are leading... |  hear it read | adrian Random Bible Verse1
Luke 12:6-7 (Listen) 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? [1] And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows. Thank You Jesus | |
