 |  clickable | | Extending Hospitality to All "Charity enters heaven when humility opens the door." —St. María Natividad Venegas de la Torre Mexico's first female saint went from nurse to pharmacist to accountant to director of the Guadalajara hospital where her community did its first ministry. María's confidence in the Lord and her hospitality kept the hospital open and assisting all amid religious persecution. An uprising known as the Cristero Rebellion resulted in about ninety thousand deaths in three years. The rebellion came to the hospital. But instead of engaging with the government soldiers in a way that would heighten the tension (and risk the hospital's doors being closed), Madre Nati met them with courtesy and hospitality. No one who needed attention was turned away, Catholic or non-Catholic, military or civilian. She and her sisters managed to save the Eucharist from desecration by carefully hiding it in their beehives. As a result of her efforts, the hospital remained open throughout the conflict. —from Radical Saints: 21 Women for the 21st Century, by Melanie Rigney |  MorningOffering.com | †Saint Quote
"It is suffering, more than anything else, which clears the way for the grace which transforms human souls. Suffering, more than anything else makes present in the history of humanity the powers of the Redemption." — Pope St. John Paul II Meditation of the Day "The divine activity permeates the whole universe, it pervades every creature; wherever they are it is there; it goes before them, with them, and it follows them; all they have to do is to let the waves bear them on. Would to God that ... all men could know how very easy it would be for them to arrive at a high degree of sanctity. They would only have to fulfill the simple duties of Christianity and of their state in life; to embrace with submission the crosses belonging to that state, and to submit with faith and love to the designs of Providence in all those things that have to be done or suffered without going out of their way to seek occasions for themselves. ... This is the spirituality of all ages and of every state. No state of life can, assuredly, be sanctified in a more exalted manner, nor in a more wonderful and easy way than by the simple use of the means that God, the sovereign director of souls, gives them to do or to suffer at each moment." — Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 8 An Excerpt From Abandonment to Divine Providence † VERSE OF THE DAY "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it." Matthew 7:13-14 |  click to read more | | St. Regis St. John Francis Regis (1597–1640) was born to a wealthy French merchant and his noble wife. After being educated by the Jesuits, he joined their order at the age of 18 and was later ordained a priest. He grew into a skilled preacher and catechist, and received an assignment to evangelize the French provinces that had fallen to the Protestants - the Huguenots - as well as lapsed Catholics. He devoted his life to this mission and was very successful, winning countless souls to Christ. He preached the Gospel to men, women, and children in all walks and stations of life, even traveling on foot to wild mountain parishes as a missionary priest. He would live on meager meals while spending his days in prayer, preaching, hearing confessions, and visiting prisons and hospitals. He raised controversy when he established hostels for converted prostitutes to remain chaste and work for their sustenance in the lace-making and embroidery trades. He is also remembered for stationing a granary to feed the poor, which at times was miraculously replenished. St. Regis is the patron of embroiderers, social workers, and lace makers. His feast day is June 16th. | Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 366 Reading 11 KGS 21:17-29 After the death of Naboth the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite:
"Start down to meet Ahab, king of Israel,
who rules in Samaria.
He will be in the vineyard of Naboth,
of which he has come to take possession.
This is what you shall tell him,
'The LORD says: After murdering, do you also take possession?
For this, the LORD says:
In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth,
the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.'"
Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me out, my enemy?"
"Yes," he answered.
"Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the LORD's sight,
I am bringing evil upon you: I will destroy you
and will cut off every male in Ahab's line,
whether slave or freeman, in Israel.
I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat,
and like that of Baasha, son of Ahijah,
because of how you have provoked me by leading Israel into sin."
(Against Jezebel, too, the LORD declared,
"The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.")
"When one of Ahab's line dies in the city,
dogs will devour him;
when one of them dies in the field,
the birds of the sky will devour him."
Indeed, no one gave himself up to the doing of evil
in the sight of the LORD as did Ahab,
urged on by his wife Jezebel.
He became completely abominable by following idols,
just as the Amorites had done,
whom the LORD drove out before the children of Israel. When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments
and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh.
He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about subdued.
Then the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite,
"Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me?
Since he has humbled himself before me,
I will not bring the evil in his time.
I will bring the evil upon his house during the reign of his son." Responsorial Psalm51:3-4, 5-6AB, 11 AND 16
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R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
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. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
"Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight."
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my guilt.
Free me from blood guilt, O God, my saving God;
then my tongue shall revel in your justice.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned. AlleluiaJN 13:34 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment;
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel
MT 5:43-48
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Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." | DAILY MEDITATION: MATTHEW 5:43-48 Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48) According to the dictionary, "perfect" means "entirely without flaw or defect, meeting supreme standards of excellence, satisfying all requirements." To which many of us would respond, "Really, Lord? I'm struggling just to hold my life together! Now you want me to be perfect? That's impossible." One reason that perfection can seem so unattainable is that it sounds like an either-or proposition: you're either perfect or you're not. But as Scripture scholars point out, the Greek word translated as "perfect" in Matthew 5:48 carries a more dynamic meaning. It indicates something you are always growing into—a process of becoming whole and complete. From this perspective, we can imagine Jesus saying, "Don't stop! Keep working on becoming the person I created you to be. Don't settle for anything less than the holiness that comes from wholeness!" The more you become the unique person God made you to be, the more you will resemble Jesus, the perfect One. So how do you grow into this perfection? Self-improvement programs won't produce the right kind of change, and neither will piling on acts of self-denial and spiritual calisthenics. It comes as you work on using your talents and gifts in a way that glorifies the Lord and lifts up the people around you. It comes as you focus on one or two roadblocks in your life and ask for Jesus' grace to help you resolve them: a lingering resentment, an unhealthy habit, or a skewed way of thinking about life. Today, ask Jesus how he wants you to grow into the perfection he has set aside for you. Let him shine the light of his love on your heart. Let him show you both the person you're meant to be and the person you are right now. Then come up with one or two things you can do to help bridge the gap between these two visions. Blessed John Henry Newman once said, "To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often." As you seek to hear and follow Jesus, may you change—and often—day after blessed day! "Jesus, I trust that you are leading me to wholeness and holiness!" 1 Kings 21:17-29
Psalm 51:3-6, 11, 16 |  clickable | Unless you have suffered and wept, you really don't understand what compassion is, nor can you give comfort to someone who is suffering. If you haven't cried, you can't dry another's eyes. Unless you've walked in darkness, you can't help wanderers find the way. Unless you've looked into the eyes of menacing death and felt its hot breath, you can't help another rise from the dead and taste anew the joy of being alive. — Takashi Nagai
from A Song for Nagasaki | From Bishop Barron today 'Friends, today, in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord commands us to love our enemies. What is the test of love? Jesus couldn't be clearer in the discourse he delivers the night before he died. "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." If love is willing the good of the other as other, this has to be the fullest expression, the final word, of love. There is another way to test love: the love of enemies, those who cannot or will not pay you back. This also takes place in the cross of Jesus. Jews, Romans, Pharisees, Sadducees, his own disciples—everyone betrays him, runs from him, denies him, actively arranges for his death. And yet these are the very people that he loves, the very people for whom he gives his life. The final test is what Jesus does when he returns from the dead. To the very people that contributed to his demise he says, "Shalom." This is how we are loved; this is how we must love. Everything else is commentary. . | Random bible verse from an online generator: 1 thes 5 16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit my website Going4th.com, surely you'll find me there. God Bless You! Share the Word. Share this, share what is good | | |
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