JULY 1, 2021
†Saint Said:
"Never will we understand the value of time better than when our last hour is at hand."
— St. Arnold Janssen †MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"'The Lord measures our perfection not by the number and greatness of the works we do for Him, but by our manner of doing them. And this manner is only the love of God with which, and for which, we do them. They are more perfect as they are done with more pure and perfect love, and as they are less mingled with the thoughts of pleasure or praise in this life or the other (St. John of the Cross).' When St. Bernard was assisting one night at Matins, he saw some angels who were carefully noting down the merit of each of the monks. The merit of those who were praying with much fervor, they set down in golden characters; of those with less fervor, in silver characters; of those with good will, but without affection, in ink; of those with sloth and drowsiness, in water; but as to those who were in mortal sin or voluntarily distracted, they wrote nothing, but, standing motionless, they lamented their blindness."
— Anonymous, p. 292
AN EXCERPT FROM
Cultivating Virtue: Self-Mastery With the Saints † VERSE OF THE DAY
"Make me understand the way of thy precepts, and I will meditate on thy wondrous works. My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to thy word! Put false ways far from me; and graciously teach me thy law! I have chosen the way of faithfulness, I set thy ordinances before me. I cleave to thy testimonies, O Lord; let me not be put to shame! I will run in the way of thy commandments when thou enlargest my understanding!"
Psalm 119:27-32 |  click to read more | | ST. JUNIPERO SERRA St. Junipero Serra (1713 - 1784) was born to a farming family on the Spanish island of Majorca. He was baptized the same day he was born, and was later sent to be educated by the Franciscans. In 1730 he joined the Franciscans and was ordained to the priesthood. St. Junipero was considered brilliant by his peers; he was well-trained in philosophy and theology, and taught at the university. In 1750 he traveled to the New World and began ministering to the people of Mexico City. In 1768 he moved north and began working in the Californian missions. As a result of his tireless missionary efforts, he is largely responsible for the spread of Catholicism along the western coast of the United States—as testified by the many Californian cities with Spanish Christian names. He founded the first nine of twenty-one Catholic missions that spread along the California coast. He converted thousands of Native Americans to the Christian faith and taught them new methods of agriculture, animal husbandry, and craftsmanship. He died from tuberculosis at the age of 71. The Native Americans he ministered wept at his death out of their love for him. Junipero Serra was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II in 1988 and canonized by Pope Francis during his trip to the United States in 2015, the first canonization Mass to ever take place on American soil. His feast day is July 1st. | Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 380
Reading I Gn 22:1b-19 God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
Then God said: "Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a burnt offering
on a height that I will point out to you."
Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey,
took with him his son Isaac, and two of his servants as well,
and with the wood that he had cut for the burnt offering,
set out for the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.
Then he said to his servants: "Both of you stay here with the donkey,
while the boy and I go on over yonder.
We will worship and then come back to you."
Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering
and laid it on his son Isaac's shoulders,
while he himself carried the fire and the knife.
As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham:
"Father!" he said.
"Yes, son," he replied.
Isaac continued, "Here are the fire and the wood,
but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?"
"Son," Abraham answered,
"God himself will provide the sheep for the burnt offering."
Then the two continued going forward. When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
Next he tied up his son Isaac,
and put him on top of the wood on the altar.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven,
"Abraham, Abraham!"
"Here I am," he answered.
"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger.
"Do not do the least thing to him.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.
Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh;
hence people now say, "On the mountain the LORD will see."
Again the LORD's messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said: "I swear by myself, declares the LORD,
that because you acted as you did
in not withholding from me your beloved son,
I will bless you abundantly
and make your descendants as countless
as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;
your descendants shall take possession
of the gates of their enemies,
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth
shall find blessing -- all this because you obeyed my command." Abraham then returned to his servants,
and they set out together for Beer-sheba,
where Abraham made his home. Responsorial Psalm 115:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9 R. (9) I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name give glory because of your kindness, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say, "Where is their God?"
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Our God is in heaven; whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold, the handiwork of men.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
They have mouths but speak not; they have eyes but see not;
They have ears but hear not; they have noses but smell not.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Their makers shall be like them, everyone who trusts in them.
The house of Israel trusts in the LORD; he is their help and their shield.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia 2 Cor 5:19 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 9:1-8 After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
"Courage, child, your sins are forgiven."
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
"This man is blaspheming."
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
"Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say, 'Rise and walk'?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins"–
he then said to the paralytic,
"Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men. | Daily Meditation: Genesis 22:1-19 God put Abraham to the test. (Genesis 22:1) Abraham faced an agonizing decision. God was asking him to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, the dearly beloved child who was given to him and Sarah in their old age. Would he choose to obey the Lord even though he didn't understand why God was asking this of him? Or would he doubt that God is trustworthy and go his own way? Over the course of our lives, we've all undergone "tests" of one kind or another. Serious illnesses. Financial difficulties. Broken relationships. In these and other situations, our faith can be sorely tested. But like Abraham, we also have a choice. Will we choose to believe in a God who keeps his promises? Will we choose to remain faithful to him? Or will we doubt that he is trustworthy and go our own way? In such situations, it's not necessarily a quick and easy process to get to the point of saying yes to the Lord. It probably wasn't quick and easy for Abraham either. It's not hard to imagine what he might have been thinking as he walked up the mountain. It would have been only human to question God's goodness and wrestle over what he had to do. But whatever Abraham thought or felt, he chose to obey. And when Abraham heard the voice from heaven calling out to him, oh, the relief he must have felt! The life of his beloved son had been spared. But Abraham must have also experienced the joy of discovering how faithful God was during this time of testing. Today, take a few moments and consider a test of faith in your life. Then reflect on how you've been responding to it. When you are tempted to doubt, ask God for the grace to trust in his goodness and care. Then choose to believe that he is a God who is always trustworthy and who always keeps his promises. "I believe that you are faithful, Lord! I will trust and obey you." Psalm 115:1-6, 8-9
Matthew 9:1-8 |  Listen to 2cents | my2cents:
"But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven, "Abraham, Abraham!"
"Here I am," he answered. "Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger.
"Do not do the least thing to him.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."
Abram followed God's commands, out of his family, made a new family, and into wilderness, journeying to promised land, for what, over 40 years? Was promised a son, and nothing, until he was what, 100 years old? And now he was asked to sacrifice his only son he had longed for so long? Abram is now Abraham, the father of faith, through whom we all have faith, Jews, Muslims, and Christians. This fact alone should unite us. Lord help us with Grace of faith. Help me with faith now. | We pray in the Holy Psalms:
"Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name give glory because of your kindness, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say, "Where is their God? I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living." I help at many funerals, doing it again today. I know the Psalms, especially the ones chosen for funerals. The last verse "I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living" is deep, and it is one that I sing almost daily in daily Mass "Caminare, en presencia del Senor". Walk in the Presence. What is this all about? Faith. Lord, help us with faith all the more. | And so we get more about faith in the Holy Gospel, where our Lord heals a paralyzed man:
"And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Courage, child, your sins are forgiven."
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming."
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
"Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say, 'Rise and walk'?"
What evil thoughts were the scribes harboring? Thoughts against Christ. Thoughts of death. Anti-life is Anti-Christ. And Christ delivers us from death, which was His whole point of accepting the cross for all Humanity! | Our Lord continues:
"But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins"–
he then said to the paralytic,
"Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men."
Our Lord said that the Son of Man has been given authority to forgive sins (which caused a ruckus) and the last verse was that they "glorified God who had given such authority to men."
For sure, now, priests are given authority to forgive sins, to be absolved from them and we follow Mosaic orders to reconcile with one another. And on a lesser, but still very important level, you are given power to forgive others their sins. This is called mercy. How often do we use this power? It is liberating for the person being forgiven, and and is just as, if not more, liberating for you the forgiver. Holding grudges makes us carry a dead weight, the more...the worse. I would suggest that all of us learn mercy, practice mercy, receive mercy and give mercy.
Lately, I've been learning to do that on a more frequent basis. When someone comes across as wrong, I look further, and ask for patience, guidance...and mercy. Like the times I see some homosexuals in a funeral hugging each other, or being loud in the middle of a funeral Mass, laughing away, giggling, the scribe in me says how wrong they are, but Jesus in me says, I will sacrifice myself so that they may see the light...love and mercy. Let's pray:
Lord, so many things take place in my heart, lately sadness, as Mother Mary's weeping has started up again, with so many atrocities happening, Catholic churches being burned, violence rising again, Christians being murdered, and the fight for death in abortions continues. Let us pray for faith, the kind Abram had to become Abraham, the father of faith for all nations. The archetype of God our Father, who does give us His all...His Love, You Lord Jesus! We pray that we fire up Your Pentecostal and Paschal Love in each of our Baptized hearts!
Amen. St. Juniper Pray for us.
Father Abraham, Pray for us.
Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us and for the healing of the body of Christ. | from your brother in Christ our Lord,
adrian |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse from online generator: Psalm 27:14 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
