†Saint Quote
"Make it a practice to judge persons and things in the most favorable light at all times and under all circumstances."
— St. Vincent de Paul † MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"The Church, which has spread everywhere, even to the ends of the earth, received the faith from the apostles and their disciples ... Having one soul and one heart, the Church holds this faith, preaches and teaches it consistently as though by a single voice. For though there are different languages, there is but one tradition. ... Just as God's creature, the sun, is one and the same the world over, so also does the Church's preaching shine everywhere to enlighten all men who want to come to a knowledge of the truth. Now of those who speak with authority in the churches, no preacher however forceful will utter anything different—for no one is above the Master—nor will a less forceful preacher diminish what has been handed down. Since our faith is everywhere the same, no one who can say more augments it, nor can anyone who says less diminish it."
— St. Ignatius of Antioch, p. 194
AN EXCERPT FROM
Witness of the Saints † VERSE OF THE DAY
"With the loyal thou dost show thyself loyal; with the blameless man thou dost show thyself blameless; with the pure thou dost show thyself pure; and with the crooked thou dost show thyself perverse. For thou dost deliver a humble people; but the haughty eyes thou dost bring down. Yea, thou dost light my lamp; the Lord my God lightens my darkness. Yea, by thee I can crush a troop; and by my God I can leap over a wall. This God—his way is perfect; the promise of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him."
Psalm 18:25-30 |  click to read more | | ST. VICTOR OF MARSEILLES St. Victor of Marseilles (d. 290 A.D.) was a Christian soldier serving in the Roman imperial army in Marseilles, France. Christianity was thriving there, until Emperor Maximian arrived with the intention of putting the Christians to death. This caused the Christians to fear, and St. Victor would go from house to house under the cover of night to admonish them to stand strong in their faith. This behavior drew attention, and during one of his nightly rounds he was arrested. The Roman prefects tried to dissuade him from following a "dead man" (Jesus), but St. Victor testified boldly for the truth of the Christian faith. Enraged, the prefects had him bound and dragged through the streets. Victor was undeterred and continued to denounce the Roman gods. His tortures were renewed until his torturers grew tired, after which he was thrown into a dungeon. That night he was visited by angels, and his three guards were converted and baptized that same night. The next morning the Emperor had the guards beheaded, while St. Victor was kept alive for fresh torments. After three days of abuse, the Emperor commanded Victor to burn incense to the gods. Instead, St. Victor walked up to the altar and kicked it over with his foot. In retaliation, his foot was cut off. Seeing that his efforts to cause Victor to apostatize were useless, the Emperor finally had him crushed to death on a grindstone. His body was thrown into the sea before being recovered and buried by Christians. His tomb became a place where many miracles occurred. St. Victor of Marseilles' feast day is July 21st. | Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 397
Reading I Ex 16:1-5, 9-15 The children of Israel set out from Elim,
and came into the desert of Sin,
which is between Elim and Sinai,
on the fifteenth day of the second month
after their departure from the land of Egypt.
Here in the desert the whole assembly of the children of Israel
grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
The children of Israel said to them,
"Would that we had died at the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt,
as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!
But you had to lead us into this desert
to make the whole community die of famine!" Then the LORD said to Moses,
"I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.
Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion;
thus will I test them,
to see whether they follow my instructions or not.
On the sixth day, however, when they prepare what they bring in,
let it be twice as much as they gather on the other days." Then Moses said to Aaron, "Tell the whole congregation
of the children of Israel:
Present yourselves before the LORD,
for he has heard your grumbling."
When Aaron announced this to the whole assembly of the children of Israel,
they turned toward the desert, and lo,
the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud!
The LORD spoke to Moses and said,
"I have heard the grumbling of the children of Israel.
Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh,
and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread,
so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God." In the evening quail came up and covered the camp.
In the morning a dew lay all about the camp,
and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert
were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.
On seeing it, the children of Israel asked one another, "What is this?"
for they did not know what it was.
But Moses told them,
"This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat." Responsorial Psalm 78:18-19, 23-24, 25-26, 27-28 R. (24b) The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
They tempted God in their hearts by demanding the food they craved.
Yes, they spoke against God, saying, "Can God spread a table in the desert?"
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Yet he commanded the skies above and the doors of heaven he opened;
He rained manna upon them for food and gave them heavenly bread.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Man ate the bread of angels, food he sent them in abundance.
He stirred up the east wind in the heavens, and by his power brought on the south wind.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
And he rained meat upon them like dust, and, like the sand of the sea, winged fowl,
Which fell in the midst of their camp round about their tents.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven. Alleluia R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live for ever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 13:1-9 On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
"A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear." | Daily Meditation: Exodus 16:1-5, 9-15 This is the bread which the Lord has given you to eat. (Exodus 16:15) What a shame! Not even three months have gone by since God miraculously freed them from slavery, and the Israelites are complaining about everything they don't have. How could they so quickly forget God's protection and all the miraculous events that had brought them to freedom? Before we judge the Israelites too harshly, though, we should remember that their situation was scary. They were in the desert with little to eat and drink. At least when they were slaves, they knew they weren't going to starve! Yes, they could have shown more gratitude, but God could see what was really going on. Beneath their complaining was a very real fear for their lives and their safety. And so God had sympathy on them and responded with compassion. Contrary to what we might expect, God didn't punish them for complaining. He did just the opposite. He answered their fears by providing them with "bread from heaven" (Exodus 16:4). He even came down and appeared to the Israelites in the form of a mysterious cloud as if to provide them with extra assurance that he truly cared about them (16:10). God doesn't punish us for complaining either. He sees the fear that often lurks in the background. For instance, if you complain that your adult children don't seem attentive to your needs, it may be because you fear that you'll be left alone in your old age. Or if you complain about being stuck in your job, it may be because you fear that you won't earn enough money to support your family. Struggles like these can make us feel as if we are wandering in a lifeless desert with no hope of rescue. But even in tough times, when fear is strong and anxiety seems to have an iron grip on us, God wants to comfort us and bring us his peace. He doesn't want to encourage our complaints—but if they come his way, he can handle them. He understands. He can calm the fears behind the grumbling and help us to entrust our lives—and even our fears—to him. "Thank you, Father, for your patience and compassion when I am fearful." Psalm 78:18-19, 23-28
Matthew 13:1-9 |  Listen to 2cents | my2cents:
""I will now rain down bread from heaven for you. Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion;
thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or not." And so it rains bread from Heaven, every day, until this day. Each person is to go out and gather their daily bread. And this is a test from God, to see whether we will follow His instructions or not. It is called daily Mass. But protestants do not have daily Mass, bread from Heaven, but they should at least come for daily Word, and those who hunger for more shall desire true bread from Heaven...the Holy Eucharist. That is, if you are hungry, even starving. But there are those who are not hungry. Weeds do not let you be hungry, and you cannot grow. More on that, but first we must pray. | We pray in the Holy Psalms:
"Yet he commanded the skies above and the doors of heaven he opened;
He rained manna upon them for food and gave them heavenly bread. The Lord gave them bread from heaven."
It is said that when our Lord ascended into Heaven, He went and the Heavens welcomed Him. And then, He was made known in the breaking of the bread. We get to witness literal breaking of bread, of His Body shared for all. There was a time before pandemics, when we could taste His blood. And the taste was a burning hot and crisp taste that served to ignite the fire of love in my soul. Will there ever be a day like that again? Even if I am not allowed to ever taste the wine turned Blood, I will always have that Blood inside of me. If, I do not let the roots die, if I do not allow weeds to choke out my faith. | Our Lord speaks until this day:
""A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear." | We will eventually hear our Lord Himself explain this parable, to those who have ears.
For today, for right now, ingest the Word. Digest what He has said. For it is the seed.
And on a similar note, a bit of advice from someone attempting to live the Way for years now.
Just like my brother in law that went to this conference, and he did not want to stay through it all, he wanted to quit, I encouraged him to stay, to pray so he could have strength to stick it out, tough it out, so I encourage all. Why?
I am reading book my wife bought on Theology of the Body. I already knew what TOB is about, theology of spirituality which is found in human sexuality, all things Saint Pope JPII has written in our century. But I'm reading it anyway...to please my wife? Not necessarily, in a way yes, but I do it mostly because when someone does this, like throw a book at you, or a conference, or a meeting, we must go in obedience and hopefully humility, to learn what God wants you to hear. Remember my advice...is always to say yes to the Lord.
But let me finish my bit of advice. Have you ever seen those shows that show men digging for gold in all parts of the world? They sometimes have to move literally thousands of tons of dirt to get ounces of gold, right? I see this in books, conferences, retreats, daily reflections, reading tons, spending tons of time in learning to get sometimes a few ounces but sometimes, nuggets.
Most my nuggets my friend..I find all I want in the Eucharist, but when my heart is burning for the Eucharist, tears of transformation come streaming down my face...to behold the beauty of God's face. And that memory lasts forever. And God wants us to be His forever.
Are you searching for treasure? It is time to gather the bread from Heaven...feed the flock.
Are you hungry for more? Sow seeds. Are you starving for more? Eradicate the weeds in your life...soon the Son of God will be revealed...the skies will open...and the light of life will shine, and truth in eternal glory. | Let us pray:
Lord, You are the sower, and You sow Yourself in me, as a man and a woman, to create life out of the seed....life eternal. This theology is beyond comprehension...unless we understand true love...help us Love You and be open to You all day every day, so we can, together, create a world that can only be imagined...and then become reality...one with You God, true love, brought about by true sacrifice...let me not just be obedient, but humble to accept Thy Holy Will |  click to hear | Random Bible Verse from online generator: WOW John 6:27
27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
