†Saint Quote
"Quote of the Day
"The Creator of the universe awaits the prayer of one poor little person to save a multitude of others, redeemed like her at the price of His Blood."
–St. Therese of Lisieux †Today's Meditation
"Although our Divine Redeemer was the Lord and Master of all the riches of Heaven and earth, He willed nevertheless to become poor in this world that through His example we might become rich. He wished to induce us to love poverty as He did, for poverty, by detaching us from earthly riches, enables us to share in the treasures of Heaven. … [It is] the teaching of our Blessed Lord that the poor in spirit shall have a great and certain reward. Their reward is certain, for when our Savior enumerated the Beatitudes in the Gospel, He referred in most instances to the future … but to the poor in spirit, He promises happiness even in this life: 'Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' (Matt. 5:3). While here on earth, they receive special graces. The reward of the poor in spirit is, secondly, very great. 'The less we have here,' says St. Teresa, 'the greater will be our joy in Heaven, where our dwelling shall correspond to the love with which we imitated the life of poverty of our Divine Master here on earth'. The truly poor in spirit enjoy a heavenly peace even here in this world. … [He] who is poor from choice despises the possessions of this earth and is at the same time the master of all."
—St. Alphonsus Liguori, p. 122 An Excerpt From
12 Steps to Holiness and Salvation †Daily Verse
"Be strong and of good courage, do not fear or be in dread of them: for it is the Lord your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you."
–Deuteronomy 31:6 |  click to read more | | St. Camillus St. Camillus de Lellis (1550–1614) was a wild, undisciplined youth who became a battle-hardened soldier with a violent temper and a gambling addiction. His bad behavior, combined with a persistent war wound in his leg, left him in poverty. He found work doing odd jobs at a Capuchin friary. Gradually the good influence of the friars inspired him to a better life, and he experienced a true conversion. He sought to join the Franciscans, but was prevented due to his leg wound. He then moved to Rome and worked for a hospital that cared for patients with incurable illnesses. He later became its director as he continued a life of penance and virtue. Seeing that his patients often received poor attention from hospital staff, he devoted his life to providing excellent care for the sick, in whom he saw the face of Christ. He established a religious order of men committed to helping patients who were the most ill, even at the risk of their own well-being, known as the Order of St. Camillus, or the Camillians. For this task he studied for the priesthood and was ordained at the late age of 34. His order gave medical care to anyone in need of treatment. In addition to serving in hospitals, they also served on the battlefield. The Camillians developed into a worldwide relief effort of like-minded medical workers who seek to follow Christ through ministering to the sick. The large red cross on his habit became an international symbol of charitable medical aid. St. Camillus is the patron of the sick, hospitals, nurses, and physicians. His feast day is July 18th. | Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 395
Reading 1 MI 6:1-4, 6-8 Hear what the LORD says:
Arise, present your plea before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice!
Hear, O mountains, the plea of the LORD,
pay attention, O foundations of the earth!
For the LORD has a plea against his people,
and he enters into trial with Israel. O my people, what have I done to you,
or how have I wearied you? Answer me!
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
from the place of slavery I released you;
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam. With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow before God most high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with myriad streams of oil?
Shall I give my first-born for my crime,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
You have been told, O man, what is good,
and what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God. Responsorial Psalm PS 50:5-6, 8-9, 16BC-17, 21 AND 23 R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?"
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God. Alleluia PS 95:8 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel MT 12:38-42 Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
"Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you."
He said to them in reply,
"An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,
but no sign will be given it
except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights,
so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth
three days and three nights.
At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;
and there is something greater than Jonah here.
At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and there is something greater than Solomon here." | Daily Meditation: Micah 6:1-4, 6-8 You have been told . . . what the Lord requires of you. (Micah 6:8) The prophet Micah, writing in the eighth century BC, was able to boil down all of God's commandments to three simple precepts: "To do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). As far as Micah was concerned, the Israelites knew exactly what God had called them to do; they just weren't doing it. Fast-forward to today's Gospel reading, and you see something very similar. Scribes and Pharisees kept demanding that Jesus show them more and more signs that he had come from God, but Jesus refused. He told them that the people of Nineveh, where Jonah had preached, had far less reason to turn to the Lord than they did—but what little understanding they had was enough to spark citywide repentance (Matthew 12:41). These scribes and Pharisees, on the other hand, had already seen so much but still resisted Jesus' call. They already knew what God was asking of them; they just weren't doing it. Fast-forward again to today, and you see the same thing. One of the most common reasons unbelievers give for not embracing Christianity is the behavior of Christians themselves. They point to the many ways that some believers' actions do not match the faith they profess. It's as G. K. Chesterton once observed: "The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult and left untried." Each of us is probably a little (or more than a little) guilty in this regard. We've all found Christianity difficult in one way or another and have been tempted to leave part of it "untried." The question is, what can we do about it? The answer, for Jesus, is as simple as his commands are: repent. Admit our failings and ask for the grace to make a break from sin. Listen to the Spirit as he prompts us to perform acts of kindness and mercy. When you see an opportunity to right a wrong, pursue it. In other words, do the right, love goodness, and walk humbly with your God. We know what God wants of us. Let's take one step closer to doing it. "Jesus, you know where I fall short, and so do I. Help me to do what I know you're asking of me." Psalm 50:5-6, 8-9, 16-17, 21, 23
Matthew 12:38-42 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you: Only to do the right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God." I've hit a lot of people square in the eyes when I ask them to be humble. It doesn't even register in some people though, they get confused. So what does it mean to walk humbly with your God? Well, first of all, you must walk! Right? Walk with God. Walk His way. Live His Way. Too many believe they are already perfect and say the line "well I'm not perfect" to make it seem like they are perfect like everyone else. Does that line automatically make you humble? Not if it is not true. And so we are getting to the heart of things....truth. Everything then hinges on truth. Even the after life eternal, everything hinges on truth, and the experience of life in the light in truth.
What is eternity like then? Well, walk humbly with God and find out! | We pray in Psalms:
"Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice." And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge. To the upright I will show the saving power of God" | In today's Gospel we heard our Lord:
"An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet." To the upright He will show...the saving power of GOD! What better sign could we want? Right?
Since my dad passed a few months ago, not even half a year ago, I've been looking for a sign. A sign of him, because people tell me that there will be signs and dreams and other things.
If there have been signs of my dad's presence or signs of him in need of something, I don't think they have registered.
I've seen a great rainbow about 3 days after his passing, over his house, and under it an electrical flash. I dismissed it as weather. Lately, my mom dreamed of him happily running to church and giving money to so many people. And I dismissed it as who knows what that means. Don't get me wrong, all these things are nice, and they make me feel a little better. But they haven't spoken to me direct as a flat out obvious message. So what's the deal? My friend, I'm not going to bank on signs any more. I'm banking on the one thing necessary. Being with God and living in God in faith.
Faith then is like a Sacrament, and all Sacraments hinge on faith, for it is an outward expression of an inward reality.
What I do on the outside is a reflection of what is going on the inside of me.
The faithless disregard God's message. And this is why Jesus our Lord said what He said. | Nineveh repented from their evil. Will you repent too?
Don't think of the whole country needing to come to their knees. It starts with me and you.
Let's hit our knees and repent of our evil ways.
I hate it already. I hate the evil I do, the evil I say, and the evil that lingers inside of me like a bad week.
Don't you hate the evil that wants to control your life?
I hate it. And guess who else hates evil? Our Lord in Heaven hates evil. Not the people, but the ideology and the darkness that drags the good down. Lord I need You.
My whole life I've need Thee.
What is eternity without Thee?
I need Thy love to live forever, I need you Lord. |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: 1 Peter 2:2–3
Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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