†Saint Quote
"Every grace granted to man has three degrees in order; for by God it is communicated to Christ, from Christ it passes to the Virgin, and from the Virgin it descends to us."
–St. Bernardine of Siena †Today's Meditation
"The Spirit of God teaches us how we can live our faith with great generosity of spirit. There is a vertical dimension to our faith (praising and worshiping God), but there is also a horizontal dimension to our faith in which we show our love to our sisters and brothers, God's beloved children."
—Rev. Jude Winkler, p. 8 An Excerpt From
Daily Meditations With the Holy Spirit †Daily Verse
"Then he said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.""
–Luke 14:12-14 |  click to read more | | St. Bonaventure St. Bonaventure (1221–1274) was born with the name Giovanni in Tuscany, Italy. As a child he became seriously ill and was in danger of death until his mother brought him to St. Francis of Assisi, who was then living in the region as a mendicant friar. It is said that St. Francis healed the child and afterward exclaimed, "O buona ventura (O good fortune)!" when he prophetically perceived how great the child would one day become, and this is how he began to be called Bonaventure. He joined the Franciscan order at the age of 22 and went on to study theology at the University of Paris, where he became famous friends with the Dominican friar St. Thomas Aquinas. The two friends graduated together, each insisting that the other be the first to receive honors. St. Bonaventure is regarded as one of the great philosophers and theologians of the Middle Ages, earning the name "Seraphic Doctor." In addition to his many writings, including a Life of St. Francis of Assisi, he was elected to serve as head of his order, and was appointed a cardinal-bishop by the Holy Father. St. Bonaventure died while assisting at the Second Council of Lyons, which worked for the reunification of the Catholic Church with the Eastern Orthodox churches. His feast day is celebrated on July 15th. | Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Lectionary: 393
Reading 1 IS 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8 When Hezekiah was mortally ill,
the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him:
"Thus says the LORD: Put your house in order,
for you are about to die; you shall not recover."
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord: "O LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly
I conducted myself in your presence,
doing what was pleasing to you!"
And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: "Go, tell Hezekiah:
Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David:
I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.
I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the Lord's temple;
I will add fifteen years to your life.
I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria;
I will be a shield to this city." Isaiah then ordered a poultice of figs to be taken
and applied to the boil, that he might recover.
Then Hezekiah asked,
"What is the sign that I shall go up to the temple of the LORD?" Isaiah answered:
"This will be the sign for you from the LORD
that he will do what he has promised:
See, I will make the shadow cast by the sun
on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz
go back the ten steps it has advanced."
So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced. Responsorial Psalm IS 38:10, 11, 12ABCD, 16 R. (see 17b) You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Once I said,
"In the noontime of life I must depart!
To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned
for the rest of my years."
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
I said, "I shall see the LORD no more
in the land of the living.
No longer shall I behold my fellow men
among those who dwell in the world."
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
My dwelling, like a shepherd's tent,
is struck down and borne away from me;
You have folded up my life, like a weaver
who severs the last thread.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Those live whom the LORD protects;
yours is the life of my spirit.
You have given me health and life.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die. 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 12:1-8 Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
"See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath."
He said to the them, "Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath." | Daily Meditation: Matthew 12:1-8 I desire mercy, not sacrifice. (Matthew 12:7) Do you find yourself wondering and worrying if you actually did fast for a full sixty minutes before receiving Communion? Do you ever catch yourself wondering if the person ahead of you in the Communion line is receiving worthily? If so, Jesus offers helpful words, echoing the prophet Hosea: "I desire mercy, not sacrifice" (Matthew 12:7; see Hosea 6:6). What are Hosea and Jesus telling us? That we shouldn't care about whether we or someone else is honoring God's commands and guidelines? No. In fact, Jesus valued and upheld God's law. But he often went out of his way to remind us that everyone needs mercy. And the reason why we are trying to follow God's rules is more important than being preoccupied with fulfilling them with perfect precision. Our focus, he says, should be on receiving God's mercy and then offering that same mercy we have received to others. This is what God desires for us. In order to give mercy away, however, we first need to experience it ourselves. And our first step is to ask ourselves, "Have I received God's mercy?" Don't think you don't deserve it. As Jesus told St. Faustina, "The greater the misery of a soul, the greater its right to my mercy." Nothing disqualifies you from the mercy and love of God—no sin, no weakness, no lack of faith. So if you tend to be overly critical of yourself, receive God's tender affirmation: You are my child, and I love you. If you are bound up in worry, receive his assurance: I am with you, whatever may come. Then give it away! Start with those you are closest to. Offer mercy and compassion to your spouse, your parents, your children, and your colleagues and friends. Through your words and actions, proclaim that mercy is more powerful than differences of opinions or misunderstandings. Assume their best intentions, not the worst. Make that apology that you've been putting off. "Waste" a little time being present to someone who needs company. Receive God's mercy today, that you may be able to give it away. "Jesus, help me to treasure your mercy above all else." Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8
(Psalm) Isaiah 38:10-12, 16 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"I conducted myself in your presence, doing what was pleasing to you!" Deeds are forms of worship and praise, right? What actions are good deeds? Many of us try to do good deeds, and that is good. But can we not continusously do good deeds? Sure! All day every day, with everyone you meet, and if you meet nobody in the day? Then deeds for God Himself who is with you. Tell Him how much you love Him. Do things in the name of His love. See that nothing goes to waste, not a single moment of this precious life He has given you. Do not be deceived by other denominations, and the Catholic Church is not a denomination as is stated erroneously as well by denominations. They say that deeds are worthless when they say "faith alone" is what saves. God sees deeds, and there is merit in deeds, but it all hinges on the position of our heart, and God's grace. Now we must venture into Liturgy, the works and deeds that must be perfectly done with great love in the temple of God, that feeds your own temple of God. From Him all things come. | We pray in Psalms:
"Those live whom the LORD protects;
yours is the life of my spirit.
You have given me health and life.
You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die" | In today's Gospel we heard our Lord:
"I say to you, something greater than the temple is here."
He said "something" greater is here. He did not say "someone" is greater here. Yet, this is how the others interpreted it, right? And so, our Lord ushers into the temple something greater than sacrifice. "If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men."
I read or heard somewhere this week, I think it was from the "Book of Heaven" volumes, that our Lord's heart is made of pure mercy.
And if we are in the Body, His blood courses through us. And there in the body is a continuous cleansing, our souls, our temples are cleansed with Him, and He resides in us, where there is sacrifice, there should be made room for His mercy. Otherwise, we are babbling and rambling on external acts alone. Think of your worship and praise.
And how have you been merciful lately with those who hurt you? Some of us are not merciful at all! Right? We let things get under our skin.
The Book of Heaven volumes state that obedience is supreme.
Yet, we are not very obedient to God's words very often. There is power in the word, just as there is power in the blood. What He says goes. His Word shall not return empty, and angels will see to it. With or without me, God's will shall be done, and so it would be better for me to fulfill His will.
And so, next time you face a challenge, think of mercy. An obedient soul is a humble soul, and I'm talking about obedience of the Master of humility and mercy. An apprentice of the Master learns from the Master to be a master as well.
Can you then, master like Him?
In every state of life, we take commands, and scorns, and much more, including hits against mind, body, and soul. Therefore, to master, we must learn the fight. Only, this fight is against self, to humility. Who will reign every day of your life? You? Or Him? "For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath." And this was proven, as His day became the new Sabbath. No more Saturday worships, but the first day would reign, the day of the Son, Son-day. And we are called to His temple, so we can honor Him with our temple, for Him to reside. There we receive Him, there we welcome Him into our very mind, body, and soul.
How does this happen? Just as said, in the Eucharist, the mind, the body, and in the soul.
Our external self manifests the internal.
He enters saying "Peace be with you".
Where there is peace, He will reside. And there is great peace when the greatest room in your temple is made for Him, the center, the focus, the very light room for the whole house. Let God Reign. Believe. |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: Matthew 5:11–12 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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