†Saint Quote "Quote of the Day
"Put your heart aside. Duty comes first. But when fulfilling your duty, put your heart into it. It helps."
–St. Josemaria Escriva †Today's Meditation
"While St. Teresa was well acquainted with methods of meditation and wished her young nuns to be instructed in them, she emphatically insisted that the primary need for beginners is not to find the ideal method but to do God's will from moment to moment throughout the day—which is probably the last thing the beginner thinks is primary. Her thought is strong and unambiguous: 'The whole aim of any person who is beginning prayer—and don't forget this, because it is very important—should be that he work and prepare himself with determination and every effort to bring his will in conformity with God's will'. She then adds that 'it is the person who lives in more perfect conformity who will receive more from the Lord and be more advanced on this road of prayer.'"
—Fr. Thomas Dubay, p. 112 An Excerpt From
Fire Within †Daily Verse
"Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand."
–Isaiah 41:10 |  click to read more | | Blessed Jane of Aza Blessed Jane of Aza (12th c.), also known as Joanna or Juana of Aza, belonged to the Spanish nobility. At a young age she married a nobleman and together they had five children. She was a pious woman known for her life of prayer and generosity to the poor. When her two eldest sons were given to the priesthood, she went to the nearby church of St. Dominic Silos, a miracle worker and a patron saint of pregnant women, to pray earnestly for another son who would carry on the succession of the family. In a dream the saint appeared to her and said that she would bear a son who would be a shining light to the Church. She also dreamed of a dog that leaped from her womb carrying a torch in its mouth, lighting all the world on fire. She gave birth to a son in answer to her prayers, and in gratitude named him Dominic. She brought her son to the altar of St. Dominic Silos and there offered him to God. At the child's baptism his godmother saw a star shining from his forehead. All of these signs were taken to mean that the child would be great. Jane brought her son up with the utmost care, and as the child grew he evidenced uncommon sanctity and virtue. When Dominic turned age seven Jane generously gave him to be educated as a priest, leaving her family without a male heir. St. Dominic went on to found the famous Order of Preachers, or Dominicans, who became known as the "Hounds of the Lord", a great preaching order against heresy and in defense of the Catholic faith. Her feast day is August 2nd. | Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 409
Reading 1 JER 31:1-7 At that time, says the LORD,
I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel,
and they shall be my people.
Thus says the LORD:
The people that escaped the sword
have found favor in the desert.
As Israel comes forward to be given his rest,
the LORD appears to him from afar:
With age-old love I have loved you;
so I have kept my mercy toward you.
Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin Israel;
Carrying your festive tambourines,
you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers.
Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
those who plant them shall enjoy the fruits.
Yes, a day will come when the watchmen
will call out on Mount Ephraim:
"Rise up, let us go to Zion,
to the LORD, our God." For thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel. Responsorial Psalm JER 31:10, 11-12AB, 13 R. (see 10d) The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd his flock.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD's blessings.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy.
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock. Alleluia LK 7:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has arisen in our midst
and God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel MT 15:21-28 At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
"Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon."
But he did not say a word in answer to her.
His disciples came and asked him,
"Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."
He said in reply,
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me."
He said in reply,
"It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs."
She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters."
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
"O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish."
And her daughter was healed from that hour. | Daily Meditation: Jeremiah 31:1-7 With age-old love I have loved you. (Jeremiah 31:3) Have you ever seen a young couple in love? Sometimes one or the other of them tries to look for signs to prove the devotion of their beloved. For example, they may feel loved when their beloved lavishes them with gifts or compliments. But if those outward measurements decrease, they start to wonder if the love is fading. With God, though, we never have to wonder. Just look at today's first reading. When the Israelites were in exile in Babylon, they might have felt as if God's love for them had faded. But Jeremiah consoled them by reminding them that God's love is "age-old" (31:3). The Hebrew word here means that God's love for them is unchanging, extending both into their past and into their future. Before they could ever do anything for God, he loved them; as they looked ahead to an uncertain future, they could be confident that he would love them. What did that mean for the Israelites? That God loved them even before they were a people. His love didn't fade when they were slaves in Egypt, as they wandered forty years in the desert, or when they lived in exile in Babylon. His love remained constant even when they were stuck in sin and idolatry. In that "age-old" love, he promised to restore them and bring them back from exile into the Promised Land. This is the kind of everlasting love that God has for us too. It's a love that can't be measured by outward events or disproved by our feelings because it is before them all and after them all. If you think of your life—and the events that fill your life—as a timeline, God's love encircles it all. From before the beginning of your life until after the end of it, his love surrounds you. It doesn't evaporate during your tough times. It isn't stronger in your good times. And God certainly doesn't withdraw his love even when you turn away from him. No, his everlasting love calls you back to himself and promises mercy and restoration. How marvelous is this unchanging, eternal love of God! Let it sustain you today. "Lord, help me to see your love as the one constant thing in my life!" (Psalm) Jeremiah 31:10-13
Matthew 15:21-28 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel, and they shall be my people." I still have a hard time imagining a God who loves us intimately. Yet, that's what I hear when I peep into other realms. The world teaches otherwise. The world teaches that we are not of His tribe, and that we are not of His people. But we are His children. Is He our Father? | We pray in Psalms:
"The LORD shall ransom Jacob, he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror. Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion, they shall come streaming to the LORD's blessings. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock."
There there used to be, and may still exist, a group of saints and martyrs, that would give their lives to ransom captives, kidnapped by Muslims and others, to gain freedom. They'd raise ransoms, and give their own very lives if necessary. Why did God have to do this for the whole world? Why did He have to send His very own being...and only Son? What is it about this world that He should care so dearly? It is the worth, isn't it? In the world, they teach you that you are only valuable if you are usable, and if not, then, you are disposable, like an unborn infant child. But that is not how the Lord works. He shows us that our worth is not in our deeds alone, but by what He sees in grace. Take the good thief for instance. But there's more instances as God travels the world among us. | In today's Gospel we heard our Lord:
" a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, "Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon." What does it matter that she was a Canaanite? Notice, she was not called an Israelite...of God's called tribe in the world. But every gentile would eventually have doors opened wide as our Lord opened His arms and heart at the side on the cross, and it started as He walked the earth. | And it can happen now in His Body on earth. And His Body is you and me, the chosen tribe of baptized souls called to baptize the rest of the world. It is in you. He is in you. Especially if You speak with Him and ask Him to work in you. He will. And He does. And He dies for ransoming captives...saving always. This sacrifice is a beautiful gift to God who is LOVE. Lord, everyone who hungers even table scraps will be saved... help us hunger and satiate our hunger with You forever. |  click to hear | Random bible verse generator: 1 Corinthians 13:7–8 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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