†Saint Quote of the Day
"You are rewarded not according to your work or your time but according to the measure of your love."
–St. Catherine of Siena †Today's Meditation
"We are the holy Church. But I do not say 'we' as though to indicate only we who are here, you who have just been listening to me. I mean all of us who are here and by the grace of God faithful Christians in this church, that is, in this city; all those in this region, in this province, across the sea, all those in the whole world. Such is the Catholic Church, our true mother, the true spouse of so great a husband."
—St. Augustine, p. 87 An Excerpt From
Augustine Day by Day †Daily Verse
"Because he cleaves to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honor him."
–Psalm 91:14-15 |  click to read more | | St. Anne & St. Joachim St. Anne and St. Joachim (1st c. B.C.) are the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the maternal grandparents of Jesus. Their names have been preserved in Church tradition since the second century, although little is known of their lives. It is believed that St. Joachim and St. Anne, although wealthy, lived a devout and simple life of voluntary poverty, chastity, and generosity to the poor. According to legend, after long years of suffering from infertility and praying for a child, Joachim and Anne were each separately visited by an angel in their old age, who announced that they would give birth to a very special child. Their moment of joy at this happy news is depicted with their embrace and kiss at the Golden Gate in Jerusalem. It was from their holy and chaste marriage that the Immaculate Conception was brought into the world. According to tradition, when the Child Mary was three years old, they dedicated her to God and presented her to live in the Jerusalem temple until the time of her betrothal to St. Joseph. St. Anne is the patroness of unmarried women, wives, expectant mothers, pregnancy, women in labor, grandmothers, childless couples, and against poverty and sterility. Women praying to meet their future spouse often turn to St. Anne. St. Joachim is the patron of fathers and grandfathers. Their feast day is July 26th. | Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary • Readings for the Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary Reading 1 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 Ps 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 What is this? (Exodus 16:15) While it's not obvious in translation, the original Hebrew in this passage contains some clever wordplay that we might call a divine "dad joke." We might think that the word "manna" is Hebrew for "bread from heaven." But it simply means "What is this?" The joke? That's probably what the Israelites said when this miracle food first appeared—What is this? And the word stuck. The word "manna" didn't signify bewilderment for long. As the people realized that this was God's wondrous provision for their desert journey, "manna" became a central sign to them of the Lord's love and care. So much so that they preserved it, along with the Ten Commandments, in the ark of the covenant (Exodus 16:32-34). If we were to reflect on our own "wilderness" journey, we'd probably find we aren't so different from the Israelites. We may have times when we complain as they did, or times when we question whether God really knows what he's doing. We may wonder if we will ever really break free from a pattern of sin or if the promises of God are really meant for us. But along the path there are also signs that reassure us, signs of God's goodness and providence in our lives pointing us to the Lord's presence. Maybe it's a passage from Scripture or a hymn sung at Mass. Maybe it's a word of encouragement from a friend or a moment of consolation in prayer. It could be as simple as the smell of honeysuckle in the wind or the sound of a child laughing. And of course there's the greatest sign, the Eucharist, Jesus' own living Bread of Life. The possibilities are endless because God himself is endless! All of these are our own "manna," signs from the Spirit telling us that Jesus is with us and giving us hope for our journey. When it feels like the wilderness is getting the best of you, remember to look for the "manna" around you. Keep your eyes open for whatever sign the Lord may want to give you. Especially if something makes you ask, "What is it?" look a little closer. It could be exactly the sign you need! "Thank you, Jesus, for sending me signs that sustain me and fill me with hope!" Psalm 78:18-19, 23-28
Matthew 13:1-9 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
""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."...." end of verse. Our Lord heard their "grumbling" and their stomachs grumbling!
He gave them flesh, quail, birds from the sky.
He gave them bread, a morning dew that turned into edible food.
Flesh, is The Holy Spirit made flesh, and it is the morning dew, the new life that will turn into flesh within us, in the Holy Eucharist. We become the living bread with Him.
It is good to suffer hunger, fasting, to learn to...to depend on GOD our Father! | We pray today:
"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....." end of Psalm. | In the Gospel today we heard:
"Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore....." end of Gospel verse. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, our Gospel for today is the parable of the sower and the seed. It has to do with the growth and development of the kingdom of God. We hear that Jesus "went out of the house and sat down by the sea" and that large crowds gathered around him. This is Jesus speaking to the whole world.
Sitting down, he is, again, in the attitude of the ancient teacher and judge, and he speaks the parable of the sower. The sower sows far and wide, some of the seed landing on the path, where the birds eat it up; some falling on rocky ground, where it is scorched in the sun; some sown among thorns, where the life is choked off; and some sown on rich soil, where it bears thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold.
Keep in mind that Jesus himself, in person, is the seed sown. Jesus is the Logos that wants to take root in us. This seed is sown far and wide, through all sorts of means, but in you, let the seed be sown deep, where it can't be stolen, scorched, or choked." end quote Bishop Barron.
Our Lord spoke from the sea to the land, like the wind over the water and now onto the land, our bodies.
Whoever has ears "ought" to hear.
We ought to listen, shouldn't we?
We ought to do as He says? Right?
Yet we live in a "free" world, even if you are slave, or a prisoner, you can still decide what to believe and how to live.
How is the seed growing in you? Is it growing? I often wonder for myself, "am I being choked?" because they say lures of this world can choke the plant, and this is not good...for myself, nor for God's Kingdom, or His will for our lives.
So what can I do? What can we all do together? They say if you struggle with addictions, or lust, a Carmelite Abbot told us men that we should stop eating! LOL. Take cold showers! Sacrifice! Do something. To do nothing is to be taken by the current of the wide rivers that lead to a deadly waterfall...the fall of humanity.
They say to be a saint, we must be more human. It is inhumane to choose death, or things against God our Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
This is not the easy life my friend. It is hard work. But it gets easier, the more you love the cross, and touch the blood of the Holy Spirit, the bird from Heaven, the soft subtle drops, sprinkles of water and blood coming from the cross...the morning dew...that makes us anew. Mercy is life and Love is being... Let's pray:
Lord, give us this day our daily bread...and forgive us as we forgive others. Help us love Thee more and more! |  Click To Hear | Amazing.
Random Bible Verse 1
John 3:36
"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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