†Saint Quote of the Day
"You must not abandon the ship in a storm because you cannot control the winds . . . What you cannot turn to good, you must at least make as little bad as you can."
–St. Thomas More †Today's Meditation
"Do you know what it is to be truly spiritual? It is for men to make themselves the slaves of God—branded with His mark, which is the Cross. … Unless you make up your minds to this, never expect to make much progress, for as I said humility is the foundation of the whole building and unless you are truly humble, Our Lord, for your own sake, will never permit you to rear it very high lest it should fall to the ground. Therefore, sisters, take care to lay a firm foundation by seeking to be the least of all and the slave of others, watching how you can please and help them, for it will benefit you more than them. Built on such strong rocks, your castle can never go to ruin. I insist again: your foundation must not consist of prayer and contemplation alone: unless you acquire the virtues and praise them, you will always be dwarfs; and please God no worse may befall you than making no progress, for you know that to stop is to go back—if you love, you will never be content to come to a standstill."
—St. Teresa of Avila, p. 209-210 An Excerpt From
Interior Castle †Daily Verse
"For the grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good."
–Titus 2:11-14 |  click to read more | | St. Margaret of Antioch St. Margaret (289-304 A.D.) was born in Antioch, the daughter of a pagan priest. Her mother died when she was an infant, and she was raised by a Christian nurse who baptized her and gave her a Christian education. St. Margaret grew into a pious and virtuous young woman under her nurse's care, to the delight of her father. When she came of age, Margaret returned to live with her father. She quickly angered him, however, when she refused to take part in offering sacrifices to idols. Furious at her steadfast refusals, he drove her out of his home. Margaret then returned to live with her nurse as a household servant. One day a Roman prefect noticed Margaret's beauty and desired to have her for himself. Margaret declined, citing that she had consecrated her virginity to Jesus Christ, a reply for which she was severely persecuted. She was brought to trial for her Christian faith, scourged, tortured, and thrown into prison by her suitor. In her moment of weakness, the devil appeared to her in the form of a dragon to intimidate her and break her faith. Margaret trusted in God and made the Sign of the Cross, and the dragon fled defeated. At this triumph over her enemy, Margaret's cell was filled with light and her wounds were miraculously healed. Enraged to find her healed, her suitor had new tortures applied to her body, which did her no harm and caused many witnesses to convert to the Christian faith. She was finally killed by beheading. St. Margaret of Antioch was one of the saints who appeared to St. Joan of Arc. She is the patron saint against sterility, of the dying, and of pregnancy, labor, and childbirth. Her feast day is July 20th. | Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ex 3:13-20 Moses, hearing the voice of the LORD from the burning bush, said to him,
"When I go to the children of Israel and say to them,
'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,'
if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?"
God replied, "I am who am."
Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel:
I AM sent me to you." God spoke further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the children of Israel:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,
has sent me to you. "This is my name forever;
this my title for all generations. "Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and tell them:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
has appeared to me and said:
I am concerned about you
and about the way you are being treated in Egypt;
so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt
into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites,
Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,
a land flowing with milk and honey. "Thus they will heed your message.
Then you and the elders of Israel
shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him:
"The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word.
Permit us, then, to go a three-days' journey in the desert,
that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God. "Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go
unless he is forced.
I will stretch out my hand, therefore,
and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there.
After that he will send you away." Responsorial Psalm Ps 105:1 and 5, 8-9, 24-25, 26-27 R.(8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations--
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He greatly increased his people
and made them stronger than their foes,
Whose hearts he changed, so that they hated his people,
and dealt deceitfully with his servants.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He sent Moses his servant;
Aaron, whom he had chosen.
They wrought his signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia Mt 11:28 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 11:28-30 Jesus said:
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light." | Daily Meditation: Matthew 11:28-30 I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) Is Jesus just talking about a good night's sleep? No! He's talking about the rest he wants to give us from the burden of trying to follow him on our own strength and wisdom. In fact, Jesus came to fill us with his Spirit so that we would not have to carry such a heavy load on our own. What a relief! We don't have to trudge through life just gritting our teeth and trying hard to be flawless in every way. Jesus is always at our side to help us. He is always giving us the grace we need to grow in holiness and reflect his love to the world. But old habits often creep back in. Even when we know the freedom of this grace, we can still begin to think that if we just work hard enough, we can do everything Jesus is asking of us. Then before you know it, that burden is squarely back on our shoulders again, and we become exhausted and discouraged. When that happens (and it will!), we need to remember Jesus' invitation to rest. In that rest, we are able to receive more grace from his Spirit. How do we rest in Jesus? By following his own example. He took breaks from work and ministry to spend time with his Father. Sometimes this meant rising early or taking long walks in the mountains. Jesus also took time away from the needy crowds to be with his close friends and enjoy a good meal together. Today, take some time to rest with the Lord. Spend a few extra minutes just breathing deeply and sitting quietly with him. Then cast whatever burdens you are carrying on Jesus' capable shoulders. Perhaps a short relaxing walk, weather permitting, can help you hear the Spirit's wisdom regarding a troubling situation. You might also get together with close friends and let their love and presence reassure you that God has you in the palm of his hands. Come to Jesus, and he will give you rest! "Jesus, I accept your invitation! I will come to you, burdens and all. In you I find my rest." Exodus 3:13-20
Psalm 105:1, 5, 8-9, 24-27 | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
""When I go to the children of Israel and say to them,
'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,'
if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?"
God replied, "I am who am." end of verse. I Am? That's His name? Every name has a meaning right? Have you found out what yours means? One of my name meanings is "fertile soil", and I often joke that I am manure! LOL. But I like it, "fertile soil", and I find that it is actually very fitting because through me, things can actually happen that are fruitful. I find myself spring-boarding others to do greater things than I could ever do. One silly example, as kids, I taught myself how to do a back-flip on a trampoline, which almost caused me pain landing on my neck a time or two. But I got it down, then I showed others, one of which, a cousin, really took it to the next level, doing double back flips, and then went on in diving competitions with all sorts of twirls and turns which I thought was astonishing. I always like to think I have a small thing in all that. The same in the spiritual life, I am in so many ministries, and I see men becoming deacons and priests, vocations in things we were all a part of in their formation. And I look back, wow, that is so amazing, the things they are doing. I may have had a cup of cold water for our Lord in that. Maybe. I see healings, I see miracles, and I am amazed daily at how things work, creation itself is amazing. And our Lord dares to call Himself "I AM". Of all the names. " I Am" goes deep into the universe. What does "I Am" mean? It means "being". The forever now. The very quintessential existence from the dawn of creation until the unknown and unsee-able future. And for us to even the words "I, am" makes one think we are "God", and how does our Lord dare put Himself in us so that He can say "I Am"? This means something beyond amazing, it means He desires that we are one, with Him. That is a gift that no one could ever measure. | We pray today:
"He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations--
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac." end of Psalm. | In the Gospel today we heard:
"Jesus said:
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."" end of Gospel verse. LOL, that was the entire Gospel today. Short and sweet. Yet, so amazing! Our Lord Jesus our Christ says "come to Me".
This is an invitation.
"Come to Me my child, I know you you are worried, I know you are filled with anxiety, and I know you have messed up. I know all that, but you won't come to Me. Come to Me when you are tempted. Come to Me when you are sad. Come to Me full of joy. Come to Me, and how? I am in the Eucharist. I Am in the silence of your precious heart, when You invite Me there, in your home. I Am only a whisper away. I Am so in love with you, it hurts! I Am always listening. I Am pouring out daily flowers in the field for you, I love you so much! I Am sending butterflies, and birds in the sky, when you see three, think of Me with a message "I Love Thee" in the three. I Am waiting. I Am burning with love. I Am what you were hoping to hear today. I Am the hope. I Am the life. I Am the being. I Am hoping to be one with You intimately. I Am always in Love, and I Am on the cross showing My love for you, pouring Myself out to you.
So come to Me. My humble ways will make your life thrive for Heaven's sake. My burden is light, and it is light in Heaven.
Do you understand? Are you availed to sacrificial love?
I Am. | Let's pray:
Lord, Your words melt my heart, and burn my heart, and tears come into my eyes. Help me love You as I ought, help me love Thee more and more, thank you! |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 29:25 The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
