†Saint Quote of the Day
"If we could comprehend all the good things contained in Holy Communion, nothing more would be wanting to content the heart of man."
–St. John Vianney †Today's Meditation "To become holy, to become saints, we must of course try as hard as we can to do God's will as it comes to us in a general way that is valid for everyone: through Scripture, the Commandments, and so on. It is also indispensable, as has just been said, to go further: to aspire to know not only what God demands of everyone in general, but also what he wants more specifically of us individually."
—Fr. Jacques Philippe, p. 19 DAILY Verse
"Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed."" –John 20:29 |  click to read more | | St. John Vianney (Cure of Ars) St. John Vianney, also known as St. Jean Marie Vianney (1786–1859) was born in France to a farming family, one of six children of devout Catholic parents. He was baptized on the day of his birth. When he was four years old the French Revolution erupted, and priests were forced into hiding. Every day they risked their lives to give the sacraments, and John looked up to them as heroes. His First Holy Communion and Confirmation were made in secrecy. After the Church in France was reestablished, John studied for the priesthood. He had difficulty in his studies due to his lack of formal education during the turmoil of the revolution, but his great desire carried him through. After his ordination he became a parish priest assigned to the small country town of Ars. There he ministered to the carnage the revolution had left in the souls of the French people. Many were indifferent to, and ignorant of, the Faith. John performed great penances for the people and received many graces for their conversion. He had the gifts of miracle-working, prophecy, hidden knowledge, and discernment of spirits. He was soon known internationally, and people came from afar to see him. Year after year he spent 11-12 hours a day in the confessional, and up to 16 hours in the summer. By 1855 there were 20,000 pilgrims traveling annually to Ars. Because of this St. John Vianney was tormented by evil spirits throughout his life, especially when he attempted to get his two to three hours of sleep a night. He died at the age of 73 after serving 40 years as a parish priest. Over 300 priests and 6,000 people attended his funeral. St. John Vianney is the patron saint of confessors and priests. His feast day is August 4th. | Memorial of Saint John Vianney, Priest Readings for the Memorial of Saint John Vianney, Priest Reading 1 Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37 The LORD said to Moses,
"These are the festivals of the LORD which you shall celebrate
at their proper time with a sacred assembly.
The Passover of the LORD falls on the fourteenth day of the first month,
at the evening twilight.
The fifteenth day of this month is the LORD's feast of Unleavened Bread.
For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
On the first of these days you shall hold a sacred assembly
and do no sort of work.
On each of the seven days you shall offer an oblation to the LORD.
Then on the seventh day you shall again hold a sacred assembly
and do no sort of work." The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the children of Israel and tell them:
When you come into the land which I am giving you,
and reap your harvest,
you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest
to the priest, who shall wave the sheaf before the LORD
that it may be acceptable for you.
On the day after the sabbath the priest shall do this. "Beginning with the day after the sabbath,
the day on which you bring the wave-offering sheaf,
you shall count seven full weeks,
and then on the day after the seventh week, the fiftieth day,
you shall present the new cereal offering to the LORD. "The tenth of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement,
when you shall hold a sacred assembly and mortify yourselves
and offer an oblation to the LORD. "The fifteenth day of this seventh month is the LORD's feast of Booths,
which shall continue for seven days.
On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly,
and you shall do no sort of work.
For seven days you shall offer an oblation to the LORD,
and on the eighth day you shall again hold a sacred assembly
and offer an oblation to the LORD.
On that solemn closing you shall do no sort of work. "These, therefore, are the festivals of the LORD
on which you shall proclaim a sacred assembly,
and offer as an oblation to the LORD burnt offerings and cereal offerings,
sacrifices and libations, as prescribed for each day." Responsorial Psalm Ps 81:3-4, 5-6, 10-11ab R. (2a) Sing with joy to God our help.
Take up a melody, and sound the timbrel,
the pleasant harp and the lyre.
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our solemn feast. R. Sing with joy to God our help.
For it is a statute in Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob,
Who made it a decree for Joseph
when he came forth from the land of Egypt. R. Sing with joy to God our help.
There shall be no strange god among you
nor shall you worship any alien god.
I, the LORD, am your God
who led you forth from the land of Egypt.
R. Sing with joy to God our help. Alleluia 1 Pt 1:25 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of the Lord remains forever;
this is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 13:54-58 Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.
They were astonished and said,
"Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter's son?
Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us?
Where did this man get all this?"
And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them,
"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house."
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith. | DAILY MEDITATION: LEVITICUS 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34-37
These are the festivals of the Lord. (Leviticus 23:2) Today's first reading describes five sacred assemblies for the people of Israel to observe throughout the course of a year. That's a lot of celebrating! Why was it so important? God gave his people these holy days as a gift because he wanted to be close to them. He knew how easy it was for the demands of daily life to obscure their memory of the ways he had been present throughout their history. He knew how much they needed reminders of what mattered most. So God gave the people these memorial feasts as a way to relive those pivotal moments in their past, moments like their deliverance from slavery in Egypt and the giving of the Ten Commandments. The sacred celebrations helped the Israelites lift their eyes to him and, if necessary, make a course correction. The rhythm of the Jewish feasts throughout the year gave order and meaning to the lives of God's people, just as our Catholic liturgical calendar does for us. God has graced us with seasons like Lent, Easter, and Advent to deepen our connection with him each year. We also have numerous other feast days in remembrance of saints or events in the life of Jesus or Mary that can lift our eyes heavenward. These celebrations encourage us to keep our attention fixed on what truly matters. Just look at this month, for instance. We celebrate the Transfiguration of the Lord on August 6 and the Assumption of Mary on August 15. We have the feasts of St. Lawrence, St. Bartholomew, and the Passion of John the Baptist (August 10, 24, and 29). And there are memorials of other saints on almost every other day of the month! We have plenty to commemorate. So let's pay a little more attention to these dates. If there are children in your life, talk to them about what makes these feasts special. Maybe even read a scriptural account of the event or a short biography of the saint. Set aside some extra time for prayer or make a fancy dessert. Celebrate! And remember God's goodness and faithfulness to you and to the whole Church. "Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me the chance to recall and celebrate your faithfulness throughout the year!" Psalm 81:3-6, 10-11
Matthew 13:54-58 |  click to hear 2cents | https://drive.google.com/file/d/15HEICYSKDWEazfYQ-NTHHqytr2waj1Yh/view?usp=drive_link
Reflections with Brother Adrian: | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"These, therefore, are the festivals of the LORD
on which you shall proclaim a sacred assembly,
and offer as an oblation to the LORD burnt offerings and cereal offerings, sacrifices and libations, as prescribed for each day."." end of verse. We offer cereal sacrifices daily, the daily bread. It is prescribed by the Lord. We are to hold a weekly feast on the Sabbath which is now on Sundays, and to make it a sacred space for a sacred assembly, the assembly of people to be made one and sacred with the Lord. It is indeed, very special. It is the Lord who fills the space, especially that empty void inside of our bodies that we try to fill with other notions, thoughts, ideas, pleasures, and busyness to quiet the inner silence that calls for a deeper connection with our Lord.
. | We pray today:
"Sing with joy to God our help.
For it is a statute in Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob,
Who made it a decree for Joseph
when he came forth from the land of Egypt."_ end of Psalm. | In the Gospel today we heard:
"Where did this man get all this?"
And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them,
"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house."
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.." end of Gospel verse. Remember the very first sin in the world and how it came to be. Sure, pride enters the scene, but how? Pride was the fall of the angel of lights, right? And that temptation enters through the devil's whispers to Eve, "did God Really say that?" Did "He really mean that"? He just doesn't want you to have wisdom, to understand like He does, so take a bite and see what He is hiding from you.", and "BAM!" The bite. And all of a sudden there was darkness among the light, the devil was given power, all through a little doubt, a little twisted truth which is really a lie, because the truth cannot be wrapped in lies.
And so we have the folks that grew up with our Lord, and there wasn't any room in their heads or hearts for the truth. "Can this be the Messiah? Old Joe's son from across the road? He grew up just like all the other boys! Playing and yes, always praying, but he's just that carpenter's son! He's .... a nobody!
Ouch.
Sadly, that is exactly what's going on today.
There is no openness to the truth of God, and what's worse...the fear of God is faded.
What is the fear of God? I spoke about this as I reflected on Sunday's Gospel that is to come with the choir...when we will read about the Transfiguration of our Lord.
The fear of God is not what the world makes it out to be, to be afraid of Him so much that you are afraid to come to Him.
No. The fear is the opposite. The fear should be to fear to ever be away from Him! Can you imagine a life far away from God? That is super scary to me. Yet, that is how most choose to live when we choose to live in sin, and sin itself should be bringing us to God on our knees! Yet, we choose not to believe. It is easier to dismiss our Lord as some nice guy up in the sky.
But He is judge. And His job of judging is not that hard, because in the end, we judge ourselves.
Because if you ever truly meet our Lord and Father, you will have yourself punished, they will not be doing it for you.
For when you see the truth, there will be no denying Him with our excuse. | So what am I saying? Eve! my child! Have Faith! He is among us! In both the ordinary and the extraordinary. Our Lord can speak through the daily people you deal with! He is here! He can speak in the daily sermons, homilies, confessionals, and faith sharing reunions! He is there where 2 or 3 are gathered in His name.
And of course He is there when you are alone and praying intimately with Him. The best friend you wish you had...well, he's always been there too.
Let's pray:.
Lord, Help me help us fall in love with you. |  Click To Hear | Psalm 30:11–12 You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
12 that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
