†Saint Quote of the Day
"Helping a person in need is good in itself. But the degree of goodness is hugely affected by the attitude with which it is done. If you show resentment because you are helping the person out of a reluctant sense of duty, then the person may receive your help but may feel awkward and embarrassed. This is because he will feel beholden to you. If, on the other hand, you help the person in a spirit of joy, then the help will be received joyfully. The person will feel neither demeaned nor humiliated by your help, but rather will feel glad to have caused you pleasure by receiving your help. And joy is the appropriate attitude with which to help others because acts of generosity are a source of blessing to the giver as well as the receiver."
–St. John Chrysostom †Today's Meditation
"To the extent that we abandon our personality to Him, He will take possession of our will and work in us. We are no longer ruled by commands coming from the outside, as from a cruel master, but by almost imperceptible suggestions that rise up from within. We feel as if we had wanted all along to do those things He suggests to us; we are never conscious of being under command. Thus our service to Him becomes the highest form of liberty, for it is always easy to do something for the one we love."
—Fulton J. Sheen, p. 182 †Daily Verse
For I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives." –Luke 21:15-19 |  click to read more | | St. Helen St. Helen, also known as St. Helena (d. 327 A.D.), was a woman of humble means from Asia Minor. She married the future Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus, and their son Constantine was born c. 272. Constantius divorced Helen in c. 293 to marry Emperor Maximian's daughter for the sake of political gain. When her son Constantine became the Roman Emperor, St. Helen was given the imperial title "Augusta" and was treated like royalty. After Constantine legalized Christianity across the Roman Empire, St. Helen, a Christian convert, went to the Holy Land in search of the actual cross on which Christ was crucified, despite being in her 80s. She questioned local Christians and Jews and learned that the cross was buried under the Temple of Venus. Helen had the temple demolished and excavated. There she discovered the Holy Sepulcher, three crosses, the board with Pilate's inscription, and the nails which pierced Jesus' Sacred Body. In order to determine which cross was the Lord's, the Bishop of Jerusalem touched them to a corpse, causing the man to come back to life. A second miraculous healing of a sick woman confirmed the discovery of the True Cross. Christians flocked to Jerusalem to venerate the Holy Cross. St. Helen then visited all the holy places of Jesus' life and built many churches over their locations, including Bethlehem, the Mount of Olives, and the Garden of Gethsemane. St. Helen is the patron of divorced people, empresses, difficult marriages, converts, and archeologists. Her feast day is August 18th. | Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 417
Reading 1 Jos 24:1-13 Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem,
summoning their elders, their leaders,
their judges and their officers.
When they stood in ranks before God, Joshua addressed all the people:
"Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:
In times past your fathers, down to Terah,
father of Abraham and Nahor,
dwelt beyond the River and served other gods.
But I brought your father Abraham from the region beyond the River
and led him through the entire land of Canaan.
I made his descendants numerous, and gave him Isaac.
To Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau.
To Esau I assigned the mountain region of Seir in which to settle,
while Jacob and his children went down to Egypt. "Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and smote Egypt with the prodigies
which I wrought in her midst.
Afterward I led you out of Egypt, and when you reached the sea,
the Egyptians pursued your fathers to the Red Sea
with chariots and horsemen.
Because they cried out to the LORD,
he put darkness between your people and the Egyptians,
upon whom he brought the sea so that it engulfed them.
After you witnessed what I did to Egypt,
and dwelt a long time in the desert,
I brought you into the land of the Amorites
who lived east of the Jordan.
They fought against you, but I delivered them into your power.
You took possession of their land, and I destroyed them,
the two kings of the Amorites, before you.
Then Balak, son of Zippor, king of Moab,
prepared to war against Israel.
He summoned Balaam, son of Beor, to curse you;
but I would not listen to Balaam.
On the contrary, he had to bless you, and I saved you from him.
Once you crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho,
the men of Jericho fought against you,
but I delivered them also into your power.
And I sent the hornets ahead of you that drove them
(the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites,
Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites)
out of your way; it was not your sword or your bow. "I gave you a land that you had not tilled
and cities that you had not built, to dwell in;
you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves
which you did not plant." Responsorial Psalm Ps 136:1-3, 16-18, 21-22 and 24 R. His mercy endures forever.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,
for his mercy endures forever;
Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his mercy endures forever;
Give thanks to the LORD of lords,
for his mercy endures forever.
R. His mercy endures forever.
Who led his people through the wilderness,
for his mercy endures forever;
Who smote great kings,
for his mercy endures forever;
And slew powerful kings,
for his mercy endures forever.
R. His mercy endures forever.
And made their land a heritage,
for his mercy endures forever;
The heritage of Israel his servant,
for his mercy endures forever;
And freed us from our foes,
for his mercy endures forever.
R. His mercy endures forever. Alleluia See 1 Thes 2:13
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Receive the word of God, not as the word of men,
but, as it truly is, the word of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 19:3-12 Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying,
"Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?"
He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning
the Creator made them male and female and said,
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?
So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate."
They said to him, "Then why did Moses command
that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss her?"
He said to them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts
Moses allowed you to divorce your wives,
but from the beginning it was not so.
I say to you, whoever divorces his wife
(unless the marriage is unlawful)
and marries another commits adultery."
His disciples said to him,
"If that is the case of a man with his wife,
it is better not to marry."
He answered, "Not all can accept this word,
but only those to whom that is granted.
Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so;
some, because they were made so by others;
some, because they have renounced marriage
for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever can accept this ought to accept it." | Daily Meditation: Joshua 24:1-13 Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. (Joshua 24:1) Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. These are the only days that we read from the Book of Joshua at Mass. And a lot goes on in these three passages! Yesterday, Joshua led the Israelites through the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Tomorrow, a dying Joshua will exhort the people to choose to serve the Lord as they settle into that land. And today, Joshua lays an important foundation for their new life in the land. He reminds them that through all those years of wandering, through all the battles and conquests, in every situation through their entire history, God took the initiative. Just listen to what the Lord, speaking through Joshua, tells his people in today's first reading. Hear how many times he acted on their behalf: "I brought your father Abraham from the region beyond the River. . . . I made his descendants numerous. . . . I sent Moses and Aaron, and smote Egypt. . . . I led you out of Egypt. . . . I brought you into the land. . . . I delivered [its inhabitants] into your power. . . . I gave you a land that you had not tilled and cities that you had not built, to dwell in" (Joshua 24:3, 5, 8, 13). Wow! As the Israelites looked forward to a settled life in the Promised Land, they needed to see that the Lord was the constant guiding force through all their victories and progress. They needed to know how precious they were to him. That awareness would be the foundation on which they would build their new lives. It would inspire them to rely on God and follow him. That foundation is important for us, too. As Joshua shows, the story of our faith is not the story of our grueling quest for God. It's the story of God taking the initiative and reaching out to us, protecting and providing for us, and calling us to himself. As we look back over our lives, we can see how God has been involved even in the smallest details. He initiated the victories we won, and he walked with us and held us through the difficulties. So rejoice in God's unrelenting and loving pursuit of you! Like the Israelites, make his faithfulness the foundation for everything you do. "Thank you, Lord, for all that you have done for me!" Psalm 136:1-3, 16-18, 21-22, 24
Matthew 19:3-12 |  click to hear 2cents | audio link
Reflections with Brother Adrian: | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
""I gave you a land that you had not tilled
and cities that you had not built, to dwell in;
you have eaten of vineyards and olive groves
which you did not plant."........" end of verse. The Lord our God and Father has provided life and a place to live life...do you not think He has more in store? We are limited, but He is not! | We pray today:
" His mercy endures forever.
And made their land a heritage,
for his mercy endures forever;
The heritage of Israel his servant,
for his mercy endures forever;
And freed us from our foes,
for his mercy endures forever......."_ end of Psalm. | In the Gospel today we heard:
""Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?"
He said in reply, "Have you not read that from the beginning
the Creator made them male and female and said,
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?...." end of Gospel verse. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus teaches the sacred unity of marriage. The physical, sexual, psychological, economic, and loving bonds between a man and a woman have, ultimately, a sacred purpose: to act as a conduit of the divine life in the world.
How does this work? In the unity of a man and a woman, which becomes in so many ways fruitful, we see an image of the Blessed Trinity: the Father and the Son love one another to such a perfect degree that their love gives birth to the Holy Spirit.
A married couple should see their relationship as an icon of the Holy Trinity—and more to it, a means by which the Trinitarian love bursts forth into the world. The two partners have a mission before God.
St. Paul saw that Christian marriage had a precisely Christian purpose: to symbolize the love of Christ and the Church. As a husband loves his wife (and as she loves him), so does Christ love the Church and the Church (at least ideally) loves him. What does Christ's love for his Church look like? Well, it's a deeply joyful reality, for it is the sharing of the divine life." end quote Bishop Barron.
We are made one flesh. This verse was written on purpose. Because our Lord knew He would become one flesh with His love...His Holy Chosen. And that chosen one is you. We shall not let any man separate us from the love of God. No thing and no person can come in between our Love of the Father. Let us pray:
Lord help us follow your sweet command of loving Thee above all things, both created and unseen. May we love Thee with all our heart, mind, body and soul...as true lovers give themselves to one another...forever! |  Click To Hear | Random Bible Verse 1
Ephesians 6:16–18 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
