† Quote of the Day "Suffering overwhelms you because you take it like a coward. Meet it bravely, with a Christian spirit: and you will regard it as a treasure." — St. Josemaria Escriva Today's Meditation "Of all the divine attributes, only God's omnipotence is named in the Creed: to confess this power has great bearing on our lives. We believe that his might is universal, for God who created everything also rules everything and can do everything. God's power is loving, for he is our Father, and mysterious, for only faith can discern it when it 'is made perfect in weakness.' The Holy Scriptures repeatedly confess the universal power of God. He is called the 'Mighty One of Jacob,' the 'Lord of hosts,' the 'strong and mighty' one. If God is almighty 'in heaven and on earth,' it is because he made them. Nothing is impossible with God, who disposes his works according to his will. He is the Lord of the universe, whose order he established and which remains wholly subject to him and at his disposal. He is master of history, governing hearts and events in keeping with his will: 'It is always in your power to show great strength, and who can withstand the strength of your arm?'" —The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 268-269
An excerpt from Catechism of the Catholic Church Daily Verse "We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves; let each of us please our neighbor for the good, for building up. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, "The insults of those who insult you fall upon me."" — Romans 15:1-3 | St. Emily De Vialar St. Emily de Vialar (1797–1856) was born in Gaillac, France to an aristocratic family in the years following the French Revolution. Because the Catholic faith was under severe persecution, she was baptized in secret by her parents and her religious instruction was given at home. She was a devout child who displayed an aptitude for prayer, and she shunned the luxuries of her state in life. After the death of her mother, her father arranged to find her a suitable husband when she reached 15 years of age. Emily, who desired to lead the religious life in service to the poor, resisted her father's attempts and endured his anger at her refusal. She desired also to repair the harm caused by the Revolution by catechizing the local children. Emily remained a virgin and privately consecrated herself to God while living in her father's home. When she was 21 she met a priest who helped her set up an out-patient service for the sick in her own home, which heightened her tense relationship with her father. When her grandfather died, Emily inherited a large fortune which allowed her independence in the service of God. She bought a large home in her town and began a religious order in service to the sick and poor, and to the education of children, which quickly flourished. In 40 years her order, called the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition, established 40 houses throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia. St. Emily de Vialar's feast day is June 17th. (816-883 A.D.) was born in Sicily to a pious Christian family. When Muslims invaded the island, his family moved to Greece to escape persecution. At the age of fifteen he entered a monastery and grew in holiness and virtue. St. Gregory the Dekapolite took Joseph with him to Constantinople to defend the traditional reverence of icons in opposition to the iconoclast heresy. Joseph was then chosen by the local clergy to be a messenger to Pope Leo III to obtain the Holy Father's assistance in battling the iconoclast heretics, who were gaining power and influence. On his way to Rome, Joseph was captured by Muslims who delivered him into the hands of the iconoclast heretics. While held a prisoner, St. Nicholas appeared to Joseph and asked him to sing in the name of God. After six years Joseph was freed from prison and returned to Constantinople, where he founded a monastery dedicated to his friend St. Gregory. He also dedicated a church in the name of St. Bartholomew, to whom he had a devotion. St. Bartholomew then appeared to Joseph in a dream and encouraged him to write hymns for the Church. After writing his first hymn in honor of St. Bartholomew, Joseph dedicated other hymns to St. Nicholas, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and other saints. During his life he composed nearly 1,000 hymns. When another wave of iconoclasm arose, he again stood steadfast against it and was exiled for eleven years as a result; he was later exiled a second time for defending orthodox Christian doctrine. He finally died full of years in Constantinople. His feast day is June 14. | Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 1 Kgs 21:1-16 Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel
next to the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria.
Ahab said to Naboth, "Give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden,
since it is close by, next to my house.
I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or,
if you prefer, I will give you its value in money."
Naboth answered him, "The LORD forbid
that I should give you my ancestral heritage."
Ahab went home disturbed and angry at the answer
Naboth the Jezreelite had made to him:
"I will not give you my ancestral heritage."
Lying down on his bed, he turned away from food and would not eat. His wife Jezebel came to him and said to him,
"Why are you so angry that you will not eat?"
He answered her, "Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite
and said to him, 'Sell me your vineyard, or,
if you prefer, I will give you a vineyard in exchange.'
But he refused to let me have his vineyard."
His wife Jezebel said to him,
"A fine ruler over Israel you are indeed!
Get up.
Eat and be cheerful.
I will obtain the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you." So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and,
having sealed them with his seal,
sent them to the elders and to the nobles
who lived in the same city with Naboth.
This is what she wrote in the letters:
"Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people.
Next, get two scoundrels to face him
and accuse him of having cursed God and king.
Then take him out and stone him to death."
His fellow citizens—the elders and nobles who dwelt in his city—
did as Jezebel had ordered them in writing,
through the letters she had sent them.
They proclaimed a fast and placed Naboth at the head of the people.
Two scoundrels came in and confronted him with the accusation,
"Naboth has cursed God and king."
And they led him out of the city and stoned him to death.
Then they sent the information to Jezebel
that Naboth had been stoned to death. When Jezebel learned that Naboth had been stoned to death,
she said to Ahab,
"Go on, take possession of the vineyard
of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you,
because Naboth is not alive, but dead."
On hearing that Naboth was dead, Ahab started off on his way
down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite,
to take possession of it. Responsorial Psalm Ps 5:2-3ab, 4b-6a, 6b-7 R. (2b) Lord, listen to my groaning.
Hearken to my words, O LORD,
attend to my sighing.
Heed my call for help,
my king and my God!
R. Lord, listen to my groaning.
At dawn I bring my plea expectantly before you.
For you, O God, delight not in wickedness;
no evil man remains with you;
the arrogant may not stand in your sight.
R. Lord, listen to my groaning.
You hate all evildoers.
You destroy all who speak falsehood;
The bloodthirsty and the deceitful
the LORD abhors.
R. Lord, listen to my groaning. Alleluia Ps 119:105 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A lamp to my feet is your word,
a light to my path.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 5:38-42 Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one to him as well.
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,
hand him your cloak as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile,
go with him for two miles.
Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow."
| Daily Meditation: Matthew 5:38-42 Offer no resistance to one who is evil. (Matthew 5:39) While so many of Jesus' teachings in his Sermon on the Mount are challenging, the one from today's Gospel may be the most challenging of all. How can we "offer no resistance" and stand idly by when someone is trying to hurt us (Matthew 5:39)? That flies in the face of all our natural instincts! The truth is, we can't do this without fixing our gaze on the Lord. Jesus is our example for living out this teaching. He did not retaliate when he was being persecuted—not even during his passion! In fact, while we were still sinners—his "enemies"—he died for all of us (Romans 5:8). Even more, he came to offer us love and mercy on behalf of his heavenly Father. He became the source of grace we can draw on whenever we encounter injustice or evil. Is there someone in your life who is an obvious adversary? Perhaps a trusted friend or loved one has betrayed you. Maybe someone at work is constantly criticizing you. Then there are those people who often upset you and cause you to lose your temper and lash out. In all these instances, and many more, the Lord wants you to let go of any thoughts or feelings of vengeance or retaliation. Instead, he wants you to rely on his love and mercy, and then trust that he is just and will see that justice is done in his own time and way. We may not have warm feelings for our adversaries, but by keeping our eyes on Jesus, we can wish for their good. This gaze happens most effectively in prayer: intimate prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, convicting prayer while reading the Gospels, joyful prayer of praise and thanksgiving, and fruitful prayer after Communion. The radical love and mercy Jesus is asking of us can only come into the world one person at a time. So when you want to retaliate, look at your struggle as an opportunity. When you respond to evil with God's goodness, you are pouring the love of Christ into human hearts. "Lord Jesus, I need your inexhaustible grace. Stay with me on my journey through this rough terrain." 1 Kings 21:1-16
Psalm 5:2-7 |  HEAR it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one to him as well.
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,
hand him your cloak as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile,
go with him for two miles.
Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow......." end quote. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, today, in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord exhorts us to nonresistance to evil. Martin Luther King Jr. was deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi's techniques, and Gandhi learned them, largely, from the Sermon on the Mount.
Both Gandhi and King appreciated that the text dealing with the nonresistance to evil has nothing to do with passivity in the face of injustice, but rather with a new and distinctive type of resistance.
Consider the Lord's injunction, "When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well." I realize that this sounds like mere passivity, fleeing before evil, but the truth is anything but. In Jesus' time, you would not have used your left hand for any type of social interaction, since it was considered unclean. Therefore, to strike someone on the right cheek is to strike him with the back of your hand, the way a master might treat a slave.
By turning the other cheek, one neither fights back directly nor flees, but rather stands his ground and declares, "You will not treat me that way again." It thereby effectively mirrors back to the aggressor his aggression. It is the declaration that the aggressed person refuses to cooperate with the world of the aggressor......" end quote Bishop Barron.
It's an interesting reflection, that most of the world tends to take its "love directives" from the Lord our God in Jesus, because they are the best, really.
But can we follow Christ that close? Would you really do everything He has been asking for? Would you care that much really?
If I reproach you, and you feel insulted, would you turn the cheek? What if I really slapped you? Isn't that even worse?
Would you turn the cheek then?
I've seen it at homes, and in churches, slaps, and what happens? At schools, at work, what happens if someone slaps another with words or physically?
FIGHT! FIGHT! The school yards begins screaming and everyone gathers around to watch the drama and gossip. Very few are the peacekeepers, very few turn the cheek. And the devil gets away with whatever, in the name of neutrality, all the onlookers, all the ones in the stands watch the saints get slaughtered or devoured by wild beasts in this modern arena.
Sounds terrible right? Just turn on the TV, see the violence and wars? That's the work of the devil, and people allowing it to happen, mostly, perhaps 90% of it how? Through feelings.
People that can't let it go. People that want their version of justice and karma to be done instead of God's will be done, or better said "Love's will be done".
And what if someone asks and forces you into a type of slavery, for a day, doing something you don't want to but it is for their help and benefit? Would you do it? It seems an injustice, but Simon of Cyrene was forced into this by the Romans, when he was forced to carry the cross of Jesus. What is a good example? All I write is to give you real life words and examples, to help your faith. Perhaps this one: Yesterday, for Father's day, I wanted to bless our Father in Heaven. And, so, I asked my kids to all go with me this time to the nursing home as we try to do every single Sunday afternoon around 3pm. That's what I wanted as a gift, because normally only 1 or 2 out of our 8 kids go with us when they have free choice. My oldest boy had given me a baseball cap he bought as a gift for me, before we took off. I took it with me.
All my family went, we entered the nursing home,and gathered the elderly, wheeled them in, pushed them all into the gathering living room as always.
We prayed, read scripture, we sang. A black man, my brother in Christ, Roy, I noticed was wiping tears during a song they like "I'll Fly Away". Was it because it affected him? Was it because the man we sang it for, James, was feeling sick and he thought of him? I don't know, but something told me to give him my new cap, because I know the last one I gave him, he never takes it off.
Wow, was he so happy! It made my Father's day. And it took the sacrifice of my boy who looked at me puzzled, why had I given away what he just gave to me? Go the extra mile my son! Right? Everyone had to go the extra mile to make their father happy. And I believe He was.
You see, when I go to prisons, or nursing homes, or any ministry, especially the Holy Mass, I do it to go see the Father, our Father. My whole focus on Father's day was to make him smile as my kids tried to make me smile with their own gifts, by the way, the one gift I secretly admired most, was the ones where the kids couldn't buy me anything, but all they could do was offer me their loving affection...a sincere hug.
Wouldn't you like to hug your Father like that? How? Look around, He is inside people. Jesus lives among us! You should see the miracles that happen with this faith.
And so, this is about to get crazy. What if your father reprimands you. You hear the truth and you don't want to hear it? Or you may even get slapped or yelled at! You should see the blessings that come if you turn the cheek and obey. Obedience is the way of Heaven.
"Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow."
Give to God what God our Father wants.
And let Him have it when He wants to borrow it.
There have been moments of regret in my life when I didn't let someone borrow something. More of those have happened than letting people borrow and never bringing back or returning things broken. This is what God our Father has done with us...He has let us borrow this life, this world, for a little while. It is good to borrow and return it with great care in great thanksgiving, appreciation.
Eucharist means thanksgiving. It is good to be grateful. Giving until you are emptied is good too.
Jesus did it.
Would you follow Him that closely? Love until it hurts? I mean, really, really hurts?
With all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul! Sacred Heart of Jesus, by my love. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
1 Kings 8:27 27 "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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