† Quote of the Day "Never will we understand the value of time better than when our last hour is at hand." — St. Arnold Janssen Today's Meditation "This God of all goodness has made those things easy which are common and necessary in the order of nature, such as breathing, eating, and sleeping. No less necessary in the supernatural order are love and fidelity, therefore it must needs be that the difficulty of acquiring them is by no means so great as is generally represented. Review your life. Is it not composed of innumerable actions of very little importance? Well, God is quite satisfied with these. They are the share that the soul must take in the work of its perfection." —Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 7 An excerpt from Abandonment to Divine Providence Daily Verse "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes peace, who brings good tidings of good, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns.'" — Isaiah 52:7 | St. Junipero Serra St. Junipero Serra (1713 - 1784) was born to a farming family on the Spanish island of Majorca. He was baptized the same day he was born, and was later sent to be educated by the Franciscans. In 1730 he joined the Franciscans and was ordained to the priesthood. St. Junipero was considered brilliant by his peers; he was well-trained in philosophy and theology, and taught at the university. In 1750 he traveled to the New World and began ministering to the people of Mexico City. In 1768 he moved north and began working in the Californian missions. As a result of his tireless missionary efforts, he is largely responsible for the spread of Catholicism along the western coast of the United States—as testified by the many Californian cities with Spanish Christian names. He founded the first nine of twenty-one Catholic missions that spread along the California coast. He converted thousands of Native Americans to the Christian faith and taught them new methods of agriculture, animal husbandry, and craftsmanship. He died from tuberculosis at the age of 71. The Native Americans he ministered wept at his death out of their love for him. Junipero Serra was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II in 1988 and canonized by Pope Francis during his trip to the United States in 2015, the first canonization Mass to ever take place on American soil. His feast day is July 1st.
Find a devotional for this saint | Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Am 2:6-10, 13-16 Thus says the LORD:
For three crimes of Israel, and for four,
I will not revoke my word;
Because they sell the just man for silver,
and the poor man for a pair of sandals.
They trample the heads of the weak
into the dust of the earth,
and force the lowly out of the way.
Son and father go to the same prostitute,
profaning my holy name.
Upon garments taken in pledge
they recline beside any altar;
And the wine of those who have been fined
they drink in the house of their god. Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them,
who were as tall as the cedars,
and as strong as the oak trees.
I destroyed their fruit above,
and their roots beneath.
It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and who led you through the desert for forty years,
to occupy the land of the Amorites. Beware, I will crush you into the ground
as a wagon crushes when laden with sheaves.
Flight shall perish from the swift,
and the strong man shall not retain his strength;
The warrior shall not save his life,
nor the bowman stand his ground;
The swift of foot shall not escape,
nor the horseman save his life.
And the most stouthearted of warriors
shall flee naked on that day, says the LORD. Responsorial Psalm Ps 50:16bc-17, 18-19, 20-21, 22-23 R. (22a) Remember this, you who never think of God.
"Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?"
R. Remember this, you who never think of God.
"When you see a thief, you keep pace with him,
and with adulterers you throw in your lot.
To your mouth you give free rein for evil,
you harness your tongue to deceit."
R. Remember this, you who never think of God.
"You sit speaking against your brother;
against your mother's son you spread rumors.
When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes."
R. Remember this, you who never think of God.
"Consider this, you who forget God,
lest I rend you and there be no one to rescue you.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God."
R. Remember this, you who never think of God. Alleluia Ps 95:8 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 8:18-22 When Jesus saw a crowd around him,
he gave orders to cross to the other shore.
A scribe approached and said to him,
"Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
Another of his disciples said to him,
"Lord, let me go first and bury my father."
But Jesus answered him, "Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead." | Daily Meditation: Amos 2:6-10, 13-16 They sell the just man for silver. (Amos 2:6) Amos was a prophet who wasn't afraid to confront those in power. An outsider from Judah who had originally worked as a sheep breeder, he was called by the Lord to prophesy to the leaders of the northern kingdom of Israel. Unlike the prophets who were employed by the king, Amos was independent. He had no "skin in the game," so he was able to say exactly what these leaders needed to hear. For the next six days, we will read from the Book of Amos. Some of his words will make us uncomfortable, but that's the point. Amos saw how the rich and powerful were exploiting the poor and needy, how they were selling "the just man for silver" (2:6). And he warned them of the consequences of such actions: "The strong man . . . shall not save his life" (2:14). This sin—the strong taking advantage of the weak—has always plagued humankind. It was a problem even for the people of Israel, despite the fact that the Law of Moses prohibited such behavior. And despite Jesus' teachings and the example of his own life, it remains a temptation for all of us. That's why it's important for us to take on the heart of God. He loves people who are poor, weak, and vulnerable in a special way, and he wants us to have the same love and regard for them as well. But not only does he want us to care for their needs; he also wants us to defend them against those who would exploit or mistreat them. This means calling out injustice wherever we see it. Few of us feel up to the task of fighting society's ills, but the fact is, we don't have to do this work alone. We can join other Christians who are fighting for change. They need our time, our energy, our financial resources, and most especially, our prayers. Working together, we can be the prophetic voice that Amos was! "Lord, give me the courage to defend those who are weak." Psalm 50:16-23
Matthew 8:18-22 |  HEAR it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus answered him, "Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
Another of his disciples said to him,
"Lord, let me go first and bury my father."
But Jesus answered him, "Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead."......" end quote. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, a man who appears willing to become Jesus' disciple makes a reasonable request: "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." But the man receives a shocking rebuke from Jesus: "Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead."
What is more important than the mission? Nothing. Not even one of the most sacred and revered practices of our society: piety toward our dead relatives. Could you imagine a scenario in which you wouldn't give permission to someone to attend his father's or mother's funeral?
I don't want to soften Jesus' words or explain them away or contextualize them. They are what they are, and they're harsh, for the man in his own time and for us. But they compel us to make a decision: Are we finally about the things of God or about something else? Is religion and the mission attached to it substantial for us, or merely decorative?
Now mind you, we don't usually have to make such a terrible choice. Normally, our love for God and our love for family don't come into conflict. But this is a sort of spiritual exercise, an experiment. What if it came down to God or my family? Whom would I choose?....." end quote from Bishop Barron.
Our Lord says some pretty hard words. Things that are not meant to be taken lightly.
Things like choosing Him above all loves, all other peoples, including your family. And He says things like "unless you eat my flesh, you will not have eternal life".
Are these things to be taken lightly?
Yesterday, we sang "This Is My Desire" as a communion song. The Lyrics say:
This is my desire
To honor you
Lord will all my heart
I worship you
All I have with in me
I give you praise
All that I adore is in you
(Chorus):
"Lord I give you my heart
I give you my soul
I live for you alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I m awake
Lord have your way in me" The visiting priest, a hermit named Father John of the Holy Spirit said at the end of the mass "thank you for that song, if only it were true" as his homily also mentioned "if we really had faith".
We are called to follow Him and His ways above all.
"Let the dead bury the dead" He says.
And so, how can we have faith that moves mountains? I hear people and songs say they can't move mountains, and they say "I'm not a saint". Let's say all that is true, but our Lord calls us to be holy as He is holy, and to follow His ways. How closely can we resemble our Lord in our walk? Father John said the world would completely change, and I completely agree, if we would only become the living Christ He wants to be. A quote today said the bible verse Revelation 3:20: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me."
Can you hear Him knocking? Can you hear His voice? Can He come inside? To eat?
When we eat ,we seal and edify, not just our bodies, but our relationships. Some have said that a daily family meal helps the family stay together. Others have said "the family that prays together, stays together". All of these are true. I also remember those who have cooked for me. I remember my grandmother cooking eggs and bacon once for me. I never forget. I remember my grandfather serving me vanilla wafers and milk in his apartment since he was divorced from grandmother. This nourishment is not forgotten. And I can never forget the Lord Himself in the priest in Mass, serving Himself on the table.
We do this from the sunrise to the sunset all over the world.
We shall open our minds, our hearts, and our souls to Him, so that we can more surely follow Him. And we will no longer need to bury the dead, because we will be alive in Him and forever. St.Junipero Serra, pray for us! |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Romans 8:29 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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