† Quote of the Day "If you learn everything except Christ, you learn nothing. If you learn nothing except Christ, you learn everything." — St. Bonaventure Today's Meditation "If you would suffer with patience the adversities and miseries of this life, be a man of prayer. If you would obtain courage and strength to conquer the temptations of the enemy, be a man of prayer. If you would mortify your own will with all its inclinations and appetites, be a man of prayer. If you would know the wiles of Satan and unmask his deceits, be a man of prayer. If you would live in joy and walk pleasantly in the ways of penance, be a man of prayer. If you would banish from you soul the troublesome flies of vain thoughts and cares, be a man of prayer. If you would nourish your soul with the very sap of devotion, and keep it always full of good thoughts and good desires, be a man of prayer. If you would strengthen and keep up your courage in the ways of God, be a man of prayer. In fine, if you would uproot all vices from your soul and plant all virtues in their place, be a man of prayer. It is in prayer that we receive the unction and grace of the Holy Ghost, who teaches all things." —St. Bonaventure, p. 25-26
An excerpt from The Ways of Mental Prayer Daily Verse "Then he said to the host who invited him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."" — Luke 14:12-14 | St. Bonaventure St. Bonaventure (1221–1274) was born with the name Giovanni in Tuscany, Italy. As a child he became seriously ill and was in danger of death until his mother brought him to St. Francis of Assisi, who was then living in the region as a mendicant friar. It is said that St. Francis healed the child and afterward exclaimed, "O buona ventura (O good fortune)!" when he prophetically perceived how great the child would one day become, and this is how he began to be called Bonaventure. He joined the Franciscan order at the age of 22 and went on to study theology at the University of Paris, where he became famous friends with the Dominican friar St. Thomas Aquinas. The two friends graduated together, each insisting that the other be the first to receive honors. St. Bonaventure is regarded as one of the great philosophers and theologians of the Middle Ages, earning the name "Seraphic Doctor." In addition to his many writings, including a Life of St. Francis of Assisi, he was elected to serve as head of his order, and was appointed a cardinal-bishop by the Holy Father. St. Bonaventure died while assisting at the Second Council of Lyons, which worked for the reunification of the Catholic Church with the Eastern Orthodox churches. His feast day is celebrated on July 15th. | Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Lectionary: 389
Reading 1 IS 1:10-17 Hear the word of the LORD,
princes of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
people of Gomorrah!
What care I for the number of your sacrifices?
says the LORD.
I have had enough of whole-burnt rams
and fat of fatlings;
In the blood of calves, lambs and goats
I find no pleasure. When you come in to visit me,
who asks these things of you?
Trample my courts no more!
Bring no more worthless offerings;
your incense is loathsome to me.
New moon and sabbath, calling of assemblies,
octaves with wickedness: these I cannot bear.
Your new moons and festivals I detest;
they weigh me down, I tire of the load.
When you spread out your hands,
I close my eyes to you;
Though you pray the more,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood!
Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow. Responsorial Psalm PS 50:8-9, 16BC-17, 21 AND 23 R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold."
R. To the upright I will show the saving power 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. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
"When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think you that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
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. To the upright I will show the saving power of God. Alleluia MT 5:10 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel MT 10:34-11:1 Jesus said to his Apostles:
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one's enemies will be those of his household. "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. "Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet's reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous
will receive a righteous man's reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward." When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns. | Daily Meditation: Isaiah 1:10-17 Make justice your aim. (Isaiah 1:17) Speaking through the prophet Isaiah around 740 BC, God confronted the people of Jerusalem. He called them "princes of Sodom" and branded their Temple sacrifices as "worthless" and "loathsome" (Isaiah 1:10, 13). He even refused to listen to their prayers (1:15). What was the problem? It wasn't the sacrifices and prayers themselves; it was the injustices that the people were pursuing against the poor and vulnerable when they weren't praying (Isaiah 1:17). They seemed to think that as long as they were performing the prescribed rituals, it didn't matter if they took advantage of the poor. But just the opposite is the case, for the Israelites and for us. What we do matters—especially what we do to help the oppressed. If we ignore their needs, we are not just hurting them; we are also hurting our relationship with the Lord. Our sins cast a shadow over our hearts and obscure our ability to experience his presence. Over time, if we continue to turn a deaf ear to "the orphan's plea" and fail to "defend the widow" (Isaiah 1:17), we risk cutting ourselves off from God completely. Today's reading is clear: our sins offend God. But not just because we've "broken the rules." They offend him because we are ignoring his children's needs. It hurts him to see them suffering while their brothers and sisters in Christ look the other way. Let Isaiah's words today act as a wake-up call. Sin, especially lack of concern for the poor, is offensive to God. But that's not the whole story. Even today, the Lord continues to call out through the words of Isaiah: "Wash yourselves clean!" (1:16). His mercy, higher than the heavens and more powerful than any sin, can take away our guilt. Even today, his words are full of hope: "Make justice your aim" (1:17). His Spirit, more pervasive than human indifference and more attractive than wealth and comfort, can give us hearts of compassion for the needy. Know that if you take just one step closer to the Lord, he will take a thousand steps closer to you. If you take just one step closer to caring for his poor, he will meet you there and fill you with his grace. "Lord, help me to make justice my aim!" Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23
Matthew 10:34–11:1 |  Hear AI Read it to you. Updated 7/10/24 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"Jesus said to his Apostles:
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one's enemies will be those of his household.
"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it....." end quote. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus lays down the conditions for discipleship: "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
There is a line from the illuminator of the St. John's Bible that states, "We have to love our way out of this." There is nothing wimpy or namby-pamby or blind about this conviction. When we love extravagantly, we are not purposely blinding ourselves to moral realities—just the contrary. Love is not a sentiment, but "a harsh and dreadful thing," as Dostoevsky said.
This is just what Jesus shows on his terrible cross. And this is just what we, his followers, must imitate. Taking up the cross means not just being willing to suffer, but being willing to suffer as he did, absorbing violence and hatred through our forgiveness and nonviolence....." end quote from Bishop Barron.
I thought the bible calls the Messiah the "Prince of Peace", yet, today, we heard Him say directly "Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword."
He never said of Himself, "I Am the prince of peace". He did say though "I Am the light of the world". and this flies directly in the face of darkness. It is a stark difference that reveals what is hidden in the dark.
And our Lord does not water it down after saying this. He continues:
"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me..."
This is a hard line to swallow. We love our parents and our children. But at what cost? Who do you love more? What is the priority level given to each? Is it too hard to believe God? We need to trust Him, to Love Him more than anybody, more than anyone on earth! Why?
Because! HE is the truth, the way, and the life! God is Love! The world has distorted the word "love" to mean many things that detract us from God Himself.
But, we live in a world that is mislead by those in darkness, by those who have no fear of God, by those who could care less, except what they prioritize to be important, self pleasure, self indulgence, self pity, self aggrandizement, self ego, and selfish everything else. You see? What is the priority there? Self?
So how can we battle the self mentality?
It is going to take something most will not do, sacrifice in the name of love.
Boy wouldn't you like to have a fast snappy remark to those who insult you?
Wouldn't you like revenge? Is that what Pope John Paul II did when he was shot at? No. He went to the shooter in jail, to forgive him.
What happened there? The shooter became perhaps his biggest follower.
The same thing happened with the sexual assault and rape attempt on Saint Maria Goretti, where the violent young man was thrown into jail for stabbing the 14 year old girl to death, she said she wanted Alessandro to be forgiven. And Alessandro was later released after many years in prison. Alessandro said something that was true, that he had seen naked pictures or drawings and he was violent after that. Yet today he could be elevated to a higher level to sainthood, because he has dedicated his life to that 14 year old he once tried to violate and murdered. One fleeting moment cannot define who we are.
God has the ultimate word. Therefore, God has to be everything, He has to be first on our priority.
When I was in college, when I applied for jobs, I told them I couldn't work on Sundays because I went to Mass.
Now that I am married the same goes, we go to Mass on Sundays, and every day of the week if possible. When the kids entered sports, I told them we weren't missing the days we went to Church things for sports.
What is happening now? They aren't in sports. Now what? They are still in church. God has outlasted anything else in existence.
What is God? Who is God? Jesus reveals who God is.
Just like I am an image and carry the blood of my dad that has passed away, I represent my dad's essence.
But when it comes to our Lord Jesus, with His Sacred Body and Blood, He is pure heart, He is all heart with an iron rod, which means Love shall reign in His Kingdom.
When you turn on the media in your life, shut out darkness. Tune into the light, like this message. Seek more and learn more about God.
Or what else comes first? What is your number one priority? What is your number one love?
Where are those that are so crazy for God's love?
They are in Heaven, and they once lived on earth. Saints. And those that you'd never consider saints, but God sees how truly they love.
Because God sets the rules, and sent us His heart, His son to show us the way forever. Sacred Blood of Jesus Christ, be our Love! | Random Bible Verse 1
Psalm 68:19 19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
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