† Quote of the Day "Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure that if He wants anything of you, He will fit you for the work and give you strength." — St. Philip Neri Today's Meditation "Despite how we feel when we fall prey to anxiety, God designed us to be incredibly anxiety-resistant. By understanding how our bodies work, we can more effectively cooperate with our God-given natural resources so we can respond to His grace and be freed from the tyranny of stress. To understand why learning to get control of your bodily reactions to stress is so important to overcoming anxiety, it can be helpful to think of your body as a surge protector...In fact, because life is complex, and because stressors come at us from many different directions at one time, each of us has several built-in surge protectors designed to ground us in times of stress." —Dr. Gregory Popcak, p. 81
An excerpt from Unworried Daily Verse "After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb."" — Revelation 7:9-10 | St. Joseph the Hymnographer (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. | Reading 1 1 Kgs 19:9a, 11-16 At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave, where he took shelter.
But the word of the LORD came to him,
"Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by."
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.
A voice said to him, "Elijah, why are you here?"
He replied, "I have been most zealous for the LORD,
the God of hosts.
But the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant,
torn down your altars,
and put your prophets to the sword.
I alone am left, and they seek to take my life."
The LORD said to him,
"Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus.
When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram.
Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel,
and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah,
as prophet to succeed you." Responsorial Psalm Ps 27:7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14 R. (8b) I long to see your face, O Lord.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord. Alleluia Phil 2:15d, 16a R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Shine like lights in the world,
as you hold on to the word of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 5:27-32 Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you,
everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna. "It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful)
causes her to commit adultery,
and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
| Daily Meditation: 1 Kings 19:9, 11-16 The Lord will be passing by. (1 Kings 19:11) Have you ever experienced the presence of God in nature? The majesty of the Grand Canyon, for instance, can awaken a sense of your own smallness and God's infinite greatness. Indeed, God is present everywhere, but he also chooses to reveal his presence in a special way in particular times and places. That's what happens in today's first reading when God promises Elijah that "the Lord will be passing by" (1 Kings 19:11). But "the Lord was not in the wind" or in the earthquake or in the fire; instead, Elijah knew God was present when he heard a "tiny whispering sound" (19:11-12). God's way of making himself known to Elijah shows how personal he is. When God visited Elijah, the once bold prophet was in despair. He had tried to be faithful to the Lord but had to flee for his life. Taking shelter in a cave, Elijah prayed for death (1 Kings 19:3-4). So it makes sense that God didn't come to him in a grand earthquake or a blazing fire. He chose to come in a gentle, tender way and start a conversation: "Why are you here?" (19:13). And so began God's work to rebuild Elijah's faith and confidence. This encounter can give us hope! Our God is indeed eternal and present in all of creation, which he holds in existence from moment to moment. But he also chooses to be uniquely concerned with each human being—including each one of us—in a particular way. God paid special attention to Elijah, and he pays special attention to you. You're not just an anonymous individual in a big crowd of Christians. You're certainly not an accidental organism, alive for a brief moment in the history of the universe. God sees you. He knows you completely, and he is part of the unique story of your life. God wants to speak personally to you. Listen for him when you read Scripture or go to Mass or take a walk today. He might share a word of conviction or compassion or encouragement. He might even ask you a question. So be on the lookout: the Lord is passing by! "Lord, help me to hear your still, small voice today." Psalm 27:7-9, 13-14
Matthew 5:27-32 |  HEAR it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
"It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful)
causes her to commit adultery,
and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery......." end quote. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel from the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord prohibits divorce.
Is there any better description of sex anywhere in the literature of the world than that provocative line, "The two of them become one flesh?" In a Jewish context, flesh carries the sense of the whole person. Hence sexual union is meant to be a union at all levels.
A husband says to his wife, "My life is no longer about me; it's about you and the children we will have." And the wife says the same thing to her husband: "My life is not mine anymore; it belongs to you and our children."
Some might expect Jesus to have a soft or relativized teaching on divorce, but later in Matthew's Gospel he firmly declares: "What God has joined together, no human being must separate." The husband and wife, who become one flesh, are brought together not just by their mutual attraction but by God. Their union is ingredient in God's purposes. And this is why it cannot be undone. God doesn't go back on his word......" end quote Bishop Barron.
What in the world? Cut out your eye? What about your mind that has all these sinful impulses? How do you cut that out? And what about that tongue, like Fr. Joseph said today in Mass, that tongue that can cause so much destruction? How about we cut that?
Of course you won't cut the tongue out, but you can cut out talking evil, can't you? Stop putting others down. Stop using curse words. Start using Heavenly angelic terms and language.
You can cut out pornography. You can cut out impulses.
How? If they come automatically?
Whence the thought enters pray "Lord have mercy on me a poor sinner". Immediately and always.
And why does this scripture precede the words of our Lord about divorce?
Because, He is going deep into faithfulness.
All of those prior terms where about making us faithful.
All of the terms were to aim at one word: Fidelity.
Fidelity to your spouse.
Why? Why is this so important? They say divorce is a flip of a coin, 50% rates. Why is divorce wrong? And I have to be careful here because so many are involved in horrible divorces.
That's why! Because so many of them are horrible!
In my own loved ones, there is a divorce going towards 10 years of fighting that I know we are all tired of.
The children are back and forth between mother and father. The confusion. The bickering. The accusations. I'm tired of it and I'm not one of the children caught in between.
But is that the only reason God does not desire divorce?
There's more. Forget the children that are severely affected, much more than the parents, there is more at stake.
When we marry in the Church, the Sacrament is a bond between man and woman and that bond is God.
It gets deeper.
Now the bond isn't about you or your spouse alone anymore, the bond is with God Himself for fidelity, our faithfulness to Him.
So if you are faithful to your spouse, even if they are unfaithful to you, you are being faithful to God.
It doesn't make human sense, but this is what it is like to turn the cheek...to God Himself.
He reprimands. We don't like it. He may not do things you like, but in the end, the test is one of true faithfulness, true love.
Does this mean stay in an abusive relationship?
Talk to God about it. Sacrifice to God about it. Fight your hardest for true love to turn back. You will know without a doubt when it is time, because God is faithful, more faithful than a mother.
from a spanish reflection today:
Blessed are you, God of tenderness,
who we search tirelessly
and that you show yourself in the whisper
of the morning that is reborn.
God of the beginning and God of silence,
you have created man and woman
so that her love is the face
of your hidden presence in the heart of the world.
We beg you:
grant to those who join in the name of your love
who know how to seek your face and your light
in the depths of desire
that makes them give themselves to each other.
This is how they will know you
and they will be able to bless you
with the joy of being for each other
the sign of infinite love
that you have manifested in Jesus, your beloved Son. |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Philippians 4:12 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
