† Quote of the Day "It is better to be a child of God than king of the whole world!" — St. Aloysius Gonzaga Today's Meditation "Our own guardian angel [is] for each of us like a trustworthy captain commissioned to defend a stronghold against its enemies. Our guardian angel remains alert and watchful lest any foes should capture and occupy the fort of our soul. These angels are the faithful guards whom the Lord has located on the walls of Jerusalem to keep watch over His flock throughout the night lest the ferocious wolf of hell, who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking for someone to devour, should seize upon our poor souls!" –St. Aloysius Gonzaga, p.65
An excerpt from Meditations on the Holy Angels Daily Verse "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them." — Ephesians 2:8-10 | St. Aloysius Gonzaga St. Aloysius Gonzaga (1568–1591) was born to a noble Italian family, the eldest of seven children, and was destined for the military. However, by the time he was nine years of age he chose the religious life and made a personal vow of chastity. As a safeguard against sexual temptation he always kept his eyes downcast in the presence of women. Although many tried to dissuade him from his chosen vocation, he was eventually allowed to renounce his inheritance and enter the seminary in order to become a Jesuit priest. While he was studying in Rome, there was an outbreak of the plague. Aloysius volunteered to care for the sick, despite the delicateness of his own health. As a result, he contracted the disease and died at the age of twenty-three, before completing his priestly studies. St. Aloysius was connected with two great figures of the Counter-Reformation: he received his First Holy Communion at the age of twelve from St. Charles Borromeo, and his Last Rites from St. Robert Bellarmine, both of whom served as his spiritual advisers. On the night of his death, St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi had a vision of him being received into great glory. St. Aloysius Gonzaga is the patron saint of youth and bodily purity. His feast day is June 21st. | Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, religious Reading 1 2 Kgs 11:1-4, 9-18, 20 When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah,
saw that her son was dead,
she began to kill off the whole royal family.
But Jehosheba, daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah,
took Joash, his son, and spirited him away, along with his nurse,
from the bedroom where the princes were about to be slain.
She concealed him from Athaliah, and so he did not die.
For six years he remained hidden in the temple of the LORD,
while Athaliah ruled the land. But in the seventh year,
Jehoiada summoned the captains of the Carians
and of the guards.
He had them come to him in the temple of the LORD,
exacted from them a sworn commitment,
and then showed them the king's son. The captains did just as Jehoiada the priest commanded.
Each one with his men, both those going on duty for the sabbath
and those going off duty that week,
came to Jehoiada the priest.
He gave the captains King David's spears and shields,
which were in the temple of the LORD.
And the guards, with drawn weapons,
lined up from the southern to the northern limit of the enclosure,
surrounding the altar and the temple on the king's behalf.
Then Jehoiada led out the king's son
and put the crown and the insignia upon him.
They proclaimed him king and anointed him,
clapping their hands and shouting, "Long live the king!" Athaliah heard the noise made by the people,
and appeared before them in the temple of the LORD.
When she saw the king standing by the pillar, as was the custom,
and the captains and trumpeters near him,
with all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets,
she tore her garments and cried out, "Treason, treason!"
Then Jehoiada the priest instructed the captains
in command of the force:
"Bring her outside through the ranks.
If anyone follows her," he added, "let him die by the sword."
He had given orders that she
should not be slain in the temple of the LORD.
She was led out forcibly to the horse gate of the royal palace,
where she was put to death. Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the LORD as one party
and the king and the people as the other,
by which they would be the LORD's people;
and another covenant, between the king and the people.
Thereupon all the people of the land went to the temple of Baal
and demolished it.
They shattered its altars and images completely,
and slew Mattan, the priest of Baal, before the altars.
Jehoiada appointed a detachment for the temple of the LORD.
All the people of the land rejoiced and the city was quiet,
now that Athaliah had been slain with the sword
at the royal palace. Responsorial Psalm Ps 132:11, 12, 13-14, 17-18 R. (13) The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.
The LORD swore to David
a firm promise from which he will not withdraw:
"Your own offspring
I will set upon your throne."
R. The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.
"If your sons keep my covenant
and the decrees which I shall teach them,
Their sons, too, forever
shall sit upon your throne."
R. The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.
For the LORD has chosen Zion;
he prefers her for his dwelling.
"Zion is my resting place forever;
in her will I dwell, for I prefer her."
R. The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling.
"In her will I make a horn to sprout forth for David;
I will place a lamp for my anointed.
His enemies I will clothe with shame,
but upon him my crown shall shine."
R. The Lord has chosen Zion for his dwelling. Alleluia Mt 5:3 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 6:19-23 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,
where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.
But store up treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. "The lamp of the body is the eye.
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.
And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be."
| Daily Meditation: 2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20 For six years he remained hidden in the temple of the Lord, while Athaliah ruled the land. (2 Kings 11:3) Six long years under the evil and oppressive leadership of a tyrannical queen! Athaliah had laid claim to the throne of Judah after she had systematically killed off all the other members of the royal family. Only Joash, the rightful heir to the throne, survived the massacre and was hidden away. What's worse, under Athaliah, God's chosen people were forced to worship the false god Baal. Centuries prior to this, God had sworn to David that his kingdom would endure forever. But now it seemed that this promise was in jeopardy. True, the rightful heir to the throne was alive, but God was not stepping in to make things right. Why did he delay? Just as it was to these Israelites, God's timing is often mysterious to us. It can be a huge test of our faith when we want to see God act in a certain way and he seems to be completely absent. For instance, you may know that God wants to help you provide for your family, but you have not received a single job interview out of the mountain of applications you've submitted. It could be difficult not to lose hope in such a situation. Or perhaps you have prayed many times to be healed from some physical, emotional, or spiritual ailment, but the weight of the burden has not yet been lifted. It may be hard to see how God could bring anything good out of such pain. The people of Judah were being led away from the Lord, but God still had a plan to reestablish the rightful king and bring the people back into right relationship with him. Perhaps right now you can't see clearly how God's good plan is unfolding in your life. But God is always with you. He has good things in store for you—even if they're not exactly what you are looking for. So don't lose hope! Stay close to the Lord, and continue to bring your needs before him each day. It may take six weeks, six months, or even six years, but God always shows up for his people. With his help, be patient and trust that he will fulfill all his promises. "Lord, even when I don't understand your timing, help me believe that you are good and that you care for me." Psalm 132:11-14, 17-18
Matthew 6:19-23 |  HEAR it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"The lamp of the body is the eye.
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.
And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be..." end quote. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples not to store up treasures for themselves on earth, but to store up treasures in heaven, "where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal."
St. Augustine once said that since every creature is made ex nihilo, it carries with it the heritage of nonbeing. There is a kind of penumbra or shadow of nothingness that haunts every finite thing.
This is a rather high philosophical way of stating what all of us know in our bones: no matter how good, beautiful, true, or exciting a thing or state of affairs is here below, it is destined to pass into nonbeing. Think of a gorgeous firework that bursts open like a giant flower and then, in the twinkling of an eye, is gone forever. Everything is haunted by nonbeing; everything, finally, is that firework.
But this is not meant to depress us; it is meant to redirect our attention precisely to the treasures of heaven, to the eternity of God. Once we see everything in light of God, we can learn to love the things of this world without clinging to them and without expecting too much of them. Think of how much disappointment and heartache could be avoided if we only learned this truth!......" end quote Bishop Barron.
A Spanish reflection said today:
"Have you discovered what your treasure is? Are you able to let go of everything that prevents you from looking inside? Do you hide the treasure or make it known?" We hang on so tight to things of this world, the problems, the heartaches, the anxieties, the finances, anything and everything seems to overwhelm us. Yet our Lord asks us to step out of that darkness and into Him, to trusting Him, and into His light, that is life. Our Lord ended today with:
"The lamp of the body is the eye.
If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.
And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be." Have you ever seen the light in someone's eyes? Some declare they can see light in people's eyes.
And our Lord asks the lamp to be sound, meaning, whole and in good working order, right? But if the eye is bad, there is nothing to be had for light.
What you see, is not always what we see. You cannot see someone's real state of sin, or can we? We think we see bad things but you don't know if it isn't something better in the works. And now we are going into grace and faith.
Once I was walking to work, and I saw someone walking, and I just knew it was this guy that was getting on everyone's nerves, my sentiments were like "oh brother, here we go again with that guy". He was to become my ex brother in law, who always seemed to lie and accuse us of many things so it made things awkward for everyone. We are still involved in a nearly 10 year long divorce with him, fighting for money, houses, kids, everything temporal really, just like our Lord said about storing up treasures, instead of fighting for peace and unity. I digress.
That morning, as I walking to work, as I walked closer, I realized that wasn't him. My eyes, my mind, my being had all played tricks on me, it was all me. Have you ever read a text message wrong, and it caused great anger or resentment? It's all in the eye! Without a sound good working lamp, you won't get a light! And just so, even if the lamp is in good working order, it's going to need a fuel source, oil says the bible. Oil for the lamp!
OK! So how do we get our eyes to be sound, in good working order? It becomes the re-order of life. To set your life to see what God wants us to see. Take off those dark glasses that sees the world in darkness and see the beauty of natural order and the creation on how it actually all glorifies God!
How can you see the cross, the crucifixion as something good? It was horrible! God came, gave us His heart, Jesus, and we slaughtered Him on a cross! And we still stab and whip Him with our sins! How can any of this be any good? What can make for a truly eye opening experience if this doesn't phase you?
That there is the biggest issue in the world; that we cannot see God right before us. That we cannot see Him for us, that He is for us and not against us! Only the enemy is against us, and even what the enemy does is mean to bring us closer to GOD Our Father! There you have it, the biggest of secrets if life seen through the eyes of grace and mercy, all things true love.
Have you ever seen someone and seen them through the eyes, the love of God? I do! Many and most people I encounter, somehow I see them with the love of God as if even I were their father! That's weird! But it is God loving them through me. The eyes are opened to a reality that is perennial, an everlasting love which has existed from the beginning of time. Can you see what the Holy Spirit is talking about now?
Can you see that we are to see through God's eyes, meaning to love through His Sacred Heart?
Have you noticed the light lately? It is a gift! It is life! God wanted His heart to give light in the Sacred Heart image, because His Heart is what is giving light as we speak! Sacred Heart of Jesus, be my light, my salvation, my love, my all! |  Click for Audio | Random Bible Verse 1
2 Peter 3:9 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,1 not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
