† Quote of the Day "Christian optimism is not a sugary optimism, nor is it a mere human confidence that everything will turn out all right. It is an optimism that sinks its roots into an awareness of our freedom, and the sure knowledge of the power of grace. It is an optimism that leads us to make demands on ourselves, to struggle to respond at every moment to God's call." — St. Josemaria Escriva Today's Meditation "St. Josemaria Escriva used the phrase "new Mediterraneans" to describe the process of going deeper into the interior life to discover new insights about what we already know or have already heard so many times before. There is a mysterious power of the mind unleashed when we "discover" something we already knew, when we contemplate truth from a new vantage point. These revelations, uncovered through prayer, then overflow into the rest of our lives. This process, aptly given a maritime-themed name, is one that reveals to us the depth of richness of the Faith." –Carrie Gress and Noelle Mering, p. 13
An excerpt from Theology of Home III: At The Sea Daily Verse "But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." — Romans 5:8 | St. Josemaria Escriva St. Josemaria Escriva (1902-1975) was born in Spain, one of six children of a devout Catholic family. Growing up, he observed his parents faithfully endure painful family trials (the death of three of their young children and devastating financial setbacks) and this had a profound effect on his own faith. As a teenager he discovered his vocation to the priesthood when he saw the path of footprints in the snow left by a barefoot Carmelite friar. He then experienced a radical conversion: he gave up his intended career as an architect and entered the seminary. He spent most of his life studying and teaching in universities, earning a doctorate in civil law and theology. Saint Josemaria Escriva's lasting impact lies in the foundation of Opus Dei ("The Work of God"), an organization of laity and priests dedicated to the universal call of holiness and the belief that ordinary, daily life is an authentic path to sanctity. Today Opus Dei has over 80,000 members worldwide. His famous written work is The Way, a collection of spiritual and pastoral reflections on the gospels and their application to everyday life. On June 26, 1975, after glancing at an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in his office in Rome, St. JosemarÃa died suddenly of cardiac arrest. He was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II. His feast day is June 26th. | Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 373
Reading 1 2 Kgs 22:8-13; 23:1-3 The high priest Hilkiah informed the scribe Shaphan,
"I have found the book of the law in the temple of the LORD."
Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.
Then the scribe Shaphan went to the king and reported,
"Your servants have smelted down the metals available in the temple
and have consigned them to the master workmen
in the temple of the LORD."
The scribe Shaphan also informed the king
that the priest Hilkiah had given him a book,
and then read it aloud to the king.
When the king heard the contents of the book of the law,
he tore his garments and issued this command to Hilkiah the priest,
Ahikam, son of Shaphan,
Achbor, son of Micaiah, the scribe Shaphan,
and the king's servant Asaiah:
"Go, consult the LORD for me, for the people, for all Judah,
about the stipulations of this book that has been found,
for the anger of the LORD has been set furiously ablaze against us,
because our fathers did not obey the stipulations of this book,
nor fulfill our written obligations." The king then had all the elders of Judah
and of Jerusalem summoned together before him.
The king went up to the temple of the LORD with all the men of Judah
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
priests, prophets, and all the people, small and great.
He had the entire contents of the book of the covenant
that had been found in the temple of the LORD, read out to them.
Standing by the column, the king made a covenant before the LORD
that they would follow him
and observe his ordinances, statutes and decrees
with their whole hearts and souls,
thus reviving the terms of the covenant
which were written in this book.
And all the people stood as participants in the covenant. Responsorial Psalm Ps 119:33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40 R. (33a) Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Instruct me, O LORD, in the way of your statutes,
that I may exactly observe them.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Lead me in the path of your commands,
for in it I delight.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Incline my heart to your decrees
and not to gain.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Turn away my eyes from seeing what is vain:
by your way give me life.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your justice give me life.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord. Alleluia Jn 15:4a, 5b R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Remain in me, as I remain in you, says the Lord;
whoever remains in me will bear much fruit.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 7:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples:
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,
and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them." | Daily Meditation: 2 Kings 22:8-13; 23:1-3 The king made a covenant before the Lord that they would follow him . . . with their whole hearts and souls. (2 Kings 23:3) King Josiah's father and grandfather had set up altars to pagan gods throughout the nation of Judah and even practiced child sacrifice. They shed "so much innocent blood that it filled the length and breadth of Jerusalem" (2 Kings 21:16). So when twenty-six-year-old Josiah first learned about God's laws and his covenant with them, he must have been stunned. His eyes were opened to a whole new reality! This God had chosen the people of Josiah's kingdom and promised to bless them—not in return for any sacrifice, but simply because he loved them. Today's first reading shows us how Josiah responded to this news: he "tore his garments" as a public sign of remorse and repentance (2 Kings 22:11). He then removed all the pagan shrines and practices around the entire nation and reestablished the worship and observances handed down by Moses. King Josiah's sincere and wholehearted response calls to mind the words of St. Paul to the Romans: "The kindness of God" can "lead you to repentance" (2:4). When he learned of the kindness, faithfulness, and generosity of God, Josiah was cut to the heart and changed the course of his life—and the course of the nation he led. God's kindness can lead you to a similar response. Can you recall any moments in your life when his love was especially tangible to you? Perhaps someone you had hurt offered you undeserved mercy. Or perhaps God's provision came at just the right time. Maybe you experienced his goodness in the words of a priest during the Sacrament of Reconciliation. As you reflect on these times, let God's kindness move you to repent of any ways you may have strayed from obeying his commands or forgotten his goodness to you. Then rededicate your life to the Lord. May his goodness fill your heart with love for him and his people and give you an ever-greater desire to follow him wherever he may lead you! "I praise you, Lord, for all the goodness you have shown to me!" Psalm 119:33-37, 40
Matthew 7:15-20 |  HEAR it read by AI | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them....." end quote. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus tells us that a tree is known by its fruits. In the fifth chapter of his Letter to the Galatians, Paul makes this very specific. He tells us that the fruits of the Holy Spirit are "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control," implying that the Spirit's presence in one's life can be read from its radiance in these soul-expanding qualities.
All of Paul's "fruits of the Holy Spirit" are marks of an outward-looking, expansive magna anima (great soul), which stands in contradistinction to the pusilla anima (the cramped soul) of the sinner. Thus love is willing the good of the other as other; joy is self-diffusive; patience bears with the troublesome; kindness makes the other gentle; self-control restricts the havoc that the ego can cause; etc.
When is the Spirit present? When these attributes are awakened and sustained; when our souls are made great." end quote.
If I speak about works, many people will be turned off, especially if they are protestant. But here again, we must speak about deeds. Our Lord said today that every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down.
I always remember His other story, when He healed a blind man and he asked him "what do you see?" and the blind man being healed said "I see people walking around like trees". And so, we have to believe, that we can be seen like trees. Trees? Why trees? Why are we compared to trees at all?
In this instance, He speaks about fruit, the fruit that we bear. What fruit can come from us? Bishop Barron went into the fruits of the Holy Spirit.
And good fruit is the ones that aren't messed up. Is my joy and love messed up? Is that the kind I'm giving out? Is my peace and patience intact, or is it in shambles? All of these I've been tested with this morning, with all sorts of problems at work, unfair people, unfair charges, machines messing up, bitterness from workers, and the gist of it is money, really, now that I think about it. I don't got money for those that are being unjust with me asking for it. I don't got money for engines. I don't got enough money to make people happy, asking me for five dollar raises. And don't get me started with lawyers and fines that are going above and beyond what is just. It always seems to me that this whole thing is a joke, aimed to test all the fruit of the Holy Spirit, joy, peace, love, patience, faithfulness, and gentleness. Right?
How about you? I bet your faith is being tested, if not today, pretty often? If you are not being tested, perhaps you are not living in the real world! LOL.
I know our priest from Africa has been tested for over 10 years with us in our parish, and still not long ago some ex-parishioners posted some pretty mean things about him, calling him racist and more.
I believe those who are tested are like Christ. Something good is being cooked up inside of the faithful who are tested by fire. The fire is designed to make impurities come out of the gold so we are made more pure.
And so, what fruit are you bearing for the Kingdom of God?
Isn't that what matters most? Really?
Let us not lose focus in this world that is called the church militant. I would love for my world to be all easy, wide and easy road. But it is not. Am I supposed to be living a highly stressful life? Am I put in a bad situation? Did I choose this for myself?
I am up against many challenges at work, in my striving for us to be successful since my dad left us in our family business. Did I put myself here, or my father?
I chose to come help when terrorists struck our nation the very time I had graduated from a university.
In the same tone, I am up against many challenges in the ministries I enter. There too, I find people that bicker, there too I find people wanting to quit, and just this morning, one of our main helpers at our family festival said she didn't want to help this year, and her food stand brings in thousands of dollars for the church! And another said they wouldn't help with manning the hundreds of man hours. Who does all of this fall back on? I am the director. It falls on me, the burden falls on me. The same thing with the men's conferences and people wanting to quit.
I notice now, how little we give to God and how quickly we want to take it away from Him.
Everything, time, talent, treasures, belongs to Him! My Father has left and I find myself battling the wills. I am encouraging everyone even though I find myself beaten black and blue. Fight on.
This is not the easy wide road. This is the hard fight road. Fighting for the fruit of God, and His Kingdom and for His Holy Will to be done.
Take courage.
Take heart! Sacred Heart of Jesus, Be My LOVE! |  Click for Audio | Psalm 119:105 [Psalm 119]
Nun 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
