† Quote of the Day "When we go to confession, we ought to persuade ourselves to find Jesus Christ in the person of our confessor." — St. Philip Neri Today's Meditation "Our Lord's love shines out just as much through a little soul who yields completely to His Grace as it does through the greatest . . . Just as the sun shines equally on the cedar and the little flower, so the Divine Sun shines equally on everyone, great and small. Everything is ordered for their good, just as in nature the seasons are so ordered that the smallest daisy comes to bloom at its appointed time." —St. Therese of Lisieux, p. 4-5
An excerpt from The Story of a Soul Daily Verse "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." — Luke 14:27 | Pope St. Sixtus II (d. 258 A.D.) became the Roman Pontiff in the year 257 A.D. His early life is uncertain, and he is mentioned by name in the Roman Canon of the Mass. He helped mend the relationship between Rome and the Eastern and African churches over the problem of the rebaptism of converted heretics, a controversy which threatened schism. St. Sixtus II, a peaceful man, restored friendly relations and maintained unity. However, he served as Holy Father for only one year due to the persecution of Christians by Roman Emperor Valerian. As a result, Pope St. Sixtus II was suppressed and forbidden to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He continued to worship in secret in defiance to the unjust law, and while offering Mass in a cemetery chapel he was ambushed and beheaded by Roman soldiers. His feast day is August 7th. | Wednesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 JER 31:1-7 At that time, says the LORD,
I will be the God of all the tribes of Israel,
and they shall be my people.
Thus says the LORD:
The people that escaped the sword
have found favor in the desert.
As Israel comes forward to be given his rest,
the LORD appears to him from afar:
With age-old love I have loved you;
so I have kept my mercy toward you.
Again I will restore you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin Israel;
Carrying your festive tambourines,
you shall go forth dancing with the merrymakers.
Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
those who plant them shall enjoy the fruits.
Yes, a day will come when the watchmen
will call out on Mount Ephraim:
"Rise up, let us go to Zion,
to the LORD, our God."
For thus says the LORD:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
exult at the head of the nations;
proclaim your praise and say:
The LORD has delivered his people,
the remnant of Israel. Responsorial Psalm JER 31:10, 11-12AB, 13 R. (see 10d) The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd his flock.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD's blessings.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy.
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock. Alleluia LK 7:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has arisen in our midst
and God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel MT 15:21-28 At that time Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out,
"Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon."
But he did not say a word in answer to her.
His disciples came and asked him,
"Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us."
He said in reply,
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me."
He said in reply,
"It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs."
She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters."
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
"O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish."
And her daughter was healed from that hour. | Daily Meditation: Matthew 15:21-28 Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. (Matthew 15:21) Of course Jesus and his disciples needed to withdraw! Everywhere they went, people crowded around them. Matthew tells of Jesus feeding five thousand people, walking on water, and calming a storm. Religious leaders tried to trap him, and his closest friends didn't seem to have a clue what he was talking about. A trip into Gentile territory just might give all of them the rest that they needed. But the peace and quiet didn't last long. Soon a local woman showed up, begging Jesus to deliver her daughter. She wouldn't leave them alone. No wonder the disciples were annoyed and asked Jesus to get rid of her! They didn't want their restful time with him to be interrupted. They wanted—they needed—a respite. Even Jesus needed to recharge! They weren't wrong, either. We've all been worn out, frazzled, and longing for some peace and quiet—or at least a bit of down time. We start to relax. But then someone appears and needs something from us. That's when we need to turn to the Holy Spirit and be open to what he is asking of us in that moment. Why ask the Spirit what he wants? Because as we're having compassion on ourselves for needing a break, we can't forget the compassion God calls us to have on the people around us. After all, even Jesus changed his plans when people came to him (Matthew 15:28). As we ask for the Holy Spirit's guidance, he might invite us to set aside our plans and respond to the needs of those he has put in front of us. Even when annoyance is our first response, we can ask for the grace to grow in gratitude for the interruptions that are, in fact, divine appointments. God is pleased when we follow his promptings to accept interruptions the way he did. He will pour out extra grace so that we can rise to meet whatever challenges we're facing. So the next time someone disturbs you when you're trying to take a break, put aside your frustration and ask the Spirit if he is giving you an opportunity to love others the way he loves you. "Jesus, give me your heart of compassion!" Jeremiah 31:1-7
(Psalm) Jeremiah 31:10-13 |  Hear AI Read it to you. Updated 7/10/24 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"He said in reply,
"I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
But the woman came and did him homage, saying, "Lord, help me."
He said in reply,
"It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs."
She said, "Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps
that fall from the table of their masters."
Then Jesus said to her in reply,
"O woman, great is your faith!
Let it be done for you as you wish."
And her daughter was healed from that hour......" end quote. | From Bishop Barron:
"Friends, a long tradition stresses the perseverance of the Canaanite woman we meet in today's Gospel. Augustine says that we pray in order to expand our will to accept what God is going to give us. Another reading shows how the woman exemplifies the proper attitude toward God, a combination of humility and boldness, of deference and defiance. We are creatures and God is God; nevertheless, God invites us into intimacy with him.
But I want to emphasize the reading conditioned by the "other." The Old Testament speaks insistently of the "stranger, the widow, and the orphan." The ethical life, in a biblical framework, is about the press of these people upon us. They press upon us even when we would greatly prefer them just to go away.
We, the Church, are the Body of Christ. And so people come to us demanding food, sustenance, friendship, love, shelter, or liberation. Often we are tempted to do what Jesus does initially and what the disciples do: tell them to back off. We are overloaded, busy, and preoccupied. We can't be bothered.
But the whole of the Christian life consists in remembering the suffering and need of the annoying other........" end quote Bishop Barron.
Why did our Lord say ""It is not right to take the food of the children
and throw it to the dogs"?
The woman that was begging for help was from Canaanite origins. This area is where we get the word canine from, the word we use for dogs. But it was more than that, it was the type of people they were, descendants of a biblical disgrace. To which, now, we see our Lord bringing grace and restoration. This story is then, a pretty big deal. The food for the children of God then is availed to the whole Canaanites which means the entire gentiles at that.
What does this mean for you? If you are a sinner, take heart.
Come pleading on your knees to the Lord, and He will listen. And you will be granted what you wish....healing, if nothing else, a closer bond with the Lord Himself.
She was persistent and what was her wish?
"Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David!
My daughter is tormented by a demon." she exclaimed in her duress.
I wonder in our world if we have a loving parent like that today.
Our children are tormented by demons, but what do we do?
Demons we don't even know. Like what?
Acedia. Ever heard of that? Thomas Aquinas defines acedia as "sorrow about spiritual good." In other words, it is a laziness and sadness that rises up in the human heart when they recognize their responsibility to become a saint.
What are the symptoms of acedia?
They no longer delight in him and cease responding to his overtures of love with their own acts of love (Lynch, 129). Acedia's symptoms may consist of a lack of desire for spiritual reading and prayer, a general sense of frustration, and even sleepiness or ill health.
And this is just one of many demon spirits in the world!
Do your kids suffer symptoms like this? Do you worry about it? Does it torment you? Or do we just love them and try to cope with it and let it be and just hope things turn out for the better on their own? NO!
For the eternal life of your child, NO!
What is most important for your child? Their financial well being? NO!
Their status among their peers? NO!
Their health, sure, but what about their spiritual health?
Did you know that every Sunday a child dies spiritually when they do not go to honor the Lord's day if they are in good enough health and have a means to get to a Mass?
I am a teacher of youth. It hurts my heart to teach a child that will go home to a family that does not love God as they should. They send their child to class but they do not follow God's laws. The child needs a ride to church and the parent makes an excuse not to go. What irony! What confusion! And so we live in a world of foolishness. Why?
Because sin makes one stupid. We live in a sinful world that has everyone acting the fool, like the demons of homosexuality and proud display mocking the very food of God at the last supper, the most important moment, the Holy Mass.
Let's not be fooled anymore. The devil loves to hide, but sometimes shows itself in ugly pride. And here, I am no longer just speaking about the long acronyms lead by different demons, but about those even in daily church ministry who have pride, the kind that says "nobody should ever insult me or put me down or else!". You see the same pride? The same atrocious sin?
Do you see how awful sin is? Yet, we let our kids suffer on their own, without us struggling and fighting to become saints and saintly, holy examples for all of God's children?
This Canaanite woman was right to plead and fight for her child's life, to live in true love, and peace of oneness with the miracle of God's grace.
Everything is a battle. Today's saint was another murdered Pope, as were most of them in the first 300 years of our first Christian faith.
Today, the struggle continues. But take heart, the woman knew Jesus the Savior was here. And He still is. We would be right to fight for healing and salvation, not just for ourselves, but for our children, our future, the future love of God Himself. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 26:12 12 Do you see a man who is wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
