† Quote of the Day "You must ask God to give you power to fight against the sin of pride which is your greatest enemy - the root of all that is evil, and the failure of all that is good. For God resists the proud." — St. Vincent de Paul Today's Meditation "If you wish to explore the Holy Scripture, and you overcome your laziness and apply yourself, thirsting for the knowledge, then every good thing will be yours. You will fill your mind with the divine light. Then, when you apply that light to the doctrines of the Church, you will very easily recognize everything that is true and unadulterated, and lay it up in the hidden treasures of your soul." —St. Cyril of Alexandria, p. 167
An excerpt from A Year with the Church Fathers Daily Verse "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?" — Hebrews 1:14 | St. Cassian Of Imola St. Cassian of Imola (4th c.) was the Bishop of Brescia near Milan, Italy. When a wave of persecution erupted under the Roman Emperor, Cassian fled to Imola, Italy, where he found work as a schoolmaster teaching children how to read and write. He was a disciplined and effective educator. In addition to instructing his students in the Christian faith, he also taught them a form of shorthand that allowed them to write as fast as they could speak. A city official discovered that Cassian was a Christian and denounced him to the government authorities. Cassian was arrested and ordered to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods, which he refused. As punishment the local judge ordered that he be stripped, bound, and tied to a stake. He was then turned over to his pagan students, numbering about 200, to be tortured to death. His students used their iron styli (writing instruments) to mercilessly carve into his skin and slowly stab him to death. St. Cassian died from the many wounds inflicted all over his body. St. Cassian of Imola is the patron saint of students, school teachers, shorthand writers, court reporters, stenographers, and parish clerks. His feast day is August 13th. | Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time Reading 1 Ez 2:8—3:4 The Lord GOD said to me:
As for you, son of man, obey me when I speak to you:
be not rebellious like this house of rebellion,
but open your mouth and eat what I shall give you. It was then I saw a hand stretched out to me,
in which was a written scroll which he unrolled before me.
It was covered with writing front and back,
and written on it was:
Lamentation and wailing and woe! He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you;
eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.
So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat.
Son of man, he then said to me,
feed your belly and fill your stomach
with this scroll I am giving you.
I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel,
and speak my words to them. Responsorial Psalm PS 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131 R. (103a) How sweet to my taste is your promise!
In the way of your decrees I rejoice,
as much as in all riches.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
How sweet to my palate are your promises,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Your decrees are my inheritance forever;
the joy of my heart they are.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
I gasp with open mouth,
in my yearning for your commands.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise! Alleluia Mt 11:29ab
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 The disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?"
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
"Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me. "See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray.
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost." | Daily Meditation: Matthew 18:1-5, 10, 12-14 Unless you . . . become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3) Children who know their parents' love trust them implicitly. They can count on them to care for their needs and to protect them from harm. So when their parents refuse to let them have a cookie before dinner or to stay up later than their bedtime, they know deep down that their parents want the best for them—even if they protest. In the end, most will humbly accept their parents' judgment. In today's Gospel, the disciples ask Jesus who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 18:1). They probably weren't expecting him to call over a small child and tell them that whoever becomes humble like that child would be the greatest. This is a challenging statement today, but it was almost scandalous in Jesus' time. Children back then held the lowest position in society. In fact, it's pretty revealing that in the Greek language, a child is referred to as an object—an "it" rather than a "he" or "she"! But Jesus saw certain qualities in children that he wants us to have in our relationship with him. He wants us to be secure in his love for us so that we can trust him to care for our needs. He also wants us to humbly rely on his judgment of what is best for us. This isn't always easy! We have to battle our pride and self-sufficiency. We have to look to God for answers to life's questions rather than looking to ourselves. This is the kind of relationship Jesus had with his Father. He did his Father's will because he trusted in his love and goodness, even as he went to the cross. This is the kind of humble, trusting, and loving relationship Jesus wants you to have with him. God loves and cares for you even more than any committed parent loves and cares for their child. Let that truth help you to trust the Lord and whatever he has in store for you today! "Lord Jesus, give me the grace to become as humble and trusting as a little child." Ezekiel 2:8–3:4
Psalm 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131 |  Hear AI Read it to you. Updated 7/10/24 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"....." end quote. | From a spanish reflection today:
"We live in a society that proclaims the rights of children ad nauseam in declarations, agreements, protection laws and legal instruments… And it seems that we do not react when we see that, in reality, this overprotected and pampered childhood and other helpless and defenseless childhoods are trampled on in their innocence, and in the most painful cases, abused and perverted. Of course, the first responsibility to protect and care for is that of the parents. But it is everyone's obligation. It is a moral obligation inscribed in the very human condition, it is a social instinct that leads adult individuals to feed and care for their offspring.
Jesus Christ invites us to become like children. In various writings, Chesterton underlines two childlike characteristics that we should recover to become like children: wonder and trust. Small children are amazed by any reality, just because it "is" and they are surprised by each of the modalities of "being" or the natural laws of our world: a person, a boy, a girl, a grandmother, a man passing by on the street, a baby, a flower, an insect, a stone, the moon, a shadow, gravity, light, a dream… In addition, a baby is trusting: he has no other option than to depend on his parents or adults and grows in that basic trust, expecting that dad, mom or any adult will solve problems and fix everything.
Becoming like children means maintaining wonder and admiration for what exists… recognizing the Creator of everything. Following Chesterton: "The most profound wise men have never attained the gravity that dwells in the eyes of a three-month-old baby. It is the gravity of his wonder before the Universe." It also means realizing that we can do nothing but trust in God who has brought us into life. In everything we depend on Him. We must trust without limits in the Good Shepherd who does not want any of his sheep to be lost." end quote Virginia Fernández. Last night, we took our second oldest daughter to "fish camp" where the incoming freshmen into High School would get a talk on house rules and such for the school. The rules were given, no vaping, be on time, dress appropriately, no tattoos or else cover them up, no cell phones, no love relationships necessary to pass class, LOL.
I don't remember ever having those talks, or even need for those talks when I went to the same school 28 years ago. We showed my daughter the classrooms she would visit. Funny, still the same as when I went nearly 30 years ago.
Back to the children, and teaching the children. The rules for being an appropriate student, no drugs, dress right, no need to focus on social media and such, wouldn't have to be addressed so much, if it were not a problem. The number one depressant though, is not a particular drug, but an addiction to the phones in social media, and what the children are meandering through, without a compass, a moral compass. And then, as they get older, they lose the faith. I was teaching an older teen RCIA, one on one, and he dropped out, to the dismay of his divorced mother, who has been asking me to reach out to him because now he refuses to even talk about God with her.
We lose them, and we lose them quicker. The boy moved out of his house, got tattoos, and refuses to talk about God. He has been swindled by the world. And if you have seen the Olympics opening and closing ceremonies in France, they are pushing the world agenda of pagan gods and satanic lifestyles unwittingly, because in the end. all of those agendas aim to suppress the Way, the Christ Way to live.
A good way to ruin a child is to give them all they want for nothing. Then, they feel entitled. Then they feel the world owes them. Then, they have really lost their way, without a compass.
A teacher student meeting for church classes was the same as the school, asking kids not to skip class, asking parents to help teach them, asking kids to dress right, asking them to be respectful, and no cell phones in class.
What are the kids looking for nowadays? In a world with so much Photoshop and artificial intelligence making fake pictures, movies, and stories, the kids are looking for truth. And Jesus is the truth. Can you teach truth, do you know truth?
How far would you go to find the lost and bring them back to God? Have you traveled the world to save a lost soul like the Pharisees? But fail at the very ones right in front of us? Our children are crucial. Are we raising saints or demons? What do they see in you? Even if you don't have blood children, children are looking to you. This is why our Lord asks us to embrace them in the love of God, in the name of Jesus the Christ our King.
When they send me pictures of orphans we try to help in old Mexico, I look to see in their eyes, are they lost without parents or any family at all? How will they find their way? And the orphanage keepers are faithful Christians, making sure they pray and teach them the love of God. This is the way. They will not be lost if the seed takes. They will experience the best of loves from God our Father.
I am finding that all near death experiences that are positive, experience the very love we are missing in the world.
The kind that embraces a child in the love and protection and completeness of God. The kind of love we are all missing at the bottom of our heart. To find it, we must give it.
Let us love God as He has said, both now and forever. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
1 John 2:15–17 [1 John 2]
Do Not Love the World 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life1—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
