† Quote of the Day "And Thou sent Thine hand from above, and drew my soul out of that profound darkness, my mother, Thy faithful one, weeping to Thee for me, more than mothers weep the bodily deaths of their children. For she, by that faith and spirit which she had from Thee, discerned the death wherein I lay, and Thou heard her, O Lord; Thou heard her, and despised not her tears, when streaming down, they watered the ground under her eyes in every place where she prayed; yea Thou heard her." — St. Augustine in The Confessions Today's Meditation "I was sure that it was better for me to give myself up to your love than to give in to my own desires. However, although the one way appealed to me and was gaining mastery, the other still afforded me pleasure and kept me victim. I had no answer to give to you when you said to me, 'Rise, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you.' When on all sides you showed me that your words were true, and I was overcome by your truth, I had no answer whatsoever to make, but only those slow and drowsy words, 'Right away. Yes, right away.' 'Let me be for a little while.' But 'Right away—right away' was never right now, and 'Let me be for a little while' stretched out for a long time." —St. Augustine, p. 152
An excerpt from The Confessions of Saint Augustine Daily Verse "Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry come to thee! Do not hide thy face from me in the day of my distress! Incline thy ear to me; answer me speedily in the day when I call!" — Psalm 102:1-2 | St. Monica St. Monica (322-387 A.D.) was raised in a Christian home in Tagaste, North Africa. Early in life she struggled with alcoholism, sneaking draughts of wine from the family cellar, before being caught and overcoming the habit. She was later given in marriage to an ill-tempered and adulterous pagan Roman official. She suffered greatly on account of her husband, and that of her unkind mother-in-law with whom she lived, and she fervently prayed for their conversion over the course of many years. Her patience and kindness became a source of encouragement to other unhappy housewives with whom she came in contact. Monica gave birth to three children, and she was grieved that her husband would not allow them to be baptized. Her eldest son, Augustine, was a wayward child and caused her the most pain, and she prayed fervently for decades for him to become a Christian. Through her persistence in prayer and good example, her husband was converted shortly before his death. When Augustine became entrenched in heretical sects and moved to Milan, St. Monica followed him. Monica befriended the Bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose, who consoled her by saying, "The child of those tears shall never perish." Augustine was eventually brought into the Church by St. Ambrose. Everything we know of St. Monica's heroic virtue is from the writings of her son, who became the great St. Augustine of Hippo, one of the most influential saints in Church history. St. Monica is patron of housewives, difficult marriages, alcoholism, mothers, widows, abuse victims, victims of adultery, and disappointing children. Her feast day is August 27th. | Memorial of Saint Monica • Readings for the Memorial of Saint Monica Reading 1 2 THES 2:1-3A, 14-17 We ask you, brothers and sisters,
with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our assembling with him,
not to be shaken out of your minds suddenly,
or to be alarmed either by a "spirit," or by an oral statement,
or by a letter allegedly from us
to the effect that the day of the Lord is at hand.
Let no one deceive you in any way.
To this end he has also called you through our Gospel
to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, stand firm
and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught,
either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours.
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father,
who has loved us and given us everlasting encouragement
and good hope through his grace,
encourage your hearts and strengthen them
in every good deed and word. Responsorial Psalm PS 96:10, 11-12, 13 R. (13b) The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Say among the nations: The Lord is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and what fills it resound;
let the plains be joyful and all that is in them!
Then shall all the trees of the forest exult.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth.
Before the Lord, for he comes;
for he comes to rule the earth.
He shall rule the world with justice
and the peoples with his constancy.
R. The Lord comes to judge the earth. Alleluia HEBREWS 4:12 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel MT 23:23-26 Jesus said:
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You pay tithes of mint and dill and cummin,
and have neglected the weightier things of the law:
judgment and mercy and fidelity.
But these you should have done, without neglecting the others.
Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,
but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.
Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup,
so that the outside also may be clean."
| Daily Meditation: Matthew 23:13-22 You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men. You do not enter yourselves. (Matthew 23:13) Of all the charges that Jesus makes against the Pharisees and scribes in today's Gospel, locking up the kingdom of heaven might be the most serious. Jesus had begun his public ministry by announcing, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:2). He came to earth to usher in God's kingdom and to open the gates of heaven to all who believe. But by their rejection of him, these scribes and Pharisees were both locking themselves out of that kingdom and preventing others from entering it as well (23:13). Through our Baptism, we have already received the gift of the kingdom of heaven—a kingdom of love, mercy, peace, and joy. Yet how many times have we in some way "locked" ourselves out or been hesitant to enter it? This can happen in a number of different ways. For example, we might falsely think we aren't worthy of entering the kingdom. Maybe we believe that our past sins or way of life disqualify us, even when we've received absolution for those sins in Confession. Or maybe we are still struggling to overcome a pattern of sin, even though we continue to ask for the Lord's help and grace. Another way we can "lock" ourselves out of God's kingdom is to get so caught up in worldly pleasures and concerns that this world becomes the kingdom we inhabit most of the time. That could lead us to neglect our daily time with the Lord or even to skip Mass at times. As a result, we end up missing the opportunity to receive the mercy, grace, and nourishment that we need to live as citizens of heaven. Many of the Pharisees and scribes missed out on the invitation that Jesus was offering them to enter into the new kingdom he was inaugurating. But you don't have to. Every day you face the choice of whether you will embrace God's kingdom and its values. Let's make sure we "unlock" any doors of our hearts that we may have closed and say yes to the Lord! "Lord, I want to live in your heavenly kingdom, now and forever." 2 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12
Psalm 96:1-5 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: | In the Holy Scripture we hear today:
"But these you should have done, without neglecting the others.
Blind guides, who strain out the gnat and swallow the camel!"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites.
You cleanse the outside of cup and dish,
but inside they are full of plunder and self-indulgence.
Blind Pharisee, cleanse first the inside of the cup,
so that the outside also may be clean........."_ end quote. | From Bishop's Barron's Word on Fire Reflection today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus forcefully calls the Pharisees (and us) to change their hearts and behavior.
St. Augustine defines sin as incurvatus in se—that means 'caved in around oneself.'To be in sin is to be "caved in" around the ego and its narrow concerns. When the Lord says, 'Reform your life,' he means move from that old mind and make him the center of your life.
We must know and feel in our bones what is wrong in us; we must look it in the face and acknowledge it with uncompromising honesty. Without this journey into our own inner hell, we will not feel the compunction to shift our way of being and seeing. And we must awaken to what is godlike in us, what is rich and unbroken, what is united with the saving designs of God. Without this clear sense, we will fall into complacency and see metanoia as, at best, a cruel illusion." end quote Bishop Barron.
Our Lord is hard on words again today, right? Who are the scribes and Pharisees He keeps admonishing? It is right to admonish the sinner, it is a gift of love. It is good to speak with direct truth to convince and to have conversions to our Faith.
These readings are perfect for the day of Saint Monica, the mother of Saint Augustine. I always like to say "Saints Spawn Saints". We make each other saints. We make each other holy.
The exorcists are having a hard time with exorcisms, it takes 10 times more sessions to deliver one person from an exorcism than it used to.
Has the evil gained that much strength? Not really.
We let it get to that level with the overall strength of faith all over the world, the very Catholic Church of God.
Why is this happening? How is this happening?
Saint Monica is what we need. The faith of a mother that converts her husband and children into saints.
What do I mean?
That kind of faith that actually cares. Not like the faith we see nowadays, with people laying around and playing around with the faith, just fooling around with it.
We need a metanoia, a full conversion of mind and heart, a complete 180 degree turn in life to truly follow our Lord.
How many mothers do you see crying and pleading and chasing their children back into the faith? Do you know many like that? I don't.
Maybe one.
I have an aunt that has been through many divorces. Her children have drifted far from the faith, one of them went off to the marines, the military, and when he came back drifted further and further, into a true libertarian, in alternative lifestyles, and then into the occult, and then fooling around with santeria, even trying to become an dark priest. I remember her asking me one day after Mass, "help me pray for my children! please what do I do?" I told her "I will pray but all the prayers won't help if you do not lead by example from here on out". Fast forward years later, not long ago, that son, a good looking blondish haired guy, shared a photo on social media to the total shock of me and perhaps even his own mother. He was on one knee proposing to a lady, in front of a Catholic Church, while in Rome I believe. If he goes through with the Holy Sacrament and joins the Church in its fullness, then we can attest to her example. She never stopped going to church. She always prayed. She made many pilgrimages. She is very convincing. Her example, if nothing else, is a pillar, a beacon, a post to guide. I see this in many people. They are faithful. And this helps the greater whole, the greater faith of all of us united.
That said, we need to increase in faithfulness to God. We need to help our priests. We need more faithful priests. Faithful priests are a joy to God our Father. How do we help?
You are a leader right where you are. Become a saint, so others around you will become saints. Is it impossible? For us it is, but for God it is not. We need to learn to pray big. To have faith that, yes, our prayers and our lives do indeed make a difference. Believe and commit.
My aunt left her unlawful civil marriage and started receiving the Eucharist again. She lives alone. She is not perfect. But one can see from afar, here is one saint in the making. A person giving up more and more, so that her own children will be saved. So that her son will become a saint.
Saint Monica, pray for us! That we too may cry out loud to the priests and our children for help!
With what love of God did you cry out Saint Monica?
Only a heart truly in love with the Christ, the Lord, and our Father would go to the ends of the world not just to save a soul, but to convert the temple from the inside out.
She truly had the heart of Christ in the Eucharist burning inside, and for that, the world is better for it.
May we all burn with that fervent light forever. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 28:22 22 A stingy man1 hastens after wealth and does not know that poverty will come upon him. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
