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Quote of the Day "Let every knee bend before Thee, O greatness of my God, so supremely humbled in the Sacred Host. May every heart love Thee, every spirit adore Thee and every will be subject to Thee!" — St. Margaret Mary
Today's Meditation
"Children copy their parents through watching them and talking to them, and they learn their own language through hearing them speak. An apprentice learns his trade through watching his master at work; in the very same way, the faithful members of the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary can become like their divine Master if they reverently study and imitate the virtues of Jesus Christ, which are shown in the mysteries of His life. They can do this with the help of His grace and through the intercession of His Blessed Mother." –St. Louis Mary de Montfort, p.91
Daily Verse "It is not that I have already taken hold of it or have already attained perfect maturity, but I continue my pursuit in hope that I may possess it, since I have indeed been taken possession of by Christ [Jesus]. Brothers, I for my part do not consider myself to have taken possession. Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God's upward calling, in Christ Jesus." — Philippians 3:12-14 | St Regis St. John Francis Regis (1597–1640) was born to a wealthy French merchant and his noble wife. After being educated by the Jesuits, he joined their order at the age of 18 and was later ordained a priest. He grew into a skilled preacher and catechist, and received an assignment to evangelize the French provinces that had fallen to the Protestants - the Huguenots - as well as lapsed Catholics. He devoted his life to this mission and was very successful, winning countless souls to Christ. He preached the Gospel to men, women, and children in all walks and stations of life, even traveling on foot to wild mountain parishes as a missionary priest. He would live on meager meals while spending his days in prayer, preaching, hearing confessions, and visiting prisons and hospitals. He raised controversy when he established hostels for converted prostitutes to remain chaste and work for their sustenance in the lace-making and embroidery trades. He is also remembered for stationing a granary to feed the poor, which at times was miraculously replenished. St. Regis is the patron of embroiderers, social workers, and lace makers. His feast day is June 16th. | Reading 1 2 Corinthians 6:1-10 Brothers and sisters:
As your fellow workers, we appeal to you
not to receive the grace of God in vain.
For he says: In an acceptable time I heard you,
and on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.
We cause no one to stumble in anything,
in order that no fault may be found with our ministry;
on the contrary, in everything we commend ourselves
as ministers of God, through much endurance,
in afflictions, hardships, constraints,
beatings, imprisonments, riots,
labors, vigils, fasts;
by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness,
in the Holy Spirit, in unfeigned love, in truthful speech,
in the power of God;
with weapons of righteousness at the right and at the left;
through glory and dishonor, insult and praise.
We are treated as deceivers and yet are truthful;
as unrecognized and yet acknowledged;
as dying and behold we live;
as chastised and yet not put to death;
as sorrowful yet always rejoicing;
as poor yet enriching many;
as having nothing and yet possessing all things. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 98:1, 2b, 3ab, 3cd-4 R.(2a) The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm. R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
In the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel. R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise. R. The Lord has made known his salvation. Alleluia Psalm 119:105 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A lamp to my feet is your word,
a light to my path.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Matthew 5:38-42
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one to him as well.
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,
hand him your cloak as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile,
go with him for two miles.
Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow." | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: Matthew 5:38-42 When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. (Matthew 5:39) Doesn't this sound a little, well, weak? If someone strikes you, most likely you'd want to strike back. Or at least run in the opposite direction! It's a natural impulse that doctors call the "fight or flight" response. So why would Jesus tell us to give our assailant another opportunity to hurt us? An oft-told story of Mother Teresa might help us understand. One day, Mother Teresa brought a starving child into a bakery. She approached the baker and asked if he had anything to give the child to eat. Irritated, the baker spat into her outstretched hand. Instead of reacting with anger, Mother Teresa simply thanked the man for his "gift" to her and asked whether he had anything to offer the child. As the story goes, the man was taken aback by Mother Teresa's response. His heart softened, and he not only gave her some food, but he also became a regular supplier of bread to her orphanage! In the story, Mother Teresa responded to the baker neither with rage nor with fear. Instead, by accepting his insult peacefully, she held up a mirror to his own heart. And that was enough to inspire him to change. You might be thinking to yourself, "I'm no Mother Teresa!" We all know it's hard to be gracious when someone cuts in front of you in a line, or insults you in front of coworkers or friends, or treats you unjustly. And of course, there are situations when you should get away from someone who threatens you. But God knows you through and through. He knows what situations you will encounter today. He knows your strengths and weaknesses. So ask him for the grace to turn the other cheek when it's appropriate. Ask him to help you imitate Mother Teresa as you stand firm and hold your peace. Who knows? Your calm response might just inspire the other person to do some self-examination—and come to a change of heart! "Jesus, help me to respond peacefully to any conflict today. Show me the marvels you can do when I turn the other cheek!" 2 Corinthians 6:1-10
Psalm 98:1-4 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Hear AI Read it for u | From today's Holy Gospel: "You have heard that it was said,
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one to him as well...
Should anyone press you into service for one mile,
go with him for two miles.
Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow."...." | From Roberto Juarez; "To turn the other cheek, to give more than is demanded, to walk more than is obligatory... All this is not weakness, but an inner strength born of God's love. Jesus teaches us a different way: to respond to evil with good.
Jesus calls for boundless generosity: to give, to lend, to accompany, even when it is not right according to human criteria. It is a call to act as children of the Father, who makes the sun rise on the good and the bad.
Do I respond to evil with more evil, or with good?
Am I able to give in, to forgive, to give beyond what is asked of me, as Jesus teaches me?
This Gospel challenges me deeply: it calls me to break the logic of pride, revenge and interest, to enter the Kingdom of mercy and peace.
Lord Jesus,
teach me to overcome evil with good,
to forgive as You do,
to love unconditionally.
Make him not respond with hatred,
but with compassion and meekness.
Make me an instrument of your peace.
Amen." end quote.
Our Lord said today: "... I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil."
And He made this teaching true, in His Passion, His crucifixion, and how He treated those who betrayed Him, even His closest friends and followers.
I see a disconnect, in that most Christians still live the old Testament teachings with revenge, a life for a life, a punch in a gut for another punch in the gut, choosing to take joy or peace in revenge, and most often calling it "karma" although it is not when it is forced.
I see it most often in ministries though, sadly. How? Why?
I see it in families even more than ministries, sadly. How? Why?
I see it at work, too. And in a dog eat dog world, it seems more normal where backbiting, backstabbing, and gossip runs rampant.
Yet, it happens in families.
And sadly, the church family too suffers.
So what are we to do? Go the extra mile when it is not fair?
Yes.
Are we supposed to like it when others abuse us physically, verbally, mentally and spiritually?
It is not natural to like these things. It would have to become a mind over body thing that can only be done right at a spiritual level...a thing called sacrificial love.
Remember the definition of love? To will the good of the other.
Do I like being cussed out and degraded with ugly words?
Before grace, no, of course not, nobody does.
But after receiving and living a life of grace, you can see everything different.
But be aware, being caught off guard, you will get punched in the gut. Therefore, always be on watch, on guard, with grace, the oil in our lamps necessary to keep the light of love burning.
If I'm fully immersed in grace, and someone insults me, my pride is at an all time low, and when an insult comes, I can identify its source immediately.
Hate the sin, not the sinner.
I hate what is coming out of their mouth. But I don't hate the person. I can manage some hits when living in grace, humility at an all time high.
Do I need to defend myself? Of course I need to speak up! But with great love, not an eye for an eye, not an insult for an insult.
I'll speak with words to make love ignite in the dark souls. I'll bring God into the picture...and sometimes the only way they will see is if I am bashed, and I look at them like Jesus, beaten, bruised, with that look that says "I still love you..." and then He dies on the cross.
You see, Jesus is in every soul too...we are the Body of Christ. |  audio | Random Bible Verse 1
Romans 8:38–39 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
