† We do not apply ourselves to the true and solid interior virtues. We apply ourselves too much to the exterior. I do not mean to say that we should not practice and esteem the latter, but the interior ones are more precious to us.
St. Jeanne de Chantal
Today's Meditation“Like a child who fears no danger in his father’s protecting arms, we must cast ourselves into the arms of our Heavenly Father, confident that those Hands which sustain the heavens are all powerful to supply our necessities, to uphold us in temptation, and to turn all things to our profit. And why should we not have confidence in God? Is He not the most powerful as well as the most tender of fathers? … Do not dwell upon your unworthiness or your failings, but raise your eyes to God and consider the infinite goodness and mercy with which He deigns to apply a remedy to all our miseries. Reflect upon the truth of His words, for He has promised to help and comfort all who humbly and confidently invoke His sacred name. Consider also the innumerable benefits which you have hitherto received from His paternal hand, and let His bounty in the past inspire you to trust the future to Him with renewed hope. Above all, consider the merits and sufferings of Christ, which are our principal title to God’s grace and mercy, and which form the treasure whence the Church supplies the necessities of her children. It was from a confidence inspired by such motives that the saints drew that strength which rendered them as firm as Mount Sion, and established them in the holy city whence they never could be moved. (Cf. Ps.124:1).”
—Venerable Louis of Grenada, p. 404
Daily VerseBut now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." Isaiah 43:1
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EWTN Daily Saint
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St. Jeanne de ChantalPatron Saint of: Widows, parents separated from children, and against loss of parents
Feast Day: August 12 St. Jeanne (Jane) Frances de Chantal (1572–1641) was born in Dijon, France. She was the daughter of the president of parliament, and lived up to her noble status as a refined, cheerful, and beautiful woman. At the age of twenty-one she married a baron and together they had six children. She was strong in her faith, having daily Mass said in her castle, giving alms to the poor, and skillfully managing her household. After seven years of marriage, her husband was killed in an accident. To protect the estate for her children, she was obliged to live with her ill-tempered father-in-law for seven years. When she was thirty-two she met St. Francis de Sales, whom she had previously seen in a vision after praying for a spiritual director. To her private vow of chastity she added another of obedience to his direction, while continuing to provide for her children. At the age of forty-five, after meeting her family obligations, she and St. Francis founded a religious institute for women, the Congregation of the Visitation, which was to exemplify the virtues of the Virgin Mary at the Visitation. The Visitation sisters accepted women who were rejected from other religious orders due to age or illness. They were notable for their charitable works. Aristocrats and the nobility flocked to Jeanne de Chantal’s reception-room to seek her counsel. She underwent great trials, including the deaths of many of her close family and friends. She also traveled extensively to found new Visitation houses, having established eighty-six at the time of her death. Her feast day is August 12th.
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Wednesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary TimeLectionary: 415 Reading 1Ezekiel 9:1-7; 10:18-22 The LORD cried loud for me to hear:
Come, you scourges of the city!
With that I saw six men coming from the direction
of the upper gate which faces the north,
each with a destroying weapon in his hand.
In their midst was a man dressed in linen,
with a writer’s case at his waist.
They entered and stood beside the bronze altar.
Then he called to the man dressed in linen
with the writer’s case at his waist, saying to him:
Pass through the city, through Jerusalem,
and mark a “Thau” on the foreheads of those who moan and groan
over all the abominations that are practiced within it.
To the others I heard the LORD say:
Pass through the city after him and strike!
Do not look on them with pity nor show any mercy!
Old men, youths and maidens, women and children–wipe them out!
But do not touch any marked with the “Thau”; begin at my sanctuary.
So they began with the men, the elders, who were in front of the temple.
Defile the temple, he said to them, and fill the courts with the slain;
then go out and strike in the city. Then the glory of the LORD left the threshold of the temple
and rested upon the cherubim.
These lifted their wings, and I saw them rise from the earth,
the wheels rising along with them.
They stood at the entrance of the eastern gate of the Lord’s house,
and the glory of the God of Israel was up above them.
Then the cherubim lifted their wings, and the wheels went along with them,
while up above them was the glory of the God of Israel. Responsorial PsalmPsalm 113:1-2, 3-4, 5-6 R. (4b) The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.
R. The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies.
or:
R. Alleluia.
From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory.
R. The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high,
and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
R. The glory of the Lord is higher than the skies.
or:
R. Alleluia. Alleluia2 Corinthians 5:19 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelMatthew 18:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples:
"If your brother sins against you,
go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.
If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
If he does not listen,
take one or two others along with you,
so that every fact may be established
on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church.
If he refuses to listen even to the Church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen, I say to you,
whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth
about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.
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Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ!
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From Word Among Us WAU.org
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Daily Meditation: Matthew 18:15-20Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. (Matthew 18:20) Relationships can be difficult. Whether with a sibling, a friend, a spouse, or a coworker, any number of factors can challenge us and threaten our unity. In today’s Gospel, Jesus addresses these challenges when he tells his disciples, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone” (Matthew 18:15). He then describes other avenues in case a one-on-one conversation doesn’t bring about reconciliation—all the way up to the final resort of treating the other person “as you would a Gentile or a tax collector” (18:17). Although this passage is mainly about discipline regarding bigger issues within the Church, it has something to teach us as we try to love one another and work out our day-to-day relationships with each other. Jesus promises to be with us in our efforts to live in unity. “Where two or three are gathered in my name,” he tells his disciples, “there I am in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). This is such a generous, gracious promise! What more could we possibly ask for? The process Jesus describes in this reading is more than just a formula or a set of steps; it reveals his desire that we do everything we can to bring about unity and reconciliation—and his readiness to help us. It’s his encouragement for us to have faith in him and confidence that he will be with us, truly in our midst, whenever we try to work out our relationships. Take some time in prayer today asking God to reveal to you just one of your relationships that is lacking in unity. Then ask the Holy Spirit to give you the wisdom to try to work toward repairing it. Trust that Jesus will be in your midst as you do. Even when things are hard and our relationships are not at peace—especially then—Jesus promises to be present: with his grace, with his wisdom, with his love. You don’t have to have it all together in order for him to make his presence known. This is a promise we can hold on to! “Lord, help me to remember you are always with me, especially in difficult relationships. Give me the grace of unity and reconciliation.” Ezekiel 9:1-7; 10:18-22
Psalm 113:1-6
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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From today's Holy Gospel: "...... Amen, I say to you,
whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth
about anything for which they are to pray,
it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them....”
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From a Spanish Reflection from a Roberto Juarez:
"....Today's Gospel leaves us with three very concrete commitments. The first: always correct with charity, seeking the good of the brother and never his humiliation. The second: to work for reconciliation, because the Lord wants a united Church and not a community divided by criticism or resentment. And the third: to pray together, convinced that Christ remains in the midst of those who truly gather in his name." end quote.
From Brother Adrian: There is a continuation life and method offered after a Cursillo.
And it is basically what our Lord is asking us to do in the Gospel today. To gather 2 or 3 in His name. Question here is, how often are we to gather! Right?
Our method is, weekly.
The suggestion is well worth it, speaking from experience.
But, I have not been as lucky as some other men, finding a loyal and faithful friend to meet consistently.
My first friend, passed away. The others, stopped meeting for various reasons. I wonder sometimes, why is it so hard to gather, for His cause? I am in MANY ministries, and if I start listing them, I will bore you and some may even get angry.
I went to a spiritual director not long ago, and as I listed the things I did, since it was our first visit, he was drifting off asleep in front of my face! LOL. When he came back and woke up he just said "wow, you must really love God". I wanted direction, and we all need to gather with a Spiritual director at least once a month, or as needed. We should though, confess once a month and if there is nobody waiting, you can get a small bit of direction there.
Most saints if not all have had spiritual directors, some called confessors I believe.
And that should be all of our goal in life...to be a saint.
And here is how: Do God's will.
What is His will? To do what He says, right?
But what about in between?
The rich young man told our Lord Jesus "I am already doing all that stuff, what else do I do?"
To which our Lord saddened the young man, by saying "sell all that you have and follow me".
We never heard about that young man, we may never know if he did it, all we know is that he turned away and walked away sad.
What is it about giving our all to Him?
All of our time.
All of our money.
All of our talent.
I notice how hard it can be. I say this because in another ministry meeting last night, two meetings actually, there came a time to ask for volunteers and it was hard to get a response for someone to take on the responsibility, the job, the mission, the task, for the fundraiser for our parish.
It was a hard sell.
As the director, and knowing full well I cannot do this plus the hundreds of man hours and events I'm already planning, so I looked down and said "this is what I always get, a huge task and nobody to help". Finally 2 or 3 hands went up. 2 or 3 gathered in His name, and things start happening...in HIS Vineyard, in HIS Kingdom.
I wish one thing for you that are hearing this now.
DO NOT BE AFRAID to give.
Our Lord said that He would return to us, even up to 100 fold, not so much in this life, but the next.
But we don't believe. We want returns on investments immediately, we don't want to wait.
Do not be afraid my child.
Do not be afraid to give. WOW.
Have you ever thought about how our God is a giver and that is why we always find ourselves asking to receive?
This is the theological reasoning for man and woman. The man is a giver and the woman is the receiver.
This is the theological reasoning for a priest. This is deep.
But, our Lord calls us to be like HIM! Amen.
Be merciful. Yes!
Be grace. Yes!
Be holy. Yes!
Be....a giver.
Gather. This takes time.
Gather and pray. This is talent.
Gather and make plans. This is giving.
And this is right..because He is in the midst, doing Our Father's will with us!
This is AWESOME!
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Random Bible Verse 1
John 10:27–30 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me,1 is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
Word of the Lord!
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God Bless You! Peace
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