† Saint Quote of the DayThe devotion to the Eucharist is the most noble, because it has God as its object; it is the most profitable for salvation, because it gives us the Author of Grace; it is the sweetest, because the Lord is Sweetness Itself.
St. Pius X
Today's Meditation“The life of faith is nothing less than the continued pursuit of God through all that disguises, disfigures, destroys and, so to say, annihilates Him. It is in very truth a reproduction of the life of Mary who, from the Stable to the Cross, remained unalterably united to that God whom all the world misunderstood, abandoned, and persecuted. In like manner faithful souls endure a constant succession of trials. God hides beneath veils of darkness and illusive appearances which make His will difficult to recognize; but in spite of every obstacle these souls follow Him and love Him even to the death of the Cross.”
—Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 25
Daily VerseFinally, all of you, be of one mind, sympathetic, loving toward one another, compassionate, humble. Do not return evil for evil, or insult for insult; but, on the contrary, a blessing, because to this you were called, that you might inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:8-9
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EWTN Daily Saint
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Pope St. Pius XPatron Saint of: First Communicants, pilgrims, and liturgical music
Feast Day: August 21 Pope St. Pius X (1835-1914) was born Giuseppe Melchiore Sarto, one of ten children from an impoverished family living in Venetia, then under the political control of the Austrian Empire. His parents valued education and ensured that Giuseppe walked nearly four miles to school every day. Drawn to the priesthood, he received a scholarship to enter one of the best seminaries of his day, and was ordained in 1858. After the death of Pope Leo XIII, who made him cardinal, he was elected Supreme Pontiff in 1903. Saint Pius X was a man of virtue, sanctity, and zeal, and a great defender of the Catholic faith against heresy. He ranks as one of the greatest reforming popes in history. In his eleven-year pontificate he contributed to reforms in papal elections, seminary life, Eucharistic practice, liturgy, biblical studies, the Divine Office, catechesis, the organization of the Roman Curia, and canon law. He was also known as a pastoral pope for encouraging Catholic social action as well as the development of personal holiness, piety, and a daily lifestyle which reflected deep Christian values. He promoted the reading of Sacred Scripture by all the lay faithful, and harshly denounced the evil of Modernism as “the summation of all heresies.” He also lowered the age of First Holy Communion to the age of reason. He was particularly devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Confidence. Pope St. Pius X is the patron of pilgrims and first communicants. His feast day is August 21st.
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Memorial of Saint Pius X, PopeLectionary: 423 Reading 1Ezekiel 37:1-14 The hand of the LORD came upon me,
and led me out in the Spirit of the LORD
and set me in the center of the plain,
which was now filled with bones.
He made me walk among the bones in every direction
so that I saw how many they were on the surface of the plain.
How dry they were!
He asked me:
Son of man, can these bones come to life?
I answered, “Lord GOD, you alone know that.”
Then he said to me:
Prophesy over these bones, and say to them:
Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD!
Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones:
See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life.
I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you,
cover you with skin, and put spirit in you
so that you may come to life and know that I am the LORD.
I prophesied as I had been told,
and even as I was prophesying I heard a noise;
it was a rattling as the bones came together, bone joining bone.
I saw the sinews and the flesh come upon them,
and the skin cover them, but there was no spirit in them.
Then the LORD said to me:
Prophesy to the spirit, prophesy, son of man,
and say to the spirit: Thus says the Lord GOD
From the four winds come, O spirit,
and breathe into these slain that they may come to life.
I prophesied as he told me, and the spirit came into them;
they came alive and stood upright, a vast army.
Then he said to me:
Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.
They have been saying,
“Our bones are dried up,
our hope is lost, and we are cut off.”
Therefore, prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD:
O my people, I will open your graves
and have you rise from them,
and bring you back to the land of Israel.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD,
when I open your graves and have you rise from them,
O my people!
I will put my spirit in you that you may live,
and I will settle you upon your land;
thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD. Responsorial PsalmPsalm 107:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 R. (1) Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.
Let the redeemed of the LORD say,
those whom he has redeemed from the hand of the foe
And gathered from the lands,
from the east and the west, from the north and the south.
R. Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.
They went astray in the desert wilderness;
the way to an inhabited city they did not find.
Hungry and thirsty,
their life was wasting away within them.
R. Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.
They cried to the LORD in their distress;
from their straits he rescued them.
And he led them by a direct way
to reach an inhabited city.
R. Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting.
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his mercy
and his wondrous deeds to the children of men,
Because he satisfied the longing soul
and filled the hungry soul with good things.
R. Give thanks to the Lord; his love is everlasting. AlleluiaPsalm 25:4b, 5a R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Teach me your paths, my God,
guide me in your truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelMatthew 22:34-40 When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law, tested him by asking,
“Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?”
He said to him,
“You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
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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 22:34-40Which commandment in the law is the greatest? (Matthew 22:36) In today’s Gospel, a scholar tests Jesus by asking, “Which commandment . . . is the greatest?” (Matthew 22:36). It’s a pretty good test. The Law of Moses had many, many commandments, some big, some small. But Jesus cuts to the heart of them all when he answers: “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (22:37-39). Nothing is more important than loving God. He is worthy of love simply because of who he is. He is the origin of all creation, all goodness, and all love. He himself is Goodness. He has given us life and “every spiritual blessing in the heavens” (Ephesians 1:3). Not only that, but he is also the source of our happiness. So when we neglect loving God, we not only fail to offer him the honor he deserves, but we also undermine our own happiness by cutting ourselves off from his goodness. And when Jesus says, “The second is like it,” he’s saying that we can’t fully love God without loving other people (Matthew 22:39). Loving our neighbor is no less essential. In fact, one without the other is incomplete. These two loves are never in competition because when we love another person, we are loving a child of God, which is to love God himself (25:40). Loving God will always lead us to love each other. The Catechism tells us, “One cannot honor another person without blessing God his Creator. One cannot adore God without loving all men, his creatures” (2069). Every other commandment depends on these two (Matthew 22:40). Love of God is intricately tied up with our love of others, just as our love for our neighbor makes visible our love for God. That’s why we can rely on these two commandments to guide us when we are uncertain about how we should live. So be sure to love God in prayer today—and love the people he will place in your life. “Holy Spirit, show me how best to fulfill your command to love God and neighbor in all I say and do today.” Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 107:2-9
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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From today's Holy Gospel: "....You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart,
with all your soul, and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.
...”
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From Bishop Barron: "Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus says that the whole law depends on love of God and love of neighbor. I want to reflect on the love of neighbor. For many, to love is equivalent to being a nice guy, or in Flannery O’Connor’s formulation, “having a heart of gold.” Now, there is nothing in the world wrong with being a nice guy or having a heart of gold, but you can easily achieve both of those states and not have love. For love is not really about fitting in and being friendly; it is willing the good of the other as other. It is wanting what is best for another person and then doing something about it. And this means that real love can be as tough as nails or as disagreeable as a slap in the face—indeed, in Dostoevsky’s phrase, something “harsh and dreadful.” Compelling an addict to get help or questioning a dysfunctional style of life both involve the willing of the good of the other—and neither will cause people to characterize you as a nice guy. This is why the God who is love is not a kindly Santa Claus who magically makes troubles disappear." end quote.
From Roberto Juarez:
"The love of which Jesus speaks cannot remain in words. It is demonstrated when we visit a sick person, accompany a single person, help those who are in need, forgive, have patience with our parents, educate our children, take care of our elders, put aside our pride to ask for forgiveness, offer our time freely. Christian love has hands, feet, time, sacrifice. We live in a culture that can present love as something easy: "I love you as long as you make me happy." But Jesus presents a different love. True love knows how to sacrifice itself. Christ Himself is the proof. He didn't love us because we were perfect. He loved us when we were still sinners. And he came to the cross. Therefore, when we find it difficult to love, we must look to Christ crucified. There we understand what it really means to love. To love is to give one's life. Today's Gospel offers us the fundamental criterion for revising our Christian life. It is not just a matter of asking ourselves: "How many religious things do I do?" The decisive question is, "How much do I love?" Do I really love God? Shall I give it first place? Do I love the people God has put by my side? Do I know how to forgive? Do I know how to serve? Do I have time for those who need me? Am I able to love even when I receive nothing in return? Jesus reminds us today that everything depends on love. Love of God and love of neighbor are inseparable. Let us ask the Lord to free us from a cold, routine or purely external faith. May he grant us a heart like his. A heart capable of loving God with all that we are and of recognizing in each person a brother or sister. May we hear within ourselves the same question that he once asked Peter: "Do you love me?" May our response not only be with words, but with our whole life. Lord, teach us to love as You have loved us." end of quote from Roberto.
From Brother Adrian: There is a LOT of talk about love and love in action.
But, we still see a LACK of love, and much inaction.
Why?
It is almost like a constant struggle, a constant battle.
And then, the confusion on what our love should be all about!
Right?
And it boils down to a decision from that point forward.
I told a group last night, at bible study, that "love many times is a decision".
It is not a feeling alone.
Love is not anything else on earth really. For God created all we know. And from this creation we are born. Out of love.
For God said that HE IS LOVE.
Therefore, anything else we make it out to be, can be said of it to be a misdirection. A deviance from the straight shot, the core truth.
And, our Lord Jesus says, HE IS TRUTH.
And living in Truth, we live in the truth, and this is life. And living this life is...the Way.
I compared this to 3rd world arranged marriages.
Estimated global divorce rates for arranged marriages sit lower than 4% to 6%, with some regions like India reporting rates around 1%. However, these low numbers reflect complex social factors rather than just higher marital satisfaction.
But that satisfaction could be even better than our non-arranged marriages in free worlds proven by a 50% divorce rate.
Once feelings get involved, people start splitting up. Once a head gets big, it gets read to pop, and the result is bloodshed.
And bloodshed has eternal scars to be reckoned with.
Now, back to the love of God and neighbor.
We just recently had a couple's retreat in our parish. The reminded us of the glue of matrimony....God Himself...Love itself.
But this should be true of ANY and ALL relationships...that we are bound to follow God's desire...love Him, love neighbor, AND love the enemy.
WHOA! WHAT? Really?
Some A I quick search says it: ▪ Matthew 5:43-48: Jesus contrasts His teaching with the old idea of hating an enemy.
He notes that God sends rain and sun on both good and evil people, setting a standard of unconditional love.
▪ Luke 6:27-31: Jesus adds practical actions, telling listeners to do good to those who hate them, bless those who curse them, and turn the other cheek.
▪ Romans 12:14-20: The Apostle Paul tells believers not to repay evil for evil, but to feed hungry enemies and leave justice to God.
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Matthew 5:43-48: Jesus contrasts His teaching with the old idea of hating an enemy.
He notes that God sends rain and sun on both good and evil people, setting a standard of unconditional love. |
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Luke 6:27-31: Jesus adds practical actions, telling listeners to do good to those who hate them, bless those who curse them, and turn the other cheek. |
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Romans 12:14-20: The Apostle Paul tells believers not to repay evil for evil, but to feed hungry enemies and leave justice to God. |
What It Means:
An action, not a feeling: Biblical love (agape) is a choice of the will to seek the well-being of another, rather than a warm emotional feeling. Reflecting God's character: Doing good to opponents shows a connection to God, who is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Refusing revenge: Loving an enemy means giving up personal payback and trusting God with justice. Practical Ways to Apply It:
Pray for them: Ask God to bless or help the person who hurt you.
Do good deeds: Show basic kindness or offer help if they are in need. Let go of bitterness:
Release the need for personal revenge and choose to forgive. To end this reflection, I want you to look at the next hardship relationship square in the eye, sometimes literally, and when it is getting rough, as from your heart to theirs: "God, is that you testing me? If so, I need you to know, I want to show you that I love you".
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Random Bible Verse 1
Jude 20–21 " But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life."
Word of the Lord!
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God Bless You! Peace
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