† Quote of the Day“Where there is no love, put love and you will find love.” -St. John of the Cross Today’s Meditation"Joseph’s virtue was sublime and exceptional; therefore it was subjected to a great and singular trial. But, as he heroically surmounted this trial, so God was pleased, not only to console him, but to exalt him to a dignity of extraordinary glory. ... Jesus, the Son of God ... willed to recognize this virgin spouse as His father in affection, adoption, government, and education, and to be constantly obedient and subject to him. The Holy Ghost, who had operated the incarnation of the Son of God in the womb of Mary, willed that to Joseph this His spouse should be entirely confided. He was to be the zealous guardian of her virginity, her guide, her aid, her support, and her inseparable companion through all the vicissitudes of life. And where, apart from the Divine Maternity, can so great a dignity be found upon earth as that which was conferred on Joseph by the Three Divine Persons of the Most Holy Trinity?" —Edward Healy Thompson, p. 197
An excerpt from The Life and Glories of St. Joseph Daily VerseNo foul language should come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for needed edification, that it may impart grace to those who hear. -Ephesians 4:29
Daily Mass Readings
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EWTN Daily Saint
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St Germaine CousinSt. Germaine Cousin (1579–1601) was born in a remote French village to a peasant farmer. She was born with a deformed right arm and a disease that causes abscesses in her neck. Her mother died when she was an infant, and her father remarried. Due to Germaine's deformities, her stepmother was thoroughly disgusted with her. She severely neglected and physically abused the child, and taught others to do the same. Starving, sick, and dressed in rags with no shoes, Germaine was forced to sleep in the barn. Her stepmother once attempted to kill her off by sending her to tend sheep near a wolf-infested forest. St. Germaine was a simple and pious child, and through her extreme hardships she developed a deep interior life. She prayed the rosary and went to Mass daily, leaving her sheep to the care of her guardian angel. Even though she was emaciated, she shared the little food she had with beggars. Her piety was admired by the village children, and adults gradually became aware of her holiness, especially when news of her miracles began to circulate. St. Germaine died at the age of twenty-two, succumbing to her poor living conditions. Many years later her body was found incorrupt. Villagers began praying for her intercession and receiving miraculous cures, resulting in her canonization in 1867. St. Germaine is the patron saint of unattractive people, peasant girls, abuse victims, handicapped people, and abandoned people. Her feast day is June 15th.
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Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary TimeLectionary: 365 Reading 11 Kings 21:1-16 Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel
next to the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria.
Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden,
since it is close by, next to my house.
I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or,
if you prefer, I will give you its value in money.”
Naboth answered him, “The LORD forbid
that I should give you my ancestral heritage.”
Ahab went home disturbed and angry at the answer
Naboth the Jezreelite had made to him:
“I will not give you my ancestral heritage.”
Lying down on his bed, he turned away from food and would not eat. His wife Jezebel came to him and said to him,
“Why are you so angry that you will not eat?”
He answered her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite
and said to him, ‘Sell me your vineyard, or,
if you prefer, I will give you a vineyard in exchange.’
But he refused to let me have his vineyard.”
His wife Jezebel said to him,
“A fine ruler over Israel you are indeed!
Get up.
Eat and be cheerful.
I will obtain the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.” So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and,
having sealed them with his seal,
sent them to the elders and to the nobles
who lived in the same city with Naboth.
This is what she wrote in the letters:
“Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people.
Next, get two scoundrels to face him
and accuse him of having cursed God and king.
Then take him out and stone him to death.”
His fellow citizens—the elders and nobles who dwelt in his city—
did as Jezebel had ordered them in writing,
through the letters she had sent them.
They proclaimed a fast and placed Naboth at the head of the people.
Two scoundrels came in and confronted him with the accusation,
“Naboth has cursed God and king.”
And they led him out of the city and stoned him to death.
Then they sent the information to Jezebel
that Naboth had been stoned to death. When Jezebel learned that Naboth had been stoned to death,
she said to Ahab,
“Go on, take possession of the vineyard
of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you,
because Naboth is not alive, but dead.”
On hearing that Naboth was dead, Ahab started off on his way
down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite,
to take possession of it. Responsorial PsalmPsalm 5:2-3ab, 4b-6a, 6b-7 R. (2b) Lord, listen to my groaning.
Hearken to my words, O LORD,
attend to my sighing.
Heed my call for help,
my king and my God!
R. Lord, listen to my groaning.
At dawn I bring my plea expectantly before you.
For you, O God, delight not in wickedness;
no evil man remains with you;
the arrogant may not stand in your sight.
R. Lord, listen to my groaning.
You hate all evildoers.
You destroy all who speak falsehood;
The bloodthirsty and the deceitful
the LORD abhors.
R. Lord, listen to my groaning. AlleluiaPsalm 119:105 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A lamp to my feet is your word,
a light to my path.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelMatthew 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."
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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: 1 Kings 21:1-16 Ahab went home disturbed and angry. (1 Kings 21:4) Ahab was truly blessed! As ruler of the northern kingdom of Israel, he had access to countless riches—but he desired more. He longed to own a vineyard that was conveniently located right next to his palace. But it belonged to a man named Naboth. To Ahab, it was prime real estate, but to Naboth, it was much more than that. It was his “ancestral heritage,” and as such, he was not permitted to sell it (1 Kings 21:3; Leviticus 25:23). So Naboth refused Ahab’s request. Ahab should have known that he was asking for something forbidden by the Law of Moses, but covetousness clouded his thinking. He became so embittered that he took to his bed, stared at the wall, and even refused to eat. All this over a vineyard! Look at how things escalated. First, Ahab saw a fruitful vineyard right next door, and he began to desire it. That desire led to an illegal request that Naboth sell it to him. With Naboth’s righteous refusal, Ahab became obsessed. His desire led to underhanded schemes, which led to murder, which ultimately led to Ahab’s downfall. We can head down a similar path when we allow our own fallen desires to lead us to envy, covetousness, and greed. The path may not lead to physical death as it did for Ahab, but it can lead to a kind of spiritual death. So how do we deal with the temptation to covet “anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17)? By shifting our gaze. The more we focus on “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,” the more our hearts will be shielded from unjust and dishonorable desires like greed and envy (Philippians 4:8). Similarly, the more we fix our eyes on Jesus—who generously surrendered his life for us—the more we’ll long for his Spirit to lift us up and heal those desires. Today, try to keep a running list of the good, the true, and the Christlike thoughts that arise in your heart—as well as the Christlike people you come across. Then, at the end of the day, read over your list. Let the truths of God’s goodness that you see in that list convince you that Jesus is your greatest treasure! “Lord, heal me of all envy and covetousness!” Psalm 5:2-7
Matthew 5:38-42
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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Audio of 2 Cents
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From today's Holy Gospel: ".... 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." ... ”
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From Roberto Juarez:
"Many times we hear this gospel thinking about extreme situations. But most of us do not suffer persecution or serious aggression. What we do experience are the small wounds of every day: an unfair word, a criticism, a lack of recognition, a disappointment, a family argument, a selfish attitude from someone close to us. It is precisely here that the Gospel becomes concrete. Holiness is often at stake in these small daily responses.
Imagine for a moment what would happen if we all applied this gospel in our families. If instead of returning a hurtful word we responded with serenity. If instead of nurturing resentments we sought to understand. If instead of constantly demanding our rights we were willing to give in out of love. Relations would change profoundly. And the same would happen in our communities and in our society.
Jesus is not proposing a human strategy to avoid conflict. He is revealing the very logic of the Kingdom of God. A logic that seems weak in the eyes of the world, but that has an immense transformative force. The cross looked like a defeat. However, it was the definitive victory of love. Forgiveness seems to lose. But it is hatred that ends up defeated. Generosity seems to impoverish. But it is the giver who ends up enriched by God.
Dear Brothers, today's Gospel invites us to break the chain of evil through the power of good. He invites us to live with a free heart: free from revenge, free from resentment, free from pride. Let us ask the Lord to grant us the grace to be a little more like Him. May we learn to respond to evil with good, to offense with forgiveness, and to selfishness with generosity. And that, contemplating Christ crucified, we may discover that love is always stronger than violence and that mercy has the last word."
End Quote.
So...turn the cheek.. right? Is that easy? Not all the time! Right?
So...which is easier...to believe that Jesus our Lord is in the Holy Eucharist or to turn the cheek to the evil one, and the one who asks you for your stuff?
The requests of our Lord are high. Our Lord says in the bible “I desire mercy, not sacrifice” , which is a powerful biblical principle found in Hosea 6:6 and quoted by Jesus in Matthew 9:13.
Why mercy? Why is it more valuable than your many sacrifices?
I can give my 10 bucks at church, that might be a sacrifice...but God wants me to forgive that person that wrong me. That is infinitely more valuable. And infinitely is the right word, and why? Because...what we do has eternal ramifications. Even the smallest letter of His Word.
You know, studying the Old Testament, we see that there are so many goof ups, so many mistakes, so many grumblings against God, so much complaining. Yet...we see one thing over and over appearing....Mercy. Until God our Father says "I will now embody Mercy on earth..." and our Lord Jesus appears "out of nowhere" as they say. Many asked "where did He get all this stuff from?" and they asked "where did He come from?" And this is how it is until today. He appears out of nowhere to anybody He desires. And when He appears...everything changes...
When mercy appears....everything changes.
So how about turning the cheek? Is it harder for men or for women to forgive? Who remains more bitter?
In this case...what we are being asked is to be little...children, who can forgive and forget and be pure Love...and this happens the younger and smaller they are.
And so, the most meek person on earth...our Lord Jesus, has the right to ask us to be like Him.
Sacrificial. Love. Mercy. And Grace. You see, yes we see us messing up from the time of Adam and Eve...but God would usher in something more human, more humane than anything in existence from this...something the world did not have like this....MERCY.
God desires Mercy from you, so that He may show Himself, reveal Himself alive through you.
So, at the next heartbreak, and tongue lashing, take it with a grain of salt...because the world needs salt. And this will become light.
At the next offense, offer it to God as a sign of sacrifice and love.
At the next time someone asks for your stuff, do not be afraid to give...what if it is the Lord asking?? Amen?? Lord, help us leave ourselves...to be with YOU! Forever...
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WOW Random Bible Verse 1
1 John 2:15–17 [1 John 2]
Do Not Love the World " 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."
Word of the Lord!
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