† Saint Quote:All the things in this world are gifts of God, created for us, to be the means by which we can come to know him better, love him more surely, and serve him more faithfully. St. Ignatius of Loyola Today's Meditation“If God can use everything and everything is good, then an essential starting point of being able to discern God’s will is the gift of being “equal-minded.” St. Ignatius of Loyola called this gift being “indifferent,” but some modern people interpret this term as not caring about the choices. Better is the term “equal minded,” which implies that I am happy to take either this option or that option. Neither option matters to me except insofar as one gives greater glory to God than the other.”
–Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ, p. 73 Daily VerseFor who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? — the God who girded me with strength, and made my way safe. He made my feet like hinds’ feet, and set me secure on the heights. He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze. Thou hast given me the shield of thy salvation, and thy right hand supported me, and thy help made me great. Psalm 18:31-35
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EWTN Daily Saint
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St. Ignatius of LoyolaPatron Saint of: Retreats, spiritual exercises, and soldiers
Feast Day: July 31 St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) was born at the castle of Loyola in Basque country, Spain, the youngest of thirteen children. In keeping with the young aristocrats of his day, Ignatius sought after military prowess, vainglory, and fame, and became a knight at the age of seventeen. He was known as a fancy dresser, an expert dancer, a womanizer, sensitive to insult, and involved in criminal behavior. During a period of convalescence after being wounded in battle, he read a collection of saint biographies and a Life of Christ. These books profoundly affected him, and he experienced a conversion of heart. He desired to pattern his life after the great saints, and ceremoniously hung up his military garments before an image of the Virgin Mary. After experiencing a vision of the Blessed Mother with the Infant Jesus, he lived for a time as an ascetic in a cave. It was during this time that he formulated his famous Spiritual Exercises, the spiritual centerpiece of the religious order he would later establish. He then went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and studied theology for many years. During his studies he gathered a group of six like-minded men and founded the Society of Jesus, today known as the Jesuits. They went as missionaries all over the world to spread the Gospel, especially focusing on education. Today the Jesuits have over 30,000 members and 500 universities. St. Ignatius of Loyola’s feast day is July 31st.
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Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest
Readings for the Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest Reading 1 Jeremiah 26:1-9In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim,
son of Josiah, king of Judah,
this message came from the LORD:
Thus says the LORD:
Stand in the court of the house of the LORD
and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah
who come to worship in the house of the LORD;
whatever I command you, tell them, and omit nothing.
Perhaps they will listen and turn back,
each from his evil way,
so that I may repent of the evil I have planned to inflict upon them
for their evil deeds.
Say to them: Thus says the LORD:
If you disobey me,
not living according to the law I placed before you
and not listening to the words of my servants the prophets,
whom I send you constantly though you do not obey them,
I will treat this house like Shiloh,
and make this the city to which all the nations of the earth
shall refer when cursing another.Now the priests, the prophets, and all the people
heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the LORD.
When Jeremiah finished speaking
all that the LORD bade him speak to all the people,
the priests and prophets laid hold of him, crying,
“You must be put to death!
Why do you prophesy in the name of the LORD:
‘This house shall be like Shiloh,’ and
‘This city shall be desolate and deserted’?”
And all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. Responsorial Psalm Psalm 69:5, 8-10, 14R. (14c) Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Those outnumber the hairs of my head
who hate me without cause.
Too many for my strength
are they who wrongfully are my enemies.
Must I restore what I did not steal? R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Since for your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my mother’s sons,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me. R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
But I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me. Alleluia 1 Peter 1:25R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of the Lord remains forever;
this is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Matthew 13:54-58Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.
They were astonished and said,
“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter’s son?
Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us?
Where did this man get all this?”
And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house.”
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.
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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: Psalm 69:5, 8-10, 14 I pray to you, O Lord, for the time of your favor! (Psalm 69:14 When we pray with the psalms, we join in the prayers of God’s people that span thousands of years. To this very day, faithful Jews pray the psalms daily. In fact, we can imagine the prophet Jeremiah offering the words from today’s responsorial psalm as he faced opposition to his ministry from Jerusalem’s leaders. In today’s first reading, Jeremiah is suffering persecution because he spoke a message of warning that God had given him for his people. Similarly, in today’s Gospel, Jesus is suffering rejection by the people of his hometown. Both Jeremiah and Jesus have become outcasts, strangers to their own brothers, because the words they spoke called out the people’s sins and need for repentance. Jesus, too, would have prayed the psalms daily. In fact, we can imagine him praying this particular psalm as he left the synagogue at Nazareth: “I have become an outcast to my brothers, . . . and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.” (Psalm 69:9, 10). He would quote this psalm again during his passion, They “hate me without cause” (Psalm 69:5; see John 15:25). We can listen in on his prayer to the Father in his distress, distress that comes not despite his relationship with his Father but because of it. Of course, we don’t just hear this psalm; we pray it. We pray it along with the Lord Jesus because we are members of his body. We pray it with Jeremiah, one of the old covenant saints now perfected in Christ, who joins us from the heavenly assembly. We pray it with and for our persecuted brothers and sisters in jails around the world because of their witness to Christ. We pray it with the student who suffers socially for their witness and with the doctor who loses patients for upholding Church teaching. We pray it for ourselves when we face opposition for speaking truth or doing right. We may not match the heroism of Jeremiah. We certainly do not love our enemies perfectly, as Jesus did. So we pray this prayer with them, so that in “the time of [his] favor,” the Lord might make us like them (Psalm 69:14). “Lord, in your great love answer me!” Jeremiah 26:1-9
Matthew 13:54-58
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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From today's Holy Gospel: "... They were astonished and said,
“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter’s son?
Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us?
Where did this man get all this?”
And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house.”
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith..... ”
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From Bishop Barron: "
Friends, in today’s Gospel, on his return to Nazareth, the Lord identifies himself as a prophet. Jesus is not just one more in a long line of prophets but rather the personal and perfect embodiment of the transformative speech of God. As Pope Benedict XVI puts it in Verbum Domini,“Now the word is not simply audible; not only does it have a voice, now the word has a face, one which we can see: that of Jesus of Nazareth.” Therefore, we are not surprised that the Gospels consistently portray Jesus’s words as irresistibly powerful. At the tomb of his friend, “he cried out in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!’” and “the dead man came out.” Precisely because Jesus is the divine Word, what he says is. Origen of Alexandria said that just as all of Jesus’s acts were like words, so all his words were like acts. The Church, which is Jesus’s mystical body, is the privileged bearer of his word to the world down through the ages until the Lord returns. This is why the Church continues to unleash transformative power. "
...” End quote.
From Roberto Juarez: " The Gospel of today warns us of a very real danger: custom can quench faith. The neighbors of Nazareth knew Jesus too much or, rather, they thought they knew him too well. That is why they were unable to discover the mystery before them. Let us ask the Lord never to get used to his presence. May every encounter with his Word renew our hope. May every Eucharist arouse our amazement. May we recognize it every day in simple people, in everyday events and in the sacraments of the Church. And may, far from closing our hearts to routine or disbelief, we may always welcome him with the humble faith of Mary, so that he may continue to perform in us the greatest miracle: to transform our hearts and make us more like him every day......" end quote.
They couldn't believe.
They would not believe.
They said thus could not be the Messiah.
This could not be the Savior that was expected for thousands of years.
This poor carpenter. This boy they knew from the neighborhood.
And you?
Do you believe even after thousands of miracles in thousands of years?
Do you believe that man on the cross is dying for love of you?
How can a familiar one be rejected?
How can a stranger be rejected?
Where is the faith?
There is no true finding out if there is no true seeking out.
There is no belief if we don't care.
But you are here seeking.
You are finding out the truth.
The truth of God's love...our Lord on the cross...and the Lord constantly on the move across the globe.
God is here in those of us who love Him...to the cross and back.
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Random Bible Verse 1
Matthew 5:8 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
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Word of the Lord!
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