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Saint Quote of the Day
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It is the duty of every man to uphold the dignity of every woman.
- Pope St. John Paul II
Today's Meditation“Above all, it is necessary to ask of God every morning the gift of perseverance, and to beg of the Blessed Virgin to obtain it for you, and particularly in the time of temptation, by invoking the name of Jesus and Mary as long as the temptation lasts. Happy the man who will continue to act in this manner, and shall be found so doing when Jesus Christ shall come to judge him. ‘Blessed is that servant, whom, when his Lord shall come, he shall find so doing’ (Matt. 24:46).” —St. Alphonsus De Liguori, p. 167
- - - Daily VerseThus says the Lord: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practice steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth; for in these things I delight, says the Lord. Jeremiah 9:23-24
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EWTN Daily Saint
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St. Raymond NonnatusPatron Saint of: Childbirth, pregnant women, midwives, and infants
Feast Day: August 31 St. Raymond Nonnatus (1200-1240) was born in Catalonia, Spain, to a noble family. His life was saved by caesarean section after his mother died in childbirth, earning him the name ‘Nonnatus’ meaning ‘one not born’. Raymond was a pious child drawn to the religious life, but his father had plans for him to serve in the royal court of the King of Aragon. To distract Raymond from his vocation, his father sent him to tend the family fields. This had the opposite effect and gave Raymond greater opportunity to pray in the country chapel. His father eventually allowed him to join the Mercedarians, a religious order which ransomed Christian slaves from their Muslim captors. Raymond became Master General of the order and personally freed hundreds of prisoners. When he ran out of money, he ransomed his own life to release Christians held in captivity. St. Raymond was tortured throughout his imprisonment, yet he converted numerous people to the Christian faith. To prevent him from preaching Christ, his captors pierced his lips with a red-hot iron and closed them with a padlock. He was eventually ransomed by his order and returned to Spain, and died a year later. After his death there was a dispute over who had the right to bury his body. To settle the matter, his body was placed on a blind mule and set loose. The mule went to the country chapel where Raymond had prayed in his youth, and it was there that he was buried. Many miracles were attributed to St. Raymond Nonnatus both before and after his death. He is the patron of children, childbirth, pregnant women, infants, and midwives. His feast day is August 31st.
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Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary TimeLectionary: 431 Reading 11 Corinthians 2:1-5 When I came to you, brothers and sisters,
proclaiming the mystery of God,
I did not come with sublimity of words or of wisdom.
For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you
except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
I came to you in weakness and fear and much trembling,
and my message and my proclamation
were not with persuasive words of wisdom,
but with a demonstration of spirit and power,
so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom
but on the power of God. Responsorial PsalmPsalm 119:97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102 R. (97) Lord, I love your commands.
How I love your law, O LORD!
It is my meditation all the day.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
Your command has made me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
I have more understanding than all my teachers
when your decrees are my meditation.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
I have more discernment than the elders,
because I observe your precepts.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
From every evil way I withhold my feet,
that I may keep your words.
R. Lord, I love your commands.
From your ordinances I turn not away,
for you have instructed me.
R. Lord, I love your commands. AlleluiaLuke 4:18 R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me;
he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. GospelLuke 4:16-30 Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,
and went according to his custom
into the synagogue on the sabbath day.
He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring glad tidings to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll,
he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,
and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.
He said to them,
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.
They also asked, “Is this not the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say, ‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said,
“Amen, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away.
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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: Luke 4:16-30When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were all filled with fury. (Luke 4:28) For thirty years, Jesus had lived a quiet, private life in Nazareth. But when he did go public, he didn’t hold back. He was too committed to the salvation of all people to soften his message. In today’s Gospel, we read how his fellow Nazoreans start by speaking well of him and his message. But then he crosses a line and challenges their understanding of God’s plan. So we probably shouldn’t be surprised that they end up trying to throw him off a cliff! After all, Simeon had warned that many of Jesus’ own people would turn against him (Luke 2:34). Citing miracles by Elijah and Elisha, Jesus points out that the Gentiles are not enemies; they, too, can receive God’s kindness. At these words from one of their own, his neighbors are “filled with fury” and try to kill him (Luke 4:28). In time, he would willingly hand himself over to an angry mob. But this day, Jesus passed through their midst unharmed. His time had not yet come; he had so much more to teach them. As Messiah, he had not come to settle scores with difficult people or hostile nations, as some Jews had hoped. He had come to restore what was lost to all people by sin. Because sin and death are the real enemy. The reaction of Jesus’ neighbors can help us examine our own thoughts. Am I happy with his message until it challenges some deep-seated attitude in me? Jesus loves us too much to leave us stuck in limiting mindsets and ways of thinking. God’s plan is big! He wants every person to return to him and receive salvation. God created everyone to have an eternal relationship with him, and it’s Jesus’ victory that overcomes division and restores all of us to the Father and to one another. So let in the light of his truth today. Accept Jesus’ message. Don’t try to silence him as his neighbors did. Where is the “line” that you don’t want him to cross? Who do you see as an “enemy”? Jesus is calling you to love everyone as he does and trust in him to overcome sin in each human heart—starting with your own. “Lord, open my eyes to the ways I resist your good plan. Come and heal me!” 1 Corinthians 2:1-5
Psalm 119:97-102
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Reflections with Brother Adrian:
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From today's Holy Gospel: "…. Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built, to hurl him down headlong.
But he passed through the midst of them and went away. ….”
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From Roberto Juarez: "The Gospel ends in a dramatic way. The inhabitants of Nazareth are filled with anger. They even go so far as to expel Jesus from the village and want to throw him off a cliff, it is impressive. The same Jesus who has just announced a year of grace ends up being rejected. This reminds us of a fundamental truth: God's grace is not always received. We can listen to the Word and close ourselves off, receive a call and reject it, recognize that something is true and yet not want to change. The problem is not always in the clarity of the message. Sometimes it is in the hardness of our hearts."
end of quote from Roberto.
From Brother Adrian: In recent bible studies, we keep talking about breaking out of our comfort zone. But, what happens when you do that?
You may wind up poking at someone's comfort zone.
You see, when we start evangelizing, sometimes, it hits like a cold bucket of water. I think of praying at abortion clinics.
We get a lot of bad looks, and cops called on us for praying quietly.
Or, if you approach someone at work about God stuff and going to church, you may get brushed off with an attitude that says "don't mess with me, I'm comfortable with the relation I've got going with God, we got our own thing going".
Right?
But, as it stands, we are called to be Christ. For some, His words were a soothing balm, and at the same time, it struck others as daggers.
It is true then, that His word is like a double edged dagger, cutting down to the marrow of the bone.
What forces our Lord out of our lives?
Our will. The people in His hometown wanted to throw him off a cliff.
He was not able to perform many major miracles.
And in our lives, we may experience the same.
We are comfortable. We have our set beliefs. And this is the problem. There is really, no room at the inn, for faith.
Today, in Mass, I was struck with a thought….God is a mystery. A Holy Mystery.
A relationship too can be a mystery. My spouse, I don't have her totally figured out, and there is a mystery.
Why are we wanting to know everything? To have total control?
There is where the lack of faith enters. To say "I rather have control than You God!". That is where false gods start to enter.
And why does our God hate false gods?
Because, simply put, they are bad for you. The trust goes into something else that is finite, the love goes into the finite, the leadership heads to the finite, and darkness is riddled in the finite.
And our Creator God is infinite, unfathomable, un-created, and to simply connect with Him is an act of faith!
And here is a guy, like you, trying to connect.
And I will tell you what, the more you seek, the more you will find, not only God, but all of the things that come with finding Him. Clues of Him. Gems. Grace. Joy. Peace. All the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
I go to meetings and studies, like a treasure hunter. Oh you should see how eyes and hearts are opened up. And what happens? The life God had planned for us is revealed.
And amazement begins. Another sign of the Holy Spirit at work.
God can be amazed, did you know that? Jesus was amazed. Sometimes at someone's faith, and other times…at the lack of faith…..
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Random Bible Verse 1
Ephesians 1:13–14 " In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee1 of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,2 to the praise of his glory."
Word of the Lord!
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God Bless You! Peace
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