MASS READINGS AND MEDITATION | JUNE 23, 2020

Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent envoys to Hezekiah
with this message:
“Thus shall you say to Hezekiah, king of Judah:
‘Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you
by saying that Jerusalem will not be handed over
to the king of Assyria.
You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done
to all other countries: they doomed them!
Will you, then, be saved?’”

Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it;
then he went up to the temple of the LORD,
and spreading it out before him,
he prayed in the LORD’s presence:
“O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned upon the cherubim!
You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.
You have made the heavens and the earth.
Incline your ear, O LORD, and listen!
Open your eyes, O LORD, and see!
Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.
Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations
and their lands, and cast their gods into the fire;
they destroyed them because they were not gods,
but the work of human hands, wood and stone.
Therefore, O LORD, our God, save us from the power of this man,
that all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that you alone, O LORD, are God.”

Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent this message to Hezekiah:
“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
in answer to your prayer for help against Sennacherib, king of Assyria:
I have listened!
This is the word the LORD has spoken concerning him:

“‘She despises you, laughs you to scorn,
the virgin daughter Zion!
Behind you she wags her head,
daughter Jerusalem.

“‘For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant,
and from Mount Zion, survivors.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.’

“Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria:
‘He shall not reach this city, nor shoot an arrow at it,
nor come before it with a shield,
nor cast up siege-works against it.
He shall return by the same way he came,
without entering the city, says the LORD.
I will shield and save this city for my own sake,
and for the sake of my servant David.’”

That night the angel of the LORD went forth and struck down
one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp.
So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, broke camp,
and went back home to Nineveh.

R. (see 9d) God upholds his city for ever.
Great is the LORD and wholly to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain, fairest of heights,
is the joy of all the earth.

R. God upholds his city for ever.
Mount Zion, “the recesses of the North,”
is the city of the great King.
God is with her castles;
renowned is he as a stronghold.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
O God, we ponder your mercy
within your temple.
As your name, O God, so also your praise
reaches to the ends of the earth.
Of justice your right hand is full.

R. God upholds his city for ever.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.

“Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church

V. Practical Directions for Using this Catechism

18 This catechism is conceived as an organic presentation of the Catholic faith in its entirety. It should be seen therefore as a unified whole. Numerous cross-references in the margin of the text (numbers found at the end of a sentence referring to other paragraphs that deal with the same theme), as well as the analytical index at the end of the volume, allow the reader to view each theme in its relationship with the entirety of the faith.

“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)

TUESDAY, JUNE 23^RD  Mt. 7:6, 12-14   “Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction.”

Quotes from St. Faustina…

“God never violates our free will. It is up to us whether we want to receive God’s grace or not. It is up to us whether we will co-operate with it or waste it.” (Diary, 1107)

“One day, I saw two roads. One was broad, covered with sand and flowers, full of joy, music and all sorts of pleasures. People walked along it, dancing and enjoying themselves. They reached the end without realizing it. And at the end of the road there was a horrible precipice; that is, the abyss of hell. The souls fell blindly into it; as they walked, so they fell. And their number was so great that it was impossible to count them.

And I saw the other road, or rather, a path, for it was narrow and strewn with thorns and rocks; and the people who walked along it had tears in their eyes, and all kinds of suffering befell them. Some fell down upon the rocks, but stood up immediately and went on. At the end of the road there was a magnificent garden filled with all sorts of happiness, and all these souls entered there. At the very first instant they forgot all their sufferings.” (Diary, 153)

• Saints seek the narrow gate because they choose to follow Christ. St. Ignatius called it the Three Degrees of Humility. Do we remember what they are?
• First Degree of Humility: This is necessary for salvation. It consists in this, that as far as possible I so subject and humble myself to obey the law of God Our Lord in all things, so that not even were I made lord of all creation, or to save my life here on earth, would I consent to violate a commandment, whether divine or human, that binds me under pain of mortal sin.
• Second Degree of Humility: This is more perfect than the first. I possess it if my attitude of mind is such that I neither desire nor am I inclined to have riches rather than poverty, to seek honor rather than dishonor, to have health rather than sickness, to desire a long life rather than a short life, provided only in either alternative I would promote equally the service of God our Lord and the salvation of my soul. Besides this indifference, this second kind of humility supposes that not for all creation, nor to save my life, would I consent to commit a venial sin. (Even venial sin is a sign of a disordered attachment to something or someone other than God.)
• Third Degree of Humility. This is the most perfect kind of humility. It consists in this. If we suppose the first and second kind attained, then whenever the praise and glory of the Divine Majesty would be equally served, in order to imitate and be in reality more like Christ our Lord, I desire and choose poverty with Christ poor, rather than riches; insults with Christ loaded with them, rather than honors. I desire to be accounted as worthless and a fool for Christ, rather than to be esteemed as wise and prudent in this world. So Christ was treated before me.
• Yesterday, we celebrated the feast day of St. John Fisher, Bishop and St. Thomas More – both martyred for the same reason!
• King Henry VIII had become by act of Parliament, “Supreme Head of the Church in England.” Other bishops chose the wide gate and broad path that leads to destruction by affirming King Henry VIII as head of the Church in England, thereby usurping the authority of the Pope. St. John Fisher chose the narrow gate and narrow path by denying the king’s supremacy over the Church.
• There was an underlying issue. King Henry VIII had determined to divorce his wife, Catherine of Aragon, who had not borne him children, and marry Anne Boleyn. Fisher became the Queen’s chief supporter. As such, he appeared on the Queen’s behalf in the legates’ court, where he startled the audience by his directness and strong language declaring that, like St. John the Baptist, he was ready to die on behalf of the indissolubility of marriage.
• In May 1535, the newly elected Pope Paul III named Fisher a Cardinal, apparently in the hope of inducing King Henry to mitigate Fisher’s punishment. The effect was precisely the reverse: Henry forbade the cardinal’s hat to be brought into England, declaring that he would send Fisher’s head to Rome instead.
• In all of England, St. Thomas More was second in power only to the king. He had to choose between allegiance to an earthly king and Christ the King! Like Fisher, he chose the narrow gate and the narrow path of loyalty to Christ and His vicar on earth, the Pope. He defended the indissolubility of marriage, opposing the King’s divorce of Catherine of Aragon and marriage to Anne Boleyn. He refused to sign an oath of loyalty to the King as Supreme Head of the Church in England, at one point resigning as Chancellor. Even the pleadings of his beloved daughter Margaret could not persuade him to save his life by denying God’s truth.
• Bishop Fisher and Thomas More exchanged communications while in the Tower of London waiting for trial and execution. It is reported that at one point Fisher wrote to More saying that the way they had chosen was certainly straight and narrow enough to be the way to heaven!!!
• How easy it would have been for both men to take the path of least resistance by capitulating to the King’s demands thereby preserving their life and high social standing… in which case no one would have ever heard of them again! We honor them today because they chose the narrow gate of the Third Degree of Humility, preferring to be “accounted as worthless and a fool for Christ, rather than to be esteemed as wise and prudent in this world.”
• Are we willing to defend the truth of Christ and His holy Church under the direction of our Holy Father and guidance of our good priests? Even if it costs us the good opinion of others? Even if it costs us our job? Even if it costs us our life???
• In this present darkness that day may come! Let us pray for the grace of martyrdom if God so wills!  “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph 6:12)
• This is our battle cry, these are our weapons! Let us put on the Armor of God by faithfulness to our daily holy hour, daily sacramental or spiritual Communions, frequent Confession, and the daily Rosary – more than one whenever possible!

Ephesians 6: 10-18

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.