June 12, 2020
Reading 1 1 KGS 19:9A, 11-16
At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave, where he took shelter.
But the word of the LORD came to him,
“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by.”
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.
A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?”
He replied, “I have been most zealous for the LORD,
the God of hosts.
But the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant,
torn down your altars,
and put your prophets to the sword.
I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”
The LORD said to him,
“Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus.
When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram.
Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel,
and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah,
as prophet to succeed you.”
R. (8b) I long to see your face, O Lord.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Shine like lights in the world,
as you hold on to the word of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you,
everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
“It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful)
causes her to commit adultery,
and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”
Catechism of the Catholic Church
7 “Catechesis is intimately bound up with the whole of the Church’s life. Not only her geographical extension and numerical increase, but even more her inner growth and correspondence with God’s plan depend essentially on catechesis.”
“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
FRIDAY, JUNE 15TH Mt. 5: 27-32 “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut if off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.”
- St. Padre Pio had the gift of prophecy. A blind man once asked Padre Pio to restore his sight. Padre Pio said he could do that, but if the man’s sight was restored, he would be lost for all eternity! In other words, his eyes would lead him to sin mortally and to die in mortal sin. The man chose to remain blind.
- Better to lose your eye, lose your hand – than to commit a mortal sin, since we know not the hour or the day when we will die. Better to suffer here, than suffer for all eternity!
- In this life no one is exempt from suffering. When we suffer, we can shake our fist at God and ask “why me” or we can offer our suffering to God for our salvation and the salvation of many others, beginning with those in our own family. Suffering of itself has no merit. But suffering joined to the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross has infinite merit and value!
- Suffering will either make us better or bitter. Blessed Henry Suso, a renowned Dominican preacher of the 14th Century, helps us to see how suffering can make us better.
Suffering is a gift… by Blessed Henry Suso (+1366)
He who evaluates suffering at its true worth must accept it from God as a precious gift. Ah, there is many a man, formerly a child of eternal death and slumbering in sin, who has been revived and roused to a holy life by suffering.
Suffering guards men against grave falls; it gives a man self-knowledge, makes him firm toward himself and compassionate toward his neighbor.
Suffering preserves the soul in humility, teaches patience, guards purity, and brings the crown of eternal salvation.
It is practically impossible that suffering does not benefit a man in some way, whether he is yet in the state of sin, is just converted, making progress, or already arrived at perfection, because it scours the iron, purifies the gold, and embellishes the precious stones.
Suffering takes away sin, shortens purgatory, drives away temptations, quenches carnal desires, and renews the spirit. It brings true confidence, a pure conscience, and unwavering courage.
Be convinced that it is a wholesome drink and the most beneficial herb of all paradise. It mortifies the body, which is destined to rot anyway, but nourishes the precious soul, which is to endure eternally.
Suffering gives a man wisdom and experience. A man who has not suffered, what does he know? End of Reflection.
- Some people are called to the apostolate of suffering for the salvation of souls; they
- are called victim souls. St. Padre Pio was a victim soul, suffering the stigmata – the wounds of Christ in His hands, feet, and side – for 50 years.
- When St. Jacinta Marto was beatified by St. Pope John Paul II, he called her “a little victim soul.” In 1917, Our Lady of Fatima appeared six times to three young shepherd children – Lucia age 10, and her two cousins, Francisco age 9 and Jacinta age 7. Our Lady asked them to pray the Rosary and to make sacrifices daily, offering them for the conversion of poor sinners so as to save them from hell. All three did so willingly.
- Our Lady predicted that Francisco and Jacinta would die soon and go to heaven. But Lucia would have to stay a little while longer. Both Francisco and Jacinta died within 2 ½ years, victims of the 1918 influenza epidemic that swept through Europe. Lucia died in 2005 at age 97. God’s time is different than our time!
- Jacinta especially wanted to suffer to save souls from hell. At one point, Our Lady appeared to Jacinta and asked her if she was willing to suffer a little more to save souls. Her response was a resounding yes!
- Jacinta suffered a complication of the influenza which was this, she developed purulent pleurisy and endured an operation in which two of her ribs were removed. Because of the condition of her heart, she could not be fully anesthetized, and suffered terrible pain, which she said would help to convert many sinners.
- Jacinta died alone in a hospital in Lisbon, far from her home, family and friends. But was she really alone? We don’t that this happened, but we can imagine Jacinta being held in the arms of Mother Mary as she took her last breath, and opening her eyes to the glory of Heaven – with the Father and the Holy Spirt, Jesus and all the angels and saints rejoicing to welcome her, especially her brother, Francisco!
- Not all are called to be victim souls like St. Padre Pio and St. Jacinta Marto! It is enough that we accept the sufferings that God in His infinite goodness and wisdom permits to visit us for our salvation and the salvation of others, especially our family. And not just put up with these sufferings, but accept them gratefully!
- A man sick and suffering from some disease, gladly takes the remedy guaranteed to cure him! So it is with suffering! We will come to know the Hand that so lovingly administers this medicine for our soul, and so arrive at the peace that passes understanding, and the joy that no one can take from us, here and forever in heaven!
