Shepherd your people with your staff,
the flock of your inheritance,
That dwells apart in a woodland,
in the midst of Carmel.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead,
as in the days of old;
As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt,
show us wonderful signs.

Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt
and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance;
Who does not persist in anger forever,
but delights rather in clemency,
And will again have compassion on us,
treading underfoot our guilt?
You will cast into the depths of the sea
all our sins;
You will show faithfulness to Jacob,
and grace to Abraham,
As you have sworn to our fathers
from days of old.

R. (8a) Lord, show us your mercy and love.
You have favored, O LORD, your land;
you have brought back the captives of Jacob.
You have forgiven the guilt of your people;
you have covered all their sins.
You have withdrawn all your wrath;
you have revoked your burning anger.
R. Lord, show us your mercy and love.
Restore us, O God our savior,
and abandon your displeasure against us.
Will you be ever angry with us,
prolonging your anger to all generations?
R. Lord, show us your mercy and love.
Will you not instead give us life;
and shall not your people rejoice in you?
Show us, O LORD, your kindness,
and grant us your salvation.
R. Lord, show us your mercy and love.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

While Jesus was speaking to the crowds,
his mother and his brothers appeared outside,
wishing to speak with him.
Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside,
asking to speak with you.”
But he said in reply to the one who told him,
“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”
And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father
is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church

49 Without the Creator, the creature vanishes (GS 36). This is the reason why believers know that the love of Christ urges them to bring the light of the living God to those who do not know him or who reject him.

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

TUESDAY, JULY 21^ST     Mt. 12:46-50 “Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

Doing the will of the heavenly Father… by Saint Lawrence of Brindisi (+1619)

The first lesson taught us by Paul is that we are called to the grace of baptism not because of the merits of our good works but solely because of the goodness of God, not because of any righteous deeds we had done but because of His mercy.

Peter and Andrew are called, not from the Temple where they were praying or sacrificing or engaging in works of piety and mercy and love, but called from the sea where they were rowing and diligently plying their trade of catching fish. Fishing requires no special kind of holiness and virtue.

Moreover, Paul tells us that in baptism a regeneration and renovation takes place through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, which makes us very like to Christ in our life, our conduct, and our works, because it was to this that we have been predestined.

Consequently, he writes to the Galatians: All of you who are baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. To clothe oneself with Christ, however, means to reflect Christ and make Him visible in our life and conduct.  

If the virtue and righteousness and holiness of the Apostles and all the saints is merely imaginary, does that mean that Christ is, therefore, merely an imaginary Redeemer and Savior? That Adam and Satan had much more power to destroy than Christ and God have to save? If the power of the Holy Spirit in the Apostles was only imaginary, how were they able to perform real works of virtue? Can an imaginary or a painted tree bear real fruits?

These are fruits that were truly present in the Apostles. The Apostles and countless martyrs have already laid down their lives for Christ and suffered cruel torments for the sake of righteousness with great patience and strength of soul and constancy and, even more, with love and a spirit of joy… and with a great desire to suffer even much more.   End of Reflection

• We are to be “like Christ in our life, our conduct, and our works, because it is to this that we have been predestined.” How does this happen? It is precisely when I acknowledge my nothingness that I become like Christ, for it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. These are not just pious thoughts – this is reality!
• What will change us from cowardly believers to courageous followers of Christ? The same thing that changed the Apostles – the power of the Holy Spirit through the Immaculate Heart of Mary at work in our soul!
• How are we doing? Do we bear the ordinary ups and downs of daily living with patience, strength, constancy, and even more, love and joy? The answer depends on one thing and one thing only. Do we accept God’s will expressed in the events and circumstances of our day or do we resist and rebel against God’s will?
• In today’s Gospel, Jesus is not being disrespectful to Mary. As a matter of fact, He is exalting Mary, for beyond being His Mother, she was His first and best disciple from the moment of the Incarnation!  
• If we were to draw a straight line representing God’s will, and a line on top of that line representing Mary’s will, we would still see only one line. Mary alone, in all of  God’s creation, obeyed the will of God perfectly!
• On the other hand, if we draw a line representing our will at best it will be a squiggly line on top of the straight line representing God’s will.
• We are fighting an interior battle every day to choose to do the will of God made clear to us in the commandments, the teachings of His holy Church, and the events and circumstances of our daily lives, as opposed to doing what we will!
• Again, Jesus makes it clear! We must love God more than others, more even than ourselves, and show it by our obedience to His will, no matter the cost! “Passion for your house consumes me, the insults of those who insult you fall on me!” (Ps 69:9) 
• In the practice of our faith, we don’t want to be disrespectful to our parents or disregard family members and friends. However, if regard for others interferes with our worship of God, for example attending Sunday Mass… or causes us to disregard God’s call to our vocation… or causes us to break the commandments or the teachings of His holy Church… we must obey God and ignore others.
• Conversely, we must not say or do anything to prevent family members or friends from loving God and obeying His will as it is expressed in their lives.
• Peter denied Jesus three times, and three times Jesus asked him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” These? The other apostles, one of whom was his brother, and the others who had become like brothers to him. Three times Peter answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” And Jesus rewarded him with the awesome vocation of feeding and tending His sheep as the first Pope!
• Everyday Jesus asks us that same question, “Do you love me more than these?” Do I love you, Lord, more than anyone else in my life?
• We answer Yes every time we go to Confession… allowing Jesus to shine the light of truth in our soul, acknowledging and repenting of our sins, receiving His mercy and forgiveness, renewing our strength to fight the temptations that are sure to come, as well as avoid the near occasions of sin.
• We answer Yes each time we receive Jesus fervently in Holy Communion… as we beg to love Him more every day and love others with His Heart of love and mercy.
• We answer Yes when we spend time with Jesus in our holy hour… finding rest from our burdens and strength to carry on.
• We answer Yes when we are faithful to our vocation in life and to our mission of spreading the good news of the Gospel, inviting others to a personal encounter with the love and mercy of Jesus Christ!
• We answer Yes when we remember that Jesus has been merciful to us and extend His mercy and forgiveness to others who have hurt us or injured us in some way, especially by praying for them.
• We answer Yes when we extend our hands in compassion to the poor and the suffering – those who most resemble Jesus.
• We answer Yes when we do what Christ and His Church tell us is right, even if it costs us our possessions, our friends, even our lives!
• Let us beg Mary our Mother for her prayers and grace to say: Yes, Lord, I love you, and I will strive to show my love for you by choosing to do your will, not mine, with every decision I make each day!  

There is one final meditation for us to reflect on. Today Jesus said, “Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

Jesus also said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt. 18:3)

What does that look like? It is not about what we lose, it is about what we gain!

Only in our nothingness can God reveal our allness …   by Caryll Houselander (+1954)

To accept oneself as one is, to accept life as it is; these are the two basic elements of childhood’s simplicity and humility. But it is one thing to say this and another to do it. What is involved?

First of all, it involves the abandoning of all unreality in ourselves. But even granted that we have the courage to face ourselves and to root out every trace of pretense, how shall we then tolerate the emptiness, the insignificance, which we built up our elaborate pretense to cover?

The answer is simple. If we are afraid to know ourselves for what we are, it is because we have not the least idea of what that is. It is because we have not the least idea of the miracle of life-giving love that we are! There is no pretense that can approach the wonder of the truth about us, no unreality that comes anywhere near the reality.

We are “other Christs.” Our destiny is to live the Christ-life: to bring Christ’s life into the world; to increase Christ’s love in the world; to give Christ’s peace to the world.

The acceptance of life as it is must teach us trust and humility. This is because every real experience of life is an experience of God. Every experience of God makes us realize our littleness, our need, our nothingness, but at the same time the miracle of Christ in us.

Not only are we God’s creatures – which is in itself a guarantee of His eternal creating love – but we are also His Christ, His only Son, the sole object of His whole love. These two facts balance the scales of trust: our nothingness and our allness!

 

 

 

 

Saint Lawrence of Brindisi
Pray for us!

Hear what the LORD says:
Arise, present your plea before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice!
Hear, O mountains, the plea of the LORD,
pay attention, O foundations of the earth!
For the LORD has a plea against his people,
and he enters into trial with Israel.

O my people, what have I done to you,
or how have I wearied you? Answer me!
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
from the place of slavery I released you;
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.

With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow before God most high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with myriad streams of oil?
Shall I give my first-born for my crime,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
You have been told, O man, what is good,
and what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do the right and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God.

R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”
He said to them in reply,
“An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,
but no sign will be given it
except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights,
so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth
three days and three nights.
At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;
and there is something greater than Jonah here.
At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation
and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon;
and there is something greater than Solomon here.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church

48  We really can name God, starting from the manifold perfections of his creatures, which are likenesses of the infinitely perfect God, even if our limited language cannot exhaust the mystery.

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

MONDAY, JULY 20^TH   Mt. 12:38-42  “Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and nights.”

Perseverance Points followed by the inspiring story of Chiara Corbella Petrillo…

• Jesus predicts His passion, death and Resurrection. Something for them to remember when reports reach them that the tomb is empty after He has risen from the dead!
• In Matthew Chapter 10, Jesus tells His twelve apostles they will also suffer. And if they will suffer, so will future generations of His disciples suffer! So will we suffer!
• “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” (Mt. 10: 16-20)
• “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Mt. 10:28-31)
• “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my father in heaven.” (Mt. 10: 32-33)
• “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Mt. 10: 34)
• “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.” (Mt. 10: 37-39)
• Jesus made their mission clear to them. But they were not ready. All the Apostles, except John, ran from the cross of Christ! Their formation in discipleship was not complete until the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, after nine days of prayer in the presence of the Blessed Mother! Where Mary is, you will find the Holy Spirit!
• Paul tell us the rest of the story. He is counted as an Apostle selected by Jesus on the road to Damascus when he was knocked off his horse, blinded by light from heaven, and heard these words that changed him forever. “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”… “Who are you, Lord?”…“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
• The rest of the story that St. Paul shares with us is what is on the other side of the coin of suffering – the glory that awaits us! When you are fingering the coin of suffering, never forget to turn the coin over and read the promise of glory!

Rom. 8: 18-30   I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through ineffable groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

• The sufferings of this life come to us in many ways, one is religious persecution. We have seen evidence of that recently in the desecration of sacred objects. But all the sufferings of this life are permitted by God for the purpose for which we were created, “to praise, reverence, and serve God, and by this means to save our soul” – Principle and Foundation, Spiritual Exercises. And we might add, to save many souls!
• Jesus’ suffering and death on the cross was the means of our salvation; however, God in His infinite wisdom and goodness allows us to join our sufferings, of whatever kind, to the suffering of Jesus on the cross for our salvation and the salvation of others!
• Our Lady of Fatima told the children that souls are going to hell because there is no one to suffer and pray for them! Your son or daughter who is far from God? It is your prayers, suffering and love for them that will be the means of their salvation. As were the prayers, suffering and tears of Monica for Augustine! And God made TWO saints!

The Way of the Cross… by Father John Tauler, O.P.

And now occurs a question. Since God draws some men to Him by means of joy and others by means of sorrow, by which of these did He draw the disciples? The answer is found in considering their life. It was passed in our Savior’s company in much hardship, ending in great shame and distress. So they were drawn to God more by sorrow than by joy.

And especially after their Master’s cruel death were they in a state of bitter suffering, until they had become entirely detached. And, thus, by the special favor of their heavenly Father, they were made fit to receive the Holy Spirit by the way of suffering. 

The drawing through sorrow is a safer way than through joy. And it is in this sense that St. Gregory understands the Psalmist: “A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand” (Ps 91:7) – meaning that a thousand helpers shall fail you in time of sorrow and persecution, but ten thousand shall fail you in time of joy and prosperity.

And the way to God through sorrow is more like Christ’s way in all His life, and in His death. It is, besides, a better sign of God’s love, for it is written: “Such as I love, I rebuke and chastise” (Rev 3:19).

It is, indeed, true that the disciples enjoyed a close familiar companionship with the divine Master, but it was embittered by the knowledge that for every gift they got they must suffer the death of all self-love.

And as fast as God relieved them of one suffering, He sent them another just as hard – for God is always accustomed to thus treat His beloved friends. The disciples found this to be the case, and so must they keep on suffering to the end, according as their heavenly Father arranged for them. Until at last their sorrow was turned into joy, and they were glad to suffer for the name of Jesus.

Father John Tauler, O.P. (1300-1361) Dominican Priest, Theologian, disciple of Meister Eckhart and known as one of the most important Rhineland Mystics.

There is nothing more counter-cultural than offering up suffering! We cannot reflect on this too much! Let’s look at what the Saints have to say about suffering…

+ “If God gives you an abundant harvest of trials, it is a sign of great holiness which He desires you to attain. The flame of Divine Love never rises higher than when fed with the wood of the Cross, which the infinite charity of the Savior used to finish His sacrifice. All the pleasures of the world are nothing compared with the sweetness found in the gall and vinegar offered to Jesus Christ. That is, hard and painful things endured for Jesus Christ and with Jesus Christ.” —Saint Ignatius of Loyola

+ Jesus spoke these words to Saint Faustina: “There is but one price at which souls are bought and that is suffering united to My suffering on the cross. Every conversion of a sinful soul demands sacrifice. I have need of your sufferings to rescue souls. Help Me, My daughter to save souls. Join your sufferings to My Passion and offer them to the Heavenly Father for sinners. The loss of each soul plunges Me into mortal sadness. You always console Me when you pray for sinners. The prayer most pleasing to Me is prayer for the conversion of sinners.”  — Diary of St. Faustina

+ “God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering.”–Saint Augustine

+ “The road is narrow. He who wishes to travel it more easily must cast off all things and use the cross as his cane. In other words, he must be truly resolved to suffer willingly for the love of God in all things.”  —Saint John of the Cross

+ “If you really want to love Jesus, first learn to suffer, because suffering teaches you to love.”  —Saint Gemma Galgani

+ “He who wishes to love God does not truly love Him if he has not an ardent and constant desire to suffer for His sake.”  —Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

+ “For Jesus Christ I am prepared to suffer still more.” —Saint Maximilian Kolbe

+ “I always want to see you behaving like a brave soldier who does not complain about his own suffering but takes his comrades’ wounds seriously and treats his own as nothing but scratches.”  —Saint Therese of Lisieux to her novices

+ “If we only knew the precious treasure hidden in infirmities, we would receive them with the same joy with which we receive the greatest benefits, and we would bear them without ever complaining or showing signs of weariness.”  —Saint Vincent de Paul

+  “When it is all over you will not regret having suffered; rather you will regret having suffered so little, and suffered that little so badly.”  —Saint Sebastian Valfre

“A saint for our times”

The inspiring story of Chiara Corbella Petrillo

By Maggie Maslak

Manchester, N.H., Dec 2, 2015 / 12:05 am (CNA).- Chiara Corbella Petrillo lived a short life. 

She met her husband Enrico Petrillo at age 18, became the mother of three children, and died at the age 28. 

But what happened within those 10 years has touched the hearts of thousands across the globe in the newly-released book “Chiara Corbella Petrillo: A Witness to Joy,” published by Sophia Institute Press earlier this year. 

“In the story of the Petrillo couple, many people recognize a providential consolation from heaven,” said Simone Troisi and Christiana Paccini, close friends of the Petrillo’s who wrote the biography of Chiara’s life. 

“They discover that in any situation, there is no real reason to be sad. This is because Chiara shows that if you have God as your guide, misfortunes do not exist,” they told CNA.

Chiara and Enrico married in Italy on September 21, 2008 after having met at Medjugorje in 2002. During the early years of their marriage, the young Italian couple faced many hardships together, including the death of two children, who both died only 30 minutes after birth. 

Chiara became pregnant a third time with their son, Francesco. However, the joyful news of their pregnancy also came with a fatal diagnosis of cancer for Chiara. Her cancer was an unusual lesion of the tongue, which was later discovered to be a carcinoma. 

Chiara rejected any treatment that could have saved her life during pregnancy because it would have risked the life of her unborn son. As the cancer progressed, it became difficult for Chiara to speak and see clearly, eventually making her final days on earth particularly excruciating. 

“Her [Chiara’s] suffering became a holy place because it was the place where she encountered God,” Troisi and Paccini recalled.

Although many couples face hardships, Troisi and Paccini remembered something different about the Petrillos – they leaned on God’s grace which made their family particularly serene. They made peace with the reality that Chiara would never grow old with Enrico or watch Francesco grow up. 

During Chiara’s last days, Enrico embraced God’s grace just as Chiara did, saying, “If she is going to be with Someone who loves her more than I, why should I be upset?”  

Chiara died on June 13, 2012 at home in her wedding gown, surrounded by her family and friends. Although her earthly life was over, Chiara would continue to be a witness to joy.

Troisi and Paccini believe that Chiara’s legacy is still living on because she gave witness to the truth that “love exists.” Neither she nor Enrico were afraid of love, marriage, or of committing themselves to their family. 

According to the authors, the young couple showed how “the purpose of our life is to love… to be married is a wonderful thing, an adventure that opens you up to Heaven in the home.” 

Chiara and Enrico’s remarkable story is “a story of salvation in which God shows himself as a faithful God: they trust in Him and are not disappointed,” Troisi and Paccini stated. 

However, they were quick to note that Chiara was not “an extraordinary young woman, in a way that makes her different from us.” Rather, she struggled with many human fears and anxieties, especially with thoughts of pain, vomiting, and purgatory. 

“She had the same questions that we have, the same objections and struggles, the same fears,” Troisi and Paccini noted, saying what made her different was her “capacity to cast everything on the Father, to welcome the grace needed for whatever step she had to make.”

With Chiara, the ordinary always became the extraordinary. Troisi and Paccini have fond memories of everyday life with the Petrillos, when a conversation about cooking chicken would end in talking about heaven. 

“We would share simple things like dinner, chatting, games on the rug with little Francesco… always very simple, without masks,” they remembered.

“But when we were together, there was no difficulty in believing that eternal life was here and now!” 

Chiara has been called “a saint for our times.” Although her death was only three years ago, her legacy lives on and has inspired others around the world to be the same witness to joy.

“Today, this joy is visible in those that lived alongside her: even if they miss her, they experience a mysterious and profound joy,” Troisi and Paccini stated.

“We cannot insist enough on the fact that Chiara did what she did, not trusting in her own strength, but trusting in the grace and the consolation of God… She never doubted God’s faithfulness to His promise of happiness for her story.”

 

 

There is no god besides you who have the care of all,
that you need show you have not unjustly condemned.
For your might is the source of justice;
your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.
For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved;
and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity.
But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency,
and with much lenience you govern us;
for power, whenever you will, attends you.
And you taught your people, by these deeds,
that those who are just must be kind;
and you gave your children good ground for hope
that you would permit repentance for their sins.

R. (5a) Lord, you are good and forgiving.
You, O LORD, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
All the nations you have made shall come
and worship you, O LORD,
and glorify your name.
For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds;
you alone are God.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.
You, O LORD, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity.
Turn toward me, and have pity on me;
give your strength to your servant.
R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.

Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
And the one who searches hearts
knows what is the intention of the Spirit,
because he intercedes for the holy ones
according to God’s will.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
“The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him,
‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

He proposed another parable to them.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”

He spoke to them another parable.
“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened.”

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation
of the world.

Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the evil one,
and the enemy who sows them is the devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church

47 The Church teaches that the one true God, our Creator and Lord, can be known with certainty from his works, by the natural light of human reason (cf. Vatican Council I, can. 2 # 1: DS 3026)

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

SUNDAY, JULY 19^TH   Mt. 13: 24-43   “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches’”

FIRST REFLECTION…

• The promise of life is in a seed, but the seed must first be buried in the ground in order for it to grow. And as it grows, the soil must be watered, weeded, and given nutrients before it can become a mustard tree, where the birds of the sky can come and dwell in its branches.
• Think of yourself as that seed, conceived in the mind and heart of the Father before He called you into being. He loved the idea of you so much that He created you, breathing life into you at the moment of your conception!
• He loved you so much that He sent His only begotten Son to become man, suffer and die on the cross that you might have eternal life! For from His pierced side flowed blood and water – the waters of Baptism and Confession, and His Body and Blood in the most holy Eucharist!
• He loved you so much that He left you a family to teach, guide, and protect you – His one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church with this promise: “And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (Mt. 16-18)
  
• However, our new life in Christ and Eternal life are bought at a price – Christ dying on the cross and our dying to self every day of our life!

Dying to Self…  

• When I am forgotten or neglected and I don’t hurt with the insult, rather my heart is happy because I remember that Jesus bore insults for my sake, and even now He is looking at me with love – that is dying to self.
• When my advice is disregarded and my opinions ridiculed, and I refuse to let anger rise in my heart, choosing instead patience and silence, because I know Jesus was crowned with thorns as mock King and “he opened not his mouth” (Is. 53:7) for my sake, and even now He looking at me with love – that is dying to self.
• When I patiently endure life’s disorder, disruptions, disappointments, and contradictions, as Jesus endured them for my sake, and even now He is looking at me with love – that is dying to self.
• When I avoid talking about myself or my good works in conversation, but prefer to appreciate and encourage others’ good efforts and accomplishments, as Jesus pointed to the works of His heavenly Father for my sake, and even now He is looking at me with love – that is dying to self.
• When I see others prosper and I can heartily rejoice with them without jealousy or envy, though my needs may be greater, because I know Jesus had no place to lay His head for my sake, though the foxes had dens and the birds of the air had nests, and even now He is looking at me with love – that is dying to self.
• When I am content with whatever food, clothing, shelter, climate, and society that I have, because I know that Jesus ate with sinners and tax collectors for my sake, and even now He is looking at me with love – that is dying to self.
• When I can take corrections, humbly submitting inwardly as well as outwardly, without rebellion or resentment rising up in my heart, because I know Jesus suffered and died on the cross for my sake, and even now He is looking at me with love – that is dying to self.
• How is this possible you ask? We will die to self when we allow ourselves to be consumed by the Fire of His Love!

(Adapted from a writing by an unknown author)

SECOND REFLECTION…

The Mystery of a Seed…  Reflection by Ann Voskamp

“Joshua, can you bring another spade?” I call to him across the lane, coming out of the barn, coming from feeding all the nursing sows. We’re breaking the earth open and it’s making something in me heal.

And I tear open the seed packets of zucchini, and is it this too, witnessing again this Genesis giving? That again He gives the first gift He ever gave to humanity? That again He gives the impossible gift and asks for wild faith?

The seeds, they fall into my hand, small jewels. I am holding seeds, first gift He ever bestowed upon His people. Maybe this is why the bare feet? But to look at seeds and believe He will feed us? When what He gives doesn’t look like near enough? When it looks like less than a handful instead of a plateful, a year full, a life full. When it looks inedible. These seeds, they are food? It looks like a bit of a joke. To hand someone seeds for his swelling, panging starvation, and ask him to believe in a feast – is this what everyday faith is?

Behold! For those who have learned to see – He gives, He gifts. He gifts with seeds as small as moments, grace upon grace; and the unlikely here and now, it shall sustain you, feed you. Do not disdain the small. The promise of feast is within the moments. Our enough is always in the now, because He never leaves us….

Lord, what would happen today if I saw all the not-enough, too-little in my life to be but a seed? All the hardly-things could be holy-things – small somethings you are growing into more glory for you. Cause me to believe again: All feasts began as seeds.

End of Reflection (Ann Voskamp is a wife, mother of seven, spiritual writer and author.)

• He gifts each of us in our individual lives with seeds “as small as moments, grace upon grace; and the unlikely here and now” to sustain us and feed us. Take time to reflect on your life to see how He has watered and nurtured the seeds of your life to grow your heart into a large bush where others may dwell secure and at rest… and give thanks!
• Next consider that each one of us in the totality of our lives is but a seed of the Kingdom of God – and He is watering and nurturing our hearts to share in the Divine Life and Love of the Blessed Trinity for all eternity!
• Did you ever wonder what you will become in the fullness of time in the Kingdom of God? I don’t think we have any idea of the glory of God that will shine through the unique of image of God He created each of us to be! As unique as each thumbprint or snowflake! No two the same! And each one but a reflection of the Glory of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! And the Perfection of Our Blessed Mother Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth!
  

 

 

 

 

Woe to those who plan iniquity,
and work out evil on their couches;
In the morning light they accomplish it
when it lies within their power.
They covet fields, and seize them;
houses, and they take them;
They cheat an owner of his house,
a man of his inheritance.
Therefore thus says the LORD:
Behold, I am planning against this race an evil
from which you shall not withdraw your necks;
Nor shall you walk with head high,
for it will be a time of evil.

On that day a satire shall be sung over you,
and there shall be a plaintive chant:
“Our ruin is complete,
our fields are portioned out among our captors,
The fields of my people are measured out,
and no one can get them back!”
Thus you shall have no one
to mark out boundaries by lot
in the assembly of the LORD.

R. (12b) Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
Why, O LORD, do you stand aloof?
Why hide in times of distress?
Proudly the wicked harass the afflicted,
who are caught in the devices the wicked have contrived.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
For the wicked man glories in his greed,
and the covetous blasphemes, sets the LORD at nought.
The wicked man boasts, “He will not avenge it”;
“There is no God,” sums up his thoughts.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
His mouth is full of cursing, guile and deceit;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
He lurks in ambush near the villages;
in hiding he murders the innocent;
his eyes spy upon the unfortunate.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
You do see, for you behold misery and sorrow,
taking them in your hands.
On you the unfortunate man depends;
of the fatherless you are the helper.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus
to put him to death.

When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place.
Many people followed him, and he cured them all,
but he warned them not to make him known.
This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in whom I delight;
I shall place my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
He will not contend or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory.
And in his name the Gentiles will hope.

When Hezekiah was mortally ill,
the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him:
“Thus says the LORD: Put your house in order,
for you are about to die; you shall not recover.”
Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD:

“O LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly
I conducted myself in your presence,
doing what was pleasing to you!”
And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: “Go, tell Hezekiah:
Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David:
I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.
I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the LORD’s temple;
I will add fifteen years to your life.
I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria;
I will be a shield to this city.”

Isaiah then ordered a poultice of figs to be taken
and applied to the boil, that he might recover.
Then Hezekiah asked,
“What is the sign that I shall go up to the temple of the LORD?”

Isaiah answered:
“This will be the sign for you from the LORD
that he will do what he has promised:
See, I will make the shadow cast by the sun
on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz
go back the ten steps it has advanced.”
So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced.

R. (see 17b) You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Once I said,
“In the noontime of life I must depart!
To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned
for the rest of my years.”
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
I said, “I shall see the LORD no more
in the land of the living.
No longer shall I behold my fellow men
among those who dwell in the world.”
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
My dwelling, like a shepherd’s tent,
is struck down and borne away from me;
You have folded up my life, like a weaver
who severs the last thread.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.
Those live whom the LORD protects;
yours is the life of my spirit.
You have given me health and life.
R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.
His disciples were hungry
and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.
When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,
“See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.”
He said to the them, “Have you not read what David did
when he and his companions were hungry,
how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,
which neither he nor his companions
but only the priests could lawfully eat?
Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath
the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath
and are innocent?
I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.
If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
you would not have condemned these innocent men.
For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church

45 Man is made to live in communion with God in whom he finds happiness: When I am completely united to you, there will be no more sorrow or trials; entirely full of you, my life will be complete (St. Augustine, Conf. 10, 28, 39: PL 32, 795}.

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

FRIDAY, JULY 17^TH    Mt. 12:1-8   “I desire mercy and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings” (Hos 6:6).

Today, Jesus says He desires mercy and knowledge of God. Saint Pope John Paul II wrote in “Dives in Misericordia” (no. 13):

“Mercy is the greatest of the attributes and perfections of God, and the Bible, Tradition, and the whole faith life of the People of God provide particular proof of this.”

“Authentic knowledge of the God of mercy, the God of tender love, is a constant and inexhaustible source of conversion, not only as a momentary interior act but also as a permanent attitude, as a state of mind. Those who come to know God in this way, who ‘see’ Him in this way, can live only in a state of being continually converted to Him. It is this state of conversion which marks out the most profound element of the pilgrimage of every man and woman on earth.”

The hallmark of this “state of conversion” is uniformity with the Will of God, that is to say conforming our will to His Will. When we hear this, hopefully we want to achieve this and are already making a sincere effort. But in truth, we’re not always sure what this looks like. And in this time of pandemic, it can be particularly challenging for us.  

St. Alphonsus Marie de Liguori writes about this in clear fashion for our meditation today.

Uniformity with God’s Will…   by St. Alphonsus Marie de Liguori (+1787)

Uniformity in all Things. The essence of perfection is to embrace the will of God in all things, prosperous or adverse. In prosperity, even sinners find it easy to unite themselves to the divine will; but it takes saints to unite themselves to God’s will when things go wrong and are painful to self-love.

Our conduct in such instances is the measure of our love of God. St. John of Avila used to say: “One ‘Blessed be God’ in times of adversity, is worth more than a thousand acts of gratitude in times of prosperity.”

Furthermore, we must unite ourselves to God’s will not only in things that come to us directly from His hands, such as sickness, desolation, poverty, death of relatives, but likewise in those we suffer from man — for example, contempt, injustice, loss of reputation, loss of temporal goods and all kinds of persecution. On these occasions we must remember that while God does not will the sin, He does will our humiliation, our poverty, or our mortification, as the case may be.  

It is certain and of faith, that whatever happens, happens by the will of God: “I am the Lord forming the light and creating the darkness, making peace and creating evil.” From God comes all things, good as well as evil. We call adversities evil; actually they are good and meritorious, when we receive them as coming from God’s hands: “Good things and evil, life and death, poverty and riches are from God.”

It is true, when one offends us unjustly, God does not will his sin, nor does He concur in the sinner’s bad will; but God does, in a general way, concur in the material action by which such a one strikes us, robs us or does us an injury, so that God certainly wills the offense we suffer and it comes to us from His hands. (Editor’s Note: For our correction or sanctification.)

Thus the Lord told David He would be the author of those things he would suffer at the hands of Absalom: “I will raise up evils against you out of your own house, and I will take your wives before your face and give them to your neighbor.” Hence, too, God told the Jews that in punishment for their sins, He would send the Assyrians to plunder them and spread destruction among them: “The Assyrian is the rod and staff of my anger. I will send him to take away the spoils.”

“Assyrian wickedness served as God’s scourge for the Hebrews’” is St. Augustine’s comment on this text. And our Lord Himself told St. Peter that His sacred passion came not so much from man as from His Father: “The chalice which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?”

When the messenger came to announce to Job that the Sabeans had plundered his goods and slain his children, he said: “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.” He did not say: “The Lord gave me my children and my possessions, and the Sabeans have taken them away.” He realized that adversity had come upon him by the will of God. Therefore he added: “As it has pleased the Lord, so is it done. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”

We must not therefore consider the afflictions that come upon us as happening by chance or solely from the malice of men; we should be convinced that what happens, happens by the will of God.

Cesarius points up what we have been saying by offering this incident in the life of a certain monk: Externally his religious observance was the same as that of the other monks, but he had attained such sanctity that the mere touch of his garments healed the sick. Marveling at these deeds, since his life was no more exemplary than the lives of the other monks, the superior asked him one day what was the cause of these miracles.

He replied that he too was mystified and was at a loss how to account for such happenings. “What devotions do you practice?” asked the abbot. He answered that there was little or nothing special that he did beyond making a great deal of willing only what God willed, and that God had given him the grace of abandoning his will totally to the will of God.

“Prosperity does not lift me up, nor adversity cast me down,” added the monk. “I direct all my prayers to the end that God’s will may be done fully in me and by me.”… “That raid that our enemies made against the monastery  the other day, in which our stores were plundered, our granaries put to the torch and our cattle driven off — did not this misfortune cause you any resentment?” queried the abbot.

“No, Father,” came the reply. “On the contrary, I returned thanks to God — as is my custom in such circumstances — fully persuaded that God does all things, or permits all that happens, for His glory and for our greater good; thus I am always at peace, no matter what happens.”

Seeing such uniformity with the will of God, the abbot no longer wondered why the monk worked so many miracles.
End of Reflection