Fr. Ed Broom, OMV Oblates of the Virgin Mary

Catholic Ignatian Marian Spirituality

MASS READINGS AND MEDITATION | JULY 6, 2020

July 6 2020

Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 HOS 2:16, 17-18, 21-22

Thus says the LORD:
I will allure her;
I will lead her into the desert
and speak to her heart.
She shall respond there as in the days of her youth,
when she came up from the land of Egypt.

On that day, says the LORD,
She shall call me “My husband,”
and never again “My baal.”

I will espouse you to me forever:
I will espouse you in right and in justice,
in love and in mercy;
I will espouse you in fidelity,
and you shall know the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. (8a) The Lord is gracious and merciful.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.

R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.
Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous works.

R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.
They discourse of the power of your terrible deeds
and declare your greatness.
They publish the fame of your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice.

R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.

R. The Lord is gracious and merciful.

Alleluia See 2 TM 1:10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 9:18-26

While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,
knelt down before him, and said,
“My daughter has just died.
But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.”
Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him
and touched the tassel on his cloak.
She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”
Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,
“Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.”
And from that hour the woman was cured.

When Jesus arrived at the official’s house
and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,
he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.”
And they ridiculed him.
When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,
and the little girl arose.
And news of this spread throughout all that land.


Catechism of the Catholic Church

34 The world, and man, attest that they contain within themselves neither their first principle nor their final end, but rather that they participate in Being itself, which alone is without origin or end. Thus, in different ways, man can come to know that there exists a reality which is the first cause and final end of all things, a reality “that everyone calls God”.

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

 MONDAY, JULY 6TH  Mt. 9:18-26 “Courage, daughter!  Your faith has saved you.”

  • Though Jesus cures many, He doesn’t cure everyone who is sick and infirm in Palestine. When do we see Jesus curing people?
  • He cures according to someone’s faith, as in today’s Gospel. The explicit faith of the official who kneels before Jesus and says, “My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live”, and Jesus raises her from death to life!
  • The implicit faith of the woman suffering from hemorrhages who says to herself, “If I can only touch his cloak, I shall be cured.” Turning and seeing her, Jesus says, “Courage daughter! Your faith has saved you.” And from that moment the woman is cured.
  • Jesus cures out of compassion, as when He takes pity on the widow of Naim whose only son has died. He raises the young man from death to life and restores him to his mother’s arms. Could Jesus have been thinking of His own Mother standing at the foot of the cross as her Son dies a bitter and cruel death so that we might have life?
  • Jesus cures out of friendship and love for His friends. Jesus weeps at Lazarus’ death. Standing in front of the tomb, He calls him: “Lazarus, come out.” Though he has been buried four days, “the man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth.” (Jn. 11:43-44)
  • Jesus performs miracles so people will believe in Him. His first miracle is changing water into wine. The Evangelist John tells us: “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” (Jn. 2:11)
  • Jesus performs miracles to show He has the power to forgive sins. When the paralytic is lowered through the roof by his friends, seeing their faith in Him, Jesus says to the paralytic, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” (Lk 5:20)
  • Knowing the Pharisees and teachers of the law think He blasphemes, for only God can forgive sins, Jesus challenges them: Which is easier: to say, “Your sins are forgiven” or to say, “Get up and walk”? So that you may know the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, He says to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take up your mat and go home.”At once the man gets up in front of them and taking his mat goes home thanking and praising God. (Lk. 5: 23-25)
  • We pray for miracles in our lives. Jesus hears our prayers and He answers them, but not always in the way we expect or want. He answers them according to our greatest good! The good we may only see in heaven.
  • Jesus is our perfect example and model. Did He not agonize in the Garden as He prayed three times, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. But not my will, but thy will be done.” (Mt. 26:39)
  • Many years ago, a woman came to me filled with anger against God the Father! Why wouldn’t He answer the agonized prayer of His Son? How could He let His Son go through that agonized, torturous scourging and death by crucifixion??? What answer would you have given her?
  • Our salvation comes at a price – and Jesus paid it. Because of His bloody sacrifice on Calvary, we have the unbloody sacrifice of the Holy Eucharist!
  • Jesus prepares the Apostles for this unbloody sacrifice. He performs two miracles to demonstrate His power over nature and over His own body, anticipating His greatest and most extravagant miracle – changing bread and wine into His Body and Blood!
  • Taking pity on the crowd that has listened to Him preach until late in the day, Jesus multiplies five loaves and two fish to feed 5,000. After dismissing the crowds, Jesus sends His disciples across the lake in a boat, and goes up the mountain to pray.
  • The apostles aren’t making progress because the winds are against them. Early in the morning, Jesus comes walking across the water. He climbs into the boat and immediately the boat reaches the shore to which they are heading!
  • These two miracles recounted in Jn. 6:1-24 lead us immediately into the Bread of Life Discourse, Jn. 6:25-71 in which Jesus describes the greatest of all miracles – the Most Holy Eucharist.
  • Jn. 6: 53-58. Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”
  • Miracles point us to supernatural realities that are not otherwise evident. To the power and glory of Jesus, God made man, present in history and in our lives! To Jesus truly present in His Church, in His ministers – priests, bishops, the Pope, in the Sacraments, most especially in the Holy Eucharist. “And behold, I will be with you always, until the end of time.” (Mt.28:20)
  • Jesus truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist in Holy Communion. Jesus, the Hidden Guest in the Tabernacle. The Eucharistic Face of Jesus in Adoration.
  • Truly, preparing for all eternity to receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus truly present in Holy Communion would not be enough. Giving thanks for all eternity for receiving the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus in Holy Communion would not be enough.  
  • Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.” (Jn. 53-55)

 Note: To understand and appreciate more fully the Mass and Holy Communion, all should watch the Movie in Claymation called “The Greatest Miracle.” Watch it as a family!

 

 

 

 

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MASS READINGS AND MEDITATION | JULY 5, 2020

July 5, 2020

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 ZEC 9:9-10

Thus says the LORD:
Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion,
shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem!
See, your king shall come to you;
a just savior is he,
meek, and riding on an ass,
on a colt, the foal of an ass.
He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim,
and the horse from Jerusalem;
the warrior’s bow shall be banished,
and he shall proclaim peace to the nations.
His dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

Responsorial Psalm PS 145: 1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13-14

R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.

R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.

R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.

R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R.  Alleluia.
The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.

R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R.  Alleluia.

Reading 2ROM 8:9, 11-13

Brothers and sisters:
You are not in the flesh;
on the contrary, you are in the spirit,
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,
the one who raised Christ from the dead
will give life to your mortal bodies also,
through his Spirit that dwells in you.
Consequently, brothers and sisters,
we are not debtors to the flesh,
to live according to the flesh.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die,
but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body,
you will live.

Alleluia CF, MT 11:25

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.

Gospel MT 11:25-30

At that time Jesus exclaimed:
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to little ones.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”


Catechism of the Catholic Church

33 The human person: with his openness to truth and beauty, his sense of moral goodness, his freedom and the voice of his conscience, with his longings for the infinite and for happiness, man questions himself about God’s existence. In all this he discerns signs of his spiritual soul. The soul, the “seed of eternity we bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material”,9 can have its origin only in God.

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

SUNDAY, JULY 5TH    Mt. 11: 25-30   “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

St. Faustina gave us the diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul. To date, over 1,000,000 copies have been sold. Why? Jesus wants us to know and have great Trust in His Divine Mercy!

A Benedictine Monk, who remains anonymous, gives us his journal In Sinu Jesu. When Heart Speaks to Heart. The Journal of a Priest at Prayers. Why? Jesus wants especially His priests, but also His lay-people to adore and love Him in the Blessed Sacrament daily, in order to draw us into a deep, abiding friendship with Him that will lead to union of our soul with the Blessed Trinity – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For this we were created!

The most amazing part is that our work is to do a Holy Hour every day in front of the Blessed Sacrament – even on-line in these times of Covid-19 – and Jesus will do the rest! Every word of Jesus in this book confirms that! In these times, I adore Jesus truly present in the Blessed Sacrament on EWTN Live Adoration from Tyburn Convent.

Clearly Jesus wants to renew and revitalize His priesthood with this book! But this book is also for lay-people, for us! In the Introduction, the monk writes…

Intro vii:
“I have been repeatedly told by Our Lord Himself that His words are meant for the blessing, instruction, and comfort of many Christians today…. I gladly give this journal into the hands of all those readers whom Our Lord and Our Lady have already chosen for it, with my prayer that it shall bear abundant fruit, and with my priestly blessing.”

We will pray with two striking passages in the book In Sinu Jesu  that speak to today’s Gospel:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (Mt. 11: 28-30)

PART I…  From Journal dated Tuesday, May 12, 2009… Remember, Jesus is speaking to us – to you and to me!

JESUS:
Your Weakness is My gift to you. Instead of offering Me your achievements, offer Me your poverty, your weakness, your very failure to achieve great things, and I, in turn, will accept your offering and, uniting it to My own all-sufficient Passion, will make it fruitful for My priests and for all My Church.

So long as you come to Me humbled by your weakness and animated by a holy desire for Me alone, I will overlook the other faults that affect you in My mercy. I will erase them and give you, in their place, graces and mercies that I have chosen and designated for you and for no other, and this from all eternity.

My plan for you is not the one you have created and entertained in your mind. My plan for you is the one that is unfolding day after day in all the humiliations and apparent failure to achieve good things that make up this phase of your life.

Accept your weaknesses, and then offer them to Me; offer them to Me through My Mother. Place them in her hands and entrust them to her most pure Heart. Every weakness entrusted to My Mother becomes an occasion of grace and an outpouring of My merciful love into the soul that suffers it.

Trust not in what you do for Me but, rather, in what I will do for you, for I am all love, and I am all-powerful, and you have won the love of My Heart, and I shall never take from you what is Mine to give.

How have you won the love of My Hear, you ask. By learning to say sincerely and with confidence, “O Jesus, King of Love, I put my trust in Thy merciful goodness.” That little invocation expresses all that a soul needs to say to win My Heart’s tenderness and favor.

PART II… From Journal dated January 9, 2010… Again, Jesus is speaking to you and to me!

JESUS:
Make Me the object of all your desires and you will never be disappointed. Seek Me and you will find Me. Ask for the grace of My presence in the inner sanctuary of your soul, and there hold conversations with me, for I am in you, and you are in Me.

I am your life, and apart from Me, all that this earthly life offers you is bitter and unable to satisfy your heart. I have created you and called you to live in My friendship and to long for Me on earth until that longing is satisfied in heaven.

In the meantime, for as long as your earthly exile lasts, you have Me in the Sacrament of My love. There you have My Heart; there you can contemplate My Face; there you can hear My voice; there you can enjoy My friendship and live in My presence. I was no more really present to My Apostles, than I am to you at this moment in the Sacrament of My love. Do you believe this?

I will strengthen your faith in My real presence and make it so strong that the rest of your life will rest upon it as upon a solid rock.

I am making you the adorer of My Eucharistic Face that I have so long desired. Allow Me to form you, to shape you, to purify and to illuminate you in preparation for the work that I have given you to do.

You have only to abide in My presence. The work of adoration is also and first of all, My work in you. When you are before My Eucharistic Face and so close to My Heart, I am acting in you and acting upon You. Your whole being is subject to My divine influence when you present yourself before Me to adore Me.

This is why I insist on adoration. It is the crucible of your perfection. It is the furnace of love in which I purify you like gold in the fire. I draw you to My Heart, and speak to you face-to-face, as a man to his best friend.

My humanity offers you a divine friendship, but that friendship leads to the union of your soul with My divinity and to a fruitfulness that surpasses every action and work of yours acting on your own initiative.

Consent to My friendship and I will espouse your soul. Thus will you be Mine in a way that exceeds every purely human notion of union, even the union between two souls in the purest charity.

I created your soul for this espousal with My divinity, and your soul will have failed to attain that for which I created it, and that for which I desire for you, unless you allow Me to love you and to purify you and to unite Me to yourself, not only as friend to friend, but also as the One and Thrice Holy God to His beloved creature.

I am one with My Father and with the Holy Spirit, and when I love a soul and espouse a soul to Myself, that soul is also united and espoused to the Father and to the Holy Spirit. This is a mystical espousal; I speak of union of the soul with God, the realization for which the soul was created, and the fulfillment of the soul’s truest longings.

All this you can read in the Fourth Gospel. For Saint John, in resting his head upon My Heart, was given an understanding of all these mysteries. He is the patron and friend of all who seek perfect union with Me, and through Me with the Father, in the Holy Spirit.

For this reason, I have given him to you to be your protector and to intercede for you in these final years of life on earth. I desire that you should be led to the imitation of Saint John, and that many should be led to the imitation of St. John in his friendship with Me and in his sublime union with My divinity.

Why should I not hold conversation with you who are the friend of My Heart? I speak in this way to many souls, but not all recognize My voice, and very few welcome My conversation and receive My friendship as the freely given gift that it is.

It is My delight to hold conversation with those whom I love. Understand that I hold conversation with you because I love you with an infinitely merciful and tender love and because I set My Heart upon you long ago to make you entirely mine.

End of In Sinu Jesu

PART III

 St. Louis de Montfort died in 1716. What he described over 300 years ago is what Jesus is promising now, today to those who will spend one hour daily in prayer, in meditation, and in conversation with Him in His Presence in the Blessed Sacrament!

CALL TO HOLINESS   By St. Louis de Montfort

Chosen soul, living image of God and redeemed by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ, God wants you to become holy like Him in this life, and glorious like Him in the next. 

It is certain that growth in the holiness of God is your vocation. All your thoughts, words, actions, everything you suffer or undertake must lead you toward that end. Otherwise you are resisting God in not doing the work for which He created you and for which He is even now keeping you in being. 

What a marvelous transformation is possible!  Dust into light, uncleanness into purity, sinfulness into holiness, creature being taken up into Creator! A marvelous work, I repeat, so difficult in itself, and even impossible for a mere creature to bring about, for only God can accomplish it by giving His grace abundantly and in an extraordinary manner. The very creation of the universe is not as great an achievement as this.

 

 

 

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MASS READINGS AND MEDITATION | JULY 4, 2020

July 4 2020
Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 AM 9:11-15

Thus says the LORD:
On that day I will raise up
the fallen hut of David;
I will wall up its breaches,
raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
That they may conquer what is left of Edom
and all the nations that shall bear my name,
say I, the LORD, who will do this.
Yes, days are coming,
says the LORD,
When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
and the vintager, him who sows the seed;
The juice of grapes shall drip down the mountains,
and all the hills shall run with it.
I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel;
they shall rebuild and inhabit their ruined cities,
Plant vineyards and drink the wine,
set out gardens and eat the fruits.
I will plant them upon their own ground;
never again shall they be plucked
From the land I have given them,
say I, the LORD, your God.

Responsorial Psalm 85:9 and 10, 11-12, 13-14

R. (see 9b) The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.

R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.

R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.

R. The Lord speaks of peace to his people.

Alleluia JN 10:27

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

Gospel MT 9:14-17

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.
No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,
for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.
People do not put new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.
Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”


Catechism of the Catholic Church

32 The world: starting from movement, becoming, contingency, and the world’s order and beauty, one can come to a knowledge of God as the origin and the end of the universe.

As St. Paul says of the Gentiles: For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made.

And St. Augustine issues this challenge: Question the beauty of the earth, question the beauty of the sea, question the beauty of the air distending and diffusing itself, question the beauty of the sky. . . question all these realities. All respond: “See, we are beautiful.” Their beauty is a profession [confessio]. These beauties are subject to change. Who made them if not the Beautiful One [Pulcher] who is not subject to change?

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

 SATURDAY, JULY 4TH    Mt. 9:14-17   “People do not put new wine into old wineskins.”

Christianity is not about mending the old wineskin of Judaism. Rather it is the new wineskin of Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, who brings rebirth. Jesus told the astonished Nicodemus: “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” (Jn. 3:3)

Christianity is about coming face to face with Jesus Christ – something moves within our heart, breaking through our inertia and self-centeredness. We embrace the love of God, manifest in the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross, and desire to give His love to others. Charity towards others is the true test of our love for God! The Prophet Ezekiel prophesied that God grants His followers a new heart and a new spirit. (Ez. 36:26)   

Pope Francis gave us the magnificent Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium – Joy of the Gospel describing this life changing encounter with Jesus Christ. As successor of Peter, Pope Francis challenges each and every one of us right now: “I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting Him encounter them!”

Excerpts from Joy of the Gospel by Pope Francis

1. The Joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept His offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew. In this Exhortation, I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.

A joy ever new, a joy which is shared…

2. The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of His love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God’s will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ.

3. I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting Him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”.[1] The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that He is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”. How good it feels to come back to Him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking His mercy. Christ, who told us to forgive one another “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22) has given us His example: He has forgiven us seventy times seven. Time and time again He bears us on His shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love. With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, He makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew. Let us not flee from the resurrection of Jesus, let us never give up, come what will. May nothing inspire more than His life, which impels us onwards!

8. Thanks solely to this encounter – or renewed encounter – with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption. We become fully human when we become more than human, when we let God bring us beyond ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of our being. Here we find the source and inspiration of all our efforts at evangelization. For if we have received the love which restores meaning to our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others?

The delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing…

9. Goodness always tends to spread. Every authentic experience of truth and goodness seeks by its very nature to grow within us, and any person who has experienced a profound liberation becomes more sensitive to the needs of others. As it expands, goodness takes root and develops. If we wish to lead a dignified and fulfilling life, we have to reach out to others and seek their good. In this regard, several sayings of Saint Paul will not surprise us: “The love of Christ urges us on” (2 Cor 5:14); “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:16).

10. The Gospel offers us the chance to live life on a higher plane, but with no less intensity: “Life grows by being given away, and it weakens in isolation and comfort. Indeed, those who enjoy life most are those who leave security on the shore and become excited by the mission of communicating life to others”.[4] When the Church summons Christians to take up the task of evangelization, she is simply pointing to the source of authentic personal fulfilment. For “here we discover a profound law of reality: that life is attained and matures in the measure that it is offered up in order to give life to others. This is certainly what mission means”.[5] Consequently, an evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral! Let us recover and deepen our enthusiasm, that “delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing, even when it is in tears that we must sow… And may the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the good news not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first received the joy of Christ”.[6]

Eternal newness…

12. Though it is true that this mission demands great generosity on our part, it would be wrong to see it as a heroic individual undertaking, for it is first and foremost the Lord’s work, surpassing anything which we can see and understand. Jesus is “the first and greatest evangelizer”.[9] In every activity of evangelization, the primacy always belongs to God, who has called us to cooperate with Him and who leads us on by the power of His Spirit. The real newness is the newness which God Himself mysteriously brings about and inspires, provokes, guides and accompanies in a thousand ways. The life of the Church should always reveal clearly that God takes the initiative, that “He has loved us first” (1 Jn 4:19) and that He alone “gives the growth” (1 Cor 3:7). This conviction enables us to maintain a spirit of joy in the midst of a task so demanding and challenging that it engages our entire life. God asks everything of us, yet at the same time He offers everything to us.

23. The Church’s closeness to Jesus is part of a common journey; “communion and mission are profoundly interconnected”.[20] In fidelity to the example of the Master, it is vitally important for the Church today to go forth and preach the Gospel to all: to all places, on all occasions, without hesitation, reluctance or fear. The joy of the Gospel is for all people: no one can be excluded. That is what the angel proclaimed to the shepherds in Bethlehem: “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people (Lk 2:10). The Book of Revelation speaks of “an eternal Gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tongue and tribe and people” (Rev 14:6).

Taking the first step, being involved and supportive, bearing fruit and rejoicing…

24. The Church which “goes forth” is a community of missionary disciples who take the first step, who are involved and supportive, who bear fruit and rejoice. An evangelizing community knows that the Lord has taken the initiative, He has loved us first (cf. 1 Jn 4:19), and therefore we can move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads and welcome the outcast.

Such a community has an endless desire to show mercy, the fruit of its own experience of the power of the Father’s infinite mercy. Let us try a little harder to take the first step and to become involved. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. The Lord gets involved and He involves His own, as He kneels to wash their feet. He tells His disciples: “You will be blessed if you do this” (Jn 13:17).

Faithful to the Lord’s gift, it also bears fruit. An evangelizing community is always concerned with fruit, because the Lord wants her to be fruitful. It cares for the grain and does not grow impatient at the weeds. The sower, when he sees weeds sprouting among the grain does not grumble or overreact. He or she finds a way to let the word take flesh in a particular situation and bear fruits of new life, however imperfect or incomplete these may appear. The disciple is ready to put his or her whole life on the line, even to accepting martyrdom, in bearing witness to Jesus Christ, yet the goal is not to make enemies but to see God’s word accepted and its capacity for liberation and renewal revealed.

Finally an evangelizing community is filled with joy; it knows how to rejoice always. It celebrates every small victory, every step forward in the work of evangelization. Evangelization with joy becomes beauty in the liturgy, as part of our daily concern to spread goodness. The Church evangelizes and is herself evangelized through the beauty of the liturgy, which is both a celebration of the task of evangelization and the source of her renewed self-giving.

 

 

 

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MASS READINGS AND MEDITATION | JULY 3, 2020

July 3 2020

Feast of Saint Thomas, Apostle

Reading 1 EPH 2:19-22

Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Responsorial Psalm 117: 1-2

R.  (Mark 16:15)  Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!

R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
For steadfast is his kindness for us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.

R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

Alleluia JN 20:29

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You believe in me, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord;
blessed are those who have not seen, but still believe!
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel JN 20:24-29

Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve,
was not with them when Jesus came.
So the other disciples said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”
But Thomas said to them,
“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands
and put my finger into the nailmarks
and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Now a week later his disciples were again inside
and Thomas was with them.
Jesus came, although the doors were locked,
and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you.”
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands,
and bring your hand and put it into my side,
and do not be unbelieving, but believe.”
Thomas answered and said to him, “My Lord and my God!”
Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me?
Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

II. Ways of Coming to Know God

31 Created in God’s image and called to know and love him, the person who seeks God discovers certain ways of coming to know him. These are also called proofs for the existence of God, not in the sense of proofs in the natural sciences, but rather in the sense of “converging and convincing arguments”, which allow us to attain certainty about the truth. These “ways” of approaching God from creation have a twofold point of departure: the physical world, and the human person.

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

FRIDAY, JULY 3RD Jn. 20:24-29 Feast of St. Thomas   “Thomas was not with them when Jesus came.”

There are Three Parts to today’s Meditation.

Part I…

Homily by Saint Gregory the Great, Pope…

Thomas, one of the twelve was not with them when Jesus came. He was the only disciple absent; on his return he heard what had happened but refused to believe it. The Lord came a second time. He offered His side for the unbelieving disciple to touch, held out His hand, and by showing the scars of His wounds, He healed the wound of the disciple’s disbelief.

Dearly beloved, what do you see in these events? Do you really believe that it was by chance that this chosen disciple was absent, then came and heard, heard and doubted, doubted and touched, touched and believed?

It was not by chance but in God’s providence. In a marvelous way God’s mercy arranged that the disbelieving disciple, in touching the wounds of his Master’s body, should heal our wounds of disbelief.

The disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than the faith of the other disciples. As he touches Christ and is won over to belief, every doubt is cast aside and our faith is strengthened! The disciple who doubted and then felt Christ’s wounds, now becomes a witness to the reality of the resurrection. Touching Christ, he cried out: My Lord and my God. Jesus said to him: Because you have seen me, Thomas, you have believed.

What follows is reason for great joy: Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed. This is a particular reference to ourselves for we hold in our hearts One we have not seen in the flesh. We are included in these words, but only if we follow up our faith with good works. The true believer practices what he believes. But of those who pay only lip service to faith, Paul has this to say: They profess to know God, but they deny him in their works. Therefore, James says: Faith without works is dead.  End of Homily

PART II…

We are all called to do good works according to our state in life. Married couples, single people, Priests and nuns – are all called to different good works. But there is one “good work” that is the unifying thread in all our good works.

At the Last Supper, Jesus gave us what we might call His Last Will and Testament…

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.” (Jn. 14: 9-17)

Paul is eloquent speaking of this: “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Mercy is the full flowering of Love! Let us beg our Merciful Lord and Mary, our Mother of Mercy that we may live out the greatest attribute of God – His Merciful Love!!! May we earnestly pray St. Faustina’s prayer to be merciful and by God’s great mercy to us, receive the grace to live it fully!

Prayer to be Merciful…  (from St. Faustina’s Diary #163)

Most Holy Trinity! As many times as I breathe, as many times as my heart beats, as many times as my blood pulsates through my body, so many thousand times do I want to glorify Your mercy.

I want to be completely transformed into Your mercy and to be Your living reflection, O Lord. May the greatest of all divine attributes, that of Your unfathomable mercy, pass through my heart and soul to my neighbor.

Help me, O Lord, that my eyes may be merciful, so that I may never suspect or judge from appearances, but look for what is beautiful in my neighbors’ souls and come to their rescue.

Help me, that my ears may be merciful, so that I may give heed to my neighbors’ needs and not be indifferent to their pains and moanings.

Help me, O Lord, that my tongue may be merciful, so that I should never speak negatively of my neighbor, but have a word of comfort and forgiveness for all.

Help me, O Lord, that my hands may be merciful and filled with good deeds, so that I may do only good to my neighbors and take upon myself the more difficult and toilsome tasks.

Help me, that my feet may be merciful, so that I may hurry to assist my neighbor overcoming my own fatigue and weariness. My true rest is in the service of my neighbor.

Help me, O Lord, that my heart may be merciful so that I myself may feel all the sufferings of my neighbor. I will refuse my heart to no one. I will be sincere even with those who, I know, will abuse my kindness. And I will lock myself up in the most merciful Heart of Jesus. I will bear my own suffering in silence. May Your mercy, O Lord, rest upon me.

You Yourself command me to exercise the three degrees of mercy. The first: the act of mercy, of whatever kind. The second: the word of mercy – if I cannot carry out a work of mercy, I will assist by my words. The third: prayer – if I cannot show mercy by deeds or words, I can always do so by prayer. My prayer reaches out even where I cannot reach out physically. 

My Jesus, transform me into Yourself, for You can do all things.

PART III…

Why do we need a third part of this meditation? Because Merciful Love is not easy to live out. What is the stumbling block? One word: PRIDE! The following Litany of Humility is a powerful antidote to Pride! When you have difficulties living out Faustina’s Prayer to Be Merciful – apply the Litany of Humility liberally in your prayer life – twice a day if possible!

Litany of Humility…  by Ven. Cardinal Merry del Val

O Jesus!  Meek and Humble of Heart, hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed by others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being loved by others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled by others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being honored by others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being praised by others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted by others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the desire of being approved by others, deliver me, O Jesus.

From the fear of being humiliated by others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being despised by others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes by others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated by others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten by others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed by others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged by others, deliver me, O Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected by others, deliver me, O Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That in the opinion of the world, others my increase and I may decrease, O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, O Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

 

 

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MASS READINGS AND MEDITATION | JULY 2, 2020

July 2 2020
Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 AM 7:10-17

Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam,
king of Israel:
“Amos has conspired against you here within Israel;
the country cannot endure all his words.
For this is what Amos says:
Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel shall surely be exiled from its land.”

To Amos, Amaziah said:
“Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah!
There earn your bread by prophesying,
but never again prophesy in Bethel;
for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”
Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet,
nor have I belonged to a company of prophets;
I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.
The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me,
‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
Now hear the word of the LORD!”

You say: prophesy not against Israel,
preach not against the house of Isaac.
Now thus says the LORD:
Your wife shall be made a harlot in the city,
and your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword;
Your land shall be divided by measuring line,
and you yourself shall die in an unclean land;
Israel shall be exiled far from its land.

Responsorial Psalm 19:8, 9, 10, 11

R. (10cd) The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.

R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.

R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.

R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.

R. The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.

Alleluia 2 COR 5:19

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

Gospel MT 9:1-8

After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
“Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
“This man is blaspheming.”
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
“Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins”–
he then said to the paralytic,
“Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

30 “Let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.” Although man can forget God or reject him, He never ceases to call every man to seek him, so as to find life and happiness. But this search for God demands of man every effort of intellect, a sound will, “an upright heart”, as well as the witness of others who teach him to seek God.

You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised: great is your power and your wisdom is without measure. and man, so small a part of your creation, wants to praise you: this man, though clothed with mortality and bearing the evidence of sin and the proof that you withstand the proud. Despite everything, man, though but a small a part of your creation, wants to praise you. You yourself encourage him to delight in your praise, for you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.

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

THURSDAY, JULY 2ND Mt. 9:1-8   “Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.”

  • The paralytic and his friends seek a physical cure with faith Jesus can do this. But the Lord’s foremost concern is curing the paralytic’s spiritual paralysis, “Courage, my son, your sins are forgiven”!
  • We also go to Jesus for our physical and material needs, and like the good friends of the paralytic, for the needs of our family and friends. Jesus Himself taught us to pray to the Father, “give us this day our daily bread.” That can mean daily bread to sustain our body, but it can also mean the Bread of Life, the Eucharist, to sustain our soul! It can also mean the bread of Jesus’s Mercy in Confession! For the Eucharist is only received worthily in a soul that is not dead in mortal sin!
  • A good question to ask ourselves is this. How often do we pray for our spiritual healing and the spiritual healing of our family and others? Especially for a spiritual Lazarus experience – being brought back to life from the death of mortal sin by these powerful words: “I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”
  • Do we beg the Lord to open our eyes to see our sins? Do we seek forgiveness, healing, and renewed strength in frequent Confession? The graces of Confession are not only curative but preventative! How well do we prepare to make a good confession? Do we know the steps of making a good confession, and put them into practice?
  • Five steps of a good confession: 1) Examination of conscience, 2) Sorrow for sins, 3) Firm purpose of amendment, 4) Confess our sins to the priest; 5) Do the penance the priest gives us. Do we know the ramifications of each step?
  • First Step: Examination of Conscience. Do we prepare the night before using a good Examination of Conscience booklet? EWTN has an excellent on-line Examination of Conscience by Father John Hardon! Or do we try to remember our sins while standing in the confession line!
  • Do we examine our conscience for mortal and venial sins? It is not required to confess venial sins, but it is proven to be good preventative medicine against the deadly sickness of mortal sin! It also reminds us that all our sins, even venial sins, wound us and wound Christ! It is like telling your beloved, I’m going to be just a little unfaithful to you!
  • Second step: Sorrow for our sins. There are two kinds of sorrow: Imperfect contrition and Perfect contrition. Imperfect contrition is being sorry for our sins for fear of going to hell. That is called fear of the Lord – in other words, our actions have consequences! This is sufficient to be forgiven and the priest to give absolution!
  • On the other hand, Perfect contrition is a sorrow of love, that is to say, sorrow for hurting the One you love and Who loves you! Jesus was scourged and crowned with thorns, suffered and died nailed to the cross shedding every last drop of His precious Blood, for your sins and mine! And if you were the only person in the world, He would have suffered all of that for you! A hundred times over if necessary! That is how precious you are to Him!
  • Third step: Firm purpose of amendment. This is one of the necessary steps of a good confession where likely we are weakest! This step means we firmly resolve not to commit these sins again. But this doesn’t happen just by wishing it! We have to take the time to think back and recognize the steps that led up to our falling into sin! There is always a genesis or origin of our sinful behavior and actions! Certain thoughts, persons, places, things, circumstances cause us to fall into sin! We have to recognize them and resolve to avoid these near occasions of sin going forward! If we don’t want to get burnt, we have to stop playing with fire!!!  
  • Fourth step: Confess our sins to the priest. St. Faustina says it is good to pray for the priest before we go into the confessional. Also, pray to his guardian angel and our guardian angel! Mortal sins have to be confessed by number and kind. “Father, I missed Mass on Sunday.” Priest: Only once? “No, for the last six months!” That is not one mortal sin; that is 24 separate mortal sins!!!  
  • Next, St. Faustina says the three qualities of a good confession are these. Be transparent – that is, be clear and concise, no beating around the bush! Be humble – no excuses! And no fair confessing the sins of our spouse or children! Be obedient – take the advice of the priest to heart! The priest is speaking is Pesonna Christi, in the Person of Christ! We had better listen and obey!
  • Fifth Step: Do whatever penance the priest gives us. It is a good idea to double the penance the priest gives us to show good will on our part in making reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary.
  • Do we pray daily for the conversion of sinners, including our own on-going conversion? Do we both pray and perform small acts of penance every day in reparation for our sins and the sins of others? Do we offer reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary wounded by the sins and ingratitude of all mankind?
  • It is true that original sin was washed from our soul in the waters of Baptism; however, the effects of original sin remain in our soul. Our darkened intellect and weakened will; our lower appetites commonly called the seven capital sins or tendencies; our disordered attachments to people, places, and things.
  • Jesus came to bring healing and holiness to our body and soul wounded by sin. Do we beg Jesus to heal us and make us holy? Do we pray for healing of the three powers of the soul: our memories… our understanding… our will? Do we pray that our fickle heart and disordered affections may become whole and holy?
  • Jesus cures the paralytic’s physical paralysis to prove that He has power to cure spiritual paralysis by the forgiveness of sins. This is the message of the Kingdom Jesus has come to establish – repent and be saved! Repent and experience God’s mercy and forgiveness! Repent and know healing and holiness! Repent and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven!
  • The scribes know that only God can forgive sins. They understand Jesus is claiming to be God, and they say He blasphemes! Jesus tells them, if you don’t believe in my words, believe in my works! They still refuse to acknowledge His sovereignty. They refuse the Kingdom He offers.
  • What about us? What matters most to us? Show me how you live your life, and I’ll tell you what is important to you.

 

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