After the death of Naboth the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite:
“Start down to meet Ahab, king of Israel,
who rules in Samaria.
He will be in the vineyard of Naboth,
of which he has come to take possession.
This is what you shall tell him,
‘The LORD says: After murdering, do you also take possession?
For this, the LORD says:
In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth,
the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.’”
Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me out, my enemy?”
“Yes,” he answered.
“Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the LORD’s sight,
I am bringing evil upon you: I will destroy you
and will cut off every male in Ahab’s line,
whether slave or freeman, in Israel.
I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat,
and like that of Baasha, son of Ahijah,
because of how you have provoked me by leading Israel into sin.”
(Against Jezebel, too, the LORD declared,
“The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.”)
“When one of Ahab’s line dies in the city,
dogs will devour him;
when one of them dies in the field,
the birds of the sky will devour him.”
Indeed, no one gave himself up to the doing of evil
in the sight of the LORD as did Ahab,
urged on by his wife Jezebel.
He became completely abominable by following idols,
just as the Amorites had done,
whom the LORD drove out before the children of Israel.

When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments
and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh.
He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about subdued.
Then the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite,
“Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me?
Since he has humbled himself before me,
I will not bring the evil in his time.
I will bring the evil upon his house during the reign of his son.”

R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my guilt.
Free me from blood guilt, O God, my saving God;
then my tongue shall revel in your justice.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment;
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

III. The Aim and Intended Readership of the Catechism

11 This catechism aims at presenting an organic synthesis of the essential and fundamental contents of Catholic doctrine, as regards both faith and morals, in the light of the Second Vatican Council and the whole of the Church’s Tradition. Its principal sources are the Sacred Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, the liturgy, and the Church’s Magisterium. It is intended to serve “as a point of reference for the catechisms or compendia that are composed in the various countries”.

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

TUESDAY, JUNE 16^TH Mt. 5:43-48   “I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father!”

Loving God, Loving Self, and Loving Our Neighbor – Even Our Enemies!

Excerpts from talk by Sister Mary Clare, O.C.D.

     There is no authentic Catholic spirituality that is not social. So if you ever come across a spirituality that says you can reach union with God, which is our ultimate goal, in isolation, you cannot do that, and that is not authentically Catholic. 
     We are meant to live as the Body of Christ in communion with one another. It’s really important to think about our spirituality and how it integrates into what we do every day. We are human beings made in the image and likeness of God and we have to know how we integrate who we are, our being, into what we do every day.
     The three reflections that I want to look at today are: encounter with Christ, encounter with our neighbor, and discernment in practice. 

Encounter with Christ…

• In today’s society, we really have a crisis of meaning. What is life all about? And this leads to a sense of alienation. There’s a sense of loss, a sense of mourning in our society because of this. 
• We have a disposable culture, right? We think about life in prospect and for us it’s cheap and disposable. It’s an inconvenience. Just get rid of it (legalized abortion). We think about life in fact and it’s expensive and disposable. We can’t afford you, so we’ll get rid of you (legalized euthanasia). That’s the kind of society mentality that we’re thinking in.
• And in order to solve it, we’re grasping after truths. We’re trying to find out, “What’s the truth?” When we really need to be seeking the Truth with a capital “T”, right? That’s going to be the answer to our problems.
• We can only do that, we can only change, if we begin with ourselves. Be souls of prayer or else you will have nothing to give. We need to encounter Christ in our daily life. That means taking time out. That means spending time with Our Lord. I’ve got to encounter the Person of Christ.
• In order to treat others with dignity, I must first know mine. I must know what it means to be a child of God, right? I must know what it means to be made in His image and likeness. I must experience that I have been called into being by name for a purpose. And once I’ve experienced that, then I can experience that you have been called into being by name for a purpose and reverence it.
• If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me to drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water. Christ will give to us, but we must go to Him.
• He wants to give to us in abundance. I’m not perfect; I’m broken; I need to be redeemed. But I am not disposable. I’m not dispensable. I have a mission that no one else can fill. I have to believe that about myself, right? I have to know His grace is abundant.

Encounter with our neighbor…

• As I said before, all Catholic spirituality is social. We’re meant to live in community. We’re created to live in community. And that’s true because we’re made in the image of the Trinity who is an eternal community, right? An eternal communion of three Persons. So we can’t ever let that go.
• The primary way we experience community is obviously through marriage and the family; but then that extends out to the broader community of the Body of Christ, the Church; and then even beyond that into the broader community of the human family, of everyone created as a child of God.
• Going back to our encounter with Christ and how this fits into neighbor, when I’m looking at Christ, I’m looking into the face of Christ. John Paul would say that a lot, right? Contemplating the face of Christ, He mirrors back to me who I am. He mirrors back to me my value and my dignity.
• We do the same with each other. When you look into my eyes, I mirror back to you who you are, the value of who you are as a person. When you look at me, the questions that come unconsciously to your mind are, “Do you see me? Do you care?” And the immediate next questions that come to mind are, “Does anybody care?” And “Does God care?” So can you see how important our interaction with our neighbor is? Because if they’re not experiencing through us that human love, how can they experience the love of God? We must do that for one another.
• God puts in our paths every day the persons He desires for us to encounter. We don’t have to go looking. What we need to do is to pray for the grace for our eyes to see as Christ sees. To see my neighbor – that is, to see the person in front of me, as Christ sees them. To be able to see their need and then meet it, right?
• So realizing what our limitations are, what am I called to do? What’s best for the person in front of me at the moment? I may not be able to help them, but I can know somebody to refer them to. Always in that mutual self-gift. This is what we can do on a daily basis in our own lives; this is what we’re called to do, one person at a time.
• When we take it into the broader social picture, we realize that this really is a form of evangelization for us, and we cannot evangelize a culture that we don’t love. There’s going to be opinions that we disagree with. There’s going to be views that are objectively wrong and we can’t condone that. We must work to correct those, but we have to do it in a spirit of love. Love others back into Truth.

Discernment in Practice…

• Ignatius tells us, first look at your state of life. Am I married? My first obligation is to my spouse and to my family, right? We have to have that work-life balance.
• Because my second vocation is what I do and how I bring Christ into the world. We have to make our choices based on that. Anything else beyond that is extra.
• The demand of love in front of me! Who’s the person that God has put into my path at this moment and how must I love them? In one of his homilies, Bishop Vasha, talking about Lazarus at the door, said each of us must ask, “Who’s at my doorstep?”
• Finally, what’s the need of my local Church? Am I helping to fulfill that need or am I off doing my own thing. That’s something to look at.

“May God Our Lord be pleased and continue to bless our poor work, so insignificant in comparison to what He deserves, but all that He’s asking of us. That’s all He wants of us. And in doing that we will come to union with Him and we will bring others to Him one person at a time. Be what you are supposed to be – a saint! For greater things you were born.”   (Ven. Mother Luisita)

EDITOR’S NOTE: Unplanned is an excellent movie portraying how to correct others in a spirit of love – loving others back into Truth. Unplanned is the true story of Abbey Johnson who worked for Planned Parenthood until a she witnessed an abortion procedure that changed her views and her life in that one moment.

Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in Jezreel
next to the palace of Ahab, king of Samaria.
Ahab said to Naboth, “Give me your vineyard to be my vegetable garden,
since it is close by, next to my house.
I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or,
if you prefer, I will give you its value in money.”
Naboth answered him, “The LORD forbid
that I should give you my ancestral heritage.”
Ahab went home disturbed and angry at the answer
Naboth the Jezreelite had made to him:
“I will not give you my ancestral heritage.”
Lying down on his bed, he turned away from food and would not eat.

His wife Jezebel came to him and said to him,
“Why are you so angry that you will not eat?”
He answered her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite
and said to him, ‘Sell me your vineyard, or,
if you prefer, I will give you a vineyard in exchange.’
But he refused to let me have his vineyard.”
His wife Jezebel said to him,
“A fine ruler over Israel you are indeed!
Get up.
Eat and be cheerful.
I will obtain the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite for you.”

So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name and,
having sealed them with his seal,
sent them to the elders and to the nobles
who lived in the same city with Naboth.
This is what she wrote in the letters:
“Proclaim a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people.
Next, get two scoundrels to face him
and accuse him of having cursed God and king.
Then take him out and stone him to death.”
His fellow citizens—the elders and nobles who dwelt in his city—
did as Jezebel had ordered them in writing,
through the letters she had sent them.
They proclaimed a fast and placed Naboth at the head of the people.
Two scoundrels came in and confronted him with the accusation,
“Naboth has cursed God and king.”
And they led him out of the city and stoned him to death.
Then they sent the information to Jezebel
that Naboth had been stoned to death.

When Jezebel learned that Naboth had been stoned to death,
she said to Ahab,
“Go on, take possession of the vineyard
of Naboth the Jezreelite that he refused to sell you,
because Naboth is not alive, but dead.”
On hearing that Naboth was dead, Ahab started off on his way
down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite,
to take possession of it.

R. (2b) Lord, listen to my groaning.
Hearken to my words, O LORD,
attend to my sighing.
Heed my call for help,
my king and my God!

R. Lord, listen to my groaning.
At dawn I bring my plea expectantly before you.
For you, O God, delight not in wickedness;
no evil man remains with you;
the arrogant may not stand in your sight.

R. Lord, listen to my groaning.
You hate all evildoers.
You destroy all who speak falsehood;
The bloodthirsty and the deceitful
the LORD abhors.

R. Lord, listen to my groaning.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A lamp to my feet is your word,
a light to my path.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.
But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.
When someone strikes you on your right cheek,
turn the other one to him as well.
If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic,
hand him your cloak as well.
Should anyone press you into service for one mile,
go with him for two miles.
Give to the one who asks of you,
and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”

10 It is therefore no surprise that catechesis in the Church has again attracted attention in the wake of the Second Vatican Council, which Pope Paul Vl considered the great catechism of modern times. the General Catechetical Directory (1971) the sessions of the Synod of Bishops devoted to evangelization (1974) and catechesis (1977), the apostolic exhortations Evangelii nuntiandi (1975) and Catechesi tradendae (1979), attest to this. the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in 1985 asked “that a catechism or compendium of all Catholic doctrine regarding both faith and morals be composed” The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, made the Synod’s wish his own, acknowledging that “this desire wholly corresponds to a real need of the universal Church and of the particular Churches.” He set in motion everything needed to carry out the Synod Fathers’ wish.

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

MONDAY, JUNE 15^TH   Mt. 5:38-42   “But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil.”

• “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” is about exacting justice according to the Law of Talon – the punishment had to be proportionate to the harm inflicted. Once again, Jesus turns our attention from justice to His greatest attribute: Mercy. Mercy is not a natural operation; it is a supernatural operation. Only a heart softened by grace can be merciful!
• At the moment we were baptized, sanctifying grace was infused into our soul and we began living a supernatural life of union with Christ, “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of men, but of God.” (Jn. 1:13)
• St. Paul says of the union between the head and the members of the body – the same blood courses through them. One with Christ, we are one with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and their life of sanctifying grace courses through us and enlivens us!
• Our communion of life with the most Holy Trinity is more distinct, more powerful, and more intimate than any communion possible between human beings! However the graces of Baptism have to be cultivated through prayer, frequent Confession and Holy Communion, and almsgiving.
• At the Last Supper, Jesus gave His last will and testament. He looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. I pray for them.” (Jn. 17:1,6,9)
• “I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you – so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” (Jn. 17: 20,23)
• “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.” (Jn. 17: 24) For this reason Jesus says to us, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect!” (Mt. 5:48)
• Today Jesus tell us how to become perfect with the supernatural help of sanctifying grace, so that we may increase in communion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit here, and be with them forever in heaven!

1. “When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.”

• Jesus was scourged and crowned with thorns; insulted, ridiculed, mocked, slapped, punched, and spat upon; and finally forced to climb the hill to Calvary under the crushing weight of the cross. There He was stripped of His clothes and nailed to the cross where He hung for three long hours until He breathed His last. In the end, they pierced His Heart with a sword, so that every last drop of His blood was poured out for us!  
• Yet His first words as He hung on the cross were: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Those words should burn our soul! He was speaking about you and me; it was our sins that nailed Him to the cross! What could anyone do to us that could equal what our sins did to Jesus? What injury done to us could match the injury we have done to Jesus? Our Creator and Redeemer, who loved us until the end!
• When are we going to start showing others the mercy Jesus has shown us and continues to show us??? When will His words become our words: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!” Let us begin now! Justice demands it! Mercy demands it! Love demands it! “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Jn 3:16)

2. “If anyone wants your tunic, hand him your cloak as well.”

• First we have to decide to give him our tunic!!! Jesus knows that! He is showing us just how lacking we are in generosity and charity!
• Young Martin of Tours (+397) was a soldier stationed at Amiens, in Gaul. Riding into town one winter day he came across a beggar, thinly clad and shivering with cold. Martin had nothing with him but the clothes he wore. Without hesitating, he drew his sword from its scabbard and cut his woolen cloak in two, giving one half to the beggar and wrapping himself in the other.
• In a dream the following night, Martin saw Jesus Christ surrounded by angels and dressed in the half of the cloak that Martin had given away. A voice told him to look at it well and say whether he knew it. Then he heard Jesus say to the angels, “Martin, as yet only a catechumen, has covered me with his cloak.” A friend of Martin’s recorded that after this vision, Martin “flew to be baptized.”
• Let’s consider a more modern “Martin of Tours”… Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, Turin, Italy (1901-1925). Although the Frassati family was well-to-do, the father was frugal and never gave his two children much spending money. Pier Giorgio used what little he had to help the poor.
• When Pier Giorgio was a child, a poor mother with a boy in tow came begging at the Frassati home. Pier Giorgio opened the door and seeing the boy’s shoeless feet, gave the boy his own shoes. Knowing how blessed he was, Pier Giorgio’s heart was moved with pity for the poor.
• When he was older and friends asked why he often rode third class on the trains, he would reply with a smile, “Because there is not a fourth class.” So he could give more money to the poor.
• Sometimes he gave up even the train fare for charity and then ran all the way home to be on time for meals in a house where punctuality was law.
• At graduation, given the choice by his father of money or a car, Pier Giorgio chose the money, for his poor. With that money and his earnings from work, Pier Giorgio provided for a bed in a hospice for a consumptive invalid, paid rent on a room for a poor old woman evicted from her tenement, and supported three children of a sick and grieving widow.
• Only God knew of these charities; Pier Giorgio never mentioned them to others. He kept a small ledger book containing detailed accounts of his transactions. As he lay dying of polio at age 24, he gave instructions to his sister, asking her to see to the needs of those depending on his charity.
• He even took the time, with a near-paralyzed hand, to write a note to a friend in the St. Vincent de Paul Society with instructions about keeping up their weekly Friday visits to help the poor.
• How charitable are we with our money, our possessions, our talents, our time? Do we give enough to assuage our conscience? Or do we give, as Mother Teresa said, until it hurts?
• Pier Giorgio was more interested in bringing comfort to those who had little or no comfort, than in enjoying the comforts of life himself. What was his secret? As a young man, Pier Giorgio had a lively prayer life, sacramental life, and devotion to Mother Mary!

 3. “If anyone presses you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles.”  

• How freely do we give of our time, often more precious than money! How often do we say Yes to people who ask us for help? Better yet, how often do we offer to help without being asked? 
• Sometimes we “walk two miles” with someone by simply listening to their problems. How willing are we to share someone else’s suffering… ease their loneliness… lift the weight of the cross off their shoulders for just a little while? They say a problem shared is a problem halved!

4. “Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on the one who wants to borrow.”  

• When we open our hearts to God, we open our hands to others! One other thought about that, if we have the money to lend – we have the money to give! Without placing the burden on someone to have to repay it.

5. The Holy Family…

Let us end by reflecting on the charitable life of Jesus, Mary and St. Joseph. How often do you think the Holy Family saw the needs of their neighbors and did what they could to help them? May they inspire our hearts with courageous generosity!

Moses said to the people:
“Remember how for forty years now the LORD, your God,
has directed all your journeying in the desert,
so as to test you by affliction
and find out whether or not it was your intention
to keep his commandments.
He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger,
and then fed you with manna,
a food unknown to you and your fathers,
in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.

“Do not forget the LORD, your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt,
that place of slavery;
who guided you through the vast and terrible desert
with its saraph serpents and scorpions,
its parched and waterless ground;
who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock
and fed you in the desert with manna,
a food unknown to your fathers.”

R.  (12) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R.  Alleluia.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.

R.  Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R.  Alleluia.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!

R.  Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R.  Alleluia.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.

R.  Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
or:
R.  Alleluia.

Brothers and sisters:
The cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?
The bread that we break,
is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though many, are one body,
for we all partake of the one loaf.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord;
whoever eats this bread will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church

9 “The ministry of catechesis draws ever fresh energy from the councils. the Council of Trent is a noteworthy example of this. It gave catechesis priority in its constitutions and decrees. It lies at the origin of the Roman Catechism, which is also known by the name of that council and which is a work of the first rank as a summary of Christian teaching. . “12 The Council of Trent initiated a remarkable organization of the Church’s catechesis. Thanks to the work of holy bishops and theologians such as St. Peter Canisius, St. Charles Borromeo, St. Turibius of Mongrovejo or St. Robert Bellarmine, it occasioned the publication of numerous catechisms.

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

SUNDAY, JUNE 14th Jn. 6: 51-58 Corpus Christi – Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

From the writings of St. Peter Julian Eymard as presented by Father John Hardon, S.J.

Saint Peter Julian Eymard +1868 was a  priest and founder of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament for men and the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament for women.

 Of the virtues Our Lord in the Eucharist is now practicing in order to inspire us to follow His example, none is more basic than His poverty. Jesus wanted to be the poorest of the poor, in order to be able to stretch out His hand to the lowliest of men and say to them, “I am your brother.”

Consider…  No man was ever born in more wretched conditions than the Word Incarnate, who had the trough of animals for His cradle, their shelter for His home. As a child, he fed on barley bread, the bread of the poor. In the hidden years He took up the awl and the hammer to earn bread by the sweat of His brow. During His apostolic life He lived on alms. He died in a state of destitution that will never be equaled… stripped of His garments, His honor, His Divinity hidden!

Now that He is risen and glorious, He still takes poverty for His companion… Jesus, dwelling in our midst in His Sacrament, is poorer than during the days of His mortal life! His home is often but a poor church, worse perhaps than the cave of Bethlehem, where His tabernacle may consist of nothing more than four boards, which themselves are worm-eaten! His priests or His faithful people must give Him everything: the matter of the Sacrament, the bread and the wine; the linen on which to place Him or with which to cover Him; the corporals, the altar cloths. He brings nothing from heaven except His adorable Person and His love! Silent, obedient, humbly waiting in the tabernacle for His faithful to come visit Him… for His ministers to take Him out for adoration, to visit the sick, to be viaticum for the dying.

What is Jesus teaching us? He’s teaching us that He is to be imitated twice over: once as the God-man who lived a mortal life in Palestine and once again as the same Incarnate God who is now living His glorified life in the Blessed Sacrament… in poverty, silence, humility, obedience, compassion, merciful forgiveness, love.

Christ is to be followed and His virtues imitated here and now as they are lived by Him in the Holy Eucharist in our midst! The Eucharistic Presence of Jesus is the Mystery of Faith that we are called upon not only to venerate and adore, but to model our lives on in this valley of tears as a condition of reaching our heavenly home.

End Reflection from writings of St. Eymard presented by Father John Hardon, S.J.

Poverty, silence, humility, obedience, compassion, merciful forgiveness, love… these can all be described in the one word breaking. “Do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus was broken for us on the cross; and He is broken for us in the Eucharist. Now He asks us to give ourselves, to break ourselves, as it were, for others.

From Pope Francis…

Breaking… This “breaking bread” became the icon, the sign for recognizing Christ and Christians. We think of Emmaus: they knew him “in the breaking of the bread” (Lk. 24:31). We recall the first community of Jerusalem: “They held steadfastly… to the breaking of the bread” (Acts 2:42). From the outset it is the Eucharist which becomes the center and pattern of the life of the Church.

But we think also of all the saints – famous or anonymous – who have “broken” themselves, their own life, in order to “give something to eat” to their brothers and sisters. How many mothers, how many fathers, together with the slices of bread they provide each day on the tables of their homes, have broken their hearts to let their children grow, and grow well! How many Christians, as responsible citizens, have broken their own lives to defend the dignity of all, especially the poorest, the marginalized and those who are discriminated! Where do they find the strength to do this? It is in the Eucharist: in the power of the Risen Lord’s love, who today too breaks bread for us and repeats: “Do this in remembrance of me.”

Questions for Meditation:  How is Christ calling me to be “broken” for others in my life? St. Ignatius gives us these three questions to pray over: What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What more can I do for Christ?

Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat,
as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen;
he was following the twelfth.
Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him.
Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said,
“Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,
and I will follow you.”
Elijah answered, “Go back!
Have I done anything to you?”
Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them;
he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh,
and gave it to his people to eat.
Then he left and followed Elijah as his attendant.

R. (see 5a) You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.

R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.

R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees;
and favor me with your law.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
Do not take a false oath,
but make good to the Lord all that you vow.
But I say to you, do not swear at all;
not by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool;
nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Do not swear by your head,
for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’
Anything more is from the Evil One.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church

8 Periods of renewal in the Church are also intense moments of catechesis. In the great era of the Fathers of the Church, saintly bishops devoted an important part of their ministry to catechesis. St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, and many other Fathers wrote catechetical works that remain models for us.

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

SATURDAY, JUNE 13^TH   Mt: 5: 33-37   “Jesus said to his disciples… ‘Let your Yes mean Yes, and your No mean No. Anything more is from the evil one.’”

• In the pursuit of holiness, obedience is the sine qua non, meaning without which nothing. Without obedience there is no holiness! Holiness is obedience to God; sin is disobedience to God. We are here on this earth to say Yes to God and No to sin. This life is short, but our life hereafter is forever and ever and ever!
• CCC 397-398: Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command. This is what man’s first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in His goodness. In that sin man preferred himself to God and by that very act scorned Him. He chose himself over and against God, against the requirements of his creaturely status, and therefore against his own good. Constituted in a state of holiness, man was destined to be fully “divinized” by God in glory. Seduced by the devil, he wanted to “be like God”, but “without God, before God, and not in accordance with God.”
• Jesus came as Savior to repair for the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, and for our sins. “For just as through the disobedience of the one man, the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man, the many will be made righteous.” (Rom 5:19)
• At the Last Supper, Jesus gave His last discourse to the apostles: “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.” (Jn 14: 15-16, 23-24)
• Jesus is the Son of God made man. He is one Person – the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity – with two natures, a Divine nature and a human nature. In His human nature, Jesus recoiled from the cross – in mortal agony He sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane! Yet He still obeyed! “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’” (Mt 26:39)
• Could it be any clearer? Those who love Christ, strive to obey His teachings in Scripture and in His Holy Church. But it doesn’t stop there. Like Jesus in His agony in the Garden, we are to obey and say Yes to all that God in His Divine Providence and wisdom permits to happen every day and every moment in our lives. God wills good, but He permits evil to bring a greater good out of it. When we say “Jesus, I trust in you” we are saying Jesus, I trust in all you permit to happen in my life in this moment, this day, this year, and all my years.

Holy Obedience… by Father John Tauler, O.P.

The least little work done in holy obedience is nobler in God’s eyes and more worthy of reward than many great works performed by one’s own will. I declare to you in all truth that no lovelier offering can be made to the Almighty God than a truly humble and obedient heart. In a single instant a man can, by means of obedience and giving up of his own will to God, be made so humble that he will be led directly to God – more directly than if he spent ten years in practicing high devotions.

Obedience is that very noble virtue which is more pleasing to God than any of the others, even when we obey in matters which are in themselves of little moment. The eternal Son of God was, for our sake, made obedient to His heavenly Father – in His coming down from the Godhead to our poor human nature, in the embracing of His holy cross, and finally in His cruel and bitter death. Therefore, we must one and all be obedient to God in all divine things and human things, interiorly and exteriorly, without murmuring or contradiction – if God is to do His work of love unhindered and continuously within our souls.

End Father John Tauler, O.P. (+1361 – Rhineland mystic, priest and theologian)

Living Holy Obedience in daily life… by Venerable Madeleine Delbrel

We, the ordinary people of the streets, know very well that as long as our own will is alive, we will not be able to love Christ definitively. We know that only obedience can root us in His death. We would envy our Religious Brothers and Sisters if we too could not “die to ourselves” a little more each day.

However, for us the tiny circumstances of life are faithful “superiors.” They do not leave us alone for a moment; and the “yeses” we have to say to them follow continuously, one after the other. When we surrender to them without resistance, we find ourselves wonderfully liberated from ourselves. We float in Providence like a cork on the ocean waters.

From the moment we wake up these circumstances take hold of us. It is the telephone that rings; it is the key that won’t work, the bus that doesn’t arrive or arrives full, or doesn’t wait for us. It is the person sitting next to us who takes up the whole seat; or the vibration of the loose window pane that drives us crazy.

It’s the daily routine, one chore that leads to another, some job we wouldn’t have chosen. It’s the weather and its changes – which is exquisite precisely because it is completely untainted by human doing. It’s being cold, or being hot; it’s the headache or the toothache. It’s the people we meet and the conversations they choose to start. It’s the rude man who nearly knocks us off the sidewalk. It’s the people who need to kill some time, and so they corner us. When we live with others, obedience also means we set aside our own tastes and leave things in the place others have put them.

In this way, life becomes an epic film in slow motion. It does not make our head spin. It does not take our breath away. Little by little, thread by thread, it eats away at the old man’s frame, which cannot be mended and must be made new from the ground up. When we thus become accustomed to giving up our will to so many tiny things, we will no longer find it hard, when the occasion presents itself, to do the will of our boss, our husband, or our parents. And our hope is that death, too, will be easy.

End Venerable Madeleine Delbrel (+1964 – French Catholic writer and mystic)

At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave, where he took shelter.
But the word of the LORD came to him,
“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by.”
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.
A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?”
He replied, “I have been most zealous for the LORD,
the God of hosts.
But the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant,
torn down your altars,
and put your prophets to the sword.
I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”
The LORD said to him,
“Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus.
When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram.
Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel,
and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah,
as prophet to succeed you.”

R. (8b) I long to see your face, O Lord.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.

R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.

R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.

R. I long to see your face, O Lord.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Shine like lights in the world,
as you hold on to the word of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you,
everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.

“It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful)
causes her to commit adultery,
and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church

7 “Catechesis is intimately bound up with the whole of the Church’s life. Not only her geographical extension and numerical increase, but even more her inner growth and correspondence with God’s plan depend essentially on catechesis.”

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

FRIDAY, JUNE 15^TH    Mt. 5: 27-32   “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut if off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.”

• St. Padre Pio had the gift of prophecy. A blind man once asked Padre Pio to restore his sight. Padre Pio said he could do that, but if the man’s sight was restored, he would be lost for all eternity! In other words, his eyes would lead him to sin mortally and to die in mortal sin. The man chose to remain blind.
• Better to lose your eye, lose your hand – than to commit a mortal sin, since we know not the hour or the day when we will die. Better to suffer here, than suffer for all eternity!
• In this life no one is exempt from suffering. When we suffer, we can shake our fist at God and ask “why me” or we can offer our suffering to God for our salvation and the salvation of many others, beginning with those in our own family. Suffering of itself has no merit. But suffering joined to the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross has infinite merit and value!
• Suffering will either make us better or bitter. Blessed Henry Suso, a renowned Dominican preacher of the 14th Century, helps us to see how suffering can make us better.

 Suffering is a gift… by Blessed Henry Suso (+1366)

He who evaluates suffering at its true worth must accept it from God as a precious gift. Ah, there is many a man, formerly a child of eternal death and slumbering in sin, who has been revived and roused to a holy life by suffering.

Suffering guards men against grave falls; it gives a man self-knowledge, makes him firm toward himself and compassionate toward his neighbor.

Suffering preserves the soul in humility, teaches patience, guards purity, and brings the crown of eternal salvation.

It is practically impossible that suffering does not benefit a man in some way, whether he is yet in the state of sin, is just converted, making progress, or already arrived at perfection, because it scours the iron, purifies the gold, and embellishes the precious stones.

Suffering takes away sin, shortens purgatory, drives away temptations, quenches carnal desires, and renews the spirit. It brings true confidence, a pure conscience, and unwavering courage.

Be convinced that it is a wholesome drink and the most beneficial herb of all paradise. It mortifies the body, which is destined to rot anyway, but nourishes the precious soul, which is to endure eternally.

Suffering gives a man wisdom and experience. A man who has not suffered, what does he know?   End of Reflection.

• Some people are called to the apostolate of suffering for the salvation of souls; they
• are called victim souls. St. Padre Pio was a victim soul, suffering the stigmata – the wounds of Christ in His hands, feet, and side – for 50 years.
• When St. Jacinta Marto was beatified by St. Pope John Paul II, he called her “a little victim soul.” In 1917, Our Lady of Fatima appeared six times to three young shepherd children – Lucia age 10, and her two cousins, Francisco age 9 and Jacinta age 7. Our Lady asked them to pray the Rosary and to make sacrifices daily, offering them for the conversion of poor sinners so as to save them from hell. All three did so willingly.
• Our Lady predicted that Francisco and Jacinta would die soon and go to heaven. But Lucia would have to stay a little while longer. Both Francisco and Jacinta died within 2 ½ years, victims of the 1918 influenza epidemic that swept through Europe. Lucia died in 2005 at age 97. God’s time is different than our time!
• Jacinta especially wanted to suffer to save souls from hell. At one point, Our Lady appeared to Jacinta and asked her if she was willing to suffer a little more to save souls. Her response was a resounding yes!
• Jacinta suffered a complication of the influenza which was this, she developed purulent pleurisy and endured an operation in which two of her ribs were removed. Because of the condition of her heart, she could not be fully anesthetized, and suffered terrible pain, which she said would help to convert many sinners.
• Jacinta died alone in a hospital in Lisbon, far from her home, family and friends. But was she really alone? We don’t that this happened, but we can imagine Jacinta being held in the arms of Mother Mary as she took her last breath, and opening her eyes to the glory of Heaven – with the Father and the Holy Spirt, Jesus and all the angels and saints rejoicing to welcome her, especially her brother, Francisco!
• Not all are called to be victim souls like St. Padre Pio and St. Jacinta Marto! It is enough that we accept the sufferings that God in His infinite goodness and wisdom permits to visit us for our salvation and the salvation of others, especially our family. And not just put up with these sufferings, but accept them gratefully!
• A man sick and suffering from some disease, gladly takes the remedy guaranteed to cure him! So it is with suffering! We will come to know the Hand that so lovingly administers this medicine for our soul, and so arrive at the peace that passes understanding, and the joy that no one can take from us, here and forever in heaven!