Return, rebellious children, says the LORD,
for I am your Master;
I will take you, one from a city, two from a clan,
and bring you to Zion.
I will appoint over you shepherds after my own heart,
who will shepherd you wisely and prudently.
When you multiply and become fruitful in the land,
says the LORD,
They will in those days no longer say,
“The ark of the covenant of the LORD!”
They will no longer think of it, or remember it,
or miss it, or make another.

At that time they will call Jerusalem the LORD’s throne;
there all nations will be gathered together
to honor the name of the LORD at Jerusalem,
and they will walk no longer in their hardhearted wickedness.

R. (see 10d) The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd his flock.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD’s blessings:
The grain, the wine, and the oil,
the sheep and the oxen.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Hear the parable of the sower.
The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom
without understanding it,
and the Evil One comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
But he has no root and lasts only for a time.
When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.
But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

This word of the LORD came to me:
Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear!

I remember the devotion of your youth,
how you loved me as a bride,
Following me in the desert,
in a land unsown.
Sacred to the LORD was Israel,
the first fruits of his harvest;
Should any presume to partake of them,
evil would befall them, says the LORD.

When I brought you into the garden land
to eat its goodly fruits,
You entered and defiled my land,
you made my heritage loathsome.
The priests asked not,
“Where is the LORD?”
Those who dealt with the law knew me not:
the shepherds rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
and went after useless idols.

Be amazed at this, O heavens,
and shudder with sheer horror, says the LORD.
Two evils have my people done:
they have forsaken me, the source of living waters;
They have dug themselves cisterns,
broken cisterns, that hold no water.

R. (10a) With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
O LORD, your mercy reaches to heaven;
your faithfulness, to the clouds.
Your justice is like the mountains of God;
your judgments, like the mighty deep.
R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
How precious is your mercy, O God!
The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They have their fill of the prime gifts of your house;
from your delightful stream you give them to drink.
R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
For with you is the fountain of life,
and in your light we see light.
Keep up your mercy toward your friends,
your just defense of the upright of heart.
R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.

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.

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:

You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted
and I heal them.

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

Article 1

THE REVELATION OF GOD

I.God Reveals His “Plan of Loving Goodness”

51 “It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will. His will was that men should have access to the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus become sharers in the divine nature.”

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

THURSDAY, JULY 23^RD     Mt. 13:10-17   “Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.”

• Who are the blessed ones who have eyes that see and ears that hear? The ones who have repentance for their sins and seek forgiveness, conversion, and holiness of life have eyes to see and ears to hear. Whereas those who don’t want to give up their sins and their sinful lifestyle, who don’t want to be converted, do not see and do not hear! That is the dynamic!
• God gives us sufficient grace to turn from the sins that cause death to our soul and to embrace the virtues that gives us life, and life more abundantly! We choose whether to receive His graces or reject them. St. Augustine in his autobiography Confessions admits that his prayer for many years was, “Lord, make me chaste—but not yet.”
• Those whose hearts are open to receive His grace, even beg for it, increase in virtue and holiness. Whereas those whose hearts are closed to His grace only increase in pride, selfishness, and attachment to sin until they lose His grace in their soul.   
• Today Jesus quotes Isaiah: “You shall indeed hear but not understand you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted, and I heal them.”
• Today let us resolve to see with our eyes and hear with our ears and understand with our hearts and be converted so that Jesus may heal us. To this purpose, let us stand humbly before the Lord.

 Standing Humbly Before the Lord…  by St. Bernard of Clairvaux

When in the light of Truth men know themselves and so think less of themselves it will certainly follow that what they loved before will now become bitter to them. They are brought face to face with themselves and blush at what they see.

Their present state is no pleasure to them. They aspire to something better and at the same time realize how little they can rely on themselves to achieve it! It hurts them and they find some relief in judging themselves severely. Love of truth makes them hunger and thirst after justice and conceive a deep contempt for themselves.

They are anxious to exact from themselves full satisfaction and real amendment. They admit that to make satisfaction is beyond their own powers – when they have done all that is commanded them they acknowledge that they are still unprofitable servants.

They fly from justice to mercy, by the road Truth shows them: Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. They look beyond their own needs to the needs of their neighbors and from the things they themselves have suffered they learn compassion.

 End of Reflection by St. Bernard of Clairvaux (+1153)

 If we are to fly then from God’s justice and seek His mercy by being merciful, we can do no better than turn to Saint Faustina who shows us clearly, without any ambiguity, how we are to be merciful!

Diary #163 Prayer to be Merciful  by St. Faustina Kowalska

O 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.

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

End of Prayer to be Merciful by St. Faustina Kowalska (+1938)

Make no mistake, herein lies our salvation!!!

 

 

 

The Bride says:
On my bed at night I sought him
whom my heart loves–
I sought him but I did not find him.
I will rise then and go about the city;
in the streets and crossings I will seek
Him whom my heart loves.
I sought him but I did not find him.
The watchmen came upon me,
as they made their rounds of the city:
Have you seen him whom my heart loves?
I had hardly left them
when I found him whom my heart loves.

R. (2) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Tell us Mary, what did you see on the way?
I saw the glory of the risen Christ, I saw his empty tomb.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

On the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”

Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “They have taken my Lord,
and I don’t know where they laid him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?”
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
“Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew,
“Rabbouni,” which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her,
“Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
‘I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.’”
Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord,”
and then reported what he told her.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

CHAPTER TWO

GOD COMES TO MEET MAN

50 By natural reason man can know God with certainty, on the basis of his works. But there is another order of knowledge, which man cannot possibly arrive at by his own powers: the order of divine Revelation.1 Through an utterly free decision, God has revealed himself and given himself to man. This he does by revealing the mystery, his plan of loving goodness, formed from all eternity in Christ, for the benefit of all men. God has fully revealed this plan by sending us his beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

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

WEDNESDAY, JULY 22^ND    Jn. 20: 1-2, 11-18   Saint Mary Magdalene   “On the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark.

POPE FRANCIS – GENERAL AUDIENCE – WEDNESDAY, 17 MAY 2017

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Good Morning!

In the last few weeks, our reflection has been moving, so to speak, within the orbit of the Paschal Mystery. Today we meet the one who, according to the Gospels, was the first to see the Risen Christ: Mary Magdalene.

The Sabbath had ended not long before. On the day of the Passion, there had not been enough time to complete the funeral rites. For this reason, at that sorrow-filled dawn, the women went to Jesus’ tomb with aromatic oils.

The first to arrive was Mary Magdalene. She was one of the disciples who had accompanied Jesus from Galilee, putting herself at the service of the burgeoning Church.

Her walk to the sepulchre mirrors the fidelity of many women who spend years in the small alleyways of cemeteries remembering someone who is no longer there. The most authentic bonds are not broken even in death: there are those who continue loving even if their loved one is gone forever.

The Gospel describes Magdalene by immediately highlighting that she was not a woman easily given to enthusiasm (cf. Jn 20:1-2, 11-18). In fact, after her visit to the sepulchre, she returns disappointed to the Apostles’ hiding place.

She tells them that the stone has been removed from the entrance to the sepulchre, and her first hypothesis is the simplest that one could formulate: someone must have stolen Jesus’ body. Thus, the first announcement that Mary makes is not the one of the Resurrection, but of a theft perpetrated by persons unknown while all Jerusalem slept.

The Gospels then tell of Magdalene’s second visit to Jesus’ sepulchre. She was stubborn! She went, she returned … because she was not convinced! This time her step is slow and very heavy. Mary suffers twice as much: first for the death of Jesus, and then for the inexplicable disappearance of his body.

It is as she is stooping near the tomb, her eyes filled with tears, that God surprises her in the most unexpected way. John the Evangelist stresses how persistent her blindness is. She does not notice the presence of the two angels who question her, and she does not become suspicious even when she sees the man behind her, whom she believes is the custodian of the garden.

Instead, she discovers the most overwhelming event in the history of mankind when she is finally called by her name: “Mary!” (v. 16).

How nice it is to think that the first apparition of the Risen One — according to the Gospels — took place in such a personal way! To think that there is someone who knows us, who sees our suffering and disappointment, who is moved with us and calls us by name.

It is a law which we find engraved on many pages of the Gospel. There are many people around Jesus who search for God, but the most prodigious reality is that, long before that, in the first place there is God, who is concerned about our life, who wants to raise it, and to do this, he calls us by name, recognizing the individual face of each person.

Each person is a love story that God writes on this earth. Each one of us is God’s love story. He calls each of us by our name: he knows us by name; he looks at us; he waits for us; he forgives us; he is patient with us. Is this true or not true? Each of us experiences this.

And Jesus calls her: “Mary!” The revolution of her life, the revolution destined to transform the life of every man and every woman begins with a name which echoes in the garden of the empty sepulchre.

The Gospels describe Mary’s happiness. Jesus’ Resurrection is not a joy which is measured with a dropper, but a waterfall that cascades over life.

Christian life is not woven of soft joys, but of waves which engulf everything. You too, try to imagine, right now, with the baggage of disappointments and failures that each of us carries in our heart, that there is a God close to us who calls us by name and says to us: ‘Rise, stop weeping, for I have come to free you!” This is beautiful!

Jesus is not one who adapts to the world, tolerating in it the persistence of death, sadness, hatred, the moral destruction of people…. Our God is not inert, but our God — allow me to say — is a dreamer: he dreams of the transformation of the world, and accomplished it in the mystery of the Resurrection.

Mary would like to embrace her Lord, but he is already oriented towards the heavenly Father, whereas she is sent to carry the news to the brethren.

And so that woman, who, before encountering Jesus, had been at the mercy of evil (cf. Lk 8:2) now becomes the Apostle of the new and greatest hope.

May her intercession also help us live this experience: in times of woe and in times of abandonment, to listen to the Risen Jesus who calls us by name and, with a heart full of joy, to go forth and proclaim: “I have seen the Lord!” (v. 18).

I have changed my life because I have seen the Lord! I am now different than before. I am another person. I have changed because I have seen the Lord. This is our strength and this is our hope. Thank you. 

© Copyright – Libreria Editrice Vaticana

MARY MAGDALENE…   From A Homily by Gregory The Great, Pope  

She longed for Christ, though she thought he had been taken away…

When Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and did not find the Lord’s body, she thought it had been taken away and so informed the disciples.

After they came and saw the tomb, they too believed what Mary had told them. The text then says: The disciples went back home, and it adds: but Mary wept and remained standing outside the tomb.

We should reflect on Mary’s attitude and the great love she felt for Christ; for though the disciples had left the tomb, she remained. She was still seeking the one she had not found, and while she sought she wept; burning with the fire of love, she longed for him who she thought had been taken away. And so it happened that the woman who stayed behind to seek Christ was the only one to see him. For perseverance is essential to any good deed, as the voice of truth tells us: Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved. 

At first she sought but did not find, but when she persevered it happened that she found what she was looking for. When our desires are not satisfied, they grow stronger, and becoming stronger they take hold of their object. Holy desires likewise grow with anticipation, and if they do not grow they are not really desires. Anyone who succeeds in attaining the truth has burned with such a great love. As David says: My soul has thirsted for the living God; when shall I come and appear before the face of God? And so also in the Song of Songs the Church says: I was wounded by love; and again: My soul is melted with love.

Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek? She is asked why she is sorrowing so that her desire might be strengthened; for when she mentions whom she is seeking, her love is kindled all the more ardently.

Jesus says to her: Mary. Jesus is not recognized when he calls her “woman”; so he calls her by name, as though he were saying: Recognize me as I recognize you; for I do not know you as I know others; I know you as yourself. And so Mary, once addressed by name, recognizes who is speaking. She immediately calls him Rabboni, that is to say, teacher, because the one whom she sought outwardly was the one who inwardly taught her to keep on searching.

℟. On her return from the Lord’s tomb, Mary Magdalen told the disciples that she had seen the Lord.* Blessed is she who deserved to be first with the news that Life had risen from death.

℣. While she was there, weeping, she saw her beloved, and then told the good news to the others.* Blessed is she who deserved to be first with the news that Life had risen from death.

QUESTIONS:  Do I yearn for Christ? Do I seek Him in prayer? Do I seek His Mercy in Confession? His Real Presence in Holy Communion in the Mass? Do I ask Him to walk with me daily? Do I share my joys and sorrows with Him? My successes and failures? My struggles, trials, and crosses? My fears, worries, and anxieties? Do I let Him be my comfort, my consolation, and my strength?

“Trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding!”  (Prov. 3:5)

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

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

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

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

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

Catechism of the Catholic Church

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

Saint Lawrence of Brindisi
Pray for us!

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

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

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

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

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

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

Catechism of the Catholic Church

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“A saint for our times”

The inspiring story of Chiara Corbella Petrillo

By Maggie Maslak

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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