Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 07-06-08, Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 07-06-08 | New American Bible

[Salvation]

July 6, 2008

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Responsorial Psalm Reading 2 Gospel

Reading 1
Zec 9:9-10

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

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

R. (cf. 1) I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will extol you, O my God and King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and of great kindness.
The LORD is good to all
and compassionate toward all his works.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD is faithful in all his words
and holy in all his works.
The LORD lifts up all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
R. I will praise your name for ever, my king and my God.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading II
Rom 8:9, 11-13

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

Gospel
Mt 11:25-30

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

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

[Salvation]

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July Devotion: The Precious Blood

July Devotion: The Precious Blood 

Like the Sacred Wounds of Jesus, His Precious Blood deserves special honor because of its close relation to the Sacred Passion. That honor was given to it from the beginning by the Apostles who praised its redeeming power. (Rom. 5:9 "we are justified by His blood"; Heb. 13:12 "and so Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people by His blood, suffered outside the gate"; 1 John 1:7 "and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.") 

The Church has always held devotion to the Precious Blood in high esteem. We continue to recognize and publicly acknowledge the profound indebtedness of the whole human race to Christ, Priest and Victim. 

 

Standing at the foot of the cross, we see Jesus' head, hands, feet, and side pouring out streams of precious blood. It is precious because it: 

·      Redeems us and atones for our sins. Through His precious blood we are reconciled to God, made one with Him. Death ceases to be death and heaven's gates are opened to us.  

·      Cleanses us from all sin.  

·      Preserves us and keeps us safe from the grasp of evil.  When the Father sees us washed in the Blood of the Lamb we are spared.  

·      Comforts us. It is the constant reminder that Jesus - true God and true man suffered and died to save us and to open heaven to us because He loves us.  

·      Sanctifies us.  The same blood that justifies by taking away sin, continues to work within us.  Its action gives us the grace to continue on the path toward the Kingdom of God.  It assists us in achieving our new nature, leading us onward in subduing sin and in following the commands of God.  

Jesus shed His precious blood seven times during His life on earth.  They events were: 

·      Jesus shed His Blood in the Circumcision  

·      Jesus shed His Blood whilst praying in the Garden of Olives  

·      Jesus shed His Blood in the scourging  

·      Jesus shed His Blood in the crowning with thorns  

·      Jesus shed His Blood while carrying His cross  

·      Jesus shed His Blood in the crucifixion  

·      Jesus shed His Blood and water when His side was pierced 

The Power of the Precious Blood 

"I adore You, O Precious Blood of Jesus, flower of creation, fruit of virginity, ineffable instrument of the Holy Spirit, and I rejoice at the thought that You came from the drop of virginal blood on which eternal Love impressed its movement; You were assumed by the Word and deified in His person. I am overcome with emotion when I think of Your passing from the Blessed Virgin's heart into the heart of the Word, and, being vivified by the breath of the Divinity, becoming adorable because You became the Blood of God." (St. Albert the Great)  

 

At their recent meeting, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had continuous Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for "healing and peace."   They encouraged parishes and communities to have ongoing Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.  In these dark months of woundedness, pain and violence we need to turn to the Precious Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, for healing, peace, and light.  

"What power we have in the Precious Blood of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist!  He is there to protect us, to be our refuge and our redemption.  (In Exodus 12, God told Moses to have His chosen people mark their door posts with the blood of an unblemished lamb, during the first Passover. Those who did this were spared when the Angel of the death passed by). This is why Archbishop Sheen said that we must call down the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament.  For, he warned, when we stop calling down the Blood of the Lamb, we start calling down the blood of each other."  (From our book Bread of Life)      

"And the Lamb on the throne will shepherd them. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water" (Rev 7:17). 

"In the tumultuous events of our time, it is important to look to the Eucharist: it must be at the heart of the life of priests and consecrated people; the light and strength of spouses in putting into practice their commitment to fidelity, chastity and the apostolate; the ideal in education and in training children, adolescents and young people; the comfort and support of those who are troubled, of the sick and all who are weeping in the Gethsemane of life."  (Pope John Paul II)  

Precious Blood of Jesus, save us! 

"The only time our Lord asked the Apostles for anything was the night when He went into His agony.  But as often in the history of the church since that time, evil was awake, but the disciples were asleep.  That is why there came out of His anguished and lonely Heart a sigh: 'Could you not watch one hour with Me?'" (Mt 26:40).  Not for an hour of activity did he plead, but for an hour of friendship (Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen).  

 

St. Maria Goretti,  Patroness of Youth & Children of Mary, Feast-July 6 St. Maria of Italy (1890-1902), couldn't wait to make her First Communion.  She wanted to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist so that she could become more beautiful and pure like Him; she wanted Him to live in her, close to her heart.  After she received Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for the first time, she stayed in Church for a long time after Mass to talk to Him. Maria's family lived with and worked for a farmer. His son Alessandro kept trying to make Maria sin against purity.  One day, when everyone else was working, Alessandro grabbed Maria and tried to make her sin.  Maria kept crying out for him to stop, and each time she did, he stabbed her. Courageously,   Maria resisted him and was stabbed fourteen times. St. Maria died the next day.  

"Look at Maria Goretti....  Like her, be capable of defending your purity of heart and body.  Be committed to the struggle against evil and sin.  Always esteem and love, purity and virginity." (Pope John Paul II, 1990)      

A Prayer for Priests 

O my God, help those priests who are faithful to remain faithful; to those who are falling, stretch forth Your Divine Hand that they may grasp it as their support.  In the great ocean of Your mercy, lift those poor unfortunate ones who have fallen, that being engulfed therein they may receive the grace to return to Your Great Loving Heart.  Amen.  Precious Blood of Jesus, protect them!A

 

menHe

"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"  (Jn 6:53).  

The Eucharist is the fruit of our Lords Passion. Jesus gave up His Body on the cross so that He may give you His Body in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus poured out His very last drop of Blood on the cross so that He may fill you with His Divine Love each time that you receive Him in Holy Communion and visit Him in Eucharistic Adoration! 

"The Eucharist, in the Mass and outside of the Mass, is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, and is therefore deserving of the worship that is given to the living God, and to Him alone" (Pope John Paul II, September 29, 1979, Phoenix Park, Ireland) 

"The bread and wine, fruit of human hands, transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit into the body and blood of Christ, become a pledge of the 'new heaven and new earth,' announced by the Church in her daily mission." "In Christ, whom we adore present in the mystery of the Eucharist, the father uttered his final word with regard to humanity and human history." "To live the Eucharist, it is necessary, as well, to spend much time in adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament, something which I myself experience every day drawing from it strength, consolation and assistance."  "How could the Church fulfill her vocation without cultivating a constant relationship with the Eucharist, without nourishing herself with this food which sanctifies, without founding her missionary activity on this indispensable support?" "To evangelize the world there is need of apostles who are 'experts' in the celebration, adoration and contemplation of the Eucharist" (Pope John Paul II, World Mission Message 2004).

 

The Power of the Precious Blood of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist  

"The Precious Blood belongs in an especial manner to men. Much more, therefore, does God invite them to come to its heavenly baths, and receive therein, not only the cleansing of their souls, but the power of a new and amazing life. Every doctrine in theology is a call to the Precious Blood.  Every ceremony in the Church tells of it . . . .  Every supernatural act is a growth of it. Everything that is holy on earth is either a leaf, bud, blossom or fruit of the Blood of Jesus. To its fountains God calls the sinner, that he may be lightened of his burdens. There is no remission of him in anything else.  Only there is his lost sonship to be found. The saints are no less called by God to these invigorating streams. It is out of the Precious Blood that men draw martyrdoms, vocations, celebacies, austerities, heroic charities, and all the magnificent graces of high sanctity.  The secret nourishment of prayer is from those fountains" (Father Faber, The Precious Blood).  

LITANY OF THE MOST PRECIOUS BLOOD

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, have mercy.

Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us.

Christ, graciously hear us.

God, the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.

God, the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, One God, have mercy on us.

Blood of Christ, only-begotten Son of the Eternal Father, save us.

Blood of Christ, Incarnate Word of God, save us.

Blood of Christ, of the New and Eternal Testament, save us.

Blood of Christ, falling upon the earth in the Agony, save us.

Blood of Christ, shed profusely in the Scourging, save us.

Blood of Christ, flowing forth in the Crowning with Thorns,
  save us.

Blood of Christ, poured out on the Cross, save us.

Blood of Christ, price of our salvation, save us.

Blood of Christ, without which there is no forgiveness, save us.

Blood of Christ, Eucharistic drink and refreshment of souls,
  save us.

Blood of Christ, stream of mercy, save us.

Blood of Christ, victor over demons, save us.

Blood of Christ, courage of Martyrs, save us.

Blood of Christ, strength of Confessors, save us.

Blood of Christ, bringing forth Virgins, save us.

Blood of Christ, help of those in peril, save us.

Blood of Christ, relief of the burdened, save us.

Blood of Christ, solace in sorrow, save us.

Blood of Christ, hope of the penitent, save us.

Blood of Christ, consolation of the dying, save us.

Blood of Christ, peace and tenderness of hearts, save us.

Blood of Christ, pledge of eternal life, save us.

Blood of Christ, freeing souls from purgatory, save us.

Blood of Christ, most worthy of all glory and honor, save us.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
  spare us, O Lord!.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
  graciously hear us, O Lord!.

Lamb of God, who take away the sins of the world,
  have mercy on us. .

V. You have redeemed us, O Lord, in your Blood.

R. And made us, for our God, a kingdom.

Let us pray.

Almighty and Eternal God, you have appointed your only-begotten Son the Redeemer of the world, and willed to be appeased by His Blood. Grant we beg of You, that we may worthily adore this price of our salvation, and through its power be safeguarded from the evils of the present life, so that we may rejoice in its fruits forever in heaven. Through the same Christ our Lord. R. Amen.

Chaplet of the Most Precious Blood

The Traditional Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Catholic Caucus)

Devotion to the Precious Blood

DOCTRINE OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,And More on the Precious Blood

Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

NOTHING IS MORE POTENT AGAINST EVIL THAN PLEADING THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST

FORMER PENTECOSTAL RELATES MIRACLE THAT OCCURRED WITH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD

Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

St.Gaspar:Founder of the Society of the Precious Blood[AKA The Hammer of Freemasons]

[Salvation]

JULY 2008

 

General:

That there may be an increase in the number of those who volunteer to serve the Christian community with generous and prompt availability. 

 

Mission:

That World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, may kindle the fire of divine love in numerous young people and render them sowers of hope for a new humanity.

[Salvation]

Zechariah 9:9-10

The arrival of the Messiah

---

[9] Rejoice greatly. O daughter of Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on an ass,
on a colt the foal of an ass.
[10] I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the battle how shall he cut off,
and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

9:1-14:21. The prophecies concerning the new circumstances of Jerusalem
and Judah in chapters 7-8 give way now to two long oracles describing how that
definitive time will he established by the Messiah (chaps. 9-10), and how the king-
dom of God will come about (chaps. 12-14). Worked in among these themes are
short prophetical pieces which are apparently anonymous, for there is no mention
of Zechariah in them and no dates are given. The two oracles start in the same
way: “An oracle. The word of the Lord ...”(9:1; 12:1), a formula which is also used
at the start of the book of Malachi (Mal 1:1). Because this construction is found
on only these three occasions in the Old Testament, the three pieces are thought
to come from some third source and to have found their way into the biblical text
here — two into the book of Zechariah and one into that of Malachi.

9:1-11:17. This first oracle includes two prophetical proclamations — one about
the advent of the Messiah king (9:1-10:12), and the other about the rejection of
the good shepherd who tries to lead the people along the paths of faithfulness
and unity, (11:1-17). The first one starts with a prophetical description of the vic-
torious progress of the Lord as he makes his way down to Jerusalem from the
north (9:1-8); then the city is invited to rejoice at the arrival of its king (9:9-10);
and finally the restoration of Israel is proclaimed (9:11-17).

9:9-10. The prophet now speaks directly to Jerusalem (“daughter of Zion”) and
her citizens (“daughter of Jerusalem”) as representatives of the entire chosen
people. An invitation to rejoice and celebrate is often found in the Old Testament
in connexion with the arrival of the messianic era (cf. Is 12:6; 54:1; Zeph 3:14);
here it is issued because Jerusalem’s king is arriving. Although the text does
not say so explicitly, it is implied that he is the descendant of Dayid; there is
an echo here of 2 Samuel 7:12-16 and Isaiah 7:14. This king is distinguished
by what he is and what he does. The word “triumphant” translates the Hebrew
saddiq, which means “just”: he does the will of God perfectly; and the term “vic-
torious’ means that he enjoys divine protection and salvation. The Septuagint
and the Vulgate, however, read it as meaning that he was the saviour. He is
also “humble”, that is, he is not boastful in the presence of either God or men.
He is peaceable — as can be seen from the fact that he rides not on a horse like
kings of the time but on an ass, like the princes of ancient times (cf. Gen 49:11;
Judg 5:10; 10:4; 12:14). He will cause the weapons of war to disappear from
Samaria and Judah (cf. Is 2:4, 7; Mic 5:9), who will form a single, united people;
and he will also establish peace among the nations (v. 10). This king has features
similar to those of the “servant of the Lord” of whom Isaiah spoke (cf. Is 53:11)
and to those of the lowly people whom God found acceptable (cf. Zeph 2:3; 3:12).
Our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophecy when he entered Jerusalem before
the Passover and was acclaimed by the crowd as the Messiah, the Son of David
(cf. Mt 21:1-5; Jn 12:14). “The ‘King of glory’ (Ps 24:7-10) enters his City ‘riding
on an ass’ (Zech 9:9). Jesus conquers the Daughter of Zion, a figure of his
Church, neither by ruse nor by violence, but by the humility that bears witness
to the truth (cf. Jn 18:37)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 559). In an alle-
gorical reading, Clement of Alexandria takes the young ass of v. 9 to stand for
people who are not subject to evil: “It was not enough to say a ‘colt’; the sacred
writer added, ‘the foal of an ass’, to emphasize the youth of the humanity of
Christ, his eternal youth. The divine groom tends to us and trains us, the youn-
gest, smallest colts (Paedagogus, 1, 15, 1).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

[Salvation]

From: Romans 8:9, 11-13

Life in the Spirit

---

[9] But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if the Spirit of God really
dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong
to him.

[11] “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who
raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through
his Spirit who dwells in you.” [12] So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the
flesh, to live according to the flesh—[13] for if you live according to the flesh you
will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1-13. After original sin man is pulled in two different directions: either he seeks
God above all things and contends, with God’s grace, against the inclinations
of his own concupiscence; or else he lets himself be overwhelmed by the disor-
dered passions of the flesh. The former lifestyle is “life in the Spirit”, the latter,
life “according to the flesh”. “There are only two possible ways of living on this
earth: either we live a supernatural life, or we live an animal life” ([St] J. Escriva,
“Friends of God”, 200).

Sanctifying grace is the source of life “according to the Spirit”. It is not a matter
of simply being in the state of grace or of performing a number of regular pious
practices. Life according to the Spirit—spiritual or supernatural life—means a
living-according-to-God which influences everything a Christian does: he is cons-
tantly trying to bring his thoughts, yearnings, desires and actions into line with
what God is asking of him; in everything he does he tries to follow the inspira-
tions of the Holy Spirit.

Life according to the flesh, on the other hand, has its source in the triple concu-
piscence which is a consequence of original sin—”all that is in the world the lust
of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life” (1 Jn 2:16). In this pre-
sent life it is not possible to kill concupiscence at its root: it is forever producing
new growths. The Christian is freed from original sin through Baptism (chap. 6);
the coming of Christ has set aside the ritualistic precepts of the Mosaic Law
(chap. 7); but his life in Jesus Christ is threatened by concupiscence even after
Baptism, which places him under the Law of the Spirit. “We need to submit to
the spirit, to wholeheartedly commit ourselves and strive to keep the flesh in its
place. By so doing our flesh will become spiritual again. Otherwise, if we give in
to the easy life, this will lower our soul to the level of the flesh and make it car-
nal again” (St John Chrysostom, “Hom. on Rom”, 13).

10-11. Once he is justified the Christian lives in the grace of God and confidently
hopes in his future resurrection; Christ Himself lives in him (cf. Galatians 2:20;
1 Corinthians 15:20-23). However, he is not spared the experience of death, a
consequence of Original Sin (cf. Romans 5:12; 6:23). Along with suffering, con-
cupiscence and other limitations, death is still a factor after Baptism; it is some-
thing which motivates us to struggle and makes us to be like Christ. Almost all
commentators interpret the expression “your bodies are dead because of sin” as
referring to the fact that, due to sin, the human body is destined to die. So sure
is this prospect of death that the Apostle sees the body as “already dead”.

St. John Chrysostom makes an acute observation: if Christ is living in the Chris-
tian, then the divine Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity, is also present in him.
If this divine Spirit is absent, then indeed death reigns supreme, and with it the
wrath of God, rejection of His laws, separation from Christ, and expulsion of our
Guest. And he adds: “But when one has the Spirit within, what can be lacking?
With the Spirit one belongs to Christ, one possesses Him, one vies for honor
with the angels. With the Spirit, the flesh is crucified, one tastes the delight of
an immortal life, one has a pledge of future resurrection and advances rapidly on
the path of virtue. This is what Paul calls putting the flesh to death” (”Hom. on
Rom.”, 13).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

[Salvation]

From: Matthew 11:25-30

Jesus Thanks His Father

---

[25] At that time Jesus declared, “I thank Thee, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth,
that Thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed
them to babes; [26] yea, Father, for such was Thy gracious will. [27] All things
have been delivered to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the
Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the
Son chooses to reveal Him. [28] Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest. [29] Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me; for I
am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For My
yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

25-26. The wise and understanding of this world, that is, those who rely on their
own judgment, cannot accept the revelation which Christ has brought us. Super-
natural outlook is always connected with humility. A humble person, who gives
himself little importance, sees; a person who is full of self-esteem fails to perceive
supernatural things.

27. Here Jesus formally reveals His divinity. Our knowledge of a person shows
our intimacy with Him, according to the principle given by St. Paul: “For what
person knows a man’s thoughts except the spirit of the man which is in him?”
(1 Corinthians 2:11). The Son knows the Father by the same knowledge as that
by which the Father knows the Son. This identity of knowledge implies oneness
of nature; that is to say, Jesus is God just as the Father is God.

28-30. Our Lord calls everyone to come to Him. We all find things difficult in one
way or another. The history of souls bears out the truth of these words of Jesus.
Only the Gospel can fully satisfy the thirst for truth and justice which sincere
people feel. Only our Lord, our Master—and those to whom He passes on His
power—can soothe the sinner by telling him, “Your sins are forgiven” (Matthew
9:2). In this connection Pope Paul VI teaches: “Jesus says now and always,
`Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ His
attitude towards us is one of invitation, knowledge and compassion; indeed, it
is one of offering, promise, friendship, goodness, remedy of our ailments; He is
our comforter; indeed, our nourishment, our bread, giving us energy and life”
(”Homily on Corpus Christi”, 13 June 1974).

“Come to Me”: the Master is addressing the crowds who are following Him,
“harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). The
Pharisees weighed them down with an endless series of petty regulations (cf.
Acts 15:10), yet they brought no peace to their souls. Jesus tells these people,
and us, about the kind of burden He imposes: “Any other burden oppresses and
crushes you, but Christ’s actually takes weight off you. Any other burden weighs
down, but Christ’s gives you wings. If you take a bird’s wings away, you might
seem to be taking weight off it, but the more weight you take off, the more you
tie it down to the earth. There it is on the ground, and you wanted to relieve it
of a weight; give it back the weight of its wings and you will see how it flies” (St.
Augustine, “Sermon” 126).

“All you who go about tormented, afflicted and burdened with the burden of your
cares and desires, go forth from them, come to Me and I will refresh you and you
shall find for your souls the rest which your desires take from you” (St. John of
the Cross, “Ascent of Mount Carmel”, Book 1, Chapter 7, 4).

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

[Salvation]

Scripture readings taken from the Jerusalem Bible, published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd

Mass Readings

First reading

Zechariah 9:9 - 10 ©

Rejoice heart and soul, daughter of Zion! Shout with gladness, daughter of Jerusalem! See now, your king comes to you; he is victorious, he is triumphant, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. He’ will banish chariots from Ephraim and horses from Jerusalem; the bow of war will be banished. He will proclaim peace for the nations. His empire shall stretch from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth.

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 144

Second reading

Romans 8:9 - 13 ©

Your interests are not in the unspiritual, but in the spiritual, since the Spirit of God has made his home in you. In fact, unless you possessed the Spirit of Christ you would not belong to him, and if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then he who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your own mortal bodies through his Spirit living in you. So then, my brothers, there is no necessity for us to obey our unspiritual selves or to live unspiritual lives. If you do live in that way, you are doomed to die; but if by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body you will live.

Gospel

Matthew 11:25 - 30 ©

At that time Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’

[Salvation]

From Zenit

Things Revealed to the Little Ones

Gospel Commentary 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap

ROME, JULY 4, 2008 (Zenit.org).- This Sunday’s Gospel, among the most intense and profound of Gospel passages, has 3 parts: a prayer -- "I bless you, Father" -- a declaration of Jesus about himself -- "Everything has been given to me by my Father" -- and an invitation -- "Come to me all who labor."

I will limit my remarks to the first element, the prayer, because it contains a revelation of extraordinary importance: "I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you kept these things hidden from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to the little ones. Yes, Father, because this was your good pleasure."

The Pauline Year has just begun and the best comment on these words of Jesus is what Paul says in 1 Corinthians: "Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

"Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast 11 before God" (1:26-29).

Christ’s and Paul’s words shed a singular light on today’s world. It is a situation that is repeated. The wise and the intelligent keep their distance from faith, they often look with pity upon the crowds of believers who pray, who believe in miracles, who crowd around Padre Pio. Not all scholars do this, certainly, and perhaps not even the majority of them, but undoubtedly the most influential ones do, the ones who have the most powerful microphones, the group with the access to the major media.

Many of them are honest and intelligent persons and their position is more the fruit of education, environment and life experience, than of resistance to truth. So, I am not judging individuals. I know some such persons and I hold them in great esteem. But this should not stop us from pointing to the heart of the problem. The closure to every revelation from above, and thus to faith, is not caused by intelligence but by pride, a special pride that refuses all dependence and claims an absolute autonomy.

They entrench themselves behind the magic word "reason" but in reality it is not the famous "pure reason" that demands it, nor is it demanded by a "sovereign" reason. It is demanded rather by an enslaved reason, by wings that have been clipped.

Consider what certain philosophers who cannot be accused of a lack of intelligence and dialectical ability have said on this score. Blaise Pascal observed: "Reason’s supreme act is in recognizing that there are an infinite number of things that surpass it."

Soren Kierkegaard wrote: "It has always been said that science, which seeks to understand, is not satisfied when it is claimed that this or that thing cannot be understood. Here is the mistake.

"The opposite must be said: if human science does not want to admit that there is something that it cannot understand, or -- to put it more precisely -- that there is something that it can clearly ‘understand that it cannot understand,’ then there are problems.

"Therefore it is the task of human knowledge to understand that there are things that it cannot understand and what these are."

Those who do not admit this ability of going beyond are putting limit on reason and humiliating it. But this is not what the believer does since he is open to this possibility of transcending.

What I have said explains why modern thought, after Nietzsche, no longer values "truth," but rather the "pursuit" of truth and thus sincerity, which has replaced truth. Sometimes this attitude is taken to be one of humility -- being content with what philosophers like Gianni Vattimo call "weak thought" -- but this is a superficial judgment.

So long as the person is seeking, he is the one who is the protagonist, he is the one who sets down the rules of the game. But once truth is found, it is truth that takes the throne and the seeker must bow before truth and this requires -- when it is a matter of transcendent truth -- the "sacrifice of the intellect."

Jesus’ statements in John’s Gospel -- "I am the truth"; "No one comes to the Father but through me"; "Come to me all you who labor and have heavy burdens and I will give you rest" -- are provocations to our contemporary culture. But these are invitations not reproofs and they are also addressed to those who are tired of seeking and finding nothing, to those who have gone through life knocking up against the rock of mystery.

The psychologist C.G. Jung, in a book of his, says that all patients of a certain age to came to him suffered from something that could be called an "absence of humility" and could not be healed until they acquired an attitude of respect in the face of a reality greater than them, that is, an attitude of humility.

Jesus also repeats to the many honest intelligent and wise people of the world of today his invitation full of love: "Come to me all you who labor and have heavy burdens and I will give you rest and that peace that you seek in vain in your tormented reasoning."


* * *

Father Raniero Cantalamessa is the Pontifical Household preacher.

[Salvation]

Jesus, the Matchmaker

Jesus, the Matchmaker

July 5th, 2008 by Fr. Paul Grankauskas ·Print · ShareThis

There has been at least one occasion in my life when I successfully played the matchmaker. A few years before I was ordained, I introduced one of my housemates to a girl I knew from college. They went on to get married, and I have since baptized their daughter.

All I really did, though, was get the two of them together. They had to do the work of getting to know each other through dating. I could have described the two of them to each other, but that would probably have been inadequate. They had to learn for themselves if they were right for each other. A middleman can only do so much.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Our Lord says, “All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.” Jesus sounds something like a matchmaker: “I know the Father and He knows me. Let me introduce you to Him.” But, Our Lord is hinting at so much more.

He can do much more than introduce us to the Father, he can show us the Father. If we wish to know the mind and heart of the Father, if we wish to know of the Father’s love, we have only to look to Jesus Christ. He is, as St. Paul puts it in his Letter to the Colossians, “the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15). Or, as Our Lord Himself says to Philip at the Last Supper, “Whoever sees me sees the Father.” In other words, Jesus is our one mediator with the Father because He is the Son. He is one with the Father, He knows the Father.

With that said, what does the Son reveal about the Father? In Christ, we encounter a God of life. Some of the most moving passages of Scripture are those where Our Lord shows compassion for the sick and the suffering. Some of the most dramatic miracles are those that involve Jesus raising someone from the dead. Most awesome of all is that the Father does not abandon His only Son to death. Rather, He raises Him up again. How well it was said in the Old Testament that God does not delight in the destruction of the living. He has no desire to see a soul perish in sin. The eternal God created us so that we, too, might have life.

This is significant if we consider what Jesus says next: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. … For my yoke is easy and my burden light.”

On the face of it, life is not easy. It seems on the face of it to be full of suffering: broken relationships, daily worries and anxieties, addictions, physical suffering and the loss of loved ones in death, just to name a few. I cannot even imagine the anguish of losing a spouse after being married for decades, or a parent who has lost a child. Yet here Our Lord is saying, “Come to me and I will give you rest.”

Notice that Our Lord does not say He can take those burdens away completely. He simply says that in coming to Him we will find rest for our souls. How can He do this? By making known to us the Father’s love for us and that we are constantly in His care. Jesus once said that we should not fear those things or even those people who can destroy the body but not the soul. He said that not a sparrow falls to the ground without our heavenly Father knowing about it, and that we are worth more to the Father then many sparrows. The same Jesus Christ once said that in His Father’s house there are many mansions and that He would go to prepare a place for us. He can say these things, He can give us these assurances, because He is the Son of God. He knows the Father, and He can make Him known. If Our Lord said it, it comes from the Father as well.

We find rest for the soul in Jesus Christ because, as St. Paul once put it so beautifully, nothing can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ, not persecution, not famine, not the sword, not poverty. The soul finds rest in Jesus Christ because He reveals to us the hidden face of the Father of life.

 

Fr. Paul Grankauskas is parochial vicar at St. Mary of Sorrows Parish in Fairfax, Virginia.

(This article courtesy of the Arlington Catholic Herald.)

[Salvation]

The Work of God

Year A

 -  14th Sunday in ordinary time

I am gentle and humble of Heart

Matthew 11:25-30

25 At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants;
26 yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
28 "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (NRSV)

Inspiration of the Holy Spirit - From the Sacred Heart of Jesus

My wisdom is not to be wasted in the minds of the proud. It is a very delicate, yet powerful gift that I give to the humble, yes to the little ones of my kingdom.

Who can be little but the wise man that follows the words of John the Baptist,“ I must decrease so that the Lord may increase.” And how can you decrease unless you empty yourself of your self-love and your egoism?

I am here to teach you my child. What really matters is not what you think of yourself, but what I think of you.

Your self-opinion is full of pride and arrogance, because you always think of yourself as being better than others. In the spiritual life, no one must claim credit for anything at all. If you really give yourself to me, it will not be you yourself acting and working in my kingdom, it will be I myself acting through you and directing your life and your work for the Glory of God. Therefore you will be deprived of your credit since all credit must be given to the one guiding you. However this is the part that humbles you and makes you little, when you can give all the power, the honor and the glory to the Lord your God and when you deprive yourself of honor and material rewards here, to start making your treasure in heaven.

In order to know me, you must know yourself first. You must understand that you are a sinner and depend totally on my mercy and grace. You must descend into your nothingness in order to perceive the heights of my being. You must see very clearly your own darkness in order to be able to see my light. You must become a nothing so that I can make you something, because when you think you are something I think of you as a nothing.

The spiritual life is like when you are climbing a ladder, the higher you are, the more dangerous will be your fall, and unless you remain humble and let me help you to ascend, you will always remain down.

Come to me accepting that you are heavily burdened, this way I can help you and give you rest. Do not be over confident about your self; choose to work for your salvation with fear and trembling as Saint Paul advises you.

Salvation is not something that you can accomplish by yourself; it is my work for you. So come humbly before me your Lord and Savior, let me work in your life, let me take you by the hand and guide you, let me be your company, until you find your self in my eternal presence.

Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary

Catholic homilies - gospel inspirations - list

[Salvation]

Sunday, July 6, 2008
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading: Psalm: Second Reading: Gospel:

Zechariah 9:9-10 Psalm 145:1-2, 8-11, 13-14 Romans 8:9, 11-13 Matthew 11:25-30 No, my dear children, we need never fear that the Mass hinders us in the fulfillment of our temporal affairs; it is altogether the other way around. We may be sure that all will go better and that even our business will succeed better than if we have the misfortune not to assist at Mass.  -- St. John Vianney

[Salvation]

The Angelus 

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: 
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen. 

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. 

Hail Mary . . . 

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. 

Hail Mary . . . 

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

Let us pray: 

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen. 

[Salvation]

Office of Readings and Invitatory Psalm

Office of Readings

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.

---

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 103 (104)

Hymn to God the Creator

Bless the Lord, my soul!
 Lord, my God, how great you are!
You are robed in majesty and splendour;
 you are wrapped in light as in a cloak.

You stretch out the sky like an awning,
 you build your palace upon the waters.
You make the clouds your chariot,
 you walk upon the wings of the wind.
You make the breezes your messengers,
 you make burning fire your minister.

You set the earth upon its foundation:
 from age to age it will stand firm.
Deep oceans covered it like a garment,
 and the waters stood high above the mountains;
but you rebuked them and they fled;
 at the sound of your thunder they fled in terror.
They rise to the mountains or sink to the valleys,
 to the places you have decreed for them.
You have given them a boundary they must not cross;
 they will never come back to cover the earth.

You make springs arise to feed the streams,
 that flow in the midst of the mountains.
All the beasts of the field will drink from them
 and the wild asses will quench their thirst.
Above them will nest the birds of the sky,
 from among the branches their voices will sound.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.

---

Psalm 103 (104)

From your palace you water the mountains,
 and thus you give plenty to the earth.
You bring forth grass for the cattle,
 and plants for the service of man.
You bring forth bread from the land,
 and wine to make man’s heart rejoice.
Oil, to make the face shine;
 and bread to make man’s heart strong.

The trees of the Lord have all that they need,
 and the cedars of Lebanon, that he planted.
Small birds will nest there,
 and storks at the tops of the trees.
For wild goats there are the high mountains;
 the crags are a refuge for the coneys.

He made the moon so that time could be measured;
 the sun knows the hour of its setting.
You send shadows, and night falls:
 then all the beasts of the woods come out,
lion cubs roaring for their prey,
 asking God for their food.
When the sun rises they come back together
 to lie in their lairs;
man goes out to his labour,
 and works until evening.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.

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Psalm 103 (104)

How many are your works, O Lord!
 You have made all things in your wisdom,
 and the earth is full of your creatures.
The sea is broad and immense:
 sea-creatures swim there, both small and large,
 too many to count.
Ships sail across it;
 Leviathan lives there, the monster;
 you made him to play with.

All of them look to you
 to give them their food when they need it.
You give it to them, and they gather;
 you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
But turn away, and they are dismayed;
 take away their breath, and they die,
 once more they will turn into dust.
You will send forth your breath, they will come to life;
 you will renew the face of the earth.

Glory be to the Lord, for ever;
 let the Lord rejoice in his works.
He turns his gaze to the earth, and it trembles;
 he touches the mountains, and they smoke.
I will sing to the Lord all my life;
 as long as I exist, I will sing songs to God.
May my praises be pleasing to him;
 truly I will delight in the Lord.

Let sinners perish from the earth,
 let the wicked vanish from existence.
Bless the Lord, my soul!

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.

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Reading

2 Samuel 12:1 - 25 ©

The Lord sent Nathan the prophet to David. He came to him and said: ‘In the same town were two men, one rich, the other poor. The rich man had flocks and herds in great abundance; the poor man had nothing but a ewe lamb, one only, a small one he had bought. This he fed, and it grew up with him and his children, eating his bread, drinking from his cup, sleeping on his breast; it was like a daughter to him. When there came a traveller to stay, the rich man refused to take one of his own flock or herd to provide for the wayfarer who had come to him. Instead he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for his guest.’ David’s anger flared up against the man. ‘As the Lord lives,’ he said to Nathan ‘the man who did this deserves to die! He must make fourfold restitution for the lamb, for doing such a thing and showing no compassion.’ Then Nathan said to David, ‘You are the man. The Lord the God of Israel says this, “I anointed you king over Israel; I delivered you from the hands of Saul; I gave your master’s house to you, his wives into your arms; I gave you the House of Israel and of Judah; and if this were not enough, I would add as much again for you. Why have you shown contempt for the Lord, doing what displeases him? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, taken his wife for your own, and killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. So now the sword will never be far from your House, since you have shown contempt for me and taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.” ‘Thus the Lord speaks, “I will stir up evil for you out of your own House. Before your very eyes I will take your wives and give them to your neighbour, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. You worked in secret, I will work this in the face of all Israel and in the face of the sun.”’ David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.’ Then Nathan said to David, ‘The Lord, for his part, forgives your sin; you are not to die. Yet because you have outraged the Lord by doing this, the child that is born to you is to die.’ Then Nathan went home. The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne to David and it fell gravely ill. David pleaded with the Lord for the child; he kept a strict fast and went home and spent the night on the bare ground, covered with sacking. The officials of his household came and stood round him to get him to rise from the ground, but he refused, nor would he take food with them. On the seventh day the child died. David’s officers were afraid to tell him the child was dead. ‘Even when the child was alive’ they thought ‘we reasoned with him and he would not listen to us. How can we tell him the child is dead? He will do something desperate.’ David, however, noticed that his officers were whispering among themselves, and realised that the child was dead. ‘Is the child dead?’ he asked the officers. They answered, ‘He is dead.’ David got up from the ground, bathed and anointed himself and put on fresh clothes. Then he went into the sanctuary of the Lord and prostrated himself. On returning to his house he asked for food to be set before him, and ate. His officers said, ‘Why are you acting like this? When the child was alive you fasted and wept; now the child is dead you get up and take food.’ ‘When the child was alive’ he answered ‘I fasted and wept because I kept thinking, “Who knows? Perhaps the Lord will take pity on me and the child will live.” But now he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him but he cannot come back to me.’ David consoled his wife Bathsheba. He went to her and slept with her. She conceived and gave birth to a son whom she named Solomon. The Lord loved him and made this known through the prophet Nathan who named him Jedidiah in accordance with the word of the Lord.

---

Reading	From a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop
A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit
I acknowledge my transgression, says David. If I admit my fault, then you will pardon it. Let us never assume that if we live good lives we will be without sin; our lives should be praised only when we continue to beg for pardon. But men are hopeless creatures, and the less they concentrate on their own sins, the more interested they become in the sins of others. They seek to criticise, not to correct. Unable to excuse themselves, they are ready to accuse others. This was not the way that David showed us how to pray and make amends to God, when he said: I acknowledge my transgression, and my sin is ever before me. He did not concentrate on others’ sins; he turned his thoughts on himself. He did not merely stroke the surface, but he plunged inside and went deep down within himself. He did not spare himself, and therefore was not impudent in asking to be spared. Do you want God to be appeased? Learn what you are to do that God may be pleased with you. Consider the psalm again: If you wanted sacrifice, I would indeed have given it; in burnt offerings you will take no delight. Are you then to be without sacrifice? Are you to offer nothing? Will you please God without an offering? Consider what you read in the same psalm: If you wanted sacrifice, I would indeed have given it; in burnt offerings you will take no delight. But continue to listen, and say with David: A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; God does not despise a contrite and humble heart. Cast aside your former offerings, for now you have found out what you are to offer. In the days of your fathers you would have made offerings of cattle – these were the sacrifices. If you wanted sacrifice, I would indeed have given it. These then, Lord, you do not want, and yet you do want sacrifice. You will take no delight in burnt offerings, David says. If you will not take delight in burnt offerings, will you remain without sacrifice? Not at all. A sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; God does not despise a contrite and humble heart. You now have the offering you are to make. No need to examine the herd, no need to outfit ships and travel to the most remote provinces in search of incense. Search within your heart for what is pleasing to God. Your heart must be crushed. Are you afraid that it might perish so? You have the reply: Create a clean heart in me, O God. For a clean heart to be created, the unclean one must be crushed. We should be displeased with ourselves when we commit sin, for sin is displeasing to God. Sinful though we are, let us at least be like God in this, that we are displeased at what displeases him. In some measure then you will be in harmony with God’s will, because you find displeasing in yourself what is abhorrent to your Creator.

---

Hymn

Te Deum

God, we praise you; Lord, we proclaim you! You, the Father, the eternal – all the earth venerates you. All the angels, all the heavens, every power – The cherubim, the seraphim – unceasingly, they cry: “Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts: heaven and earth are full of the majesty of your glory!” The glorious choir of Apostles – The noble ranks of prophets – The shining army of martyrs – all praise you. Throughout the world your holy Church proclaims you. – Father of immeasurable majesty, – True Son, only-begotten, worthy of worship, – Holy Spirit, our Advocate. You, Christ: – You are the king of glory. – You are the Father’s eternal Son. – You, to free mankind, did not disdain a Virgin’s womb. – You defeated the sharp spear of Death, and opened the kingdom of heaven to those who believe in you. – You sit at God’s right hand, in the glory of the Father. – You will come, so we believe, as our Judge. And so we ask of you: give help to your servants, whom you set free at the price of your precious blood. Number them among your chosen ones in eternal glory. Bring your people to safety, Lord, and bless those who are your inheritance. Rule them and lift them high for ever. Day by day we bless you, Lord: we praise you for ever and for ever. Of your goodness, Lord, keep us without sin for today. Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us. Let your pity, Lord, be upon us, as much as we trust in you. In you, Lord, I trust: let me never be put to shame. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,  world without end. Amen.

---

Concluding Prayer

O God, the world had fallen flat in the dust but your Son’s humility stood it upright once more.
 Fill your faithful people with a holy joy:
 take those whom you have torn away from slavery to sin
 and make them rejoice eternally.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
 who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
 God for ever and ever.
Amen.

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings (on USCCB site):
» July 06, 2008
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Collect: Father, through the obedience of Jesus, your servant and your Son, you raised a fallen world. Free us from sin and bring us the joy that lasts for ever. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

« July 06, 2008 »

Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Old Calendar: Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

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"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him" (Matt 11:25-27).

The Optional Memorial of St. Maria Goretti is suppressed because of the Sunday liturgy.

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Sunday Readings
The first reading is taken from the Book of the Prophet Zechariah 9:9-10 and indicates that the humility asked for by Jesus is the kind that he himself endured, for he came in meekness and without pageantry, yet his dominion would be to the ends of the earth. The example of the humble servant is the very person of Jesus himself who invites us in the second part of the gospel to come to Him for refreshment and rest. — A Celebrants Guide to the New Sacramentary - A Cycle by Kevin W. Irwin

The second reading is from the Letter of St. Paul to the Romans 8:9, 11-13 and contains one of the most important yet often misunderstood themes of St. Paul. The hellenistic dichotomy between the lower and higher nature is not found here, for flesh and spirit mean the whole man and the whole man stands in need of redemption by Christ. The Pauline teaching is not that part of man is redeemed and part of him is damnable. Rather man's whole personality is redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ. The vocation of the Christian, both "body" and "soul," is to conform his already redeemed person to the same Spirit he has already received at baptism. — A Celebrants Guide to the New Sacramentary - A Cycle by Kevin W. Irwin

The Gospel is from St. Matthew 11:25-30. Pagans and Jews had the same hardships of life to face as we have, and even greater ones. They earned their daily bread with the sweat of brow and body. Their illnesses were more frequent and less bearable than ours, for they had not the medical helps that we have. Death came to young and old then as it does now, but for them it was a final parting from loved ones, and no hope of a future happy meeting served to lighten their sorrow. All their crosses were crushing weights, sent to make life more miserable. Life on earth was passed in gloom and darkness and there was no shining star in the heavens to beckon them on or give them hope.

Surely God is good to us, to put us into this world at this day and age, and give us the light of faith, and the knowledge of God and of His loving plans for us, which make the burdens of this life so relatively light and even so reasonable for us. We still have to earn our bread. We still have sickness and pains. We still have death stalking the earth, but unlike the people before Christ we now see a meaning to all these trials.

The yoke of Christ is not really a yoke but a bond of love, which joins us to Him, and through Him, to our loving Father in heaven. The rule of life which He asks us to keep, if we are loyal followers of His, is not a series of prohibitions and don'ts. It is rather a succession of sign-posts on the straight road to heaven, making our journey easier and safer. He does ask us to carry our cross daily, that is, to bear the burden of each day's duty, but once the cross is grasped firmly and lovingly it ceases to be a burden.

Ours is a world which is in an all-out search for new idols. It is a world which has left the path marked out by Christ, and forgotten or tried to forget, that man's life does not end with death. To be a Christian and to have the light of faith to guide our steps in this neo-pagan darkness, is surely a gift, and a blessing from God, for which we can never thank Him enough. Thank you, God, for this gift. Please give us the grace and the courage to live up to it and to die in the certainty that we shall hear, as we shut our eyes on the light of this world, the consoling words, "come you blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you."

Excerpted from The Sunday Readings by Fr. Kevin O'Sullivan, O.F.M.

[Salvation]

Lauds -- Morning Prayer

Morning Prayer (Lauds)

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.

---

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 117 (118)

A cry of rejoicing and triumph

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
 and his kindness is for ever.

Now let Israel say, he is good
 and his kindness is for ever.
Now let the house of Aaron say it too:
 that his kindness is for ever.
Now let all who fear the Lord say it too:
 that his kindness is for ever.

In my time of trial I called out to the Lord:
 he listened, and led me to freedom.
The Lord is with me,
 I will fear nothing that man can do.
The Lord, my help, is with me,
 and I shall look down upon my enemies.

It is good to seek shelter in the Lord,
 better than to trust in men.
It is good to seek shelter in the Lord,
 better than to trust in the leaders of men.

All the nations surrounded me,
 and in the Lord’s name I slew them.
They crowded in and besieged me,
 and in the Lord’s name I slew them.
They surrounded me like swarms of bees,
 they burned like a fire of dry thorns,
 and in the Lord’s name I slew them.
They chased and pursued me, to make me fall,
 and the Lord came to my help.
The Lord is my strength and my rejoicing:
 he has become my saviour.

A cry of joy and salvation
 in the dwellings of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand has triumphed!
 The Lord’s right hand has raised me up;
 the Lord’s right hand has triumphed”.

I shall not die, but live,
 and tell of the works of the Lord.
The Lord chastised me severely
 but did not let me die.
Open the gates of righteousness:
 I will go in, and thank the Lord.

This is the gate of the Lord;
 it is the upright who enter here.

I will thank you, for you listened to me,
 and became my saviour.

The stone that the builders rejected
 has become the corner-stone.
It was the Lord who did this –
 it is marvellous to behold.
This is the day that was made by the Lord:
 let us rejoice today, and be glad.

Lord, keep me safe;
 O Lord, let me prosper!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
 We bless you from the house of the Lord.

The Lord is God, he shines upon us!
 Arrange the procession, with close-packed branches,
 up to the horns of the altar.

You are my God, I will give thanks to you;
 my God, I will give you praise.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,
 and his kindness is for ever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.

---

Canticle	Daniel 3
Let every creature praise the Lord
Blessed are you, Lord God of our fathers,  praised and exalted for ever. Blessed is the holy name of your glory  praised above all things and exalted for ever. Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory  praised and glorious above all things for ever. Blessed are you who gaze on the depths,  seated on the cherubim,  praised and exalted for ever. Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven  praised and glorious for ever. Bless the Lord, all his works,  praise and exalt him for ever. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,  world without end. Amen.

---

Psalm 150

Praise the Lord

Praise the Lord in his sanctuary,
 praise him in his mighty firmament.
Praise him for his mighty deeds,
 praise him for all his greatness.

Praise him with trumpet-blasts,
 praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with timbrel and dance,
 praise him with strings and pipes,
praise him with cymbals resounding,
 praise him with cymbals of jubilation.

All that breathes, praise the Lord!

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.

---

Short reading	Ezekiel 36:25 - 27 ©
I shall pour clean water over you and you will be cleansed; I shall cleanse you of all your defilement and all your idols. I shall give you a new heart, and put a new spirit in you; I shall remove the heart of stone from your bodies and give you a heart of flesh instead. I shall put my spirit in you, and make you keep my laws and sincerely respect my observances.

---

Canticle	Benedictus
The Messiah and his forerunner
Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has come to his people and brought about their redemption. He has raised up the sign of salvation in the house of his servant David, as he promised through the mouth of the holy ones, his prophets through the ages: to rescue us from our enemies and all who hate us, to take pity on our fathers, to remember his holy covenant and the oath he swore to Abraham our father, that he would give himself to us, that we could serve him without fear – freed from the hands of our enemies – in uprightness and holiness before him, for all of our days. And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High: for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his path, to let his people know their salvation, so that their sins may be forgiven. Through the bottomless mercy of our God, one born on high will visit us to give light to those who walk in darkness, who live in the shadow of death; to lead our feet in the path of peace. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,  as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,  world without end. Amen.

---

Prayers and Intercessions

?

Let us give thanks to our Saviour who came down into this world as God in our midst. Let us cry out to him: - Christ, king of glory, be our light and our joy! Christ our Lord, you are the light dawning from on high, the first-fruits of the resurrection that is to come: may we not remain in shadow but follow you and walk in the light of true life. Make us perceive your goodness in every created thing, so that we see your glory wherever we look. Lord, do not let evil defeat us today, but may we, armed with goodness, defeat evil ourselves. You were baptized in Jordan and anointed with the Holy Spirit: make us give thanks to that same Spirit today.

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
 hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
 thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
 and forgive us our trespasses
 as we forgive those that trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
 but deliver us from evil.

O God, the world had fallen flat in the dust but your Son’s humility stood it upright once more.
 Fill your faithful people with a holy joy:
 take those whom you have torn away from slavery to sin
 and make them rejoice eternally.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
 who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
 God for ever and ever.
Amen.

---

May the Lord bless us and keep us from all harm; and may he lead us to eternal life.

A M E N

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

July 6, 2008

14th Sunday of the Year A

Collect

O God, who by the abasement of Your Son
have lifted up a fallen world;
grant to Your faithful a holy gladness,
so that having delivered us out of the servitude of sin,
You may give us to taste fully of joys that never end.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, forever and ever.

General Intercessions

That, filled with the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead, the Church in East and West may be a place of comfort for the little and the poor,
and an oasis of rest for every burdened and weary soul,
to the Lord we pray: Christ, hear us. R. CHRIST, GRACIOUSLY HEAR US.

That world leaders
may seek peace for the nations in the Gospel of the Humble Christ,
and so govern with the wisdom that comes from above,
to the Lord we pray: Christ, hear us. R. CHRIST, GRACIOUSLY HEAR US.

That the falling, the bowed down,
and those who are burdened with the cares of life
may open the ear of their hearts
to the invitation of the meek and humble Christ Who,
even today, says, “Come to Me,”
to the Lord we pray: Christ, hear us. R. CHRIST, GRACIOUSLY HEAR US.

That we, having received
the revelation of mysteries hidden from the learned and the clever,
may rejoice in the arrival of the King of glory
who comes to us hidden beneath the sacramental veils,
to the Lord we pray: Christ, hear us. R. CHRIST, GRACIOUSLY HEAR US.

Collect at the General Intercessions

Almighty and ever-living God,
Who gave joy to Zion and comfort to Jerusalem (Za 9:9)
in the arrival of Your Son Jesus Christ,
gentle and humble in heart (Mt 11:29);
pour forth, we beseech you, His Spirit into our hearts (cf., Rom 8:9)
that, drawn to Him who calls us to Himself (cf., Mt 11:28),
we may lay aside every heavy burden and, entering into His rest (cf. Mt 1128),
glory in the poverty and lowliness of the King (cf. Za 9,
even as we confess the triumph of His victory over death.
Who is Lord forever and ever.

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

Otherworldly Wisdom
July 6, 2008

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Father Edward McIlmail, LC

Matthew 11:25-30
At that time Jesus said, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Introductory Prayer: Thank you again, Lord, for this opportunity to spend time with you. I believe in you and your love for me, and I look forward to that day when we can embrace in heaven. Till then, I want to show my love for you in words and deeds.

Petition: Jesus, grant me a meek and humble heart like yours.

1. Counter Intelligence
Jesus thanks his heavenly Father for hiding the divine truths from "the wise and the intelligent" and revealing them to the little ones. Understanding the ways of God requires a simple, pure heart. What we might think of as "intelligence" can sometimes be little more than just a talent for manipulating things or ideas or people for our own ends. Someone, for instance, might be clever at making and managing money, but ends up being a poor steward by spending it on the wrong things. Then there is a prideful intelligence that seems blind to common sense. Indeed, some ideas are so crazy that only an intellectual could believe them. On the other side of the spectrum are children, simple and trusting. They can accept the things of God more easily. Trust in God´s word requires trust in his love and mercy. It also requires a profound sense of our own littleness compared to his greatness. Do I have such an attitude when approaching him? Can I let go of my way of thinking long enough to see things from God´s perspective?

2. Like Father, Like Son
Jesus alone in the world knew God the Father. Jesus came, in part, to reveal his Abba. Not everyone understood this. Even the Apostle Philip missed this part of Christ´s message. “Jesus said to him, ´Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ´Show us the Father´?" (John 14:9). Awareness that Jesus reflects the image of his Father should help us in prayer; it puts a human face on the Father, so to speak. We might pray to Jesus´ mother, Mary, with ease. Why not to his Father, too?

3. Model Meekness
It´s significant that Jesus points to his meekness and humility when holding himself up as a model for us. Notice that Our Lord doesn´t point to his miracles, or his talent for catchy one-liners, or even his devotion to his Mother. Rather, he highlights his own meekness and humility. Jesus even shows these qualities from the moment of his birth. "God is so powerful," said Pope Benedict XVI in his Christmas midnight Mass homily in 2005, "that he can make himself vulnerable and come to us as a defenseless child, so that we can love him." In turn, Jesus invites us to make ourselves vulnerable, to open our hearts to others, even at the risk of being rejected. To incur such a risk is to understand better what Christ did for us. Is Jesus asking me to be more humble with someone?

Conversation with Christ: Lord, you know that humility costs me a lot. It forces me to give up my way of seeing things, of wanting to be appreciated, of wanting to always be in control of everything. Let me be more humble like you. If following you means embracing humility, so be it. Give me the strength to accept that.

Resolution: I will let others have the last word in conversation today.

[Salvation]

Please pray for Monsignor Taaffe who died yesterday at 2:00 pm. Former pastor at my church. He was present for our 40th Anniversary!

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

Homily of the Day

Are You Living for Christ?

July 5th, 2008 by Fr. Frank E. Jindra

Zec 9:9-10 / Rom 8:9, 11-13 / Mt 11:25-30

St. Paul is walking on a two-edged sword in this weekend’s reading. We need to be right there with him. What are the two edges? Trying to put it tightly: 1) we are spiritual beings and this world doesn’t matter, and 2) our mission is to make this world into a world of peace for the King of Peace. Now, I know there are a lot of other extremes, but these two have been rejected, even condemned, by the Church. Yet St. Paul walks the balance perfectly for us. Let’s look at them.

I admit, I do not remember the name of the heresy mentioned as 1) above, but it created (and still creates) problems in one way or another today. It is true we are spiritual beings, but we are also physical beings, making us unique in all the earth. Our eternal soul, united with our bodies, makes us unique. Flesh and spirit united. (This is another topic better covered by John Paul II, especially in his Theology of the Body.) That is what St. Paul is trying to convey for us. We cannot ignore our flesh, as some would do, and say this world does not matter. We are commissioned by God to make this world better and more holy. Some would opt out of that, saying this world does not matter. I think that is one of the reasons there is so much apathy when it comes to election times: this world is passing away, so why should we even care? It has other effects: ignoring the poor, or the right use of our environment, and others too numerous for here.

The other example in 2) above showed its extreme in liberation theology, and all the false twists made there. Yet there is some truth for us to hold onto from this side as well. We are called to be stewards of the earth. We are called to care for the poor, the dying, etc. That part is necessary as children of God. But the extremes cause problems. Our hope is not in this world — never has been — never can be.

St. Paul is trying to tell us that we live for Christ: simple statement, but with profound consequences. We are flesh and blood, and soul. Further, God has a new flesh waiting for us at the resurrection. What that will be, we do not know. And we are not “in debt” to the flesh of this world, as verse 12 points out, that we should be overly concerned with this world. If we are too concerned with this world, when it does end for us where will our hope reside? And if we are too concerned about the condition of our soul that we ignore the world around us… what will happen to the mission of the Church to the world?

We need to reside on that sword’s edge — as hard as that is. We are body and soul. I think St. Paul’s warning is that we are not to rely on either too much, but keep our eyes turned toward that new body in union with Christ, forever.

Vespers -- Evening Prayer

Vespers (Evening Prayer)

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.

---

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 109 (110)

The Messiah, king and priest

The Lord has said to my lord: “Sit at my right hand while I make your enemies into your footstool”.

From Sion the Lord will give you a sceptre, and you will rule in the midst of your foes.
Royal power is yours in the day of your strength, glorious and holy; from the time of your birth, before the dawn.

The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent: “You are a priest for ever, a priest of the priesthood of Melchisedech”.
The Lord is at your right hand, and on the day of his anger he will shatter kings.

He will judge the nations, he will pile high their skulls;
he will drink from the stream as he goes – he will hold his head high.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.

---

Psalm 113B (115)

Praise of the true God

Not to us, Lord, not to us,
 but to your own name give the glory,
 because of your kindness and faithfulness.
Why should the nations say:
 “Where is their God?”
Our God is in the heavens,
 and what he wills, he does.

The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
 the work of human hands.
They have mouths but do not speak,
 they have eyes but do not see.
They have ears but do not hear,
 they have nostrils but do not smell.
They have hands but they do not feel,
 they have feet but they do not walk;
 no voice comes from their throats.
Their makers will be like them,
 and all who put their trust in them.

The house of Israel trusts in the Lord;
 he is their help and their shield.
The house of Aaron trusts in the Lord;
 he is their help and their shield.
All who fear the Lord trust in the Lord;
 he is their help and their shield.

The Lord has remembered us and he will bless us.
He will bless the house of Israel,
 he will bless the house of Aaron –
 he will bless all who fear the Lord.

May the Lord add to your numbers
 and to those of your children.
May the Lord bless you,
 the Lord who made heaven and earth.

The heavens are the Lord’s,
 but the earth he has given to men.
It is not the dead who will praise you, O Lord,
 nor those who go down into the silence;
but we, who live, will bless the Lord,
 now and for ever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
 as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
 world without end.
Amen.

---

Canticle	(Apocalypse 19)
The wedding of the Lamb
Alleluia.