Memorial to the Victims of the Famine-Genocide (Golodomor, Holodomor) in Ukraine
Anatoly Gaidamaka
2008
Kiev, Ukraine
(Also see Holodomor)
Posted on 07/17/2014 8:13:19 PM PDT by Salvation
Feast Day: July 18
Born: 1550 at Bocchiavico, Abruzzi, kingdom of Naples, Italy
Died: 14 July 1614 at Genoa, Italy
Canonized: 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV
Major Shrine: Church of Mary Magdalene, Rome, Italy
Patron of: against illness, hospitals, hospital workers, nurses, sick people
St. Frederick
Feast Day: July 18
Died: 838
Frederick lived in Utrecht, in the central part of the Netherlands and was the grandson of King Radbon of the Frisians. He studied hard to become a priest and was very prayerful. When he was ordained, Bishop Ricfried put him in charge of newly converted Christians. Frederick taught them about the Catholic faith.
A few years later, he was chosen as bishop of Utrecht. Bishop Frederick got to know the people of his diocese and really cared about them. He gave much importance to missionary work too. In fact, he sent St. Odulf and other brave priests to areas where the people were still pagan and believed in false gods. He wanted them to hear the Good News of salvation.
Because of his position as bishop, Frederick made a few enemies. Emperor Louis' sons asked Bishop Frederick to speak to their stepmother, Empress Judith, about her wicked lifestyle. The bishop corrected her gently but honestly. Unfortunately, the empress did not take the advice well and she grew angry and was insulted.
Another challenge was the pagan people who lived in the northern part of Frederick's diocese called Walcheren. St. Frederick sent priests to bring these people the love of Jesus. Frederick knew the area was dangerous and unfriendly. He kept close to the priests whom he sent. He encouraged them and tried to help the people receive Christianity. But they were not ready to listen in any way. They resented the bishop's concern for them.
St. Frederick continued his work in the diocese with love and care. Then on July 18, 838, after the bishop celebrated Mass, he was quietly making his thanksgiving when two men attacked him with knives. A sentence from Psalm 116 crossed his mind. Slowly, the dying bishop prayed: "I walk before the Lord in the land of the living." A few minutes later he died.
Some say Empress Judith sent the hired killers because she hated the bishop. Others think the people from Walcheren were responsible. The murderers were never caught and punished. But Bishop Frederick is honored as a martyr and a saint.
Day 217 - Can someone earn heaven by good works? // Are we all supposed to become "saints"?
Can someone earn heaven by good works?
No. No man can gain heaven merely by his own efforts. The fact that we are saved is God's grace, pure and simple, which nevertheless demands the free cooperation of the individual.
Although it is grace and faith through which we are saved, nevertheless, our good works ought to show the love produced by God's action in us.
Are we all supposed to become "saints"?
Yes. The purpose of our life is to be united with God in love and to correspond entirely to God's wishes. We should allow God "to live his life in us" (Mother Teresa). That is what it means to be holy: a "saint".
Every man asks himself the question: Who am I and why am I here, how do I find myself? Faith answers: Only in holiness does man become that for which God created him. Only in holiness does man find real harmony between himself and his Creator. Holiness, however, is not some sort of self-made perfection; rather, it is union with the incarnate love that is Christ. Anyone who gains new life in this way finds himself and becomes holy. (YOUCAT questions 340-341)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (2006-2016) and other references here.
Part 3: Life in Christ (1691 - 2557)
Section 1: Man's Vocation — Life in the Spirit (1699 - 2051)
Chapter 3: God's Salvation: Law and Grace (1949 - 2051)
Article 2: Grace and Justification (1987 - 2029)
III. MERIT ⇡
You are glorified in the assembly of your Holy Ones, for in crowning their merits you are crowning your own gifts.59 ⇡
The term "merit" refers in general to the recompense owed by a community or a society for the action of one of its members, experienced either as beneficial or harmful, deserving reward or punishment. Merit is relative to the virtue of justice, in conformity with the principle of equality which governs it.
59.
Roman Missal, Prefatio I de sanctis; Qui in Sanctorum concilio celebraris, et eorum coronando merita tua dona coronas, citing the "Doctor of grace," St. Augustine, En. in Ps. 102,7:PL 37,1321-1322.
With regard to God, there is no strict right to any merit on the part of man. Between God and us there is an immeasurable inequality, for we have received everything from him, our Creator.
The merit of man before God in the Christian life arises from the fact that God has freely chosen to associate man with the work of his grace. The fatherly action of God is first on his own initiative, and then follows man's free acting through his collaboration, so that the merit of good works is to be attributed in the first place to the grace of God, then to the faithful. Man's merit, moreover, itself is due to God, for his good actions proceed in Christ, from the predispositions and assistance given by the Holy Spirit.
Filial adoption, in making us partakers by grace in the divine nature, can bestow true merit on us as a result of God's gratuitous justice. This is our right by grace, the full right of love, making us "co-heirs" with Christ and worthy of obtaining "the promised inheritance of eternal life."60 The merits of our good works are gifts of the divine goodness.61 "Grace has gone before us; now we are given what is due. ... Our merits are God's gifts."62
60.
Council of Trent (1547): DS 1546.
61.
Cf. Council of Trent (1547): DS 1548.
62.
St. Augustine, Sermo 298,4-5:PL 38,1367.
Since the initiative belongs to God in the order of grace, no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification, at the beginning of conversion. Moved by the Holy Spirit and by charity, we can then merit for ourselves and for others the graces needed for our sanctification, for the increase of grace and charity, and for the attainment of eternal life. Even temporal goods like health and friendship can be merited in accordance with God's wisdom. These graces and goods are the object of Christian prayer. Prayer attends to the grace we need for meritorious actions.
The charity of Christ is the source in us of all our merits before God. Grace, by uniting us to Christ in active love, ensures the supernatural quality of our acts and consequently their merit before God and before men. The saints have always had a lively awareness that their merits were pure grace. After earth's exile, I hope to go and enjoy you in the fatherland, but I do not want to lay up merits for heaven. I want to work for your love alone. ... In the evening of this life, I shall appear before you with empty hands, for I do not ask you, Lord, to count my works. All our justice is blemished in your eyes. I wish, then, to be clothed in your own justice and to receive from your love the eternal possession of yourself.63
63.
St. Thérèse of Lisieux, "Act of Offering" in Story of a Soul, tr. John Clarke (Washington DC: ICS, 1981), 277.
IV. CHRISTIAN HOLINESS ⇡
"We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him ... For those whom he fore knew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified."64
64.
"All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity."65 All are called to holiness: "Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."66 In order to reach this perfection the faithful should use the strength dealt out to them by Christ's gift, so that ... doing the will of the Father in everything, they may wholeheartedly devote themselves to the glory of God and to the service of their neighbor. Thus the holiness of the People of God will grow in fruitful abundance, as is clearly shown in the history of the Church through the lives of so many saints.67
65.
LG 40 § 2.
66.
67.
LG 40 § 2.
Spiritual progress tends toward ever more intimate union with Christ. This union is called "mystical" because it participates in the mystery of Christ through the sacraments — "the holy mysteries" — and, in him, in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God calls us all to this intimate union with him, even if the special graces or extraordinary signs of this mystical life are granted only to some for the sake of manifesting the gratuitous gift given to all.
The way of perfection passes by way of the Cross. There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle.68 Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes: He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end. He never stops desiring what he already knows.69
68.
Cf. 2 Tim 4.
69.
St. Gregory of Nyssa, Hom. in Cant. 8:PG 44,941C.
The children of our holy mother the Church rightly hope for the grace of final perseverance and the recompense of God their Father for the good works accomplished with his grace in communion with Jesus.70 Keeping the same rule of life, believers share the "blessed hope" of those whom the divine mercy gathers into the "holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."71
70.
Cf. Council of Trent (1547): DS 1576.
71.
| Matthew | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| Matthew 12 |
|||
| 1. | AT that time Jesus went through the corn on the sabbath: and his disciples being hungry, began to pluck the ears, and to eat. | In illo tempore abiit Jesus per sata sabbato : discipuli autem ejus esurientes cœperunt vellere spicas, et manducare. | εν εκεινω τω καιρω επορευθη ο ιησους τοις σαββασιν δια των σποριμων οι δε μαθηται αυτου επεινασαν και ηρξαντο τιλλειν σταχυας και εσθιειν |
| 2. | And the Pharisees seeing them, said to him: Behold thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath days. | Pharisæi autem videntes, dixerunt ei : Ecce discipuli tui faciunt quod non licet facere sabbatis. | οι δε φαρισαιοι ιδοντες ειπον αυτω ιδου οι μαθηται σου ποιουσιν ο ουκ εξεστιν ποιειν εν σαββατω |
| 3. | But he said to them: Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and they that were with him: | At ille dixit eis : Non legistis quid fecerit David, quando esuriit, et qui cum eo erant : | ο δε ειπεν αυτοις ουκ ανεγνωτε τι εποιησεν δαυιδ οτε επεινασεν αυτος και οι μετ αυτου |
| 4. | How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the loaves of proposition, which it was not lawful for him to eat, nor for them that were with him, but for the priests only? | quomodo intravit in domum Dei, et panes propositionis comedit, quos non licebat ei edere, neque his qui cum eo erant, nisi solis sacerdotibus ? | πως εισηλθεν εις τον οικον του θεου και τους αρτους της προθεσεως εφαγεν ους ουκ εξον ην αυτω φαγειν ουδε τοις μετ αυτου ει μη τοις ιερευσιν μονοις |
| 5. | Or have ye not read in the law, that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple break the sabbath, and are without blame? | aut non legistis in lege quia sabbatis sacerdotes in templo sabbatum violant, et sine crimine sunt ? | η ουκ ανεγνωτε εν τω νομω οτι τοις σαββασιν οι ιερεις εν τω ιερω το σαββατον βεβηλουσιν και αναιτιοι εισιν |
| 6. | But I tell you that there is here a greater than the temple. | Dico autem vobis, quia templo major est hic. | λεγω δε υμιν οτι του ιερου μειζον εστιν ωδε |
| 7. | And if you knew what this meaneth: I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: you would never have condemned the innocent. | Si autem sciretis, quid est : Misericordiam volo, et non sacrificium : numquam condemnassetis innocentes : | ει δε εγνωκειτε τι εστιν ελεον θελω και ου θυσιαν ουκ αν κατεδικασατε τους αναιτιους |
| 8. | For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath. | dominus enim est Filius hominis etiam sabbati. | κυριος γαρ εστιν του σαββατου ο υιος του ανθρωπου |
(Also see Holodomor)
| Condemning the Innocent | ||
|
||
|
July 18, 2014. Friday of the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time
|
||
 |
||
|
Matthew 12: 1-8 Jesus was going through a field of grain on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the Sabbath." He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the Sabbath and are innocent? I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, ´I desire mercy, not sacrifice,´ you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." Introductory Prayer: Almighty and ever-living God, I seek new strength from the courage of Christ our shepherd. I believe in you, I hope in you, and I seek to love you with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength. I want to be led one day to join the saints in heaven, where your Son Jesus Christ lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Petition: Help me to make every Sunday a special day for me and my family. 1. Eating on the Go? It was the Sabbath, a day of rest. The disciples had had a difficult and busy week, and they were hungry. Jesus allowed them to look for food in the fields. This could have discouraged them, not having a meal waiting for them. But they were accustomed to hardship. They were busy and had much to do. There was little free time. Christ was busy on weekends; his mission didn’t stop. The disciples were united with Jesus, participating in his mission. This made all their sacrifices worthwhile and easier to cope with. When we trust in and unite ourselves with Christ, we can be patient and at peace in the midst of trials. 2. The Confrontation: The Sabbath was established in order for the Jewish people to remember and reflect on their special covenant relationship with God. He had delivered them from slavery and given them rest. The Pharisees, however, focused on “what you can’t do” and failed to see “what you should do.” On Sundays, we should focus more on what we should do in order to worthily receive Christ. Then secondary things will not distract us from what is essential. God has a special relationship with us. He has delivered us from slavery. He continues to love us and asks that we love him and others with all our heart. On Sundays, do I recall my covenant relationship with Our Lord? Am I mindful and grateful for all the good things he has done and continues to do for me? Does God take first place for me on Sundays? 3. Sunday Service/Service on Sunday: Christ instructed his disciples about his mission. They grew to understand, appreciate and live it. He taught them to participate at the Sabbath service with fervor, but also to be open to any needs others might have, even on the Sabbath. It is lawful to do good any day of the week, especially the Lord’s Day. Christ cured the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath, fed his disciples on the Sabbath, and cured another woman with a bent back on the Sabbath. Charity will inspire us to do good to others even on a Sunday. “Sunday service” and “Service-on-Sunday” go together. Do I ever dedicate my Sundays, or part of them, to bring rest to those who are most in need? What can I do to help the poor and marginalized on that day? How can I instill this spirit of service in my children? Conversation with Christ: You long to share your Word and Body with me at Sunday Mass and at every Mass I can attend during the week. May I always have a hunger for this encounter with your love and friendship. May I serve others with the same charity and love as you serve me. May Sunday be the most important day of the week for me and my family. Resolution: I will organize this coming Sunday to be a day of worship and rest. I will try to do good to someone this Sunday, and I will help someone come back to Sunday Mass attendance. |
Saint Camillus de Lellis, Priest
I desire mercy, not sacrifice. (Matthew 12:7)
A recent photo made worldwide headlines: a group of Ukrainian priests bravely stood between police and protesters on the streets of Kiev. The priests prayed both for the protesters and the police and offered refuge to the injured. Said one priest, “God is supposed to be with those who are persecuted… . It is why from the very beginning our priests were with our people in the middle of that square. And in many cases, the very presence of the priests kept those protests peaceful.” Technically, the priests were breaking the letter of the law because they were defying the police. But at the same time, they were upholding the spirit of the law, which was to secure the welfare of the people.
This story reminds us that being a Christian sometimes means going against the grain—which is just what Jesus’ apostles did on the Sabbath. The Pharisees viewed them as lawbreakers, but Jesus knew they had done nothing wrong. He pointed out how King David violated the Sabbath out of necessity and how the temple priests were doing God’s work when they “worked” on the Sabbath. In their focus on technicalities, Jesus’ opponents were ignoring the very purpose of the Law: love of God and neighbor.
Jesus wants us to be like the Twelve and like these Ukrainian priests. He wants us to be “the salt of the earth” and “the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13, 14). Salt prevents decay, and light disperses darkness. Think of how Francis of Assisi’s life of humble poverty helped reform the entire Church. Or how Mother Teresa’s care for the poor alerted the whole world to the cries of the neediest and most vulnerable.
How is God asking you to witness to his love today? You may encounter a homeless person near work and feel uncomfortable about reaching out to him or her in front of other people. Perhaps your friends will engage in hurtful gossip. It may be hard to stay silent or to try to turn the conversation. Whatever the situation, the Spirit will tell you what to do and how to act on his inspiration. Just take one small step, and you will be blessed. And so will those around you!
“Lord, teach me how to love you in the people you put in my path today.”
Isaiah 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8; (Psalm) Isaiah 38:10-12, 16
Daily Marriage Tip for July 18, 2014:
Do you and your spouse want to connect when you’re apart? Set your phone/watch/computer to ring at an agreed upon time. Then, even though separated, you both pause for a moment, picture your spouse, and pray for each other.
July 18, 2014
It happened that Jesus walked through the wheat fields on Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and began to pick some heads of wheat and crush them to eat the grain. When the Pharisees noticed this, they said to Jesus, ” Look at your disciples they are doing what is prohibited on the Sabbath!” Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he and his men were hungry? He went into the house of God and they ate the bread offered to God, although neither he nor his men had the right to eat it; but only the priests. And have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath rest, yet they are not guilty? I tell you, there is greater than the Temple here. If you really knew the meaning of the words: it is mercy I want, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the innocent. Besides the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
Language: English | Español
All Issues > Volume 30, Issue 4
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.