Reading 1 1 Kgs 17:17-24

Elijah went to Zarephath of Sidon to the house of a widow.
The son of the mistress of the house fell sick,
and his sickness grew more severe until he stopped breathing.
So she said to Elijah,
“Why have you done this to me, O man of God?
Have you come to me to call attention to my guilt
and to kill my son?”
Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.”
Taking him from her lap, he carried the son to the upper room
where he was staying, and put him on his bed.
Elijah called out to the LORD:
“O LORD, my God,
will you afflict even the widow with whom I am staying
by killing her son?”
Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times
and called out to the LORD:
“O LORD, my God,
let the life breath return to the body of this child.”
The LORD heard the prayer of Elijah;
the life breath returned to the child’s body and he revived.
Taking the child, Elijah brought him down into the house
from the upper room and gave him to his mother.
Elijah said to her, “See! Your son is alive.”
The woman replied to Elijah,
“Now indeed I know that you are a man of God.
The word of the LORD comes truly from your mouth.”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13

R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Reading 2 Gal 1:11-14a, 15ac, 16a, 17, 19

I want you to know, brothers and sisters,
that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin.
For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it,
but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

For you heard of my former way of life in Judaism,
how I persecuted the Church of God beyond measure
and tried to destroy it, and progressed in Judaism
beyond many of my contemporaries among my race.
But when God, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart
was pleased to reveal his Son to me,
so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles,
I went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus.

Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem
to talk with Cephas and remained with him for fifteen days.
But I did not see any other of the Apostles,
only James the brother of the Lord.

Alleluia Lk 7:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has risen in our midst
God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Lk 7:11-17

Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain,
and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him.
As he drew near to the gate of the city,
a man who had died was being carried out,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
A large crowd from the city was with her.
When the Lord saw her,
he was moved with pity for her and said to her,
“Do not weep.”
He stepped forward and touched the coffin;
at this the bearers halted,
and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!”
The dead man sat up and began to speak,
and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, crying out
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst, “
and “God has visited his people.”
This report about him spread through the whole of Judea
and in all the surrounding region.

From: 1 Kings 17:17-24

The Son of the Widow of Zarephath Restored to Life

[17] After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; and
his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. [18] And she said
to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to
bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!” [19] And he
said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her bosom, and carried
him up into the upper chamber, where he lodged, and laid him upon his own bed.
20] And he cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, hast thou brought calamity
even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?” [21] Then he
stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to the LORD, “O LORD
my God, let this child’s soul come into him again.” [22] And the LORD hear-
kened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and
he revived. [23] And Elijah took the child, and brought him down from the upper
chamber into the house, and delivered him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See,
your son lives.” [24] And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a
man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.”

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

1 Kings 17:1-2 – 2 Kings 1:18. The ample coverage given to the reign of Ahab is
not so much due to the actions of the king as to the fact that God raised up at
this time prophets who played a critical role in maintaining knowledge and wor-
ship of the God of Israel when they were under threat. The most outstanding of
these prophets is Elijah. It is quite likely that the narratives to do with Elijah
were lifted straight out of another text and inserted here, like other accounts of
prophets of the same time — an unnamed prophet (chap. 20) and Micaiah the
son of Imlah (chap. 22), both of whom speak to the king on God’s behalf during
the war against Syria.

17:1-19:21. The great drought, which is the backdrop of chapters 17-19, seems
to be a divine punishment for the king’s idolatry reported in the previous chapter;
but the main thing it does is to provide an opportunity to show the superiority of
the God of Israel over the Canaanite god Baal. Elijah, whose name means “my
God is the Lord”, is an itinerant prophet who, like the patriarchs, moves around
the country in obedience to the word of the Lord.

God makes himself known in a new way through the prophet Elijah. The same
God who manifested himself as friend and protector of the patriarchs, and who
gave the Law to Moses, now reveals himself as the Lord of creation and of na-
ture. To the Canaanites the god Baal was master of the forces of nature — rain,
storms, fertility etc. Through the prophet Elijah the true God reveals himself to
be distinct from and higher than all those forces, no matter what their power (cf.
19:11-13), as well as being their Lord (cf. 17:1). Elijah is the champion of the
rights of God and of the poor (cf. chap 21) and in this sense he is a model for
all the prophets that will come after him, the so-called writer prophets. “Elijah
is the ‘father’ of the prophets, ‘the generation of those who seek him, who seek
the face of the God of Jacob’ (Ps 24:6)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church,
2582).

*********************************************************************************************
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.

From: Galatians 1:11-19

God’s Call

[11] For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by
me is not man’s gospel. [12] For I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it,
but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

[13] For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church
of God violently and tried to destroy it; [14] and I advanced in Judaism beyond ma-
ny of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions
of my fathers. [15] But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had
called me through his grace, [16] was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order
that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood,
[17] nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I
went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus.

[18] Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained
with him fifteen days. [19] But I saw none of the other apostles except James the
Lord’s brother.

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

11-12. “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10), Paul asked at the moment of his
conversion. Jesus replied, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be
told all that is appointed for you to do” (ibid.). The former persecutor, now under
the influence of grace, will receive instruction and Baptism through the ordinary
course of divine Providence—from a man, Ananias. Thereby Jesus led him to hu-
mility, obedience and abandonment. The Gospel which St Paul preached was i-
dentical with that preached by the other Apostles, and already had the character
of “tradition” in the nascent Church (cf. 1 Cor 15:3; Gal 2:2). This is compatible
with Paul’s claim—made in this passage—that his Gospel does not come from
any man but through a revelation from Jesus Christ. Firstly, because on seeing
the risen Christ he was given supernatural light to understand that Jesus was not
only the Messiah but also the Son of God; and also because this first revelation
was followed by many others to which he refers in his epistles (cf. 1 Cor 11:23;
13:3-8 and especially 2 Cor 12:1-4).

St Paul’s was a unique case, because normally a person came to know the Gos-
pel of Christ by receiving it or learning it from those who had seen Christ during
his life on earth and listened to his teachings. This was what happened in St
Luke’s case, for example (cf. Lk 1:2). St Paul still felt the need to go to Jeru-
salem to hear the Apostles’ preaching (cf. below 1:16-18), especially that of St
Peter.

13-14. The Acts of the Apostles tell us about Paul’s religious zeal; a Pharisee,
he had studied under Gamaliel (cf. Acts 22:3; Phil 3:5) and had consented to
and been present at the martyrdom of Stephen (cf. Acts 7:58; 8:1). Saul had
stood out as a persecutor of Christians, so keen was he to seek them out and
imprison them, even going beyond Judea to do so (cf. Acts 9:1-2). Clearly he
had been a man convinced of his Jewish faith, a zealous keeper of the Law,
and proud to be a Jew (cf. Rom 11:1 ; 2 Cor 11:22). Such was the fear the early
Christians had of him that they could not bring themselves to believe in his con-
version (cf. Acts 9:26). However, this same fervor and passion, to use St Augus-
tine’s comparison (cf. “Contra Faustum”, XXII, 70) was like a dense jungle — a
serious obstacle and yet an indication of immensely fertile soil. Our Lord sowed
the seed of the Gospel in that soil and it produced a very rich crop.

Everyone, no matter how irregular his life may have been, can produce good re-
sults like this—with the help of grace, which does not displace nature but heals
and purifies it, and then raises and perfects it: Courage! You...can! Don’t you see
what God’s grace did with sleepy-headed Peter, the coward who had denied him
..., and with Paul, his fierce and relentless persecutor?” (St. J. Escriva, “The
Way”, 483).

15-16. More than once in Scripture we read about God choosing certain people
for special missions even when they were still in their mother’s womb (cf. Jer 1:5;
Is 49:1-5; Lk 1:15; etc.). This emphasizes the fact that God makes a gratuitous
choice: there is no question of the person’s previous merits contributing to God’s
decision. Vocation is a supernatural divine gift, which God has planned from all
eternity. When God made his will known on the road to Damascus (cf. Acts 9:
3-6), St Paul “did not confer with flesh and blood”, that is, did not seek advice
from anyone, because he was absolutely sure that God himself had called him.
Nor did he consent to the prudence of the flesh, seeking to “play safe”: his self-
surrender was immediate, total and unconditional. When the Apostles heard Je-
sus inviting them to follow him, they “immediately left their nets” (Mt 4:20, 22;
Mk 1:18) and followed the Master, leaving everything behind (cf. Lk 5:11). We
see the same thing happening in Saul’s case: he responds immediately. If he
makes his way to Ananias, he does so on the explicit instructions of Jesus—in
order to receive instruction and Baptism and to discover what his mission is to
be (Acts 9:15-16).

God’s call, therefore, should receive an immediate response. “Consider the faith
and obedience of the Apostles”, St John Chrysostom says. “They are in the
midst of their work (and you know how attractive fishing is!). When they hear his
command, they do not vacillate or lose any time: they do not say, ‘Let’s go home
and say goodbye to our parents.’ No, they leave everything and follow him [...].
That is the kind of obedience Christ asks of us — not to delay even a minute, no
matter how important the things that might keep us” (”Hom. on St Matthew”, 14,
2). And St Cyril of Alexandria comments: “For Jesus also said, ‘No one who puts
his hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God’, and he
looked back who asked permission to return home and speak to his parents. But
we see that the holy Apostles did not act in that way; rather they followed Jesus,
immediately leaving the boat and their parents behind. Paul also acted immedia-
tely. He ‘did not confer with flesh and blood’. That is how those who want to fol-
low Christ must act” (”Commentarium in Lucam”, 9).

A person has a duty to follow Christ even if his relatives are opposed to his doing
so or want him to delay making a final decision, perhaps because they feel that
would be the more (humanly) prudent course: “A person should honor his parents,
but God he should obey. We should love the one who has begotten us, but the
first place should be given to him who created us”, St Augustine says, not min-
cing words (”Sermon 100”).

Even if we are unsure as to whether we are strong enough to persevere, this
should not delay us or concern us: it should simply lead us to pray confidently
for God’s help, because, as Vatican II teaches, when God calls a person, he
“must reply without taking counsel with flesh and blood and must give himself
fully to the work of the Gospel. However, such an answer can only be given with
the encouragement and help of the Holy Spirit [...]. Therefore, he must be pre-
pared to remain faithful to his vocation for life, to renounce himself and everything
that up to this he possessed as his own, and to make himself ‘all things to all
men’ (1 Cor 9:22)” (”Ad Gentes”, 24).

17-19. After a period of time devoted to penance and prayer, St Paul made his
way to Jerusalem (cf. Acts 9:26-30) to see Cephas, that is, Peter. His stay of
two weeks is an important indication of Paul’s recognition of and veneration for
Peter, chosen as he had been as the foundation stone of the Church.

In subsequent generations, right down the centuries, Christians have shown their
love for Peter and his successors, traveling to Rome often at great personal effort
and sometimes, even, risk. “Catholic, apostolic, “Roman”! I want you to be very
Roman. And to be anxious to make your ‘path to Rome’, “videre Petrum” — to see
Peter (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 520). Solidarity with and veneration for the Pope
is, then, a clear, practical sign of good Christian spirit.

“James the Lord’s brother” (cf. notes on Mt 12:46-47 and 13:55) is, most com-
mentators think, James the Less (cf. Mk 15:40), also called the son of Alphaeus
(cf. Lk 6:15) and author of the letter which bears his name (cf. Jas 1:1).

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

From: Luke 7:11-17

The Son of the Widow in Nain Restored to Life

[11] Soon afterwards He (Jesus) went to a city called Nain, and His disciples
and a great crowd went with Him. [12] As He drew near to the gate of the city,
behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother,
and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her. [13] And
when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
[14] And He came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And He said,
“Young man, I say to you, arise.” [15] And the dead man sat up, and began to
speak. And He gave him to his mother. [16] Fear seized them all; and they glo-
rified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited
His people!” [17] And this report concerning Him spread through the whole of Ju-
dea and all the surrounding country.

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

11-17. “Jesus crosses paths again with a crowd of people. He could have
passed by or waited until they called Him. But He didn’t. He took the initiative,
because He was moved by a widow’s sorrow. She had just lost all she had, her
son.

“The evangelist explains that Jesus was moved. Perhaps He even showed signs
of it, as when Lazarus died. Christ was not, and is not, insensitive to the suffe-
ring that stems from love. He is pained at seeing children separated from their
parents. He overcomes death so as to give life, to reunite those who love one
another. But at the same time, He requires that we first admit the pre-eminence
of divine love, which alone can inspire genuine Christian living.

“Christ knows He is surrounded by a crowd which will be awed by the miracle
and will tell the story all over the countryside. But He does not act artificially,
merely to create an effect. Quite simply He is touched by that woman’s suffering
and cannot but console her. So He goes up to her and says, `Do not weep.’ It is
like saying, `I don’t want to see you crying; I have come on earth to bring joy and
peace.’ And then comes the miracle, the sign of the power of Christ who is God.
But first came His compassion, an evident sign of the tenderness of the heart of
Christ the man” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 166).

15. This mother’s joy on being given back her son reminds us of the joy of our Mo-
ther the Church when her sinful children return to the life of grace. “The widowed
mother rejoiced at the raising of that young man,” St. Augustine comments. “Our
Mother the Church rejoices every day when people are raised again in spirit. The
young man had been dead physically; the latter, dead spiritually. The young man’s
death was mourned visibly; the death of the latter was invisible and unmourned.
He seeks them out Who knew them to be dead; only He can bring them back to
life” (”Sermon”, 98, 2).

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

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
1 Kings 17:17-24 ©

The son of the mistress of the house fell sick; his illness was so severe that in the end he had no breath left in him. And the woman said to Elijah, ‘What quarrel have you with me, man of God? Have you come here to bring my sins home to me and to kill my son?’ ‘Give me your son’ he said, and taking him from her lap, carried him to the upper room where he was staying and laid him on his own bed. He cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, do you mean to bring grief to the widow who is looking after me by killing her son?’ He stretched himself on the child three times and cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, may the soul of this child, I beg you, come into him again!’ The Lord heard the prayer of Elijah and the soul of the child returned to him again and he revived. Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. ‘Look,’ Elijah said ‘your son is alive.’ And the woman replied, ‘Now I know you are a man of God and the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth itself.’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 29:2,4-6,11-13 ©

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me

and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

O Lord, you have raised my soul from the dead,

restored me to life from those who sink into the grave.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

Sing psalms to the Lord, you who love him,

give thanks to his holy name.

His anger lasts a moment; his favour all through life.

At night there are tears, but joy comes with dawn.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

The Lord listened and had pity.

The Lord came to my help.

For me you have changed my mourning into dancing:

O Lord my God, I will thank you for ever.

I will praise you, Lord, you have rescued me.

Second reading
Galatians 1:11-19 ©

The Good News I preached is not a human message that I was given by men, it is something I learnt only through a revelation of Jesus Christ. You must have heard of my career as a practising Jew, how merciless I was in persecuting the Church of God, how much damage I did to it, how I stood out among other Jews of my generation, and how enthusiastic I was for the traditions of my ancestors.

Then God, who had specially chosen me while I was still in my mother’s womb, called me through his grace and chose to reveal his Son in me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the pagans. I did not stop to discuss this with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were already apostles before me, but I went off to Arabia at once and later went straight back from there to Damascus. Even when after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him for fifteen days, I did not see any of the other apostles; I only saw James, the brother of the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation	cf.Ep1:17,18

Alleluia, alleluia!

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our mind,

so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

Or	Lk7:16

Alleluia, alleluia!

A great prophet has appeared among us;

God has visited his people.

Alleluia!

Gospel	Luke 7:11-17 ©

Jesus went to a town called Nain, accompanied by his disciples and a great number of people. When he was near the gate of the town it happened that a dead man was being carried out for burial, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a considerable number of the townspeople were with her. When the Lord saw her he felt sorry for her. ‘Do not cry’ he said. Then he went up and put his hand on the bier and the bearers stood still, and he said, ‘Young man, I tell you to get up.’ And the dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Everyone was filled with awe and praised God saying, ‘A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.’ And this opinion of him spread throughout Judaea and all over the countryside.

Jesus, High Priest

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.

Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.

St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3. The Lord's Prayer: 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 who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be: 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.

6. Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

The Mysteries of the Rosary By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary. The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Glorious Mysteries
(Wednesdays and Sundays)
1.The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-18, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29) [Spiritual fruit - Faith]
2. The Ascension (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11) [Spiritual fruit - Christian Hope]
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-13) [Spiritual fruit - Gifts of the Holy Spirit]
4. The Assumption [Spiritual fruit - To Jesus through Mary]
5. The Coronation [Spiritual fruit - Grace of Final Perseverance]

June Devotion: The Sacred Heart

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of June is set apart for devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. "From among all the proofs of the infinite goodness of our Savior none stands out more prominently than the fact that, as the love of the faithful grew cold, He, Divine Love Itself, gave Himself to us to be honored by a very special devotion and that the rich treasury of the Church was thrown wide open in the interests of that devotion." These words of Pope Pius XI refer to the Sacred Heart Devotion, which in its present form dates from the revelations given to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673-75.

The devotion consists in the divine worship of the human heart of Christ, which is united to His divinity and which is a symbol of His love for us. The aim of the devotion is to make our Lord king over our hearts by prompting them to return love to Him (especially through an act of consecration by which we offer to the Heart of Jesus both ourselves and all that belongs to us) and to make reparation for our ingratitude to God.

INVOCATION

O Heart of love, I put all my trust in Thee; for I fear all things from my own weakness, but I hope for all things from Thy goodness.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

PRAYER TO THE SACRED HEART

Devotion to the Sacred Heart was the characteristic note of the piety of Saint Gertrude the Great (1256-1302), Benedictine nun and renowned mystic. She was, in fact, the first great exponent of devotion to the Sacred Heart. In our efforts to honor the Heart of Jesus we have this prayer as a model for our own:
Hail! O Sacred Heart of Jesus, living and quickening source of eternal life, infinite treasure of the Divinity, and burning furnace of divine love. Thou art my refuge and my sanctuary, 0 my amiable Savior. Consume my heart with that burning fire with which Thine is ever inflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Thy love, and let my heart be so united with Thine, that our wills may be one, and mine in all things be conformed to Thine. May Thy divine will be equally the standard and rule of all my desires and of all my actions. Amen.
Saint Gertrude

FOR THE CHURCH

O most holy Heart of Jesus, shower Thy blessings in abundant measure upon Thy holy Church, upon the Supreme Pontiff and upon all the clergy; to the just grant perseverance; convert sinners; enlighten unbelievers; bless our relations, friends and benefactors; assist the dying; deliver the holy souls in purgatory; and extend over all hearts the sweet empire of Thy love. Amen.

A PRAYER OF TRUST

O God, who didst in wondrous manner reveal to the virgin, Margaret Mary, the unsearchable riches of Thy Heart, grant that loving Thee, after her example, in all things and above all things, we may in Thy Heart find our abiding home.
Roman Missal

ACT OF LOVE

Reveal Thy Sacred Heart to me, O Jesus, and show me Its attractions. Unite me to It for ever. Grant that all my aspirations and all the beats of my heart, which cease not even while I sleep, may be a testimonial to Thee of my love for Thee and may say to Thee: Yes, Lord, I am all Thine;
pledge of my allegiance to Thee rests ever in my heart will never cease to be there. Do Thou accept the slight amount of good that I do and be graciously pleased to repair all m] wrong-doing; so that I may be able to bless Thee in time and in eternity. Amen.
Cardinal Merry del Val

MEMORARE TO THE SACRED HEART
Remember, O most sweet Jesus, that no one who has had recourse to Thy Sacred Heart, implored its help, or sought its mercy was ever abandoned. Encouraged with confidence, O tenderest of hearts, we present ourselves before Thee, crushed beneath the weight of our sins. In our misery, O Sacred Heart of Jesus, despise not our simple prayers, but mercifully grant our requests. Amen.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

Only for Love: The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood [Catholic Caucus]

Catholic Word of the Day: LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART, 10-19-09
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Devotion to the Sacred Heart Today
The Biblical Foundation of Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [Ecumenical]
Heart to Heart (Sacred Heart of Jesus Devotion) [St. Margaret Mary Alacoque]
(June) The Month of the Sacred Heart {Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [St. Margaret Mary Alacoque]
The Heart of the World (On the Sacred Heart of Jesus) (Catholic Caucus)
The Sacred Heart Is The Holy Eucharist(Catholic Caucus)
The Origin of the Sacred Heart Badge

Importance of Devotion to the Sacred Heart
An Awesome Homily on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Father Edmond Kline
Catholic Prayer and Devotion: June the Month of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Devotions: Sacred Heart of Jesus
Pope Urges Jesuits to Spread Sacred Heart Devotion
Homilies preached by Father Altier on the Feast of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Meditation and Devotion: The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Daily Recomendation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus powerful prayer!
The Sacred Heart and the Eucharist
The Love of the Sacred Heart

On the Sacred Heart - "We Adore God's Love of Humanity"
HAURIETIS AQUAS (On Devotion To The Sacred Heart) - Encyclical by Pope Pius XII
Solemnity Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
Sacred Heart a Feast of God's Love, Says John Paul II
The Sacred Heart of Jesus: Symbol of Combativity and the Restoration of Christendom
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus-The Early Church, Middle Ages up to St. Margaret Mary
See this Heart
‘God Will Act and Will Reign’
About Devotion To The Sacred Heart:The Story Of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Rediscover Feast of Sacred Heart, John Paul II Tells Youth

"Behold this Heart which has loved men so much, and yet men do not want to love Me in return. Through you My divine Heart wishes to spread its love everywhere on earth."

- Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary

Our Lord also made 12 promises to St. Margaret Mary for those that are devoted to His Sacred Heart.

I will give them all the graces necessary for their state in life.
I will give peace in their families.
I will console them in all their troubles.
They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.
I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
Tepid souls shall become fervent.
Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
I will bless the homes in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honoured.
I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in My Heart, and it shall never be effaced.
The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at the last hour.

Daily Gospel Commentary

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C

Commentary of the day
Saint Fulgentius of Ruspe (467-532), Bishop in North Africa
On the forgiveness of sins; CCL 91A, 693 (trans. breviary)

"I tell you, arise!"

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will rise uncorrupted and we shall be changed.” When Paul uses 'we' in this passage he means that there will be a sharing with him in this future transformation for those who are united with him and his companions in this age in the fellowship of the Church and of the life of virtue. He also explains the nature of this transformation when he goes on to say: “For this corruptible nature must put on incorruptibility and this mortal nature must put on immortality” (1Cor 15,52-53). Therefore to ensure in such cases that a transformation results then which is a just reward, there is now, in this life, a transformation which is the result of freely given bounty...

In this present life it is by grace that the transformation arising from the gift of God is begun in them here by justification, which is a spiritual resurrection. Afterwards it is by grace that in the resurrection of the body, when that transformation of the justified is made complete, there will result a perfect glorification... So the free gift of justification first, and then the free gift of glorification, will bring about in them the result that that glorification cannot be changed and will remain for ever.

Here they are changed by the first resurrection by which they are enlightened to conversion. By this they pass from death to life, from wickedness to righteousness, from unbelief to faith, from wicked deeds to a holy way of life. As a result the second death has no power over them. It is to them that the words of the Apocalypse apply: “Blessed are they who share in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power” (Rv 20,6)... Thus anyone who does not wish to be condemned to the eternal punishment of the second death should hasten to become a sharer in the first resurrection in this life. If anyone is changed in this present life by fear of God and passes from a wicked to a good life, then he passes from death to life, and afterward he will be changed from a humble, lowly state to glory.

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June 5, 2016

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 1 Kgs 17:17-24

Responsorial Psalm Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13

Reading 2 Gal 1:11-14a, 15ac, 16a, 17, 19

Alleluia Lk 7:16

Gospel Lk 7:11-17

Readings at Mass

June 2016

Pope's Intentions

Universal: Human Solidarity, That the aged, marginalized, and those who have no one may find “even within the huge cities of the world” opportunities for encounter and solidarity.

Evangelization: Seminarians and Novices, That seminarians and men and women entering religious life may have mentors who live the joy of the Gospel and prepare them wisely for their mission.

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C