Reading 1 Gn 17:1, 9-10, 15-22

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him
and said: "I am God the Almighty.
Walk in my presence and be blameless."

God also said to Abraham:
"On your part, you and your descendants after you
must keep my covenant throughout the ages.
This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you
that you must keep:
every male among you shall be circumcised."

God further said to Abraham:
"As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai;
her name shall be Sarah.
I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her.
Him also will I bless; he shall give rise to nations,
and rulers of peoples shall issue from him."
Abraham prostrated himself and laughed as he said to himself,
"Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?
Or can Sarah give birth at ninety?"
Then Abraham said to God,
"Let but Ishmael live on by your favor!"
God replied: "Nevertheless, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son,
and you shall call him Isaac.
I will maintain my covenant with him as an everlasting pact,
to be his God and the God of his descendants after him.
As for Ishmael, I am heeding you: I hereby bless him.
I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly.
He shall become the father of twelve chieftains,
and I will make of him a great nation.
But my covenant I will maintain with Isaac,
whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next year."
When he had finished speaking with him, God departed from Abraham.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

R. (4) See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.

Alleluia Mt 8:17

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 8:1-4

When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.
And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said,
"Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean."
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
"I will do it. Be made clean."
His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
Then Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one,
but go show yourself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them."

From: Matthew 8:1-4

The Curing of a Leper

[1] When He (Jesus) came down from the mountain, great crowds followed Him;
[2] and behold, a leper came to Him and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You
will, You can make me clean.” [3] And He stretched out His hand and touched
him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. [4]
And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show your-
self to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to the
people.

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

Chapters 8 and 9 of St. Matthew deal with a series of miracles worked by our
Lord. The first Christians had vivid experience of the fact that the glorified Jesus
was still present in His Church, confirming its teaching by signs, by miracles
(Mark 16:20; Acts 14:3).

And so, St. Matthew, after giving the nucleus of Jesus’ public teaching in the Ser-
mon on the Mount (Chapters 5-7), goes on now to gather a number of miracles to
support our Lord’s words. Some commentators call this section—Chapters 8 and
9—”the works of the Messiah”, paralleling what they called “the words of the Mes-
siah” (the Discourse on the Mount). In Chapters 5-7 we see Jesus as the su-
preme lawgiver and master who teaches with divine authority, a unique authority
superior to that held by Moses and the prophets. Now, in Chapters 8 and 9, He
is shown as endowed with divine authority over disease, death, the elements and
evil spirits. These miracles worked by Jesus Christ accredit the divine authority
of His teaching.

1. The Gospel draws attention, for the third time, to the huge crowds that flocked
to Jesus: literally, “many multitudes followed Him”. This shows the popularity
He had achieved: He was so popular that the Sanhedrin (the great council of the
Jewish nation) dared not arrest Him for fear of what the people would do (cf. Mat-
thew 21:46; 26:5; Mark 14:2). Later on, they would accuse Him before Pilate of
stirring up the whole country from Judea to Galilee. And we will see Herod Anti-
pas’ eagerness to meet Jesus, of whom he has heard so much (cf. Matthew
14:1). In contrast to this huge popularity, we find the elders opposing Him and
deceiving the people into calling for Jesus’ execution (cf. Matthew 27:20-22).

2. The Fathers have taken the following meaning from this cure: leprosy is a vivid
image of sin: it is ugly, disgusting, very contagious and difficult to cure. We are
all sinners and we are all in need of God’s forgiveness and grace (cf. Romans 3:
23-24). The leper in the Gospel knelt down before Jesus, in all humility and
trust, begging to be made clean. If we have recourse to our Savior with that kind
of faith, we can be sure than He will cure the wretchedness of our souls. We
should often address Christ with this short prayer, borrowed from the leper: “Lord,
if You will, You can make me clean.”

4. According to the Law of Moses (Leviticus 14), if a leper is cured of his disease,
he should present himself to a priest, who will register the cure and give him a cer-
tificate which he needs to be reintegrated into the civil and religious life of Israel.
Leviticus also prescribes the purifications and sacrifice he should offer. Jesus’
instruction to the leper is, then, in keeping with the normal way of fulfilling what
the laws laid down.

*********************************************************************************************
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: Genesis 17:1, 9-10, 15-22

The Renewal of the Covenant: Abram’s Name is Changed

[1] When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram, and
said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.

[9] And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you
and your descendants after you throughout their generations. [10] This is my co-
venant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after
you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

Abahram Will Have a Son by Sarah

[15] And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her
name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. [16] I will bless her, and moreover I
will give you a son by her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations;
kings of peoples shall come from her.” [17] Then Abraham fell on his face and
laughed, and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred
years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” [18] And Abra-
ham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live in thy sight!” [19] God said, “No,
but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I
will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descen-
dants after him. [20] As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him
and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of
twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. [21] But I will establish my
covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.”
[22] When he had finished taking with him, God went up from Abraham.

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

17:1-27. If previously, in chapter 15, the text stressed the way the promise was
linked to God’s covenant with Abraham, it now shows the duties it placed on the
patriarchs and their descendants — to be holy, to acknowledge the one true God
and to practise the rite of circumcision. The covenant, as we have seen, had its
origin in an initiative on God’s part, but it also commits man. In Abrahamâ€™s case
this commitment involves in accepting circumcision as a commandment from
God to himself and his descendants.

17:1. “El-Shaddaiâ€ is the name the patriarchs often gave to God (cf 28:3; 35:11;
43:14; 48:3; 49:25), because the name “Yahwehâ€ had not yet been revealed (cf.
Ex 3:13-14). Following the earliest Greek version (the Septuagint) it is usually
translated as “God Almightyâ€ (which is the RSV practice), although it could also
mean â€˜â€˜God of the mountainsâ€™â€™ or “God of abundanceâ€ . By recording the names
the patriarchs used when referring to God or invoking him, the Bible is, on the
one hand, identifying the God the patriarchs worshipped with Yahweh, the God
of the Sinai Covenant; and on the other hand, it is showing the way God reveals
himself gradually over the course of time.

God asks Abraham to live in his presence and to be perfect. The two things are
closely connected: “This is the only way to avoid falling.â€™â€™ Clement of Alexandria
points out: “being conscious that God is always at our sideâ€ (”Paedagogus,” 3,
33, 3). This is the first time in the Bible that God tells a human being to be per-
fect, “blamelessâ€ . This call, here addressed to Abraham, will be extended by
Jesus to all mankind (cf. Mt 5:48).

17:5. Abraham is the first person in biblical history to have his name changed by
God. By doing this God is conferring a new personality and a new mission, as
can be seen from the meaning of his new name, â€˜â€˜father of a multitude of nationsâ€™â€™.

This name, therefore, is linked to the promise attached to the Covenant; from
now on, the entire personality of the patriarch stems from the Covenant and is
subservient to it. Abraham is the “father of the Covenantâ€ ; in the light of New Tes-
tament revelation St Paul will interpret this new name of Abraham as having a
connexion with Gentiles converted to Christianity (cf. Rom 4:17). This name,
“father of a multitude of nations” becomes, therefore, a prophetic announcement
of the fact that the non-Jewish world will in due course become part of the people
of the New Covenant, the Church.

17:10-14. Circumcision, which consists in a circular cutting of part of the foreskin,
may originally have been a sexual and marriage initiation rite of a type widespread
in the ancient Near East. Reasons of hygiene may have played a part in its use.
The people of Israel regarded it as a divine commandment involved in the Cove-
nant, and as a distinguishing mark to show membership of the people of God. It
is easy to see why Christian tradition regards circumcision as prefiguring Bap-
tism. “Jesus ‘circumcision’, on the eighth day after his birth (cf. Lk 2:21), is the
sign of his incorporation into Abrahamâ€™s descendants, into the people of the co-
venant. It is the sign of his submission to the Law (cf. Gal 4:4) and his deputa-
tion to Israelâ€™s worship, in which he will participate throughout his life. This sign
prefigures that â€˜circumcision of Christâ€™ which is Baptism (Col 2:11-13)” “(Cate-
chism of the Catholic Church, 527)”. In the new economy of salvation that sign
would no longer serve any purpose: â€˜For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision
nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love” (Gal 5:6).

17:15-22. The carrying into effect of Godâ€™s plan (cf. the promise in chap. 15) is
going to exceed Abraham’s expectations. True, he already does have a son, lsh-
mael, by the slave-girl Hagar according to the customs of the time, that is, in ac-
cord with human laws and recourses. But it is not through this son that God is
going to keep his promise, but through a son to be born of Sarah, and whose
birth will clearly reveal the power of God.

Sarah, Abraham’s wife, is also going to have a direct involvement in the way the
promise is fulfilled. And so she too is going to be given a new name, to show the
new personality she acquires by sharing directly in God’s designs through her
motherhood. This is what Abraham is now told.

Abraham â€˜s laugh (as also Sarahâ€™s in the next chapter: cf. 18:12-14) conveys the
astonishment the announcement causes (it seems unbelievable); it is also con-
nected with the name of the child who will he born — Isaac (cf. the note on 21: 1-
7). However, Abraham keeps on thinking in terms of the son he already has, lsh-
mael. He too will be the recipient of divine blessings: he will become the father of
a great nation, the lshmaelites, or Arabs. But the patriarch is now asked for a
new act of faith in God despite the fact that they are both old, to expect Sarah to
give birth to a son, who will be the protagonist in the Covenant, just like his father.
God’s actions, in effect, surpass man’s expectations.

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
Genesis 17:1,9-10,15-22 ©

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am El Shaddai. Bear yourself blameless in my presence, and I will make a Covenant between myself and you. You on your part shall maintain my Covenant, yourself and your descendants after you, generation after generation. Now this is my Covenant which you are to maintain between myself and you, and your descendants after you: all your males must be circumcised.’

God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah. I will bless her and moreover give you a son by her. I will bless her and nations shall come out of her; kings of peoples shall descend from her.’ Abraham bowed to the ground, and he laughed, thinking to himself, ‘Is a child to be born to a man one hundred years old, and will Sarah have a child at the age of ninety?’ Abraham said to God, ‘Oh, let Ishmael live in your presence!’ But God replied, ‘No, but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son whom you are to name Isaac. With him I will establish my Covenant, a Covenant in perpetuity, to be his God and the God of his descendants after him. For Ishmael too I grant you your request: I bless him and I will make him fruitful and greatly increased in numbers. He shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. But my Covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear you at this time next year.’ When he had finished speaking to Abraham God went up from him.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 127(128):1-5 ©

Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord

and walk in his ways!

By the labour of your hands you shall eat.

You will be happy and prosper.

Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

in the heart of your house;

your children like shoots of the olive,

around your table.

Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.

Indeed thus shall be blessed

the man who fears the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion

all the days of your life!

Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation	Ps144:13

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Lord is faithful in all his words

and loving in all his deeds.

Alleluia!

Or	Mt8:17

Alleluia, alleluia!

He took our sicknesses away,

and carried our diseases for us.

Alleluia!

Gospel	Matthew 8:1-4 ©

After Jesus had come down from the mountain large crowds followed him. A leper now came up and bowed low in front of him. ‘Sir,’ he said ‘if you want to, you can cure me.’ Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’ And his leprosy was cured at once. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Mind you do not tell anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering prescribed by Moses, as evidence for them.’

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 Sorrowful Mysteries

(Tuesdays and Fridays)

1. The Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46) [Spiritual fruit - God's will be done]
2. The Scourging at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15, John 19:1) [Spiritual fruit - Mortification of the senses]
3. The Crowning with Thorns (Matthew 27:27-30, Mark 15:16-20, John 19:2) [Spiritual fruit - Reign of Christ in our heart]
4. The Carrying of the Cross (Matthew 27:31-32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26-32, John 19:17) [Spiritual fruit - Patient bearing of trials]
5. The Crucifixion (Matthew 27:33-56, Mark 15:22-39, Luke 23:33-49, John 19:17-37) [Spiritual fruit - Pardoning of Injuries]

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

Friday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Symeon the New Theologian (c.949-1022), Greek monk, saint of the Orthodox churches
Hymn 30

"Jesus touched him, and said, 'I will do it. Be made clean' "

Until there shone the light divine
I knew not myself.
Then, seeing myself in darkness and the dungeon,
Caught in the mire, covered with muck,
Wounded, bloated...,
I fell at the feet of the one who had enlightened me,
and he who had enlightened me
touched my bonds and injuries
with his hands.
Where his hand touched and his finger drew near
At once my bonds fell from me,
My wounds and all my uncleanness disappeared.
My fleshly filth vanished...
So as to become like his divine hand.
What an extraordinary marvel:
My flesh, soul and body,
Have a share in divine glory!

No sooner was I purified, freed from my bonds,
Than he appeared who held out to me his divine hand.
He drew me out completely from the mire,
Embraced and hugged me,
Covering me with kisses (Lk 15,20).
And I who had been altogether spent
And had lost my strength,
he took upon his shoulders (Lk 15,5),
and carried me away from my tortures...

It was light that bore me away, upholding me,
drawing me towards a great light...
It enabled me to contemplate by what mysterious refashioning
he himself had formed me once again (Gn 2,7),
snatching me away from corruption.
He granted me the gift of life immortal
and clothed me with a garment, insubstantial and shining,
giving me sandals, a ring and a crown,
incorruptible and everlasting (Lk 15,22).

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June 30, 2017

Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Gn 17:1, 9-10, 15-22

Responsorial Psalm Ps 128:1-2, 3, 4-5

Alleluia Mt 8:17

Gospel Mt 8:1-4

Readings at Mass

June, 2017

Pope's Intention

National Leaders, That national leaders may firmly commit themselves to ending the arms trade, which victimizes so many innocent people.

Friday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time