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From: Genesis 27:1-5, 15-29

Jacob Obtains Isaac’s Blessing by Cunning

[1] When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he
called Esau his older son, and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I
am.” [2] He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. [3] Now
then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and
hunt game for me, [4] and prepare for me savory food, such as I love, and bring
it to me that I may eat; that I may bless you before I die.”

[5] Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when
Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, [15] (Then) Rebekah took
the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house and
put them on Jacob her younger son; [16] and the skins of the kids she put upon
his hands and upon the smooth part of his neck; [17] and she gave the savory
food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.

[18] So he went in to his father, and said, “My father”; and said, “Here I am; who
are you, my son?” [19] Jacob said to his father “I am Esau your first-born. I have
done as you told me; now sit and eat of my game, that you may bless me.” [20]
But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?”
He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” [21] Then Isaac
said to Jacob, “Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are
really my son Esau or not.” [22] Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him
and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” [23]
And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother E-
sau’s hands; so he blessed him. He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He an-
swered, “I am.” Then he said, “Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son’s game
and bless you.” So he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine,
and he drank. [26] Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me,
my son.” [27] So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his
garments, and blessed him, and said, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell
of a field which the Lord has blessed! [28] May God give you of the dew of hea-
ven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. [29] Let peo-
ples serve you, and nations bow down to you.”

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

27:1-45. Jacob managed to get the birthright; now he is going to get the bles-
sing his father intended for his firstborn son. Seemingly, this blessing meant he
acquired a right to the inheritance he had already bought from Esau and it meant
he would be the head of the family (cf. v. 29). Moreover, by getting his father’s
blessing he also received God’s blessing. The Bible does not make a judgment
about the methods Jacob used to deflect his father’s blessing to himself; but it
does make it clear, once again, that he had no right to it as far as human laws
were concerned; no, he received both the birthright and the blessing as a gratui-
tous gift from God, who chose the younger son (cf. 25:23). Here too, as in the
case of Isaac (cf. 21:8-13), the part played by the mother is stressed; she ig-
nores custom, and plays an active part in the furthering of God’s plans. The
passage also stresses how shrewd the patriarch is by comparison with Esau.
Jacob’s action is justified in the overall context of the narrative, given that he
bought the birthright previously from his brother. However, the prophet Hosea
was of the opinion that Jacob had done something he should be sorry for; in
which case Jacob prefigures the people of Israel, whom the prophet calls to re-
pentance (cf. Hos 12:37).

This account is in a style similar to what we saw in chapter 24: the action un-
folds over five scenes, each of which includes a dialogue between two people
(their psychology is captured very well); dramatic tension is maintained by curio-
sity as to who will end up winning the blessing; the story is well told, and rather
amusing.

27:5-17. Rebekah apparently acts out of human motives, impelled by her love for
her favorite (younger) son (cf. 25:28). God will use this favoritism to guide events
so that his plans for the two sons take effect (cf. 25:23). Holy Scripture does not
justify Rebekah’s action, but God draws great good from it: the promises made
to Abraham pass, through Jacob, to the people of Israel, his descendants.

27:20. Jacob’s reply, invoking the name of God as it does, is not a little astute:
he does not explain how he obtained the game, but the reader is led to believe
that it was Rebekah’s doing.

27:26-29. The blessing Isaac gives Jacob evokes the fine qualities of this son,
the fruitfulness of the land and lordship over the nations—three things connected
with the call to Abraham and the promise of land and descendants, as will be
pointed out later on when Isaac reaffirms his blessing after he discovers he has
been deceived (cf. 28:3-4). The Letter to the Hebrews (cf. Heb 11:20) teaches
that this blessing and also that received by Esau (cf. Gen 27:39-40), are inspi-
red by faith and are given with a view to the future, that is, to the fullness of time.
And so St Augustine interprets that “what the blessing of Jacob typifies is, then,
the preaching of Christ to all nations. [...] Isaac is the law and prophecy by which
Christ is blessed by means of the mouth of the Jews. But, since law and prophe-
cy was not understood, it was as though it came from one who spoke in igno-
rance. It is with the aroma of Christ’s name that the world, like a field, is filled.

His is the blessing of the dew from heaven (meaning the shower of His divine
words) and of the fruitfulness of the earth (in the sense of the gathering in of the
peoples of the earth). His is the harvest of grain and of wine (interpreted as the
multitude of those who gather the grain and wine in the sacrament of his Body
and Blood. [...] His Father’s sons, in the sense of the sons of Abraham accor-
ding to faith, adore Him who is, in turn, a son of Abraham according to the flesh.
Anyone who curses Him is cursed, and anyone who blesses Him is blessed.
What I mean is that it is our Christ who is blessed (in the sense of being truly
announced) even by the Jews themselves, who, for all their errors of hoping for
some other Messiah and of thinking that it is he who is being blessed, still sing
in their synagogues the Laws and the Prophets” (”De Civitate Dei”, 16, 37).

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

Pray for Pope Francis.

From: Matthew 9:14-15
The Call of Matthew (Continuation)

[14] Then the disciples of John (the Baptist) came to Him (Jesus), saying, “Why
do we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?” [15] And Jesus
said them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with
them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and
then they will fast.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
14-17. This passage is interesting, not so much because it tells us about the
sort of fasting practised by the Jews of the time — particularly the Pharisees and
John the Baptist’s disciples—but because of the reason Jesus gives for not requi-
ring His disciples to fast in that way. His reply is both instructive and prophetic.
Christianity is not a mere mending or adjusting of the old suit of Judaism. The re-
demption wrought by Jesus involves a total regeneration. Its spirit is too new and
too vital to be suited to old forms of penance, which will no longer apply.
We know that in our Lord’s time Jewish theology schools were in the grip of a
highly complicated casuistry to do with fasting, purifications, etc., which smo-
thered the simplicity of genuine piety. Jesus’ words point to that simplicity of
heart with which His disciples might practise prayer, fasting and almsgiving (cf.
Matthew 6:1-18 and notes to same). From apostolic times onwards it is for the
Church, using the authority given it by our Lord to set out the different forms
fasting should take in different periods and situations.
15. “The wedding guests”: literally, “the sons of the house where the wedding is
being celebrated”—an expression meaning the bridegroom’s closest friends. This
is an example of how St. Matthew uses typical Semitic turns of phrase, presen-
ting Jesus’ manner of speech.
This “house” to which Jesus refers has a deeper meaning; set beside the para-
ble of the guests at the wedding (Matthew 22:1 ff), it symbolizes the Church as
the house of God and the body of Christ: “Moses was faithful in all God’s house
as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ was
faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are His house if we hold fast our
confidence and pride in our hope” (Hebrews 3:5-6).
The second part of the verse refers to the violent death Jesus would meet.

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

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
Genesis 27:1-5,15-29 ©

Isaac had grown old, and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see. He summoned his elder son Esau, ‘My son!’ he said to him, and the latter answered, ‘I am here.’ Then he said, ‘See, I am old and do not know when I may die. Now take your weapons, your quiver and bow; go out into the country and hunt me some game. Make me the kind of savoury I like and bring it to me, so that I may eat, and give you my blessing before I die.’

Rebekah happened to be listening while Isaac was talking to his son Esau. So when Esau went into the country to hunt game for his father, Rebekah took her elder son Esau’s best clothes, which she had in the house, and dressed her younger son Jacob in them, covering his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skins of the kids. Then she handed the savoury and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.

He presented himself before his father and said, ‘Father.’ ‘I am here;’ was the reply ‘who are you, my son?’ Jacob said to his father, ‘I am Esau your first-born; I have done as you told me. Please get up and take your place and eat the game I have brought and then give me your blessing.’ Isaac said to his son, ‘How quickly you found it, my son!’ ‘It was the Lord your God’ he answered ‘who put it in my path.’ Isaac said to Jacob, ‘Come here, then, and let me touch you, my son, to know if you are my son Esau or not.’ Jacob came close to his father Isaac, who touched him and said, ‘The voice is Jacob’s voice but the arms are the arms of Esau!’ He did not recognise him, for his arms were hairy like his brother Esau’s, and so he blessed him. He said, ‘Are you really my son Esau?’ And he replied, ‘I am.’ Isaac said, ‘Bring it here that I may eat the game my son has brought, and so may give you my blessing.’ He brought it to him and he ate; he offered him wine, and he drank. His father Isaac said to him, ‘Come closer, and kiss me, my son.’ He went closer and kissed his father, who smelled the smell of his clothes.

He blessed him, saying:

‘Yes, the smell of my son

is like the smell of a fertile field blessed by the Lord.

May God give you

dew from heaven,

and the richness of the earth,

abundance of grain and wine!

May nations serve you

and peoples bow down before you!

Be master of your brothers;

may the sons of your mother bow down before you!

Cursed be he who curses you;

blessed be he who blesses you!’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 134(135):1-6 ©

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.

or

Alleluia!

Praise the name of the Lord,

praise him, servants of the Lord,

who stand in the house of the Lord

in the courts of the house of our God.

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.

or

Alleluia!

Praise the Lord for the Lord is good.

Sing a psalm to his name for he is loving.

For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself

and Israel for his own possession.

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.

or

Alleluia!

For I know the Lord is great,

that our Lord is high above all gods.

The Lord does whatever he wills,

in heaven, on earth, in the seas.

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.

or

Alleluia!

Gospel Acclamation	Ps118:135

Alleluia, alleluia!

Let your face shine on your servant,

and teach me your decrees.

Alleluia!

Or	Jn10:27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,

says the Lord,

I know them and they follow me.

Alleluia!

Gospel	Matthew 9:14-17 ©

John’s disciples came to him and said, ‘Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?’ Jesus replied, ‘Surely the bridegroom’s attendants would never think of mourning as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one puts a piece of unshrunken cloth on to an old cloak, because the patch pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, the wine runs out, and the skins are lost. No; they put new wine into fresh skins and both are preserved.’

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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 Joyful Mysteries

(Mondays and Saturdays)

1. The Annunciation (Luke 1:26-38) [Spiritual fruit - Humility]
2. The Visitation (Luke 1: 39-56) [Spiritual fruit - Love of Neighbor]
3. The Nativity (Luke 2:1-20) [Spiritual fruit - Poverty of Spirit]
4. The Presentation (Luke 2:21-38) [Spiritual fruit - Purity of mind & body]
5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41-52) [Spiritual fruit - Obedience ]

St. Michael the Archangel

~ PRAYER ~

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
Cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
+

Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

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!

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).

The Most Precious Blood of Jesus
July is traditionally associated with the Precious Blood of Our Lord. It may be customary to celebrate the votive Mass of the Precious Blood on July 1.

The extraordinary importance of the saving Blood of Christ has ensured a central place for its memorial in the celebration of this cultic mystery: at the centre of the Eucharistic assembly, in which the Church raises up to God in thanksgiving "the cup of blessing" (1 Cor 10, 16; cf Ps 115-116, 13) and offers it to the faithful as a "real communion with the Blood of Christ" (1 Cor 10, 16); and throughout the Liturgical Year. The Church celebrates the saving Blood of Christ not only on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, but also on many other occasions, such that the cultic remembrance of the Blood of our redemption (cf 1 Pt 1, 18) pervades the entire Liturgical Year. Hence, at Vespers during Christmastide, the Church, addressing Christ, sings: "Nos quoque, qui sancto tuo redempti sumus sanguine, ob diem natalis tui hymnum novum concinimus." In the Paschal Triduum, the redemptive significance and efficacy of the Blood of Christ is continuously recalled in adoration. During the adoration of the Cross on Good Friday the Church sings the hymn: "Mite corpus perforatur, sanguis unde profluit; terra, pontus, astra, mundus quo lavanturflumine", and again on Easter Sunday, "Cuius corpus sanctissimum in ara crucis torridum, sed et cruorem roesum gustando, Deo vivimus (194).

Catholic Word of the Day: LITANY OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD, 09-25-12
ST. GASPAR: Founder of the Society of the Precious Blood
Mass in the Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ (London, 9/18)

Devotion to the Drops of Blood Lost by our Lord Jesus Christ on His Way to Calvary (Prayer/Devotion)
Chaplet of the Most Precious Blood
Catholic Word of the Day: PRECIOUS BLOOD, 12-03-11
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
Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

"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).

July, 2017

Pope's Prayer Intention

Lapsed Christians: That our brothers and sisters who have strayed from the faith, through our prayer and witness to the Gospel, may rediscover the merciful closeness of the Lord and the beauty of the Christian life.|

Daily Gospel Commentary

Saturday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Saint Peter Chrysologus (c.406-450), Bishop of Ravenna, Doctor of the Church
Sermon 31

The fast of the friends of the Bridegroom

"Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?" … Why ? Because in your minds fasting is a matter of the law and not of a spontaneous gift. Fasting has no value in itself; what matters is the desire of the one who fasts. What sort of profit do you think to get out of it, you who fast because you are obliged or forced to do so? Fasting is a wonderful plough for working the field of holiness: it turns back hearts, uproots evil, pulls up sins, expels vices, sows charity; it nurtures fruitfulness and prepares a harvest of innocence. In the heart of the field ripe for holiness, Christ’s disciples themselves are inserted. They gather up sheaves of the virtues and enjoy bread from the new harvest: no longer can they practice fasts that have been superseded from now on…

“Why do your disciples not fast?” Our Lord answered them: “Can the friends of the Bridegroom fast while the Bridegroom is still with them?”… A man who takes a wife sets fasting aside and abandons austerity. He gives himself up wholly to rejoicing, takes part in banqueting, shows himself friendly, amiable and gay and does anything that arouses his love for his bride. At that time Christ was celebrating his wedding feast with the Church and that is why he consented to take part at meals and did not refuse those who invited him. Overflowing with kindness and love, he showed himself to be human, approachable, friendly. He wanted to unite man to God and make of his companions members of the divine family.

'I also beseech in the Lord, all my brothers who are, or who shall be, or who desire to be priests of the Most High, that whenever they wish to celebrate Mass, they be pure, and offer with purity and reverence the true Sacrifice of the most holy Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ with a holy and perfect intention; not from any earthly motive, nor for the fear or love of any creature, as though desiring to please men; but let every will (according to the grace given) be directed solely to the most High God, and do you desire to please Him alone, for He alone works in this holy Sacrifice according to His good pleasure, as the Lord has Himself said: "Do this in remembrance of Me:" and he who does otherwise becomes a traitor like Judas.

Remember, O priests, my brothers, how it is written in the law of Moses, that those who transgressed even in corporal sacrifices were condemned by God to death, without any mercy. What a far more terrible punishment will he deserve, who tramples under foot the Son of God, and treats the Blood of the New Testament by which he is sanctified as a vile thing, and offers insult to the Holy Ghost!

A man stained with sin despises and tramples on the Lamb of God, when, as the Apostle says, not discerning the sacred Bread, which is Christ, from other food, he eats unworthily by being guilty of unworthy actions; for the Lord has said by His Prophet: "Cursed is the man who does the work of God with negligence or fraud." And on account of those priests who will not lay these things seriously to heart, we are condemned, when Our Lord says: "I will curse your blessings."'

St. Francis of Assisi

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.

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)

"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42).

July 8, 2017

Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Gn 27:1-5, 15-29

Responsorial Psalm Ps 135:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6

Alleluia Jn 10:27

Gospel Mt 9:14-17

Readings at Mass

July, 2017

Pope's Prayer Intention

Lapsed Christians: That our brothers and sisters who have strayed from the faith, through our prayer and witness to the Gospel, may rediscover the merciful closeness of the Lord and the beauty of the Christian life.|

Saturday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time