Posted on 07/03/2011 10:34:46 PM PDT by Salvation
July 4, 2011
Monday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Gospel
Reading 1
Gn 28:10-22a
Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran.
When he came upon a certain shrine, as the sun had already set,
he stopped there for the night.
Taking one of the stones at the shrine, he put it under his head
and lay down to sleep at that spot.
Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground,
with its top reaching to the heavens;
and God’s messengers were going up and down on it.
And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying:
“I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham
and the God of Isaac;
the land on which you are lying
I will give to you and your descendants.
These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth,
and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south.
In you and your descendants
all the nations of the earth shall find blessing.
Know that I am with you;
I will protect you wherever you go,
and bring you back to this land.
I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you.”
When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed,
“Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!”
In solemn wonder he cried out: “How awesome is this shrine!
This is nothing else but an abode of God,
and that is the gateway to heaven!”
Early the next morning Jacob took the stone
that he had put under his head,
set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on top of it.
He called the site Bethel,
whereas the former name of the town had been Luz.
Jacob then made this vow: “If God remains with me,
to protect me on this journey I am making
and to give me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear,
and I come back safe to my father’s house, the LORD shall be my God.
This stone that I have set up as a memorial stone shall be God’s abode.”
R. (see 2b) In you, my God, I place my trust.
You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
Say to the LORD, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
R. In you, my God, I place my trust.
For he will rescue you from the snare of the fowler,
from the destroying pestilence.
With his pinions he will cover you,
and under his wings you shall take refuge.
R. In you, my God, I place my trust.
Because he clings to me, I will deliver him;
I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name.
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in distress.
R. In you, my God, I place my trust.
While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward,
knelt down before him, and said,
“My daughter has just died.
But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live.”
Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples.
A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him
and touched the tassel on his cloak.
She said to herself, “If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured.”
Jesus turned around and saw her, and said,
“Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you.”
And from that hour the woman was cured.
When Jesus arrived at the official’s house
and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion,
he said, “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.”
And they ridiculed him.
When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand,
and the little girl arose.
And news of this spread throughout all that land.
| Feast Day: | July 4 |
| Born: | 1271, Aljafería Palace, Zaragoza, Kingdom of Aragon |
| Died: | 4 July 1336, Estremoz Castle in Estremoz, Alentejo, Kingdom of Portugal |
| Canonized: | 24 June 1625 by Pope Urban VIII |
| Major Shrine: | Monastery of Santa Clara-a-Nova, Coimbra, Portugal[ |
| Patron of: | Third Order of St Francis |
| Feast Day: | July 4 |
| Born: |
April 6, 1901, Turin, Italy |
| Died: | July 4, 1925, Turin, Italy |
| Canonized: | May 20, 1990 by Pope John Paul II |
When she was just twelve, she married King Denis of Portugal. So she became Queen Elizabeth of Portugal when she was not even a teenager. She was a charming wife and her husband was fond of her at first, but soon he began to cause her great suffering.
Though a good ruler, he did not have his wife's love of prayer and virtue. In fact, his sins of impurity were a disgrace and well-known throughout his kingdom.
St. Elizabeth tried to be a loving mother to her children, Prince Alphonso and Princess Constance. She was also generous and loving with the people of Portugal and spent time helping the sick and the poor.
Even though her husband was unfaithful, she prayed that God would change his heart. Elizabeth trusted God and refused to become bitter and angry. She strengthened her own prayer life and followed the Franciscan spirituality.
A little by little, the king was moved by her patience and good example. He began to live better. He apologized to his wife and showed her greater respect. In his last sickness the queen never left his side, except for Mass. King Denis died on January 6, 1325.
He was very sorry for his sins and his death was peaceful. This gentle woman was also a peacemaker between members of her own family and between nations. She rode out into the battlefield and was able to prevent war on two occasions.
After the king died Elizabeth gave her wealth to the poor and joined the lay Franciscan order. There she started the monastery of the Poor Clares, living a life of poverty, performing loving acts of charity and penance. She was a wonderful model of kindness toward the poor.
St. Elizabeth of Portugal died on July 4, 1336 of a fever. After her death, many miracles took place at her tomb.
Reflection: "If you love peace, all will be well."- St. Elizabeth
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.
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. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence 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.
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.
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 evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
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From an Obama bumper sticker on a car:
"Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8"
Psalm 109:8
"Let his days be few; and let another take his place of leadership."
PLEASE JOIN US -
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A Prayer for PriestsO 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 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).
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
The Traditional Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Catholic Caucus)
Devotion to the Precious Blood
DOCTRINE OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,And More on the Precious Blood
Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ
NOTHING IS MORE POTENT AGAINST EVIL THAN PLEADING THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST
FORMER PENTECOSTAL RELATES MIRACLE THAT OCCURRED WITH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD
Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
St.Gaspar:Founder of the Society of the Precious Blood[AKA The Hammer of Freemasons]
July 2011
Pope Benedict XVI's Intentions
General Intention: That Christians may contribute to alleviating the material and spiritual suffering of AIDS patients, especially in the poorest countries.
Missionary Intention: For the religious who work in mission territories, that they may be witnesses of the joy of the Gospel and living signs of the love of Christ.
From: Genesis 28:10-22a
Jacob’s Dream
[18] So Jacob rose early in the morning, and he took the stone which he had put
under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. [19] He
called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of the city was Luz at the first.
[20] Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in
this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, [21] so that
I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, [22a]
and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house.”
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Commentary:
28:10-22 The narrative continues with this scene which deals with the first appea-
rance of God to Jacob, when he confirms to him the promise he made to Abra-
ham; it also recalls the foundation of the shrine at Bethel.
It is significant that these events occur in Canaan, the land of the promise and
the land to which Jacob and his sons will later have reason to return. After the
exodus from Egypt and the conquest of the land, the Israelites consulted [the
LORD] at Bethel (cf. Judg 20:18, 26-28); and after the division of the country
into two kingdoms, on the death of Solomon, Bethel became one of the main
religious shrines of the Northern kingdom (cf. 1 Kings 12:26-33).
In the context in which it appears here, the account of Jacob’s dream shows how
the patriarch, strengthened by God who has revealed to him his plan, is now able
to face the long years which he will have to spend away from the promised land.
The Lord will not appear to him again until he returns (cf. 32:22-32). The Lord
does the same thing with us, sometimes allowing quite a time to go by when we
do not feel his presence. “You told me that God sometimes fills you with light for
a while and sometimes does not. I reminded you, firmly, that the Lord is always
infinitely good. That is why those moments of light are enough to help you carry
on; but the times when you see no light are good for you too, and make you
more faithful” (St. J. Escriva. Furrow. 341).
28:12. As described in the biblical text, the ladder which Jacob sees in his
dream (which might have been like the staircases in Mesopotamian or Egyptian
temples, copied in turn in the shrines of Canaan) is filled with deep symbolism:
it is the link between heaven and earth. Some Fathers of the Church interpret
this ladder as being divine providence, which reaches earth through the ministry
of angels; others see it as a sign of the Incarnation of Christ (who is of the line
of Jacob), for the Incarnation is truly the time when divine and human join, since
Christ is true God and true man.
In St John’s Gospel we see Jacob’s dream fulfilled in the glorification of Jesus
through his death on the cross: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven
opened, and the angels or God ascending and descending upon the Son of man”
(Jn 1:5 1). And so other prominent interpreters see Jacob’s ladder as represen-
ting the cross, whereby Christ and Christians attain the glory of heaven. St Ber-
nard applied the symbolism of the ladder to the Blessed Virgin: “She is the lad-
der of Jacob, which has twelve rungs, counting the two sides. The right-hand
side is disdain for oneself out of love for God; the left-hand side is disdain for the
world, for love for the Kingdom. The ascent up its twelve rungs represents the
degrees of humility. [...] By these rungs angels ascend and men are raised up...”
(”Sermo ad Beatam Virginem”, 4).
28:14. Once more, divine revelation makes it clear that the reason for choosing
the people of Israel (a choice now confirmed to Jacob) is to have the blessing of
God reach all nations (cf. 12:3), and to let all men, created as they are in God’s
image and likeness (cf. 1:26), benefit from that choice. The fact that God chose
one people does not mean that he has put a limit on his goodness; it is simply
the way that he, the Creator of all, chose to make his fatherly call reach the ears
of all. “Connected with the mystery of creation is the “mystery of the election”,
which in a special way shaped the history of the people whose spiritual father is
Abraham by virtue of his faith. Nevertheless, through this people which journeys
forward through the history both of the Old Covenant and of the New, that mys-
tery of election refers to every man and woman, to the whole great human family.
‘I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithful-
ness to you’ (Jer 31:3)” (”Dives in Misericordiae”, 4).
28:20. St John Chrysostom comments that the words “will give me bread to eat”
were endorsed by Jesus in the Our Father: “Give us this day our daily bread”:
“Let us request of him no material things beyond this. I mean, it would be quite
inappropriate to ask of such a generous giver, who enjoys such an abundance
of power, things that will dissolve with this present life and undergo great trans-
formation and decay. All such things are, in fact, human, whether you refer to
wealth, or power, or human glory. Let us instead ask for what lasts forever, for
what is permanent’ (”Homiliae in Genesim”, 54, 5).
*********************************************************************************************
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: Matthew 9:18-26
The Raising of Jairus’ Daughter
The Curing of the Woman with a Hemorrhage
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
18-26. Here are two miracles which occur almost simultaneously. From parallel
passages in Mark (5:21-43) and Luke (8:40-56) we know that the “ruler” (of the
synagogue) referred to here was called Jairus. The Gospels report Jesus raising
three people to life—this girl, the son of the widow of Nain, and Lazarus. In each
case the identity of the person is clearly given.
This account shows us, once again, the role faith plays in Jesus’ saving actions.
In the case of the woman with the hemorrhage we should note that Jesus is won
over by her sincerity and faith: she does not let obstacles get in her way. Simi-
larly, Jairus does not care what people will say; a prominent person in his city,
he humbles himself before Jesus for all to see.
18. “Knelt before Him”: the eastern way of showing respect to God or to impor-
tant people. In the liturgy, especially in the presence of the Blessed Eucharist,
reverences are a legitimate and appropriate external sign of internal faith and
adoration.
23. “The flute players”: engaged to provide music at wakes and funerals.
24. “Depart, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping”: Jesus says the same thing
about Lazarus: “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him”
(John 11:11).
Although Jesus speaks of sleep, there is no question of the girl—or Lazarus, later
—not being dead. For our Lord there is only one true death—that of eternal punish-
ment (cf. Matthew 10:28).
*********************************************************************************************
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.
| First reading | Genesis 28:10-22 © |
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| Psalm | Psalm 90:1-4,14-15 |
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| Gospel | Matthew 9:18-26 © |
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| Monday, July 04, 2011 Independence Day |
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The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Amen. |
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