Posted on 06/18/2014 9:13:10 PM PDT by Salvation
June 19, 2014
Thursday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 Sir 48:1-14
Like a fire there appeared the prophet Elijah
whose words were as a flaming furnace.
Their staff of bread he shattered,
in his zeal he reduced them to straits;
By the Lord’s word he shut up the heavens
and three times brought down fire.
How awesome are you, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!
Whose glory is equal to yours?
You brought a dead man back to life
from the nether world, by the will of the LORD.
You sent kings down to destruction,
and easily broke their power into pieces.
You brought down nobles, from their beds of sickness.
You heard threats at Sinai,
at Horeb avenging judgments.
You anointed kings who should inflict vengeance,
and a prophet as your successor.
You were taken aloft in a whirlwind of fire,
in a chariot with fiery horses.
You were destined, it is written, in time to come
to put an end to wrath before the day of the LORD,
To turn back the hearts of fathers toward their sons,
and to re-establish the tribes of Jacob.
Blessed is he who shall have seen you
And who falls asleep in your friendship.
For we live only in our life,
but after death our name will not be such.
O Elijah, enveloped in the whirlwind!
Then Elisha, filled with the twofold portion of his spirit,
wrought many marvels by his mere word.
During his lifetime he feared no one,
nor was any man able to intimidate his will.
Nothing was beyond his power;
beneath him flesh was brought back into life.
In life he performed wonders,
and after death, marvelous deeds.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 97:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7
R. (12a) Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;
let the many isles be glad.
Clouds and darkness are round about him,
justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes round about.
His lightnings illumine the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens proclaim his justice,
and all peoples see his glory.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
All who worship graven things are put to shame,
who glory in the things of nought;
all gods are prostrate before him.
R. Rejoice in the Lord, you just!
Gospel Mt 6:7-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
“In praying, do not babble like the pagans,
who think that they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them.
Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
“This is how you are to pray:
‘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.’
“If you forgive others their transgressions,
your heavenly Father will forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others,
neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”
St. Romuald
Feast Day: June 19
Born: (around) 951 :: Died: 1027
Romuald, an Italian nobleman, was born at Ravenna in Italy. He spent a wild youth in luxury and laziness. Then, when he was twenty, he was shocked to see his father kill a man in a duel.
Romuald went to a Benedictine monastery with a stong wish to set his own life straight. He also wanted to do penance for his father's crime. The lifestyle at the monastery was completely new to Romuald and he was impressed by the good example of many of the monks.
He soon decided to become a monk and asked a good hermit named Marinus to teach him how to become holy. Both Marinus and Romuald tried to spend each day praising and loving God. Romuald's father Sergius came to visit and experience his son's new way of life.
Sergius was immediately struck by the simplicity and spirit of self-sacrifice. He realized that there had to be great happiness in the monastery because his son freely chose to stay there. That was all Sergius needed. He gave up his wealth and followed his son to spend the rest of his life as a monk, doing penance for his sins and living a life pleasing to God.
Romuald then began the Camaldolese Benedictine order. He traveled around Italy starting hermitages and monasteries. Wherever he went, he gave his monks a wonderful example of penance. For a whole year, all he ate each day was a bit of boiled beans. Then for three years, he ate only the little food he grew himself. Through these sacrifices Romuald grew closer to God.
Romuald died on June 19, 1027, at the monastery of Valdi-Castro. He was alone in his cell and passed away quietly, no doubt whispering his favorite prayer: "Oh, my sweet Jesus! God of my heart! Delight of pure souls! The object of all my desires!"
Thursday, June 19
Liturgical Color: Green
Today is the optional memorial of St.
Romuald. In his youth, St. Romuald
witnessed a killing causing his
conversion. He attempted to atone for the
killing by becoming a monk, spreading
the Gospel and founding monasteries
until his death in 1027.
Day 186 - Is it permissible to venerate relics? // What is the purpose of a pilgrimage?
Is it permissible to venerate relics?
The veneration of relics is a natural human need, a way of showing respect and reverence to the persons who are venerated. Relics of saints are properly venerated when the faithful praise God's work in people who have devoted themselves completely to God.
What is the purpose of a pilgrimage?
Someone who goes on a pilgrimage "prays with his feet" and experiences with all his senses that his entire life is one long journey to God. In ancient Israel people made pilgrimages to the Temple in Jerusalem. Christians adopted this custom. And so this developed, especially in the Middle Ages, into a regular pilgrimage movement to the holy places. Often people went on pilgrimage so as to do penance, and sometimes their actions were affected by the false notion that one had to justify oneself before God by tormenting and punishing oneself. Today pilgrimages are experiencing a unique revival. People are looking for the peace and the strength that come from those grace-filled localities. They are tired of going it alone; they want to get out of the rut of the daily routine, get rid of some ballast, and start moving toward God. (YOUCAT questions 275, 276)
Dig Deeper: CCC section (1674) and other references here.
Part 2: The Celebration of the Christian Mystery (1066 - 1690)
Section 2: The Seven Sacraments of the Church (1210 - 1690)
Chapter 4: Other Liturgical Celebrations (1667 - 1690)
Article 1: Sacramentals (1667 - 1679)
Popular piety ⇡
Besides sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account the forms of piety and popular devotions among the faithful. The religious sense of the Christian people has always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the Church's sacramental life, such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries, pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, the rosary, medals,180 etc.
180.
Cf. Council of Nicaea II: DS 601; 603; Council of Trent: DS 1822.
Daily Readings for:June 19, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: O God, who through Saint Romuald renewed the manner of life of hermits in your Church, grant that, denying ourselves and following Christ, we may merit to reach the heavenly realms on high. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
RECIPES
o Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup
ACTIVITIES
PRAYERS
o June Devotion: The Sacred Heart
LIBRARY
o A 'Burning Bush' and 'Father' of Spiritual Wisdom | Archbishop Cosmo Francesco Ruppi
· Ordinary Time: June 19th
· Optional Memorial of St. Romuald, abbot
Old Calendar: Corpus Christi ; St. Juliana of Falconieri, virgin; Saints Gervase and Protase, martyrs
St. Romuald was born in Ravenna of a noble family. Founder of the Camaldolese monks — one of the Italian branches of the Benedictines — in which the eremitical life is combined with life in community. He died in 1027, after a life of prayer and rigorous penance. In the Extraordinary Form his feast is celebrated on February 9.
According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of Corpus Christi. This feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on Sunday, June 22. Please see this special section on Corpus Christi.
According to the 1962 Missal of Bl. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Juliana of Falconieri who was born in Florence in 1270. She was about fifteen when, at the end of 1284, St. Philip Benizi, General of the Servite Order, received her among the Mantellatae, the female branch of the Order. She had a great devotion to the Holy Eucharist and practiced to a rare degree the Servite devotion to the Sorrows of our Lady. She died in Florence in 1341.
Today is also the commemoration of Sts. Gervase and Protase who were martyred at Milan in the second century. St. Ambrose discovered their bodies in 386. They rest now, with the body of St. Ambrose himself on the altar of the crypt of St. Ambrose church at Milan. They are invoked in the Litany of the Saints.
St. Romuald
St. Romuald, the founder of the Camaldolese Order, could not decide for a considerable time whether to serve God in a religious life or to remain in the world. After his father killed a relative in a duel at which Romuald was forced to be present, he went to the monastery of St. Apollinaris, near Ravenna, and did penance for forty days. Later, he entered this same monastery as a monk. Then he became a follower of the hermit Marinus in Venice. In the course of time he founded an order of hermits which received its name after the most famous of his foundations, Camalduli in Tuscany.
Romuald's was one of the strictest orders for men in the West (a branch of the Benedictine Order). Members live isolated in small huts, observing strict silence and perpetual fasting, constantly praying or engaged in manual labor. Our saint enjoyed the grace of bringing sinners, particularly those of rank and power, back to God. When he died, he was a little over seventy years; he had never used a bed, had always sought out ways of practicing severe penances. 15 years later his pupil, the holy doctor of the Church, St. Peter Damian, wrote his biography.
"His greatness lies in the rigorous and austere character of his interpretation of monastic life-an approach that was quite singular and unique. In the deepest recesses of his being, Romuald was an ascetic, a monk; not perhaps, a monk of that serene peace and self-possession exemplified by St. Benedict in his life and described by him in his Rule. Nor was Romuald an organizer who through prudent legislation enabled his spirit to flourish and affect great numbers. He reminds us of the stolid figures inhabiting the Eastern deserts, men who by most rigorous mortification and severest self-inflicted penances gave a wanton world a living example of recollection and contemplation. Their very lives constituted the most powerful sermon. It is in company with men like these that St. Romuald continues to live."
Romuald was not at all a fluent reader. Whenever he made another of his many mistakes, Marinus, his teacher, beat him on his left cheek. Finally it became too much for Romuald. "But, dear master," he said modestly, "hit me on the right cheek in the future. My left ear is almost deaf." The master was surprised at such patience and thereafter acted more considerately.
The saint loved to say, "Better to pray one psalm with devotion and compunction than a hundred with distraction."
When the holy man felt his end was near, he retired to the monastery at Val di Castro. After so many journeys he was eager to begin his final pilgrimage to an eternal resting place. Before the reform of the Calendar in 1969 his feast was celebrated on February 7, the anniversary of the translation of his relics in 1481. His feast is now June 19, the day he died in 1027. In the Calendar reform the Church has tried to move the feasts of the saints to their "birthday" — referring to the day on which the saint died and celebrated his/her birth into heaven.
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Symbols: Crutch; ladder.
Often Portrayed as: Monk pointing at a ladder on which other monks are ascending to heaven indicative his founding of his Order.
Things to Do:
St. Juliana of Falconieri
Juliana was born in 1270 of the illustrious Florentine family of the Falconieri when her parents were already well advanced in years. Her uncle, the saintly Alexius Falconieri, declared to her mother that she had given birth "not to a girl but to an angel." At the age of fifteen she renounced her inheritance and was the first to receive from the hand of St. Philip Benizi the habit of a Mantellate nun. Many women followed her example; even her mother placed herself under Juliana's spiritual direction.
St. Philip Benizi commended to her care and protection the Servite Order over which he had charge. So severe were her mortifications and fastings that a grave stomach ailment developed; she could take no food, not even the sacred Host. At the point of death she asked that a consecrated Host be placed against her heart. Then occurred a miracle — the Host vanished, and Juliana died with a radiant face. After her death the picture of the Crucified, as it had been on the sacred Host, was found impressed upon her breast.
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Patron: Bodily ills; sick people; sickness.
Symbols: In the habit of the Servite Order with a Host upon her breast.
Sts. Gervase and Protase
These twin brothers died as martyrs at Milan about the year 170. They belong to the illustrious saints of the ancient Church. Little is known about their lives. The finding of their remains by St. Ambrose is well attested (386). St. Augustine, himself a witness, describes the event very dramatically in his Confessions (9, 7). St. Ambrose requested to be buried alongside the bodies of Sts. Gervase and Protase. In the year 1864 their relics were found under the high altar of the old Milan basilica in a sarcophagus of porphyry, and together with the remains of St. Ambrose were honorably re-entombed.
Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch
Patron: Discovery of thieves; haymakers; Milan, Italy.
Symbols: holding stones; with Saint Gervase; with his father and mother; youth holding a lead-tipped scourge in one hand and a sword in the other; youth holding the palm of martyrdom.
Saint Romuald, Abbot
Our Father … (Matthew 6:9)
Truly, there’s no greater prayer. The Lord’s Prayer gets right to the heart of who God is—our Father—even as it gives voice to our deep dependence on him. What a privilege it is to join countless saints in praying these words that Jesus himself has taught us!
Yet, as much as we enjoy saying this prayer, God takes even greater joy in answering us. It’s easy, given all the reverence surrounding the Lord’s Prayer, to lose sight of the fact that it’s meant to be just the beginning of a conversation. No prayer—and certainly not this beautiful one—is supposed to be a monologue. The purpose of prayer is always to open a dialogue with the One who created us.
What if the next time you prayed the Our Father, you gave God a chance to respond? In fact, why not try this right now?
Take a deep breath, quiet yourself, and try to fix your mind on your heavenly Father. Take a few moments to pray the Lord’s prayer slowly and meditatively. Then, be still, and invite him to continue the conversation. Maybe he would say something like this:
“My child, every time you turn to me and say, Father, my heart is warmed with love, and I answer by calling you my son, my daughter. Sometimes, you don’t think you’re worthy of that title, but I do. Remember, I have chosen to give you an inheritance in my kingdom. I treasure you so much, in fact, that I sent my Son, Jesus, to bring you home to me!
“My child, will you work alongside me and build my kingdom today? Will you stretch out your hands to tell your neighbors that I am their Father? I promise to give you everything you need—all your daily bread—as you take up this calling. I promise to set you apart for my work by washing away your sins and protecting you from the evil one. I will always be with you, my child, not just today but every day. So come, follow me. Let’s go out into the world together and bring my love to your brothers and sisters.”
“Father, open my ears to hear your voice.”
Sirach 48:1-14; Psalm 97:1-7
Daily Marriage Tip for June 19, 2014:
Every once in a while surprise him/her with a gesture of kindness, such as a cup of coffee or help with the dishes.
The School of Prayer 2014-06-19 |
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June 19, 2014
God is really great! His love is so boundless that he even taught us the best way to communicate with Him. Beautiful in its simplicity, the Lord’s Prayer is as concise as it is unmistakably clear. When expressed fervently, it allows us to articulate the ideal relationship of man with his Lord and Creator. Truly, Jesus as the incarnated Word of God that transforms us if we listen and learn. Whenever we recall the transfiguration event we hear God say: “…listen to him,” as Jesus appeared as central to understanding Moses for the Law and Elijah for the Prophets. In our first reading the power of God’s Word is manifested through the person of Elijah the prophet who spoke so powerfully on behalf of God.
Now, we find Jesus powerfully teaching us the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is used as basis for a well-known acronym that has been developed to help us in our search of qualities for the most proper way to convey our thoughts and feelings to God.
There is Acclamation, where we proclaim our praise and worship of the Almighty, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” There is Contrition, where we acknowledge remorse for our sinfulness, “Forgive us our trespasses,” and our complete willingness to share God’s pardon with others, “as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Thanksgiving, where we are grateful that
God bestows His blessings and Fatherly love unworthy though we are, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Supplication, where, with humility we ask for God’s help and succor to meet our needs, “Give us this day our daily bread,” and His divine protection, “Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil.” ACTS, acclamation, contrition, thanksgiving and supplication, four qualities to remember when praying to our Lord!
Matthew | |||
English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
Matthew 6 |
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7. | And when you are praying, speak not much, as the heathens. For they think that in their much speaking they may be heard. | Orantes autem, nolite multum loqui, sicut ethnici, putant enim quod in multiloquio suo exaudiantur. | προσευχομενοι δε μη βαττολογησητε ωσπερ οι εθνικοι δοκουσιν γαρ οτι εν τη πολυλογια αυτων εισακουσθησονται |
8. | Be not you therefore like to them, for your Father knoweth what is needful for you, before you ask him. | Nolite ergo assimilari eis : scit enim Pater vester, quid opus sit vobis, antequam petatis eum. | μη ουν ομοιωθητε αυτοις οιδεν γαρ ο πατηρ υμων ων χρειαν εχετε προ του υμας αιτησαι αυτον |
9. | Thus therefore shall you pray: Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. | Sic ergo vos orabitis : Pater noster, qui es in cælis, sanctificetur nomen tuum. | ουτως ουν προσευχεσθε υμεις πατερ ημων ο εν τοις ουρανοις αγιασθητω το ονομα σου |
10. | Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. | Adveniat regnum tuum ; fiat voluntas tua, sicut in cælo et in terra. | ελθετω η βασιλεια σου γενηθητω το θελημα σου ως εν ουρανω και επι της γης |
11. | Give us this day our supersubstantial bread. | Panem nostrum supersubstantialem da nobis hodie, | τον αρτον ημων τον επιουσιον δος ημιν σημερον |
12. | And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors. | et dimitte nobis debita nostra, sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris. | και αφες ημιν τα οφειληματα ημων ως και ημεις αφιεμεν τοις οφειλεταις ημων |
13. | And lead us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil. Amen. | Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, sed libera nos a malo. Amen. | και μη εισενεγκης ημας εις πειρασμον αλλα ρυσαι ημας απο του πονηρου οτι σου εστιν η βασιλεια και η δυναμις και η δοξα εις τους αιωνας αμην |
14. | For if you will forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also your offences. | Si enim dimiseritis hominibus peccata eorum : dimittet et vobis Pater vester cælestis delicta vestra. | εαν γαρ αφητε τοις ανθρωποις τα παραπτωματα αυτων αφησει και υμιν ο πατηρ υμων ο ουρανιος |
15. | But if you will not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive you your offences. | Si autem non dimiseritis hominibus : nec Pater vester dimittet vobis peccata vestra. | εαν δε μη αφητε τοις ανθρωποις τα παραπτωματα αυτων ουδε ο πατηρ υμων αφησει τα παραπτωματα υμων |
(*) Verse 13 ends in the original "οτι σου εστιν η βασιλεια και η δυναμις και η δοξα εις τους αιωνας αμην" -- "for Thine is the Kingdom, and the power and the glory in the ages, amen".
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