Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 07-14-16, M, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 07-14-16 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

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).

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Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 11
28.	Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you.	Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis, et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos.	δευτε προς με παντες οι κοπιωντες και πεφορτισμενοι καγω αναπαυσω υμας
29.	Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls.	Tollite jugum meum super vos, et discite a me, quia mitis sum, et humilis corde : et invenietis requiem animabus vestris.	αρατε τον ζυγον μου εφ υμας και μαθετε απ εμου οτι πραος ειμι και ταπεινος τη καρδια και ευρησετε αναπαυσιν ταις ψυχαις υμων
30.	For my yoke is sweet and my burden light.	Jugum enim meum suave est, et onus meum leve.	ο γαρ ζυγος μου χρηστος και το φορτιον μου ελαφρον εστιν

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Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 11
28.	Come to me, all you that labour, and are burdened, and I will refresh you.	Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis, et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos.	δευτε προς με παντες οι κοπιωντες και πεφορτισμενοι καγω αναπαυσω υμας
29.	Take up my yoke upon you, and learn of me, because I am meek, and humble of heart: and you shall find rest to your souls.	Tollite jugum meum super vos, et discite a me, quia mitis sum, et humilis corde : et invenietis requiem animabus vestris.	αρατε τον ζυγον μου εφ υμας και μαθετε απ εμου οτι πραος ειμι και ταπεινος τη καρδια και ευρησετε αναπαυσιν ταις ψυχαις υμων
30.	For my yoke is sweet and my burden light.	Jugum enim meum suave est, et onus meum leve.	ο γαρ ζυγος μου χρηστος και το φορτιον μου ελαφρον εστιν

[annalex]

28. Come to me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest to your souls.
30. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

CHRYS; By what He had said, He brought His disciples to have a desire towards Him, showing them His unspeakable excellence; and now He invites them to Him, saying, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden.

AUG; Whence do we all thus labor, but that we are mortal men, bearing vessels of clay which cause us much difficulty. But if the vessels of flesh are straitened, the regions of love will be enlarged. To what end then does He say, Come to me, all you who labor, but that you should not labor?

HILARY; He calls to Him those that were laboring under the hardships of the Law, and those who are burdened with the sins of this world.

JEROME; That the burden of sin is heavy, the Prophet Zachariah bears witness, saying, that wickedness sits upon a talent of lead. And the Psalmist fills it up, your iniquities are grown heavy upon me.

GREG; For a cruel yoke and hard weight of servitude it is to be subject to the things of time, to be ambitious of the things of earth, to cling to falling things, to seek to stand in things that stand not, to desire things that pass away, but to be unwilling to pass away with them. For while all things fly away against our wish, those things which had first harassed the mind in desire of gaining them, now oppress it with fear of losing them.

CHRYS; He said not, Come you, this man and that man, but all whosoever are in trouble, in sorrow, or in sin, not that I may exact punishment of you, but that I may remit your sins. Come you, not that I have need of your glory, but that I seek your salvation. And I will refresh you. Not, I will save you, only; but that is much greater, I will then refresh you, that is, I will set you in all quietness.

RABAN; I will not only take from you your burden, but will satisfy you with inward refreshment.

REMIG; Come, He says not with the feet, but with the life, not in the body, but in faith. For that is a spiritual approach by which any man approaches God; and therefore it follows, Take my yoke upon you.

RABAN; The yoke of Christ is Christ's Gospel which joins and yokes together Jews and Gentiles in the unity of the faith. This we are commanded to take upon us that is, to have in honor; lest perchance setting it beneath us, that is wrongly despising it, we should trample upon it with the miry feet of unholiness; wherefore He adds, learn of me.

AUG; Not to create a world, or to do miracles in that world; but that I am meek and lowly in heart. Would you be great? Begin with the least. Would you build up a mighty fabric of greatness? First think of the foundation of humility; for the mightier building any seek to raise, the deeper let him dig for his foundation. Whither is the summit of our building to rise? To the sight of God.

RABAN; We must learn then from our Savior to be meek in temper, and lowly in mind; let us hurt none, let us despise none, and the virtues which we have strewn in deed let us retain in our heart.

CHRYS; And therefore in beginning the Divine Law He begins with humility, and sets before us a great reward, saying, And you shall find rest for your souls. This is the highest reward, you shall not only be made useful to others, but shall make yourself to have peace; and He gives you the promise of it before it comes, but when it is come, you shall rejoice in perpetual rest. And that they might not be afraid because He had spoken of a burden, therefore He adds, For my yoke is pleasant, and my burden light.

HILARY; He holds forth the inducements of a pleasant yoke, and a light burden, that to them that believe He may afford the knowledge of that good which He alone knows in the Father.

GREG; What burden is it to put upon the neck of our mind that He bids us shun all desire that disturbs, and turn from the toilsome paths of this world?

HILARY; And what is more pleasant than that yoke, what lighter than that burden? To be made better, to abstain from wickedness, to choose the good, and refuse the evil, to love all men, to hate none, to gain eternal things, not to be taken with things present, to be unwilling to do that to another which yourself would be pained to suffer.

RABAN; But how is Christ's yoke pleasant, seeing it was said man above, Narrow is the way which leads to life? That which yoke is entered upon by a narrow entrance is in process of time made broad by the unspeakable sweetness of love.

AUG; So then the they who with an unfearing neck have submitted to the yoke of the Lord endure such hardships and dangers, that they seem beneath to be called not from labor to rest, but from rest to labor. But the Holy Spirit was there who, as the outward man decayed, renewed the inward man day by day, and giving a foretaste of spiritual rest in the rich pleasures of God in the hope of blessedness to come, smoothed all that seemed rough, lightened all that was heavy. Men suffer amputations and burning, that at the price of sharper pain they may be delivered from torments less but more lasting, as boils or swellings. What storms and dangers will not merchants undergo that they may acquire perishing riches? Even those who love not riches endure the same hardships; but those that love them endure the same, but to them they are not hardships. For love makes right easy, and almost nothing all things however dreadful and monstrous. How much more easily then does love do that for true happiness, which avarice does for misery as far as it can?

JEROME; And how is the Gospel lighter than the Law, seeing in the Law murder and adultery, but under the Gospel anger and concupiscence also, are punished? Because by the Law many things are commanded which the Apostle fully teaches us cannot be fulfilled; by the Law works are required, by the Gospel the will is sought for, which even if it goes not into act, yet does not lose its reward. The Gospel commands what we can do, as that we lust not; this is in our own power; the Law punishes not the will but the act, as adultery Suppose a virgin to have been violated in time of persecution, as here was not the will she is held as a virgin under the Gospel; under the Law she is cast out as defiled.

Catena Aurea Matthew 11

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The carrying of the Cross

Nicholas Zafuri

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Christ Carrying the Cross

Girolamo della Robbia

1513-14
Glazed terracotta, 172 x 77 cm
Certosa del Galluzzo, Florence

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Christ Carrying the Cross

Vincenzo Catena

1520s
Oil on panel, 47 x 38 cm
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

[Salvation]

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin
[In the Diocese of the United States]
Memorial
July 14th

oil painting on canvas 41 x 37"
by Father Chauchetière 1682-1693

(1656-1680) The daughter of a Mohawk warrior, Kateri was born near what is now Auriesville, New York, and was orphaned by an epidemic of smallpox which left her with impaired eyesight and a disfigured face. When she was baptized at the age of twenty she incurred hostility from her tribe; but she remained faithful and moved to the new Christian colony of Indians in Canada where she dedicated the rest of her life to prayer, penitential practices, and the care of the sick and the aged. She was devoted to the Eucharist and to Jesus Crucified, and was known as the "Lily of the Mohawks". Canonized October 21, 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI.

Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003

 

Collect:
O God, who desired the Virgin Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
to flower among Native Americans
in a life of innocence,
grant, through her intercession,
that when all are gathered into your Church
from every nation, tribe and tongue,
they may magnify you
in a single canticle of praise.
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. +Amen.

Readings from the Commons of Virgins

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[Salvation]

Two New American Saints, Three Notable Firsts, Bl. Marianne Cope & Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha
Declared ‘Miracle’ by Catholic Ch, Jake Finkbonner Takes in Stride His Role in Kateri’s Sainthood
NY Catholics Set for Blessed Kateri's Canonization
"Lily of the Mohawks" to be named a saint, Yakima Catholics "rejoicing" {Catholic/Orthodox caucus}
Pope advances sainthood causes of Marianne Cope, Kateri Tekakwitha (Catholic Caucus)
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, Lily of the Mohawks
BLESSED KATERI TEKAKWITHA, "STAR OF THE NATIVES"
Kateri Sainthood Could Take a Miracle

[Salvation]

Information: St. Kateri Tekakwitha

Feast Day: July 14

Born: 1656, Ossernenon, Iroquois Confederacy (Modern Auriesville, New York)

Died: 17 April 1680 at Caughnawaga, Canada

Canonized: 21 Oct. 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI

Major Shrine: St Francis Xavier Church, Kahnawake, Quebec, Canada

Patron of: ecology

[Salvation]

Holy Spirit Interactive Kids: A Saint a Day

Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha

Feast Day: July 14
Born: 1656 :: Died: 1680

Kateri (Katherine) Tekakwitha was born in Osserneon, which today is called Auriesville in New York. Her mother was a Christian who had been captured and her father was a non-Christian Mohawk (Red Indian) chief. When Kateri was fourteen, her parents died of smallpox and a Mohawk uncle raised her.

St. Isaac Jogues and other missionaries that came from France were killed, while preaching the gospel to the Native American Indians. They were called the North American martyrs. Ten years after the death of St. Isaac Jogues, Kateri was born in the same village where he had died.

One day her uncle had three Jesuit missionaries as his guests. These priests prayed openly in the small chapel there. Kateri was fascinated and had many questions for them, which they patiently answered. Slowly the seed of faith began to grow within her and her heart was touched by the Holy Spirit. She let this faith in Jesus grow to full maturity and when she was eighteen, she was baptized on Easter Sunday.

Kateri knew her life would now become difficult as she was the only Christian in her village. Besides, she wanted to give her life to Jesus and refused to marry. Her uncle was angry and some people in the village were upset that she did not work on Sunday. But Kateri held her ground. She prayed her Rosary every day, even when others made fun of her. She practiced patience and suffered quietly. Kateri's life grew harder each day as some people were very cruel and insulted her.

She finally fled to a Christian village near Montreal one night. There on Christmas Day, 1677, she received her First Communion. It was a wonderful day. Father Pierre Cholonec, a Jesuit priest, guided her spiritual life for the next three years. She and an older Iroquois woman named Anastasia lived as joyful, generous Christians.

Then Kateri fell ill and almost lost her eyesight completely because of the small pox she had suffered as a child. But she continued praying and giving glory to God as she was very grateful for the opportunity to practice her faith. She was just twenty-four when she died at Caughnawaga in Canada, on April 17, 1680. Many miracles have been reported at her grave. Exactly three hundred years later, on June 22, 1980, Kateri Tekakwitha was declared "blessed" by Pope John Paul II.

Reflection: Let us pray today for those who experience difficulty at the hands of others in their desire to live their Christian vocation more fully.

[Salvation]

Thursday

July 14, 2016

World on Fire

“If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world on fire. Let the truth be your delight...proclaim it...but with a certain geniality.” ~ St. Catherine of Siena

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Year of Mercy Calendar for Today: “Share a personal faith story with someone today.”

[Salvation]

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Thursday, July 14

Liturgical Color: Green

Today is the optional memorial
of Pope St. Callistus I (martyred
222 AD). As pope he
condemned the heresies of his
time, but welcomed repentant
heretics back to the Church.

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: July 14th

Memorial of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, virgin

MASS READINGS

July 14, 2016 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, who desired the Virgin St. Kateri Tekakwitha to flower among Native Americans in a life of innocence, grant, through her intercession, that when all are gathered into your Church from every nation, tribe and tongue, they may magnify you in a single canticle of praise. 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.

show

Recipes (2)

• Fire Baked Fish
• Mohawk Corn Bread

show

Activities (2)

• Making Pilgrimages
• Training Against Impure Thoughts

show

Prayers (5)

• Novena to St. Camillus de Lellis
• Litany for the Dying
• Novena to St. Kateri Tekakwitha
• Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel
• Litany of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

show

Library (2)

• The Church and the Native Americans: The Real Story | Margaret Bunson
• The Lily and the Cross | PaulaAnne Sharkey Lemire

Old Calendar: St. Bonaventure, bishop and doctor; St. Francis Solano, priest (Hist)

Kateri was born in 1656 near the town of Auriesville, New York, the daughter of a Mohawk warrior. She was baptized by Jesuit missionary Fr. Jacques de Lambertville on Easter of 1676 at the age of twenty. She devoted her life to prayer, penitential practices, and the care of the sick and aged in Caughnawaga near Montreal (where her relics are now enshrined). She incurred the hostility of her tribe because of her faith. She was devoted to the Eucharist, and to Jesus Crucified, and was called the "Lily of the Mohawks." She died in 1680 and was beatified June 22, 1980 — the first native American to be declared "Blessed." She was canonized on October 21, 2012.

Excerpted from Magnificat, July 2003

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Bonaventure. His feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on July 15.

Historically it is also the feast of St. Francis Solano, Franciscan missionary in Lima, Peru. He was born in Andalusia, Spain, in 1549, and became a Franciscan in 1569. Francis labored for two decades in Spain and sailed to Peru in 1589. He worked until his death in Lima and elsewhere in South America.

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St. Kateri Tekakwitha
[Pronounce: Gah-deh-lee Deh-gah-quee-tah]
The blood of martyrs is the seed of saints. Nine years after the Jesuits Isaac Jogues and John de Brebeuf were tortured to death by Huron and Iroquois Native American nations, a baby girl was born near the place of their martyrdom, Auriesville, New York. She was to be the first person born in North America to be beatified. Her mother was a Christian Algonquin, taken captive by the Iroquois and given as wife to the chief of the Mohawk clan, the boldest and fiercest of the Five Nations. When she was four, Kateri lost her parents and little brother in a smallpox epidemic that left her disfigured and half blind. She was adopted by an uncle, who succeeded her father as chief. He hated the coming of the Blackrobes (missionaries), but could do nothing to them because a peace treaty with the French required their presence in villages with Christian captives. She was moved by the words of three Blackrobes who lodged with her uncle, but fear of him kept her from seeking instruction. She refused to marry a Mohawk man and at nineteen finally got the courage to take the step of converting. She was baptized with the name Kateri (Catherine) on Easter Sunday.

Now she would be treated as a slave. Because she would not work on Sunday, she received no food that day. Her life in grace grew rapidly. She told a missionary that she often meditated on the great dignity of being baptized. She was powerfully moved by God's love for human beings and saw the dignity of each of her people. She was always in danger, for her conversion and holy life created great opposition. On the advice of a priest, she stole away one night and began a two-hundred-mile walking journey to a Christian Native American village at Sault St. Louis, near Montreal.

For three years she grew in holiness under the direction of a priest and an older Iroquois woman, giving herself totally to God in long hours of prayer, in charity and in strenuous penance. At twenty three she took a vow of virginity, an unprecedented act for a Native American woman, whose future depended on being married. She found a place in the woods where she could pray an hour a day and was accused of meeting a man there! Her dedication to virginity was instinctive: She did not know about religious life for women until she visited Montreal. Inspired by this, she and two friends wanted to start a community, but the local priest dissuaded her. She humbly accepted an "ordinary" life. She practiced extremely severe fasting as penance for the conversion of her nation. She died the afternoon before Holy Thursday. Witnesses said that her emaciated face changed color and became like that of a healthy child. The lines of suffering, even the pockmarks, disappeared and the touch of a smile came upon her lips. She was beatified in 1980.

Excerpted from Saint of the Day, Leonard Foley, O.F.M.

Patron: Ecologists; ecology; environment; environmentalism; environmentalists; exiles; loss of parents; people in exile; people ridiculed for their piety; World Youth Day.

Symbols: lily (a symbol of her purity); a cross (a symbol of her love of Jesus Christ); or a turtle (a symbol of her clan).

Things to Do:

• This website is dedicated solely to information regarding Saint Kateri. Also this website, Lily of the Mohawk, is worth a visit.

• A wonderful place to make a pilgrimage is the National Shrine of the North American Martyrs. The Shrine is situated in the heartland of New York State, in the Diocese of Albany. The Shrine is the site of the America's first and only canonized Martyrs: St. Rene Goupil (1642), Jesuit brother; St. Isaac Jogues (1646), Jesuit priest; and St. John Lalande (1646), lay missioner. Here also is the birthplace of the Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, the Lily of the Mohawks, born at Ossernenon in 1656, just ten years after these Martyrdoms.

• Read more about St. Kateri in this article, The Lily and the Cross.

• For even more information you may order Kateri Tekakwitha: Mohawk Maid and/or Kateri Tekakwitha, Mystic of the Wilderness from Amazon.com.

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St. Francis Solano
The diocese of Cordova, in Spain, was the birthplace of this Saint, who won many thousands of souls to God. From his earliest years he was characterized by a modest behavior, prudent silence, and edifying meekness.

His education was entrusted to the Jesuit Fathers, and later he entered the Order of St. Francis. Soon he excelled every one in the house in humility, obedience, fervor in prayer, and self-denial.

In 1589 he sailed for South America to preach the Gospel to the Indians in Peru. While near shore the ship struck rocks, and there was danger of drowning.

The captain hurried the officers and principal passengers into the only boat there was, and tried to induce the missionary to accompany them; but he refused to do so. Consoling the remaining passengers, he prayed fervently and alone kept up his hope in God's mercy. At last rescuers arrived and all were taken off in safety.

The missionary did not confine his ministry to Lima. He visited the forests and deserts inhabited by the Indians, and by degrees he won their trust and in this way baptized nine thousand Indians. He was then recalled to Lima, which at that time was like a godless Ninive. Francis preached to the hardened sinners, and the whole city became converted.

Finally after a painful sickness his last words being, "God be praised!" his soul departed this earth on 14 July 1610. He was declared Blessed by Pope Clement X in 1675, and canonized by Pope Benedict XIII in 1726. Saint Francis' feast is held July 24th.

Excerpted from Butler's Lives of the Saints

Patron: Argentina; Bolivia; Chile; Paraguay; Peru

Things to Do:

• Read more about this great missionary saint here.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Matthew 11:28-30

Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin (Memorial)

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28)

“The list of time- and labor-saving devices at our disposal seems to stretch from here to eternity, and I still feel tired and pressed for time.” If this statement describes you in any way, then Jesus wants to speak to you. “Come to me . . . and I will give you rest. . . . Learn from me . . . and you will find rest” (Matthew 11:28, 29). Here is our hope, the promise of comfort and release from all the pressures we experience.

Come to me; come, sit with me for a few minutes. Tell me your troubles, your hopes, and your dreams. Let me comfort you. Let me soothe your mind and spirit. Enjoy my company, and let me enjoy yours.

Make no mistake: Jesus enjoys being with us. He created us, he loves us, and he wants to share our lives—both the good and the not so good.

Learn from me; learn my love for you. Learn my delight in you. Let me tell you my thoughts and desires for you. Let me tell you about my Father, about his kindness, compassion, and faithfulness.

Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit to teach us and to revive us as we open our hearts and minds to God in prayer. He gave us the Spirit to refresh us as we celebrate the Eucharist, as we enjoy our families, and even as we go about our daily activities. All that is needed is that we come to him.

I will give you rest; I will lift you up. I will feed you. I will pour out grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Sit with me. Rest in me. Receive my teaching.

At Mass, in prayer, as we are waking up, and as we are going to sleep at night—at all these times, we can relax in God’s presence. We can trust that he will do the work needed to build us up. Distractions may abound, but God is faithful, and he will give us his rest.

“Jesus, I want to sit quietly with you. Thank you for spending time with me, restoring and reviving me.”

Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19
Psalm 102:13-21

[Salvation]

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for July 14, 2016:

Summer months are a great time for picking up new hobbies. Collaborate with your spouse and brainstorm ideas for new potential activities.

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

Weary of Heart - Take my yoke

U. S. A. | SPIRITUAL LIFE | SPIRITUALITY

July 14, 2016 - Memorial of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Virgin

Father Shawn Aaron, LC

Matthew 11: 28-30

Jesus said: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy and my burden light."

Introductory Prayer:

Almighty and ever-living God, I seek new strength from the courage of Christ our shepherd. I believe in you, I hope in you, and I seek to love you with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, and all my strength. I want to be led one day to join the saints in heaven, where your Son Jesus Christ lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. 

Petition:

Lord Jesus, meek and humble of heart, help me to take on your yoke.

1. 
   

   Come to Me:
   

   
   If you struggle daily to do what is morally right even when those around you take shortcuts, then come to Jesus. If the life of selfish pleasure and illicit gain seems exceedingly attractive, then come to Jesus. If you are burdened with your patterns of sin and weaknesses of character that affect your vocation as a spouse, a parent, a friend, a consecrated soul, a Christian…, then come to Jesus. If life seems unfair and God seems distant at best, then come to Jesus. He calls us not to a set of principles and noble ideals, but to his very person. We do not follow rules for the sake of rules; we follow Jesus. Only when we have first come to him will we understand the need for the rules which simply help protect the dignity of this relationship.
   

2. 
   

   Learn from Me:
   

   
   St. Paul admonishes the Galatians to live in the freedom of Christ: "For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5:1). Yet in his letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul invites us to be "slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart" (6:5). To be a slave means that I submit to the will of another or am subordinated (unwillingly) to one stronger than I in some way. One who is a slave of passion, vanity, selfishness or any other vice is subject to that vice as something more powerful than oneself. But Jesus calls us friends and not slaves (cf. John 15:14-15). So to be a "slave" of Christ means to entrust my life to him freely with the intention of following where he leads. Experience shows that he always guides us down the path that leads to our happiness and fulfillment, even when it entails the cross.
   

3. 
   

   Rest for Yourselves:
   

   
   These words mean “rest,” not in the sense of cessation from work and struggle, but in the sense of peace of soul, joy and profound happiness. This is the rest that we all long for, the rest that will one day be uninterrupted in the bliss of heaven. We have each met individuals who experience this peace and joy despite their circumstances. Notice that Jesus does not promise to take away the burdens, the trials, the sufferings. But if we take his yoke upon ourselves, if we submit to his plan, his will, his love, he guarantees the joy. If you have never experienced it, then begin today; give him what you know in your heart he is asking of you. Although it may hurt at first, as does every yoke, this one brings the lightness of peace and the ease of joy.
   

 

Conversation with Christ:

Blessed Lord, you lead me towards everlasting peace if I will simply follow, but following does not always seem simple. Give me the very things you ask of me: faith, generosity, courage, trust, love. With these gifts and your grace I will have the strength necessary for the journey.

 

Resolution:

Today I will pray an extra decade of the rosary for the persons who are farthest away from Jesus.

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 32, Issue 4

<< Thursday, July 14, 2016 >>

St. Kateri Tekakwitha

Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19
View Readings

Psalm 102:13-21

Matthew 11:28-30
Similar Reflections

LOVE ALONE

"Come to Me." —Matthew 11:28

Come to Jesus, "all you who are weary and find life burdensome" (Mt 11:28). He will give you not necessarily what you want or think you need; rather, He will give you His way and His judgments (Is 26:8). The Lord Jesus will give you the desire of your soul — if His name, Jesus, and His title, Lord, are your desire (Is 26:8).

The Lord calls you to come to Him for His sake, not so much for the sake of what He can do for you. "For though the fig tree blossom not nor fruit be on the vines, though the yield of the olive fail and the terraces produce no nourishment, though the flocks disappear from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet will I rejoice in the Lord and exult in my saving God" (Hab 3:17-18). Come to Jesus not to be served, but to serve and to give your life to Him (see Mt 20:28). Come to Jesus "in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health." Come to Jesus with no ulterior motives. Come to Jesus in unconditional love. Come to Jesus with no agenda except to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength (Lk 10:27).

Prayer: Sacred Heart of Jesus, give me pure love through the intercession of the Blessed Mother.

Promise: "Salvation we have not achieved for the earth, the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth. But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust." —Is 26:18-19

Praise: Although her family rejected her, St. Kateri never rejected her Lord.

[Salvation]

Where's the common sense here?

[miserare]

This evokes many emotions.

Many childen were run over by the Jihadist truckdriver in Nice.

Forgive me, but I could just picture Planned Parenthood standing by, saying “Are there any retrievable livers? Kidneys? Othere parts from these dissected children? Call PP at “Baby Parts Are Us!”