Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 07-23-16, OM, St. Bridget, Religious

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 07-23-16 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

July 23, 2016

Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Jer 7:1-11

The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Stand at the gate of the house of the LORD,
and there proclaim this message:
Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah
who enter these gates to worship the LORD!
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
Reform your ways and your deeds,
so that I may remain with you in this place.
Put not your trust in the deceitful words:
“This is the temple of the LORD!
The temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD!”
Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds;
if each of you deals justly with his neighbor;
if you no longer oppress the resident alien,
the orphan, and the widow;
if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place,
or follow strange gods to your own harm,
will I remain with you in this place,
in the land I gave your fathers long ago and forever.

But here you are, putting your trust in deceitful words to your own loss!
Are you to steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury,
burn incense to Baal,
go after strange gods that you know not,
and yet come to stand before me
in this house which bears my name, and say:
“We are safe; we can commit all these abominations again”?
Has this house which bears my name
become in your eyes a den of thieves?
I too see what is being done, says the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a, 11

R. (2) How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young—
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
Blessed the men whose strength you are!
They go from strength to strength.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!

Alleluia Jas 1:21bc

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you
and is able to save your souls.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 13:24-30

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man
who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

[Salvation]

For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

[Salvation]

Alleluia Ping

Please FReepmail me to get on/off the Alleluia Ping List.

[dp0622]

After all of the insane events today, it was beautiful to see This Alleluia Ping. It brought peace to my soul and I hope it did the same for others.

[Salvation]

Thank you.

[Salvation]

From: Jeremiah 7:1-11

False worship. Discourse concerning the temple

---

[1] The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: [2] “Stand in the gate of the
LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD,
all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LORD. [3] Thus says
the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I
will let you dwell in this place. [4] Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is
the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’

[5] “For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly execute justice
one with another, [6] if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow,
or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your
own hurt, [7] then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to
your fathers for ever.

[8] “Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. [9] Will you steal, murder,
commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and go after other gods
that you have not known, [10] and then come and stand before me in this house,
which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’ — only to go on doing
all these abominations? [11] Has this house, which is called by my name, be-
come a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, says the
LORD.

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

7:1-20. Chapter 26 gives more detailed information about the situation covered in
these verses, and what the outcome was. We are told there that Jeremiah made
this speech in the temple “in the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of
Josiah” (26:1), that is, in 608 BC. Shortly before that, Josiah had died in battle (2
Kings 23:29-30; 2 Chron 35:19-24), having done maintenance work on the tem-
ple and having introduced a programme of religious reform based on the centrali-
zation of worship in Jerusalem. Josiah was succeeded by Jehoahaz, whose reign
lasted only three months (cf. Kings 23:31; 2 Chron 36:2), followed by Josiah’s bro-
ther Jehoiakim. That latter reign saw a tolerance of the idolatrous practices that
Josiah had striven to uproot.

The people of Judah felt sure that having the temple in their territory would guar-
antee divine favour and protection for them, and they became surer still after 701,
when the Assyrian troops of Sennacherib turned back from the walls of Jerusalem
without entering the holy city. The high profile that the temple received as a result
of Josiah’s reforms helps to explain the blind confidence felt by the people that
they had nothing to fear if they stayed close to that sanctuary. So, at the time
when Jeremiah was uttering these oracles, even though the temple was there in
all its splendour, religious practice was far from being in line with what the Lord
commanded. Hence the prophet’s insistence on conversion, on true religion,
which manifests itself in fidelity to the Lord, in charity and justice (vv. 5-7). Rites
performed in the temple are of no avail if people don’t listen to the Lord and if they
continue to commit all sorts of sins. Naive confidence in the temple is not enough
(v. 4). To be safe and secure they must obey the Law of God (vv. 8-10). The tem-
ple has no magic power, and it will suffer the same fate as the shrine of Shiloh (v.
14), the famous centre of worship that housed the ark of the Covenant before it
was moved to Jerusalem (Josh 18:1; Judg 21:19) and that was probably des-
troyed by the Philistines. Unless they mend their ways, the people of Jerusalem
will be expelled, just like their brethren in the Northern kingdom, the Ephraimites
(v. 15).

Despite his preaching, Jeremiah finds that they fail to repent. Not only do they
not listen to him: they think that the temple guarantees their safety, yet they
combine that belief with pagan rites in honour of Isthar, the “queen heaven”, the
Assyrian goddess of fertility (vv. 16-18). God will surely punish them (vv. 19-20).

The expression “den of robbers” (v. 11), employed here to describe the temple
when used by people who are very far from being obedient to the Lord, will occur
again when Jesus expresses his pain at all the noise made by traders in the tem-
ple and at people’s disrespect for that holy place (Mt 21:12-13 and par.). Jeremi-
ah is not condemning religious worship in the temple of Jerusalem (nor does Je-
sus); he is saying that they have emptied it of meaning. In any event, after the
coming of Christ, worship of the Lord is no longer confined to rites or external ac-
tions performed in some particular place; people can worship God in their hearts
whenever they happen to be. Therefore St Jerome writes: “Those who say to
themselves constantly, ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord,
the temple of the Lord’, should listen to what the Apostle says: ‘Do you not know
that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?’ (1 Cor 3:16). Are
you in Jerusalem? Are you in Brittany? It does not matter. The heavenly Pre-
sence lies open before us always, for the kingdom of God is within us “ (Episto-
lae, 2, 58, 2).

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

[Salvation]

From: Matthew 13:24-30

The Parable of the Weeds

---

[24] Another parable he (Jesus) put before them, saying, “The kingdom of
heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; [25]
but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the
wheat, and went away. [26] So when the plants came up and bore grain, then
the weeds appeared also. [27] And the servants of the householder came and
said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it
weeds?’ [28] He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to
him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ [29] But he said, ‘No; lest
in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. [30] Let both
grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Ga-
ther the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the
wheat into my barn.’”

The Mustard Seed; The Leaven

---

[31] Another parable He (Jesus) put before them saying, “The Kingdom of
Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his
field; [32] it is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is the grea-
test of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and
make nests in its branches.”

[33] He told them another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a leaven
which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.”

[34] All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed He said nothing to
them without a parable. [35] This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter what has been hidden since the
foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

---

[36] Then He (Jesus) left the crowds and went into the house. And His disci-
ples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”
[37] He answered, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; [38] the
field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the Kingdom; the
weeds are the sons of the evil one, [39] and the enemy who sowed them is
the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. [40]
Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close
of the age. [41] The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out
of His Kingdom all causes of sin and evildoers, [42] and throw them out into
the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. [43] Then the
righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has
ears, let him hear.”

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

24-25. “The situation is clear: the field is fertile and the seed is good; the
Lord of the field has scattered the seed at the right moment and with great
skill. He even has watchmen to make sure that the field is protected. If, af-
terwards, there are weeds among the wheat, it is because men have failed
to respond, because they—and Christians in particular—have fallen asleep
and allowed the enemy to approach” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”,
123).

25. This weed—cockle—looks very like wheat and can easily be mistaken for
it until the ears appear. If it gets ground up with wheat it contaminates the
flour and any bread made from that flour causes severe nausea when eaten.
In the East personal vengeance sometimes took the form of sowing cockle
among an enemy’s wheat. Roman law prescribed penalties for this crime.

28. “When the careless servants ask the Lord why weeds have grown in his
field, the explanation is obvious: ‘inimicus homo hoc fecit: an enemy has
done this.’ We Christians should have been on guard to make sure that the
good things placed in this world by the Creator were developed in the service
of truth and good. But we have fallen asleep—a sad thing, that sluggishness
of our heart while the enemy and all those who serve him worked incessant-
ly. You can see how the weeds have grown abundantly everywhere” (St. J.
Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 123).

29-30. The end of this parable gives a symbolic explanation of why God allows
evil to have its way for a time—and for its ultimate extirpation. Evil is to run its
course on earth until the end of time; therefore, we should not be scandalized
by the presence of evil in the world. It will be obliterated not in this life, but af-
ter death; at the Judgment (the harvest) the good will go to Heaven and the
bad to Hell.

31-32. Here, the man is Jesus Christ and the field, the world. The grain of
mustard seed is the preaching of the Gospel and the Church, which from ve-
ry small beginnings will spread throughout the world.

The parable clearly refers to the universal scope and spread of the Kingdom
of God: the Church, which embraces all mankind of every kind and condition,
in every latitude and in all ages, is forever developing in spite of obstacles,
thanks to God’s promise and aid.

33. This comparison is taken from everyday experience: just as leaven gra-
dually ferments all the dough, so the Church spreads to convert all nations.

The leaven is also a symbol of the individual Christian. Living in the middle
of the world and retaining his Christian quality, he wins souls for Christ by
his word and example: “Our calling to be children of God, in the midst of the
world, requires us not only to seek our own personal holiness, but also to go
out onto all the ways of the earth, to convert them into roadways that will car-
ry souls over all obstacles and lead them to the Lord. As we take part in all
temporal activities as ordinary citizens, we are to become leaven acting on
the mass” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 120).

34-35. Revelation, God’s plans, are hidden (cf. Matthew 11:25) from those
who are disposed to accept them. The Evangelist wishes to emphasize the
need for simplicity and for docility to the Gospel. By recalling Psalm 78:2,
he tells us once more, under divine inspiration, that the Old Testament pro-
phecies find their fulfillment in our Lord’s preaching.

36-43. While making its way on earth, the Church is composed of good and
bad people, just men and sinners: they are mixed in with one another until
the harvest time, the end of the world, when the Son of Man, in His capacity
as Judge of the living and the dead, will divide the good from the bad at the
Last Judgment—the former going to eternal glory, the inheritance of the
saints; the latter, to the eternal fire of Hell. Although the just and the sinners
are now side by side, the Church has the right and the duty to exclude those
who cause scandal, especially those who attack its doctrine and unity; this
it can do through ecclesiastical excommunication and other canonical penal-
ties. However, excommunication has a medicinal and pastoral function—to
correct those who are obstinate in error, and to protect others from them.

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

[Salvation]

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

[Salvation]

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

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

---

First reading	Jeremiah 7:1-11 ©

The word that was addressed to Jeremiah by the Lord, ‘Go and stand at the gate of the Temple of the Lord and there proclaim this message. Say, “Listen to the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who come in by these gates to worship the Lord. The Lord Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this: Amend your behaviour and your actions and I will stay with you here in this place. Put no trust in delusive words like these: This is the sanctuary of the Lord, the sanctuary of the Lord, the sanctuary of the Lord! But if you do amend your behaviour and your actions, if you treat each other fairly, if you do not exploit the stranger, the orphan and the widow (if you do not shed innocent blood in this place), and if you do not follow alien gods, to your own ruin, then here in this place I will stay with you, in the land that long ago I gave to your fathers for ever. Yet here you are, trusting in delusive words, to no purpose! Steal, would you, murder, commit adultery, perjure yourselves, burn incense to Baal, follow alien gods that you do not know? – and then come presenting yourselves in this Temple that bears my name, saying: Now we are safe – safe to go on committing all these abominations! Do you take this Temple that bears my name for a robbers’ den? I, at any rate, am not blind – it is the Lord who speaks.”’

---

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 83:3-6,8,11 ©

How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

My soul is longing and yearning,

  is yearning for the courts of the Lord.

My heart and my soul ring out their joy

  to God, the living God.

How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

The sparrow herself finds a home

  and the swallow a nest for her brood;

she lays her young by your altars,

  Lord of hosts, my king and my God.

How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

They are happy, who dwell in your house,

  for ever singing your praise.

They walk with ever-growing strength,

  they will see the God of gods in Zion.

How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

One day within your courts

  is better than a thousand elsewhere.

The threshold of the house of God

  I prefer to the dwellings of the wicked.

How lovely is your dwelling-place, Lord, God of hosts.

---

Gospel Acclamation	Heb4:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of God is something alive and active:

it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.

Alleluia!

Or	Jm1:21

Alleluia, alleluia!

Accept and submit to the word

which has been planted in you

and can save your souls.

Alleluia!

---

Gospel

Matthew 13:24-30 ©

Jesus put another parable before the crowds, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s servants went to him and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” “Some enemy has done this” he answered. And the servants said, “Do you want us to go and weed it out?” But he said, “No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.”’

[Salvation]

Pray for Pope Francis.

[Salvation]

It's time to kneel down and pray for our nation (Sacramental Marriage)

[Salvation]

Perpetual Novena for the Nation (Ecumenical)

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Prayers for The Religion Forum (Ecumenical)

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7 Powerful Ways to Pray for Christians Suffering in the Middle East

[Salvation]

Pray the Rosary!

Why Boko Haram and ISIS Target Women
Report reveals scale of Boko Haram violence inflicted on Nigerian Catholics
Military evacuating girls, women rescued from Boko Haram
Echos of Lepanto Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Harm
After vision of Christ, Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Haram (Catholic Caucus)
Nigerian Bishop Says Christ Showed Him How to Beat Islamic Terror Group

[Salvation]

 

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.

[Salvation]

Fatherhood and Mercy
Jubilee of Mercy: A Final Gift, Prophecies, End Times
Sharing God's Mercy with Our Children
Mercy Heals Fear to Trust
Jubilee of Mercy, But With the Confessionals Empty
If You Don't Know the Bad News, the Good News is No News -- A Meditation on the Coming Year of Mercy
Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis According to which an Indulgence is Granted...[Catholic Caucus]
POPE FRANCIS FOR YEAR OF MERCY GRANTS THAT SSPX PRIESTS CAN VALIDLY ABSOLVE!
MISERICORDIAE VULTUS: BULL OF INDICTION OF THE EXTRAORDINARY JUBILEE OF MERCY
Pope: Church Must Be 'Oasis of Mercy,' Not Severe Fortress

[Salvation]

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 ]

[Salvation]

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
+

[Salvation]

From an Obama bumper sticker on a car:
"Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8"

PLEASE JOIN US - Evening Prayer
Someone has said that if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless.
Did you know that during WWII there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace?

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central) (7:00 PM Mountain) (6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have. Please forward this to your praying friends.

[Salvation]

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)

 

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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).