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Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 08-01-16, M, St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor/Church
USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 08-01-16 | Revised New American Bible

Posted on 07/31/2016 10:05:33 PM PDT by Salvation

August 1, 2016

Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Reading 1 Jer 28:1-17

In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, king of Judah,
in the fifth month of the fourth year,
the prophet Hananiah, son of Azzur, from Gibeon,
said to me in the house of the LORD
in the presence of the priests and all the people:
“Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
‘I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.
Within two years I will restore to this place
all the vessels of the temple of the LORD which Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon, took away from this place to Babylon.
And I will bring back to this place Jeconiah,
son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
and all the exiles of Judah who went to Babylon,’ says the LORD,
‘for I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.’”

The prophet Jeremiah answered the prophet Hananiah
in the presence of the priests and all the people assembled
in the house of the LORD, and said:
Amen! thus may the LORD do!
May he fulfill the things you have prophesied
by bringing the vessels of the house of the LORD
and all the exiles back from Babylon to this place!
But now, listen to what I am about to state in your hearing
and the hearing of all the people.
From of old, the prophets who were before you and me prophesied
war, woe, and pestilence against many lands and mighty kingdoms.
But the prophet who prophesies peace
is recognized as truly sent by the LORD
only when his prophetic prediction is fulfilled.

Thereupon the prophet Hananiah took the yoke
from the neck of the prophet Jeremiah and broke it,
and said in the presence of all the people:
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Even so, within two years
I will break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
from off the neck of all the nations.’”
At that, the prophet Jeremiah went away.

Some time after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke
from off the neck of the prophet Jeremiah,
The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah:
Go tell Hananiah this:
Thus says the LORD:
By breaking a wooden yoke, you forge an iron yoke!
For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
A yoke of iron I will place on the necks
of all these nations serving Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
and they shall serve him; even the beasts of the field I give him.

To the prophet Hananiah the prophet Jeremiah said:
Hear this, Hananiah!
The LORD has not sent you,
and you have raised false confidence in this people.
For this, says the LORD, I will dispatch you from the face of the earth;
this very year you shall die,
because you have preached rebellion against the LORD.
That same year, in the seventh month, Hananiah the prophet died.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 119:29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 102

R. (68b) Lord, teach me your statutes.
Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and favor me with your law.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Take not the word of truth from my mouth,
for in your ordinances is my hope.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let those turn to me who fear you
and acknowledge your decrees.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let my heart be perfect in your statutes,
that I be not put to shame.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Sinners wait to destroy me,
but I pay heed to your decrees.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
From your ordinances I turn not away,
for you have instructed me.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.

Alleluia Mt 4:4

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mt 14:13-21

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist,
he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.
The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns.
When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd,
his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick.
When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said,
“This is a deserted place and it is already late;
dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages
and buy food for themselves.”
He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away;
give them some food yourselves.”
But they said to him,
“Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.”
Then he said, “Bring them here to me,”
and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven,
he said the blessing, broke the loaves,
and gave them to the disciples,
who in turn gave them to the crowds.
They all ate and were satisfied,
and they picked up the fragments left over—
twelve wicker baskets full.
Those who ate were about five thousand men,
not counting women and children.


TOPICS: Catholic; General Discusssion; Prayer; Worship
KEYWORDS: catholic; mt14; ordinarytime; prayer; saints
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To: All
'When a man is in an occasion of sin, let him look what he is doing, get himself out of the occasion, and avoid the sin.'

St. Philip Neri

21 posted on 07/31/2016 10:44:16 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
Matthew
  English: Douay-Rheims Latin: Vulgata Clementina Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
  Matthew 14
13 Which when Jesus had heard, he retired from thence by boat, into a desert place apart, and the multitudes having heard of it, followed him on foot out of the cities. Quod cum audisset Jesus, secessit inde in navicula, in locum desertum seorsum : et cum audissent turbæ, secutæ sunt eum pedestres de civitatibus. και ακουσας ο ιησους ανεχωρησεν εκειθεν εν πλοιω εις ερημον τοπον κατ ιδιαν και ακουσαντες οι οχλοι ηκολουθησαν αυτω πεζη απο των πολεων
14 And he coming forth saw a great multitude, and had compassion on them, and healed their sick. Et exiens vidit turbam multam, et misertus est eis, et curavit languidos eorum. και εξελθων ο ιησους ειδεν πολυν οχλον και εσπλαγχνισθη επ αυτοις και εθεραπευσεν τους αρρωστους αυτων
15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying: This is a desert place, and the hour is now past: send away the multitudes, that going into the towns, they may buy themselves victuals. Vespere autem facto, accesserunt ad eum discipuli ejus, dicentes : Desertus est locus, et hora jam præteriit : dimitte turbas, ut euntes in castella, emant sibi escas. οψιας δε γενομενης προσηλθον αυτω οι μαθηται αυτου λεγοντες ερημος εστιν ο τοπος και η ωρα ηδη παρηλθεν απολυσον τους οχλους ινα απελθοντες εις τας κωμας αγορασωσιν εαυτοις βρωματα
16 But Jesus said to them, They have no need to go: give you them to eat. Jesus autem dixit eis : Non habent necesse ire : date illis vos manducare. ο δε ιησους ειπεν αυτοις ου χρειαν εχουσιν απελθειν δοτε αυτοις υμεις φαγειν
17 They answered him: We have not here, but five loaves, and two fishes. Responderunt ei : Non habemus hic nisi quinque panes et duos pisces. οι δε λεγουσιν αυτω ουκ εχομεν ωδε ει μη πεντε αρτους και δυο ιχθυας
18 He said to them: Bring them hither to me. Qui ait eis : Afferte mihi illos huc. ο δε ειπεν φερετε μοι αυτους ωδε
19 And when he had commanded the multitudes to sit down upon the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. Et cum jussisset turbam discumbere super fœnum, acceptis quinque panibus et duobus piscibus, aspiciens in cælum benedixit, et fregit, et dedit discipulis panes, discipuli autem turbis. και κελευσας τους οχλους ανακλιθηναι επι τους χορτους λαβων τους πεντε αρτους και τους δυο ιχθυας αναβλεψας εις τον ουρανον ευλογησεν και κλασας εδωκεν τοις μαθηταις τους αρτους οι δε μαθηται τοις οχλοις
20 And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up what remained, twelve full baskets of fragments. Et manducaverunt omnes, et saturati sunt. Et tulerunt reliquias, duodecim cophinos fragmentorum plenos. και εφαγον παντες και εχορτασθησαν και ηραν το περισσευον των κλασματων δωδεκα κοφινους πληρεις
21 And the number of them that did eat, was five thousand men, besides women and children. Manducantium autem fuit numerus quinque millia virorum, exceptis mulieribus et parvulis. οι δε εσθιοντες ησαν ανδρες ωσει πεντακισχιλιοι χωρις γυναικων και παιδιων

22 posted on 08/01/2016 4:40:20 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex
13. When Jesus heard of it, he departed thence by ship into a desert place apart: and when the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.
14. And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

GLOSS; The Savior having heard the death of His Baptist, retired into the desert; as it follows, which when Jesus had heard, he departed thence by ship into a desert place.

AUG; This the Evangelist relates to have been done immediately after the passion of John, therefore after this were those things done that were spoken of above, and moved Herod to say, This is John. For we must suppose those things to been after his death which report carried to Herod, and which moved him to doubt who he could be concerning whom he heard such things; for himself had put John to death.

JEROME; He did not retire into the desert through fear of death, as some suppose, but in mercy to His enemies, that they might not add murder to murder; putting off His death till the day of His passion; on which day the lamb is to be slain as the sacrament, and the posts of them that believe to be sprinkled with the blood. Or, He retired to leave us an example to shun that rashness which leads men to surrender themselves voluntarily, because not all persevere with like constancy under torture with the which they offered themselves to it. For this reason He says in another place, When they shall persecute you in one city, flee you to another. Whence the Evangelist says not 'fled', but elegantly, departed thence, (or, 'withdrew') showing that He shunned rather than feared persecution. Or for another reason He might have withdrawn into a desert place on hearing of John's death, namely, to prove the faith of the believers.

CHRYS; Or; He did this because He desired to prolong the economy of His humanity, the time not being yet come for openly manifesting His deity; wherefore also He charged His disciples that they should tell no man that He was the Christ. But after His resurrection He would have this made manifest. Therefore although He knew of Himself what was done, yet before it was told Him He withdrew not, that He might show the verity of His incarnation in all things; for He would that this should be assured not by sight only, but by His actions. And when He withdrew, He did not go into the city, but into the desert by ship that none might follow Him. Yet do not the multitudes leave Him even for this, but still follow after Him, not deterred by what had been done concerning John; whence it follows, And when the multitudes had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.

JEROME; They followed on foot, not riding, or in carriages, but with the toil of their own legs, to show the ardor of their mind.

CHRYS; And they immediately reap the reward of this; for it follows, And he went out and saw a great multitude, and he had compassion upon them, and healed their sick. For though great was the affection of those who had left their cities, and sought Him carefully, yet the things that were done by Him surpassed the reward of any zeal. Therefore he assigns compassion as the cause of this healing. And it is great compassion to heal all, and not to require faith.

HILARY; Mystically; The Word of God, on the close of the Law, entered the ship, that is, the Church; and departed into the desert, that is, leaving to walk with Israel, He passes into breasts void of Divine knowledge. The multitude learning this, follows the Lord out of the city into the desert, going, that is, from the Synagogue to the Church. The Lord sees them, and has compassion upon them, and heals all sickness and infirmity, that is, He cleanses their obstructed minds, and unbelieving hearts for the understanding of the new preaching.

JEROME; It is to be observed moreover, that when the Lord came into the desert, great crowds followed Him; for before He went into the wilderness of the Gentiles, He was worshipped by only one people. They leave their cities, that is, their former conversation, and various dogmas. That Jesus went out, shows that the multitudes had the will to go, but not the strength to attain, therefore the Savior departs out of His place and goes to meet them.

15. And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
16. But Jesus said to them, They need not depart; give you them to eat.
17. And they say to him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.
18. He said, Bring them hither to me.
19. And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and broke, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.
20. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.
21. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children.

CHRYS; It is a proof of the faith of these multitudes that they endured hunger in waiting for the Lord even till evening; to which purpose it follows, And when it was evening his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past. The Lord purposing to feed them waits to be asked, as always not stepping forward first to do miracles, but when called upon. None out of the crowd approached Him, both because they stood in great awe of Him, and because in their zeal of love they did not feel their hunger. But even the disciples do not come and say, Give them to eat, for the disciples were as yet in an imperfect condition; but they say, This is a desert place. So that what was proverbial among the Jews to express a miracle, as it is said, Can he spread a table in the wilderness? this also, He shows among his other works.

For this cause also He leads them out into the desert, that the miracle might be clear of all suspicion, and that none might suppose that any thing was supplied towards the feast from any neighboring town. But though the place be desert, yet is He there who feeds the world; and though the hour is, as they say, past, yet He who now commanded was not subjected to hours. And though the Lord had gone before His disciples in healing many sick, yet they were so imperfect that they could not judge what He would do concerning food for them, wherefore they add, Send the multitude away, that they may go into the towns, and buy themselves food. Observe the wisdom of the Master; He says not straightway to them, 'I will give them to eat'; for they would not easily have received this, but, Jesus said to them, They need not depart, Give you them to eat.

JEROME; Wherein He calls the Apostles to breaking of bread, that the greatness of the miracle might be more evident by their testimony that they had none.

AUG; It may perplex some how, if the Lord,, according to the relation of John, asked Philip whence bread was to be found for them, that can be true which Matthew here relates, that the disciples first prayed the Lord to send the multitudes away, that they might buy food from the nearest towns. Suppose then that after these words the Lord looked upon the multitude and said what John relates, but Matthew and the others have omitted. And by such cases as this none ought to be perplexed, when one of the Evangelists relates what the rest have omitted.

CHRYS; Yet not even by these words were the disciples set right, but speak yet to Him as to man; They answered to Him, We have here but five loaves and two fishes. From this we learn the philosophy of the disciples, how far they despised food; they were twelve in number, yet they had but five loaves and two fishes; for things of the body were contemned by them, they were altogether possessed by spiritual things.

But because the disciples were yet attracted to earth, the Lord begins to introduce the things that were of Himself; He said to them, Bring them here to me. Wherefore does He not create out of nothing the bread to feed the multitude with? That He might put to silence the mouth of Marcion and Manichaeus, who take away from God His creatures, and by His deeds might teach that all things, that are seen are His works and creation, and that it is He that has given us the fruits of the earth, who said in the, beginning, Let the earth bring forth the green herb; for this is no less a deed than that. For of five loaves to make many loaves, and fishes in like manner, is no less a thing than to bring fruits from the earth, reptiles and other living things from the waters; which showed Him to be Lord both of land and sea.

By the example of the disciples also we ought to be taught, that though we should have but little, we ought to give that to such as have need. For they when bid to bring their five loaves say not, Whence shall we satisfy our own hunger? but immediately obey; And He commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven blessed them, and broke. Why did He look to heaven and bless? For it should be believed concerning Him that He is from the Father, and that He is equal with the Father. His equality He shows when He does all things with power. That He is from the Father He shows us by referring to Him whatsoever He does, and calling upon Him on all occasions.

To prove these two things therefore, He works His miracles at times with power, at other times with prayer. It should be considered also that in lesser things He looks to heaven, but in greater He does all with power. When He forgave sins, raised the dead, stilled the sea, opened the secrets of the heart, opened the eyes of him that was born blind, which were works only of God, He is not seen to pray; but when He multiplies the loaves, a work less than any of these, He looks up to heaven, that you may learn that even in little things He has no power but from His Father. And at the same time He teaches us not to touch our food, until we have returned thanks to Him who gives it us. For this reason also He looks up to heaven, because His disciples had examples of many other miracles, but none of this.

JEROME ; While the Lord breaks there is a sowing of food; for had the loaves been whole and not broken into fragments, and thus divided into a manifold harvest, they could not have fed so great a multitude. The multitude receives the food from the Lord through the Apostles; as it follows, And he gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

CHRYS; In doing which He not only honored them, but would that upon this miracle they should not be unbelieving, nor forget it when it was past, seeing their own hands had borne witness to it. Therefore also He suffers the multitudes first to feel the sense of hunger, and His disciples to come to Him, and to ask Him, and He took the loaves at their hands, that they might have many testimonies of that that was done, and many things to remind them of the miracle. From this that He gave them, nothing more than bread and fish, and that He set this equally before all, He taught them moderation, frugality, and that charity by which they should have all things in common.

This He also taught them in the place, in making them sit down upon the grass; for He sought not to feed the body only, but to instruct the mind. But the bread and fish multiplied in the disciples' hands; whence it follows, And they did all eat, and were filled. But the miracle ended not here; for He caused to abound not only whole loaves, but fragments also; to show that the first loaves were not so much as what was left, and that they who were not present might learn what had been done, and that none might think that what had been done was a fantasy; And they took up fragments that were left, twelve baskets full.

JEROME; Each of the Apostles fills his basket of the fragments left by his Savior, that these fragments might witness that they were true loaves that were multiplied.

CHRYS; For this reason also He caused twelve baskets to remain over and above, that Judas might bear his basket. He took up the fragments, and gave them to the disciples and not to the multitudes, who were yet more imperfectly trained than the disciples.

JEROME; To the number of loaves, five, the number of the men that ate is apportioned, five thousand; And the number of them that had eaten was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

CHRYS; This was to the very great credit of the people, that the women and the men stood up when these remnants still remained.

HILARY; The five loaves are not multiplied into more but fragments succeed to fragments; the substance growing whether upon the tables, or in the hands that took them up, I know not.

RABAN; Then John is to describe this miracle, he first tells us that the passover is at hand; Matthew and Mark place it immediately after the execution of John. Hence we may gather, that he was beheaded when the paschal festival was near at hand, and that at the passover of the following year, the mystery of the Lord's passion was accomplished.

JEROME; But all these things are full of mysteries; the Lord does these things not in the morning, nor at noon, but in the evening, when the Sun of righteousness was set.

REMIG; By the evening the Lord's death is denoted; and after He, the true Sun, was set on the altar of the cross, He filled the hungry or by evening is denoted the last age of this world, in which the Son of God came and refreshed the multitudes of those that believed on Him.

RABAN; When the disciples ask the Lord to send away the multitudes that they might buy food in the towns, it signifies the pride of the Jews towards the multitudes of the Gentiles, whom they judged rather fit to seek for themselves food in the assemblies of the Pharisees than to use the pasture of the Divine books.

HILARY; But the Lord answered, They have no need to go, showing that those whom He heals have no need of the food of mercenary doctrine, and have no necessity to return to Judea to buy food; and He commands the Apostles that they give them food. Did He not know then that there was nothing to give them. But there was a complete series of types to be set forth; for as yet it was not given the Apostles to make and minister the heavenly bread, the food of eternal life; and their answer thus belongs to the chain of spiritual interpretation; they were as yet confined to the five loaves, that is, the five books of the Law, and the two fishes, that is, the preaching of the Prophets and of John.

RABAN; Or, by the two fishes we may understand the Prophets, and the Psalms, for the whole of the Old Testament was comprehended in these three, the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms.

HILARY; These therefore the Apostles first set forth, because they were yet in these things; and from these things the preaching of the Gospel grows to its more abundant strength and virtue. Then the people is commanded to sit down upon the grass, as no longer lying upon the ground, but resting upon the Law, each one reposing upon the fruit of his own works as upon the grass of the earth.

JEROME; Or, they are bid to lie down on the grass, and that, according to another Evangelist, by fifties and by hundreds, that after they have trampled upon their flesh, and have subjugated the pleasures of the world as dried grass under them, then by the presence of the number fifty, they ascend to the eminent perfection of a hundred. He looks up to heaven to teach us that our eyes are to be directed thither. The Law with the Prophets is broken, and in the midst of them are brought forward mysteries that whereas they partook not of it whole, when broken into pieces it may be food for the multitude of the Gentiles.

HILARY; Then the loaves are given to the Apostles' because through them the gifts of divine grace were to be rendered. And the number of them that did eat is found to be the same as that of those who should believe; for we find in the book of Acts that out of the vast number of the people of Israel, five thousand men believed.

JEROME; There partook five thousand who had reached maturity; for women and children, the weaker sex, and the tender age, were unworthy of number; thus in the book of Numbers, slaves, women, children, and an undistinguished crowd, are passed over unnumbered.

RABAN; The multitude being hungry, He creates no new viands, but having taken what the disciples had, He gave thanks. In like manner when He came in the flesh, He preached no other things than what had been foretold, but showed that the writings of the Law and the Prophets were big with mysteries. That which the multitude leave is taken up by the disciples, because the more secret mysteries which cannot be comprehended by the uninstructed, are not to be treated with neglect, but are to be diligently sought out by the twelve Apostles (who are represented by the twelve baskets) and their successors. For by baskets servile offices are performed, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the strong. The five thousand for the five senses of the body are they who in a secular condition know how to use rightly things without.

Catena Aurea Matthew 14
23 posted on 08/01/2016 4:40:56 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: annalex


Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes

Early XIVth century
Church of the Holy Savior
Chora, Constantinople

24 posted on 08/01/2016 4:41:40 AM PDT by annalex (fear them not)
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To: All
Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop & Doctor of the Church

Saint Alphonsus Liguori,
Bishop & Doctor of the Church
Memorial
August 1st

"Copiosa apud eum redemptio"
"With Him there is Plentiful Redemption"  

History:

Born September 27, 1696.
Ordained a priest on December 21, 1726
Founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorist) in 1732.
Died at Nocera de' Pagani, August 1, 1787.
Canonized in 1839 by Pope Gregory XVI.
Declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius IX in 1871.
Patron of Confessors and Moral Theologians.

Collect:

O God, who constantly raise up in your Church new examples of virtue,
grant that we may follow so closely in the footsteps
of the Bishop Saint Alphonsus in his zeal for souls
as to attain the same rewards that are his in heaven.
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.

First Reading: Romans 8:1-4

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:13-19

"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

"Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

***

My Jesus, I believe that Thou art truly present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love Thee above all things, and I desire to possess Thee within my soul. Since I am unable now to receive Thee sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace Thee as being already there, and unite myself wholly to Thee; never permit me to be separated from Thee. -- St. Alphonsus Liguori

I the Lord Am with you Always, Prayers and Mediations for Eucharistic Adoration
Society for Eucharistic Adoration, Ashfield, NSW, Australia -
©2003

***

POPE BENEDICT XVI
GENERAL AUDIENCE
St. Peter's Square
Wednesday, 30 March 2011

Saint Alphonsus Liguori

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Our catechesis today deals with Saint Alphonsus Liguori, an outstanding eighteenth-century preacher, scholar and Doctor of the Church. Alphonsus left a brilliant career as a lawyer to become a priest, and greatly contributed to the renewal of the Church in his native Naples. He began as a missionary among the urban poor, gathering small groups for prayer and instruction in the faith. Broadening his pastoral outreach, he founded the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer – the Redemptorists – as a group of itinerant missionaries. Alphonsus’ pastoral zeal also found expression in his moral teaching, which emphasized divine mercy and the relationship between God’s law and our deepest human needs and aspirations. His many spiritual writings, marked by a deep Christological and Marian piety, stressed the practice of prayer, especially before the Blessed Sacrament. May this great Doctor of the Church, venerated also as the patron of moral theologians, help us to respond ever more fully to God’s call to grow in holiness, and inspire in priests, religious and laity a firm commitment to the new evangelization.

© Copyright 2011 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana


25 posted on 08/01/2016 9:10:46 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
On Prayer According to St. Alphonsus Liguori
How Saint Alphonsus Liguori Converted...
"The Dignity and Duties of the Priest" (excerpt) by St. Alphonsus Liguori [Catholic Caucus]
On St. Alphonsus Liguori
[CATHOLIC CAUCUS] 50 Maxims for becoming a Saint! (from St Alphonsus Liguori)
The Death of Jesus, An essay by Alphonsus Liguori

ADVICE TO PARENTS by Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Habits of Holiness [On the Life of St. Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori]
On the Advantages of Tribulations by Saint Alphonsus Liguori/a>
A Scriptural Way of the Cross with Meditations by Saint Alphonsus Liguori (Lenten Prayer/Devotional)
On the Love of Christ [St. Alphonsus Liguori]
Meditation on the Fourteenth Station of the Cross (According to the Method of St. Alphonsus Ligori)
ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI, OF THE DOLOURS OF MARY, The Glories [Sorrows] of Mary
Sermons of St. Alphonsus Liguori
St Alphonsus Liguori
St. Alphonsus Liguori

26 posted on 08/01/2016 9:12:41 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Information: St. Alphonsus Liguori

Feast Day: August 1

Born: September 27, 1696, Marianella, Campania, Kingdom of Naples (now modern-day Italy)

Died: August 1, 1787, Pagani, Italy

Canonized: May 26, 1839, Rome, Italy by Pope Gregory XVI

Patron of: arthritis, confessors, moralists, theologians, vocations; Naples (co-patron)

27 posted on 08/01/2016 9:19:32 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

St. Ligouri


Feast Day: August 1
Born: 1696 :: Died: 1787

St. Alphonsus Liguori was born near Naples in Italy. He was a hard working student who became a very famous lawyer.

One day he made a big mistake in court and decided to give up his law practice to become a priest. His father tried very hard to stop him but Alphonsus had made up his mind.

He became a priest and was extremely happy serving God. His life was filled with activity. He preached, wrote many hymns and about 60 books. He also played the organ and painted pictures.

He had lots of followers who became priests and he started an order called “Redemptorists”.

St. Alphonsus was wise and good and guided the people who came to him bringing them peace through the sacrament of Reconciliation. He reminded people about God’s love for them and the importance of their religion. His sermons were very simple so everyone including children could understand what he said.

The Pope wanted to make him a bishop but he was so humble that he gently said “no”. Then the Pope helped Alphonsus understand that it was important for him to become a bishop, as people in the area where he lived needed a shepherd. After he became bishop, he sent many of his preachers to preach the word of God to the people.

As he got older he became ill and suffered much. He became crippled, deaf and almost blind but he loved Mother Mary and prayed for her help. When he was 91 years old, he died a very peaceful and holy death.

Years after he died the Pope announced that St. Alphonsus was made a Doctor of the Church.

Saint Alphonsus Liguori is the patron saint of:
Theologians
(Theologians are people who study about God and Religion)

28 posted on 08/01/2016 9:33:58 AM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
I just returned from Mass. Saint Alphonsus Liguori was a bishop and Doctor of the Church. MOST inspiring.

He wrote on moral theology and worked tirelessly for the poor and the sick.
Imagine, he was a lawyer who became a priest.

29 posted on 08/01/2016 9:47:18 AM PDT by cloudmountain
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To: cloudmountain

Monday

August 1, 2016

Prayer Stretches our Hearts

“My little children, your hearts are small, but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer we receive a foretaste of heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the souls and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun.” — St. John Vianney


Year of Mercy Calendar for Today: “This week, pray for the impoverished.”


30 posted on 08/01/2016 3:20:57 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: Salvation
CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Monday, August 1

Liturgical Color: White

Today is the Memorial of St.
Alphonsus Liguori, bishop and
Doctor of the Church. St. Alphonsus
received his law degree by 16, but
abandoned his career for the
religious life. He founded the
Congregation of the Most Holy
Redeemer in 1732.

31 posted on 08/01/2016 3:28:15 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: August 1st

Memorial of St. Alphonsus Liguori, bishop & doctor

MASS READINGS

August 01, 2016 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

O God, who constantly raise up in your Church new examples of virtue, grant that we may follow so closely in the footsteps of the Bishop Saint Alphonsus in his zeal for souls as to attain the same rewards that are his in heaven. 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.

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Library (2)

Old Calendar: Holy Machabees, martyrs; St. Peter's Chains (Lammas Day)

St. Alphonsus de Liguori was a great preacher of the Gospel to the poor. His charity and apostolic spirit led him to found the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer to carry on this work. He sent his Redemptorists, as our Lord did the Apostles, into the countryside and the market towns and villages, to announce the Kingdom of God. He became Bishop of Sant' Agata dei Goti, near Naples, and died at the age of ninety, in 1787. For his great works on Moral Theology he has been declared a Doctor of the Church.

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Peter's Chains. It celebrates the dedication of the basilica of St. Peter ad Vincula in Rome which was built in about 432 on the Esquiline Hill in Rome and consecrated on August 1. It is also the commemoration of the Holy Machabees. The seven Machabees were brothers martyred with their mother under Antiochus Epiphanes in about the year 150 before Christ. There is an account of their wonderful death in the Old Testament. Their relics venerated at Antioch in the time of St. Jerome, were translated to Rome in the sixth century, to the church of St. Peter's Chains.


St. Alphonsus Liguori
Alphonsus Liguori, born in 1696, was the son of an ancient Neapolitan family. His father was an officer in the Royal Navy. At the age of sixteen, Alphonsus received his doctorate in both canon and civil law and for nearly ten years practiced at the bar. When he found that one of the legal cases he was defending was not based on justice but on political intrigue, he gave up the practice of law and dedicated his life to God.

Ordained to the priesthood in 1726, St. Alphonsus Liguori joined a group of secular priests dedicated to missionary activities. He involved himself in many kinds of pastoral activities, giving missions and organizing workers, and had a part in the founding of an order of contemplative nuns.

In 1732, he founded the Redemptorists, a congregation of priests and brothers, to work especially among the country people of Italy who often lacked the opportunity for missions, religious instruction, and spiritual retreats. Strangely, his first companions deserted him; but Alphonsus stood firm, and soon vocations multiplied and the congregation grew.

The Redemptorists were approved by Pope Benedict XIV in 1749, and Alphonsus was elected superior general. In 1762, he was appointed bishop of Sant' Agata dei God and as bishop he corrected abuses, restored churches, reformed seminaries, and promoted missions throughout his diocese. During the famine of 1763-64, his charity and generosity were boundless, and he also carried on a huge campaign of religious writing.

In 1768, he was stricken with a painful illness and resigned his bishopric. During the last years of his life, problems in his congregation caused him much sorrow and when he died on August 1, 1787, at Pagani, near Salerno, the Redemptorists were a divided society. He was beatified in 1816, canonized in 1839, and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1871.

Excerpted from the The One Year Book of Saints by Rev. Clifford Stevens

Patron: Confessors; final perseverance; theologians; vocations.

Things to Do:


St. Peter's Chains
There in some controversy as to whether St. Peter's chains were brought from Jerusalem by Eudoxia in 439, or by some travellers sent to the East in search of them by the martyr St. Balbina and her father, St. Quirinus, in 116. Gerbet defends the latter opinion and says St. Balbina gave them to Theodora, sister of St. Hermes, martyr, Prefect of Rome, from whom they passed into the hands of Pope St. Alexander I (108-117). St. Bede the Venerable, writing in the seventh century, speaks of the chains in connection with St. Balbina and St. Alexander.

Such was the reverence paid to these chains in the fifth and sixth centuries, that filings of them were considered precious relics suitable for kings and patriarchs, these filings being usually enclosed in a gold cross or key. Such a relic was sent by Pope St. Hormisdas to the Emperor Justinian; by St. Gregory to King Childebert, to Theoctista, sister of the Emperor Mauritius, to Anastasius, Patriarch of Antioch, and others; by Pope Vitalian to Oswy of Northumbria; by St. Leo III to Charlemagne; by St. Gregory VII to Alphonsus, King of Castile. These crosses and keys were often worn around the neck as a preservative against dangers, spiritual and temporal.

St. John Chrysostom's words on St. Paul's chains apply equally to St. Peter's: "No glittering diadem so adorns the head as a chain borne for Christ. Were the choice offered me either of heaven or of this chain (suffered for Christ), I would take the chain. If I might have stood with the angels above, near the throne of God, or have been bound with Paul, I should have preferred the dungeon. Had you rather have been the angel loosing Peter, or Peter in chains? I would rather have been Peter. This gift of chains is something greater than power to stop the sun, to move the world, or to command the devils" (Homil. 8, in Ephes iii. I.).

Excerpted from Pilgrim Walks in Rome by P.J. Chandlery S.J.

This day still is known in English-speaking countries as Lammas Day, or loaf-mass day. This was the festival of the first wheat harvest of the year, on which day it was customary to bring to church a loaf made from the new crop.

In many parts of England, tenants were bound to present freshly harvested wheat to their landlords on or before the first day of August. In the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, where it is referred to regularly, it is called "the feast of first fruits." The blessing of new fruits was performed annually in both the Eastern and Western Churches on the first, or alternately the sixth (Transfiguration), of August. The Sacramentary of Pope Gregory I (d. 604) specifies the sixth.

Excerpted from The Stations of the Sun, Ronald Hutton, Oxford 1996


Holy Machabees
The seven Machabean brothers, together with their mother, were martyred about the year 164 B.C. by King Antiochus Epiphanes. The mother in particular deserves to be admired for the heroic fortitude with which she encouraged her children to suffer and die. Their remains were venerated at Antioch. After the church which was built above their resting-place was destroyed, they were taken to Rome; during the renovation of the high altar of St. Peter in Chains (1876), a sarcophagus dating from the fourth or fifth century was found; lead tablets related the relics to those of the Machabean martyrs and their mother. Seldom does it happen that the Roman Church venerates Old Testament saints in the Mass and Office; it is much more common in the Greek rite. Martyrdom before the advent of Christ was possible only through faith and hope in Christ. Today's feast is among the oldest in the sanctoral cycle. In the second Book of Machabees, sacred Scripture recounts the passion and death of the Machabees in a very edifying manner. St. Gregory Nazianz discusses why Christians honor these Old Testament saints: "They deserve to be universally venerated because they showed themselves courageous and steadfastly loyal to the laws and traditions of their fathers. For if already before the passion of Christ they suffered death as martyrs, what heroism would they have shown if they had suffered after Christ and with the death of the Lord as a model? A further point. To me and to all who love God it is highly probable that according to a mystic and hidden logic no one who endured martyrdom before the advent of Christ was able to do so without faith in Christ."

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

32 posted on 08/01/2016 4:19:29 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
The Word Among Us

Meditation: Jeremiah 28:1-17

Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (Memorial)

Hear this, Hananiah! The Lord has not sent you, and you have raised false confidence in this people. (Jeremiah 28:15)

Imagine you’re walking into a performance evaluation. This evaluation is unique because you can choose what feedback you’ll be hearing. On the one hand, you can choose an honest review. Your hard work will be recognized. But your weaknesses will also be identified, and strategies for improvement will be outlined. On the other hand, you can choose to hear only glowing praise of your work, with no insights on how you can do better or hold onto your job.

You know you probably should opt for an honest review, right?

Today’s first reading offers us a dramatic example of contrasting spiritual evaluations. Hananiah probably wanted to boost morale among his countrymen, who were facing a threat from the Babylonian army. So he prophesied that they would triumph, and very soon. But because his “prophetic” words didn’t really come from the Lord, they didn’t help. By contrast, Jeremiah offered God’s honest assessment of the situation in the hopes of preparing the people for the challenges to come.

How about you? How have you experienced the Holy Spirit’s “honest assessments”? Maybe you’ve discovered that more than any supervisor, he appreciates and values you even when your “performance” isn’t stellar. He sees the potential in you and wants to help you reach it. And whether or not you always feel it, he honors you for all the ways you are serving him—even if they seem small and imperfect to you.

Of course, the Spirit is no stranger to your weaknesses. Even as he honors you, he also calls attention to your thought patterns and attitudes that don’t represent him well. But he’s careful not to condemn. Neither does he leave you feeling mired in your weaknesses. Instead, he offers grace to change and encouragement every step of the way.

So try to be extra aware of the Spirit’s helpful convictions today, both the positive and the negative. Try to look on them as divine opportunities for advancement and transformation.

“Holy Spirit, help me hear your voice today.”

33 posted on 08/01/2016 4:47:13 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for August 1, 2016:

Go out of your way today to encourage your spouse. Words of affirmation are a symbol of hope and love.

34 posted on 08/01/2016 4:51:13 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Regnum Christi

August 1, 2016 – Feed Them Yourselves!

Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Matthew 14:13-21

When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over– twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

Introductory Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I believe you want me to have faith in you, faith that hearkens to your words without any second guessing. I hope in your words, not relying solely on my own strength or reasoning. I love you. You continue to astonish me by showing me that your ways are not my ways.

Petition:

Lord Jesus, increase my faith.

1. When Our Efforts Bear Little Fruit:

Our mission is to extend Christ’s Kingdom in society. Each one of us must do so according to his or her state in life. At times, however, it may seem that our efforts are not bringing about the desired results. We love Christ so much, and yet so many of our family, friends and acquaintances do not know or love him at all. We love our country and wish that all our fellow countrymen would discover for themselves the beauty of our Catholic faith. We know that in this faith lie all the answers to the fundamental questions and aspirations of the human heart. We work hard, we brainstorm initiatives, we join with others, we strive to do our best, and yet, it sometimes seems that others are not hearing Christ’s message. What is wrong? What more can we do?

2. Feed Them Yourselves:

Our Lord tells the apostles to feed the multitude. How could they possibly feed 5,000 men, not to mention women and children? They had only five loaves and two fish. Surely this was a parable, they thought. They were too focused on how little they could do; they did not see beyond their own weakness. What went through their heads when he told them to sit the people down in groups? What did they say in that moment? We don’t know. We do know, however, that they listened to Christ. They did what they were told. They did not go about complaining that it was pointless. And so, in their act of obedience they actually began to feed the people themselves.

3. What Is Impossible for Man Is Possible for God:

Our Lord multiplied the loaves of bread and the fish by his divine power. Interestingly, he fed the people through the Twelve. The apostles, despite their weakness, were the vessels who distributed the multiplied bread and fish to the people. Christ can do great things in us as well, if we let him. In the face of the challenges of the New Evangelization, if we bring our weakness and limitations to Christ and are ready to do as he asks, then we, too, shall bear great fruit.

Conversation with Christ:

Once again, Lord, you show us your goodness and kindness. The apostles turned to you and poured out their hearts. And you answered their prayers, giving them fruits beyond all measure. Lord, I want to pray as they prayed. I want to do what you ask as they did, in faith and love.

Resolution:

I will ask for the grace to serve as Christ’s vessel of evangelization, striving not to allow difficulties to cause me to lose heart.


35 posted on 08/01/2016 4:55:45 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
Homily of the Day
August 1, 2016

There are moments in our lives when Jesus seems to be hiding from us. He is just nowhere to be found. So there are times that we even become desperate and hopeless. In our Gospel today, the crowd was keen in finding Jesus.

Would we be like those people who will just not stop to search for him and then continue to follow him wherever he would go? Each of them must have had an experience with Jesus to have that fire within them. Do we also have our own unique encounter with Jesus? How meaningful was that for us? Notwithstanding the hardship, do we desire to pursue him as the crowd did?

People and events could discourage us from following Jesus but faith can make us stand firm in our decision. Jesus is the only one who can change our hearts only if we allow him to. Still it is our choice. No sacrifice is wasted when we try to follow the footsteps of Jesus. His compassion is truly so great that he will see us through in the difficult moments. He will not abandon us when we are down and out.

Like what he did for the crowd, he would heal and feed us too. He would bless us with the grace we need in order to be healed and comforted. He would feed us with his very self so we may gain the strength in every trial we have to face. His love satisfies our hunger.


36 posted on 08/01/2016 5:02:39 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All
One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Español

All Issues > Volume 32, Issue 5

<< Monday, August 1, 2016 >> St. Alphonsus Liguori
 
Jeremiah 28:1-17
View Readings
Psalm 119:29, 43, 79, 80, 95, 102 Matthew 14:13-21
Similar Reflections
 

STRETCHING EXERCISES

 
"Jesus said to them: 'There is no need for them to disperse. Give them something to eat yourselves.' " —Matthew 14:16
 

A large crowd, a deserted place, and a shortage of food — Jesus' disciples recognize that a problem is developing. In fact, they have even worked out a reasonable solution (Mt 14:15). They want Jesus to fix the problem according to their plan. But Jesus has a different approach. He says, "Give them something to eat yourselves" (Mt 14:16). Jesus wants His disciples to fix the problem according to His plan.

Jesus' plan was to multiply loaves and fish to feed the hungry crowd. Before He would stretch the food, however, He wanted to stretch His disciples (see Jn 6:6). Jesus increases faith by stretching His followers to be larger vessels able to contain more faith. However, you don't have to wait for a problem to develop before your faith is increased. You can work with Jesus in advance by:

  1. repenting of sins so that you may be a larger, "distinguished vessel" (2 Tm 2:21),
  2. daily reading of "that gracious word of His which can enlarge you" (Acts 20:32), and
  3. frequent reception of the Eucharist.

When Mary said "Yes" to God's plan, her womb was stretched as the Infant Jesus grew within her. Even more, her subsequent daily life with Jesus constantly stretched her. As we receive Jesus in reconciliation, word, and Eucharist, we carry His body within us, and He will stretch us. Open yourself to Jesus, and He will multiply your faith.

 
Prayer: Jesus, stretch me any way You choose so that I may increase in faith (see Lk 17:5).
Promise: "All those present ate their fill. The fragments remaining, when gathered up, filled twelve baskets." —Mt 14:20
Praise: St. Alphonsus, suffering himself from severe, crippling rheumatism, founded his congregation for "the most abandoned."

37 posted on 08/01/2016 5:04:53 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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To: All

38 posted on 08/01/2016 5:06:30 PM PDT by Salvation ("With God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26)
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