Catholic Caucus: Sunday Mass Readings, 06-17-18, Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 06-17-18 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

June 17, 2018

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Ez 17:22-24

Thus says the Lord GOD:
I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar,
from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot,
and plant it on a high and lofty mountain;
on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it.
It shall put forth branches and bear fruit,
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it,
every winged thing in the shade of its boughs.
And all the trees of the field shall know
that I, the LORD,
bring low the high tree,
lift high the lowly tree,
wither up the green tree,
and make the withered tree bloom.
As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16

R. (cf. 2a) Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,
To proclaim your kindness at dawn
and your faithfulness throughout the night.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
The just one shall flourish like the palm tree,
like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow.
They that are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
They shall bear fruit even in old age;
vigorous and sturdy shall they be,
Declaring how just is the LORD,
my rock, in whom there is no wrong.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

Reading 2 2 Cor 5:6-10

Brothers and sisters:
We are always courageous,
although we know that while we are at home in the body
we are away from the Lord,
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yet we are courageous,
and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.
Therefore, we aspire to please him,
whether we are at home or away.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each may receive recompense,
according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower.
All who come to him will live forever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel Mk 4:26-34

Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”

He said,
“To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

[Salvation]

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

[Salvation]

KEYWORDS: catholic; mk4; ordinarytime; prayer;

[Salvation]

Alleluia Ping

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

[Salvation]

From: Ezekiel 17:22-24

The allegory come true (continued)

---

[22] Thus says the Lord GOD: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the
cedar, and will set it out; I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a
tender one, and I myself will plant it upon a high and lofty mountain; [23] on the
mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bring forth boughs and bear
fruit, and become a noble cedar; and under it will dwell all kinds of beasts; in the
shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. [24] And all the trees of the
field shall know that I the LORD bring low the high tree, and make high the low
tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I the LORD have spo-
ken, and I will do it.”

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

17:22-24. Chapters 15-17 contain a number of allegories. The special feature of
the cedar tree allegory describing the eventual restoration is the way it puts the
stress on God’s action by explicitly repeating the first person singular: “I myself”,
“I the Lord will bring low”, “I the Lord have spoken”. Some commentators think
that these verses might have been inserted in the text later, but the style and
content of the oracle are perfectly in line with Ezekiel’s thinking.

“In the shade of its branches birds of every sort will rest” (v. 23): the same words
are used in the account of the flood about all sorts of birds entering Noah’s ark.
It points therefore to the eschatological nature of the oracle: after the exile, just
as after the flood, everything will be completely new, although it will derive from

something that already existed. Also, the reference to “birds of every sort” points
to the catholic nature of the new Israel. It is no surprise therefore that our Lord
should use similar imagery to describe the Kingdom of God: it is like a grain of
mustard seed that grows and “becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come
and make nests in its branches” (Mt 13:32).

“I the Lord bring low the high tree” (v. 24): here again we see the Lord as the pro-
tagonist in the history of the chosen people. He is the author of life, which makes
what is dry flourish, and of death, which withers the green tree. He has set his
might against those who, in their arrogance, do not accept him (cf. 31:10-14).
The New Testament will have much to say about the value of humility; for exam-
ple: “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will
be exalted” (Mt 23:12).

*********************************************************************************************
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: 2 Corinthians 5:6-10

He is sustained by hope of heaven

---

[6] So we are always of good courage; we know that while we are at home in the
body we are away from the Lord, [7] for we walk by faith, not by sight. [8] We are
of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with
the Lord. [9] So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please
him. [10] For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each
one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body.

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

6. St Alphonsus says apropos of this verse: “This is not our fatherland; we are
here, as it were, passing through, like pilgrims [. . .]. Our fatherland is heaven,
which we have to merit by God’s grace and our own good actions. Our home is
not the one we live in at present, which serves only as a temporary dwelling; our
home is eternity” (Shorter Sermons, XVI).

However, as St Paul himself shows elsewhere (cf. Acts 16:16-40; 22:22-29; Rom
13:1-7; 2 Thess 3:6:13), this “being away” from the Lord does not mean that a
Christian should not concern himself with the building up of the earthly city. On
the contrary, he should do everything he can to build a world which is more and
more like what God wants it to be. Vatican II, for example, exhorts “Christians,
as citizens of both cities, to perform their duties faithfully in the spirit of the Gos-
pel. It is a mistake to think that, because we have here no lasting city, but seek
the city which is to come (cf. Heb 13:14), we are entitled to shirk our responsibi-
lities; this is to forget that, by our faith, we are bound all the more to fulfil these
responsibilities according to the vocation of each one (cf. 2 Thess 3:6-13; Eph 4:
28) [.. .]. The Christian who shirks his temporal duties shirks his duties towards
his neighbour, neglects God himself and endangers his eternal salvation. Let
Christians follow the example of Christ who worked as a craftsman; let them be
proud of the opportunity to carry out their earthly activity in such a way as to inte-
grate human, domestic, professional, scientific and technical enterprises with reli-
gious values, under whose supreme direction all things are ordered to the glory
of God” (Gaudium et spes, 43).

7. St Paul here speaks of faith as light which shows us the way as we progress
towards eternal life. However, when we reach our home in heaven we will no long-
er need the light of faith, because God himself and Christ will be our light (cf. Rev
21:23).

8-10. Here we can see the Apostle’s firm conviction that he will meet the Lord the
moment he dies. In other passages of Sacred Scripture the same truth is stated
(cf. Lk 16:22-23; 23:43), and the Magisterium of the Church has defined that souls
will receive their eternal reward or punishment immediately after death — or after
they pass through purgatory, if they have to do so (cf. Benedict XII, “Benedictus
Deus, Dz-Sch”, 1000).

This sentence of reward or punishment — given at the particular judgment and ra-
tified at the general judgment at the end of time — is based on the person’s merits
gained during his life on earth, for once he has died he can no longer merit. In
view of this judgment St Paul exhorts us to do everything we can in this life to
please the Lord. “Does your soul not burn with the desire to make your Father-
God happy when he has to judge you?” (St J. Escrivá, “The Way”, 746).

*********************************************************************************************
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: Mark 4:26-34

Parables of the Seed and of the Mustard Seed

---

[26] And He (Jesus) said, “The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter
seed upon the ground, [27] and should sleep and rise night and day, and the
seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. [28] The earth produces of it-
self, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. [29] But when the
grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest is come.”

[30] And He said, “With what can we compare the Kingdom of God, or what para-
ble shall we use for it? [31] It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown
upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; [32] yet when it is sown
it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

The End of the Parables Discourse

---

[33] With many such parables He spoke the word to them, as they were able to
hear it; [34] He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to His own
disciples He explained everything.

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

26-29. Farmers spare no effort to prepare the ground for the sowing; but once the
grain is sown there is nothing more they can do until the harvest; the grain deve-
lops by itself. Our Lord uses this comparison to describe the inner strength that
causes the Kingdom of God on earth to grow up to the day of harvest (cf. Joel 3:
13 and Revelation 14:15), that is, the day of the Last Judgment.

Jesus is telling His disciples about the Church: the preaching of the Gospel, the
generously sown seed, will unfailingly yield its fruit, independently of who sows or
who reaps: it is God who gives the growth (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9). It will all hap-
pen “he knows not how”, without men being fully aware of it.

The Kingdom of God also refers to the action of grace in each soul: God silently
works a transformation in us, whether we sleep or watch, causing resolutions to
take shape in our soul—resolutions to be faithful, to surrender ourselves, to res-
pond to grace—until we reach “mature manhood” (cf. Ephesians 4:13). Even
though it is necessary for man to make this effort, the real initiative lies with God,
“because it is the Holy Spirit who, with His inspirations, gives a supernatural tone
to our thoughts, desires and actions. It is He who leads us to receive Christ’s tea-
ching and to assimilate it in a profound way. It is He who gives us the light by
which we perceive our personal calling and the strength to carry out all that God
expects of us. If we are docile to the Holy Spirit, the image of Christ will be found
more and more fully in us, and we will be brought closer every day to God the
Father. ‘For whoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God’
(Romans 8:14)” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 135).

30-32. The main meaning of this parable has to do with the contrast between the
great and the small. The seed of the Kingdom of God on earth is something very
tiny to begin with (Luke 12:32; Acts 1:15); but it will grow to be a big tree. Thus
we see how the small initial group of disciples grows in the early years of the
Church (cf Acts 2:47; 6:7; 12:24), and spreads down the centuries and becomes
a great multitude “which no man could number” (Revelation 7:9). This mysterious
growth which our Lord refers to also occurs in each soul: “the Kingdom of God is
in the midst of you” (Luke 17:21); we can see a prediction of this in the words of
Psalm 92:12: “The righteous grow like a cedar in Lebanon.” To allow the mercy
of God to exalt us, to make us grow, we must make ourselves small, humble
(Ezekiel 17:22-24; Luke 18:9-14).

*********************************************************************************************
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

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

---

First reading

Ezekiel 17:22-24 ©

I will plant a shoot on the high mountain of Israel

The Lord says this:

‘From the top of the cedar,

from the highest branch I will take a shoot

and plant it myself on a very high mountain.

I will plant it on the high mountain of Israel.

It will sprout branches and bear fruit,

and become a noble cedar.

Every kind of bird will live beneath it,

every winged creature rest in the shade of its branches.

And every tree of the field will learn that I, the Lord, am the one

who stunts tall trees and makes the low ones grow,

who withers green trees and makes the withered green.

I, the Lord, have spoken, and I will do it.’

---

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 91(92):2-3,13-16 ©

It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

  to make music to your name, O Most High,

to proclaim your love in the morning

  and your truth in the watches of the night.

It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.

The just will flourish like the palm tree

  and grow like a Lebanon cedar.

It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.

Planted in the house of the Lord

  they will flourish in the courts of our God,

still bearing fruit when they are old,

  still full of sap, still green,

to proclaim that the Lord is just.

  In him, my rock, there is no wrong.

It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.

---

Second reading

2 Corinthians 5:6-10 ©

We want to be exiled from the body and make our home with the Lord

We are always full of confidence when we remember that to live in the body means to be exiled from the Lord, going as we do by faith and not by sight – we are full of confidence, I say, and actually want to be exiled from the body and make our home with the Lord. Whether we are living in the body or exiled from it, we are intent on pleasing him. For all the truth about us will be brought out in the law court of Christ, and each of us will get what he deserves for the things he did in the body, good or bad.

---

Gospel Acclamation	Jn15:15

Alleluia, alleluia!

I call you friends, says the Lord,

because I have made known to you

everything I have learnt from my Father.

Alleluia!

Or:

Alleluia, alleluia!

The seed is the word of God, Christ the sower;

whoever finds this seed will remain for ever.

Alleluia!

---

Gospel	Mark 4:26-34 ©

The kingdom of God is a mustard seed growing into the biggest shrub of all

Jesus said to the crowds: ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man throws seed on the land. Night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know. Of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the crop is ready, he loses no time: he starts to reap because the harvest has come.’

  He also said, ‘What can we say the kingdom of God is like? What parable can we find for it? It is like a mustard seed which at the time of its sowing in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.’

  Using many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, so far as they were capable of understanding it. He would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were alone.

[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)

[Salvation]

Prayers for The Religion Forum (Ecumenical)

[Salvation]

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

[Salvation]

Pray the Rosary!

50 Boko Haram Islamic Radicals Killed; 1,000 Hostages, Women and Children, Rescued in Nigeria
Nigeria: In the Face of Ongoing Islamist Attacks, the Faith is Growing
US Promises to Help Nigeria Exterminate Boko Haram
Is This Bishop Right about the Rosary Conquering Boko Haram? [Catholic Caucus]
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]

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 Glorious Mysteries
(Wednesdays and Sundays)
1.The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-18, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29) [Spiritual fruit - Faith]
2. The Ascension (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11) [Spiritual fruit - Christian Hope]
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-13) [Spiritual fruit - Gifts of the Holy Spirit]
4. The Assumption [Spiritual fruit - To Jesus through Mary]
5. The Coronation [Spiritual fruit - Grace of Final Perseverance]

[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]

June Devotion: The Sacred Heart

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of June is set apart for devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. "From among all the proofs of the infinite goodness of our Savior none stands out more prominently than the fact that, as the love of the faithful grew cold, He, Divine Love Itself, gave Himself to us to be honored by a very special devotion and that the rich treasury of the Church was thrown wide open in the interests of that devotion." These words of Pope Pius XI refer to the Sacred Heart Devotion, which in its present form dates from the revelations given to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673-75.

The devotion consists in the divine worship of the human heart of Christ, which is united to His divinity and which is a symbol of His love for us. The aim of the devotion is to make our Lord king over our hearts by prompting them to return love to Him (especially through an act of consecration by which we offer to the Heart of Jesus both ourselves and all that belongs to us) and to make reparation for our ingratitude to God.

INVOCATION

O Heart of love, I put all my trust in Thee; for I fear all things from my own weakness, but I hope for all things from Thy goodness.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

PRAYER TO THE SACRED HEART

Devotion to the Sacred Heart was the characteristic note of the piety of Saint Gertrude the Great (1256-1302), Benedictine nun and renowned mystic. She was, in fact, the first great exponent of devotion to the Sacred Heart. In our efforts to honor the Heart of Jesus we have this prayer as a model for our own:
Hail! O Sacred Heart of Jesus, living and quickening source of eternal life, infinite treasure of the Divinity, and burning furnace of divine love. Thou art my refuge and my sanctuary, 0 my amiable Savior. Consume my heart with that burning fire with which Thine is ever inflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Thy love, and let my heart be so united with Thine, that our wills may be one, and mine in all things be conformed to Thine. May Thy divine will be equally the standard and rule of all my desires and of all my actions. Amen.
Saint Gertrude

FOR THE CHURCH

O most holy Heart of Jesus, shower Thy blessings in abundant measure upon Thy holy Church, upon the Supreme Pontiff and upon all the clergy; to the just grant perseverance; convert sinners; enlighten unbelievers; bless our relations, friends and benefactors; assist the dying; deliver the holy souls in purgatory; and extend over all hearts the sweet empire of Thy love. Amen.

A PRAYER OF TRUST

O God, who didst in wondrous manner reveal to the virgin, Margaret Mary, the unsearchable riches of Thy Heart, grant that loving Thee, after her example, in all things and above all things, we may in Thy Heart find our abiding home.
Roman Missal

ACT OF LOVE

Reveal Thy Sacred Heart to me, O Jesus, and show me Its attractions. Unite me to It for ever. Grant that all my aspirations and all the beats of my heart, which cease not even while I sleep, may be a testimonial to Thee of my love for Thee and may say to Thee: Yes, Lord, I am all Thine;
pledge of my allegiance to Thee rests ever in my heart will never cease to be there. Do Thou accept the slight amount of good that I do and be graciously pleased to repair all m] wrong-doing; so that I may be able to bless Thee in time and in eternity. Amen.
Cardinal Merry del Val

MEMORARE TO THE SACRED HEART
Remember, O most sweet Jesus, that no one who has had recourse to Thy Sacred Heart, implored its help, or sought its mercy was ever abandoned. Encouraged with confidence, O tenderest of hearts, we present ourselves before Thee, crushed beneath the weight of our sins. In our misery, O Sacred Heart of Jesus, despise not our simple prayers, but mercifully grant our requests. Amen.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

Only for Love: The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood [Catholic Caucus]

Catholic Word of the Day: LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART, 10-19-09
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Devotion to the Sacred Heart Today
The Biblical Foundation of Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [Ecumenical]
Heart to Heart (Sacred Heart of Jesus Devotion) [St. Margaret Mary Alacoque]
(June) The Month of the Sacred Heart {Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [St. Margaret Mary Alacoque]
The Heart of the World (On the Sacred Heart of Jesus) (Catholic Caucus)
The Sacred Heart Is The Holy Eucharist(Catholic Caucus)
The Origin of the Sacred Heart Badge

Importance of Devotion to the Sacred Heart
An Awesome Homily on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Father Edmond Kline
Catholic Prayer and Devotion: June the Month of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Devotions: Sacred Heart of Jesus
Pope Urges Jesuits to Spread Sacred Heart Devotion
Homilies preached by Father Altier on the Feast of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Meditation and Devotion: The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Daily Recomendation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus powerful prayer!
The Sacred Heart and the Eucharist
The Love of the Sacred Heart

On the Sacred Heart - "We Adore God's Love of Humanity"
HAURIETIS AQUAS (On Devotion To The Sacred Heart) - Encyclical by Pope Pius XII
Solemnity Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
Sacred Heart a Feast of God's Love, Says John Paul II
The Sacred Heart of Jesus: Symbol of Combativity and the Restoration of Christendom
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus-The Early Church, Middle Ages up to St. Margaret Mary
See this Heart
‘God Will Act and Will Reign’
About Devotion To The Sacred Heart:The Story Of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Rediscover Feast of Sacred Heart, John Paul II Tells Youth

 

 

"Behold this Heart which has loved men so much, and yet men do not want to love Me in return. Through you My divine Heart wishes to spread its love everywhere on earth."

- Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary

Our Lord also made 12 promises to St. Margaret Mary for those that are devoted to His Sacred Heart.

1. I will give them all the graces necessary for their state in life.
2. I will give peace in their families.
3. I will console them in all their troubles.
4. They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.
5. I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
6. Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
7. Tepid souls shall become fervent.
8. Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
9. I will bless the homes in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honoured.
10. I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
11. Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in My Heart, and it shall never be effaced.
12. The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at the last hour.

[Salvation]

June, 2018

The Holy Father's Prayer Intention

Universal – Social Networks, That social networks may work towards that inclusiveness which respects others for their differences.

[Salvation]

Daily Gospel Commentary

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Saint Chromatius of Aquilaea (?-407), Bishop
Sermon 30, 2

The grain that has fallen to the ground produces much fruit (Jn 12:24)

Our Lord compared himself to a mustard seed, for although he was the God of glory and eternal majesty he became completely small in that he willed to be born of a virgin in the body of a child. Thus he was placed in the earth when his body was laid in the tomb but, when he had risen from the dead through his glorious resurrection, he grew great on earth until he became a tree in whose branches nest the birds of the air.

This tree stands for the Church, which Christ's death has raised up in glory. As for its branches, these must be understood as the apostles since, just as branches are the tree's natural adornment, so the apostles are the adornment of Christ's Church through the beauty of grace they have received. And on these branches, as we know, dwell the birds of the air. Allegorically speaking, the birds of the air designate ourselves who, coming to Christ's Church, perch on the teaching of the apostles like birds on the branch.

[Salvation]

Zenit.org

Archbishop Follo: Hope: Trust in God’s Love

With the wish to understand that the hope is not grounded in our desire, but on the gift of the love of God.

June 15, 2018 16:59Francesco FolloSunday Readings

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year B – June 17, 2018

Roman Rite
Ez 17.22 to 24; Ps 92; 2 Cor 5.6 to 10; Mk 4: 26-34

Ambrosian Rite
Third Sunday after Pentecost
Gen 2, 18-25; Ps 8; Eph 5.21 to 33; MK 10, 1-12

1) Man sows with faith, God makes grow with love.

The Gospel of this Sunday (Mk 4: 26-35) offers two brief parables, one of the seeds that grows by itself and the one of the mustard seed. The sowing of the smallest grain produces the biggest event: the Kingdom of heaven. Using images taken from the life in the fields, Jesus presents the kingdom of God[1] and indicates the reasons for our commitment full of hope.

In the first parable, Jesus shows the miracle of growth, describing the dynamics of sowing. The seed is sown in the earth, then, whether the farmer sleeps or vigils, it sprouts and grows by itself.

Man does nothing but sowing and waiting. We are in front of the mystery of creation, God’s action in history which we must contemplate in amazement. He is the Lord of the Kingdom, man is a humble collaborator contemplating and rejoicing of God’s creative doing and waiting for the harvest eager to participate in it.

In this regard, St. Gregory the Great says “The man throws the seed when he conceives in the heart a good intention. The seed sprouts and grows but he is not aware of that because, until it’s time to harvest, the good deeds continue to grow. The earth bears fruit by itself because through prevenient grace, the human mind naturally goes toward the fruit of good deeds. The earth does it in stages: grass, ear, wheat. To produce grass means to have the weakness of the beginning of good. The grass does the care when virtue progresses into good. Wheat fills the ear when virtue reaches the strength and the perfection of the good deed. When the fruit is ripe, comes the sickle because it’s time to harvest. In fact, God Almighty, when the fruit is ripe, sends the sickle and reaps the harvest because when He has led each of us to the perfection of the work, he truncates our temporal life to take his grain in the granaries of heaven “(In Exodus , II, 3, 5 and following)

In the second parable, Jesus speaks again of sowing. However, he refers to a specific seed, the mustard seed, considered the smallest of all seeds (1.6 mm according to the experts). Though so small, it has an unthinkable dynamism and power of life. So is the Kingdom of God, something really small humanly speaking and made up of people usually simple, poor, not important to the eyes of the world. Nevertheless, the power of Christ breaks through them and transforms what is minor and seemingly insignificant. The mustard seed becomes a high and robust shrub, able to give shelter in its branches to the birds. The Kingdom of God, from a human point of view, is like a tiny scorned for its appearance, but that contains within itself the mystery of a prodigious divine force that for us is unimaginable.

Saint Ambrose, commenting on this parable, wrote “Let’s see why the sublime kingdom of heaven is likened to a mustard seed. I remember reading, in another passage, about the mustard seed that the Lord compares to faith with these words “If you have a faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain” Move from here to there” (Mt 17, 20). It is not a mediocre faith, but a great faith the one that is able to command a mountain to move. In fact, it is not a mediocre faith the one that the Lord demands from the apostles, knowing that they must fight the greatness and the exaltation of the spirit of evil. So, if the Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed and faith too is like a mustard seed, faith is certainly the Kingdom of heaven, and the Kingdom of heaven is faith. “(Exp. in Lk., 7, 176-180; 182-186).

The first lesson to be learned from this passage of the Gospel is that we must look to the nature of the similarities, not to their appearance. In fact, despite the humble beginnings of the action of God in the person and work of Jesus as well as in the persons and works of Christians, thanks to the Christian sowing, humanity will grow in full justice, peace and freedom because of the love of providential God.

2) Hope and patience.

The second lesson that comes from the two parables is that even and especially in a society that is in a hurry and that calls “real time” a news that arrives within seconds, we must be active and wait patiently because the seed, freely given, can bear fruit only if it is welcomed and cared for.

We are confronted with God’s grace and our freedom. God’s grace and human freedom characterize all our personal history. On the one hand, we are called to live with amazement the growth of the small seed planted in the ground (first parable). On the other, we are taught that both patience and care are crucial for the earth to protect and feed the seed, and the sun to bring it to fruition.

The Gospel is a school that educates to the waiting. Jesus lived in the time and limit of a short life and of horizons that seem restricted, but He has waited for nothing less than the Kingdom of God in this world. For this reason, in the Gospel we can gather images of waiting by which to learn to live the “already and not yet”, the paradoxical waiting of the Christian life.

To wait is not easy, especially today. But the verb “to wait” has two meanings: to wait and to wait on. Let me explain it by referring to ordinary life where someone is asked to “wait on” for the most mundane and everyday jobs like feeding, watching over the lives of those entrusted to him or to her, setting the table, keeping the fire, being alert of looming dangers. A person waits to pay attention to the brothers entrusted to him or to her, not letting himself or herself being overcome by the fatigue and not seeking gratification, i.e. not thinking of oneself, before thinking of the needs of others.

To wait requires asceticism, an effort to not let go.

One waits in the vigilance of a light (prayer) and in the active life (charity) of those who are with their loins girded by the apron of service. Prayer and charity are the exercises that teach us to wait. Those who pray learn that the Lord neither speaks nor enters into dialogue immediately with the person praying. There is a silence to go through, but this silence educates to the waiting and gives resonance to the words. Those who love and serve know the difference between the services provided and the fruits and the awards because it is necessary to serve free of charge, like “useless servants”, honoring their task without any other concern. It is first of all to “do their part” and not to avoid the fatigue of the days when it seems an “unnecessary work” without immediate results.

The other meaning is to wait and this implies hope and patience.

Patience is “suffering the time” (Maria Zambrano) and the emptiness of a work that is not wholly and solely in our hands, the timing of which escapes our hustle and our need for control and reassurance. But, once done our part, we can rest in peace because there is a time that comes to us “spontaneously” and independently of us. As you cannot “force” the growth of the seed without risking damaging the plant, so you cannot force the growth of our brothers and sisters. We must learn to wait in the long run, to work without curtailing the time, without giving forced deadlines to growth.

It is in the school of the Gospel that we learn the true patience that keeps track of time. In this passing of time, the meaning comes from the future, and the fullness of time accounts for the time of waiting. If we look at it from our side, history begins at the beginning. If we look from God’s side the beginning starts from the end. In the “fullness of time” came the Son and humanity has realized that the time had come to its fullness because of his presence that led it to completion. He comes because he is long-awaited by the patient work of countless generations who have sown with faith in the hope to see that day. His coming is, however, a real surprise: the wait is dissolved in the joy of contemplating the abundance of the field of the kingdom of God, the shadow of a tree under which to find rest like birds escaped from danger.

Hope consists in putting ourselves in a filial and trusting way in the hands of God, who knows what we need (see Mt 6,8) and “gives to all with simplicity and without conditions” (James 1, 5). Like the Redeemer, who gave up his life in the hands of the Father (cfr. Lk 23:46), so the Christian is anchored in the Eternal, because hope is as a spiritual anchor, sure and steadfast, thrown in the afterlife into which for us Jesus has already entered ( see Heb 6.19 to 20).

However, it must be remembered that Christian hope is the hope of the fulfillment of this life, and not of another life where to escape to. It implies the acceptance of history as a place in which the presence of God is manifested. It doesn’t breed contempt but causes appreciation and gratitude while being aware of the limits. It is the inner strength of faith that makes men walk with God, seek His presence and commit themselves to work for the coming of the Kingdom: “Only when the future is certain as a positive reality, it becomes possible to live the present.[2]” Christian hope sees and loves what will be. It is the dynamic element of the moral life, which pursues in continued growth both the light of faith and the energy of love. Hope is the younger sister holding hands and guiding the older ones, faith, and charity, toward the goal[3]. While we are on the way, in the midst of trials and difficulties both individual and collective, hope generated by faith produces charity.[4]

3) The mustard seed of consecrated virgins in the world.

The Parable of the mustard seed shows that humility is the God’s method. This method was realized in the Incarnation in the cave of Bethlehem, in the simple home of Nazareth, and in the “earthly” life of Jesus. In today’s liturgy, this method of humility is taught to us through the parable of the mustard seed.

We need not fear the humility of small steps and must have trust that the (seemingly) small seed grows in us and then must be given to others. An example of how we can imitate this method of humility is the one offered by the life of the consecrated virgins in the world who show to us that “in giving life with simplicity one gets Life” (Pope Francis)

Consecrating themselves to Love, these women have placed their hope in something that is not from God, but God himself. In this regard, Saint Augustine teaches “May the Lord your God be your hope; do not expect anything from the Lord your God, but let the same Lord be your hope. Many hope from God something outside of Him but look for your God. Forgetting other things, remember Him; leaving everything behind, reach to Him. He will be your love “(Enarrationes in Psalmos, 39, 7-8).

The mustard seed is not only a likeness of Christian hope but provides evidence that great comes from small, not by exceptional ability but thanks to the Christian attitude of simple people who live of God’s love and patience that is the long breath of love.