15TH SUNDAY AFTER
PENTECOST (24th S. in Ord. Time)
“Train
children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray.”-Proverbs 22:6
Psalm
56, Verse 3-5
3 My foes
treat me harshly all the day; yes, many are my attackers. O Most High, 4 when I am afraid,
in you I place my trust. 5 I praise the word of God; I
trust in God, I do not fear. What can
mere flesh do to me?
No we must be in the world but not of the world. Christ in His Sermon on
the Mount taught us how our lifestyle is to be.
1.
Be not afraid but be brave in the
world loving even the loveless.
2.
Do not become prideful and self-important but
show humility; reverence and respect to all: for they are created by
the hand of God.
3.
Do not envy the wicked; but let your desire
be to be kind remembering they must
account for themselves before God; respect and be loyal to them.
4.
Let your anger be at injustice;
showing patience, compassion and forgiveness to the sinner.
5.
Be temperate and do all things in moderation; do
not greedily take things to yourself but share your wealth with those
in need. Remember to show true charity by helping them with their
troubles thus empowering them to become greater; to pursue righteousness.
6.
Do not become slothful or failing to resist
evil but be diligent to build the Kingdom of God; one day and one
person at a time: begin with yourself.
7.
Do not be gluttonous; avoid excess and exclusivity (the
country club mentality) but be temperate; sacrifice, give up and surrender
to the Spirit of God.
8.
Do not look on others as objects to be used
for lustful needs but see them as created by the hand of God;
your chase purpose is to help them achieve God’s dream for them.
Imagine
the change in the world if parents used this as the yardstick to train their
children.
The focus of this Sunday instructs us to weep
over lost souls and rejoice over converted ones. Today the church retells the rising
of the widow of Nains dead son by Christ.
Goffine’s
Devout Instructions, 1896
“Why did Christ say to this widow, Weep not?” To intimate that He would restore her son to her, and at the same time to teach us that we should not mourn and weep to excess for the dead. St. Paul therefore admonishes us not to be sorrowful in regard to the dead, as others who have no hope of resurrection (i. Thess. iv. 12).
Why did Christ command the bearers to stand still? To awaken their confidence and to put it beyond doubt that the resurrection of the dead proceeded from Him. This should teach us that a soul that is dead cannot be restored to life so long as the passions which have caused its death, and borne it, as it were, to the grave, are not brought to a stop.
What more do we learn from this gospel? That no one, however young, is safe from death; and that every one, therefore, should be always prepared for it.
What
is often the cause of early death among young persons?
1. Gluttony and intemperance; for by
surfeiting and intemperance more perish than by the sword (Ecclus. xxxvii. 34).
2. Lust. 3. Anger “If you bite and devour one another, take heed you be not consumed
one of another” (Gal. v. 15). From angry words often come strife and blows, and
not unfrequently murder itself. 4. Disobedience. We have dreadful examples to show
that God has taken out of the world, early and suddenly, disobedient children; for
instance, Absalom. Not without reason does God say to children “Honor thy father
and mother, as the Lord thy God hath commanded thee, that thou mayest live a long
time, and it may be well with thee in the land” (Deut. v. 16).
ON
DEATH
Certain it is that we shall die, but
uncertain the hour of our death. Would that we might never forget this truth that
we might earnestly think of it every day! How different our lives would then be!
Have mercy, then, on thine own soul. Keep thyself in readiness so live that thou
mayest have no reason to fear death. Do in thy lifetime what in the hour of death
you will wish that you had done. Die daily, with St. Paul, by crucifying the flesh
with its desires and lusts, and by voluntarily loosening thy heart from the
world, its goods, and its vanities, before death does this for you by violence.
In time of temptation and passion think of these truths, and resist then to die
will not be too hard.
Constitution Day commemorates the adoption of the United States Constitution and celebrates the citizens of the United States. The Constitution was written because the existing charter of government, known as the Articles of Confederation, had resulted in creating a weak and ineffective central government. The Constitution defines the supreme law of the United States, with each article of the constitution pertaining to aspects such as the congress, president, judicial system, interrelationship between the state and federal government and process of amendments to the Constitution. James Madison, Oliver Ellsworth, Nathaniel Gorham, Alexander Hamilton, William Johnson, Rufus King, Gouverneur Morris, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington wrote the Constitution. Constitution Day originally began in 1939 with the suggestion of a holiday to celebrate American Citizenship. President Harry Truman then declared that the third Sunday of May become I am American Day. A decade later, 1953, President Dwight Eisenhower changed the date to coincide with the signing of the Constitution and renamed it Citizenship Day. Constitution or Citizenship Day is observed annually on September 17th, the same day as the US Constitution was signed in 1787.
Constitution
Day Facts & Quotes
·
The
225th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution was celebrated in 2012. Of all
international constitutions written, the U.S. Constitution is the oldest and
shortest.
·
The
Constitution is a short document with only 4,543 words before the amendments.
In contrast, the Bible is approximately 20 times longer, while Harry
Potter has approximately 70,000 more words.
·
More
than 11,000 amendments have been proposed in Congress. However, only 27
amendments received approval to become official amendments to the Constitution.
·
The
words God and Democracy
are not found in the United States Constitution.
·
Today
is a big step in our march toward equality. Gay and lesbian couples now
have the right to marry, just like anyone else. #Love Wins -tweet by
President Barack Obama on June 26, 2015. This after US Supreme Court
ruled on this day that same-sex marriage is a right protected by the United
States Constitution.
You
can see by the last bullet that as Christ’s own we may not be able to be
faithful to both our nation and our God; there may come a time in this nation
that we may have to choose.
Marriage
and Same-Sex Unions[3]
A growing movement today favors making those
relationships commonly called same-sex unions the legal equivalent of marriage.
This situation challenges Catholics—and all who seek the truth—to think deeply
about the meaning of marriage, its purposes, and its value to individuals,
families, and society. This kind of reflection, using reason and faith, is an
appropriate starting point and framework for the current debate. Marriage is a
basic human and social institution. Though it is regulated by civil laws and
church laws, it did not originate from either the church or state, but from
God. Therefore, neither church nor state can alter the basic meaning and
structure of marriage. Marriage, whose nature and purposes are established by
God, can only be the union of a man and a woman and must remain such in law. In a manner unlike any other relationship,
marriage makes a unique and irreplaceable contribution to the common good of
society, especially through the procreation and education of children. The
union of husband and wife becomes, over a lifetime, a great
good for themselves, their family, communities, and society. Marriage is a gift
to be cherished and protected.
Daily Devotions/Prayers
[3]
http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/marriage/promotion-and-defense-of-marriage/questions-and-answers-about-marriage-and-same-sex-unions.cfm
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