JULY
July is usually hot and a time for relaxing. It is also the time when crops planted in the Spring are maturing and growing. Just as the crops are dependent upon summer rains not only to grow but to survive so our spiritual development is dependent upon our frequenting the sacraments and receiving the Blood of Christ. The Blood that coursed through the veins of Christ was a part of that Sacred Humanity made possible by the maternity of Mary, whose parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne are honored this month. (July 26). Our Lord's blood poured out on the Cross purchased our salvation, washed clean the robes of the martyrs, and gave birth to the Church as it flowed from his wounded side. The Precious Blood of Christ — now pulsing through his Mystical Body — continues its salvific work, preserving and purifying, repairing and providing nourishment for regeneration and renewal of its members. July’s longer and warmer days also provide us with the opportunity for renewal, both interior and exterior. Schedules relax and pressures ease, inviting travel. But, whether we travel or not, like the missionary, St. Junipero Serra (July 1), we preach to others — by our conduct, our speech, even the clothes we wear. May we be modest in everything we do, imitating St. Maria Goretti, the young martyr for purity (July 6), and “preaching” Christ to everyone we meet.
The summer Readings of Ordinary Time
remind us that our earthly pilgrimage is also a journey, a great adventure
towards union with Christ, the Beginning and the End of our journey. Each
Sunday with its Easter renewal becomes a mile marker along the way, linking
where we have been with where we are going. May the Precious Blood of Jesus
sustain us as we journey to our true home, with Mary and the angels as our
companions on the way.
JULY 1 Sixth Sunday after Pentecoste (13th S. Ord. Time)
FEAST OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the doors were locked, where the disciples
were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said
to them, “Peace be with you.”
Life begins at the end of our comfort zone. Do you
live in fear of failure or are you locking the doors of your heart to new opportunities?
When you let in the spirit of Christ you open yourself to empowerment.
The job of leadership is to lead with the intent to
work yourself out of a job. Imagine what
would happen if our politicos did this! This is what Jesus did. After
Christ gave His Peace to the apostles he breathed on them to receive the power
of the Holy Spirit and thus empowered them to live the supernatural life. We in
turn by the power of the successors of the apostles are heirs to this. Christ
wants us to be change agents to bring about the Kingdom. How can we begin? What
steps can we take to mentor and empower others?
1.
Pray
for conviction and vision.
2.
Select
a person or group from your sphere of influence to mentor.
3.
Meet
and discuss expectations and goals.
4.
Cast
a vision to them for spiritual reproduction.
5.
Ask
for commitment.
6.
Determine
what tools or resources you will use together.
7.
Prepare
yourself and set goals for each meeting.
8.
Meet
regularly for a set time.
9.
Discuss
and apply the truths you learn together.
10. Invest yourself in the person, the
process, and the purpose.
11. Help them find a potential person
to mentor.
12. Evaluate and launch them to try the
process themselves.
The
need for constant repentance and fidelity to our baptismal vows.
GOSPEL. Mark viii. 1-9. At that
time, when there was a great multitude with Jesus, and they had nothing to eat,
calling His disciples together, He saith to them: I have compassion on the multitude;
for behold they have now been with Me three days, and have nothing to eat. And
if I shall send them away fasting to their home, they will faint in the way:
for some of them came from afar off. And His disciples answered Him: From
whence can any one fill them here with bread in the wilderness? And He asked them:
How many loaves have ye? Who said: Seven. And He commanded the multitude to sit
down upon the ground. And taking the seven loaves, giving thanks, He broke, and
gave to His disciples for to set before them, and they set them before the
people. And they had a few little fishes and He blessed them, and commanded
them to be set before them. And they did eat and were filled, and they took up
that which was left of the fragments, seven baskets. And they that had eaten
were about four thousand: and He sent them away.
Why
did Jesus say, I have compassion on the multitude, etc.?
To confirm by acts what He had previously, through St. Matthew (Matt. vi. 33),
taught in words, namely, that to them who seek first the kingdom of God and His
justice, all other things shall be added without asking; and to show us, at the
same time, the greatness of God s love, which takes ac count of every hour
spent in His service, and compassionates every want of man. The multitude were
not solicitous for food, and had not even asked it from Him, and yet He cared
for them.
"Do not be
afraid; just have faith."
V. Do you reject Satan?
R. I do.
V. And all his works?
R. I do.
V. And all his empty promises?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
R. I do.
V. God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.
R. Amen.
R. I do.
V. And all his works?
R. I do.
V. And all his empty promises?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
R. I do.
V. Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
R. I do.
V. God, the all-powerful Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and forgiven all our sins. May he also keep us faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ for ever and ever.
R. Amen.
(This is a family service that is directed by one of the parents. The family members renew their baptismal vows and sprinkle themselves with the Easter water,)
"Read
these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things
that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a
father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will
only stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so
you will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in
the end you will be a more worthy soul."
7.
Get
rid of that 'small-town' outlook. Enlarge your heart till it becomes universal,
'catholic'. Don't flutter about like a hen, when you can soar to the heights of
an eagle.
Daily Devotions
·
Please
pray for me and this ministry
·
Please
Pray for Senator
McCain and our country; asking Our Lady of Beauraing to
intercede.
[2] John Maxwell, The Maxwell Leadership
Bible.
[6]http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-point-1.htm
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