Seventh Sunday after
Pentcoste (17th S. Ord. Time)
PARENTS DAY-WORLD HEPATITIS DAY
Colossians,
Chapter 2, Verse 5-8
5For even if I am absent in the
flesh, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing as I observe your good order and
the firmness of your faith*
in Christ. 6So, as you received Christ Jesus
the Lord, walk in him, 7
rooted in him and built upon him and
established in the faith as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8See to it that no one captivate you
with an empty, seductive philosophy according to human tradition, according to
the elemental powers of the world
and not according to Christ.
In face
of the threat posed by false teachers, the Colossians are admonished to adhere
to the gospel as it was first preached to them, steeping themselves in it with
grateful hearts. They must reject religious teachings originating in any source
except the gospel because in Christ alone will they have access to God, the
deity. So fully has Christ enlightened them that they need no other source of
religious knowledge or virtue. They do not require circumcision, for in baptism
their whole being has been affected by Christ through forgiveness of sin and
resurrection to a new life. On the cross Christ canceled the record of the debt
that stood against us with all its claims, i.e., he eliminated the law that
human beings could not observe—and that
could not save them. He forgave sins against the law and exposed as false and
misleading all other powers that purport to offer salvation. Therefore, the
Colossians are not to accept judgments from such teachers on food and drink or
to keep certain religious festivals or engage in certain cultic practices, for
the Colossians would thereby risk severing themselves from Christ. If, when
they accepted the gospel, they believed in Christ as their savior, they must be
convinced that their salvation cannot be achieved by appeasing ruling spirits
through dietary practices or through a wisdom gained simply by means of harsh
asceticism.[1]
"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord’, . . .but he who does the will of my Father. . .shall enter the kingdom of heaven". Not so much what one "says" about the Lord, but how he "does" His "Will," is what brings forth "good fruit". Deeds, not mere words, are acceptable to God; acceptable to neighbor also. Example is the best precept. The final fruit of sin is "death;" the fruit of "justice" is "life everlasting". The Holy Eucharist is the "health-giving" Fruit of Calvary, our antidote against the poison-laden Dead-Sea fruit of the world, the flesh and the devil.
"Faith cannot save without virtue" (St.
John Chrysostom).
IN[3] the Introit of the Mass
the Church invites us to the praise of God in the following words : “Oh, clap
your hands, all ye nations, shout unto God with the voice of joy, for the Lord
is most high, He is terrible : He is a great king over all the earth”; (Ps.xlvi.
2, 3).
Prayer. O God, Whose providence never faileth in what
it doth order, we humbly beseech Thee to put away from us all tilings hurtful,
and to give us all things profitable to us.
EPISTLE. Rom. vi. 19-23.
Brethren: I speak a human thing, because of the
infirmity of your flesh: for as you have yielded your members to serve
uncleanness and iniquity unto iniquity, so now yield your members to serve
justice unto sanctification. For when you were the servants of sin you were
free men to justice. What fruit therefore had you then in those things of which
you are now ashamed? For the end of them is death. But now being made free from
sin, and become servants of God, you have your fruit unto sanctification, and
the end life everlasting. For the wages of sin is death; but the grace of God,
life everlasting in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Explanation. In these words, St. Paul
admonishes the Romans that they ought henceforward to devote themselves as
zealously to the service of God as they had hitherto done to that of iniquity,
be cause the service of sin is death, but the service of God is life
everlasting. The words “servants, to serve”, denote the full and unconditional
subjection of the Christian to God, without walking any longer according to his
own will, just as, in regard to the state of sin, they indicate the dominion of
the passions over the sinner. There is no requirement more reasonable than that
a man should labor as much for God and his own salvation as he has labored for
sin and hell. We should, therefore, often think on the wages of sin eternal
death; and when we are tempted, ask ourselves, “What shall I gain by my lust,
my in justice, my vengeance? Ah, nothing but eternal death! And shall I,
created to inherit eternal life, shall I make myself the heir of eternal death?”
GOSPEL. Matt. vii. 15-21.
Who are meant by false prophets?
1. The world, which promises us honors and riches,
but in the end rewards our toil and labor with disgrace and scorn.
2. The flesh, which promises pleasures and joys,
but at last leaves nothing but the bitter reproaches of an unquiet conscience.
3. The devil, who promises us a long life, and time
for repentance, while the obdurate sinner is cut off suddenly in the midst of
his days.
4. All such evil-minded persons as conceal their
wicked purposeb under the mask of virtue and honesty, until they have entrapped
unwary souls, and drawn them into all kinds of shame ful misdeeds. It is these
false prophets of Satan, and wolves of hell, that make the greatest havoc in
the flock of Christ.
INSTRUCTION ON
GOOD WORKS
What are good works? All actions of men which are done according to the
will of God, from love of Him, and by the help of grace.
Which are the principal good works? Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Prayer including
all acts belonging to the service of God: fasting, all mortifications of the
body; almsgiving, all works of mercy.
How many are the works of mercy? Two: corporal and spiritual.
Which are the spiritual works of mercy? Those which have for their object the salvation of
our neighbor; as,
1, to admonish the sinner;
2, to instruct the ignorant;
3, to counsel the doubtful;
4, to comfort the afflicted;
5, to bear wrongs patiently;
6, to forgive injuries and
offences;
7, to pray for the living and the dead.
Which
are the corporal works of mercy?
1, To feed the hungry;
2, to give drink to the thirsty;
3, to clothe the naked;
4, to visit the prisoners;
5, to shelter the houseless;
6, to visit the sick;
7, to bury the dead.
What
is necessary to render works meritorious?
1, They must
be good in themselves;
2, they must
be done by the grace of God;
3, in the state of grace;
4, by free will;
5, with the good intention of pleasing God.
Can
we be saved without good works? No; for Christ says
expressly, “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down and
shall be cast into the fire.” And that servant in the Gospel (Matt. xxv. 25)
who neither wasted his talent nor yet traded with it, but digged into the earth
and hid his lord s money, was therefore cast into the outer darkness.
Parents’ Day celebrates and recognizes the important role of responsible parenting in everyday family life. Families are a fundamental human institution; they are bonded by unconditional love and commitment. Parents' Day was established in 1994. In a time where society had become increasingly self-centered, President Bill Clinton signed a congressional resolution to commemorate Parents’ Day in an effort to promote family commitment and parental responsibilities. Supported by the Unification Church, Senator Trent Lott introduced the bill into the senate and the National Parents’ Day Coalition was developed to support Parents’ Day by annually selecting ‘Parents’ of the Year’ at local, national and state levels. The Coalition also provides educational programs for parents and aims to promote the stability of family by encouraging fidelity between husbands and wives, as well as abstinence in young people prior to marriage. In addition to The National Parents’ Day Coalition, other organizations use Parents’ Day to promote the traditional two parent nuclear family model. Parents' Day is held annually on the fourth Sunday in July.
Parents'
Day Facts & Quotes
·
In
2015, 3.3 million unmarried or cohabiting couples in America had children under
the age of 18. This is in comparison to 1.2 million cohabiting couples with
children in 1996.
One
wonders if this was caused by the consumption of tequila! Just 100% proof that
our government is not as good a patron as our God! We should avoid the “Mommy
needs Vodka” mindset.
·
In
1960, 73% of U.S. children lived in a traditional home with two married
heterosexual parents in their first marriage. By 1980, this figure had
dropped to 61%. By 2013, 46% of children lived in a traditional home.
·
All
that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. — Abraham Lincoln.
·
By
the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son
who thinks he's wrong. — Charles Wadsworth, Classical Pianist
The first and best
means to overcome anger is humility; to become thus humble, gentle, and
patient, one must often consider the
example of Christ, who endured so many contradictions, persecutions, and
insults, without reviling again when reviled Himself, and without threatening
vengeance to any one for all He suffered. An excellent preventive to anger is,
to think over in the morning what causes will be likely to draw us into anger
at any time during the day, and to guard ourselves against them beforehand, by
a firm resolution to bear everything patiently for the love of God; and then,
when anything vexatious occurs and excites our anger, to say and do nothing so
long as the anger lasts.
How
shall we be reconciled with our enemies? Not
only with the lips but from the heart, and with sincerity and promptness. “Is
he absent whom you have wronged,” says St. Augustine, “so that you cannot
easily reach him? Humble yourself then before God, and ask His pardon before
you offer your gift, with a firm resolution to be reconciled with your enemy as
soon as possible.”
World
Hepatitis Day seeks to raise awareness for the spectrum of Hepatitis diseases.
Hepatitis diseases cause inflammation of the liver cells. There are five main
types of hepatitis, A, B, C, D and E. It is estimated that around 250 million
people worldwide are infected with Hepatitis C and 300 million people are
Hepatitis B carriers.
World Hepatitis Day was proclaimed by the World Health Organization. It is celebrated annually on July 28th.
World Hepatitis Day was proclaimed by the World Health Organization. It is celebrated annually on July 28th.
World Hepatitis Day Facts
Hepatitis
A is usually transmitted by consuming contaminated food or water or coming into
contact with an infected person's feces.
Hepatitis
B is a sexually transmitted disease. It is transmitted through exposure to
infected blood or body fluids.
Hepatitis
B is spread via blood of an infected person.
Hepatitis
can also be caused by alcohol and other toxins and infections.
Life Matters:
Embryo Research[8]
The
Nuremberg Code (1947) was prompted by the horrific and often deadly
experimentation on human beings in Nazi concentration camps that came to light
during the “Doctors’ Trials” before the Nuremberg Military Tribunals. The main
principles of the Nuremberg Code require that experiments involving human
subjects cause no unnecessary risk, be undertaken with the full and informed
consent of the subjects and must never knowingly cause serious injury or death.
Nazi doctors were not the first, nor the last, to perform inhumane and
sometimes disabling research on unsuspecting human subjects living in poverty,
in prisons, mental health institutions, and orphanages. The Tuskegee syphilis
experiments, the Stateville Penitentiary Malaria Study, and the Willowbrook
(Long Island) State School experiments—in which children with mental
disabilities were intentionally infected with viral hepatitis—are just a few examples of cases in which doctors
put the pursuit of knowledge and “cures” ahead of the lives and well-being of
individual human beings. The Nuremberg Code inspired other declarations of
medical and research ethics. In 1948, the World Medical Association approved a
statement addressing the ethics of physicians, the Declaration of Geneva. As
originally adopted, it read in part: “I
will maintain the utmost respect for human life, from the time of conception;
even under threat, I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of
humanity.”
Complete
Trust in God
Our
Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be.
Daily Devotions
·
Today in honor of the Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving
your day to God. Avoid work or shopping.
[3]Goffine’s
Devout Instructions, 1896
[5]Goffine’s
Devout Instructions, 1896.
[6]http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/calendar/day.cfm?date=2017-07-09
[9]http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/prayers/view.cfm?id=1129
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