Eleventh Sunday after
Pentecost (21st S. Ord. Time)
ST. LOUIS OF FRANCE
Hebrews,
Chapter 12, Verse 11
At the time, all discipline seems a cause not for joy but
for pain, yet later it brings the peaceful*
fruit of righteousness to those who are trained by it.
Christian life is to be inspired
not only by the Old Testament men and women of faith but above all by Jesus. As
the architect of Christian faith, he had himself to endure the cross before
receiving the glory of his triumph. Reflection on his sufferings should give
his followers courage to continue the struggle, if necessary, even to the
shedding of blood. Christians should regard their own sufferings as the
affectionate correction of the Lord, who loves them as a father loves his
children.[1]
- Christians have tons of examples of faith, which
means they shouldn't worry about little stuff like being persecuted or
killed.
- They just need to look to Jesus and keep on
running the race. After all, that's what he did. He died on a cross and
his followers should be ready to follow in his footsteps if need be.
- Look at persecution as a learning opportunity.
Maybe this is God teaching you how to be a better person?
- See, says the author, God is like a dad, which
means Christians are his children. Human parents have to lay down the law
for their kids every now and then. Even though their rules and punishments
seem harsh, parental units just do it because they love you.
- It's the same with God. Maybe by going through
all this suffering, Christians will come out more faithful in the end.
- If God didn't care, he'd just let people do
whatever they want to. But he does care, so he has to set limits.
- So, keep your head up, the author continues. Don't be like Esau (from back
in Genesis), who turned his back on God just to get a decent meal.
- Basically, you need to play the long game—don't
give up on God just because you get something good in the short term.
Daily dying to our sins
and rising to new life in Christ.
AT the Introit of the Mass, with
the priest, pray God for brotherly love, and for protection against enemies,
within and without. God, in His holy place; God, Who maketh men of one mind to
dwell in a house, He shall give power and strength to His people. Let God
arise, and let His enemies be scattered; and let them that hate Him flee before
His face (Ps. Ixvii.).
Prayer.
almighty and everlasting God, Who in the abundance of Thy mercy dost exceed the
desires and deserts of Thy suppliants, pour forth Thy mercy upon us, that Thou
mayest forgive what our conscience fears, and grant what our prayer does not
presume to ask.
EPISTLE, i. Cor. xv. 1-10.
I make known unto you, brethren,
the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received, and wherein
you stand, by which also you are saved: if you hold fast after what manner I
preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you
first of all, that which I also received: how that Christ died for our sins,
according to the Scriptures: and that He was buried, and that He rose again the
third day, according to the Scriptures: and that He was seen by Cephas, and
after that by the eleven. Then was He seen by more than five hundred brethren
at once, of whom many remain until this present, and some are fallen asleep.
After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles: and last of all, He
was seen also by me as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the
apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the
Church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace in me hath
not been void.
Explanation.
This epistle teaches us that as the holy apostle Paul was not elated with
vanity by the revelations he had received from God, but rather felt himself
unworthy of them, ascribing it to God’s grace that he was what he was, even so
the truly humble man thinks little of himself, is willing to be despised by
others, and gives glory to God alone. Such humility is a most difficult lesson
to our sensual nature. But are we not sinners, and far greater sinners, than
St. Paul was? and shall we then esteem ourselves highly? And granting that we
have not to reproach ourselves with any great sins, and have even done much
good, is it not presumption and robbery to claim for ourselves what belongs to
grace? Let us learn, therefore, to be humble, and to count ourselves always
unprofitable servants.
Aspiration.
O most humble Saviour, banish from my heart the spirit of pride, and impart to
me the most necessary grace of humility. Give me grace to know that, of myself,
I can do nothing that is pleasing to Thee, that all my sufficiency for good
comes from Thee, and that Thou workest in us both to will and to accomplish (n.
Cor. iii. 5; Phil. ii. 13).
GOSPEL
Mark vii 31-37
At that time, Jesus, going out of
the coasts of Tyre, came by Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the midst of
the coasts of Decapolis. And they bring to Him one deaf and dumb: and they
besought Him that He would lay His hand upon him. And taking him from the
multitude apart, He put His fingers into his ears, and spitting, He touched his
tongue: and looking up to heaven, He groaned, and said to him: Ephpheta, which
is, Be thou opened. And immediately his ears were opened, and the string of his
tongue was loosed, and he spokeright. And He charged them that they should tell
no man. But the more He charged them, so much the more a great deal did they
publish it: and so much the more did they wonder, saying: He hath done all
things well; He hath made both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
Who
among Christians are like the deaf and dumb of this gospel? Those who are deaf to the voice of God, and
dumb in prayer, in the praise of God, in the defence of religion, and of the
goodname of their neighbor, and in confessing their sins.
Why did Christ take the deaf and dumb man aside? Because He did not
seek the praise of men, and at the sametime was loath to provoke too soon the
hatred of His enemies.
Why
did Jesus put His fingers into the ears of the deaf and dumb, and spitting,
touch his tongue? To show this unfortunate person by
signs that it was He Who freed him from his bodily evils, and that the healing
power was not the consequence of secretly given remedies but proceeded
immediately from Himself.
Why
did Jesus look up to heaven and groan?
1. To show that He acted not as
mere man, but that He had received all power from His eternal Father.
2. That He might thereby awaken and
animate the deaf and dumb man to confidence in His power and belief in His
divine mission. Learn hence to practise the beautiful virtue of compassion for
others sufferings, and to acknowledge that every good gift is from above.
Why
did Christ charge them that they should tell no man?
That we might learn not to seek the praise of men for our good deeds. Let us
learn to make known the works of God to His glory; for He is continually
working before our eyes everyday so many wonders, in order that we may praise
His benignity and omnipotence.
Aspiration: O Jesus, great
physician of souls, open mine ears to attend to Thy holy will; loosen my tongue
to proclaim and praise forever Thy love and goodness.
Things to
Do:
St. Louis
Cathedral, the country’s oldest continuously operating cathedral, faces Jackson
Square. Melding French, Spanish, Italian, and Afro-Caribbean cultures, New
Orleans is a city that is at once elegant and debauched. And while it was
gravely impacted by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Big Easy has shown
formidable resilience. Many of the city’s myriad pleasures are packed within
the lively grid of streets that make up the Vieux Carré (aka the French
Quarter). It is New Orleans’s most touristy area, yet also its heart. The
French laid out the Quarter’s 90 blocks of narrow streets in the 1720s, and the
Spanish—who ruled during the mid- to late 18th century—further developed it.
Indeed, despite its name, the neighborhood looks more Spanish than French.
Wherever you stroll, you risk sensory overload, from jazz on boisterous Bourbon
Street to the smell of café au lait and beignets (deep-fried dough dusted with
powdered sugar) wafting from Café du Monde in Jackson Square. Decatur Street
offers souvenir stands, offbeat boutiques, and charming restaurants. It’s also
home to Central Grocery, an old-fashioned Italian deli whose claim to fame is
having perfected (some say invented) one of the city’s classic sandwiches, the
muffuletta. Royal and Chartres streets are your best bets for upscale shopping.
Be sure to pop into the tacky but fun Pat O’Brien’s to sample their Hurricane,
a fruity—and potent—rum cocktail in a glass shaped like a hurricane lamp.
Charming Soniat House is comprised of 30 antiques-filled rooms in a cluster of
three 19th-century Creole town houses overlooking an interior courtyard garden
where guests breakfast on warm biscuits and homemade preserves. For a big-hotel
experience, and a big dose of history, it’s hard to beat the lavish 600-room
1886 Hotel Monteleone. Stop by its revolving circus-themed Carousel Bar for a
Sazerac cocktail before dinner. The Windsor Court, arguably the finest hotel in
the Big Easy, is known for its palatial accommodations, award-winning
restaurant, the Grill Room, and museum-quality art collection—yes, that’s a
Gainsborough.
Visitor info:
www.neworleansonline.com.
Daily Devotions
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