DAY 9 - MOTHER UNDEFILED, PRAY THAT WE RECEIVE THE GIFT OF WISDOM!
HEROES' WORDS
MEDITATION
PRAY A ROSARY
- Rosary of the Day: Glorious Mysteries
- Traditional 54 Day Rotation: Glorious Mysteries
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (21st S. Ord. Time)
1
Now the feast of Unleavened Bread, called the
Passover, was drawing near, 2 and the chief priests and the
scribes were seeking a way to put him to death, for they were AFRAID of the people.
Fear
is the eighth deadly sin and the Jewish authorities were absolutely controlled
by fear. Naturally when fear rules your life you instinctively run or fight.
They chose the death of one man to save the people, which was their
rationalization to have Christ killed. Judas was their answer.
Amoris Lætitia[1]
Looking to Jesus: The Vocation of the Family- The sacrament of Matrimony
(71-75)
The
truth of the love of man and woman is fully illuminated only in the love of the
crucified Christ. He stressed that ‘marriage based on an exclusive and
definitive love becomes an icon of the relationship between God and his people,
and vice versa.
The
family is the image of God, who is a communion of persons. Jesus, who
reconciled all things in himself and redeemed us from sin, not only returned
marriage and the family to their original form, but also raised marriage to the
sacramental sign of his love for the Church. In the human family, gathered by
Christ, ‘the image and likeness’ of the Most Holy Trinity has been restored,
the mystery from which all true love flows.
The
sacrament of marriage is not a social convention, an empty ritual or merely the
outward sign of a commitment. The sacrament is a gift given for the
sanctification and salvation of the spouses, since “their mutual belonging is a
real representation, through the sacramental sign, of the same relationship
between Christ and the Church.
In
accepting each other, and with Christ’s grace, the engaged couple promise each
other total self-giving, faithfulness and openness to new life. The sacrament
is not a “thing” or a “power”, for in it Christ himself “now encounters
Christian spouses... He dwells with them, gives them the strength to take up
their crosses.
Sexual
union, lovingly experienced and sanctified by the sacrament, is in turn a path
of growth in the life of grace for the couple. The sacrament of marriage flows
from the incarnation and the paschal mystery, whereby God showed the fullness
of his love for humanity by becoming one with us.
In
the Church’s Latin tradition, the ministers of the sacrament of marriage are
the man and the woman who marry; by manifesting their consent and expressing it
physically, they receive a great gift. Their consent and their bodily union are
the divinely appointed means whereby they become “one flesh”.
Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost[2]
Focus: True and
laudable service as we run to attain the eternal promises and increase in
faith, hope, and love
Introit of the Mass to-day is the prayer of an
afflicted soul entreating God for assistance. “Incline to my aid, O God; O
Lord, make haste to help me; let my enemies be con founded and ashamed who seek
my soul. Let them be turned backwards, and blush for shame, who desire evils to
me.”
Prayer. O
almighty and merciful God, from Whose gift it comes that Thou art worthily and
laudably served by the faithful, grant us, we beseech Thee, to run without
offence to the attainment of Thy promises.
EPISTLE, ii. Cor. iii. 4-9.
Brethren: Such confidence we have through Christ
towards God : not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as of
ourselves: but our sufficiency is from God: Who also hath made us fit ministers
of the New Testament, not in the letter, but in the spirit: for the letter
killeth: but the spirit quickeneth. Now if the ministration of death, engraven
with letters upon stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could
not steadfastly behold the face of Moses, for the glory of his countenance,
which is made void: how shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather in
glory? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory: much more the
ministration of justice aboundeth in glory.
Explanation.
St. Paul here introduces a comparison between the
priest hood of the Old and that of the New Law, in order to show that the
dignity of the priesthood under the New Law (and consequently the respect and
confidence due to it) as far excels the dignity of the priesthood under the Old
as the spirit does the letter the truth the figure. For if the ministry of
Moses, which consisted in the service of the letter, and imparted no grace, was
so glorious, how much more glorious is that priest hood of the New Law, through
which is conveyed the sanctifying grace of God! And how much more veneration
and obedience should accordingly be paid to the priests of the New Law!
GOSPEL Luke x 23-37
At that
time Jesus said to His disciples: Blessed are the eyes that see the things
which you see. For I say to you that many prophets and kings have desired to
see the things that you see and have not seen them; and to hear the things that
you hear and have not heard them. And behold a certain lawyer stood up,
tempting Him, and saying: Master, what must I do to possess eternal life? But
He said to him: What is written in the law? How readest thou?
He
answering, said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and
with thy whole soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind: and thy
neighbor as thyself. And He said to him: Thou hast answered right: this do, and
thou shalt live. But he, willing to justify himself, said to Jesus: And who is
my neighbor?
And
Jesus answering, said: A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and
fell among robbers, who also stripped him: and, having wounded him, went away
leaving him half dead. And it chanced that a certain priest went down the same
way: and seeing him, passed by. In like manner also a Levite, when he was near
the place and saw him, passed by. But a certain Samaritan being on his journey
came near him: and seeing him, was moved with compassion. And going up to him,
bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine: and setting him upon his own
beast, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took
out two pence (worth two days wages), and gave to the host, and said: Take care
of him: and whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I at my return will
repay thee. Which of these three in thy opinion was neighbor to him that fell
among the robbers? But he said: He that showed mercy to him. And Jesus said to
him: Go and do thou in like manner.
Why does Jesus call His disciples
blessed? Because
they had the happiness which so many kings, patriarchs, and prophets had
desired in vain of seeing the Savior of the world, and of hearing His teaching.
What is it to love God? To acknowledge God as the highest
and most perfect good; to desire that He should be known, honored, loved, by
all men; that His will should be fulfilled by all; and so zealously to observe
His commandments that we would lose all the goods of life, and even life
itself, rather than transgress these commands and be separated from God.
What does it mean to love God with
the whole heart, etc.? “With
thy whole heart”, signifies with all the motions and inclinations of the heart
“with thy whole soul”, with all the thoughts, conceptions of the soul, “with
thy whole mind”, with all the desires, wishes, and determination of the will;
“with all thy strength”, with all the powers and faculties of body and soul
with all the acts and motions of the senses. All these should be directed to
God alone, as the last object and end of man.
How can this be done? By doing whatever we do, whether
it be mental or manual labor, eating, drinking, or recreation, with the
intention of doing the will of God and what is pleasing to Him. By this it is
understood that idle talk, intemperance in meat and drink, and in general all
sinful works, cannot be offered to God, because they are contrary to His will
and therefore deserve punishment.
Is that true love which loves God
because He does us good?
That love is truly good and praiseworthy, but not perfect, for self-interest
creeps in with it.
What, then, is the perfect love of
God? When we love
God only because He is in Himself the highest good and most worthy of love. In
such manner must we endeavor to love God; not out of self-interest, not from
the expectation of reward, nor yet from fear of punishment.
Can everyone thus love God? Yes, for there is no state of life
in which we cannot refer everything to God. Love does not require great deeds,
but that we should avoid evil, and refer everything to God; and all can do
this.
Aspiration. O Jesus, rich in love, Who hast so
earnestly exhorted us to the love of God and of our neighbor, engrave deep in
our hearts, we pray Thee, this commandment of love, that whatever we do or
leave undone, all our thoughts, words, and works, may begin and end in love of
Thee; and that no tribulation, temptation, or danger, nor even death itself,
may ever separate us from Thee. Grant, also, that out of love to Thee we may
love our neighbor, whether friend or enemy, as ourselves, and by this love may
deserve to have Thee as a Savior and merciful Judge.
Who is our neighbor? Every man be he a foreigner or a
fellow-countryman, poor or rich, of our own religion or of any other, a friend
or an enemy.
How are we to love our
neighbor? We must
love our neighbor as ourselves; that is, we must wish for him and do for him
what in similar circumstances we should desire for ourselves, and not wish for
him or do to him what we would not wish done to ourselves (Matt. vii. 12).
In what way are we
particularly to practice the love of our neighbor?
1.
By heartily rejoicing over the gifts and graces which our neighbor has received
from God, and by sympathizing with him in misfortune.
2.
By praying God to grant to our neighbor such gifts as St. Paul, on his knees,
besought for the Ephesians, the fulness of the knowledge of God, and of all perfection.
3.
By overlooking and patiently bearing our neighbor’s faults, disorders, and
infirmities of every kind, as St. Paul says: “Bear ye one another’s burdens and
so you shall fulfil the law of Christ”.
4.
In general, by both the spiritual and the corporal works of mercy.
With what intention
should we love our neighbor?
We must love our neighbor in God, and for God s sake, because He commands it,
and because such love is pleasing to Him.
35 Promises
of God[3]
be unafraid, confident in God,
and focus on receiving these promises for a month and see what happens!
1. “Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”
-Ps 50:15
Daily Devotions
·
Today in honor of the
Holy Trinity do the Divine Office giving your day to God. To honor God REST: no shopping
after 3pm till Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Make
reparations to the Holy Face
·
Rosary
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