DAY 16 - VIRGIN MOST VENERABLE, PRAY THAT WE RECEIVE THE FRUIT OF CHARITY!
GOD'S WORD
HEROES' WORDS
MEDITATION
PRAY A ROSARY
- Rosary of the Day: Glorious Mysteries
- Traditional 54 Day Rotation: Joyful Mysteries
Thirteenth Sunday aft. Pentecost (22nd S. Ord. Time)
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.
Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost[2]
UNITE your voice with the Church in the Introit of
the Mass, and pray for assistance against her enemies. “Have regard, O Lord, to
Thy covenant, and forsake not, unto the end, the souls of Thy poor: Arise, O
Lord, and judge Thy cause, and forget not the voices of them that seek Thee. O
God, why hast Thou cut us off unto the end? Why is Thy wrath enkindled against
the sheep of Thy pasture”?
Prayer. O
almighty and eternal God, grant to us an increase of faith, hope, and charity;
and that we may deserve to obtain what Thou promisest, make us love what Thou
commandest.
EPISTLE. Gal. iii. 16-22.
Brethren: To Abraham were the promises made, and to
his seed. He saith not: And to his seeds, as of many: but as of one: And to thy
seed, which is Christ. Now this I say, that the testament which was confirmed
by God: the law, which was made after four hundred and thirty years, doth not
annul, to make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance be of the law,
it is no more of promise. But God gave it to Abraham by promise. Why then was
the law? It was set because of transgressions, until the seed should come, to
whom He made the promise, being ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
Now a mediator is not of one: but God is one. Was the law then against the
promises of God? God forbid. For if there had been a law given which could give
life, verily justice should have been by the law. But the Scripture hath
concluded all under sin, that the promise by the faith of Jesus Christ might be
given to them that believe.
Explanation. St. Paul
shows the Galatians that they could not be justified by the Mosaic law, but
only by active faith. The promise, he says, which God gave to Abraham, that all
nations should be saved through faith in one of his seed, pointed to Christ.
Even the Scriptures tell us that, notwithstanding the law and its sacrifices,
the Jews remained sinners; it could not, therefore, by itself, justify man. It
follows, therefore, that salvation was to be gained only through Jesus, Who
delivered men from the Jewish law. Let us, then, by active faith in Him, make
use of this grace for eternity.
GOSPEL. Luke xvii. 11-19
An increase in faith,
hope, and love.
At that time,
as Jesus was going to Jerusalem, He passed through the midst of Samaria in
Galilee. And as he entered into a certain town, there met Him ten men that were
lepers who stood afar oft: and lifted up their voice, saying: Jesus, Master,
have mercy on us. Whom when He saw, He said: Go, show yourselves to the
priests. And it came to pass, as they went, they were made clean. And one of
them, when he saw that he was made clean, went back, with a loud voice
glorifying God, and he fell on his face, before His feet, giving thanks; and
this was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering, said: Were not ten made clean? and
where are the nine? There is no one found to return and give glory to God, but
this stranger. And He said to him: Arise, go thy way: for thy faith hath made
thee whole.
What, in a spiritual sense, does leprosy mean? In a spiritual sense leprosy means
sin, especially the sin of impurity. The Jewish law divided leprosy into three kinds,
namely, that of the flesh, that of garments, and that of houses.
·
the
leprosy of the flesh may be likened to the impure, who easily corrupt others;
·
the
leprosy of garments, to luxury of dress and scandalous fashions, by which not
only souls are seduced into sin, but many families and communities are brought
to poverty and plunged into eternal ruin;
·
the
leprosy of houses, to places where wicked and immoral servants are kept; where
immodest dances and plays occur, where licentious acts are committed, where
meetings are allowed and encouraged to the injury of virtue and of our neighbor’s
honor, where assistance or advice is given in wicked undertakings of any sort.
Why did the lepers stand afar off? Because it was thus commanded by
the Jewish law, so that no one might catch contagion from them. From this we
learn that we must as carefully shun scandalous persons, companies, and houses,
as we would the plague. He that toucheth
pitch shall be defiled with it, and he that hath fellowship with the proud
shall put on pride.” (Ecclus. xiii. 1).
Why did Jesus ask for the nine others who also were
made clean? To
show how greatly ingratitude displeases Him. Injuries to Himself He generally
submitted to in silence; but this ingratitude He would not suffer to pass uncondemned.
So great a sin is ingratitude. On this account St. Bernard says, “Ingratitude
is an enemy of the soul that destroys merit, corrupts virtue, and prevents
grace. It is a scorching wind that dries up the fountain of the goodness and
the mercy of God.”
Why does God require us to be grateful? This question St. Chrysostom answers
very beautifully by saying: “God requires gratitude of us only that He may
confer on us new graces.” Then let us not forget to thank Him morning and
evening; before and after meals; as often as you recognize His blessing in your
house, in your children, in your property, your cattle, your fields, your
fruits. St. Augustine says: “We cannot think, speak, or write anything better
or more acceptable than, Thanks be to God!”
Instruction on The
Sacrament of Holy Orders.
“Go, show yourselves to the priests” Luke xvii. 14.
What are Holy Orders? A sacrament in which the priestly
power is conferred on the candidate, together with a special grace to discharge
its sacred functions.
What is the outward sign of this sacrament? The laying on of hands and the
prayer of the bishop, and the presentation of the chalice with bread and wine,
together with the verbal communication of authority to change the bread and
wine into the body and blood of Christ, and to remit and retain sins.
When did Christ institute this sacrament? At the Last Supper, when, after
changing the bread into His true body, and the wine into His true blood, He
said to His apostles, “Do this for a commemoration of Me” (Luke xxii. 19).
Are Holy Orders reckoned a sacrament by the apostles? Yes, for St. Paul admonishes His
disciple Timothy to stir up the grace of God received by the imposition of his
hands. Hereby St. Paul teaches expressly that by the imposition of the hands of
the apostles, or of the bishops, who are their successors, the grace of God is
imparted to priests, in which consists the substance of the sacrament. Pray,
then, for the priests; asking fervently of God, particularly on ember-days, to
give His Church faithful pastors. Jesus Himself commands it, saying, the
harvest indeed is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord
of the harvest that He send laborers into His Harvest” (Luke x. 2).
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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