Sunday, July 2, 2023
In a church inside the Monastery of Santa Ana and San Jose in Cordoba, Spain, there is an ancient cross. It is the image of the Cross of Forgiveness that shows Jesus crucified with his right arm stripped of the Cross and down.
They tell that one day a sinner went to confess to the priest under this cross. As usual, when a sinner was guilty of a SERIOUS crime, this priest acted very strictly.
Not long later, this person fell back and after confessing their sins, the priest threatened: ''This is the last time I'll forgive you.''
Many months passed and that sinner went to kneel down at the priest's feet under the cross and asked for forgiveness again. But on this occasion, the priest was clear and said, ''Don't play with God, please. I can't allow you to keep sinning."
But strangely, when the priest rejected the sinner, a noise from the cross was suddenly heard. The right hand of Jesus unraveled and moved by that man's repentance, the following words were heard: ''I am the one who shed the blood on this person, not you.''
Since then, the right hand of Jesus remains in that position, for it continually invites man to ask and receive forgiveness.
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
Judges, Chapter 7, Verse 10-11
10
If you are AFRAID to attack, go down to the camp with your aide Purah 11 and listen to what they are saying.
After that you will have the courage to descend on the camp. So he went down
with his aide Purah to the outposts of the armed men in the camp.
“Take courage;
get up, he is calling you.”
(Mk: 10:49)
Christ
calls us to a greater purpose than he did Gideon:
No
man or woman of good will can renounce the struggle to overcome evil with good.
This fight can be fought effectively only with the weapons of love. When
good overcomes evil, love prevails and where love prevails, there peace
prevails. This is the teaching of the Gospel, restated by the Second
Vatican Council: "the fundamental law of human perfection, and
consequently of the transformation of the world, is the new commandment of
love"…Christians must be
convinced witnesses of this truth. They should show by their lives that love is
the only force capable of bringing fulfillment to persons and societies, the
only force capable of directing the course of history in the way of goodness
and peace…By Christ's death and resurrection, made sacramentally present in
each Eucharistic celebration, we are saved from evil and enabled to do good.
Through the new life which Christ has bestowed on us, we can recognize one
another as brothers and sisters, despite every difference of language,
nationality and culture. In a word, by sharing in the one bread and the one
cup, we come to realize that we are "God's family" and that together
we can make our own effective contribution to building a world based on the
values of justice, freedom and peace.[1]
Aids in Battle[2] Empty consolations of
the Devil
Some
people, when they reflect on the goodness of God and the passion of Christ, are
powerfully moved to sighs, tears, prayers, and other devout actions, so that
you might suppose their hearts were seized with a very fervent devotion. But
when they are tested we find that they are like the passing rains of a hot
summer, which may fall heavily on the earth, but do not penetrate it, and bring
forth only mushrooms. In the same way, these tears and emotions in a corrupt
heart do not penetrate it and are altogether fruitless. For these unhappy
people would not give up a penny of their unjustly acquired wealth or renounce
one of their perverse affections, nor would they endure the slightest suffering
in the service of that Savior over whom they have wept. Their good impulses are
like spiritual mushrooms. Not only are they a false devotion, but too often
they are actually the deep wiles of Satan. While he amuses souls with such
empty consolations, he induces them to
remain satisfied with them instead of seeking true and solid devotion, which
consists in a constant, resolute, prompt, and active will to carry out what we
know to be pleasing to God. ST. FRANCIS DE SALES
ON KEEPING
THE LORD'S DAY HOLY[3]
CHAPTER III
DIES ECCLESIAE
The Eucharistic Assembly:
Heart of Sunday
The table of the Body of Christ
42. The table of the word leads
naturally to the table of the Eucharistic Bread and prepares the community to
live its many aspects, which in the Sunday Eucharist assume an especially
solemn character. As the whole community gathers to celebrate "the Lord's
Day", the Eucharist appears more clearly than on other days as the great
"thanksgiving" in which the Spirit-filled Church turns to the Father,
becoming one with Christ and speaking in the name of all humanity. The rhythm of
the week prompts us to gather up in grateful memory the events of the days
which have just passed, to review them in the light of God and to thank him for
his countless gifts, glorifying him "through Christ, with Christ and in
Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit". The Christian community thus
comes to a renewed awareness of the fact that all things were created through
Christ (cf. Col 1:16; Jn 1:3), and that in Christ, who came in
the form of a slave to take on and redeem our human condition, all things have
been restored (cf. Eph 1:10), in order to be handed over to God the
Father, from whom all things come to be and draw their life. Then, giving
assent to the Eucharistic doxology with their "Amen", the People of
God look in faith and hope towards the eschatological end, when Christ
"will deliver the kingdom to God the Father ... so that God may be
everything to everyone" (1 Cor 15:24, 28).
Fifth Sunday after Pentecost[4]
The importance of forgiving
injuries. Again, there is a Petrine motif because of the proximity to the feast
on June 29th. (This Sunday was originally known as the "First Sunday after
the Feast of the Apostles.")[5]
WITH the priest in the Introit of
the Mass, let us implore God’s assistance, and say: “Hear, O Lord, my voice,
with which I have cried to Thee; be Thou my helper, forsake not, do not Thou
despise me, O God, my Savior. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall
I fear?” (Ps. xxvi. 7, 9, 1.)
Prayer.
O God, Who hast prepared invisible goods for them that love Thee, infuse into
our hearts the affection of Thy love, that loving Thee in all things and above
all, we may obtain Thy promises which surpass every desire.
EPISTLE, i.
Peter iii. 8-15.
Dearly Beloved: Be ye all of one
mind, having compassion one of another, being lovers of the brotherhood,
merciful, modest, humble: not rendering evil for evil, nor railing for railing,
but contrariwise, blessing: for unto this are you called, that you may inherit
a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his
tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile. Let him decline from
evil, and do good: let him seek after peace, and pursue it: because the eyes of
the Lord are upon the just, and His ears unto their prayers: but the
countenance of the Lord upon them that do evil things. And who is he that can
hurt you, if you be zealous of good? But if also you suffer anything for
justice sake, blessed are ye. And be not afraid of their fear, and be not
troubled; but sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts. How may and ought we to
sanctify the Lord Jesus in our hearts? By faithfully imitating Him; for thereby
we become His true and faithful disciples, honor Him, sanctify ourselves and
edify others, who by our good example are led to admire Christianity, and
Christ its founder, and to become His followers.
GOSPEL.
Matt. v. 20-24.
At that time Jesus said to His disciples: I tell you, unless
your justice abounds more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not
enter into the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to them of
old: Thou shalt not kill and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the
judgment. But I say to you: that whosoever is angry with his brother, shall be
in danger of the judgment. And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall
be in danger of the council. And whoso ever shall say, thou fool, shall be in
danger of hell fire. If therefore thou offer thy gift at the altar, and there
thou remember that thy brother hath anything against thee: leave there thy
offering before the altar, and go first to be reconciled to thy brother, and
then coming thou shalt offer thy gift.
In what did the justice of the Pharisees consist?
They were very pious in outward
appearance, and avoided those vices which caused temporal disgrace and injury;
but, on the other hand, they were full of malice in their hearts, and this
Christ often reproached them with, calling them hypocrites.
How are we to understand what Christ says about anger and
using abusive words?
The meaning of His words is, “You
have heard from your teachers and doctors of the law, that whosoever shall kill
shall be in danger of the judgment of men; but I say to you, who think it no
sin to be angry or envious, that whosoever is angry with his brother without
cause, shall be in danger of the judgment of God. You have heard that whosoever
calls his brother fool, shall be brought before the council and punished; but I
say to you, that God punishes with hell fire every grievous offence against
your neighbor, as also the hatred and enmity of your heart towards Him.”
Why must one first be reconciled to his brother before he
offers his gift at the altar, or undertakes any good work?
Because no offering, or other good
work, can be pleasing to God so long as we are living in enmity, hatred, and
strife with our neighbor, and thereby going directly against His will and example.
Remedies for
Anger.
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.”
INSTRUCTION
ON SWEARING.
To swear is to call upon God, upon His truth, His justice,
or other attributes, or upon His creatures, in the name of God, as witnesses of
the truth.
Is swearing lawful, and when?
Yes, when necessity demands it, and
when the matter sworn to is true and just: when a man thus swears he imitates
God, honors Him as all-holy, all-wise, all-just, and contributes to the triumph
of justice and innocence. On the other hand, great sins are committed:
1. By
those who swear in a false and unjust cause, which may be, besides, of little
moment; for they call upon God as a witness to falsehood and wrong, thus
violating His truth and justice.
2. By
those who swear in a good cause, but without necessity or a sufficient reason;
for it is certainly unseemly to call God as witness on every trivial occasion.
3. In
like manner, they sin grievously and constantly who have become so habituated
to swearing as to break out into oaths, without so much as knowing or thinking
whether the thing is true or false, whether they will keep their word or not;
where by they expose themselves to great danger, both because they run the risk
of swearing falsely, and also because they frivolously abuse the name of God,
of His saints, and of His works.
Everyone, says St. Chrysostom, who swears often sometimes
swears falsely; just as lie who talks a great deal sometimes utters things
unseemly and improper. For this reason, according to the opinion of St.
Augustine, the Savior forbade Christians to swear at all (Matt. v. 34), that
they might not fall into a habit of swearing, and, by reason of that, into
swearing falsely. Whoever has this habit should take the greatest pains to overcome
it. To accomplish which, it will be useful to him to reflect:
1. That
if we have to render an account for every idle word we speak, how much more
strictly will we be judged for needless, idle, and false oaths! “Remember thy
last end, and thou shalt not sin,”
2. To
remember that persons who swear so lightly are generally less believed than
others.
3. To
repent each time that he swears, and to punish himself by a penance.
The Feast
of the Visitation?[6]
The Church celebrates the Feast of the
Visitation, when Mary went to visit her sister Elizabeth, who was pregnant with
John the Baptist.
The Gospels tell us that when John
felt the presence of Jesus in Mary’s womb, he leaped for joy in his own mother’s
womb. At this moment, John was cleansed of original sin, and filled with the
grace of God.
The earliest evidence of this feast’s
celebration in the Church is its adoption by the Franciscan Chapter in 1263,
under advisement from St. Bonaventure. The feast spread to many churches, but
was celebrated on various dates. On April 6, 1389, Pope Urban VI extended the
feast to the entire Church, with the hope that Christ and Our Lady would put an
end to the Great Schism that was threatening the Church at the time.
The feast was originally assigned
to July 2, the day after the octave of St. John, which is estimated to be
around the time that Mary returned to Nazareth. However, during the Schism,
many opposing bishops refused to adopt the feast, until it was confirmed at the
Council of Basle in 1441. Pius IX raised the feast to the rank of a double of
the second class on May 13, 1850.
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According to Dr. Doug Grove,
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difference in developing better minds of the students who took part in the
intervention.”
Catholic Activity: Your Child's Spiritual Training[8]
Your child's religious
training should begin almost as soon as he is born. Here are basic guidelines
for instructing your child before he has reached the age of reason.
DIRECTIONS
At seven to ten months, a
baby begins to listen to sounds intently. He does not know what words mean, but
he gets an impression from the tone of your voice, your facial expressions, and
your gestures. It is not too soon to begin teaching him a prayer. Such a prayer
should be as simple as possible, and preferably repetitive — with the same
sounds repeated over and over. Sister de Lourdes cites this one:
Thank you, God, for
Jimmy, Thank you for Jimmy's bread, Thank you for Jimmy's smile, Bless Jimmy in
his bed.
As soon as your child can
speak in syllables, you can teach him simple prayers. For example, carry him to
a painting or statue depicting the Baby Jesus in His Blessed Mother's arms, and
point out to him that the Infant Savior also had a mother who loved Him. Before
he reaches his first year, he may be able to enunciate the name of Jesus. He
can be encouraged to say good night to the Savior of the painting or statue.
When the family eats together, the baby in his high chair will observe that
grace is said before and after meals. He will join in the prayers automatically
as soon as he is able.
Pictures have a powerful
appeal for the one-year-old and two-year-old. You can encourage his interest in
religion by showing him paintings of great events in the life of Our Lord. You
will find him an interested viewer and listener if you show him pictures of
Baby Jesus, and the Holy Family, and of Biblical incidents. He will also be a
rapt listener as you narrate the stories which the pictures illustrate. At
Christmas time especially, you can impress upon him that this great feast
commemorates the birth of the Infant Savior: your telling of the Christmas
story can begin to implant a reverence for this great feast that will last
throughout his life.
In his third year, your
child will probably be ready to learn about the creation by God of the world
and everything in it. You will have opportunities to teach him as a matter of
course that God made the flowers, the trees, the dog whose back he pats, and
every other thing that he sees about him. Express your own appreciation for
God's many gifts — the beautiful flowers, the lovely sunset, the water you
drink, the food you eat. In this way, he too will recognize that God is a
loving Father to Whom we owe gratitude for all things.
By the time he is three,
he should be sufficiently advanced mentally to begin practicing simple acts of
self-denial. If he is given a piece of candy before dinner, he will probably
understand if he is told that he must not eat it until after his meal. This is
his first realization that satisfaction of present desires must often be
deferred for our own good.
At the age of four, he
should be ready to take a more active part in family prayers. In some families,
father, mother and children pray together in the evening before the first child
goes to bed. His attendance at night prayers will impress the importance of
this devotion upon him and enable him to learn the words sooner than he perhaps
would ordinarily. Four-year-olds usually do not have a long attention span,
however, and the average child may become distracted after a few minutes. The
night prayers in which he joins may be kept short at first and gradually
lengthened as he grows older.
At this time, your child
is old enough to understand certain moral principles: that he must obey his
parents because God wishes him to do so; and that lying, stealing and disobedience
are not in accordance with God's will. You can teach these principles by giving
him the image of God as his Eternal Father. If he has a loving trust in his own
father, he will not find it difficult to visualize God as the loving Father of
all mankind. He is also ready to learn of his Guardian Angel; many childish
fears can be removed if he knows that his Guardian Angel always watches over
him, and he will feel secure in new experiences when he knows that he has a
protector.
From ages four to six, you
can intensify in many different ways the moral training you began earlier.
Through family prayer and other devotions, when you read to him, and through
little talks when you perform his daily routines with him, you can inculcate
the great truths of our religion. In particular, do not overlook opportunities
to instill high ideals through reading. Many excellent books recount Bible
stories in attractive pictures and text and they stress vividly the importance
of practicing virtue in our lives. For example, the story of Adam and Eve can
be a means of teaching him why he must obey God and his earthly parents. The
story of Abraham may teach him that we must be ready to sacrifice all we
possess if God requires it. From the parable told by Jesus of the widow's mite,
he can learn that we must always show our gratitude to God; from the parable of
the talents, that we must always do our best for His glory.
Many devotions and
religious observances can now be made an intimate part of your child's daily
life. In Chapter 16, devoted to religious observances in the home, you will
find many suggestions to help you make the love of God the greatest fact in
your child's existence.
Our Lord taught that the
love of God is the first and greatest commandment, but He also said that a
second commandment was like it — the commandment that we must love our neighbor
as ourself. You probably can best teach this commandment by example. More
powerful than your words will be your courteous attitude toward those who visit
your home; toward peoples of other races and creeds; toward those less
privileged in a spiritual or material sense than yourself. Christ's teaching
that all men are brothers under the Fatherhood of God will have greater meaning
for your child if he notices that you always treat others with respect.
Before your child is
seven, you will probably notice the formation of his conscience. He may show by
expressions of guilt or shame when he has done wrong. This development of
conscience indicates that you now can appeal to him more and more on the
grounds of reason, rather than on the weight of your authority. The
seven-year-old normally is sufficiently developed to take responsibility before
God for his actions. By the orderly and constructive training you have provided,
he should be able to recite his morning and night prayers; he should know the
important laws of God and Church — the necessity to attend Mass on Sundays and
holy days of obligation and of abstaining from meat on Friday, for example; and
he should be ready to begin preparations for his First Communion.
Obviously, your child's
moral training at home does not stop when he enters parochial school. Rather,
it continues throughout his lifetime. In the remaining chapters of this book
you will find many suggestions to help you meet his continued needs for
spiritual guidance. Specific problems you may encounter in his various stages
are discussed below.
Activity
Source: Catholic Family Handbook, The by Rev. George
A. Kelly, Random House, Inc., New York, 1959
Catechism of the
Catholic Church
PART ONE: THE PROFESSION
OF FAITH
SECTION
TWO-I. THE CREEDS
CHAPTER TWO
I
BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY SON OF GOD
ARTICLE 2-"AND IN JESUS CHRIST, HIS ONLY SON, OUR LORD"
II. Christ
436 The word "Christ"
comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah, which means
"anointed". It became the name proper to Jesus only because he
accomplished perfectly the divine mission that "Christ" signifies. In
effect, in Israel those consecrated to God for a mission that he gave were
anointed in his name. This was the case for kings, for priests and, in rare
instances, for prophets. This had to be the case all the more so for the
Messiah whom God would send to inaugurate his kingdom definitively. It was
necessary that the Messiah be anointed by the Spirit of the Lord at once as
king and priest, and also as prophet. Jesus fulfilled the messianic hope
of Israel in his threefold office of priest, prophet and king.
437 To the shepherds, the angel
announced the birth of Jesus as the Messiah promised to Israel: "To you is
born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." From
the beginning he was "the one whom the Father consecrated and sent into
the world", conceived as "holy" in Mary's virginal womb. God
called Joseph to "take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Spirit", so that Jesus, "who is called
Christ", should be born of Joseph's spouse into the messianic lineage of
David.
438 Jesus' messianic consecration
reveals his divine mission, "for the name 'Christ' implies 'he who
anointed', 'he who was anointed' and 'the very anointing with which he was
anointed'. the one who anointed is the Father, the one who was anointed is the
Son, and he was anointed with the Spirit who is the anointing.'" His
eternal messianic consecration was revealed during the time of his earthly life
at the moment of his baptism by John, when "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and with power", "that he might be revealed to
Israel" as its Messiah. His works and words will manifest him as
"the Holy One of God".
439 Many Jews and even certain
Gentiles who shared their hope recognized in Jesus the fundamental attributes
of the messianic "Son of David", promised by God to Israel. Jesus
accepted his rightful title of Messiah, though with some reserve because it was
understood by some of his contemporaries in too human a sense, as essentially
political.
440 Jesus accepted Peter's
profession of faith, which acknowledged him to be the Messiah, by announcing
the imminent Passion of the Son of Man. He unveiled the authentic content
of his messianic kingship both in the transcendent identity of the Son of Man
"who came down from heaven", and in his redemptive mission as the
suffering Servant: "The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and
to give his life as a ransom for many." Hence the true meaning of his
kingship is revealed only when he is raised high on the cross. Only after
his Resurrection will Peter be able to proclaim Jesus' messianic kingship to
the People of God: "Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly
that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you
crucified."
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 6 pm Saturday till Monday. Don’t forget the internet.
·
Unite in the work of the Porters of St. Joseph by joining them
in fasting: Restoring
the Church
·
Litany of the Most Precious
Blood of Jesus
·
Offering to
the sacred heart of Jesus
·
Rosary
[1]https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/messages/peace/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_20041216_xxxviii-world-day-for-peace.html
[2] Thigpen, Paul. Manual for Spiritual
Warfare. TAN Books.
[4] Goffine’s Devout Instructions, 1896.
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