July begins with CELEBRATION.
Flags all over, Picnics, Family gatherings, Parades, Fireworks !!!
Independence Day, “No more taxation without representation!”
There are so many reasons we celebrate independence. FREEDOM is a broad term.
Ever since Jesus Christ began his ministry in Israel, those who have followed Him . . . quietly, minding their own business, not making any waves . . . have been persecuted and/or martyred.
If one does not bow down to an emperor or another belief system, Christians and Jews have been martyred.
Although there were long periods of time in history when personal faith was tolerated or even encouraged, many more moments in history have condemned those who believe in the God of the Covenant: the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Beginning this month, I choose to reflect upon those ‘Fathers’ and ‘Mothers’ who, because of their willingness to ‘die to self and live for Christ’ have, by their example, become our examples to follow.
Some have demonstrated their undying faith through giving of themselves in service to others.
Some are great theologians who were able to unwind tangled ideologies, such as Arianism, and articulate Christian doctrine based on biblical scripture.
Some have demonstrated their undying faith through giving of themselves in service to others.
Some are great theologians who were able to unwind tangled ideologies, such as Arianism, and articulate Christian doctrine based on biblical scripture.
Through scripture and word-pictures of Christian leaders through the centuries, my hope is that we are able to more deeply embrace our Christian faith and share our new understanding with others.
Perhaps we can all embrace new insights that propel us into a deeper purpose in our Christian walk.
Perhaps we can all embrace new insights that propel us into a deeper purpose in our Christian walk.
7-2 “The Lord has done great things for us.” Psalm.125:3
Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 125 - 203 A.D.) was born in Asia Minor at a time when the direct memory of the Apostles was still alive. He was well educated in Sacred Scripture, theology, philosophy, and literature.
He became an astute disciple of St. Polycarp, who himself was a disciple of John the Evangelist, one of the Twelve Apostles who belonged to Jesus' inner circle. St. Irenaeus is therefore an early witness of the authentic teaching of the Apostles preserved and handed down in both the written and oral tradition.
Irenaeus was ordained a priest and became bishop of Lyons in modern-day France. He was one of the Church's first great theologians and apologists, writing his famous and important work 'Against Heresies' to combat the heresy of Gnosticism which greatly threatened the early Church.
Irenaeus is also an early witness of the primacy of Peter over the other Apostles, and thus the authority of the Roman See over the whole Church.
St. Irenaeus is one of the most important early Church Fathers and is a Doctor of the Church.
7-3 Ps.130 “Let your ear be attentive to the voice of my supplications . . . my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning.”
7-4 Independence Day: Celebration of the BIRTH of America.
This day in 1776 was only the beginning of our separation from English rule, a FAITH journey in which a few brave leaders set forth governing parameters that released us from the tyranny religious persecution and taxation of King George III. We who claim to be ‘American' would never have a king governing us but could, of our own free
will, follow the King of kings and the Lord of lords, God’s only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 11 By Faith . . . Abraham, Sarah . . . and endless numbers . . . died in the faith without receiving benefits. . .but they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God for He has prepared a city for them.
7-5 Ps.141:2 “May my prayer be counted as incense before you: the lifting of my hands as evening offering.”
7-6 "The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest.” Thomas More
a loving husband, and a devoted father.
For his great abilities More was promoted by his friend King Henry VIII to the high office of Lord Chancellor, second in position to the king. He resigned from this post when the king, in open defiance of Church teaching, sought to divorce his wife in order to marry another woman, and to declare himself sovereign of the Church in England.
Thomas More, a defender against heresy, refused to condone the king's actions. After trying unsuccessfully to persuade his friend to approve of what he was doing,
King Henry VIII imprisoned More in the Tower of London. At his trial, More testified boldly for Church autonomy over the state, for the authority of the pope as head of the Church, and for the indissolubility of marriage in the eyes of God. St. Thomas More was eventually condemned and beheaded, dying as a martyr for the Catholic faith. [This was the beginning of the Church split— Anglican and Catholic. It would take decades, and many Catholic martyrs before there was acceptance of two Christian churches . . . and many more divisions into varied Christian sects over the centuries.]
7-7 Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Luke 10: 1-3
“The Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. He said to them, “The Harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way, behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.”
“The Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. He said to them, “The Harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way, behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves.”
7-8 Thomas the Apostle (1st c.) was one of the twelve
disciples who accompanied Jesus during His earthly ministry. He is remembered for his disbelief in the news of Christ's Resurrection until he physically saw and was invited to touch Jesus' wounds—thus earning him the name "Doubting Thomas." After Pentecost he traveled and preached throughout Persia and southeast Asia. Early traditions ascribe his main work and martyrdom to India, so that he is also called the "Apostle of India." St. Thomas the Apostle converted many to Christ, worked miracles, and established the Church in the East.
7-9 “And this is the testimony: God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” 1 John 5:11
7-10 “If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you, you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all. But, fortunately, it works the other way around. Anyone who is honestly trying to be a Christian will soon find his intelligence being sharpened: one of the reasons why it needs no special education to be a Christian is that Christianity is an education itself.” C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
7-11 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
7-12 "Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.” Romans 1:20a
7-12 "Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.” Romans 1:20a
7-13 Although I am not Catholic, I have spent much time researching Catholic traditions. I’m learning that these traditions have come to us through historic ‘Fathers and Mothers’ of the faith who had a deep devotion to God and with whom the Holy Spirit authenticated the words of
scripture so that we, who follow Christ, may better understand the full power God continues to give to us, especially through the Holy Eucharist. Here are words from catholiccompany.com regarding the power behind Holy Communion if we choose to believe in that power:
“The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, or Corpus Christi, is celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday in honor of the institution of the Holy Eucharist. The feast originated with the visions of St. Juliana of Mont Cornillon, a Belgian nun deeply devoted to the Holy Eucharist, to whom Jesus appeared requesting a feast in honor of the Blessed Sacrament.
Juliana shared this with the Church hierarchy, and after decades of opposition, Pope Urban IV instituted the feast of Corpus Christi for the universal Church in 1264. At the time there was a formal dispute among theologians on the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist—that is, Christ's actual Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity—for the first time in Church history.
In response to this heresy and in support of the
authenticity of St. Juliana's visions, a Eucharistic Miracle took place in Orvieto, Italy which proved the truth of the literal interpretation of Christ's doctrine handed down from the Apostles. The Pope requested that the liturgy for the feast be composed by St.Thomas Aquinas, now one of the Church's most sublimely poetic liturgies. Corpus Christi is traditionally accompanied with public Eucharistic processions, both large and elaborate.”
7-14 Fifth Sunday after Pentecost
The Good Samaritan did not have to worry about being “unclean” by touching the man on the side of the road [as would the priest or the Levite] He did not hesitate to help the hurt man. If you think about it, Jesus is our ‘Good Samaritan’. When those we depend on to meet our emotional needs are ‘crossing to the other side of the street’ we an always call upon our Lord to be with us, care for us, and heal the soul.
7-15 "Chastity is the most unpopular of the Christian virtues. There is no getting away from it; the Christian rule is, ‘Either marriage, with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence.’ Now this is so difficult and so contrary to our instincts, that obviously either Christianity is wrong or our sexual instinct, as it now is, has gone wrong. One or the other.
Of course, being a Christian, I think it is the instinct which has gone wrong ... God knows our situation; He will not judge us as if we had no difficulties to overcome.
What matters is the sincerity and perseverance of our will to overcome them. Before we can be cured we must want to be cured. Those who really wish for help will get it; but for many modern people even the wish is difficult ... We may, indeed, be sure that perfect chastity—like perfect charity—will not be attained by any merely human efforts.
What matters is the sincerity and perseverance of our will to overcome them. Before we can be cured we must want to be cured. Those who really wish for help will get it; but for many modern people even the wish is difficult ... We may, indeed, be sure that perfect chastity—like perfect charity—will not be attained by any merely human efforts.
You must ask for God’s help. Even when you have done so, it may seem to you for a long time that no help, or less help than you need, is being given. Never mind. After each failure, ask forgiveness, pick yourself up and try again. Very often what God first helps us towards is not the virtue itself but just this power of always trying again.
7-16 Mark 2:1-12 The Paralytic was healed after he was lowered through the roof. Jesus said to him, “Take up your pallet and walk.” Just like that, Jesus just speaks and the paralytic was healed. We can also ‘speak’ in Jesus’ name.
‘Just say the word and I will be healed.’ If we call upon our Lord to heal us, we may or may not receive physical healing but just speaking the name of JESUS brings healing to the soul. ‘In Jesus name’ . . . powerful words. Each day we can call upon Jesus to help us ‘take up OUR pallet and walk forward’ according to God’s purpose for us through the power of the Holy Spirit ‘spoken into us’ at baptism.
7-17 Mark 2:13-17 Levi, also called Matthew, a tax collector, reclined at table with Jesus and others who seemed of questionable character. When Jesus was chastised for being in the company of ‘sinners’, He responded, “It is not the healthy but the sick who need a
physician.” Jesus continued, “When the bridegroom is with them they cannot fast but there will be a day when the bridegroom is taken away. Then they will fast. . . No one puts new wine into old wine skins.”
Oswald Chambers: Worship is giving God the best that He has given you.
7-18 Bonaventure (1221–1274) was born with the name “Giovanni” in Tuscany, Italy. As a child he became seriously ill and was in danger of death until his mother brought him to St. Francis of Assisi, who was then living in the region as a mendicant friar.
It is said that St. Francis healed the child and afterward exclaimed, "O buona ventura (O good fortune)!" when he prophetically perceived how great the child would one day become, and this is how he began to be called
In addition to his many writings, including a Life of St. Francis of Assisi, he was elected to serve as head of his order, and was appointed a cardinal-bishop by the Pope. St. Bonaventure died while assisting at the Second Council of Lyons, which worked for the reunification of the Catholic Church with the Eastern Orthodox churches.
NAMES OF DISCIPLES Simon Peter, James son of Zebedee and John the brother of James [Jacob] also called Sons of Thunder, Andrew, Phillip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alpheus, Thaddius, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot.
7-20 Recusants and Martyrs Who Resisted England’s Tudor Terror
It is worth considering the English Resistance to the Tudor Terror in the hope that it will inspire similar holiness and heroism today. [National Catholic Register]
Joseph Pearce blog
One of the biggest mistakes that a student of history can make is to confuse the so-called English “Reformation” with its namesake on the continent.
Whereas the Protestant Reformation in Europe was animated by the genuine theological differences that separated those who followed Luther or Calvin from those who accepted the apostolic and ecclesial authority of Catholicism, the so-called “Reformation” in England was animated solely by the political ambitions and lustful appetites of the king.
Henry VIII was not a protestant but a tyrant. In declaring himself the head of the Church in England he was making religion a servile subject of the secular power. He was demanding that the things of God be rendered unto Caesar. Parallels with the secularism of our own time and its war on religious liberty are palpable.
7-21 Sixth Sunday after Pentecost.
Luke 10:38-42 Martha wanted Mary to help prepare the meal for Jesus and the crowd who had followed him to their home. Martha was concerned with hospitality not realizing that moments grasping Jesus’ words would soon be gone. When we get too busy with important goals, it’s best to take a moment to Stop, Listen to the whispers
from our soul and put the urgent needs to rest. Digest all of Jesus when He is present with us. Come into His Presence with full attention on our Lord. Put distractions to rest.”
“He who has God finds he lacks nothing. God alone suffices.” Teresa of Avila
7-22 Life of Mary Magdalene is celebrated today. Mary of ‘Mary and Martha’, Mary from whom Jesus cleansed of demons. It is believed that she is the same penitent woman, Mary of Bethany, who anointed the feet of Jesus before his Passion, and the sister of Lazarus and Martha. She stood at the foot of the Cross and the next morning went to Christ's tomb to anoint his body. She is the first recorded witness of Jesus' Resurrection. It was Mary Magdalene who informed the twelve Apostles that Jesus rose from the dead, and for this she is called “Apostle to the Apostles.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-18 Whoever is in Christ is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold new
things have come. And all this is from God who has
reconciled us to Himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation.
John 20 Tells of the appearance of Jesus with Mary Magdalene when she discovers the tomb is empty. She does not recognize one of the two angels but when she hears Jesus’ voice calling to her she immediately falls at his feet.
7-23 Thomas a Kempis: “Be thankful for the smallest blessing, and you will deserve to receive greater. Value the least gifts no less than the greatest, and simple graces as especial favours. If you remember the dignity of the Giver, no gift will seem small or mean, for nothing can be valueless that is given by the most high God.”
7-24 1 Samuel 25:1-42 Samuel died and was buried at Rama. David went to the wilderness of Paran. Nabal
married Abigail who was intelligent and beautiful. Nabel was a Calebite who lived in Moan yet sheared his sheep in Carmel. He had 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. David’s
servants ask Nabal for payment because David’s men guarded Nabal’s sheep and shepherds. Nabal refused.
400 of David’s men, girded with sword, followed David to Nabal. [200 stayed behind to watch the baggage.] Abigail heard what was to happen and took 200 loaves, 2 jugs wine, 5 prepared sheep, 5 measures roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, 200 cakes of figs and met David and the men. When Abigail saw David she dismounted and fell at David’s feet bowing down to him. She pleaded with David to not hurt her husband and offered a gift of food. David said, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel who sent you to meet me . . . and blessed be your discernment”.
7-25 Celebration of the life of James, the Apostle. [Spanish name is Santiago] James was the first of the Apostles to die.
Acts 11:27—12:3 Due to an impending famine, money was collected to send to Jerusalem for the church leaders (including James) . . . At the same time, Herod had James put to death by the sword during the Passover . . . and Peter, also on Herod’s list, would die soon
afterward.
Matthew 20 Sons of Zebedee are James and John. Their mother asked Jesus if they could sit on Jesus’ right and left. Jesus said, “It is not mine to give :26-:28 “Whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant and whomever wishes to be first among you shall become your slave. . . . Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.”
7-26 “Only he who gives thanks for the little things receives the big things.”
“We are silent at the beginning of the day because God should have the first word, and we are silent before going to sleep because the last word also belongs to God”. Deitrich Bonhoeffer
When their father died, Macrina became the main support for the family. It was Macrina who profoundly influenced the spiritual discipline of her younger brothers. When all her siblings were grown, Macrina convinced her mother to give up their family belongings, set their servants free, and convert their home into a monastery. Many of their servants joined them in this spiritual pursuit; they all lived together as a family, sharing all things in common. When her mother died, Macrina led the religious community. The biography of St. Macrina's life was written by her brother, St. Gregory.
7-27 "I will glory not because I am righteous, but because I am redeemed;
I will glory not because I am free from sins, but because my sins are forgiven me. I will not glory because I have done good nor because someone has done good to me, but because Christ is my advocate with the Father and because the blood of Christ has been shed for me.” St. Ambrose (339-397 AD.)
7-28 Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Luke 11:9 ASK, SEEK, KNOCK. If we can give good gifts to our children, how much more can the Father in Heaven give to us through the Holy Spirit?
How precious our children are to us . . . no matter how old they are. We do anything we can to guide them into the fruitful life promised to us by God.
How precious our children are to us . . . no matter how old they are. We do anything we can to guide them into the fruitful life promised to us by God.
God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit is able to give to us so much more than we can imagine but we have to ASK the Lord, pray without ceasing, telling him what is on our
heart.. . .and you shall receive God’s best for you.
Continue to SEEK his righteous direction by being in his presence through Worship, Prayer, studying Holy Scripture etc. and you will find the path that the Lord has already set before you .
KNOCK, at the door of opportunity the Lord sets before us. This happens when our heart longs for more of our Lord's presence in our lives. Only then will we comprehend the opened Door through which we can walk into the full power God has graced us; the power that is promised to us when we receive the Holy Spirit through baptism.
Dawn is incredibly awesome as the black sky opens up to magenta then fades into deep pink than softens as yellow explodes into the bright sky filled with puffs of white. I shout for JOY!
7-29 Psalm 65:8b “You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.”
Deitrich Bonhoeffer: In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.
7-30 Acts 6:13 “On the Sabbath Paul went to find a place of prayer and found women praying by the river.” There was not even a synagogue in the town of Philippi in Macedonia. These faithful women knew God but they had not heard of Jesus. Lydia, one of these women, was Paul's first Christian convert. Lydia's entire household heard the Gospel from Paul and his companion, Timothy. The household was baptized and became followers of Jesus Christ.
Lydia served the Lord through her gift of hospitality, and her home became a meeting place for the early Christians. Later, after Paul and Silas were released from prison, it was to Lydia's home that they first went to meet and encourage the believers gathered there.
Lydia served the Lord through her gift of hospitality, and her home became a meeting place for the early Christians. Later, after Paul and Silas were released from prison, it was to Lydia's home that they first went to meet and encourage the believers gathered there.
7-31 Macrina the Younger (d. 380 A.D.) was born in Cappadocia to a family of saints. Her mother was St.
Emelia, and her father was St. Basil the Elder. Her grandmother was St. Macrina the Elder, after whom she was named.
Her holy parents had ten children. Macrina was one of the oldest and received an excellent religious education from her holy mother. Her parents betrothed her to a pious youth, but he died before the marriage took place.
Macrina then consecrated her virginity to God and lived a life of great asceticism. She remained living with her parents, helping to raise her younger siblings, directing the household servants, and supporting the family with her domestic skills. Among her siblings were St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory of Nyssa (who both became Cappadocian Fathers and Doctors of the Church) St. Peter of Sebaste, and St. Theosevia.
That's about it for July.
A little of this, a little of that.
More is coming in August!
A little of this, a little of that.
More is coming in August!
