Are things good where you are?

Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:

Reform your ways and your deeds,
so that I may remain with you in this place.

Put not your trust in the deceitful words...

(from today's first reading - Jeremiah 7:1-11)

Man of Lebanon

He was born in a village high in the mountains of Lebanon.

When he was only three, his father died, having been captured by imperialistic infidels.

As he grew older, his uncle worried about the young man's growing religious fanaticism.

When he was 23, he secretly joined a band of men who were holed up in a mountain stronghold. He would take a Syrian name.

This mysterious man in the black robes would travel little, but people from all over Lebanon and beyond would come to him for direction.

He would suffer a stroke while celebrating Mass and died on Christmas eve in 1898.

He would be beatified at the end of the Second Vatican Council and canonized in 1977.

The memory of Saint Charbel Makhlouf (also spelled Sharbel Makhluf), Maronite priest and hermit, is celebrated by many on this day.

(from an earlier post)

If only you would heed
the voice of the LORD, your God,
and keep his commandments and statutes
that are written in this book of the law,
when you return to the LORD, your God,
with all your heart
and all your soul.

from today's first reading (Deuteronomy 30:10-14)

Time to boast

May I never boast
except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me,
and I to the world.

from today's first reading (Galatians 6:14-18)

He entered the University at 15

Two years later, he became a Franciscan. He would go on to be ordained and to teach philosophy and theology.

But God wanted him to do more.

In his mid-thirties, he volunteered for the Missions. He had barely arrived when he was bit by the wrong mosquito. His leg swelled, giving him a life-long limp. Still, he carried out his duties diligently.

He did so well that when the opportunity came for a renewed missionary effort at the edge of "civilization," he was chosen to lead it: even though he was already in his mid-fifties, lame and suffering from asthma.

He established twenty-one missions in that strange land, converting and educating thousands of people there.

He had to work within a cultural and governmental system that was sometimes corrupt and prejudiced, but he himself was faithful, devout, and did great good.

More and more people gathered around the missions he had established and some of them became great cities that kept their religious names, such as San Francisco.

Father Junipero Serra died of tuberculosis in 1784 and is buried in Carmel, California. He was beatified by the great Pope John Paul II in 1988 and his memory is celebrated on this day.

(from an earlier post)

What shall we pray for this month?

The Holy Father's general prayer intention for July is for Justice in Elections:

"That elections in every nation may be carried out with justice, transparency, and honesty, respecting the free decisions of citizens."

His missionary intention focuses on Urban Culture:

"That Christians may strive to promote everywhere, but especially in our cities, education, justice, solidarity, and peace."

Simple instructions for today

In today's first reading (Amos 5:14-15, 21-24):

Seek good
and not evil,
that you may live;

Then truly
will the LORD, the God of hosts,
be with you as you claim!

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, be merciful to me - a sinner.

They didn't all look Middle Eastern

Some looked just like everyone else: in fact, they were native born citizens!

But they had converted to THAT religion and were setting themselves apart from the mainstream of society.

All of them - converted natives and strange-looking immigrants - became the subject of rumors, ridicule, and investigations.

Then, a horrific criminal act laid waste to the center of the great city, killing many.

The focus quickly fell upon these converted natives and strange-looking immigrants.

They and their leaders were rounded up.

Many were tortured and many were killed.

These first Christian martyrs of the Church of Rome remained true to their faith, rejoicing to share in the salvific sufferings of Christ, and helped stoke the fires of a spiritual awakening that would flourish when the empire that had sought to crush them was itself dust.

Today the Church celebrates the memory of the first martyrs of the Church of Rome.

(adapted from an earlier post)

The grace of final perseverance

For this we must pray.

For this - also by God’s grace – we must strive.

For this, in today's second reading (2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18), Saint Paul gives thanks.

I am already being poured out like a libation,
and the time of my departure is at hand.

I have competed well;
I have finished the race;
I have kept the faith.

From now on
the crown of righteousness awaits me,
which the Lord, the just judge,
will award to me on that day,
and not only to me,
but to all
who have longed for his appearance.

The Lord stood by me
and gave me strength,
so that through me
the proclamation might be completed
and all the Gentiles might hear it.

And I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.

The Lord will rescue me
from every evil threat
and will bring me safe
to his heavenly Kingdom.

To him be glory
forever and ever.
Amen.

For this we must pray.

For this – by God’s grace – we must strive.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, be merciful to me – a sinner.

The Holy Apostles Peter and Paul

The ancient Latin phrase resonates in magnificence, with a feeling of awe and power like the majestic columns of a mighty cathedral: Sanctos Apostolos Petrum et Paulum - the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.

Their origins were humble and they were slaughtered by the ruling regime almost as an afterthought, their deaths scarcely noted by the chroniclers of the day, but their work, their words, their blood, and their lives -- by the power of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ shining through them -- became the foundation of Christendom itself. Now the city that had crushed them is dominated by their monuments.

O Roma felix! Duorum Principum es consecrata sanguine!

God would raise up other great saints, and He continues to do so, but even the greatest but stand on the shoulders of these giants. There would have been no Gregory the Great or John Paul the second without Peter the Rock. There would have been no Thomas Aquinas without Saul of Tarsus.

They were human beings like us and not without flaws, but none could be mightier. They held nothing back: once they were sent forth, they laid everything on the line for Christ, every day of their lives – all their hearts, all their strength, all their talents, their freedom, and even their life's blood – everything went for Christ. They were exalted, yes, but only because they served humbly, lovingly, and forcefully.

If we’re looking for role models in our lives as we seek to make a difference in this world, we could not do better that the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, whose memory is celebrated on this day.

(from an earlier post)

Freedom

Freedom is – in itself – a wonderful thing.

God, in His wisdom and omnipotence, gave us freedom – created beings of flesh and blood that we are.

God gives us freedom directed toward true goodness and open to eternity.

The world lies about freedom: offering things that look, feel, and sound good but that are really traps that drag us down to death and decay.

And so Saint Paul tells us in today’s Epistle (Galatians 5:1, 13-18):

Do not use this freedom
as an opportunity for the flesh;
rather, serve one another through love.

May we not fall prey to the lies and temptations of this world, but rather may we walk through this world in true freedom and true love in the name and the power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, be merciful to me – a sinner.

The Solemnity of Corpus Christi

Acclaim, O tongue, the mystery
Of the glorious Body
And of the precious Blood
That, in ransom for the world,
The fruit of a generous womb,
The King of nations, shed.

To us given, for us born
From a Virgin pure,
And, brought into the world
To spread the seed of the Word,
He ended His stay
In a wondrous way.

On the night of the Last Supper,
Reclining with his brothers,
Observing the Law fully,
The food prescribed by Law,
This food to the Twelve
He gave with His own hands.

The Word Made Flesh made true bread
Become flesh at His word,
Made wine the Blood of Christ.
And if our senses fail
To strengthen a sincere heart
Faith alone will suffice.

So great a sacrament, therefore,
Let us venerate on our knees
And the old ritual
To the new Rite yield.
May faith supply
What our senses lack.

To the Father and to the Begotten
Praise and jubilation,
Salvation, honor and power
And blessing be;
And to the One who proceeds from Both
Equally be praise.
Amen


Pange, lingua, gloriosi
Corporis mysterium
Sanguinisque pretiosi,
Quem in mundi pretium,
Fructus ventris generosi,
Rex effudit gentium.

Nobis datus, nobis natus,
Ex intacta Virgine,
Et in mundo conversatus,
Sparso verbi semine
Sui moras incolatus
Miro clausit ordine.

In supremae nocte coenae
Recumbens cum fratribus,
Observata lege plene
Cibis in legalibus,
Cibum turbae duodenae
Se dat suis manibus

Verbum caro panem verum
Verbo carnem efficit;
Fit sanguis Christi merum.
Et si sensus deficit,
Ad firmandum cor sincerum
Sola fides sufficit.

Tantum ergo sacramentum
Venereumur cernui.
Et antiquum documentum
Novo cedat ritui.
Praestet fides supplementum
Sensuum defectui.

Genitori genitoque
Laus et jubilatio,
Salus, honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benedictio.
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudatio.

Amen.

S. Thomas Aquinas

(adapted from a post on Toward Contemplation)