In The Prayer of St. Ignatius of Loyola he says,
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“Take, Lord, receive
all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, my whole will,
all that I have and all that I possess.
You gave it all to me, Lord; I give it all back to you.
Do with it as you will, according to your good pleasure.
Give me your love and your grace; for with this I have all that I need."
Today give EVERYTHING to the Lord,
Knowing that the Love and Grace you receive at this Mass
Will be enough for you today.
Let me eyes stream with tears Jer. 14:17-22
Jerusalem and the land all around it was a heap of ruins.
The fields were filled with slain soldiers.
The city was filled with people starving to death.
And Judah appears to be forgotten by God.
And all Jeremiah could do was weep.
His eyes streamed with tears day and night over the destruction
Of Israel.
As we look at our nation and our world is it any different.
Violence in our city streets.
Wars across the globe.
People starving to death in various parts of the world.
And God appears to have forgotten us.
Maybe it is time to weep.
To let our tears stream day and night like Jeremiah.
For There is a sacredness in tears. They are not a mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and of unspeakable love.”
Mary, Martha and Lazarus were siblings who were perhaps the best friends of Jesus.
The only time Jesus wept was at the death of Lazarus.
Mary sat at the feet of Jesus
And Martha waited on him when He came to visit.
Whenever Jesus went to Jerusalem
He stayed at their house in Bethany
On the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem.
We may not be able to host Jesus at our house.
But whenever we welcome our friends,
We welcome Jesus just the same. Monday
On being a Christian Eph 4:1-6
What are the characteristics of an elite athlete?
In basketball an elite player
Is a good shot.
Plays defense
Has a quick first step
Reads the court well
Can rebound and pass the ball.
And if an athlete is weak in one of these areas, they work at it until they improve.
This may take an entire season on just one area such as shooting or defense.
Hours and hours of practice.
And those who don’t are bench warmers.
What are the characteristics of a Christian? Eph 4:1-6
They are humble, gentle and Patient;
They bear with others in love;
They strive to preserve the unity of community.
And they are Peacemakers.
Do we have these characteristics?
Maybe some, maybe not others.
Which ones do we need to work on?
How much time and effort do we put into our Faith?
Do we strive to be Elite Christians
Like St. Francis or Mother Teresa?
They put their heart and soul into it everyday.
They just didn’t wake up one day holy.
Or are we just average Christians.
Who come off the bench when we are needed.
Or are we benchwarmers on Sundays.
I have been at this all my life and sometimes I feel as if I haven’t gotten anywhere.
Still working on the same old issues.
The game is not over though.
Don’t give up.
The Lord will give us all we need.
To get out there and make a difference
In the game of life.
The Sabbath was made for Man Mt. 12:1-8
The Sabbath was made for Man.
In other words the commandment to keep the Sabbath is not an obligation but an opportunity for people to find rest from a crazy and chaotic life and world.
And those who do not keep the Sabbath will never find true rest.
For Jesus said,
“Come to me, all you who labor a d find life burdensome and I will give you rest.” Mt. 11:28-30
When Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for Man He means
That in a certain sense we come to Church on Sunday for ourselves.
So that we can find rest!
The rest that only Jesus can give!
I will refresh you. Mt. 11-28-30
Who doesn’t get a little tired sometimes.
Not just physically,
But emotionally as well.
The burdens of life can pile up sometimes and become too much to carry.
And when that happens where do we go?
To bed for a nap?
To the Mall for some shopping?
To the fridge for some comfort food?
To the bottle for a drink?
None of this is bad,
but how well does it really work?
It really only deals with the symptoms.
None of them solve the problems of life.
That is why Jesus says,
“Come to Me! And I will refresh you. “
When the burdens of life begin to weigh us down.
And we can find no rest from the demands of life.
There is only one place to go.
One person to turn too.
And he will take our burdens Upon His shoulders
And in His gentle and humble Heart
We will find rest.
The Childlike Mat. 11:25-27
Jesus gives thanks to His Father because He has hidden the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven from the wise and learned and revealed them to the childlike.
Because the wise and the learned think they know everything and do not need God.
This is why Our Lady always appears to children.
Such as Bernadette and the children at Fatima and LaSalette.
They had no knowledge, or power or pride to blind them.
Be grateful then when you do not know or understand everything
For in your humility and littleness,
God is able to reveal His mysteries to you.
Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
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Elijah the prophet saved the Faith of Israel on Mount Carmel
When he was the last prophet to remain faithful when all the others had turned to the pagan god Baal.
And in the 12th Century Christian monks built a monastery there
In honor of Our Lady,
And became known as the Carmelites.
And ever since then,
Our Lady of Mount Carmel has wrapped her mantle of love and prayers around those who wear her scapular.
On this feast,
Let us ask Our Lady to
Wrap us in her mantle of love and prayers,
So that under her protection,
We may always remain Faithful to the True Faith.
July 15 The Feast of St. Bonaventure
From St. Bonaventure, Franciscan doctor and cardinal of the Church
“If you want to become one with God seek grace and not instruction, desire not understanding, prayer and not diligent reading, the Spouse not the teacher, God not man. Bonaventure tells us we must “give over” or “die to the self”, to be less of our own self allowing more of God to be within us.”
Bonaventure is trying to tell us that God is ultimately not something to be studied for figured out. Not an obligation to be fulfilled or a list of commandments to keep but a person to be loved. Love is the key to unlocking the Heart of God. God’s Love is revealed only to those who Love Him. Not with a casual love or occasional love but with “all one’s heart and soul and mind and strength.”
God only comes to those who truly seek Him and desire Him and Love Him more than oneself.
Carry only what you need Mk. 6:7-13
Jesus tells us to travel light.
No food! no sack! no money!
Look at our stomachs;
Look at our closets;
Look at all we have.
We are so weighed down.
Yet we can only fit so much in a casket!
That is all we get to take with us.
Do we really need everything else.
Jesus however was referring not just to things but to EVERYTHING!!
To everything that weighs us down.
Guilt; anger; greed; past hurts.
Who needs to carry that around!
Worry and anxiety!
Get rid of it.
It can be a long Dark road sometimes
And so we invite people into our homes for a respite along the way.
What do they find?
Do they find Peace?
or do they have to shake off the dust;
Shake off all of the tension and anger and discord from their feet when they leave?
Because who needs to carry that with them?
Life is short.
It is a 40 or 50 or maybe 80yr sprint to Eternity.
Carry only what you need.
Carry Faith, Hope and Love instead.
We come here every Week to fill up with these things.
For our hearts and souls run hit empty so quickly.
Those who stock up on these things
Will find the journey so much easier.
And reach their final destination;
The world to come!
What does God want? Mt. 12:1-8
When we pray it can often be about what we want.
But what does God want?
Does God want lots of prayers?
Does God want us to Fast and do penance?
Does God want us to make lots of sacrifices?
Yes to all of these things.
But what God wants the most is Mercy.
That we be merciful to the lost and the sinner.
If not, then everything else we do is in vain.
