St. Michael, the Archangel! Glorious Prince, chief and champion of the heavenly hosts; guardian of the souls of men; conqueror of the rebel angels! How beautiful art thou, in thy heaven-made armor. We love thee, dear Prince of Heaven!
We, thy happy clients, yearn to enjoy thy special protection. Obtain for us from God a share of thy sturdy courage; pray that we may have a strong and tender love for our Redeemer and, in every danger or temptation, be invincible against the enemy of our …
Hear the word of the LORD,
princes of Sodom!
Listen to the instruction of our God,
people of Gomorrah!
What care I for the number of your sacrifices?
says the LORD.
I have had enough of whole-burnt rams
and fat of fatlings;
In the blood of calves, lambs and goats
I find no pleasure.
When you come in to visit me,
who asks these things of you?
Trample my courts no more!
Bring no more worthless offerings;
your incense is loathsome to me.
New moon and sabbath, calling of assemblies,
octaves with wickedness: these I cannot bear.
Your new moons and festivals I detest;
they weigh me down, I tire of the load.
When you spread out your hands,
I close my eyes to you;
Though you pray the more,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood!
Wash yourselves clean!
Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes;
cease doing evil; learn to do good.
Make justice your aim: redress the wronged,
hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.
R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think you that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s enemies will be those of his household.
“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
“Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet’s reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous
will receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”
When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Henry, please go here.
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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
For the most part, I am someone that avoids confrontation. I don’t like making a scene and am terrible about internalizing arguments instead of being vocal. More recently, I have had conversations with friends and family that I would have shied away from.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that he has, “come to bring not peace but the sword,” something that we often forget. From my own experience, I’ve found that many people view religion as a set of beliefs that lead one to pure happiness and inner peace. They don’t understand that Catholicism is not about selfish happiness and inner peace. While joy and peace may be byproducts of wholehearted faith, but they have never been the goal. The goal is to do the work of God, even in difficult times and amidst battles. Yes, battles.
In order to fight for your beliefs-to fight for your God-you may have to actually fight. You cannot take a back seat to your life and the world around you then complain. In fact, our Catholic faith is very much focused on community and how we all play a part in a much larger picture. We play a part in others’ lives. We are called to serve God, help others, and not be selfish in all that we do. We are called to spread the Word of God for the glory of God. Sometimes this calls for confrontation and, most assuredly, the clashing of ideas.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us that he has, “come to bring not peace but the sword,” and to put mother against daughter, father against son. This really struck a chord with me because while I’ve had the fortune of spending the last 4 months of quarantine at my parent’s house, I’ve also had my fair share of disagreements with them. These situations in which disagreements arise would have, in the past, kept me silent.
Now, I know that it takes courage to fight for the lives of others. It takes seeing God in others to fight for even those you cannot relate to, to see their human dignity. In order to find this courage, we must remember that we can always rely on God. Pray with me, today, and ask Him for his guidance.
Father, I ask you to strengthen my voice against those who do not understand your will. Although they speak louder, do not let me ever fall silent. Son, I ask that you instill in me your relentless truth. May your words be passed through me to glorify you. Holy Spirit, I ask for your guidance in when to speak up and speak out. May you soften the hearts of all those that listen.
Amen.
Veronica Alvarado is a born and raised Texan currently living in Michigan. Since graduating from Texas A&M University, Veronica has published various articles in the Catholic Diocese of Austin’s official newspaper, the Catholic Spirit, and other local publications. She now works as the Content Specialist in Diocesan’s Web Department.
St. Henry, son of Henry, Duke of Bavaria, and of Gisella, daughter of Conrad, King of Burgundy, was born in 972. He received an excellent education under the care of St. Wolfgang, Bishop of Ratisbon. In 995, St. Henry succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria, and in 1002, upon the death of his cousin, Otho III, he was elected emperor. Firmly anchored upon the great eternal truths, which the practice of meditation kept alive in his heart, he was not elated by this dignity and sought in all …
O most holy heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore you, I love you, and with lively sorrow for my sins I offer you this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to your will. Grant, Good Jesus, that I may live in you and for you. Protect me in the midst of danger. Comfort me in my afflictions. Give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Amen.
“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing
compared with the glory to be revealed for us.”
What hope we have from today’s second reading. We are in a strange period on this earth where we anticipate our glorious future in heaven. But we do not just sit here and wallow in suffering, anxiety, and fear. The theologians talk about an already but not yet of redemption that should give us such great hope.
The already but not yet of redemption can be thought of with the analogy of eating food. When we eat the food we immediately taste it, but we do not receive the fullness until it is made into energy for our bodies. In the same way, we can experience a taste of redemption through Christ on this earth, but we receive the fullness when we reach heaven.
So no matter how dark or evil the world looks, we always have hope in Christ. We should work for redemption now in as much as we can participate in it, and look forward to the fullness of this redemption in heaven. This is a message worth sharing in our day and age. May God bless you and help you to share it.
Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.
Saint John Gaulbert, Abbot – Feast day is July 12th The city of Florence gave to the world Saint John Gaulbert. Although he enjoyed the benefits of an early Christian education, his youthful heart was soon attracted to the vanities of the world. A painful incident was the means God made use of, to open his eyes. Hugo, his only brother, had been murdered and St. John had resolved to avenge his death. On a certain Good Friday he met his enemy in a place where there was no escape for the latter. …
Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to …
In the beginning, we hear that God creates the heavens and earth. It seems like we have grasped what that means, but really take a second to think about. In the beginning, God creates us to be with him, walk with him, love him, and be loved by him. The heavens and the earth seem to mix together like a beautiful tapestry of wet paint still waiting to dry.
Then as time goes on, the paint dries and seems to start to separate. The colors pulling further and further apart with every stroke that we flick against our own humanity. The chasm of the world and heaven rips open and we realize what it means to die, to suffer, to be unhappy.
This seems to be a painting that nobody would ever want, forgotten in an attic to collect cobwebs as we forget more and more our original state, our original happiness. Getting more and more comfortable with the mediocre because we forget the beautiful colors of our birthright.
Thankfully, someone steps in, like Bob Ross picking up a painting and fixing the colors, the shading, and the overall feel of the landscape. Taking our fractured painting and turning it once again into something beautiful. Fixing the gap of black paint with vibrant colors again and a new air of hope.
Have we ever thought of salvation history this way or do we let the depth and reality of it fly over our head and become familiar and boring? That’s the question we should ask ourselves today. Jesus is our mediator with the Father, and he cares. That should blow our minds. That should be better than any work of art, no matter how beautiful.
I pray today that we all realize how much Jesus has given up so that we could once again walk with, talk with, and love our Father, where the heavens and earth fuse together in perfection for all eternity.
Tommy Shultz is Director of Evangelization for the North Allegan Catholic Collaborative and the founder of Rodzinka Ministries. In these roles, he is committed to bringing all those he meets into a deeper relationship with Christ. Tommy has a heart and a flair for inspiring people to live their faith every day. He has worked in various youth ministry, adult ministry, and diocesan roles. He has been a featured speaker at retreats and events across the country. His mission and drive have been especially inspired by St. John Paul II’s teachings. Tommy is blessed to be able to learn from the numerous parishes he visits and pass that experience on in his presentations. With a degree in Theology from Franciscan University, Tommy hopes to use his knowledge to help all people understand the beauty of The Faith.
St. Benedict is believed to have been born around 480, as the son to a Roman noble of Norcia and the twin to his sister, Scholastica.
In the fifth century, the young Benedict was sent to Rome to finish his education with a nurse/housekeeper. The subject that dominated a young man’s study then was rhetoric — the art of persuasive speaking. A successful speaker was not one who had the best argument or conveyed the truth, but one who used rhythm, eloquence, and technique to convince. The power …