The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Today we celebrate the Assumption of Mary into heaven.

*picture from www.photo-junction.blogspot.com

"We never give more honor to Jesus than when we honor His mother, and we honor her simply and solely to honor Him all the more perfectly. We go to her only as a way leading to the goal we seek - Jesus, her Son." 

~Saint Louis de Montfort

"Men do not fear a powerful hostile army as the powers of hell fear the name and protection of Mary." ~Saint Bonaventure

"Mary having cooperated in our redemption with so much glory to God and so much love for us, our Lord ordained that no one shall obtain salvation except through her intercession." 

~Saint Alphonsus de Ligouri

 

"Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did." ~Saint Maximilian Kolbe

"Before, by yourself, you couldn't. Now, you've turned to our Lady, and with her, how easy!" 

~Saint Josemaria Escriva

 

"O sinner, be not discouraged, but have recourse to Mary in all your necessities. Call her to your assistance, for such is the divine Will that she should help in every kind of necessity." 

~Saint Basil the Great

"Mary, give me your heart: so beautiful, so pure, so immaculate; your heart so full of love and humility that I may be able to receive Jesus in the Bread of Life and love Him as you love Him and serve Him in the distressing disguise 

of the poor." ~Mother Teresa

Saint Clare of Assisi

*picture from www.marypages.com

 
"Totally love Him, Who gave Himself for your love." 

~Saint Clare

"Gaze upon Him, consider Him, contemplate Him, as you desire to imitate Him."  

~Saint Clare

Today we celebrate Saint Clare of Assisi. Inspired by the teachings and life of Saint Francis of Assisi, she founded an order of nuns known as "the Poor Clares". She was a noblewoman, but she ran away to live a poor, humble life of mortification and simplicity.
 
"They say that we are too poor, but can a heart which possesses the infinite God be truly called poor?" 

~Saint Clare

Some soldiers came to attack Assisi and the convent, so Saint Clare brought the Blessed Sacrament to the wall of the convent so that the soldiers might see it. She prayed to God that He would save the nuns, and suddenly the soldiers ran in fear.

"Place your mind before the mirror of eternity! Place your soul in the brilliance of glory! And transform your entire being  into the image of the Godhead Itself through contemplation." 

~Saint Clare


"He Christ is the splendor of eternal glory, the brightness of eternal light, and the mirror without cloud." 

 ~Saint Clare

In all the picture I have ever seen of Saint Clare, she is depicted holding a monstrance. I'm sure the artists are reminding us of that great day where God saved the nuns from the soldiers, but I think it tells us a lot about Saint Clare. She had a deep devotion to the Eucharist and was a great witness of God's love. She shows us the power of God and that we have nothing to fear if we believe in Him. She reminds me of our Lady who is always pointing us to Jesus. She was a powerful model of holiness in the way she lived and gave up her life for something deeper, something not of this world, but of heaven. So let us ask Saint Clare to lead us to Jesus and love Him in a deeper way, just like she did.

"I come, O Lord, unto Thy sanctuary to see the life and food of my soul. As I hope in Thee, O Lord, inspire me with that confidence which brings me to Thy holy mountain. Permit me, Divine Jesus, to come closer to Thee, that my whole soul may do homage to the greatness of Thy majesty; that my heart, with its tenderest affections, may acknowledge Thine infinite love; that my memory may dwell on the admirable mysteries here renewed every day, and that the sacrifice of my whole being may accompany Thine." 

~Saint Clare

"Save me, O Lord, from every evil - of soul and body." 

~Saint Clare

Saint Clare of Assisi, pray for us!

Saint John Vianney

*picture from http://thepinoycatholic.blogspot.com

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint John Vianney. He was an amazing saint who lived a life of extreme mortification. He was renowned as a wonderful confessor.

Interesting facts about Saint John Vianney:

•  born May 8, 1786
• died August 4, 1859
• seventy-three years old
• also known as the Curé d'Ars (priest of Ars)
• the devil bothered and attacked him almost every night, occasionally injuring him
• the devil told Saint John Vianney: "If there were three such priests as you, my kingdom would be ruined."
• Saint John Vianney once said: "Oh! The grappin (his nickname for the devil) and myself? We are almost chums."
• the last ten years of his life, he spent 16-18 hours in a confessional
• by 1855, there were 20,000 pilgrims who came to visit him and seek his guidance each year
• had a strong devotion to Mary and Saint Philomena
• 300 priests and 6,000 people attended his funeral
• he is incorruptible - his body is still intact and not decomposed
• his incorrupt body is on display above the main altar in the Basilica at Ars in France
• patron saint of priests

 

*picture from www.christtotheworld.blogspot.com

Quotes by Saint John Vianney:

• Prayer is nothing else but union with God. In this intimate union, God and the soul are fused together like two bits of wax that no one can ever pull apart. This union of God with a tiny creature is a lovely thing. It is a happiness beyond understanding.
• If we really understood the Mass, we would die of joy.
• My little children, your hearts are small, but prayer stretches them and makes them capable of loving God. Through prayer, we receive a foretaste of heaven and something of paradise comes down upon us. Prayer never leaves us without sweetness. It is honey that flows into the souls and makes all things sweet. When we pray properly, sorrows disappear like snow before the sun.
• I wish I could lose myself and never find myself except in God! 
• You cannot please both God and the world at the same time. They are utterly opposed to each other in their thoughts, their desires, and their actions.
• When we go before the Blessed Sacrament, let us open our hearts; our good God will open His. We shall go to Him; He will come to us; the one to ask, the other to receive. It will be like a breath from one to the other.
• If we could comprehend all the good things contained in Holy Communion, nothing more would be wanting to content the heart of man. The miser would run no more after his treasures, or the ambitious after glory; each would shake off the dust of the earth, leave the world, and fly away towards heaven.
• All the good works in the world are not equal to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass because they are the works of men; but the Mass is the work of God. Martyrdom is nothing in comparison for it is but the sacrifice of man to God; but the Mass is the sacrifice of God for man.

Pray for the Pope



*picture from allvoices.com


Don't forget to pray for our Pope as he travels to Rio to inspire the world and bring hope! Let's also pray for all those who are travelling from all over the world to see our Holy Father, that they might be safe and that they will be inspired and moved by the Holy Spirit to change the world for the greater glory of God.

Saint Christopher, patron saint of travelers, pray for us.

Come, Holy Spirit. Fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit upon all who travel to Rio and all who are with them in spirit and especially upon the Holy Father. Help him to be open to You so that he may speak with Your voice and set our hearts ablaze so that we can help renew the face of the earth.

Come, Holy Spirit!



Turn to the LORD in your Need

*picture from stjudechapel.org

Either you heard this verse from the Responsorial Psalm this weekend or you heard: "Your words, Lord, are spirit and life." Your parish had to decide which one to read for mass. But I really like this verse from Psalm 69. It reminds us to turn to God with our needs and trials and pains. We should look to Him for help and support, so that we will live. 

He alone can give us true life, eternal life.

It seems like so many try to figure things out for themselves. They believe that they don't need God's help or they don't ask Him for guidance. (I can definitely be this way sometimes, too.) We read self-help books and act like we have it all figured out, but we really can't when we try to do it on our own. We need the Lord's help. He gives us everything, all we need, 

if we just ask.

So let's ask! Let's run to the Lord with all our hurt and pain and our needs and hopes and sadness. He will renew us with His everlasting peace and He will give us a fulfilled life. He will give His Holy Spirit, for He is the breath of our souls and He will breathe into us and make us whole. 

Let's turn to the Lord so we will live.

...but the laborers are few.

This Sunday is yet another Sunday of Ordinary Time - the fourteenth to be exact. Since the Church doesn't recognize Ordinary Time as a period of preparation (like Lent or Advent) or a time of celebration (such as Easter or Christmas), you might think that Ordinary Time is a period where you can just relax and take a break from God. It's not. Ordinary Time is just as important as any other Church season. The Gospel of Christ is just as important and just as beautiful now 

as any other moment in time.

*picture from http://lhim.org

This Sunday, we hear Jesus saying to us that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. This may seem rather ordinary, but there is a deeper meaning behind His words. He wasn't talking about a farm near town, He was talking about the soil in our hearts. What grows there, in your heart? What seeds have you planted? What seeds have you let take root?

Our Lord plants seeds in your heart every day. They may be the words of your priest, the readings from the Bible, or the notes from an inspiring song. But there is another sower who tries so hard to plant sinister seeds. He is the devil, and he is very persistent. Each day, he plants seeds that are quite different from the seeds of God. They may be insults from an enemy, disloyalty from a friend, or temptations. He whispers growth to them, and sometimes they begin to take root and flourish in our hearts. They start to take over the other plants that Christ has planted and tried so hard to cultivate. Sometimes we don't even realize how much they take over as they consume our hearts and dominate the soil within. But they are weeds and they don't belong in the hearts of the children of God. Confession is like God pulling weeds. He takes out all the lies that were planted by the evil one. 

He makes our hearts beautiful and pure again.

Jesus says that the harvest is plentiful. There are so many hearts out there that need to bloom and flourish with the flowers of Christ and His abundant love for us. "...but the laborers are few." We are called to be those laborers. Each one of us is called to be another Christ and to sow His love in the hearts of all. Not just our friends, not just our families, but even our enemies, even those in our workplaces, even those in our schools. Since the harvest is so abundant, we need to reach out to everyone and plant in their hearts the seeds of God's Word. And if you want it to take root and grow, you have to water it by giving others the hope and light of Christ. 

The laborers are few, so let us not stand still! Let's be laborers in the hearts of all, so that everyone will come to know the love of God. Since there are so few, we cannot afford to let seeds of sin grow in our hearts. We must uproot the weeds of the devil in our own hearts, so that we may sow only the seeds of love and hope and life in the hearts of others. As Father John Corapi once said, "You need to know your faith. You cannot give what you do not have." So let's grow in our Catholic faith, so that we may share its beauty with others.

 Since there are so few laborers, we cannot afford to be mediocre Catholics. We should take charge of our faith and let it grow in our hearts. We should always continue to grow in our rich Catholic faith and reach out to others and help them grow and fall in love with the One who loves us most. So don't stand on the sidelines. Take the devil by the throat and let him know that only the love of Christ will prevail.

 THE DAYS IN WHICH WE LIVE NOW REQUIRE HEROIC CATHOLICISM, NOT CASUAL CATHOLICISM. 

WE CAN NO LONGER BE CATHOLICS BY ACCIDENT, BUT INSTEAD BE CATHOLICS BY CONVICTION.

~BISHOP DANIEL R. JENKY

Dear Jesus,

Come into our hearts.

Change us so we will love the way You love.

Teach us to live the way You live.

Show us how to plant Your seeds of love 

in the hearts of all we meet.

Shine through us so everyone will look at us 

and see only You.

Set our hearts on fire for You alone.

Give us the zeal to be true Catholics 

so we may bring others to You.

This we ask through Christ our Lord.

 Amen.

St. John the Baptist

*picture from http://www.agia-markella.org

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist. There are only three birthdays celebrated by the Catholic Church and they are the birthdays of Jesus, Mary, and Saint John the Baptist. This puts into perspective how important this man is to our faith. 

Saint John the Baptist teaches us to be humble. He teaches us to point others to Christ alone and not to ourselves. He had no pride. He didn't think much of himself. He just lead others to Christ and got out of the way. He didn't ever talk about himself. He knew what God's plan for him was, 

and so he followed it perfectly. 

I pray that we can all be more like Saint John the Baptist by being less prideful, less selfish, to do God's will in our lives, and to point others to Christ.

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.