Saints Joachim and Ann, Patrons of Generosity to Life

"Blessed are your eyes, for they see.
And blessed are your ears for they hear."

Saints Joachim and Ann, elderly parents of Mary the Mother of our Savior and heavenly patrons of generosity to new life, pray for us. May all open their eyes and ears to see and hear Jesus Christ teaching in His Church, especially in regard to the holy embrace of husband and wife, called to be radically open always to new life. Amen.
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Art: SS. Joachim and Ann, St. Ann Church, Arlington Virginia, work of the Saint Joseph Studio, http://www.saintjosephstudio.com/)

Feast of Saint James: "Can you drink the chalice..."

... that I am going to drink?"
They said to him, "We can."
He replied,
"My chalice you will indeed drink,
but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."
When the ten heard this,
they became indignant at the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said,
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.

-- Mt 20:20-28

Those who exercise authority should do so as a service. "Whoever would be great among you must be your servant." The exercise of authority is measured morally in terms of its divine origin, its reasonable nature and its specific object. No one can command or establish what is contrary to the dignity of persons and the natural law.

-- CCC 2235

Photo by Michael Krier: Saint James at Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Saint Sharbel Makhluf: "Blessed they who dwell in your house!"

... continually they praise you.

-- Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a, 11

Without always professing the three evangelical counsels publicly, hermits "devote their life to the praise of God and salvation of the world through a stricter separation from the world, the silence of solitude and assiduous prayer and penance."

-- CCC 920

They manifest to everyone the interior aspect of the mystery of the Church, that is, personal intimacy with Christ. Hidden from the eyes of men, the life of the hermit is a silent preaching of the Lord, to whom he has surrendered his life simply because he is everything to him. Here is a particular call to find in the desert, in the thick of spiritual battle, the glory of the Crucified One.

-- CCC 921

For more on Saint Sharbel at Vultus Christi blog click here.

S Mary Magdalene: "I sought Him whom my heart loves"

I found Him whom my heart loves.

-- Song of Songs, 3

1391 Holy Communion augments our union with Christ. The principal fruit of receiving the Eucharist in Holy Communion is an intimate union with Christ Jesus. Indeed, the Lord said: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him." Life in Christ has its foundation in the Eucharistic banquet: "As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me."

On the feasts of the Lord, when the faithful receive the Body of the Son, they proclaim to one another the Good News that the first fruits of life have been given, as when the angel said to Mary Magdalene, "Christ is risen!" Now too are life and resurrection conferred on whoever receives Christ. (CCC 1391)

Saint Mary Magdalene discovered the love that is the deepest, most true and most satisfying of all loves: Jesus Christ and, as for all of us, Him truly present in the Eucharist.

She returned that love in the only way possible: this Love above all loves informed and formed her life, truly transforming her into the greatest of all lovers, a saint.

Let us pray that this greatest of all loves, the Love that IS, will be our treasure, the power which transforms our lives as well.

(Art: "Noli me tangere" by Giotto.)

Our Lady of Mount Carmel: "something greater than the temple is here"

For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.

-- Mt 12:1-8

Only the divine identity of Jesus' person can justify so absolute a claim as "He who is not with me is against me"; and his saying that there was in him "something greater than Jonah,. . . greater than Solomon", something "greater than the Temple"; his reminder that David had called the Messiah his Lord, and his affirmations, "Before Abraham was, I AM", and even "I and the Father are one."

-- CCC 590

The Gospel reports many incidents when Jesus was accused of violating the sabbath law. But Jesus never fails to respect the holiness of this day. He gives this law its authentic and authoritative interpretation: "The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath." With compassion, Christ declares the sabbath for doing good rather than harm, for saving life rather than killing. The sabbath is the day of the Lord of mercies and a day to honor God. "The Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath."

-- CCC 2173

Saint Bonaventure: "My soul yearns for you in the night"

" ... yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you."

--Is 26:7-9, 12, 16-19

Scripture and Tradition never cease to teach and celebrate this fundamental truth: "The world was made for the glory of God." St. Bonaventure explains that God created all things "not to increase his glory, but to show it forth and to communicate it", for God has no other reason for creating than his love and goodness: "Creatures came into existence when the key of love opened his hand." The First Vatican Council explains:

This one, true God, of his own goodness and "almighty power", not for increasing his own beatitude, nor for attaining his perfection, but in order to manifest this perfection through the benefits which he bestows on creatures, with absolute freedom of counsel "and from the beginning of time, made out of nothing both orders of creatures, the spiritual and the corporeal. . ."

-- CCC 293

Art: Vittore Crivelli, Saint Bonaventure

“And who is my neighbor?”

“The one who treated him with mercy.... Go and do likewise.”

-- Lk 10:25-37

“The duty of making oneself a neighbor to others and actively serving them becomes even more urgent when it involves the disadvantaged, in whatever area this may be. ‘As you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’" 

-- CCC 1932

“Many sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries). Simple justice requires as much. But sin also injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationships with God and neighbor. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must ‘make satisfaction for" or ‘expiate’ his sins. This satisfaction is also called ‘penance.’ “(CCC 1459)

"The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Among all these, giving alms to the poor is one of the chief witnesses to fraternal charity: it is also a work of justice pleasing to God:

"He who has two coats, let him share with him who has none and he who has food must do likewise. But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you. If a brother or sister is ill-clad and in lack of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what does it profit?"

-- CCC 2447

 

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, C