June 5, 2013

Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

Reading 1 Tb 3:1-11a, 16-17a

Grief-stricken in spirit, I, Tobit, groaned and wept aloud.
Then with sobs I began to pray:

“You are righteous, O Lord,
and all your deeds are just;
All your ways are mercy and truth;
you are the judge of the world.
And now, O Lord, may you be mindful of me,
and look with favor upon me.
Punish me not for my sins,
nor for my inadvertent offenses,
nor for those of my ancestors.

“We sinned against you,
and disobeyed your commandments.
So you handed us over to plundering, exile, and death,
till you made us the talk and reproach of all the nations
among whom you had dispersed us.

“Yes, your judgments are many and true
in dealing with me as my sins
and those of my ancestors deserve.
For we have not kept your commandments,
nor have we trodden the paths of truth before you.

“So now, deal with me as you please,
and command my life breath to be taken from me,
that I may go from the face of the earth into dust.
It is better for me to die than to live,
because I have heard insulting calumnies,
and I am overwhelmed with grief.

“Lord, command me to be delivered from such anguish;
let me go to the everlasting abode;
Lord, refuse me not.
For it is better for me to die
than to endure so much misery in life,
and to hear these insults!”

On the same day, at Ecbatana in Media,
it so happened that Raguel’s daughter Sarah
also had to listen to abuse,
from one of her father’s maids.
For she had been married to seven husbands,
but the wicked demon Asmodeus killed them off
before they could have intercourse with her,
as it is prescribed for wives.
So the maid said to her:
“You are the one who strangles your husbands!
Look at you!
You have already been married seven times,
but you have had no joy with any one of your husbands.
Why do you beat us? Is it on account of your seven husbands,
Because they are dead?
May we never see a son or daughter of yours!”

The girl was deeply saddened that day,
and she went into an upper chamber of her house,
where she planned to hang herself.

But she reconsidered, saying to herself:
“No! People would level this insult against my father:
‘You had only one beloved daughter,
but she hanged herself because of ill fortune!’
And thus would I cause my father in his old age
to go down to the nether world laden with sorrow.
It is far better for me not to hang myself,
but to beg the Lord to have me die,
so that I need no longer live to hear such insults.”

At that time, then, she spread out her hands,
and facing the window, poured out her prayer:

“Blessed are you, O Lord, merciful God,
and blessed is your holy and honorable name.
Blessed are you in all your works for ever!”

At that very time,
the prayer of these two suppliants
was heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God.
So Raphael was sent to heal them both:
to remove the cataracts from Tobit’s eyes,
so that he might again see God’s sunlight;
and to marry Raguel’s daughter Sarah to Tobit’s son Tobiah,
and then drive the wicked demon Asmodeus from her.

Responsorial Psalm PS 25:2-3, 4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9

R. (1) To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
In you I trust; let me not be put to shame,
let not my enemies exult over me.
No one who waits for you shall be put to shame;
those shall be put to shame who heedlessly break faith.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your kindness are from of old.
In your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way.
R. To you, O Lord, I lift my soul.

Gospel Mk 12:18-27

Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection,
came to Jesus and put this question to him, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers.
The first married a woman and died, leaving no descendants.
So the second brother married her and died, leaving no descendants,
and the third likewise.
And the seven left no descendants.
Last of all the woman also died.
At the resurrection when they arise whose wife will she be?
For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them, “Are you not misled
because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God?
When they rise from the dead,
they neither marry nor are given in marriage,
but they are like the angels in heaven.
As for the dead being raised,
have you not read in the Book of Moses,
in the passage about the bush, how God told him,
I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob?
He is not God of the dead but of the living.
You are greatly misled.”

From: Tobit 3:1-11a, 16-17a

Tobit’s Prayer in Nineveh

[1] Then in my grief I wept, and I prayed in anguish, saying, [2] “Righteous are
thou, O Lord; all thy deeds and all thy ways are mercy and truth, and thou dost
render true and righteous judgment for ever. [3] Remember me and look favorably
upon me; do not punish me for my sins and for my unwitting offenses and those
which my fathers committed before thee. [4] For they disobeyed thy command-
ments, and thou gavest us over to plunder, captivity, and death; thou madest
us a byword of reproach in all the nations among which we have been dispersed.
[5] And now thy many judgments are true in exacting penalty from me for my
sins and those of my fathers, because we did not keep thy commandments. For
we did not walk in truth before thee. [6] And now deal with me according to thy
pleasure; command my spirit to be taken up, that I may depart and become
dust. For it is better for me to die than to live, because I have heard false reproa-
ches,and great is the sorrow within me. Command that I now be released from
my distress to go to the eternal abode; do not turn thy face away from me.”

Sarah’s Misfortune

[7] On the same day, at Ecbatana in Media, it also happend that Sarah, the
daughter of Raguel, was reproached by her father’s maids, [8] because she had
been given to seven husbands, and the evil demon Asmodeus had slain each of
them before he had been with her as his wife. So the maids said to her, “Do you
not know that you strangle your husbands? You already have had seven and
have had no benefit from any of them. [9] Why do you beat us? If they are dead,
go with them! May we never see a son or daughter of yours!”

[10] When she heard these things she was deeply grieved, even to the thought
of hanging herself. But she said, “I am the only child of my father, if I do this, it
will be a disgrace to him, and I shall bring his old age down in sorrow to the
grave.

Sarah’s Prayer in Media

[11a] So she prayed by her window and said, “Blessed art thou, Lord my God,
and blessed is thy holy and honored name forever.

The Prayers of Tobit and Sarah are Heard

[16] The prayer of both was heard in the presence of the glory of the great God.
[17a] And Raphael was sent to heal the two of them: to scale away the white
films of Tobit’s eyes; to give Sarah the daughter of Raguel in marriage to Tobias
the son of Tobit, and to bind Asmodeus the evil demon.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

3:1-6. Tobit does not reply to his wife’s criticism; instead he entreats God in lan-
guage reminiscent of the Psalms—but whereas the Psalms always pray for health
and salvation, Tobit ends up praying for death. In this he is like Job (cf. Job 3:20-
23), although Tobit acknowledges that God is right to punish him for his sins and
those of his fathers, for which he feels responsible.

From the Greek text (where the RSV follows) one cannot deduce that Tobit envi-
sages eternal life as a place of repose and joy in the presence of God; he sees it
a place where the dead will dwell for all eternity. But the Latin version of the Vul-
gate implies that Tobit looks forward to being with the Lord. In any event, Tobit
puts his trust in God, which means he can desire death, in the same sort of way
that “the Christian can experience a desire for death like St Paul’s: ‘My desire is
to depart and be with Christ’ (Phil 1:23). He can transform his own death into an
act of obedience and love towards the Father, after the example of Christ” (”Cate-
chism of the Catholic Church”, 1011).

3:7-10. The narrator now takes over again (cf. 1:1-2), to introduce another Jewish
family in exile which also finds itself in great difficulty. Tobit’s and Sarah’s are two
stories in parallel butt pointing out that their prayers are spoken on the same day,
the writer makes it clear that they meet in God.

Sarah’s goodness can be seen from the fact that she is obedient to her father
and is worried on his account (v. 10). The demon’s name, Asmodeus (v. 8), is
reminiscent of “Aeshma Deva”, one of the seven evil spirits the Persians believed
in, but it may also come from a Hebrew word (”smd”) which means “to destroy,
to annihilate”. Asmodeus is the demon who destroys Sarah’s husbands.

The text does not say that the demon was infatuated with Sarah, as some have
interpreted; what he seems to want is to drive her to despair, as happened in the
case of Job. In fact Sarah is on the edge of committing the grave sin of suicide,
but her love for her father holds her back. To avoid tainting Sarah with the thought
of suicide, the Vulgate says that “she went into an upper chamber of her house:
and for three days and three nights did neither eat nor drink: but continuing in
prayer with tears besought God, that he would deliver her from this reproach.”

Suicide very rarely appears in the Bible (cf. 2 Sam 17:23), and Scripture makes
no moral judgment on it; but from the fifth commandment (cf. Ex 20:15; Deut 5:
17) one can deduce that it is condemned: “Suicide contradicts the natural incli-
nation of the human being to preserve and perpetuate his life. It is gravely contra-
ry to the just love of self. It likewise offends love of neighbor because it unjustly
breaks the ties of solidarity with family, nation and other human societies to
which we continue to have obligations. Suicide is contrary to love for the living
God” (”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 2281).

3:11-15. The gesture of praying at the window with arms outstretched probably
means that she was holding them towards Jerusalem, as any good Jew should
do when praying (cf. Dan 6:10). Sarah’s prayer begins with praise of God and
then she immediately goes on to pray for death (v. 10). She explains her predi-
cament to God: she is innocent (vv. 14-15) and yet she is being condemned to
have no heirs—and, according to Jewish thinking at the time, life holds no mea-
ning for someone in that situation; even her maidservants jeer at her. But Sarah
leaves it up to God to sort things out; to her, death seems the only solution (v.
15). God can indeed come to our aid in unexpected ways, for “Providence is the
care God provides for everything that exists. [...] Moreover, divine providence
has countless ways of working: so many, that they can not be accounted for in
words or comprehended by the mind. It cannot be denied that all the calamities
that befall men work for the salvation those who endure them giving thanks and
thus win great reward for themselves. For God, according to his will that informs
all things, desires that all be saved and come to be members his kingdom (cf.
1 Tim 2:4): he has not created us in order to punish us, but rather, being good,
he wants us partake of his goodness” (St John Damascene, “Expositio Fidei
Orthodoxae”, 2, 29).

3:16-17. Two things are stressed: God listens to prayers when they come from
the heart; and he responds with mercy, wisdom and providence in ways that ex-
ceed man’s expectations. Now, by one and the same action (the dispatch of the
angel Raphael) he comes to the rescue of Sarah and Tobit. The angel’s name,
meaning “God has cured” or “God’s medicine”, indicates the remedy God is
going to provide: in a way it reveals the final outcome of the story.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Mark 12:18-27

The Resurrection of the Dead

[18] And Sadducees came to Him (Jesus), who say that there is no resurrection;
and they asked Him a question, saying [19] “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that
if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take
the wife, and raise up children for his brother. [20] There were seven brothers;
the first took a wife, and when he died left no children; [21] and the second took
her, and died, leaving no children; and the third likewise; [22] and the seven left
no children. Last of all the woman also died. [23] In the resurrection whose wife
will she be? For the seven had her as wife.”

[24] Jesus said to them, “Is not this why you are wrong, that you know neither
the Scriptures nor the power of God? [25] For when they rise from the dead,
they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in Heaven. [26]
And as for being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage
about the bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? [27] He is not God of the dead, but of the living;
you are quite wrong.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

18-27. Before answering the difficulty proposed by the Sadducees, Jesus wants
to identify the source of the problem—man’s tendency to confine the greatness of
God inside a human framework through excessive reliance on reason, not giving
due weight to divine Revelation and the power of God. A person can have difficul-
ty with the truths of faith; this is not surprising, for these truths are above human
reason. But it is ridiculous to try to find contradictions in the revealed word of
God; this only leads away from any solution of difficulty and may make it impos-
sible to find one’s way back to God. We need to approach Sacred Scripture, and,
in general, the things of God, with the humility which faith demands. In the pas-
sage about the burning bush, which Jesus quotes to the Sadducees, God says
this to Moses: “Put off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you
stand is holy ground” (Exodus 3:5).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading	Tobit 3:1-11,16-17 ©

Sad at heart, I, Tobit, sighed and wept, and began this prayer of lamentation:

‘You are just, O Lord,

and just are all your works.

All your ways are grace and truth,

and you are the Judge of the world.

‘Therefore, Lord, remember me, look on me.

Do not punish me for my sins

or for my heedless faults

or for those of my fathers.

‘For we have sinned against you

and broken your commandments;

and you have given us over to be plundered,

to captivity and death,

to be the talk, the laughing-stock and scorn

of all the nations among whom you have dispersed us.

‘Whereas all your decrees are true

when you deal with me as my faults deserve,

and those of my fathers,

since we have neither kept your commandments

nor walked in truth before you;

so now, do with me as you will;

be pleased to take my life from me;

I desire to be delivered from earth

and to become earth again.

For death is better for me than life.

I have been reviled without a cause

and I am distressed beyond measure.

‘Lord, I wait for the sentence you will give

to deliver me from this affliction.

Let me go away to my everlasting home;

do not turn your face from me, O Lord.

For it is better to die than still to live

in the face of trouble that knows no pity;

I am weary of hearing myself traduced.’

It chanced on the same day that Sarah the daughter of Raguel, who lived in Media at Ecbatana, also heard insults from one of her father’s maids. You must know that she had been given in marriage seven times, and that Asmodeus, that worst of demons, had killed her bridegrooms one after another before ever they had slept with her as man with wife. The servant-girl said, ‘Yes, you kill your bridegrooms yourself. That makes seven already to whom you have been given, and you have not once been in luck yet. Just because your bridegrooms have died, that is no reason for punishing us. Go and join them, and may we be spared the sight of any child of yours!’ That day, she grieved, she sobbed, and went up to her father’s room intending to hang herself. But then she thought, ‘Suppose they blamed my father! They will say, “You had an only daughter whom you loved, and now she has hanged herself for grief.” I cannot cause my father a sorrow which would bring down his old age to the dwelling of the dead. I should do better not to hang myself, but to beg the Lord to let me die and not live to hear any more insults.’

This time the prayer of each of them found favour before the glory of God, and Raphael was sent to bring remedy to them both. He was to take the white spots from the eyes of Tobit, so that he might see God’s light with his own eyes; and he was to give Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, as bride to Tobias son of Tobit, and to rid her of Asmodeus, that worst of demons. For it was to Tobias before all other suitors that she belonged by right. Tobit was coming back from the courtyard into the house at the same moment as Sarah, the daughter of Raguel, was coming down from the upper room.

Psalm	Psalm 24:2-9 ©

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

I trust you, let me not be disappointed;

do not let my enemies triumph.

Those who hope in you shall not be disappointed,

but only those who wantonly break faith.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

Lord, make me know your ways.

Lord, teach me your paths.

Make me walk in your truth, and teach me:

for you are God my saviour.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

In you I hope all day long

because of your goodness, O Lord.

Remember your mercy, Lord,

and the love you have shown from of old.

Do not remember the sins of my youth.

In your love remember me.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

The Lord is good and upright.

He shows the path to those who stray,

He guides the humble in the right path,

He teaches his way to the poor.

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

Gospel Acclamation	Jn17:17

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your word is truth, O Lord:

consecrate us in the truth.

Alleluia!

Or	Jn11:25, 26

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;

whoever believes in me will never die.

Alleluia!

Gospel	Mark 12:18-27 ©

Some Sadducees – who deny that there is a resurrection – came to him and they put this question to him, ‘Master, we have it from Moses in writing, if a man’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first married a wife and then died leaving no children. The second married the widow, and he too died leaving no children; with the third it was the same, and none of the seven left any children. Last of all the woman herself died. Now at the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be, since she had been married to all seven?’

Jesus said to them, ‘Is not the reason why you go wrong, that you understand neither the scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry; no, they are like the angels in heaven. Now about the dead rising again, have you never read in the Book of Moses, in the passage about the Bush, how God spoke to him and said: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob? He is God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are very much mistaken.’

Jesus, High Priest

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.
Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.
Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.
Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.
Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.
Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.
O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.
Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests
This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.
The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.
The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.
Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.
St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

Pray the Rosary

1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:

Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

The Mysteries of the Rosary

By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary.
The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Glorious Mysteries
(Wednesdays and Sundays)
1.The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-18, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29) [Spiritual fruit - Faith]
2. The Ascension (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11) [Spiritual fruit - Christian Hope]
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-13) [Spiritual fruit - Gifts of the Holy Spirit]
4. The Assumption [Spiritual fruit - To Jesus through Mary]
5. The Coronation [Spiritual fruit - Grace of Final Perseverance]

A Prayer for our Free Nation Under God
God Save Our Country web site (prayer warriors)
Prayer Chain Request for the United States of America
Pray for Nancy Pelosi
Prayer and fasting will help defeat health care reform (Freeper Prayer Thread)
Prayer Campaign Started to Convert Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians to Pro-Life
[Catholic Caucus] One Million Rosaries
Non-stop Rosary vigil to defeat ObamaCare

From an Obama bumper sticker on a car:

"Pray for Obama. Psalm 109:8"

PLEASE JOIN US -

Evening Prayer
Someone has said that if people really understood the full extent of the power we have available through prayer, we might be speechless.
Did you know that during WWII there was an advisor to Churchill who organized a group of people who dropped what they were doing every day at a prescribed hour for one minute to collectively pray for the safety of England, its people and peace?

There is now a group of people organizing the same thing here in America. If you would like to participate: Every evening at 9:00 PM Eastern Time (8:00 PM Central) (7:00 PM Mountain) (6:00 PM Pacific), stop whatever you are doing and spend one minute praying for the safety of the United States, our troops, our citizens, and for a return to a Godly nation. If you know anyone else who would like to participate, please pass this along. Our prayers are the most powerful asset we have. Please forward this to your praying friends.

June Devotion: The Sacred Heart

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of June is set apart for devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. "From among all the proofs of the infinite goodness of our Savior none stands out more prominently than the fact that, as the love of the faithful grew cold, He, Divine Love Itself, gave Himself to us to be honored by a very special devotion and that the rich treasury of the Church was thrown wide open in the interests of that devotion." These words of Pope Pius XI refer to the Sacred Heart Devotion, which in its present form dates from the revelations given to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673-75.

The devotion consists in the divine worship of the human heart of Christ, which is united to His divinity and which is a symbol of His love for us. The aim of the devotion is to make our Lord king over our hearts by prompting them to return love to Him (especially through an act of consecration by which we offer to the Heart of Jesus both ourselves and all that belongs to us) and to make reparation for our ingratitude to God.

INVOCATION

O Heart of love, I put all my trust in Thee; for I fear all things from my own weakness, but I hope for all things from Thy goodness.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

PRAYER TO THE SACRED HEART

Devotion to the Sacred Heart was the characteristic note of the piety of Saint Gertrude the Great (1256-1302), Benedictine nun and renowned mystic. She was, in fact, the first great exponent of devotion to the Sacred Heart. In our efforts to honor the Heart of Jesus we have this prayer as a model for our own:
Hail! O Sacred Heart of Jesus, living and quickening source of eternal life, infinite treasure of the Divinity, and burning furnace of divine love. Thou art my refuge and my sanctuary, 0 my amiable Savior. Consume my heart with that burning fire with which Thine is ever inflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Thy love, and let my heart be so united with Thine, that our wills may be one, and mine in all things be conformed to Thine. May Thy divine will be equally the standard and rule of all my desires and of all my actions. Amen.
Saint Gertrude

FOR THE CHURCH

O most holy Heart of Jesus, shower Thy blessings in abundant measure upon Thy holy Church, upon the Supreme Pontiff and upon all the clergy; to the just grant perseverance; convert sinners; enlighten unbelievers; bless our relations, friends and benefactors; assist the dying; deliver the holy souls in purgatory; and extend over all hearts the sweet empire of Thy love. Amen.

A PRAYER OF TRUST

O God, who didst in wondrous manner reveal to the virgin, Margaret Mary, the unsearchable riches of Thy Heart, grant that loving Thee, after her example, in all things and above all things, we may in Thy Heart find our abiding home.
Roman Missal

ACT OF LOVE

Reveal Thy Sacred Heart to me, O Jesus, and show me Its attractions. Unite me to It for ever. Grant that all my aspirations and all the beats of my heart, which cease not even while I sleep, may be a testimonial to Thee of my love for Thee and may say to Thee: Yes, Lord, I am all Thine;
pledge of my allegiance to Thee rests ever in my heart will never cease to be there. Do Thou accept the slight amount of good that I do and be graciously pleased to repair all m] wrong-doing; so that I may be able to bless Thee in time and in eternity. Amen.
Cardinal Merry del Val

MEMORARE TO THE SACRED HEART
Remember, O most sweet Jesus, that no one who has had recourse to Thy Sacred Heart, implored its help, or sought it mercy was ever abandoned. Encouraged with confidence, O tenderest of hearts, we present ourselves before Thee, crushes beneath the weight of our sins. In our misery, O Sacred Hear. of Jesus, despise not our simple prayers, but mercifully grant our requests.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

Only for Love: The Sacred Heart and the Priesthood [Catholic Caucus]

Catholic Word of the Day: LITANY OF THE SACRED HEART, 10-19-09
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Devotion to the Sacred Heart Today
The Biblical Foundation of Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [Ecumenical]
Heart to Heart (Sacred Heart of Jesus Devotion) [St. Margaret Mary Alacoque]
(June) The Month of the Sacred Heart {Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
First Friday Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus [St. Margaret Mary Alacoque]
The Heart of the World (On the Sacred Heart of Jesus) (Catholic Caucus)
The Sacred Heart Is The Holy Eucharist(Catholic Caucus)
The Origin of the Sacred Heart Badge

Importance of Devotion to the Sacred Heart
An Awesome Homily on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus by Father Edmond Kline
Catholic Prayer and Devotion: June the Month of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Devotions: Sacred Heart of Jesus
Pope Urges Jesuits to Spread Sacred Heart Devotion
Homilies preached by Father Altier on the Feast of the Sacred Heart
Catholic Meditation and Devotion: The Sacred Heart of Jesus
Daily Recomendation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus powerful prayer!
The Sacred Heart and the Eucharist
The Love of the Sacred Heart

On the Sacred Heart - "We Adore God's Love of Humanity"
HAURIETIS AQUAS (On Devotion To The Sacred Heart) - Encyclical by Pope Pius XII
Solemnity Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary
Sacred Heart a Feast of God's Love, Says John Paul II
The Sacred Heart of Jesus: Symbol of Combativity and the Restoration of Christendom
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus-The Early Church, Middle Ages up to St. Margaret Mary
See this Heart
‘God Will Act and Will Reign’
About Devotion To The Sacred Heart:The Story Of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque
Rediscover Feast of Sacred Heart, John Paul II Tells Youth

"Behold this Heart which has loved men so much, and yet men do not want to love Me in return. Through you My divine Heart wishes to spread its love everywhere on earth."

- Jesus to Saint Margaret Mary

Our Lord also made 12 promises to St. Margaret Mary for those that are devoted to His Sacred Heart.

I will give them all the graces necessary for their state in life.
I will give peace in their families.
I will console them in all their troubles.
They shall find in My Heart an assured refuge during life and especially at the hour of death.
I will pour abundant blessings on all their undertakings.
Sinners shall find in My Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
Tepid souls shall become fervent.
Fervent souls shall speedily rise to great perfection.
I will bless the homes in which the image of My Sacred Heart shall be exposed and honoured.
I will give to priests the power to touch the most hardened hearts.
Those who propagate this devotion shall have their name written in My Heart, and it shall never be effaced.
The all-powerful love of My Heart will grant to all those who shall receive Communion on the First Friday of nine consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they shall not die under My displeasure, nor without receiving their Sacraments; My Heart shall be their assured refuge at the last hour.

Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr
Memorial
June 5th

Saint Boniface Baptizing and Martyrdom
illustration from Sacramentary of Fulda, 11th Cent.)

Saint Boniface, a Benedictine monk, was born in England. He was consecrated the first bishop of Germany after only four years of preaching there. He organized the Church in this area. He was martyred while preaching among the Frisians.

Collect:
May the Martyr Saint Boniface be our advocate, O Lord,
that we may firmly hold the faith
he taught with his lips and sealed in his blood
and confidently profess it by our deeds.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: Acts 26:19-23

"Wherefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and perform deeds worthy of their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, He would proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles."

Gospel Reading: John 10:11-16

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know My own and My own know Me, as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed My voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.

June 5, 2013

Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr

Reading 1 Tb 3:1-11a, 16-17a

Responsorial Psalm PS 25:2-3, 4-5ab, 6 and 7bc, 8-9

Gospel Mk 12:18-27

Readings at Mass

Wednesday of the Ninth week in Ordinary Time