June 13, 2014

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church

At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave, where he took shelter.
But the word of the LORD came to him,
“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by.”
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.
A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?”
He replied, “I have been most zealous for the LORD,
the God of hosts.
But the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant,
torn down your altars,
and put your prophets to the sword.
I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”
The LORD said to him,
“Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus.
When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram.
Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel,
and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah,
as prophet to succeed you.”

Responsorial Psalm Ps 27:7-8a, 8b-9abc, 13-14

R. (8b) I long to see your face, O Lord.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. I long to see your face, O Lord.

Gospel Mt 5:27-32

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you,
everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.

“It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful)
causes her to commit adultery,
and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”

Memorial: St Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor

From: 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-16

Elijah’s encounter with God

[9a] And there he came to a cave, and lodged there; and behold, the word of the
Lord came to him. [11] And he said, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before
the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the
mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not
in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earth-
quake; [12] and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and
after the fire a still small voice. [13] And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his
face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And be-
hold, there came a voice to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
[14] He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the peo-
ple of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thy altars, and slain they
prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take
it away.” [15[ And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness
of Damascus; and when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria;
[16] and Jehu the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet
in your place.

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

19:9-14. “Taking the desert road that leads to the place where the living and true
God reveals himself to this people, Elijah, like Moses before him, hides ‘in a cleft
of the rock’ until the mysterious presence of God has passed by (cf. 1 Kings 19:
1- 14; cf. Ex 33:19-23). But only on the mountain of the Transfiguration will Moses
and Elijah behold the unveiled face of him whom they sought; ‘the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God [shines] in the face of Christ’, crucified and risen
(cf. 2 Cor 4:6)” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2583). There is a sharp con-
trast between the spectacular forces of nature, in which God is not present, and
the small still voice of a gentle breeze in which Elijah recognizes God to be pre-
sent (vv. 11-13). “In this way,” writes St Irenaeus, “the prophet, who was great-
ly downcast by the transgression of the people and the murder of the prophets,
learned to work with greater calm, and thus also the coming of the Lord in human
form is signified. In the light of the Law given to Moses, his coming will be seen
as an untroubled time when the bent reed will not be crushed nor the flickering
flame quenched. The sweet rest and peace of his reign is foreshadowed here
as well. After the wind that moves mountains, after earthquake and fire, the calm
and peaceful age of his reign will come, in which the Spirit of God will revitalize
and gently encourage the growth of man” (Adversus haereses, 4, 20, 10).

19:15-18. It is important to note that the “anointing” given to the prophet Elisha
is on a par with that given to the kings – and that there is already a reference
here to the remnant of Israel (cf. Is 4:3).

*********************************************************************************************
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: Matthew 5:27-32

Jesus and His Teaching, the Fulfillment of the Law (Continuation)

(Jesus said to His disciples:) [27] “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not
commit adultery.’ [28] But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lust-
fully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. [29] If your right eye cau-
ses you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your
members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. [30] And if your right hand
causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better that you lose one of your
members than that your whole body go into hell.

[31] “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of
divorce.’ [32] But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the
ground of unchastity, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced
woman commits adultery.”

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

27-30. This refers to a sinful glance at any woman, be she married or not. Our
Lord fills out the precepts of the Old Law, where only adultery and the coveting
of one’s neighbor’s wife were considered sinful.

“Lustfully”: feeling is one thing, consenting another. Consent presupposes that
one realizes the evil of these actions (looking, imagining, having impure thoughts)
and freely engages in them.

Prohibition of vices always implies a positive aspect — the contrary virtue. Holy pu-
rity, like every other virtue, is something eminently positive; it derives from the First
Commandment and is also directed to it: “You shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37). “Purity is a
consequence of the love that prompts us to commit to Christ our soul and body,
our faculties and senses. It is not something negative; it is a joyful affirmation” (St.
J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 5). This virtue demands that we use all the re-
sources available to us, to the point of heroism if necessary.

“Right eye”, “right hand”, refers to whatever we value most. Our Lord lays it on the
line and it not exaggerating. He obviously does not mean that we should physically
mutilate ourselves, but that we should fight hard without making any concessions,
being ready to sacrifice anything which clearly could put us in the way of offending
God. Jesus’ graphic words particularly warn us about one of the most common oc-
casions of sin, reminding us of how careful we need to be guarding our sight. King
David, by indulging his curiosity, went on to commit adultery and crime. He later
wept over his sins and led a holy life in the presence of God (cf. 2 Samuel 11 and
12).

“The eyes! Through them many iniquities enter the soul. So many experiences
like David’s! — If you guard your sight you will have assured the guard of your
heart: (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 183).

Among the ascetical methods of protecting the virtue of holy purity are: frequent
Confession and Communion; devotion to our Lady; a spirit of prayer and mortifica-
tion; guarding of the senses; flight from occasions of sin; and striving to avoid idle-
ness by always being engaged in doing useful things. There are two further
\means which are particularly relevant today: “Decorum and modesty are younger
brothers of purity” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 128). Decorum and modesty are a
sign of good taste, of respect for others and of human and Christian dignity. To
act in accord with this teaching of our Lord, the Christian has to row against the
current in a paganized environment and bring his influence for good to bear on it.

“There is need for a crusade of manliness and purity to counteract and undo the
savage work of those who think that man is a beast. And that crusade is a mat-
ter for you” (St. J. Escriva, “The Way”, 121).

31-32. The Law of Moses (Deuteronomy 24:1), which was laid down in ancient
times, had tolerated divorce due to the hardness of heart of the early Hebrews.
But it had not specified clearly the grounds on which divorce might be obtained.
The rabbis worked out different sorts of interpretations, depending on which
school they belonged to — solutions ranging from very lax to quite rigid. In all cases,
only husband could repudiate wife, not vice-versa. A woman’s inferior position was
eased somewhat by the device of a written document whereby the husband freed
the repudiated woman to marry again if she wished. Against these rabbinical inter-
pretations, Jesus re-establishes the original indissolubility of marriage as God in-
stituted it (Genesis 1:27; 2:24; cf. Matthew 19:4-6; Ephesians 1:31; 1 Corinthians
7:10).

[The RSVCE carries a note which reads: “unchastity”: The Greek word used here
appears to refer to marriages which were not legally marriages, because they were
within the forbidden degrees of consanguinity (Leviticus 18:6-16) or contracted
with a Gentile. The phrase “except on the ground of unchastity” does not occur in
the parallel passage in Luke 16:18. See also Matthew 19:9 (Mark 10:11-12), and
especially 1 Corinthians 7:10-11, which shows that the prohibition is unconditional.]
The phrase “except on the ground of unchastity” should not be taken as indicating
an exception to the principle of absolute indissolubility of marriage which Jesus
has just re-established. It is almost certain that the phrase refers to unions accep-
ted as marriage among some pagan people, but prohibited as incestuous in the
Mosaic Law (cf. Leviticus 18) and in rabbinical tradition. The reference, then, is to
unions radically invalid because of some impediment. When persons in this posi-
tion were converted to the True Faith, it was not that their union could be dissolved;
it was declared that they had never in fact been joined in true marriage. Therefore,
this phrase does not do against the indissolubility of marriage, but rather reaffirms
it.

On the basis of Jesus’ teaching and guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church has
ruled that in the specially grave case of adultery it is permissible for a married cou-
ple to separate, but without the marriage bond being dissolved; therefore, neither
party may contract a new marriage.

The indissolubility of marriage was unhesitatingly taught by the Church from the
very beginning; she demanded practical and legal recognition of this doctrine, ex-
pounded with full authority by Jesus (Matthew 19:3-9; Mark 10:1-12; Luke 16:18)
and by the Apostles (1 Corinthians 6:16; 7:10-11; 39; Romans 7:2-3; Ephe\sians
5:31f). Here, for example, are just a few texts from the Magisterium on this sub-
ject:

“Three blessings are ascribed to matrimony [...]. The third is the indissolubility of
matrimony — indissoluble because it signifies the indivisible union of Christ with
the Church. Although a separation from bed may be permitted by reason of marital
infidelity, nevertheless it is not permitted to contract another matrimony since the
bond of a marriage lawfully contracted is perpetual” (Council of Florence, “Pro Ar-
meniis”).

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

Readings at Mass

First reading

1 Kings 19:9,11-16 ©

When Elijah reached Horeb, the mountain of God, he went into the cave and spent the night in it. Then he was told, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord.’ Then the Lord himself went by. There came a mighty wind, so strong it tore the mountains and shattered the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind came an earthquake. But the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there came the sound of a gentle breeze. And when Elijah heard this, he covered his face with his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then a voice came to him, which said, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He replied, ‘I am filled with jealous zeal for the Lord of Hosts, because the sons of Israel have deserted you, broken down your altars and put your prophets to the sword. I am the only one left and they want to kill me.’

‘Go,’ the Lord said, ‘go back by the same way to the wilderness of Damascus. You are to go and anoint Hazael as king of Aram. You are to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king of Israel, and to anoint Elisha son of Shaphat, of Abel Meholah, as prophet to succeed you.’

Psalm

Psalm 26:7-9,13-14 ©

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.

O Lord, hear my voice when I call;

have mercy and answer.

Of you my heart has spoken:

‘Seek his face.’

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;

hide not your face.

Dismiss not your servant in anger;

you have been my help.

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness

in the land of the living.

Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.

Hope in the Lord!

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek.

Gospel Acclamation

Jn10:27

Alleluia, alleluia!

The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,

says the Lord,

I know them and they follow me.

Alleluia!

Or	Ph2:15-16

Alleluia, alleluia!

You will shine in the world like bright stars

because you are offering it the word of life.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 5:27-32 ©

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘You have learnt how it was said: You must not commit adultery. But I say this to you: if a man looks at a woman lustfully, he has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye should cause you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body thrown into hell. And if your right hand should cause you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; for it will do you less harm to lose one part of you than to have your whole body go to hell.

‘It has also been said: Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a writ of dismissal. But I say this to you: everyone who divorces his wife, except for the case of fornication, makes her an adulteress; and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.’

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: II 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 Sorrowful Mysteries
(Tuesdays and Fridays)
1. The Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46) [Spiritual fruit - God's will be done]
2. The Scourging at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15, John 19:1) [Spiritual fruit - Mortification of the senses]
3. The Crowning with Thorns (Matthew 27:27-30, Mark 15:16-20, John 19:2) [Spiritual fruit - Reign of Christ in our heart]
4. The Carrying of the Cross (Matthew 27:31-32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26-32, John 19:17) [Spiritual fruit - Patient bearing of trials]
5. The Crucifixion (Matthew 27:33-56, Mark 15:22-39, Luke 23:33-49, John 19:17-37) [Spiritual fruit - Pardoning of Injuries]

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 its mercy was ever abandoned. Encouraged with confidence, O tenderest of hearts, we present ourselves before Thee, crushed beneath the weight of our sins. In our misery, O Sacred Heart of Jesus, despise not our simple prayers, but mercifully grant our requests. Amen.

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.

Daily Gospel Commentary

Friday of the Tenth week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Paul VI, Pope from 1963-1978
Address of 04/05/1970 to the Équipes Notre Dame (© copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana)

«God created man in his image..., man and woman he created them » (Gn 1,27)

As holy Scripture teaches us, before being a sacrament marriage is a great, earthly reality. “God created man in his image; in the image of God he created him, man and woman he created them.” We always have to go back to that first page of the Bible if we would understand what is, what should be a human couple, a home... The duality of the sexes has been willed by God that, together, man and woman might be in the image of God and, like him, a source of life: “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it” (v.28). A careful reading of the prophets, the Wisdom books, the New Testament, shows us, besides, the meaning of this fundamental reality and teaches us not to reduce it to physical desire... but to discover in it the complementarity of man and women's values, the greatness and the fragility of conjugal love, its fruitfulness and its openness to the mystery of God's plan of love. Today this teaching retains all its value and arms us against temptations to a destructive eroticism...

As Christians know, human love is good in its origins and if, like everything in man, it is wounded and deformed by sin, it finds healing and redemption in Christ... How many couples have found their way to sanctity in their conjugal life, in that community of life that is the only one to be founded on a sacrament! Work of the Holy Spirit, baptismal rebirth makes “, “a new creation” of us, “so that we too might live in newness of life” (cf Tt 3,5; Gal 6,15; Rm 6,4). In this great work of renewing all things in Christ, marriage too, purified and renewed, becomes a new reality, a sacrament of the New Covenant. And see how, at the threshold of the New Testament as at the entrance to the Old, there stands a couple. But whereas that represented by Adam and Eve was the source of the evil unleashed on the world, that of Joseph and Mary is the summit from which holiness spreads over all the earth.

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