For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

Alleluia Ping

Please FReepmail me to get on/off the Alleluia Ping List.

From: Exodus 11:10-12:14

[10] Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh; and the Lord har-
dened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the people of Israel go out of his land.

The Institution of the Passover

[1] The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, [2] “This month shall
be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.
[3] Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they shall
take every man a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household;
[4] and if the household is too small for a lamb, then a man and his neighbor next
to his house shall take according to the number of persons; according to what
each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. [5] Your lamb shall be with-
out blemish, a male a year old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats;
[6] and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole as-
sembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening. [7] Then
they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel
of the houses in which they eat them. [8] They shall eat the flesh that night, roa-
sted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. [9] Do not eat any
of it raw or boiled with water, but roasted, its head with its legs and its inner parts.
[10] And you shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains
until the morning you shall burn.

[11] In this manner you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet,
and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s passover.
[12] For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite all the
firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all, the gods of Egypt
I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. [13] The blood shall be a sign for you,
upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you,
and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

[14] “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast
to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for
ever.”

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

12:1-14. This discourse of the Lord contains a number of rules for celebrating the
Passover and the events commemorated in it; it is a kind of catechetical-liturgical
text which admirably summarizes the profound meaning of that feast.

The Passover probably originated as a shepherds’ feast held in springtime, when
lambs are born and the migration to summer pastures was beginning; a new-born
lamb was sacrificed and its blood used to perform a special rite in petition for the
protection and fertility of the flocks. But once this feast became connected with
the history of the Exodus it acquired a much deeper meaning, as did the rites at-
taching to it.

Thus, the “congregation” (v. 3) comprises all the Israelites organized as a reli-
gious community to commemorate the most important event in their history, de-
liverance from bondage.

The victim will be a lamb, without blemish (v. 5) because it is to be offered to
God. Smearing the doorposts and lintel with the blood of the victim (vv. 7. 13),
an essential part of the rite, signifies protection from dangers. The Passover is
essentially sacrificial from the very start.

The meal (v. 11) is also a necessary part, and the manner in which it is held is
a very appropriate way of showing the urgency imposed by circumstances: there
is no time to season it (v. 9); no other food is eaten with it, except for the bread
and desert herbs (a sign of indigence); the dress and posture of those taking part
(standing, wearing sandals and holding a staff) show that they are on a journey.
In the later liturgical commemoration of the Passover, these things indicate that
the Lord is passing among his people.

The rules laid down for the Passover are evocative of very ancient nomadic desert
rites, where there was no priest or temple or altar. When the Israelites had settled
in Palestine, the Passover continued to be celebrated at home, always retaining
the features of a sacrifice, a family meal and, very especially, a memorial of the
deliverance the Lord brought about on that night.

Our Lord chose the context of the Passover Supper to institute the Eucharist:
“By celebrating the Last Supper with his apostles in the course of the Passover
meal, Jesus gave the Jewish Passover its definitive meaning. Jesus’ passing over
to his Father by his death and Resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipated in
the Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist, which fulfills the Jewish Passover
and anticipates the final Passover of the Church in the glory of the kingdom”
(”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 1340).

12:2. This event is so important that it is going to mark the starting point in the
reckoning of time. In the history of Israel there are two types of calendar, both
based on the moon—one which begins the year in the autumn, after the feast of
Weeks (cf. 23:16; 34:22), and the other beginning it in spring, between March
and April. This second calendar probably held sway for quite a long time, for we
know that the first month, known as Abib (spring) — cf. 13:4; 23:18; 34:18 — was
called, in the post-exilic period (from the 6th century BC onwards) by the Baby-
lonian name of Nisan (Neh 2:1; Esther 3:7). Be that as it may, the fact that this
month is called the first month is a way of highlighting the importance of the
event which is going to be commemorated (the Passover).

12:11. Even now it is difficult to work out the etymology of the word “Passover”.
In other Semitic languages it means “joy” or “festive joy” or also “ritual and fes-
tive leap”. In the Bible the same root means “dancing or limping” in an idolatrous
rite (cf. 1 Kings 18:21, 26) and “protecting” (cf. Is 31:5), so it could mean “punish-
ment, lash” and also “salvation, protection”. In the present text the writer is provi-
ding a popular, non-scholarly etymology, and it is taken as meaning that “the
Lord passes through”, slaying Egyptians and sparing the Israelites.

In the New Testament it will be applied to Christ’s passage to the Father by
death and resurrection, and the Church’s “passage” to the eternal Kingdom: “The
Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when
she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection” (”Catechism of the Catholic
Church”, 677).

12:14. The formal tone of these words gives an idea of the importance the Pass-
over always had. If the historical books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings)
hardly mention it, the reason is that they allude only to sacrifices in the temple
and the Passover was always celebrated in people’s homes. When the temple
ceased to be (6th century BC), the feast acquired more prominence, as can be
seen from the post-exilic biblical texts (cf Ezra 6:19-22; 2 Chron 30:1-27; 35:1-
19) and extra-biblical texts such as the famous “Passover papyrus Elephantine”
(Egypt) of the 5th century BC. In Jesus’ time a solemn passover sacrifice was
celebrated in the temple the passover meal was held at home.

*********************************************************************************************
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 12:1-8

The Question of the Sabbath

[1] At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; His disciples
were hungry, and they began to pluck ears of grain and to eat. [2] But when the
Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is not
lawful to do on the Sabbath.” [3] He said to them, “Have you not read what David
did, when he was hungry, and those who were with him: [4] how he entered the
house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him
to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? [5] Or have you
not read in the law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sab-
bath, and are guiltless? [6] I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.
[7] And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’
you would not have condemned the guiltless. [8] For the Son of Man is Lord of
the Sabbath.”

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

2. “The Sabbath”: this was the day the Jews set aside for worshipping God. God
Himself, the originator of the Sabbath (Genesis 2:3), ordered the Jewish people to
avoid certain kinds of work on this day (Exodus 20:8-11; 21:13; Deuteronomy 5:
14) to leave them free to give more time to God. As time went by, the rabbis com-
plicated this divine precept: by Jesus’ time they had extended to 39 the list of
kinds of forbidden work.

The Pharisees accuse Jesus’ disciples of breaking the Sabbath. In the casuistry
of the scribes and the Pharisees, plucking ears of corn was the same as harves-
ting, and crushing them was the same as milling—types of agricultural work for-
bidden on the Sabbath.

3-8. Jesus rebuts the Pharisees’ accusation by four arguments—the example of
David, that of the priests, a correct understanding of the mercy of God and Jesus’
own authority over the Sabbath.

The first example which was quite familiar to the people, who were used to liste-
ning to the Bible being read, comes from 1 Samuel 21:2-7: David, in flight from
the jealousy of King Saul, asks the priest of the shrine of Nob for food for his men;
the priest gave them the only bread he had, the holy bread of the Presence; this
was the twelve loaves which were placed each week on the golden altar of the
sanctuary as a perpetual offering from the twelve tribes of Israel (Leviticus 24:5-9).
The second example refers to the priestly ministry to perform the liturgy, priests
had to do a number of things on the Sabbath but did not thereby break the law of
Sabbath rest (cf. Numbers 28:9). On the other two arguments, see the notes on
Matthew 9:13 and Mark 2:26-27, 28.

[The notes on Matthew 9:13 states:

13. Here Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6, keeping the hyperbole of the Semitic style. A
more faithful translation would be: “I desire mercy more than sacrifice”. It is not
that our Lord does not want the sacrifices we offer Him: He is stressing that every
sacrifice should come from the heart, for charity should imbue everything a Chris-
tian does — especially his worship of God (see 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Matthew 5:
23-24).]

[The notes on Mark 2:26-27, 28 states:

26-27. The bread of the Presence consisted of twelve loaves or cakes placed
each morning on the table in the sanctuary, as homage to the Lord from the
twelve tribes of Israel (cf. Leviticus 24:5-9). The loaves withdrawn to make room
for the fresh ones were reserved to the priests. Abiathar’s action anticipates what
Christ teaches here. Already in the Old Testament God had established a hierar-
chy in the precepts of the Law so that the lesser ones yielded to the main ones.

This explains why a ceremonial precept (such as the one we are discussing)
should yield before a precept of the natural law. Similarly, the commandment
to keep the Sabbath does not come before the duty to seek basic subsistence.
Vatican II uses this passage of the Gospel to underline the value of the human
person over and above economic and social development: “The social order and
its development must constantly yield to the good of the person, since the order
of things must be subordinate to the order of persons and not the other way a-
round, as the Lord suggested when He said that the Sabbath was made for man
and not man for the Sabbath. The social order requires constant improvement:
it must be founded in truth, built on justice, and enlivened by love” (”Gaudium
Et Spes”, 26).

Finally in this passage Christ teaches God’s purpose in instituting the Sabbath:
God established it for man’s good, to help him rest and devote himself to Divine
worship in joy and peace. The Pharisees, through their interpretation of the Law,
had turned this day into a source of anguish and scruple due to all the various
prescriptions and prohibitions they introduced.

By proclaiming Himself ‘Lord of the Sabbath’, Jesus affirms His divinity and His
universal authority. Because He is Lord he has the power to establish other
laws, as Yahweh had in the Old Testament.

28. The Sabbath had been established not only for man’s rest but also to give glo-
ry to God: that is the correct meaning of the expression “the Sabbath was made
for man.” Jesus has every right to say He is Lord of the Sabbath, because He is
God. Christ restores to the weekly day of rest its full, religious meaning: it is not
just a matter of fulfilling a number of legal precepts or of concern for physical well-
being: the Sabbath belongs to God; it is one way, suited to human nature, of ren-
dering glory and honor to the Almighty. The Church, from the time of the Apostles
onwards, transferred the observance of this precept to the following day, Sunday
— the Lord’s Day — in celebration of the resurrection of Christ.

“Son of Man”: the origin of the messianic meaning of this expression is to be
found particularly in the prophecy of Dan 7:13ff, where Daniel, in a prophetic vi-
sion, contemplates ‘one like the Son of Man’ coming down on the clouds of Hea-
ven, who even goes right up to God’s throne and is given dominion and glory and
royal power over all peoples and nations. This expression appears 69 times in
the Synoptic Gospels; Jesus prefers it to other ways of describing the Messiah—
such as Son of David, Messiah, etc.—thereby avoiding the nationalistic overtones
those expressions had in Jewish minds at the time (cf. “Introduction to the Gos-
pel According to St. Mark”, p. 62 above.]

*********************************************************************************************
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.

Readings at Mass

First reading
Exodus 11:10-12:14 ©

Moses and Aaron worked many wonders in the presence of Pharaoh. But the Lord made Pharaoh’s heart stubborn, and he did not let the sons of Israel leave his country.

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:

‘This month is to be the first of all the others for you, the first month of your year. Speak to the whole community of Israel and say, “On the tenth day of this month each man must take an animal from the flock, one for each family: one animal for each household. If the household is too small to eat the animal, a man must join with his neighbour, the nearest to his house, as the number of persons requires. You must take into account what each can eat in deciding the number for the animal. It must be an animal without blemish, a male one year old; you may take it from either sheep or goats. You must keep it till the fourteenth day of the month when the whole assembly of the community of Israel shall slaughter it between the two evenings. Some of the blood must then be taken and put on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where it is eaten. That night, the flesh is to be eaten, roasted over the fire; it must be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or boiled, but roasted over the fire, head, feet and entrails. You must not leave any over till the morning: whatever is left till morning you are to burn. You shall eat it like this: with a girdle round your waist, sandals on your feet, a staff in your hand. You shall eat it hastily: it is a passover in honour of the Lord. That night, I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, man and beast alike, and I shall deal out punishment to all the gods of Egypt, I am the Lord! The blood shall serve to mark the houses that you live in. When I see the blood I will pass over you and you shall escape the destroying plague when I strike the land of Egypt. This day is to be a day of remembrance for you, and you must celebrate it as a feast in the Lord’s honour. For all generations you are to declare it a day of festival, for ever.”’

Psalm
Psalm 115:12-13,15-18 ©

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

How can I repay the Lord

for his goodness to me?

The cup of salvation I will raise;

I will call on the Lord’s name.

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

O precious in the eyes of the Lord

is the death of his faithful.

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;

you have loosened my bonds.

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;

I will call on the Lord’s name.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfil

before all his people.

The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

Gospel Acclamation	cf.Ps26:11

Alleluia, alleluia!

Instruct me, Lord, in your way;

on an even path lead me.

Alleluia!

Or	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!

Gospel	Matthew 12:1-8 ©

Jesus took a walk one sabbath day through the cornfields. His disciples were hungry and began to pick ears of corn and eat them. The Pharisees noticed it and said to him, ‘Look, your disciples are doing something that is forbidden on the sabbath.’ But he said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his followers were hungry – how he went into the house of God and how they ate the loaves of offering which neither he nor his followers were allowed to eat, but which were for the priests alone? Or again, have you not read in the Law that on the sabbath day the Temple priests break the sabbath without being blamed for it? Now here, I tell you, is something greater than the Temple. And if you had understood the meaning of the words: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the blameless. For the Son of Man is master of the sabbath.’

It's time to kneel down and pray for our nation (Marriage)

Perpetual Novena for the Nation (Ecumenical)

Prayers for The Religion Forum (Ecumenical)

7 Powerful Ways to Pray for Christians Suffering in the Middle East

Why Boko Haram and ISIS Target Women
Report reveals scale of Boko Haram violence inflicted on Nigerian Catholics
Military evacuating girls, women rescued from Boko Haram
Echos of Lepanto Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Harm
After vision of Christ, Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Haram (Catholic Caucus)
Nigerian Bishop Says Christ Showed Him How to Beat Islamic Terror Group

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.

Celebrating the Year of Consecrated Life
Cardinal Francis Arinze on Radical Discipleship and the Consecrated Life
Pope Francis' Message for the Year of Consecrated Life
Consecrated Life Is Of Benefit To The Whole Church [Catholic Caucus]
Bishops Launch ... Website To Promote Vocations To Priesthood & Consecrated Life (Catholic Caucus)
A consecrated virgin captures her life in a blog [Catholic Caucus]

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

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.

6. 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]

St. Michael the Archangel

~ PRAYER ~

St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
Cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
+

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.

Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

July Devotion: The Precious Blood

July Devotion: The Precious Blood

Like the Sacred Wounds of Jesus, His Precious Blood deserves special honor because of its close relation to the Sacred Passion. That honor was given to it from the beginning by the Apostles who praised its redeeming power. (Rom. 5:9 "we are justified by His blood"; Heb. 13:12 "and so Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people by His blood, suffered outside the gate"; 1 John 1:7 "and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.")

The Church has always held devotion to the Precious Blood in high esteem. We continue to recognize and publicly acknowledge the profound indebtedness of the whole human race to Christ, Priest and Victim.

Standing at the foot of the cross, we see Jesus' head, hands, feet, and side pouring out streams of precious blood. It is precious because it:

• Redeems us and atones for our sins. Through His precious blood we are reconciled to God, made one with Him. Death ceases to be death and heaven's gates are opened to us.

• Cleanses us from all sin.

• Preserves us and keeps us safe from the grasp of evil. When the Father sees us washed in the Blood of the Lamb we are spared.

• Comforts us. It is the constant reminder that Jesus - true God and true man suffered and died to save us and to open heaven to us because He loves us.

• Sanctifies us. The same blood that justifies by taking away sin, continues to work within us. Its action gives us the grace to continue on the path toward the Kingdom of God. It assists us in achieving our new nature, leading us onward in subduing sin and in following the commands of God.

Jesus shed His precious blood seven times during His life on earth. They events were:

• Jesus shed His Blood in the Circumcision

• Jesus shed His Blood whilst praying in the Garden of Olives

• Jesus shed His Blood in the scourging

• Jesus shed His Blood in the crowning with thorns

• Jesus shed His Blood while carrying His cross

• Jesus shed His Blood in the crucifixion

• Jesus shed His Blood and water when His side was pierced

The Power of the Precious Blood

"I adore You, O Precious Blood of Jesus, flower of creation, fruit of virginity, ineffable instrument of the Holy Spirit, and I rejoice at the thought that You came from the drop of virginal blood on which eternal Love impressed its movement; You were assumed by the Word and deified in His person. I am overcome with emotion when I think of Your passing from the Blessed Virgin's heart into the heart of the Word, and, being vivified by the breath of the Divinity, becoming adorable because You became the Blood of God." (St. Albert the Great)

At their recent meeting, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had continuous Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for "healing and peace." They encouraged parishes and communities to have ongoing Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. In these dark months of woundedness, pain and violence we need to turn to the Precious Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, for healing, peace, and light.

"What power we have in the Precious Blood of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist! He is there to protect us, to be our refuge and our redemption. (In Exodus 12, God told Moses to have His chosen people mark their door posts with the blood of an unblemished lamb, during the first Passover. Those who did this were spared when the Angel of the death passed by). This is why Archbishop Sheen said that we must call down the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. For, he warned, when we stop calling down the Blood of the Lamb, we start calling down the blood of each other." (From our book Bread of Life)

"And the Lamb on the throne will shepherd them. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water" (Rev 7:17).

"In the tumultuous events of our time, it is important to look to the Eucharist: it must be at the heart of the life of priests and consecrated people; the light and strength of spouses in putting into practice their commitment to fidelity, chastity and the apostolate; the ideal in education and in training children, adolescents and young people; the comfort and support of those who are troubled, of the sick and all who are weeping in the Gethsemane of life." (Pope John Paul II)

Precious Blood of Jesus, save us!

"The only time our Lord asked the Apostles for anything was the night when He went into His agony. But as often in the history of the church since that time, evil was awake, but the disciples were asleep. That is why there came out of His anguished and lonely Heart a sigh: 'Could you not watch one hour with Me?'" (Mt 26:40). Not for an hour of activity did he plead, but for an hour of friendship (Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen).

St. Maria Goretti, Patroness of Youth & Children of Mary, Feast-July 6 St. Maria of Italy (1890-1902), couldn't wait to make her First Communion. She wanted to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist so that she could become more beautiful and pure like Him; she wanted Him to live in her, close to her heart. After she received Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for the first time, she stayed in Church for a long time after Mass to talk to Him. Maria's family lived with and worked for a farmer. His son Alessandro kept trying to make Maria sin against purity. One day, when everyone else was working, Alessandro grabbed Maria and tried to make her sin. Maria kept crying out for him to stop, and each time she did, he stabbed her. Courageously, Maria resisted him and was stabbed fourteen times. St. Maria died the next day.

"Look at Maria Goretti.... Like her, be capable of defending your purity of heart and body. Be committed to the struggle against evil and sin. Always esteem and love, purity and virginity." (Pope John Paul II, 1990)

A Prayer for Priests

O my God, help those priests who are faithful to remain faithful; to those who are falling, stretch forth Your Divine Hand that they may grasp it as their support. In the great ocean of Your mercy, lift those poor unfortunate ones who have fallen, that being engulfed therein they may receive the grace to return to Your Great Loving Heart. Amen. Precious Blood of Jesus, protect them!

The Eucharist is the fruit of our Lords Passion. Jesus gave up His Body on the cross so that He may give you His Body in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus poured out His very last drop of Blood on the cross so that He may fill you with His Divine Love each time that you receive Him in Holy Communion and visit Him in Eucharistic Adoration!

"The Eucharist, in the Mass and outside of the Mass, is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, and is therefore deserving of the worship that is given to the living God, and to Him alone" (Pope John Paul II, September 29, 1979, Phoenix Park, Ireland)

"The bread and wine, fruit of human hands, transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit into the body and blood of Christ, become a pledge of the 'new heaven and new earth,' announced by the Church in her daily mission." "In Christ, whom we adore present in the mystery of the Eucharist, the father uttered his final word with regard to humanity and human history." "To live the Eucharist, it is necessary, as well, to spend much time in adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament, something which I myself experience every day drawing from it strength, consolation and assistance." "How could the Church fulfill her vocation without cultivating a constant relationship with the Eucharist, without nourishing herself with this food which sanctifies, without founding her missionary activity on this indispensable support?" "To evangelize the world there is need of apostles who are 'experts' in the celebration, adoration and contemplation of the Eucharist" (Pope John Paul II, World Mission Message 2004).

The Power of the Precious Blood of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist

"The Precious Blood belongs in an especial manner to men. Much more, therefore, does God invite them to come to its heavenly baths, and receive therein, not only the cleansing of their souls, but the power of a new and amazing life. Every doctrine in theology is a call to the Precious Blood. Every ceremony in the Church tells of it . . . . Every supernatural act is a growth of it. Everything that is holy on earth is either a leaf, bud, blossom or fruit of the Blood of Jesus. To its fountains God calls the sinner, that he may be lightened of his burdens. There is no remission of him in anything else. Only there is his lost sonship to be found. The saints are no less called by God to these invigorating streams. It is out of the Precious Blood that men draw martyrdoms, vocations, celebacies, austerities, heroic charities, and all the magnificent graces of high sanctity. The secret nourishment of prayer is from those fountains" (Father Faber, The Precious Blood).

The Most Precious Blood of Jesus
July is traditionally associated with the Precious Blood of Our Lord. It may be customary to celebrate the votive Mass of the Precious Blood on July 1.

The extraordinary importance of the saving Blood of Christ has ensured a central place for its memorial in the celebration of this cultic mystery: at the centre of the Eucharistic assembly, in which the Church raises up to God in thanksgiving "the cup of blessing" (1 Cor 10, 16; cf Ps 115-116, 13) and offers it to the faithful as a "real communion with the Blood of Christ" (1 Cor 10, 16); and throughout the Liturgical Year. The Church celebrates the saving Blood of Christ not only on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, but also on many other occasions, such that the cultic remembrance of the Blood of our redemption (cf 1 Pt 1, 18) pervades the entire Liturgical Year. Hence, at Vespers during Christmastide, the Church, addressing Christ, sings: "Nos quoque, qui sancto tuo redempti sumus sanguine, ob diem natalis tui hymnum novum concinimus." In the Paschal Triduum, the redemptive significance and efficacy of the Blood of Christ is continuously recalled in adoration. During the adoration of the Cross on Good Friday the Church sings the hymn: "Mite corpus perforatur, sanguis unde profluit; terra, pontus, astra, mundus quo lavanturflumine", and again on Easter Sunday, "Cuius corpus sanctissimum in ara crucis torridum, sed et cruorem roesum gustando, Deo vivimus (194).

Catholic Word of the Day: LITANY OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD, 09-25-12
ST. GASPAR: Founder of the Society of the Precious Blood
Mass in the Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ (London, 9/18)

Devotion to the Drops of Blood Lost by our Lord Jesus Christ on His Way to Calvary (Prayer/Devotion)
Chaplet of the Most Precious Blood
Catholic Word of the Day: PRECIOUS BLOOD, 12-03-11
The Traditional Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Catholic Caucus)
Devotion to the Precious Blood
DOCTRINE OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,And More on the Precious Blood
Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ
NOTHING IS MORE POTENT AGAINST EVIL THAN PLEADING THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST
Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus

"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you" (Jn 6:53).

July 2015
Pope's Intentions
Universal: Politics -- That political responsibility may be lived at all levels as a high form of charity.

Evangelization: The poor in Latin America-- That amid social inequalities, Latin American Christians may bear witness to love for the poor and contribute to a more fraternal society.

Daily Gospel Commentary

Friday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time

Commentary of the day
Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Sermon 155, 6

The New Law «written not on tablets of stone but on tablets that are hearts of flesh» ( 2 Cor 3,3)

My brethren, consider the great mystery of the harmony and the difference of the two Laws and two peoples. The people of old celebrated Passover, not in the full light of day but in the shadow of that which was to come (Col 2,17), and fifty days after the Passover celebration… God gave it the Law written by his own hand on Mount Sinai… God came down on Mount Sinai in the midst of the fire, striking with terror the people who were standing far off, and with his finger he wrote the Law on stone, not in the heart (Ex 31,18). On the other hand, when the Holy Spirit came down to earth, the disciples were all assembled together in the same place and, instead of terrifying them from the height of the mountain, he entered the house where they had gathered (Acts 2,1f.). From the heights of heaven came an enormous noise like that of a strong wind approaching, but this noise did not frighten anybody.

You have heard the sound, see the fire, too. For on the mountain these two phenomena are to be distinguished: the noise and the fire. On Mount Sinai the fire was surrounded by smoke, but here, to the contrary, it has a shining clarity: “There appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted.” Was this a fire that stirred up fear? Not at all: “they came to rest on each one of them”… Listen to this tongue speaking and understand that it is the Spirit that writes not on stone but in the heart. Therefore the “Law of the Spirit of life”, written in the heart and not on stone, this Law of the Spirit of life which is in Jesus Christ, in whom the Passover has been celebrated in all truth (1Cor 5,7), “has set you free from the Law of sin and death” (Rm 8,2).

“I am only content when I’m praying for sinners. The good God has made me see how much he loves that I pray for poor sinners. … I don’t know if it were really a voice I heard or a dream, but, whatever it was, it woke me up and told me that to save a soul in the state of sin is more pleasing to God than all sacrifices. For that reason, I do all my resolutions for penance.”

St. John Vianney

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary . . .

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary . . .

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

"Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)

"Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb"
(Lk 1:42).

July 17, 2015

Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 Ex 11:10—12:14

Responsorial Psalm PS 116:12-13, 15 and 16bc, 17-18

Alleluia Jn 10:27

Gospel Mt 12:1-8

Readings at Mass

Friday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time