Seminarians Retreat

Seminarians Retreat

     I am asking that you keep the Seminarians of the Trenton Dioceses in your prayers this week. They gather together this week to prepare to go back to the seminary and for a retreat. The seminarians who have been away will meet the new seminarians that are entering this year. One thing that we can do to help support them is to pray for them each day. They are in need of our prayers as they enter in or back to this life that is before them. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and pray for vocations. 

Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 395

Reading 1

MI 6:1-4, 6-8

Hear what the LORD says:

Arise, present your plea before the mountains,

and let the hills hear your voice!

Hear, O mountains, the plea of the LORD,

pay attention, O foundations of the earth!

For the LORD has a plea against his people,

and he enters into trial with Israel.

O my people, what have I done to you,

or how have I wearied you? Answer me!

For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,

from the place of slavery I released you;

and I sent before you Moses,

Aaron, and Miriam.

With what shall I come before the LORD,

and bow before God most high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,

with myriad streams of oil?

Shall I give my first-born for my crime,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

You have been told, O man, what is good,

and what the LORD requires of you:

Only to do the right and to love goodness,

and to walk humbly with your God.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 50:5-6, 8-9, 16BC-17, 21 AND 23

R. (23b) To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“Gather my faithful ones before me,

those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

And the heavens proclaim his justice;

for God himself is the judge.

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,

for your burnt offerings are before me always.

I take from your house no bullock,

no goats out of your fold.”

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“Why do you recite my statutes,

and profess my covenant with your mouth,

Though you hate discipline

and cast my words behind you?”

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?

Or do you think that I am like yourself?

I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.

He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;

and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”

R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

Gospel

MT 12:38-42

Some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,

“Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.”

He said to them in reply,

“An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign,

but no sign will be given it

except the sign of Jonah the prophet.

Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, 

so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth

three days and three nights.

At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation

and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;

and there is something greater than Jonah here.

At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation

and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth

to hear the wisdom of Solomon;

and there is something greater than Solomon here.”

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 106

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 106

Reading 1

WIS 12:13, 16-19

There is no god besides you who have the care of all,

that you need show you have not unjustly condemned.

For your might is the source of justice;

your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.

For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved;

and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity.

But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency,

and with much lenience you govern us;

for power, whenever you will, attends you.

And you taught your people, by these deeds,

that those who are just must be kind;

and you gave your children good ground for hope

that you would permit repentance for their sins.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16

R/ (5a) Lord, you are good and forgiving.

You, O LORD, are good and forgiving,

abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.

Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer

and attend to the sound of my pleading.

R/ Lord, you are good and forgiving.

All the nations you have made shall come

and worship you, O LORD,

and glorify your name.

For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds;

you alone are God.

R/ Lord, you are good and forgiving.

You, O LORD, are a God merciful and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity.

Turn toward me, and have pity on me;

give your strength to your servant.

R/ Lord, you are good and forgiving.

Reading 2

ROM 8:26-27

Brothers and sisters:

The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;

for we do not know how to pray as we ought,

but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings. 

And the one who searches hearts

knows what is the intention of the Spirit,

because he intercedes for the holy ones

according to God’s will.

Gospel

MT 13:24-43

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:

“The kingdom of heaven may be likened

to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 

While everyone was asleep his enemy came

and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. 

When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. 

The slaves of the householder came to him and said,

‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? 

Where have the weeds come from?’

He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’

His slaves said to him,

‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds

you might uproot the wheat along with them. 

Let them grow together until harvest;

then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,

“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;

but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

He proposed another parable to them. 

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed

that a person took and sowed in a field. 

It is the smallest of all the seeds,

yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. 

It becomes a large bush,

and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”

He spoke to them another parable. 

“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast

that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour

until the whole batch was leavened.”

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. 

He spoke to them only in parables,

to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:

I will open my mouth in parables,

I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation

of the world.

Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. 

His disciples approached him and said,

“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 

He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,

the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. 

The weeds are the children of the evil one,

and the enemy who sows them is the devil.

The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 

Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,

so will it be at the end of the age. 

The Son of Man will send his angels,

and they will collect out of his kingdom

all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. 

They will throw them into the fiery furnace,

where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. 

Then the righteous will shine like the sun 

in the kingdom of their Father. 

Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Or

MT 13:24-30

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:

“The kingdom of heaven may be likened

to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 

While everyone was asleep his enemy came

and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. 

When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. 

The slaves of the householder came to him and said,

‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? 

Where have the weeds come from?’

He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’

His slaves said to him,

‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds

you might uproot the wheat along with them. 

Let them grow together until harvest;

then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,

“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;

but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 394

Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 394

Reading 1

MI 2:1-5

Woe to those who plan iniquity,

and work out evil on their couches;

In the morning light they accomplish it

when it lies within their power.

They covet fields, and seize them;

houses, and they take them;

They cheat an owner of his house,

a man of his inheritance.

Therefore thus says the LORD:

Behold, I am planning against this race an evil

from which you shall not withdraw your necks;

Nor shall you walk with head high,

for it will be a time of evil.

On that day a satire shall be sung over you,

and there shall be a plaintive chant:

“Our ruin is complete,

our fields are portioned out among our captors,

The fields of my people are measured out,

and no one can get them back!”

Thus you shall have no one

to mark out boundaries by lot

in the assembly of the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 10:1-2, 3-4, 7-8, 14

R. (12b) Do not forget the poor, O Lord!

Why, O LORD, do you stand aloof?

Why hide in times of distress?

Proudly the wicked harass the afflicted,

who are caught in the devices the wicked have contrived. 

R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!

For the wicked man glories in his greed,

and the covetous blasphemes, sets the LORD at nought.

The wicked man boasts, “He will not avenge it”;

“There is no God,” sums up his thoughts. 

R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!

His mouth is full of cursing, guile and deceit;

under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

He lurks in ambush near the villages;

in hiding he murders the innocent;

his eyes spy upon the unfortunate. 

R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!

You do see, for you behold misery and sorrow,

taking them in your hands.

On you the unfortunate man depends;

of the fatherless you are the helper.

R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!

Gospel

MT 12:14-21

The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus

to put him to death.

When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place.

Many people followed him, and he cured them all,

but he warned them not to make him known.

This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,

my beloved in whom I delight;

I shall place my Spirit upon him,

and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

He will not contend or cry out,

nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

A bruised reed he will not break,

a smoldering wick he will not quench,

until he brings justice to victory.

And in his name the Gentiles will hope.

Priests.... A Gift

Priests a Gift

  I came across this video about a Priest looking back over his life and some moments that changed the course for him. It really is a video that makes me think of moments in all the Priests lives that changed them and opened their eyes, ears and heart to follow Christ and His Church. It really makes me take a deep breath and just think of how things work out. Not always as we think or want but as God saw it from the moment of our conception.  This life, is a gift, and so are the Priests in our lives. There are so many moments that I can see where my life was moved in a new direction and at times it was from something a Priest said and to think that they are just doing as God intends them to do. 

    Watching this video is a reminder of a life that is used and follows what the heart calls us to... It doesn't have to be a Priest but a life that each one of us are to have... one we can look back and see we were where we needed to be, doing what we needed to do and love those around us. You can watch the video below or click here...

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and may we look back and see our lives as we needed it to be.. 

Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 393

Reading 1

IS 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8

When Hezekiah was mortally ill,

the prophet Isaiah, son of Amoz, came and said to him:

“Thus says the LORD: Put your house in order,

for you are about to die; you shall not recover.”

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD:

“O LORD, remember how faithfully and wholeheartedly

I conducted myself in your presence,

doing what was pleasing to you!”

And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: “Go, tell Hezekiah:

Thus says the LORD, the God of your father David:

I have heard your prayer and seen your tears.

I will heal you: in three days you shall go up to the LORD’s temple;

I will add fifteen years to your life.

I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria;

I will be a shield to this city.”

Isaiah then ordered a poultice of figs to be taken

and applied to the boil, that he might recover.

Then Hezekiah asked,

“What is the sign that I shall go up to the temple of the LORD?”

Isaiah answered:

“This will be the sign for you from the LORD

that he will do what he has promised:

See, I will make the shadow cast by the sun

on the stairway to the terrace of Ahaz

go back the ten steps it has advanced.”

So the sun came back the ten steps it had advanced.

Responsorial Psalm

IS 38:10, 11, 12ABCD, 16

R. (see 17b) You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.

Once I said,

“In the noontime of life I must depart!

To the gates of the nether world I shall be consigned

for the rest of my years.” 

R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.

I said, “I shall see the LORD no more

in the land of the living.

No longer shall I behold my fellow men

among those who dwell in the world.”

R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.

My dwelling, like a shepherd’s tent,

is struck down and borne away from me;

You have folded up my life, like a weaver

who severs the last thread.

R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.

Those live whom the LORD protects;

yours is the life of my spirit.

You have given me health and life.

R. You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die.

Gospel

MT 12:1-8

Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.

His disciples were hungry

and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,

“See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath.”

He said to the them, “Have you not read what David did

when he and his companions were hungry,

how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,

which neither he nor his companions

but only the priests could lawfully eat?

Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath

the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath

and are innocent?

I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.

If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,

you would not have condemned these innocent men.

For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”

Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 392

Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 392

Reading 1

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

The way of the just is smooth;

the path of the just you make level.

Yes, for your way and your judgments, O LORD,

we look to you;

Your name and your title

are the desire of our souls.

My soul yearns for you in the night,

yes, my spirit within me keeps vigil for you;

When your judgment dawns upon the earth,

the world’s inhabitants learn justice.

O LORD, you mete out peace to us,

for it is you who have accomplished all we have done.

O LORD, oppressed by your punishment,

we cried out in anguish under your chastising.

As a woman about to give birth

writhes and cries out in her pains,

so were we in your presence, O LORD.

We conceived and writhed in pain,

giving birth to wind;

Salvation we have not achieved for the earth,

the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth.

But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise;

awake and sing, you who lie in the dust.

For your dew is a dew of light,

and the land of shades gives birth.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 102:13-14AB AND 15, 16-18, 19-21

R. (20b) From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.

You, O LORD, abide forever,

and your name through all generations.

You will arise and have mercy on Zion,

for it is time to pity her.

For her stones are dear to your servants,

and her dust moves them to pity. 

R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.

The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,

and all the kings of the earth your glory,

When the LORD has rebuilt Zion

and appeared in his glory;

When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,

and not despised their prayer.

R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.

Let this be written for the generation to come,

and let his future creatures praise the LORD:

“The LORD looked down from his holy height,

from heaven he beheld the earth,

To hear the groaning of the prisoners,

to release those doomed to die.”

R. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.

Gospel

MT 11:28-30

Jesus said:

“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am meek and humble of heart;

and you will find rest for yourselves.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

St. Bonaventure

St. Bonaventure

 Today, July 15, marks the feast day of St. Bonaventure, who is called “The Seraphic Doctor” of the Church. St. Bonaventure is known for his leadership of the Franciscans and his great intellectual contributions to theology and philosophy.

St. Bonaventure was born in Bagnorea in Tuscany, Italy. He is widely believed to have been born in the year 1221, although some accounts say 1217.

Sources recount that in his youth, St. Bonaventure was cured of a dangerous illness by the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi. He went on to join the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor in 1243.

After making his vows, he was sent to complete his studies in Paris. He was taught first by Alexander of Hales, an English doctor and Franciscan, and later by John of Rochelle.

While in Paris, he became good friends with St. Thomas Aquinas, with whom he received the degree of Doctor. He also developed a friendship with St. Louis, King of France.

In 1257, St. Bonaventure was chosen to serve as the superior of the Friars Minor. In this position, which he filled for 17 years, he brought peace and order. His impact was so great that today he is sometimes referred to as the second founder of the Franciscans.

Taking on the position after a period of extraordinary expansion for the order, St. Bonaventure worked to preserve a spirit of unity. He calmed the threat of internal dissension that arose over differences in interpreting the message of St. Francis of Assisi. Central to this work was his understanding that the study of philosophy and theology did not oppose the call to poverty that was so central to Franciscan spirituality.

St. Bonaventure proposed a unified and collected text regulating the daily life of the Friars Minor. The text was accepted and ratified in 1260 by the General Chapter of the Order in Narbonne.

Wishing to present an authentic image of the life and teaching of their founder, he zealously collected documents about St. Francis of Assisi and heard testimonies of those who had actually known him. From this information, he compiled a biography of the saint that was adopted as his official biography by the General Chapter of the Friars Minor in 1263.

St. Bonaventure also wrote numerous mystical and ascetical treatises, most famously, “The Soul's Journey into God.”

In 1273, he was appointed by Pope Gregory X as Cardinal and Bishop of Albano. The Pope also asked him to help prepare the Second Ecumenical Council of Lyons, an ecclesial event aimed at re-establishing communion between the Latin and Greek Churches.

St. Bonaventure worked to prepare the Ecumenical Council, but never saw its completion. He died on July 15, 1274, while the council was still in session. He was canonized in 1482 by Pope Sixtus IV.

In his General Audience on March 3, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the life of St. Bonaventure. He called to mind the great works of literature, art, philosophy and theology that were inspired by the Christian faith during the time period in which the saint lived.

“Among the great Christian figures who contributed to the composition of this harmony between faith and culture Bonaventure stands out, a man of action and contemplation, of profound piety and prudent government,” Pope Benedict said.

The Pope called on the faithful to take note of “the central role that Christ always played in Bonaventure's life and teaching,” and to imitate the way in which “the whole of his thinking was profoundly Christocentric.”

"Meditation on Christ in His humanity is corporeal in deed, in fact, but spiritual in mind. . . . By adopting this habit, you will steady your mind, be trained to virtues, and receive strength of soul....Let meditation of Christ's life be your one and only aim, your rest, your food, your desire, your study."  -  St. Bonaventure

Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 391

Reading 1

IS 10:5-7, 13B-16

Thus says the LORD:

Woe to Assyria! My rod in anger,

my staff in wrath.

Against an impious nation I send him,

and against a people under my wrath I order him

To seize plunder, carry off loot,

and tread them down like the mud of the streets.

But this is not what he intends,

nor does he have this in mind;

Rather, it is in his heart to destroy,

to make an end of nations not a few.

For he says:

“By my own power I have done it,

and by my wisdom, for I am shrewd.

I have moved the boundaries of peoples,

their treasures I have pillaged,

and, like a giant, I have put down the enthroned.

My hand has seized like a nest

the riches of nations;

As one takes eggs left alone,

so I took in all the earth;

No one fluttered a wing,

or opened a mouth, or chirped!”

Will the axe boast against him who hews with it?

Will the saw exalt itself above him who wields it?

As if a rod could sway him who lifts it,

or a staff him who is not wood!

Therefore the Lord, the LORD of hosts,

will send among his fat ones leanness,

And instead of his glory there will be kindling

like the kindling of fire.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 94:5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 14-15

R. (14a) The Lord will not abandon his people.

Your people, O LORD, they trample down,

your inheritance they afflict.

Widow and stranger they slay,

the fatherless they murder. 

R. The Lord will not abandon his people.

And they say, “The LORD sees not;

the God of Jacob perceives not.”

Understand, you senseless ones among the people;

and, you fools, when will you be wise?

R. The Lord will not abandon his people.

Shall he who shaped the ear not hear?

or he who formed the eye not see?

Shall he who instructs nations not chastise,

he who teaches men knowledge?

R. The Lord will not abandon his people.

For the LORD will not cast off his people,

nor abandon his inheritance;

But judgment shall again be with justice,

and all the upright of heart shall follow it. 

R. The Lord will not abandon his people.

Gospel

MT 11:25-27

At that time Jesus exclaimed: 

“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,

for although you have hidden these things

from the wise and the learned

you have revealed them to the childlike.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father.

No one knows the Son except the Father,

and no one knows the Father except the Son

and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the ChurchLectionary: 390

Reading 1

IS 7:1-9

In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah,

Rezin, king of Aram,

and Pekah, king of Israel, son of Remaliah,

went up to attack Jerusalem,

but they were not able to conquer it.

When word came to the house of David that Aram

was encamped in Ephraim,

the heart of the king and the heart of the people trembled,

as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.

Then the LORD said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz,

you and your son Shear-jashub,

at the end of the conduit of the upper pool,

on the highway of the fuller’s field, and say to him:

Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear;

let not your courage fail

before these two stumps of smoldering brands

the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans,

and of the son Remaliah,

because of the mischief that

Aram, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah,

plots against you, saying,

“Let us go up and tear Judah asunder, make it our own by force,

and appoint the son of Tabeel king there.”

Thus says the LORD:

This shall not stand, it shall not be!

Damascus is the capital of Aram,

and Rezin is the head of Damascus;

Samaria is the capital of Ephraim,

and Remaliah’s son the head of Samaria.

But within sixty years and five,

Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation.

Unless your faith is firm

you shall not be firm!

Responsorial Psalm

PS 48:2-3A, 3B-4, 5-6, 7-8

R. (see 9d) God upholds his city for ever.

Great is the LORD and wholly to be praised

in the city of our God.

His holy mountain, fairest of heights,

is the joy of all the earth.

R. God upholds his city for ever.

Mount Zion, “the recesses of the North,”

is the city of the great King.

God is with her castles;

renowned is he as a stronghold. 

R. God upholds his city for ever.

For lo! the kings assemble,

they come on together;

They also see, and at once are stunned,

terrified, routed.

R. God upholds his city for ever.

Quaking seizes them there;

anguish, like a woman’s in labor,

As though a wind from the east

were shattering ships of Tarshish. 

R. God upholds his city for ever.

Gospel

MT 11:20-24

Jesus began to reproach the towns

where most of his mighty deeds had been done,

since they had not repented.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst

had been done in Tyre and Sidon,

they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.

But I tell you, it will be more tolerable

for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.

And as for you, Capernaum:

Will you be exalted to heaven?

You will go down to the nether world.

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,

it would have remained until this day.

But I tell you, it will be more tolerable

for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

Living on the Edge

Living on the Edge

    There is a saying, well a phrase, that I often say to people and that is " Live on the Edge". It can be in response to something or just a general directive. At times it is just a tongue and cheek response to something that really is not living on the edge. For example if someone closes the window in a car not to mess up their hair I might say " come on. Live on the edge" or "live on the edge put some sprinkles on that ice cream". What is " living on the edge" then? Is it jumping out of a plane? Climbing a mountain? Swimming with sharks? Walking a tightrope that is across a building? Does living on the edge mean that you are putting your life on the line or in danger? Or is it going against what the " norm " is ? The norm is not jumping out of a plane or climbing a mountain or anything else that puts your life at risk but there is another way I want to look at " living on the edge". 

     In today's world and by that I mean society " living on the edge " is also living a Christian life and more specifically a Catholic Life. Living as a Catholic pits us against the norm of society everyday. We do not follow societies rules or regulations when it comes to many situations. From abortion, gay marriage, contraception, sex, death, and morals, we are set apart. We go against the norm of what society is telling us. We do not accept the norm if it goes against our faith.  I am not saying that all Christians or even Catholics live on the edge. If we pick and choose the beliefs we want then you are not living on the edge. To live on the edge also does not mean that we practice our faith only in the church or behind closed doors. We are out in the world expressing our beliefs, standing up for our faith and not lowering our heads or our voices when the faith is challenged. Our beliefs are under attack each and every day. You do not have to look far to see it. Turn on the news, listen to family and friends or coworkers, check social media, etc... and you will see how really living a true Christian, Catholic faith is living on the edge. 

      What most consider living on the edge does involve putting yourself as close to that edge between life and death. It's the same here living the faith. It may not be a physical death, at least I should say not here in the United Staes, but a spiritual death if we succumb to the norm. We risk our soul by not going against the norm. Even by standing and saying nothing we risk this factor. Believe me this is not easy. At times I pause and think about what I will post on social media but I know I can't just let the majority have their say either. For example when I posted a comment about the March for Life I know people will comment back and a debate may start or when I applauded the Hobby Lobby decision I knew again it can happen. Yet, this is what we are to do. We have to stand in the streets and that even means the "social media" streets and express our faith and beliefs. Our voices must call out and we are in an age where we have many opportunities to do so.  From social media, the streets, and the voting ballot. Let our voice be the loudest and unyielding. Yes there are risks with doing this. Not everyone wants to hear or accepts your right to speak. You may find yourself being the only voice around you that speaks out. Sometimes it will cost relationships or not be financially beneficial either. 

    I am Catholic 24/7. There is no down time or off the clock. Megyn Kelly said this while interviewing a worker at planned parenthood "Are you Catholic? I am. We follow rules. It is not a religion for wusses". It is not a religion for wusses. If we truly follow the faith we are living on the edge of this life in the world today. 

Until tomorrow, God Bless, and let us all live on the edge for our Catholic Faith. 

Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 390

Reading 1

IS 7:1-9

In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah,

Rezin, king of Aram,

and Pekah, king of Israel, son of Remaliah,

went up to attack Jerusalem,

but they were not able to conquer it.

When word came to the house of David that Aram

was encamped in Ephraim,

the heart of the king and the heart of the people trembled,

as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.

Then the LORD said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz,

you and your son Shear-jashub,

at the end of the conduit of the upper pool,

on the highway of the fuller’s field, and say to him:

Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear;

let not your courage fail

before these two stumps of smoldering brands

the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans,

and of the son Remaliah,

because of the mischief that

Aram, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah,

plots against you, saying,

“Let us go up and tear Judah asunder, make it our own by force,

and appoint the son of Tabeel king there.”

Thus says the LORD:

This shall not stand, it shall not be!

Damascus is the capital of Aram,

and Rezin is the head of Damascus;

Samaria is the capital of Ephraim,

and Remaliah’s son the head of Samaria.

But within sixty years and five,

Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation.

Unless your faith is firm

you shall not be firm!

Responsorial Psalm

PS 48:2-3A, 3B-4, 5-6, 7-8

R. (see 9d) God upholds his city for ever.

Great is the LORD and wholly to be praised

in the city of our God.

His holy mountain, fairest of heights,

is the joy of all the earth.

R. God upholds his city for ever.

Mount Zion, “the recesses of the North,”

is the city of the great King.

God is with her castles;

renowned is he as a stronghold. 

R. God upholds his city for ever.

For lo! the kings assemble,

they come on together;

They also see, and at once are stunned,

terrified, routed.

R. God upholds his city for ever.

Quaking seizes them there;

anguish, like a woman’s in labor,

As though a wind from the east

were shattering ships of Tarshish. 

R. God upholds his city for ever.

Gospel

MT 11:20-24

Jesus began to reproach the towns

where most of his mighty deeds had been done,

since they had not repented.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst

had been done in Tyre and Sidon,

they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.

But I tell you, it will be more tolerable

for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.

And as for you, Capernaum:

Will you be exalted to heaven?

You will go down to the nether world.

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,

it would have remained until this day.

But I tell you, it will be more tolerable

for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”