The Carmelite Feast of Saint Elijah, Prophet
July 20, 2017

Both branches of the Carmelites today honor the Old Testament prophet Elijah as a saint.  The Order of Carmelites celebrates the Sacred Liturgy today as a solemnity, while the Discalced Carmelites honor the prophet with the rank of feast. Continue reading →

Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Exodus 11:10—12:14  +  Matthew 12:1-8
July 21, 2017

“‘This day shall be a memorial feast for you….’”

During Lent we hear many passages in the Sacred Liturgy about the Exodus of ancient Israel.  During these days of Ordinary Time in which we are hearing of Moses’ vocation, there is more hop-scotching through these narratives.  From yesterday’s to today’s weekday Mass, we jump from Moses in front of the burning bush to the final of the ten plagues by which God forced the hand of Pharaoh. Continue reading →

Divine Intimacy § 234 is titled “Infinite Wisdom”.
The following reflection is based upon Father Gabriel’s meditation:

Wisdom can be difficult to define for many reasons.  In our own day, one such reason is that wisdom is so rare.  We can’t recognize what we don’t see. Continue reading →

Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Exodus 3:13-20  +  Matthew 11:28-30
July 20, 2017

“God replied, ‘I am who am.’”

We often take for granted the power of names.  Two examples can illustrate this simple truth.  Many of us had the experience when little of our parents calling us by our full name:  first, middle, and last.  This was generally not a good thing.  Secondly, when someone is angry with you, it’s a very powerful expression of anger when that person calls out your name in anger.  Hearing your name called out in anger can easily rattle you. Continue reading →

Reflection based upon
Divine Intimacy 233:  God’s Infinite Goodness Is Diffusive

Among what are called “the divine perfections” are God’s goodness, wisdom, justice, and beauty.  Arguably, goodness is the simplest of these perfections.  Parents and teachers talk even with little children about goodness:  not only for loftier reasons, but also for practical reasons, so that there’s harmony in the home and the classroom.  And what’s one of the most difficult lessons for little children to learn about how to be good?  It is how to share.  The look on a little boy’s face, when with arms folded across his chest he refuses to share, suggests something important about goodness and its opposite. Continue reading →

Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Exodus 3:1-6, 9-12  +  Matthew 11:25-27
July 19, 2017

“‘Come no nearer!  Remove the sandals from your feet….’”

Both the First Reading and the Gospel Reading today proclaim the power of divine revelation.  Jesus in today’s Gospel Reading makes an exclamation to His Father, something rare in the four Gospel accounts.  During this exclamation, Jesus says, “no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” Continue reading →

The Blessed Carmelite Martyrs of Compiègne *
July 17, 2017

During the French Revolution’s Reign of Terror, over 40,000 persons were executed for their fidelity to the Catholic Faith. The sixteen Carmelite martyrs of Compiègne, beatified by Pope St. Pius X in 1906, were among this vast number of Christ’s faithful, yet their testimony is particularly striking.

When their lodgings were invaded in June 1794, revolutionaries shattered their devotional objects.  The revolutionary who trampled their tabernacle underfoot told them that their convent should be turned into a dog kennel.  In the prison where they were taken, they composed a chant for their impending martyrdom.  The original copy of the chant still exists.  The last verse pays special homage to Our Lady, singing:

“Holy Virgin, our model, August queen of martyrs, deign to strengthen our zeal / And purify our desires, protect France even yet, help us mount to Heaven, /  Make us feel even in these places, the effects of your power.  Sustain your children, / Submissive, obedient, dying, dying with Jesus and in our King believing.” Continue reading →

Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Exodus 2:1-15  +  Matthew 11:20-24
July 18, 2017

“…she said, ‘I drew him out of the water.’”

Today’s First Reading gives us the “origin story” of Moses.  The Bible does not tell us the names of Moses’ parents, but the first sentence of today’s passage reveals that both of them were of the house of Levi.  The Levites were the priestly tribe of Israel.  Right off the bat, this foreshadows something important about the role that Moses will play in salvation history. Continue reading →

Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time [I]
Exodus 1:8-14,22  +  Matthew 10:34—11:1
July 17, 2017

“The Egyptians, then, dreaded the children of Israel and reduced them to cruel slavery….”

Today we begin at weekday Mass to hear from the Book of Exodus.  We’ll continue to hear from this book for about three weeks.  Today’s passage from Exodus is from its first chapter.  Moses does not appear.  What we hear today forms the backdrop for his entrance. Continue reading →