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August 3, 2009 -  Monday of Eighthteeth Week Ordinary Time      LITURGICAL/THEME MEDITATION: "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENT(S): Pope to Send Clergy Congregation Prefect to Ars SAINT OF THE DAY St. Peter Julian Eymard  GENERAL MARIOLOGY THE DIVINE HISTORY AND LIFE OF THE VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD Book Five - Chapter I  INTERIOR TRIALS OF MARY; JESUS IN THE TEMPLE.   DIVINE MERCY Divine Mercy in My Soul NOTEBOOK V  TEACHING/TESTIMONY/CONVICTION: From Abortion to Conversion: Testimony of a Former Abortion Provider KATHY SPARKS

DAILY LITURGICAL MEDITATION

Monday (8/3):  "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." Scripture: Matthew 14:22-36 22 Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat by this time was many furlongs distant from the land, beaten by the waves; for the wind was against them. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out for fear. 27 But immediately he spoke to them, saying, "Take heart, it is I; have no fear." 28 And Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, bid me come to you on the water." 29 He said, "Come." So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus; 30 but when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me." 31 Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "O man of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God." 34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent round to all that region and brought to him all that were sick, 36 and besought him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment; and as many as touched it were made well. Meditation: Does the Lord seem distant when trials or adversity come your way? It was at Jesus' initiative that the disciples sailed across the lake, only to find themselves in a life-threatening storm (see Mark 6:53-56). Although they were experienced fishermen, they feared for their lives. While Jesus was not with them in the boat, he, nonetheless watched for them in prayer. When he perceived their trouble he came to them on the sea and startled them with his sudden appearance. Do you look for the Lord's presence when you encounter difficulty or challenges? This dramatic incident on the sea of Galilee revealed Peter's character more fully than others. Here we see Peter's impulsivity — his tendency to act without thinking of what he was doing. He often failed and came to grief as a result of his impulsiveness. In contrast, Jesus always bade his disciples to see how difficult it was to follow him before they set out on the way he taught them. A great deal of failure in the Christian life is due to acting on impulse and emotional fervor without counting the cost. Peter, fortunately in the moment of his failure clutched at Jesus and held him firmly. Every time Peter fell, he rose again. His failures only made him love the Lord more deeply and trust him more intently. The Lord keeps watch over us at all times, and especially in our moments of temptation and difficulty. Fear makes us focus on ourselves, especially when we recognize our weakness and helplessness. The Lord Jesus calls to us on the troubled waters of life to walk with faith rather than with fear. Faith enables us to look to Christ, the Lord of the winds and waves. He can calm any storm and every fear. Do you rely on the Lord for his strength and help? Jesus assures us that we have no need of fear if we trust in him and in his great love for us. When calamities or trials threaten to overwhelm you, how do you respond? With faith and hope in God's love, care, and presence with you? "Lord Jesus, help me to trust you always and to never doubt your presence and your power to help me. In my moments of doubt and weakness, may I cling to you as Peter did. Strengthen my faith that I may walk straight in the path you set before me, neither veering to the left nor to the right". Psalm 81:1, 12-16 1 Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob. 11 "But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me. 12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels. 13 O that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways! 14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies, and turn my hand against their foes. 15 Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their doom would last forever. 16 I would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."   www.dailyscripture.net   RETURN TO TOP

UNIVERSAL CHURCH/WORLD EVENTS

Pope to Send Clergy Congregation Prefect to Ars Event to Celebrate St. John Vianney During Year for Priests   ARS, France, JULY 31, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Claudio Hummes will represent Benedict XVI at celebrations in Ars on the feast of John Vianney, the saint the Holy Father has proposed as the model for this Year for Priests. The prefect of the Congregation for Clergy will be the papal legate for the Aug. 4 Mass in the town where John Vianney practiced his ministry. The celebration this year marks the 150th anniversary of John Vianney's death; the Year for Priests is marking that anniversary and a jubilee year in Ars has also celebrated the event. The sanctuary will have two days of celebration. On Aug. 3, Father Jean-Philippe Nault, rector of the sanctuary, will give a conference titled: "The Cure d'Ars: Holy Patron of the World's Priests." Later that day, Bishop Guy Bagnard of Belley-Ars will give a talk on the Year for Priests. A Mass will then be celebrated to pray for priestly vocations, and a prayer vigil with confessions will follow. Cardinal Hummes will celebrate Mass the next day. At the end of Mass, there will be adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and the closing event will be the unveiling of a new statue of St. John Vianney. In the June 16 letter by which Benedict XVI proclaimed the Year for Priests, the Pope reflected on the life of the saint of Ars. "Saint John Mary Vianney taught his parishioners primarily by the witness of his life," he wrote. "It was from his example that they learned to pray, halting frequently before the tabernacle for a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament." And, he added, it was the saint's "deep personal identification with the sacrifice of the cross [that] led him -- by a sole inward movement -- from the altar to the confessional."     TURN TO TOP

DAILY LITURGICAL SAINT

St. Peter Julian Eymard (1811-1868)   Born in La Mure d'Isère in southeastern France, Peter Julian's faith journey drew him from being a priest in the Diocese of Grenoble (1834) to joining the Marists (1839) to founding the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (1856). In addition to those changes, Peter Julian coped with poverty, his father's initial opposition to Peter's vocation, serious illness, a Jansenistic striving for inner perfection and the difficulties of getting diocesan and later papal approval for his new religious community. His years as a Marist, including service as a provincial leader, saw the deepening of his eucharistic devotion, especially through his preaching of Forty Hours in many parishes. Inspired at first by the idea of reparation for indifference to the Eucharist, Peter Julian was eventually attracted to a more positive spirituality of Christ-centered love. Members of the men's community, which Peter founded, alternated between an active apostolic life and contemplating Jesus in the Eucharist. He and Marguerite Guillot founded the women's Congregation of the Servants of the Blessed Sacrament. Peter Julian Eymard was beatified in 1925 and canonized in 1962, one day after Vatican II's first session ended. Comment: In every century, sin has been painfully real in the life of the Church. It is easy to give in to despair, to speak so strongly of human failings that people may forget the immense and self-sacrificing love of Jesus, as his death on the cross and his gift of the Eucharist make evident. Peter Julian knew that the Eucharist was key to helping Catholics live out their Baptism and preach by word and example the Good News of Jesus Christ. Quote: “The Eucharist is the life of the people. The Eucharist gives them a center of life. All can come together without the barriers of race or language in order to celebrate the feast days of the Church. It gives them a law of life, that of charity, of which it is the source; thus it forges between them a common bond, a Christian kinship” (Peter Julian Eymard).   http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintofDay RETURN TO TOP

GENERAL MARIOLOGY

THE DIVINE HISTORY AND LIFE OF THE VIRGIN MOTHER OF GOD BOOK FIVE Concerning the Perfection with which the most Holy Mary copied and Imitated the Activity of the Soul of Christ; how the Incarnate Word Instructed Her in the Laws of grace, the Articles of Faith, the Sacraments, the Ten Commandments; and with what Alacrity and Noble Promptitude She Corresponded. Also concerning the Death of Saint Joseph, the Preaching of Saint John, the call of the First Disciples and the Baptism Of the Virgin Mary, our Blessed Lady   CHAPTER I.  INTERIOR TRIALS OF MARY; JESUS IN THE TEMPLE.  Having thus spent all the seven days of the feast. They betook themselves on their way home to Nazareth. When his parents departed from Jerusalem and were pursuing their way homeward, the Child Jesus withdrew from them without their knowledge. For this purpose the Lord availed Himself of the separation of the men and women, which had become customary among the pilgrims for reasons of decency as well as for greater recollection during their return homeward. The children which accompanied their parents were taken in charge promiscuously either by the men or the women, since their company with either was a matter of indifference. Thus it happened that saint Joseph could easily suppose that the Child Jesus had remained with his most holy Mother, with whom He generally remained. The thought that She would go without Him was far from his mind, since the heavenly Queen loved and delighted in Him more than any other creature human or angelic. The great Lady did not have so many reasons for supposing that her most holy Son was in the company of saint Joseph: but the Lord himself so diverted her thoughts by holy and divine contemplations, that She did not notice his absence at first. When afterwards She became aware of her not being accompanied by her sweetest and beloved Son, She supposed that the blessed Joseph had taken Him along and that the Lord accompanied his foster-father for his consolation. Thus assured, holy Mary and Joseph pursued their home journey for an entire day, as saint Luke tells us. As the pilgrims proceeded onwards they gradually thinned out, each taking his own direction and joining again with his wife or family. The most holy Mary and saint Joseph found themselves at length in the place where they had agreed to meet on the first evening after leaving Jerusalem. When the great Lady saw that the Child was not with saint Joseph and when the holy Patriarch found that He was not with his Mother, the two were struck dumb with amazement and surprise for quite a while. Both, governed in their judgment by their most profound humility, felt overwhelmed with self-reproach at their remissness in watching over their most holy Son and thus blamed themselves for his absence; for neither of them had any suspicion of the mysterious manner in which He had been able to elude their vigilance. After a time they recovered somewhat from their astonishment and with deepest sorrow took counsel with each other as to what was to be done (Luke 2, 45). The loving Mother said to saint Joseph: "My Spouse and my master, my heart cannot rest, unless we return with all haste to Jerusalem in order to seek my most holy Son." This they proceeded to do, beginning their search among their relations and friends, of whom, however, none could give them any information or any comfort in their sorrow; on the contrary their answers only increased their anxiety, since none of them had so much as seen their Son since their departure from Jerusalem. Thus this sincerest Dove persevered in her tears and groans without cessation or rest, without sleeping or eating anything for three whole days. Although the thousand angels accompanied Her in corporeal forms and witnessed her affliction and sorrow, yet they gave Her no clue to find her lost Child. On the third day the great Queen resolved to seek Him in the desert where saint John was; for since She saw no indications that Archelaus had taken Him prisoner, She began to believe more firmly, that her most holy Son was with saint John. When She was about to execute her resolve and was on the point of departing for the desert, the holy angels detained Her, urging Her not to undertake the journey, since the divine Word was not there. She wanted also to go to Bethlehem, in the hope of finding Him in the cave of the Nativity; but this the holy angels likewise prevented, telling Her that He was not so far off. Although the blessed Mother heard these answers and well perceived that the holy angels knew the whereabouts of the Child Jesus, She was so considerate and reserved in her humility and prudence, that She gave no response, nor asked where She could find Him; for She understood that they withheld this information by command of the Lord. With such magnanimous reverence did the Queen of the angels treat the sacraments of the Most High and of his ministers and ambassadors (II Mach. 2, 9). This was one of the occasions in which the greatness of her queenly and magnanimous heart was made manifest.    RETURN TO TOP

DIVINE MERCY

Divine Mercy In my soul   The Mercy of the Lord I will sing Forever. Divine Mercy in my soul. Sr. Faustina, Diary   NOTEBOOK V J.M.J. I perform each deed in the face of death. I do it now as I would want to see it in my last hour. Although life, like the wind, will pass swiftly by, No deed undertaken for God will perish. I feel the complete decay of my organism, Although I am still living and working. Death will be no tragedy for me, Because I have long felt it. Although it is very unpleasant for nature To constantly smell one’s own corps, Yet it is not so terrible when the soul is filled with God’s light, Because in it faith, hope, love and contrition are awakened. Daily I make great efforts To take part in community life, Thereby gaining graces for soul’s salvation, Shielding them by my sacrifice from the fire of hell. For the salvation of even a single soul Is worth the sacrifice of a lifetime And the bearing of the greatest sacrifices and torments, Seeing how great the glory it gives God. Lord, although You often make known to me the thunders of Your anger, Your anger vanishes before lowly souls. Although You are great, Lord, You allow yourself to be overcome by a lowly and deeply humble soul. O humility, the most precious of virtues, how few souls possess you! I see only a semblance of this virtue everywhere, but not the virtue itself. Lord, reduce me to nothingness in my own eyes that I may find grace in Yours.   RETURN TO TOP

CATHOLIC  TEACHING/CONVICTION/TESTIMONY

From Abortion to Conversion: Testimony of a Former Abortion Provider KATHY SPARKS I'm very excited to be here today. There is a lot that's happened in my life and I just want to take this short amount of time I have today and open up my life to all of you, and, hopefully, all that I've been a part of and all that I'm doing right now will encourage you and somewhat shed a light on the abortion issue. Let me just begin with a little bit about my past, and I think that's very important. It is important when you hear someone's personal testimony to be able to understand them better, and that is if you know where they've come from, where they've been, and what made them the way they were. I want to begin by letting you know that even as a very young person, when I was 16 and 17, I used to volunteer at a hospital. I had a strong desire to be a nurse when I grew up, and I got married and during that time I went to Southern Illinois University (SIU) at Edwardsville, and I was studying to become a nurse. During that period of time I met Mike, and therefore divorced my first husband, and Mike and I got married. As far as my religious background, I was Catholic; always had been Catholic. I went to Catholic school and then had taken religious instruction all my life--so I had a definite background. But there was no personal relationship with Jesus Christ at all. I had kind of a misunderstanding about religion. I used to feel that as long as I went to church every Sunday and went to Confession every three months that that was good enough to get me into heaven. In the meantime on Saturday nights and all through the week I was pretty much living in the fast lane. I was talking earlier to Nita (who will be speaking later) and we were just sharing for a moment how evil we really were. And from the type of person that I was to seeing what the Lord has done through me now, is really incredible. Unlike Dr. Brewer's statement about how it hurts at first, and as they progress in sin it becomes easier and easier, I was kind of wicked to begin with, so it was easy right away. While I was going to SIU and shortly after Mike and I were married I became pregnant with our first child. Interesting enough, when I went to the doctor (I had had only one period after we were married, and got pregnant, so it was very unexpected, very unplanned), he did the pelvic exam and I had suspected because I was very sick. The first thing he said to me was, "Don't worry about this Mrs. Sparks, we can take care of this." He said, "I happen to have time at this Reproductive Health Clinic and I do abortions there in the evening." He said, "So there's no problem, you can go ahead and have an abortion, then you can have children when you and your husband are ready." It is incredible that I was in such shock at that time as I was very pro-choice, but I didn't think about it. I'm very thankful now because we have a wonderful 10-year-old daughter and I'm very thankful that I did not listen to that seed that he had planted in my heart. It was almost like, well, I'm married, so that couldn't justify it. With the baby on the way we couldn't financially afford for me to continue my education, so I left college with the thought that I would return to it later. When I worked at the hospital, I worked on the OB floor. I had to experience all the different areas of the hospital before they allowed me to choose where I wanted to volunteer. It was incredible because I used to love to watch babies being born and I knew that was the type of nurse I wanted to be. I wanted to work on the OB floor and help deliver those babies. Right after the birth of Shannon, I knew that I needed to go back to work. We were in very bad financial shape and one of the people who lived in the apartment downstairs worked at the abortion clinic on the other side. At this particular abortion clinic there are two sides: the OB/GYN side where women go in to have babies, and on the other side they abort them. Let me tell you, it is very contradictory. She told me that there was an opening for a medical assistant on the abortion side of the clinic down at Hope and suggested I go down and apply for the job. I thought about it and talked to Mike about it, and when I asked her how much money they paid, she told me it was excellent. I thought this was great; I'd be in the medical field; I didn't necessary have to have my degree. So I went down and had a very intense interview. Let me tell you, as all of the former abortionists will tell you, that they really want to make sure that you are pro-choice before they hire you, and I really was. I did not have to convince them; it was obvious. They did put me through a second interview, however; they wanted to make doubly sure that they were hiring someone who was pro-choice. They primarily hired me to assist the doctor during the abortion procedure, but now I can see how God's hand was upon me, even then, because I was allowed to view every single area of that abortion clinic. In the beginning, they trained me to answer the telephones and to make appointments. You are going to see, as we all share our testimonies, that every abortion clinic is unique in the fact that they are all different, even though they do the same thing. In this particular abortion clinic, when the girl set up her appointment, if the girl sounded even the least bit anxious to make the appointment for that day, they did not want her to have an opportunity to change her mind or to have someone talk her out of it, or the possibility of her going to another abortion clinic. As you will see as I tell you about this clinic, I believe the love of money was the root of evil that happened at this particular abortion clinic (this is only my opinion). We did between 40 and 60 a day at this one clinic; they were very busy and they did abortions approximately four days per week. We would just stay there late and work sometimes two hours overtime to get those extra girls in. Sometimes they were more than content to wait until the next day, or perhaps the next week; other times they had to have it done then, and, indeed, they would get their abortion that day. So, I answered phones and set up trays in the morning. We would put the instruments in a big sterilizer and set them all up; about ten at a time; then we'd set more up. Then I was trained to do all sorts of fun medical things, like take blood pressure. I just really loved it; I really liked it; I liked my job. I got to wear a white uniform. All the desires in my heart to be a nurse were being somewhat fulfilled, as evil as it was. I did not see how evil abortion was. It did not bother me at all. When I saw my first abortion procedure, I didn't see it any differently than dissecting a frog in biology. I had blinders upon my eyes, as I believe many people involved in the abortion industry do. I believe that many of them, giving them the benefit of the doubt, didn't really see the evil that they were partaking in. (to be continued)   RETURN TO TOP

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