The bulletin for June 29, 2008 is available by clicking here to view it.

Listed below are a few of the items from this week's bulletin. See the bulletin for more details and to read all of the announcements.

PARISH OFFICE CLOSED: The Parish Office will be closed Friday, July 4th in observance of Independence Day.

YOUTH GROUP: The Holy Comforter Youth Group will meet Monday, June 30, from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. in the basement of the church to assemble Safe Birth Kits to be shipped to new mothers in Haiti. All high school students in the parish are invited to participate. Bring a snack to share, as well as a board game for afterwards. There is a sign-up sheet on the credenza. Please contact Suzanne Bailey (296-5033) for further information.

LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO DO: Want to learn more about our Lord's Sacramental love for you? Join us for a small group on Tuesday afternoons at 4:00 p.m. from June 24th to August 26th at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Staunton, Virginia at Assisi Hall. Form more information, contact Heather Orwig at (540) 886-2262. Want more? Join us on Thursday afternoons also at Assisi Hall from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., and we may make rosaries or write to soldiers or maybe we will cook for families in need. We look forward to seeing you.

CATECHISTS NEEDED: Christian Formation needs catechists for all programs--Child, Youth, and Adult. Catechists are needed to teach Kindergarten through RCIA level classes. Please contact Teresa Ritzert for more information. Classes will begin in August.

THE LORD NEEDS YOU: How can you do this? Become a Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. As individuals have left this ministry, the need for new ministers at all masses has become urgent. Training will be provided. PLEASE contact Margaret McElroy at 973-6429 or mdm1909@embarqmail.com.

PANTRY: In the past several weeks, we have seen an increase of people coming to us for food for the first time. These are people who have lost one job and have not yet found another. It is really heartbreaking when these people in need have children. Holy Comforter parishioners are generous supporters of our Outreach Program. Please keep up the good work.

PHILOSOPHY CLUB: The next meeting will be Sunday, July 13th from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. in the lower level. Please read in preparation pages 42-75 of The Inward Morning by Henry Bugbee. For additional information contact Matt Starnowski at matt.starnowsi@gmail.com.

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

This Sunday, the Church celebrates the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles. The Gospel reading from St. Matthew's Gospel, recounts St. Peter's confession that Jesus is the Son of the living God and our Lord's calling St. Peter to be the first pope.

Readings:

Acts 12:1–11
Psalm 34:2–9
2 Timothy 4:6–8,17–18
Matthew 16:13–19

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

• You are Peter! - Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa


• St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)


• The Apostles’ Church (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology


• Saint Peter and Saint Paul from the Crossroads Initiative

June 26th is the anniversary of Saint Josemaría's death in 1975 and is now his feastday.

Opus Dei is a personal prelature of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1928 by Saint Josemaría Escrivá. It seeks "to spread the message that all men and women are called to the fullness of Christian life and to bear witness to Jesus Christ in the fulfillment of their ordinary lives, especially through their work." This site does an excellent job of explaining the prelature and its works, as well as providing related resources.

From Catholic Culture

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, who lived in the Seventeenth Century, received private revelations that form the basis of much of the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus as the devotion is practiced today.

It was to Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690), a humble Visitandine of the monastery at Paray-le Monial, that Christ chose to reveal the desires of His Heart and to confide the task of imparting new life to the devotion [of the Sacred Heart]. There is nothing to indicated that this pious religious had known the devotion prior to the revelations, or at least that she had paid any attention to it.

These revelations were numerous, and the following apparitions are especially remarkable: that which occurred on the feast of St. John, when Jesus permitted Margaret Mary, as He had formerly allowed St. Gertrude, to rest her head upon His Heart, and then disclosed to her the wonders of His love, telling her that He desired to make them known to all mankind and to diffuse the treasures of His goodness, and that He had chosen her for this work (27 Dec., probably 1673); that, probably distinct from the preceding, in which He requested to be honored under the figure of His Heart of flesh; that, when He appeared radiant with love and asked for a devotion of expiatory love -- frequent Communion, Communion on the First Friday of the month, and the observance of the Holy Hour (probably June or July, 1674); that known as the "great apparition" which took place during the octave of Corpus Christi, 1675, probably on 16 June, when He said, "Behold the Heart that has so loved men . . . instead of gratitude I receive from the greater part (of mankind) only ingratitude . . .", and asked her for a feast of reparation of the Friday after the octave of Corpus Christi, bidding her consult Father de la Colombière, then superior of the small Jesuit house at Paray; and finally, those in which solemn homage was asked on the part of the king, and the mission of propagating the new devotion was especially confided to the religious of the Visitation and the priests of the Society of Jesus.

A few days after the "great apparition", of June, 1675, Margaret Mary made all known to Father de la Colombière, and the latter, recognizing the action of the spirit of God, consecrated himself to the Sacred Heart, directed the holy Visitandine to write an account of the apparition, and made use of every available opportunity discreetly to circulate this account through France and England. At his death, 15 February 1682, there was found in his journal of spiritual retreats a copy in his own handwriting of the account that he had requested of Margaret Mary, together with a few reflections on the usefulness of the devotion. This journal, including the account and a beautiful "offering" to the Sacred Heart, in which the devotion was well explained, was published at Lyons in 1684.

The little book was widely read, even at Paray, although not without being the cause of "dreadful confusion" to Margaret Mary, who, nevertheless, resolved to make the best of it and profited by the book for the spreading of her cherished devotion. Moulins, with Mother de Soudeilles, Dijon, with Mother de Saumaise and Sister Joly, Semur, with Mother Greyfié, and even Paray, which had at first resisted, joined the movement. Outside of the Visitandines, priests, religious, and laymen espoused the cause, particularly a Capuchin, Margaret Mary's two brothers, and some Jesuits, among the latter being Fathers Croiset and Gallifet, who were destined to do so much for the devotion.

From Catholic Encyclopedia

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

June is one of the most popular months for couples to get married. The excerpts from the Catechism this month will focus on the Sacrament of Matrimony.

1646   By its very nature conjugal love requires the inviolable fidelity of the spouses. This is the consequence of the gift of themselves which they make to each other. Love seeks to be definitive; it cannot be an arrangement "until further notice." the "intimate union of marriage, as a mutual giving of two persons, and the good of the children, demand total fidelity from the spouses and require an unbreakable union between them."

1647   The deepest reason is found in the fidelity of God to his covenant, in that of Christ to his Church. Through the sacrament of Matrimony the spouses are enabled to represent this fidelity and witness to it. Through the sacrament, the indissolubility of marriage receives a new and deeper meaning.

1648   It can seem difficult, even impossible, to bind oneself for life to another human being. This makes it all the more important to proclaim the Good News that God loves us with a definitive and irrevocable love, that married couples share in this love, that it supports and sustains them, and that by their own faithfulness they can be witnesses to God's faithful love. Spouses who with God's grace give this witness, often in very difficult conditions, deserve the gratitude and support of the ecclesial community.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

V. Lord, have mercy on us.
R. Christ, have mercy on us.
V. Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
R. Christ, graciously hear us.
V. God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mother's womb, [etc.]
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God.
Heart of Jesus, of infinite majesty.
Heart of Jesus, holy temple of God.
Heart of Jesus, tabernacle of the Most High.
Heart of Jesus, house of God and gate of heaven.
Heart of Jesus, glowing furnace of charity.
Heart of Jesus, vessel of justice and love.
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love.
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues.
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise.
Heart of Jesus, King and center of all hearts.
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead.
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased.
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received.
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills.
Heart of Jesus, patient and rich in mercy.
Heart of Jesus, rich to all who call upon You.
Heart of Jesus, fount of life and holiness.
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our offenses.
Heart of Jesus, overwhelmed with reproaches.
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our iniquities.
Heart of Jesus, obedient even unto death.
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance.
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation.
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection.
Heart of Jesus, our peace and reconciliation.
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins.
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who hope in You.
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in You.
Heart of Jesus, delight of all saints.

V. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
R. spare us, O Lord.
V. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
R. graciously hear us, O Lord.
V. Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world,
R. have mercy on us.

V. Jesus, meek and humble of Heart,
R. Make our hearts like unto Thine.

Let us pray.

Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offers Thee in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Thy mercy, in Thy great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who livest and reignest with Thee forever and ever. Amen.

Listen to the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in RealAudio.

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.-

In the Gospel reading for the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, our Lord speaks about fear. He asks us to not be afraid of those who are only able to harm us physically. Instead, of this type of fear, we are to have a holy fear of our Lord. This type of fear recognizes and reacts in awe to God. He is constantly doing amazing and wonderful things which should inspire us to greater acts of love toward all those whom He has placed in our lives.

Readings:

Jeremiah 20:10-13
Psalm 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35
Romans 5:12-15
Matthew 10:26-33

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

• Have Fear But Do Not Be Afraid - Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa


• St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)


• Be Not Afraid (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology

Dads.org is an Internet ministry of St. Joseph's Covenant Keepers.

St. Joseph's Covenant Keepers (i.e. SJCK) is an informal international network of Christian men, under the patronage of St. Joseph, dedicated to strengthening the family. The primary thrust of St. Joseph's Covenant Keepers is to men who are fathers of children still living at home. However, we warmly welcome Christian men of all ages, callings, and states in life: grandfathers wanting to strengthen their children and grandchildren; single men preparing for the vocation of marriage; and especially pastors serving as indispensable spiritual fathers in the family of God. Participation is open to all men who agree with, and who are willing to promote, the eight commitments of St. Joseph's Covenant Keepers. (From the Web site.)

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

St. Romuald, who lived from around 950 to 1027, was the founder of the Camaldolese order and helped contribute to a renewed interest in monastic asceticism. His feast day is June 19.

Born at Ravenna, probably about 950; died at Val-di-Castro, 19 June, 1027. St. Peter Damian, his first biographer, and almost all the Camaldolese writers assert that St. Romuald's age at his death was one hundred and twenty, and that therefore he was born about 907. This is disputed by most modern writers. Such a date not only results in a series of improbabilities with regard to events in the saint's life, but is also irreconcilable with known dates, and probably was determined from some mistaken inference by St. Peter Damian.

In his youth Romuald indulged in the usual thoughtless and even vicious life of the tenth-century noble, yet felt greatly drawn to the eremetical life. At the age of twenty, struck with horror because his father had killed an enemy in a duel, he fled to the Abbey of San Apollinare-in-Classe and after some hesitation entered religion. San Apollinare had recently been reformed by St. Maieul of Cluny, but still was not strict enough in its observance to satisfy Romuald. His injudicious correction of the less zealous aroused such enmity against him that he applied for, and was readily granted, permission to retire to Venice, where he placed himself under the direction of a hermit named Marinus and lived a life of extraordinary severity.

About 978, Pietro Orseolo I, Doge of Venice, who had obtained his office by acquiescence in the murder of his predecessor, began to suffer remorse for his crime. On the advice of Guarinus, Abbot of San Miguel-de-Cuxa, in Catalonia, and of Marinus and Romuald, he abandoned his office and relations, and fled to Cuxa, where he took the habit of St. Benedict, while Romuald and Marinus erected a hermitage close to the monastery. For five years the saint lived a life of great austerity, gathering round him a band of disciples. Then, hearing that his father, Sergius, who had become a monk, was tormented with doubts as to his vocation, he returned in haste to Italy, subjected Sergius to severe discipline, and so resolved his doubts.

For the next thirty years St. Romuald seems to have wandered about Italy, founding many monasteries and hermitages. For some time he made Pereum his favorite resting place. In 1005 he went to Val-di-Castro for about two years, and left it, prophesying that he would return to die there alone and unaided. Again he wandered about Italy; then attempted to go to Hungary, but was prevented by persistent illness. In 1012 he appeared at Vallombrosa, whence he moved into the Diocese of Arezzo. Here, according to the legend, a certain Maldolus, who had seen a vision of monks in white garments ascending into Heaven, gave him some land, afterwards known as the Campus Maldoli, or Camaldoli. St. Romuald built on this land five cells for hermits, which, with the monastery at Fontebuono, built two years later, became the famous mother-house of the Camaldolese Order.

In 1013 he retired to Monte-Sitria. In 1021 he went to Bifolco. Five years later he returned to Val-di-Castro where he died, as he had prophesied, alone in his cell. Many miracles were wrought at his tomb, over which an altar was allowed to be erected in 1032. In 1466 his body was found still incorrupt; it was translated to Fabriano in 1481. In 1595 Clement VIII fixed his feast on 7 Feb., the day of the translation of his relics, and extended its celebration to the whole Church. He is represented in art pointing to a ladder on which are monks ascending to Heaven.

From Catholic Encyclopedia

June is one of the most popular months for couples to get married. The excerpts from the Catechism this month will focus on the Sacrament of Matrimony.

1638   From a valid marriage arises a bond between the spouses which by its very nature is perpetual and exclusive; furthermore, in a Christian marriage the spouses are strengthened and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and the dignity of their state by a special sacrament."

1639   The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another is sealed by God himself. From their covenant arises "an institution, confirmed by the divine law, . . . even in the eyes of society." The covenant between the spouses is integrated into God's covenant with man: "Authentic married love is caught up into divine love."

1640   Thus the marriage bond has been established by God himself in such a way that a marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. This bond, which results from the free human act of the spouses and their consummation of the marriage, is a reality, henceforth irrevocable, and gives rise to a covenant guaranteed by God's fidelity. the Church does not have the power to contravene this disposition of divine wisdom.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

Last Friday, as part of their spring meeting, the U.S. bishops approved a document regarding embryonic stem cell research. The document points out the grave moral problems that exist with the use embryonic stem cells, and then it points to another way which offers concrete help without raising moral concerns.

Nature in fact provides ample resources for pursuing medical progress without raising these grave moral concerns. Stem cells from adult tissues and umbilical cord blood are now known to be much more versatile than once thought. These cells are now in widespread use to treat many kinds of cancer and other illnesses, and in clinical trials they have already benefited patients suffering from heart disease, corneal damage, sickle-cell anemia, multiple sclerosis, and many other devastating conditions.1 Researchers have even developed new non-destructive methods for producing cells with the properties of embryonic stem cells—for example, by "reprogramming" adult cells. There is no moral objection to research and therapy of this kind, when it involves no harm to human beings at any stage of development and is conducted with appropriate informed consent. Catholic foundations and medical centers have been, and will continue to be, among the leading supporters of ethically responsible advances in the medical use of adult stem cells.

Click here to read the full document on the Virginia Catholic Conference Web site.

The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. One of the devotions associated with the Sacred Heart is the pious reception of the body and blood of our Lord on nine consecutive first Fridays. This devotion was communicated to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.

"On Friday during Holy Communion, He said these words to His unworthy slave, if I mistake not: I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that its all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on nine first Fridays of consecutive months the grace of final repentance; they will not die under my displeasure or without receiving their sacraments, my divine Heart making itself their assured refuge at the last moment."

With regard to this promise it may be remarked: (1) that our Lord required Communion to be received on a particular day chosen by Him; (2) that the nine Fridays must be consecutive; (3) that they must be made in honor of His Sacred Heart, which means that those who make the nine Fridays must practice the devotion and must have a great love for our Lord; (4) that our Lord does not say that those who make the nine Fridays will be dispensed from any of their obligations or from exercising the vigilance necessary to lead a good life and overcome temptation; rather He implicitly promises abundant graces to those who make the nine Fridays to help them to carry out these obligations and persevere to the end; (5) that perseverance in receiving Holy Communion for nine consecutive First Fridays helps the faithful to acquire the habit of frequent Communion, which our Lord eagerly desires; and (6) that the practice of the nine Fridays is very pleasing to our Lord since He promises such great reward, and that all Catholics should endeavor to make the nine Fridays.

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.-

The Gospel reading for the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time is taken from the Gospel of Matthew. In the reading, Jesus sends out the Twelve to the lost sheep of Israel. He gives them authority to heal, drive out demons, and even raise the dead. This mission is in response to Jesus' pity for those He sees who are like sheep without a shepherd. They are troubled and abandoned. His response is to send His hand-picked disciples to minister to these souls. Today our Lord does the same. He calls men and women to serve one another. Specifically, He calls men to serve His people as priests even as He made His disciples priests at the Last Supper. On this Fathers' Day, this Gospel reading reminds us to also remember our priestly fathers whom God has called to serve us. May we give thanks to God for all they do, and may we always remember to say a prayer for them and for all those who are called to the priestly vocation.

Readings:

Exodus 19:2-6
Psalm 100: 1-3, 5
Romans 5:6-11
Matthew 9:36-10:8

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

• Crowds Without a True Shepherd - Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa


• St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)


• Kingdom of Priests (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology


• Priesthood of Believers (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from The Crossroads Initiative

One of the best known and loved saints throughout the world is St. Anthony of Padua. He may be well known for his help in finding lost things, but he is also remembered for his holiness and preaching. In his declaration of St. Anthony as a Doctor of the Church, Pope Pius XII noted that his preaching was so strongly Biblical in its foundation and clear proclamation of the Gospel.

His feast day is June 13th.

Perhaps we would never have heard of Anthony if he hadn’t gone to an ordination of Dominicans and Franciscans in 1222. As they gathered for a meal afterward, the provincial suggested that one of the friars give a short sermon. Quite typically, everybody ducked. So Anthony was asked to give "just something simple," since he presumably had no education.

Anthony too demurred, but finally began to speak in a simple, artless way. The fire within him became evident. His knowledge was unmistakable, but his holiness was what really impressed everyone there.

Now he was exposed. His quiet life of prayer and penance at the hermitage was exchanged for that of a public preacher. Francis heard of Anthony’s previously hidden gifts, and Anthony was assigned to preach in northern Italy.

The problem with many preachers in Anthony’s day was that their life-style contrasted sharply with that of the poor people to whom they preached. In our experience, it could be compared to an evangelist arriving in a slum driving a Mercedes, delivering a homily from his car and speeding off to a vacation resort.

Anthony saw that words were obviously not enough. He had to show gospel poverty. People wanted more than self-disciplined, even penitent priests. They wanted genuineness of gospel living. And in Anthony they found it. They were moved by who he was, more than what he said.

Despite his efforts, not everyone listened. Legend has it that one day, faced with deaf ears, Anthony went to the river and preached to the fishes. That, reads the traditional tale, got everyone’s attention.

Anthony traveled tirelessly in both northern Italy and southern France—perhaps 400 trips—choosing to enter the cities where the heretics were strongest. Yet the sermons he has left behind rarely show him taking direct issue with the heretics. As the historian Clasen interprets it, Anthony preferred to present the grandeur of Christianity in positive ways. It was no good to prove people wrong: Anthony wanted to win them to the right, the healthiness of real sorrow and conversion, the wonder of reconciliation with a loving Father.

Excerpted from Life of St. Anthony of Padua by Leonard Foley, O.F.M.

Papal Encyclicals Online contains an extensive collection of papal encyclicals and other papal documents from the current Pope back to Pope Honorius (1226). It features Papal encyclicals, bulls, letters, and exhortations. The documents are indexed by Pope and the site has a good search engine for finding specific topics. There are also a number of pictures of these documents and a few pertinent links.

From Catholic Culture

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

June is one of the most popular months for couples to get married. The excerpts from the Catechism this month will focus on the Sacrament of Matrimony.

1641   "By reason of their state in life and of their order, [Christian spouses] have their own special gifts in the People of God." This grace proper to the sacrament of Matrimony is intended to perfect the couple's love and to strengthen their indissoluble unity. By this grace they "help one another to attain holiness in their married life and in welcoming and educating their children."

1642   Christ is the source of this grace. "Just as of old God encountered his people with a covenant of love and fidelity, so our Savior, the spouse of the Church, now encounters Christian spouses through the sacrament of Matrimony."147 Christ dwells with them, gives them the strength to take up their crosses and so follow him, to rise again after they have fallen, to forgive one another, to bear one another's burdens, to "be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ," and to love one another with supernatural, tender, and fruitful love. In the joys of their love and family life he gives them here on earth a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb:

How can I ever express the happiness of a marriage joined by the Church, strengthened by an offering, sealed by a blessing, announced by angels, and ratified by the Father? . . . How wonderful the bond between two believers, now one in hope, one in desire, one in discipline, one in the same service! They are both children of one Father and servants of the same Master, undivided in spirit and flesh, truly two in one flesh. Where the flesh is one, one also is the spirit.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The following prayer was written by St. Margaret Mary Alacoque. St. Padre Pio prayed this novena everyday for all those who had asked for his prayers.

I. O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and it will be opened to you." Behold I knock, I seek and ask for the grace of...... (here name your request) Our Father....Hail Mary....Glory Be to the Father....Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

II. O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you." Behold, in your name, I ask the Father for the grace of.......(here name your request) Our Father...Hail Mary....Glory Be To the Father....Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

III. O my Jesus, you have said: "Truly I say to you, heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away." Encouraged by your infallible words I now ask for the grace of.....(here name your request) Our Father....Hail Mary....Glory Be to the Father...Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, for whom it is impossible not to have compassion on the afflicted, have pity on us miserable sinners and grant us the grace which we ask of you, through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, your tender Mother and ours.

Say the Hail, Holy Queen and add: St. Joseph, foster father of Jesus, pray for us.

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.-

The Gospel reading for the Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time is taken from the Gospel of Matthew. In the reading, St. Matthew recounts how Jesus called him to become one of His disciples. St. Matthew was a tax collector which, for many at that time, would seem the most unlikely of candidates to be a disciple of the Messiah. Tax collectors were among the most despised persons in Jewish society because they were seen as traitors who assisted the Romans in oppressing the Jewish people. In addition, they earned their living by profiting from their own countrymen in order to supply money to the oppressors of the Jewish people. It is no wonder that Jesus is questioned by the Pharisees about the company he keeps because it includes tax collectors. In their minds, how can he be the Messiah of Israel if He is associating Himself with traitors. His reply indicates that His Kingdom is not political, but a Kingdom of love. His Kingdom is one of mercy for those who are ill rather than a place for the already holy. This mercy extends to all, not just a few.

Readings:

Hosea 6:3-6
Psalm 50:1,8,12-15
Romans 4:18-25
Matthew 9:9-13

Here are a few commentaries on these readings:

• God Desires Mercy, Not Sacrifice - Pontifical Household preacher, Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa


• St. Charles Borromeo Lectionary Site (PDF)


• Sacrifice of Praise (Also available to be heard as an MP3) from St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology


• Religiosity vs. Holiness from The Crossroads Initiative

This website provides an opportunity to learn more about Carmelite spirituality through listening to short meditations compiled by the Secular Carmelite Community at the Carmel of St. Joseph in St. Louis, MO.

We recommend you take time from a busy schedule to spend a couple of minutes refocusing on spiritual realities with the words of the greatest Carmelite saints. The site is well designed and the meditations range in length between 1.5 to 5 minutes. The audio from these Podcasts can be downloaded onto your computer or MP3 player, and you may store the meditations on an iPod or CD. These reflections will inspire you to take up the practice of prayer in your life!

From Catholic Culture

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. This week's excerpt from the Catechism is taken from two paragraphs which speak about the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The heart of our Lord reminds us of His love for us both human and divine, and devotion to His Sacred Heart is an appropriate response to the infinite love He offers to each of us.

478   Jesus knew and loved us each and all during his life, his agony and his Passion, and gave himself up for each one of us: "The Son of God. . . loved me and gave himself for me." He has loved us all with a human heart. For this reason, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pierced by our sins and for our salvation, "is quite rightly considered the chief sign and symbol of that. . . love with which the divine Redeemer continually loves the eternal Father and all human beings" without exception.

2669   The prayer of the Church venerates and honors the Heart of Jesus just as it invokes his most holy name. It adores the incarnate Word and his Heart which, out of love for men, he allowed to be pierced by our sins. Christian prayer loves to follow the way of the cross in the Savior's steps. the stations from the Praetorium to Golgotha and the tomb trace the way of Jesus, who by his holy Cross has redeemed the world.

Catechism of the Catholic Church

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.

The month of June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

The Roman Pontiffs have frequently averted to the scriptural basis of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Jesus, who is one with the Father (cf. John 10, 30), invites his disciples to live in close communion with him, to model their lives on him and on his teaching. He, in turn, reveals himself as "meek and humble of heart" (Mt 11, 29). It can be said that, in a certain sense, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a cultic form of the prophetic and evangelic gaze of all Christians on him who was pierced (cf. John 19, 37; Zac 12, 10), the gaze of all Christians on the side of Christ, transfixed by a lance, and from which flowed blood and water (cf. John 19, 34), symbols of the "wondrous sacrament of the Church".

Jesus, who is one with the Father (cf. John 10, 30), invites his disciples to live in close communion with him, to model their lives on him and on his teaching. He, in turn, reveals himself as "meek and humble of heart" (Mt 11, 29). It can be said that, in a certain sense, devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is a cultic form of the prophetic and evangelic gaze of all Christians on him who was pierced (cf. John 19, 37; Zac 12, 10), the gaze of all Christians on the side of Christ, transfixed by a lance, and from which flowed blood and water (cf. John 19, 34), symbols of the "wondrous sacrament of the Church".

These and other texts present Christ as the paschal Lamb, victorious and slain (cf. Apoc 5,6). They were objects of much reflection by the Fathers who unveiled their doctrinal richness. They invited the faithful to penetrate the mysteries of Christ by contemplating the wound opened in his side. Augustine writes: "Access is possible: Christ is the door. It was opened for you when his side was opened by the lance. Remember what flowed out from his side: thus, choose where you want to enter Christ. From the side of Christ as he hung dying upon the Cross there flowed out blood and water, when it was pierced by a lance. Your purification is in that water, your redemption is in that blood".

Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy (167-8)

---

This post is from the Holy Comforter Catholic Church eNewsletter which is sent out once a week via email. If you would like to subscribe to the eNewsletter, click here.-

For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy. - St. Thérèrse of Liseaux

The Holy Father's prayer intentions for June are:

General: That all Christians may cultivate a deep and personal friendship with Christ so to communicate the strength of his love to every person they meet.

Mission: That the International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec may lead to greater understanding that the Eucharist is the heart of the Church and the source of evangelization.

Pro-Life Prayer Intention

For increased ecumenical collaboration in defense of life.