June 14 - Sunday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A

June 14 - Sunday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time, Year A

(Ex.19:2-6a; Ps.100:1-3,5; Rom.5:6-11; Mt.9:36-10:8) "I bore you up on eagle wings, and brought you here to myself." As the Lord rescued the Israelites from slavery to the Egyptians and brought them into His presence in the desert of Sinai, so in the same way, in a full manner, "God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us." God loves us and draws us to Himself. He is "moved with pity" when He sees us "like sheep without a shepherd." And so He sends the Good Shepherd in Jesus His Son; and so Jesus sends out His apostles to us, so that by their hands we might be freed from sin and the grasp of the devil and be reconciled with God through Christ. And once "we have… received reconciliation," the Lord promises us, "If you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession, dearer to me than all other people, though all the earth is mine." These words He speaks to His chosen ones are the same Paul declares to the Romans when he says, "If, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by His life." For saved by the crucifixion of Jesus, "justified by His blood" poured upon us, His life is now with us; and remaining in the way He has set before us, obedient to His command of love… laying down our lives as He has, we indeed become "a kingdom of priests, a holy nation." And this Jesus Himself confirms when He instructs His apostles, "Without cost you have received" – He has saved us through no merit of our own… "without cost you are to give" – all our lives are to be sacrificed for Him and for His holy people. Brothers and sisters, we are "His people, the flock He tends." The Lord first called the sons of Jacob, and so Jesus first sends His apostles to "the lost sheep of the house of Israel," to know the fulfillment of the promise made to them in ancient times. And now the Catholic Church is become the New Jerusalem, the new house in which the Lord does dwell, and all are called by God's love into its secure confines. As He revealed His love when He "gave [the apostles] authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness," so now the power of God rests upon His Church to draw all men unto the Father by the ministry of His anointed ones. The Lord saves us from all sin; let us come now to be with Him. Written, read & chanted, and produced by James Kurt. Music: "Souls at a Carnival" from All One, sixth album of Songs for Children of Light, by James Kurt. ******* O LORD, in your kindness you care for your straying flock and gather us into your arms. YHWH, we are your own; gather us into your arms and make us holy as you. Your Son has died for us – let us now live with Him and do your will. LORD, your love for us is so great that even when we were in the midst of slavery to sin, you reached down and drew us from that place and raised us up to sit with you. By Jesus' blood you washed us clean of all our imperfections, all our blindness to your presence, not only redeeming us from such darkness but making of us a kingdom of priests to stand in your Son's stead and do your holy will. Indeed, how great is your love for us! Let us answer your call, LORD. Let us fulfill the mission you set before us. Let us truly be your own children, the sheep you bless and guide; and help us to bring other souls into your fold, that all might rejoice in your kindness, that all might sing your praise. Let us be released from all the snares of the devil, O LORD, and dwell with you on the mountain of eternal life.

June 13 - Prayer to St. Anthony of Padua

O gentle preacher of the Word, the fire of the Holy Spirit upon your soul for the conversion of heretics and the leading of all to God – hold us in your arms even as the infant Jesus who appeared to you along the way, and pray that the Word may be instilled in our hearts even as it was in your own, that we shall never go astray but always have the consolation of the Spirit of God and His love and innocence to lead us through this life till we find ourselves at home in the Father's arms, where you dwell in peace with all His blessed saints. Pray for us, our teacher and brother, this day.

June 13 - Prayer to the Immaculate Heart of Mary

O Sanctuary of the Father, Temple of the Holy Spirit, Mother of the Son of God who carried Him in your womb and contemplated Him in your heart – how shall we find Jesus within us; how shall we become the temples of the Spirit the Lord calls us all to be if you do not pray for us, if we are not formed in your womb, in the love with which you are blessed? Hold us in your soul, dear Mother, that our spirits might join with your own and we might thus become one with our Lord and brother. In us also let Him make His home.

June 13 - Saturday of the 10th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II

(1Kgs.19:19-21; Ps.16:1-2,5,7-10; Mt.5:33-37) "I will follow you." Elisha gives His yes to Elijah, and so to God. He "kiss[es] [his] father and mother good-bye" and weds himself to the prophet who has thrown "his cloak over him." And he shall not turn back, shall not fall short of giving his entire self to the service of God, and so shall be greatly blessed. All he leaves behind. His very livelihood he slaughters, and gives these twelve oxen "to his people to eat." For he shall not return to work for them anymore. "You are my inheritance, O Lord," David sings; "my allotted portion and my cup, you it is who hold fast my lot." All his soul trusts in the Lord in whom he "take[s] refuge," and what more does the Lord's king need? "My heart is glad and my soul rejoices, my body, too, abides in confidence": all his being finds peace in the presence of God, for all his being is set upon Him. So it is, brothers and sisters, that to the extent we give ourselves to God, to the degree that we give our yes to the Lord, even so will we find our place secure. For making our home in heaven with Him, there is nothing to keep us from His grace. All else falls short of His glory. Heaven and earth shall pass away, and the hairs on our heads are numbered: only the New Jerusalem is lasting; only heaven is secure, for only in heaven is God. We must be with Him. We must give ourselves to Him. Why should anything less hold sway in our lives? Why should we hesitate to follow Him with our whole heart? For there is nothing else that has importance – heaven is all that matters, and giving our lives to this place which is all life, how protected we are from "the evil one" who would dilute our love of God. And how certain our yes to our God is a no to this adversarial devil. Honor your mother and father, children; give to all the love that is due. But give to God your very soul; let your spirit rest in Him alone, and you will be blessed forevermore. ******* O LORD, let us follow you unreservedly and know your presence at our side. YHWH, let us give you our 'yes' even as your Blessed Mother, even as Elisha, even as all your faithful disciples. Let us give all things over to you and follow your way unreservedly. In your truth let us ever remain, not wavering or turning back to what we have left behind. In you let us make our home and we will dwell in Heaven. What do we need but you at our side? For what should we be concerned but serving your will? For as we take refuge in you, as we set our hearts on your work and your will, nothing can disturb us – in complete confidence our soul abides. For you are all, O LORD; you are all and everything, and nothing exists apart from you. And so, if we have you, everything is ours. Let us but give our trust to you. And we shall never die if we trust our lives into your hands. You shall be our food and drink, and we shall sit at your table forever… O LORD, we give you our 'yes' this day.

June 12 - The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Year A

(Dt.7:6-11; Ps.103:1-4,8,10,17; 1Jn.4:7-16; Mt.11:25-30) "He has loved us and has sent His Son as an offering for our sins." Who better to hear from on this blessed feast than John, the Lord's beloved disciple, whose words indeed continually breathe the fact that "God is love" and who eternally exhorts us to "love one another." John cannot but speak of the love God has for His children and the love we must offer in return; and all of our Scripture today echoes his understanding and calls us to be washed in the blood of Christ. In our gospel Jesus calls unto the hearts of all: "Come to me, all you who are weary and find life burdensome, and I will refresh you." He invites His little ones: "Take my yoke upon your shoulders and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart." O so gentle and humble of heart is the Lord our God… so loving, so kind! David sings of Him so well in his psalm of praise and thanksgiving: "Merciful is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness." Why does God's king "bless the Lord" with "all [his] being" today? Because "not according to our sins does He deal with us." Because of His forgiving grace – this greatest sign of His love, embodied in His only Son. And so, as Moses says to all the people in our hearing on this holy feast, we should "love Him and keep His commandments," for He is "the faithful God who keeps His merciful covenant down to the thousandth generation." Yes, this covenant of love has been fulfilled in Jesus' blood, in Jesus' heart from which His blood does come, and "when anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwells in him and he in God"; then we "come to know and believe in the love God has for us." And to whom does the love of God come so readily? Who finds such faith in the Lamb of God and knows that "He pardons all [our] iniquities" and "crowns [us] with kindness and compassion"? Jesus in His prayer to the Father states, "What you have hidden from the learned and the clever you have revealed to the merest children," and this is confirmed by Moses, who tells the Israelites, "It was not because you are the largest of all nations that the Lord set His heart on you and chose you, for you are really the smallest of all nations." It is not the strong and the wise of the world the Lord showers His love upon, but the humble and the lowly. These know the love the mighty and humble, gentle Lord holds in His Sacred Heart. Alleluia! Brothers and sisters, "it was because the Lord loved you… that He brought you out with a strong hand from the place of slavery." Let your soul "find rest" in that merciful love this day, and let it share that love with all others. Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Roger Fortney. Music by Roger Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, how you love us! sending your only Son to die for our salvation – let us come to Him this day and know your love. YHWH, so loving you are that you share your very self with us in the Person of the Son of God, in Jesus the Christ. How is it love come to us so truly? How is it you, who are love, make yourself known to us in such a real way? It is because you are love and desire therefore to share love with us, your poor creatures. O LORD, you forgive all our sins, you heal all our ills… all that is evil you take from us that we might be one with you who are love. O that we might have a heart so humble and lowly as your own! that we might truly come to know your love, that we might truly come to be your own children. Let us share your love with one another and we shall find ourselves living in your love. In you let us take our rest, O LORD, in your Sacred Heart. Jesus is your very heart and His blood you would have course through our veins. O let His Heart beat in our own, that overwhelmed with His love we might become one with you in Heaven. Give us your Spirit of love this day to make us your own people, your own flesh and blood.