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for Roman Catholics http://www.shrineofsaintjude.net/home-s52.html |
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Proper Preparation
Catholic Douay Rheims Bible
This is the Written Word of God
1) The Act of Contrition;
2) The Veni, Sancte Spiritus.
O my God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, because I love Thee above all things with my whole heart and soul. I detest all of my sins because it was for them and His Love for me that Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, my Lord and my God, suffered, was crucified, and died on the cross. O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee by my sins, faults, imperfections, negligences and carelessness, Who art all good and deserving of all of my love.
I firmly resolve with the help of Thy Grace, to sin no more, to confess my sins, to do penance, to amend my life, to avoid all of the near occasions of sin, and always give to Thee freely, liberally and generously what is of supererogation and perfection, not only in greater things, but especially in lesser things, so that I may gain beforehand Thy efficacious, superabundant, particular and special Graces and Helps so that I will always be victorious in resisting and overcoming all temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil and his followers. Grant me those Graces and Helps needed so that my every thought, word and action may be done solely out of love for Thee, Who art Love. Amen.
Saint John Chrysostom
It was the custom of Patriarch Saint John Chrysostom [b. Antioch, c. 347 A.D. - d. at Commana in Pontus on Friday, September 14, 407 A.D.], Patriarch of Constantinople [Thursday, February 26, 398 A.D. - Thursday, June 24, 404 A.D.], exiled from his See the 2nd time on Thursday, June 24, 404 A.D., Father and Doctor of the Catholic Church, to properly prepare himself and his Congregation before preaching. He taught that unless God the Holy Ghost prepares the minds and hearts of the Preacher and of the Congregation, the Preacher preaches in vain and the Congregation listens in vain.
Therefore, so as not to waste your time, please pray the Veni, Sancte Spiritus, remembering how one Holy Saint was of the opinion that a Sermon is a Sacramental.
Veni, Sancte Spiritus
Come, O Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful
And kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be
created;
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let Us Pray
O God, who didst instruct the hearts of Thy faithful by the light of Thy Holy Spirit, grant us in the same Spirit to relish what is right and ever to rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary; pray for us.
Saint Thomas Aquinas, Patron Saint of Catholic Schools,
pray for us.
Epistle for the 23rd Sunday After Pentecost
Philippians 3:17-21, 4:1-3.
The Epistle appointed to be read during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass today is taken from Saint Paul's Epistle to the Philippians, Chapter 3, Verses 17-21 and Chapter 4, Verses 1-3.
Brethren,
Be ye followers of me, and observe them who walk so as you have our model.
For many walk, of whom I have told you often (and now tell you weeping),
that they are enemies of the cross of Christ; Whose end is destruction;
whose God is their belly; and whose glory is in their shame; who mind earthly
things. But our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look
for the Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who will reform the body
of our lowness, made like to the body of his glory, according to the operation
whereby also he is able to subdue all things unto himself. Therefore,
my dearly beloved brethren, and most desired, my joy and my crown; so stand
fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beg of Evodia, and I beseech
Syntyche, to be of one mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also,
my sincere companion, help those women who have laboured with me in the
gospel, with Clement and the rest of my fellow labourers, whose names are
in the book of life.
Gospel for the 23rd Sunday After Pentecost
Matthew 9:18-26.
The Gospel for today is taken from the Holy Gospel of Saint Matthew Chapter 9, Verses 18-26.
At that time, as Jesus was speaking to the crowds, behold a certain ruler came up, and adored him, saying: Lord, my daughter is even now dead; but come, lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live. And Jesus rising up followed him, with his disciples. And behold a woman who was troubled with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment. For she said within herself: If I shall touch only his garment, I shall be healed. But Jesus turning and seeing her, said: Be of good heart, daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. And when Jesus was come into the house of the ruler, and saw the minstrels and the multitude making a rout, He said: Give place, for the girl is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. And when the multitude was put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand. And the maid arose. And the fame hereof went abroad into all that country.
Thus far are the words of today's Holy Gospel.
“And behold a woman who was troubled with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment. For she said within herself: If I shall touch only His garment, I shall be healed. But Jesus turning and seeing her, said: Be of good heart, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.” (GOSPEL, Matthew 9:20-22).
VIn the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
This is why you find her in today’s Gospel on the road, assuredly not by coincidence on the same road on which Christ, with His disciples, were following Jairus who had, shortly before then, gone to Christ, “and adored him, saying: Lord, my Daughter is even now dead; but come, lay Thy hand upon her, and she shall live” (Matthew 9:18).
Thus it came about that Christ was responding to not one, but two acts of Faith. Christ healed this woman while He was traveling on the road to raise the dead Daughter of Jairus to life.
Saint Jerome, a Father of the Catholic Church, considers this woman to be a representation of the Gentiles where he says:
“Indeed, it seems that by this case our Saviour wished to call our attention to the vocation of the Gentiles; for we read in the Psalms: Ambassadors shall come out of Egypt ; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands to God (Psalm 67:32)” (Saint Jerome, Sermon on Matthew 9:20-22).This is the same purport of Saint Paul and Saint Barnabas to the envious progeny of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to whom they “said boldly: To you it behoved us first to speak the word of God: but because you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord hath commanded us: I have set thee to be the light of the Gentiles: that thou mayest be for salvation unto the utmost part of the earth” (Acts 13:46-47) by which they quoted the Lord’s command prophecized by the Prophet Isaias (Isaias 49:6).
During His public ministry, Christ frequently comforted the afflicted, helped the suffering, healed the sick, and raised the dead to life. In doing this, Christ gave all of us many examples of the practice of the Virtues of Charity and Mercy.
God the Holy Ghost, through the pen of Saint James, teaches all of us that:
“Religion clean and undefiled before God the Father is this: To visit the fatherless and widows in their tribulation” (James 1:27).Christ Himself teaches:
“Be ye merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Luke 6: 36). Both the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy will be most especially decisive on the Day of Judgment because whoever diligently practices them can hope for a merciful judgment, according to the promise of Christ: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7).If, God forbid, you end up in Purgatory, you will be released and go to Heaven much more quickly if, during your lifetime, you were merciful towards the Poor, Suffering Souls in Purgatory. All of the Masses you had requested be offered for them, plus all of your prayers, indulgences, and especially Plenary Indulgences, that you apply to them in your exercise of the Virtues of Charity and Mercy, shall not be in vain because, not only do these things help the Souls in Purgatory now, but they shall help you later if you have the misfortune to end up in Purgatory. How so? Because God will inspire those still in this mortal life to help you in the same exact way, and to the same exact degree, to which you helped others when you were in this mortal life.
Returning now to the woman with an issue of blood who came to our Lord, consider how she was sick for twelve years. During those 12 years, all the remedies she tried were fruitless and her illness become chronic; instead of improving, her health was failing more and more every day.
Today, almost 2,000 years later, there are still some people who languish for months and years in sickness, in great need, and in total misery. When they try all possible means to remove their cross of sickness and suffering, and hope for improvement, it is always in vain. What are such persons to do ?
Should they be come impatient or lose courage or become faint-hearted? No. Rather, they should calmly persevere in patience and never cease to say: “Lord, may Thy Holy will be done unto me.”
In the real Spiritual Life, lingering diseases are not an evil, but rather a great advantage. Why? Because the longer a person must suffer, the more that person can atone for one’s sins, and the more that person can gain greater merit for Heaven.
Notice how this woman, in the depths of her affliction, sought relief from mankind for many years - but it was all in vain. Yet, when at last her Faith brought her to Christ, she immediately got the help she needed and had wished for all those twelve long agonizing years.
For our resolutions, let each of us consider in what way we resemble this woman. For example, when we are visited by some problem or by an illness, do we try to get help from mankind but, at the same time, totally ignore God, our Divine physician?
Of course, everyone can and should always have recourse to whatever remedies are available, including whatever natural remedies may also be helpful towards the total restoration of one’s health and vitality. However, at the same time, you should also have recourse to God and ask God to Bless whatever remedies you and/or your doctor have chosen to help you.
Spiritually, one of the first things you should do is to make an examination of conscience and then go to Confession so that your soul can be cleansed of sin and its harmful side-effects. Most people tend to forget that sin does have harmful side-effects, including, but not always limited to, temporal punishment due to sin - which latter should be cleansed while still in this life by gaining indulgences, preferably Plenary Indulgences.
Remember how the woman, having great faith, trust, and confidence in Christ touched the hem of his garment and was instantly healed! From this we learn to always have faith, trust and confidence in Christ in all areas of our life. Resolve now to pray to God to be filled to overflowing with faith, trust and confidence in Christ.
Saint Jerome draws our attention to this where he says:
“Note, again, our Lord did not say to the woman that her faith would make her whole that is, clean, but thy faith hath made thee whole. It was to give her to understand that, as soon as she believed, she was cured.”So then, pray to God that you, too, may have this same courageous faith as this woman had.
As a final resolution, in the Holy Name of Jesus, and in an exercise of Catholic Charity, please contribute to the support of the Church - in this case - the Shrine of Saint Jude. Please help us to save Souls! Thank you for your thoughtfulness and Charity! Remember, God is never outdone in generosity!!!
Think how happy you will be when, in the next life, God shows you all of the Souls you helped to save by helping our Apostolates, including this Sermon web site, because "he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:20).
“And in doing good, let us not fail. For in due time we shall reap, not failing. Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good to all men, but especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Galatians 6:9-10).“And behold a woman who was troubled with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind Him, and touched the hem of His garment. For she said within herself: If I shall touch only His garment, I shall be healed. But Jesus turning and seeing her, said: Be of good heart, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.” (GOSPEL, Matthew 9:20-22).
V In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Amen.
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