2014
Please PRAY for 118 Killed on Air Algeria Flight in Africa
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Saturday evening called the people of Caserta to have the courage “to say no to corruption and lawlessness” during an afternoon visit to the city, located in the Campania region of southern Italy.
He celebrated Mass the Square in front of the Royal Palace of Caserta, which used to a residence of the King of Naples.
In his homily, Pope Francis said to inherit the Kingdom of God, Christians must put God first in their lives.
He said the presence of Jesus "transforms our lives and makes us sensitive to the needs of our brothers; a presence that invites us to accept every other presence, including that of foreigners and immigrants.”
“Giving primacy to God means having the courage to say no to evil, violence, oppression; to live a life of service to others and in favor of lawfulness and the common good,” said Pope Francis.
The Holy Father said when someone finds God – “the true treasure” – he leaves behind selfishness and seeks to share the love of God with others.
“He who becomes a friend of God, loves his brothers, is committed to safeguarding their lives and well-being, and also respects the environment and nature,” said Pope Francis, noting this was particularly important in the beautiful area of Campania, which he said needs to be “protected and preserved”.
The Pope said this requires everyone to be “servants of the truth” and live a life inspired by the Gospel, which “is manifested in the gift of self and with attention to the poor and excluded.
Please PRAY for 118 Killed on Air Algeria Flight in Africa
Today's Mass and Readings : Sat. July 26, 2014
Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 400
Reading 1JER 7:1-11
The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Stand at the gate of the house of the LORD,
and there proclaim this message:
Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah
who enter these gates to worship the LORD!
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
Reform your ways and your deeds,
so that I may remain with you in this place.
Put not your trust in the deceitful words:
“This is the temple of the LORD!
The temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD!”
Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds;
if each of you deals justly with his neighbor;
if you no longer oppress the resident alien,
the orphan, and the widow;
if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place,
or follow strange gods to your own harm,
will I remain with you in this place,
in the land I gave your fathers long ago and forever.
But here you are, putting your trust in deceitful words to your own loss!
Are you to steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury,
burn incense to Baal,
go after strange gods that you know not,
and yet come to stand before me
in this house which bears my name, and say:
“We are safe; we can commit all these abominations again”?
Has this house which bears my name
become in your eyes a den of thieves?
I too see what is being done, says the LORD.
Stand at the gate of the house of the LORD,
and there proclaim this message:
Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah
who enter these gates to worship the LORD!
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:
Reform your ways and your deeds,
so that I may remain with you in this place.
Put not your trust in the deceitful words:
“This is the temple of the LORD!
The temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD!”
Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds;
if each of you deals justly with his neighbor;
if you no longer oppress the resident alien,
the orphan, and the widow;
if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place,
or follow strange gods to your own harm,
will I remain with you in this place,
in the land I gave your fathers long ago and forever.
But here you are, putting your trust in deceitful words to your own loss!
Are you to steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury,
burn incense to Baal,
go after strange gods that you know not,
and yet come to stand before me
in this house which bears my name, and say:
“We are safe; we can commit all these abominations again”?
Has this house which bears my name
become in your eyes a den of thieves?
I too see what is being done, says the LORD.
Responsorial Psalm PS 84:3, 4, 5-6A AND 8A, 11
R. (2) How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young—
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
Blessed the men whose strength you are!
They go from strength to strength.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young—
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
Blessed the men whose strength you are!
They go from strength to strength.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Gospel MT 13:24-30
Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man
who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man
who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
Novena to St. Anne Mother of Mary -
O glorious St. Anne, filled with compassion for those who invoke thee and with love for those who suffer, heavily laden with the weight of my troubles, I cast myself at thy feet and humbly beg of thee to take under thy special protection the present affair which I commend to thee.
{Mention your intentions here)
Be pleased to commend it to thy daughter, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and lay it before the throne of Jesus, so that He may bring it to a happy outcome. Cease not to intercede for me until my request is granted. Above all, obtain for me the grace of one day beholding my God face to face, and, with thee and Mary and all the Saints, of praising and blessing Him for all eternity. Amen.
Good St. Anne, mother of her who is our life, our sweetness and our hope, pray to her for us and obtain our request.
Good St. Anne, mother of her who is our life, our sweetness and our hope, pray to her for us and obtain our request.
Good St. Anne, mother of her who is our life, our sweetness and our hope, pray to her for us and obtain our request.
Good St. Anne, pray for us. Jesus, Mary, Anne.
Friday, July 25, 2014
Saint July 26 : St. Anne : Patron of Wives and Women in Labor - Mother of Mary - Grandmother of Jesus
St. Anne
MOTHER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Feast: July 26
Information:
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Of St. Anne we have no certain knowledge. She is not mentioned in the New Testament, and we must depend on apocryphal literature, chiefly the Protoevangelium of James, which dates back only to the second century.
In this document we are told that Anne, wife of Joachim, was advanced in years and that her prayers for a child had not been answered. Once as she prayed beneath a laurel tree near her home in Galilee, an angel appeared and said to her, "Anne, the Lord hath heard thy prayer and thou shalt conceive and bring forth, and thy seed shall be spoken of in all the world." Anne replied, "As the Lord my God liveth, if I beget either male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God; and it shall minister to Him in holy things all the days of its life " And thus Anne became the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The devotion of St. Anne was known in the East in the fifth century, but it was not diffused in the West until the thirteenth. A shrine at Douai, in northern France, was one of the early centers of the devotion. In 1382 her feast was extended to the whole Western Church, and she became very popular, especially in France. Her two most famous shrines are at St. Anne d'Auray in Brittany and at St. Anne-de Beaupre in the province of Quebec. She is patroness of housewives, women in labor, cabinet-makers, and miners. Her emblem is a door. St. Anne has been frequently represented in art, and the lovely face depicted by Leonardo da Vinci comes first to mind in this connection. The name Anne derives from the Hebrew Hannah, meaning "grace." |
Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/A/stanne.asp#ixzz1TE3Jl3s3
Saint July 26 : Saint Joachim : Father of Mary - Grandfather of Jesus
St. Joachim
FATHER OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN
Feast: July 26
 Information:
|
Joachim (whose name means Yahweh prepares), was the father of the Blessed Virgin Mary. If we were to obey the warning of St. Peter Damian, we should consider it a blameable and needless curiosity to inquire about those things that the Evangelists did not deem it advisable to relate, and, in particular, about the parents of the Blessed Virgin (Serm. iii de Nativ. B.M.V.). Tradition nevertheless, grounded on very old testimonies, very early hailed Saints Joachim and Anne as the father and mother of the Mother of God. True, this tradition seems to rest ultimately on the so-called "Gospel of James", the "Gospel of the Nativity of the Blessed Mary", and the Pseudo-Matthew, or "Book of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the Childhood of the Saviour"; and this origin is likely to rouse well-founded suspicions. It should be borne in mind, however, that the apocryphal character of these writings, that is to say, their rejection from the canon, and their ungenuineness do not imply that no heed whatever should be taken of some of their assertions; side by side, indeed, with unwarranted and legendary facts, they contain some historical data borrowed from reliable traditions or documents; and difficult though it is to distinguish in them the wheat from the tares, it would be unwise and uncritical indiscriminately to reject the whole. Some commentators, who believe that the genealogy given by St. Luke is that of the Blessed Virgin, find the mention of Joachim in Heli (Luke, iii, 23; Eliachim, i.e. Jeho-achim), and explain that Joseph had, in the eyes of the law, become by his marriage the son of Joachim. That such is the purpose and the meaning of the Evangelist is very doubtful, and so is the identification proposed between the two names Heli and Joachim. Neither can it be asserted with certainty, in spite of the authority of the Bollandists, that Joachim was Heli's son and Joseph's brother; nor, as is sometimes affirmed, from sources of very doubtful value, that he had large possessions in herds and flocks. Much more interesting are the beautiful lines in which the "Gospel of James" describes how, in their old age, Joachim and Anne received the reward of their prayers to obtain issue. Tradition has it that the parents of the Blessed Virgin, who, apparently, first lived in Galilee, came later on to settle in Jerusalem; there the Blessed Virgin was born and reared; there also they died and were buried. A church, known at various epochs as St. Mary, St. Mary ubi nata est, St. Mary in Probatica, Holy Probatica, St. Anne, was built during the fourth century, possibly by St. Helena, on the site of the house of St. Joachim and St. Anne, and their tombs were there honoured until the close of the ninth century, when the church was converted into a Moslem school. The crypt which formerly contained the holy tombs was rediscovered on 18 March, 1889.
St. Joachim was honoured very early by the Greeks, who celebrate his feast on the day following the Blessed Virgin's birthday; the Latins were slow to admit it to their calendar, where it found place sometimes on 16 Sept. and sometimes on 9 Dec. Assigned by Julius II to 20 March, the solemnity was suppressed some fifty years later, restored by Gregory XV (1622), fixed by Clement XII (1738) on the Sunday after the Assumption, and finally raised to the rank of double of the second class by Leo XIII (1 Aug., 1879). |
SOURCE: http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/saints/J/stjoachim.asp#ixzz1TE3UJXOs
Death Toll in Gaza over 800 as Israel hits UN hospital - 39 Killed in Israel
Israel and Hamas are vetting a proposal US Secretary of State John Kerry for a temporary ceasefire, during which the parties meet to seek a wider agreement with Egypt's mediation. Yesterday, Israel hit a UN hospital in Gaza, killing at least 15 civilians. (Image Source : Malta Today)
Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - After 18 days of the war, the death has topped 800 in the Gaza Strip, plus two Palestinians killed during a protest march from Ramallah to Jerusalem. Israel is counting its own dead, 39 and almost 200 injured. Meanwhile diplomatic efforts are intensifying to find ways to stop the conflict.
According to Haaretz, Israel and Hamas are examining the latest proposal made by US Secretary of State, John Kerry, which includes a week-long humanitarian ceasefire, starting Sunday, during which the various sides would meet to look for a broader understanding in talks brokered by Egypt. The Palestinian Authority would also attend. The United States, United Nations and the European Union would act as guarantors for the parties.
The Israeli cabinet was expected to discuss the plan on Friday afternoon, but it has several hurdle before it can be accepted, starting with Israel's plan to keep its troops within the Gaza strip during the truce.
Hamas's political leader, Khaled Meshal, has stated that he would not accept an enduring cease-fire until his demands were met, including the lifting of an economic blockade on Gaza. "We want a ceasefire as soon as possible, that's parallel with the lifting of the siege of Gaza," he said.
This is not very likely. Neither side is likely to accept such conditions. Still, a Palestinian official did suggest once the parties agree to the seven-day humanitarian truce "then everyone comes to Cairo for the talks".
Meanwhile, as diplomats try to stop the conflict, people continue to die. Yesterday, Israel hit a UN hospital in Gaza, killing at least 15 civilians. UN workers were also affected.
UN chief Ban Ki-Moon said he was "appalled" at the shelling, which "underscores the imperative for the killing to stop - and to stop now".
Washington said it was "deeply saddened and concerned about the tragic incident", which occurred a day after the UN human rights committee criticised both Israel and Hamas.
The hospital bombing was not the only dramatic event yesterday. Two Palestinians were killed in clashes with Israeli soldiers who stopped more than 10,000 people from a refugee camp near Ramallah, in the West Bank, marching towards Jerusalem to protest Israel's Gaza offensive. At least 108 Palestinians were injured in the clashes.
Yesterday's events near Jerusalem could happen today. With Ramadan coming to an end, this Friday President Mahmoud Abbas declared a "day of rage". Jerusalem, where protests took place yesterday, has been turned into an armed camp.
SHARED FROM ASIA NEWS IT
Pope Francis makes Surprise visit to eat Lunch with Employees
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