Be Anxious for Nothing. Good night and Sleep tight.

Confidence in Prayer

Confidence in Prayer

You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds, O God our savior. You are the hope of everyone on earth, even those who sail on distant seas. You formed the mountains by your power and armed yourself with mighty strength.Psalm 65:5-6

When we pray, we are talking to the all-powerful God who created the earth by the power of his word, whose wonders fill the earth—and who faithfully answers our prayers with awesome deeds! Prayer is how he has designed his mighty power to be released on the earth, in our lives, and in the lives of those who desperately need God’s help. It’s like the huge generator one of the children in my prayer group drew to show what he had learned about prayer.

“That’s God,” Grant said. “He’s got all this power for us.” Then he drew a long diagonal line from the big generator to some stick figures representing a family. “That’s who needs help. And the power flows along the cord as we pray!” Realizing God’s awesome power changes the way we pray and the way we live. His power is available for every situation and need so that we “can do everything with the help of Christ who gives [us] the strength [we] need” (Philippians 4:13). This is a God we can trust and lean on. This is the all-powerful God in whom we can have confidence when we pray.

LORD, we praise you for your power. We believe, but help our unbelief, and fill us with fresh faith through the power of your Word. Enlarge our circle of prayer, not just for our needs and our own family but for those who are hurting, oppressed, and lost around us. You are our hope and the hope of everyone on the earth!

OUR PRAYERS LAY THE TRACK DOWN ON WHICH GOD’S POWER CAN COME. LIKE A MIGHTY LOCOMOTIVE, HIS POWER IS IRRESISTIBLE, BUT IT CANNOT REACH US WITHOUT RAILS.Watchman Nee (1903–1972)

Biography of Saint Camillus of Lellis

Saint Camillus of Lellis

Also known as

• Camillus de Lellis
• Camillo de Lellis

Profile

Son of a military officer who had served both for Naples and France. His mother died when Camillus was very young. He spent his youth as a soldier, fighting for the Venetians against the Turks, and then for Naples. Reported as a large individual, perhaps as tall as 6'6" (2 metres), and powerfully built, but he suffered all his life from abscesses on his feet. A gambling addict, he lost so much he had to take a job working construction on a building belonging to the Capuchins; they converted him.

Camillus entered the Capuchin noviate three times, but a nagging leg injury, received while fighting the Turks, each time forced him to give it up. He went to Rome, Italy for medical treatment where Saint Philip Neri became his priest and confessor. He moved into San Giacomo Hospital for the incurable, and eventually became its administrator. Lacking education, he began to study with children when he was 32 years old. Priest. Founded the Congregation of the Servants of the Sick (the Camillians or Fathers of a Good Death) who, naturally, care for the sick both in hospital and home. The Order expanded with houses in several countries. Camillus honoured the sick as living images of Christ and hoped that the service he gave them did penance for his wayward youth. Reported to have the gifts of miraculous healing and prophecy.

Born

25 May 1550 at Bocchiavico, Abruzzi, kingdom of Naples, Italy

Died

14 July 1614 at Genoa, Italy of natural causes

Canonized

29 June 1746 by Pope Benedict XIV

Patronage

• against illness, sickness or bodily ills; sick people (proclaimed on 22 June 22, 1886, by Pope Leo XIII)
• hospitals
• hospital workers
• nurses
• Abruzzi, Italy

Readings

Think well. Speak well. Do well. These three things, through the mercy of God, will make a man go to Heaven. - Saint Camillus de Lellis

Let me begin with holy charity. It is the root of all the virtues and Camillus' most characteristic trait. I can attest that he was on fire with this holy virtue - not only toward God, but also toward his fellow men, and especially toward the sick. The mere sight of the sick was enough to soften and melt his heart and make him utterly forget all the pleasures, enticements, and interests of this world. When he was taking care of his parents, he seemed to spend and exhaust himself completely, so great was his devotion and compassion. He would have loved to take upon himself all their illness, their every affliction, could he but ease their pain and relieve their weakness. In the sick, he saw the person of Christ. His reverence in their presence was as a great as if he were really and truly in the presence of his Lord. To enkindle the enthusiasm of his religious brothers for this all-important virtue, he used to impress upon them the consoling words of Jesus Christ: "I was sick and you visited me." He seemed to have these words truly graven on his heart, so often did he say them over and over again. Great and all-embracing was Camillus' charity. Not only the sick and dying, but every other needy or suffering human being found shelter in his deep and kind concern. - from a biography of Saint Camillus by a contemporary

BUT AS MANY AS RECEIVED HIM

BIOGRAPHY OF Blessed Pavol Gojdic

Blessed Pavol Gojdic

Also known as

• Pavel Peter Gojdic
• Peter Gojdic

Profile

Son of the Greek-Catholic priest Stefan Gojdic and Anna Gerberyová. Attended elementary school at Cigelka, Bardejov and Presov, finishing in 1907. Studied theology at Presov, Slovak Republic and then Budapest where he consecrated himself and his work to the Sacred Heart. Finishing his studies on 27 August 1911, he was ordained soon after. Worked briefly as assistant parish priest with his father. Prefect of the eparchial seminary, and taught religion in a higher secondary school. Supervised protocol and the archives in the diocesan curia. Assistant parish priest in Sabinov. Director of the episcopal office in 1919.

In a surprise move, he joined the Order of Saint Basil the Great at Cernecia Hora on 20 July 1922, making his vows on 27 January 1923, and taking the name Pavol. Apostolic administrator of Presov on 14 September 1926; during his installation he said, "With the help of God I want to be a father to orphans, a support for the poor and consoler to the afflicted." His first official act was a pastoral letter on the 1100th anniversary of the birth of Saint Cyril, apostle to his Pavol's people.

Bishop on 7 March 1927; his episcopal motto: God is love, let us love Him! Promoted the spiritual life of the clergy and laity. Founded new parishes, and insured proper and valid liturgical celebrations. Built orphanages, founded the Greek-Catholic school in Presov in 1936, and supported the publications Messenger of the Gospel and Thy Kingdom Come. Great devotion to the Real Presence and the Sacred Heart.

Apostolic administrator at Mukacevo in Slovakia on 13 April 1939. Due to difficulties between Pavol and the local government, he tendered his resignation from the position. The Pope refused to accept it, and instead ordained him residential bishop of Presov on 8 August 1940. On 15 January 1946, he was confirmed in his jurisdiction over the Greek-Catholics in the whole of Czecho-Slovakia.

The Church in the region received a serious blow with the seizure of power by the Communists in 1948, and their immediate fight against the Greek-Catholic Church. Bishop Gojdic refused to submit the Greek-Catholics to Russian Orthodoxy or dismantle the Church in accord with Communist ideology. The government isolated him from the clergy and the faithful and simultaneously tried to bribe him with offers of support and power if he would break from Rome. "I will not deny my faith," he said. "Do not even come to me."

On 28 April 1950, the Communists outlawed the Greek-Catholic Church. Bishop Pavol was imprisoned, and in a show-trial in January 1951, convicted of treason. Sentenced to life without parole and stripped of civil rights, he was moved from prison to prison, constantly abused; in response, he prayed in silence and celebrating the liturgy in secret. In the amnesty of 1953, his sentence was commuted to 25 years in prison, which in practical terms was a life sentence. At one point he was advised that he could straight from prison to Presov, on condition that he become patriarch of the Orthodox church in Czecho-Slovakia; bishop Pavol explained that this would be a sin against God, a betrayal of the Holy Father, of his conscience and of the persecuted faithful. His sentence continued, the abuse continued, and his health finally broke; he spent his remaining months in the prison hospital and died there.

Bishop Pavol was legally rehabilitated on 27 September 1990 and has posthumously received the Order of T. G. Masaryk - II class, and with the Cross of Pribina - 1st class, one of the great honours of his native land.

Born

17 July 1888 at Ruské Peklany, Presov, Slovak Republic as Peter Gojdic

Died

• 17 July 1960 in the prison hospital at Leopoldov, Hlohovec, Slovak Republic of illness and maltreatment received in prison
• buried in the prison cemetery with a marker reading only "681"
• relics translated to Presov on 29 October 1968
• relics relocated to the chapel of the Greek-Catholic Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Presov on 15 May 1990

Beatified

4 November 2001 by Pope John Paul II

AN OPEN REBUKE IS BETTER

WHY INVITE TROUBLE?

Why Invite Trouble?

Why do you continue to invite punishment? Must you rebel forever? Your head is injured, and your heart is sick.Isaiah 1:5

Tom Sawyer’s cousin, Sid, “had no adventurous, troublesome ways.”1 He went quietly about his business, did his chores, and caused no ripples. Tom, however, was different. He had a nose for trouble. Occasionally, very occasionally, he “stumbled into obedient conduct,” much to the delight of his long-suffering Aunt Polly. But even then things were not always as they appeared.

It is impossible to imagine a book called The Adventures of Sid Sawyer. Who would want to read about a good kid who never got into trouble, never rocked a boat, never finagled his way out of a fix? We prefer the escapades and scrapes of an adventurous rascal. But as appealing as these characters are, their mischievousness can be disruptive.

Why do some people seek out trouble and home in on it like a heat-seeking missile? Perhaps it’s the thrill of matching wits with authority. Maybe it’s an indication of a restlessness of spirit that seeks a satisfaction not found in legitimate activities.

In the days of Isaiah the prophet, God asked his chosen people, “Why do you continue to invite punishment? Must you rebel forever?” (Isa. 1:5). The people’s rebellion and unacceptable behaviour were inviting God’s punishment. In fact, the Lord was so disgusted by their behaviour that he even told them that the donkey and ox recognize and appreciate their master, but his people’s behaviour didn’t even reach the standard of those servile animals!

God is the one who defines acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, and he is the one who metes out the appropriate punishment when his laws are contravened. If we doubt the reality of judgment by God, or if we question whether a man should concern himself with the eternal consequences of his actions, a brief reading of God’s dealings with Israel will show the facts. God displays his righteousness by dealing rightly with his people. That includes ensuring that they live with the consequences of their actions.

But the question remains. Why do people continue to invite punishment? Why do we persist in rebelling against God? The answer is found in Isaiah’s statement. We invite punishment when we take from God all he provides but do not “appreciate his care.” We invite trouble when, after years of instruction, we “still do not understand.” We continue to rebel when prompted by our wicked hearts, we willfully turn “away from the Lord.” We behave like God’s ancient people when we cut ourselves off “from his help” (Isa. 1:3-4).

People who persist in rebelling and inviting God’s punishment are asking for trouble. And there’s nothing appealing about that!

YOU ARE COMPLETE IN HIM

As He is, so are we in this world. GOOD NIGHT.

SEED SOWERS

Seed Sowers

The farmer I talked about is the one who brings God’s message to others.Mark 4:14

In West Africa, people customarily sing as they work in the fields. They lift their voices as they plant in anticipation of the harvest. Perhaps this is how the farmer in the parable appeared as he walked through the field. As he tossed seed, it fell in various types of soil—some hard, some weedy, some shallow, and some good and fertile. Not once did Jesus describe the farmer as anxious; rather, he portrayed the sower as faithfully carrying out his job.

Sometimes we treat evangelism as a heavy burden. Instead of cheerfully scattering seed everywhere, we become soil testers, trying to determine whether or not the seed will flourish even before we plant. We hover over the tender shoots, trying to thwart weeds. When a seed doesn’t produce the desired fruit, we may declare ourselves failures as farmers. But God has called us to plant the message of the gospel in whatever field he places us. It is the Lord of the harvest who nourishes the tiny seeds and causes them to grow. You may never see the bushels of souls that result from seeds you planted, but you can sing as you sow and anticipate a harvest of thirty, sixty, and even a hundredfold.

GOD, I can scatter seeds in my job, my neighbourhood, my family, and plant seeds of hope in people I encounter every day. Help me to sing as I plant and be confident that many of those seeds will take root in soil that will someday produce a harvest.

PLANT A WORD OF LOVE HEART-DEEP IN A PERSON’S LIFE. NURTURE IT WITH A SMILE AND A PRAYER, AND WATCH WHAT HAPPENS.Max Lucado (b. 1955)

Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

Entry

The Church celebrates on this day the feast of the Scapular of Mount Carmel. The scapular, which derives its name from the Latin word scapulae, meaning shoulders, is a dress which covers the shoulders. It is mentioned in the rule of Saint Benedict as worn by monks over their other dress when they were at work, and it now forms a regular part of the religious dress in the old Orders. But it is best known among Catholics as the name of two little pieces of cloth worn out of devotion to the Blessed Virgin over the shoulders, under the ordinary garb, and connected by strings. The devotion of the scapular, now almost universal in the Catholic Church, began with the Carmelites. The history of its origin is as follows: During the thirteenth century the Carmelite Order suffered great persecution, and on 16 July 1251, while Saint Simon Stock, then general of the Order, was at prayer, the Blessed Virgin appeared to him, holding in her hand a scapular. Giving it to the saint, she said,

"Receive, my dear son, this scapular of thy Order, as the distinctive sign of my confraternity, and the mark of the privilege which I have obtained for thee and the children of Carmel. It is a sign of salvation, a safeguard in danger, and a special pledge of peace and protection till the end of time. Whosoever dies wearing this shall be preserved from eternal flames."

It is much to be wished that people should everywhere join this confraternity, for the honour of Mary and for the salvation of souls, by a life fitted to that end.

In order to have a share in the merits of the sodality every member must:

• Shun sin, and, according to his state of life, live chastely.
• Say every day, if possible, seven times, Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be to the Father.
• Strive to serve God by venerating Mary, and imitating her virtues.
• These rules, it is true, are not binding under penalty of sin, but the breach of them deprives us of all merit; and is not this something to be taken into account? "He who soweth sparingly shall also reap sparingly." (II Corinthians 9:6)

The Introit of the Mass is as follows:

"Let us all rejoice in the Lord, and celebrate a festal-day in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on whose solemn feast the angels rejoice, and give praise to the Son of God. My heart hath uttered a good word; I speak of my workS for the King."

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

O God, Who hast honoured the Order of Carmelites with the particular title of the most blessed Virgin Mary, Thy Mother, mercifully grant that, protected by her prayers whose commemoration we this day celebrate with a solemn office, we may deserve to arrive at joy everlasting. Who livest, and reignest, forever and ever. Amen.

Epistle: Ecclesiasticus 24:28-81

As the vine, I have brought forth a pleasant odour, and my flowers are the fruit of honour and riches. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all grace of the way and of the truth; in me is all hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits. For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb My memory is unto everlasting generations. They that eat me shall yet hunger, and they that drink me, shall yet thirst. He that hearkeneth to me shall not be confounded; and they that work by me shall not sin. They that explain me shall have life everlasting.

The Church applies this epistle to Mary, thereby encouraging us fervently to honor the blessed Mother of God, in whom the Eternal Wisdom dwelt bodily, and through whom He was given to us, that by her intercession our understanding may be enlightened, our will strengthened, and we be inspired with fresh zeal to practice ourselves, and to prevail on others to practice also, whatever is chaste, becoming, and holy.

Gospel: Luke 11:27, 28

And it came to pass as He spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd lifting up her voice said to Him: Blessed is the womb that bore Thee, and the paps that gave Thee suck. But He said: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.

GOD"S POWER

GOOD MORNING AND HAVE A NICE DAY BECAUSE OF THE LORD'S GREAT LOVE.

LISTEN

Listen

Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord.’”

Mark 12:29

Unlike our unruly tongues, our ears rarely get us into trouble, unless, of course, they stop functioning, as in the case of a man who doesn’t hear the whistle of an oncoming train or a child who fails to register cries of warning as she edges too close to a cliff.

Although the Hebrew word shema (pronounced “shmah”) is translated as “hear” or “listen,” it means more than what we normally think of as hearing, which is a rather passive activity. Shema implies acting on what has been heard. That’s why our English Bibles frequently translate the word shema as “obey.”

Many of the Old Testament prophets preceded their announcements with the phrase “Hear the word of the Lord.” In other words, listen to what God is saying, and then do what he tells you to do. Though the New Testament was written in Greek, Jesus would have been familiar with this understanding, which is why he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand” (Mark 4:9). Hearing God means not only listening to what he says but doing what he asks.

Fortunately, this active way of “hearing” is a two-way street. We can be confident that when God hears our prayers, the implication is that he will act in accordance with our best interests. Listen to the words of the psalmist:

I cried out to him with my mouth; his praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my p

rayer or withheld his love from me!

Psalm 66:17-20, NIV

If you want God to hear your prayers, make sure you are doing your best to hear his voice.

Father, when your Spirit descended on Jesus in the Jordan River, you said: “This is my dearly loved Son. Listen to him” (Mark 9:7). Help me to listen.

BIOGRAPHY OF Saint Vladimir I of Kiev

Saint Vladimir I of Kiev

Also known as

• Svyatoy Vladimir
• Vladimir Svyatoslavich
• Vladimir the Great
• Vladimir Veliky

Memorial

• 15 July

Profile

Grandson of Saint Olga of Kiev. Son of the paganNorman-Rus prince Svyatoslav of Kiev and his consort Malushka. Grand prince of Kiev. Prince of Novgorod in 970. On the death of his father in 972, he fled to Scandinavia, enlisted help from an uncle, and overcame Yaropolk, another son of Svyatoslav, who had attempted to seize Novgorod and Kiev. By 980Vladimir had consolidated the Kievan realm from Ukraine to the Baltic Sea, and had solidified the frontiers against Bulgarian, Baltic, and Eastern nomads.

Christianity had made some progress in Kiev, but Vladimir remained pagan, had seven wives, established temples, and participated in idolatrous rites, possibly involving human sacrifice. Around 987, Byzantine Emperor Basil II sought military aid from Vladimir. The two reached a pact for aid that involved Basil’s sister Anne in marriage, and Vladimir becoming a Christian. He was baptized, took the patronal name Basil, then ordered the Christian conversion of Kiev and Novgorod. Idols were thrown into the Dnieper River, and the new Rus Christians adopted the Byzantine rite in the Old Church Slavonic language. Legend says Vladimir chose the Byzantine rite over the liturgies of German Christendom, Judaism, and Islam because of its transcendent beauty; it probably also reflected his determination to remain independent of external political control.

Byzantines maintained ecclesiastical control over the new Rus church; the Greek metropolitan for Kiev reported to both the patriarch of Constantinople and of the emperor. Rus-Byzantine religio-political integration checked the influence of the Roman Latin church in the Slavic East, and determined the course of RussianChristianity.

Vladimir expanded education, judicial institutions, and aid to the poor. He and Anne had the martyr sons SaintBoris and Saint Gleb. Following the death of Anne in 1011, another marriage affiliated him with the GermanHoly Roman emperors. His daughter became the consort of Casimir I the Restorer of Poland.

Born

• 956 at Kiev as Vladimir Svyatoslavich

Died

• 15 July 1015 at Berestova, near Kiev

Patronage

• converts
• parents of large families
• reformed and penitent murderers
• Russia
• Ukrainian Catholic Diocese of Stamford, Connecticut, United States
• Winnipeg, Manitoba.

FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD

GOOD NIGHT ALL AND REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR LEADERS

DISABILITY AND SERVICE

“Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the LORD?” EXODUS 4:11

Disability and Service Exod 4:1-17

God called Moses to deliver his messages to the enslaved Israelites and to Pharaoh. Yet the prophet felt inadequate to serve, reasoning that his speech problems disqualified him from speaking for God. He even gave God other reasons for his reluctance, saying the Hebrews would not believe God had sent him and even simply asking God to send someone else. But God confronted Moses’ complaints with some powerful questions: “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak . . . ?” (4:11). Actually, Moses’ objection was more about his inability to trust God than his disability in speaking God’s message. This is the place Shaw Bates came to as well.

Shaw Bates grew up with dyslexia (a language skill disorder) and learning disabilities. Learning for Shaw felt like he was climbing a ladder while people without disabilities took the elevator. When he was seventeen, he didn’t know what his future would hold. One day in prayer, Shaw felt the Lord saying he wanted him to make a difference in other people’s lives by serving in Christian ministry. He thought that if God could powerfully use Moses, then perhaps he could use him, too. With the Lord’s help, Shaw graduated from Biola University with a BA in psychology and began serving as a community support specialist in a nonprofit organization.

Like Moses and Shaw, God calls us each to look beyond our limitations and trust him to enable us. Our weaknesses shouldn’t keep us from experiencing the joy of serving others in God’s name. They should cause us to marvel at his awesome power and provision whether we serve people with disabilities or we’re being served by them.

Biography of Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio

Saint Bonaventure of Bagnoregio

Also known as

• Seraphic Doctor of the Church
• the Devout Doctor

Profile

Healed from a childhood disease through the prayers of Saint Francis of Assisi. Bonaventure joined the Order of Friars Minor at age 22. Studied theology and philosophy in Paris, France, and later taught there. A friend of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Doctor of Theology. A friend of King Saint Louis IX. General of the Franciscan Order at 35. Bishop of Albano, Italy, chosen by Pope Gregory X. Cardinal. Wrote commentaries on the Scriptures, text-books in theology and philosophy, and a biography of Saint Francis. Doctor of the Church. Pope Clement IV chose him to be Archbishop of York, England, but Bonaventure begged off, claiming to be inadequate to the office. Spoke at the Council of Lyons, but died before its close.

Born

1221 at Bagnoregio, Tuscany, Italy

Died

15 July 1274 at Lyon, France of natural causes

Canonized

14 April 1482 by Pope Sixtus IV

Patronage

• against intestinal problems
• Bagnoregio, Italy
• Cochiti Indian Pueblo
• Saint Bonaventure University, New York

Representation

• cardinal's hat
• ciborium
• Holy Communion
• cardinal in Franciscan robes, usually reading or writing

Readings

A man of eminent learning and eloquence, and of outstanding holiness, he was known for his kindness, approachableness, gentleness and compassion. - Pope Gregory X on hearing of the death of Bonaventure

Mary seeks for those who approach her devoutly and with reverence, for such she loves, nourishes, and adopts as her children. - Saint Bonaventure

When we pray, the voice of the heart must be heard more than that proceeding from the mouth. - Saint Bonaventure

Christ is both the way and the door. Christ is the staircase and the vehicle, like the "throne of mercy over the Ark of the Covenant," and "the mystery hidden from the ages." A man should turn his full attention to this throne of mercy and should gaze at him hanging on the cross, full of faith, hope, and charity, devoted, full of wonder and joy, marked by gratitude, and open to praise and jubilation. Then such a man will make with Christ a "pasch," that is, a passing-over. Through the branches of the cross, he will pass over the Red Sea, leaving Egypt and entering the desert. There he will taste the hidden manna, and rest with Christ in the sepulchre as if he were dead to things outside. He will experience, as much as is possible for one who is still living, what was promised to the thief who hung beside Christ: "Today you will be with me in paradise." - from Journey of the Mind to Godby Saint Bonaventure