1.
My helper is my God; I will place my trust in him.
He is my refuge; he sets me free. #lauds
— Fr. Patrick Brennan (@Pathound) June 30, 2015
2.
Quiet! calm down! Be quiet with the Lord, to know God's will. #homilytweet
— Kathryn Jean Lopez (@kathrynlopez) June 30, 2015
3. This jumped out at me from Pope Francis’s homily yesterday to new archbishops:
No Christian community can go forward without being supported by persistent prayer! Prayer is the encounter with God, with God who never lets us down; with God who is faithful to his word; with God who does not abandon his children. Jesus asked himself: “And will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night?” (Lk 18:7). In prayer, believers express their faith and their trust, and God reveals his closeness, also by giving us the angels, his messengers.
No Christian community. No Christian. No one of us can go forward without prayer. Real persistent unceasing sanctifying prayer.
4.
"A Christian who prays is a Christian who is protected, guarded and sustained, and above all, who is never alone." @Pontifex #vatican
— Catholic News Agency (@cnalive) June 29, 2015
5. Do we think of Saturday as a weekly spiritual mother’s day? Consider it.
6. Saint Augustine in the Liturgy of the Hours today:
This is our glory: the witness of our conscience. There are men who rashly judge, who slander, whisper and murmur, who are eager to suspect what they do not see, and eager to spread abroad things they have not even a suspicion of. Against men of this sort, what defense is there save the witness of our own conscience?
My brothers, we do not seek, nor should we seek, our own glory even among those whose approval we desire. What we should seek is their salvation, so that if we walk as we should they will not go astray in following us. They should imitate us if we are imitators of Christ; and if we are not, they should still imitate him. He cares for his flock, and he alone is to be found with those who care for their flocks, because they are all in him.
And so we seek no advantage for ourselves when we aim to please men. We want to take our joy in men—and we rejoice when they take pleasure in what is good, not because this exalts us, but because it benefits them.
It is clear who is intended by the apostle Paul: If I wanted to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. And similarly when he says: Be pleasing to all men in all things, even as I in all things please all men. Yet his words are as clear as water, limpid, undisturbed, unclouded. And so you should, as sheep, feed on and drink of his message; do not trample on it or stir it up.
You have listened to our Lord Jesus Christ as he taught his apostles: Let your actions shine before men so that they may see you good deeds, and give glory to your Father who is in heaven, for it is the Father who made you thus. We are the people of his pasture, the sheep of his hands. If then you are good, praise is due to him who made you so; it is no credit to you, for if you were left to yourself, you could only be wicked. Why then do you try to pervert the truth, in wishing to be praised when you do good, and blaming God when you do evil? For though he said: Let your works shine before men, in the same Sermon on the Mount he also said: Do not parade your good deeds before men. So if you think there are contradictions in Saint Paul, you will find the same in the Gospels; but if you refrain from troubling the waters of your heart, you will recognize here the peace of the Scriptures and with it you will have peace.
And so, my brothers, our concern should be not only to live as we ought, but also to do so in the sight of men; not only to have a good conscience but also, so far as we can in our weakness, so far as we can govern our frailty, to do nothing which might lead our weak brother into thinking evil of us. Otherwise, as we feed on the good pasture and drink the pure water, we may trample on God’s meadow, and weaker sheep will have to feed on trampled grass and drink from troubled waters.
7. Our grandfather who prays for us:
#PopeFrancis as he visited Benedict XVI this morning. Both looking very well!
(PHOTO: L'Osservatore Romano) pic.twitter.com/QdKILegmwD
— Catholic News Agency (@cnalive) June 30, 2015
8. In Magnificat today, St. Francis de Sales on “How to Face the Storms in Life”:
Do not look forward in fear to the changes in life;
rather, look to them with full hope that as they arise,
God, whose very own you are, will lead you safely through all things;
and when you cannot stand it, God will carry you in his arms.
Do not fear what may happen tomorrow.
The same understanding Father who cares for you today will take care of you then and every day.
He will either shield you from suffering
or give you unfailing strength to bear it.
Be at peace,
and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.
9. From a prayer vespers service for African martyrs last night at Holy Family Church in NYC, by the United Nations, sponsored by the Archdiocese of New York (Cardinal Timothy Dolan presided):
Some tweets:
.@cardinaldolan expresses how abandoned African Christians feel #PrayforthePersecuted pic.twitter.com/FIWoLXUdFD
— Kathryn Jean Lopez (@kathrynlopez) June 29, 2015
We have been timid in standing against today's barbarians — @CardinalDolan #PrayforthePersecuted #HolyFamily
— Kathryn Jean Lopez (@kathrynlopez) June 29, 2015
Jesus is on the Cross with the persecuted –@CardinalDolan #PrayforthePersecuted #HolyFamily
— Kathryn Jean Lopez (@kathrynlopez) June 29, 2015
Willingly I boast of my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may live in me #PrayforthePersecuted #TheChristianLife pic.twitter.com/yjjIYjgLnX
— Kathryn Jean Lopez (@kathrynlopez) June 29, 2015
Precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of His friends #PrayforthePersecuted #HonortheMartyrs #HolyFamily pic.twitter.com/9Y5D3XE7dF
— Kathryn Jean Lopez (@kathrynlopez) June 29, 2015
Praying for courage through the intercession of Christian Martyrs pic.twitter.com/uDkYTIPQdv
— Kathryn Jean Lopez (@kathrynlopez) June 29, 2015
How can I repay the Lord 4 His goodness to me? #PrayforthePersecuted #PeterandPaul #ChristianPersecution #HolyFamily pic.twitter.com/Hh8iVNEtVG
— Kathryn Jean Lopez (@kathrynlopez) June 29, 2015
10. This will be big:
Our Lady of Czestochowa and Our Mother pray for us and all #wyd2016 pilgrims! #wydkrakow #wydusa @wyd_en pic.twitter.com/2If58JmJTU
— Fr Jon Kalisch (@frjonop) June 28, 2015
BUT FIRST: Some things on the pope in the U.S. here.