Be remembered by what you love not by what you hate.

Consider This

Slayin' Demons

One of the more faulty yet interesting comparisons I’ve heard is that of comparing God to diamonds. And here’s why.

Diamonds - a mineral, a natural crystalline substance made of plain old carbon atoms, are formed under extreme pressure and heat in the interior of the earth, diamonds are shot out to surface by volcanoes or extraordinary earth movements.

It is the hardest surface known to man. It can cut through any thing. And it can only be cut by other diamonds. Some say, it is the woman’s best friend. Historically, men went to bowels of the earth to obtain it.

This "king of gems" glitters and dazzles. It symbolizes purity and strength. It symbolizes a commitment to never-ending love. It mesmerizes those who look at it. It captivates those who hold it. It commands those who own it.

Diamonds can be appreciated from different angles – from its many different facets. And it is easy to get lost in the dazzle, the glitter, the strength and the need to just have IT.

But with all its attributes and strength a diamond always has a weakness from within. A fact exploited by the craftsmen and women who cut diamond to reveal its greatest brilliance.

God, too, has many facets. And it is easy to get lost in any one of His countless facets. We look at God based on our own experience.

To some, God is a peaceful and peace-loving Messiah. Some see God as benevolent and forgiving caretaker of all. Others see God as an angry ruler. Still others see God as a demanding and envious master.

With the adjectives in their proper context God is all that. But it would be a mistake to assume that having these many facets, God has a weakness from within. Indeed, the weaknesses that we perceive are mere projections of our own.

We see God as peaceful and peace-loving when we are weary of the war that just seems so un-Christian. In fact, St. Thomas Aquinas himself wrote in The Summa Theologica, Part II, Question 40 (Benziger Bros. edition, 1947), "True religion looks upon as peaceful those wars that are waged not for motives of aggrandizement, or cruelty, but with the object of securing peace, of punishing evil-doers, and of uplifting the good."

We see God as benevolent in times when we are weary of the suffering of those who are needy. Yet we forget that that cup of java that lead most of us along early in the morning to wake us up can feed a suffering family of four for a day somewhere.

We see God as an angry ruler to justify our own anger and our need to control.

We see God as demanding and envious because we are.

These are the demons we project because we know they exist in us. We see in God what we already believe. Inner beliefs create outward reality and perception is not everything.

Slaying demons is not easy - a task especially made difficult since these are our own. Action speaks volumes. Being doers of the Word is a great start. It’s like mining for diamonds - we can dig through a lot of muck until we uncover the One true gem. Our hands will get dirty but that diamond will always remain our pure salvation.

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1. Sunday Readings: Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2006
   
2. Today: Relevant Articles For Catholics
   
3. Cath Humor
   
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Sunday Readings

July 2, 2006
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 2006

First Reading: Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24

God did not make death,
nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.
For he fashioned all things that they might have being;
and the creatures of the world are wholesome,
and there is not a destructive drug among them
nor any domain of the netherworld on earth,
for justice is undying.

For God formed man to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made him.
But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world,
and they who belong to his company experience it.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 107:23-24, 25-26, 28-29, 30-31

R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the netherworld;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.

R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.

R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.

R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Second Reading: 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15

Brothers and sisters:
As you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse,
knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you,
may you excel in this gracious act also.

For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
Not that others should have relief while you are burdened,
but that as a matter of equality
your abundance at the present time should supply their needs,
so that their abundance may also supply your needs,
that there may be equality.

As it is written:
Whoever had much did not have more,
and whoever had little did not have less.

Gospel: Mk 5:21-43 or 5:21-24, 35b-43

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat
to the other side,
a large crowd gathered around him,
and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward.
Seeing him he fell at his feet
and pleaded earnestly with him, saying,
"My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live."
He went off with him,
and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.

There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years.
She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors
and had spent all that she had.
Yet she was not helped but only grew worse.
She had heard about Jesus and
came up behind him in the crowd
and touched his cloak.
She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured."
Immediately her flow of blood dried up.
She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.

Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him,
turned around in the crowd and asked,
"Who has touched my clothes?"
But his disciples said to Jesus,
"You see how the crowd is pressing upon you,
and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'"
And he looked around to see who had done it.
The woman, realizing what had happened to her,
approached in fear and trembling.
She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth.
He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you.
Go in peace and be cured of your affliction."

While he was still speaking,
people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said,
"Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"
Disregarding the message that was reported,
Jesus said to the synagogue official,
"Do not be afraid; just have faith."

He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,
he caught sight of a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them,
"Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep."
And they ridiculed him.
Then he put them all out.
He took along the child’s father and mother
and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum,"
which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.

or

When Jesus had crossed again in the boat
to the other side,
a large crowd gathered around him,
and he stayed close to the sea.
One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and
pleaded earnestly with him, saying,
"My daughter is at the point of death.
Please, come lay your hands on her
that she may get well and live."
He went off with him,
and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.

While he was still speaking,
people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said,
"Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?"
Disregarding the message that was reported,
Jesus said to the synagogue official,
"Do not be afraid; just have faith."

He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside
except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official,
he caught sight of a commotion,
people weeping and wailing loudly.
So he went in and said to them,
"Why this commotion and weeping?
The child is not dead but asleep."
And they ridiculed him.

Then he put them all out.
He took along the child’s father and mother
and those who were with him
and entered the room where the child was.
He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum,"
which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"
The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.
At that they were utterly astounded.
He gave strict orders that no one should know this
and said that she should be given something to eat.

Today

Media Influence Denigrates Family, Pope Charges

Jun. 30 (CWNews.com) - At a June 30 meeting with a new ambassador from Uruguay to the Holy See, Pope Benedict XVI decried the influence of the influence of some media outlets "that denigrate and ridicule the high value of marriage and the family."

The effect of this influence, he said, is to promote "egoism and disorientation instead of the generosity and sacrifice that is required to keep this, the real fundamental building block of the human community, alive and vigorous."

As he accepted the diplomatic credentials of the new Uruguayan ambassador, Mario Juan Bosco Cayota Zappettini, the Holy Father praised the South American nation for its historic support for "the Christian ideals of justice and peace." To maintain that healthy tradition, he said, the country must resist the current campaigns that would "limit the inviolable value of human life itself," or "dissociate it from its natural environment, which is that of human love in marriage and the family."

Support for the family is the most important means of upholding society, the Pope continued. He pointedly observed that the family is a "union based on the marriage of one man and one woman, according to the design expressed by the Creator." Society's support for that union, he said, must not be "dissipated by other forms of unions that would usurp the role."

Pope Benedict then turned to the "vast problem of poverty and marginalization," saying that it is a pressing problem for all governments, including that of Uruguay. Globalization, he said, has "created new opportunities, but also new risks," which leaders must confront. The problem is particularly acute in Uruguay, where an economic slump lasting for over a generation has left over 20% of the population living in poverty.

The Pope also said that in a global economy, marked by greater levels of migration, it is essential for society to treat new arrivals with respect. Uruguay is a country largely populated by immigrants; about 90% of its people are of European origin.

Of the 3.2 million people in Uruguay, roughly two-thirds are Catholics.

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References On Catholic Apologetics

I really encourage you to read at least the following:

• ¹What Catholics Really Believe-Setting the Record Straight: 52 Answers to Common Misconceptions About the Catholic Faith, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1992, by Karl Keating, director Catholic Answers, a lay-run apologetics and evangelization organization, and editor of the magazine, This Rock. He is also the author of the best-seller, Catholicism and Fundamentalism.

• ²Nuts & Bolts: A Practical Guide for Explaining and Defending the Catholic Faith, Basilica Press, San Diego, 1999, by Tim Staples, a former Assemblies of God youth pastor who converted to the Catholic Church.

• ³Catholic Source Book, Harcourt Religion Publishers, 2000, by Rev. Peter Klein. Rev Peter Klein is a priest of the Diocese of Winona in Minnesota.

• ⁴Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia, Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, Huntington, Indiana, 1998, by Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas, editor. Rev. Peter M.J. Stravinskas is the author of eleven books and more than 500 articles. He is the founding editor of Catholic Answer and the administrator of St. John the Baptist Church of Bayonne, New Jersey. He likewise serves as adjunct professor of education at Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey.

For more great information about our faith, please read Our Sunday Visitor's Catholic Encyclopedia. This is an excellent addition to a Catholic family library. I refer to this book everytime I come across a questionable term. It is also a very good source of a summary of Catholic Doctines, without the deep and brooding terminologies.

Kids' Proverbs

A first grade teacher collected old, well known proverbs. She gave each kid in her class the first half of a proverb, and had them come up with the rest.

As you shall make your bed so shall you... mess it up.

Strike while the... bug is close.

It's always darkest before... daylight savings time.

Never underestimate the power of... termites.

Don't bite the hand that... looks dirty.

No news is... impossible

You can't teach an old dog new... math.

If you lie down with the dogs, you'll... stink in the morning.

Love all, trust... me.

An idle mind is... the best way to relax.

Where there's smoke, there's... pollution.

Happy the bride who... gets all the presents!

A penny saved is... not much.

Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and... you have to blow your nose.

Children should be seen and not... spanked or grounded.

If at first you don't succeed... get new batteries.

You get out of something what you... see pictured on the box.

There is no fool like... Aunt Eddie.

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