Maria was born to a poor farming family in Italy, one of six children. Her father died when she was only 9 years old. After his death, Maria had to taking care of the rest of the children in the family while her mother worked. Maria also cooked and cleaned for their neighbors. Alessandro, her attacker, was her neighbor's son.

In spite of having to take care of the children, cook and clean for her family and neighbors, it's said that she did so joyfully and with faith that God would provide.

At the Transfiguration, Moses was there representing the law and Elijah was there representing the prophets. But why were Peter, James, and John present? And what does this event mean to us today?

St. Thomas Aquinas devotes an entire section in his Summa theologiae to this event. His treatment sums up much of the wisdom of the Fathers, so looking at his reflections may give us some answers.

The UNICEF-Reach report: 100,000 arrived in Europe in 2016. The sufferings endured during the African journey induce many to come to the “old continent”, which is not always the goal destination.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of mercy, pray for me.

God’s mercy is the only hope for mankind. I know we are called to imitate our Father’s mercy to those around us, but it is hard, and I often fail.

But you, even at the age of 11, were strong and courageous enough to offer mercy to your attacker, the one who hurt you the very most.

An original project by a couple in Southern Italy plants a seed of communion for many, even as far as away as up north in Trent. “Small is beautiful,” you might say.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

O St. Maria Goretti, beautiful model of chastity, you guarded your virginity with such fervor. Even at the age of 11, you knew the value of the virtue of chastity.

Please pray that I will become better at practising chastity in my own life.

Pray that I will learn to live a life in which desire is subservient to reason. Please pray that I will be able to love as Jesus does: selflessly.

Amen.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Roman Rite

XVII Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A – July 30, 2017

1King 3.5.7-12; Ps 119; Rm 8, 28-30; Mt 13.44-52

Ambrosian Rite

1Sam 3: 1-20; Ps 62; Ephesians 3: 1-12; Mt 4: 18-22

Sunday VIII after Pentecost

1) The Treasure of Life

This Sunday’s Gospel offers us the final part of chapter 13 of St. Matthew‘s gospel with the parables that compare the Kingdom of God to a treasure, to a precious stone and to a net thrown into the sea that gathers all kinds of fish.

“The sheer gratuitousness of the grace of salvation is particularly manifest in infant Baptism.” (CCC 1250)

Does the Bible support the baptism of infants? Yes it does, though the evidence is indirect (deductive):

With the Motu Proprio “Maiorem hac dilectionem” on the offer of life, Pope Francis has opened the path to beatification for those faithful who, inspired by charity, have heroically offered their life for their neighbour, freely and voluntarily accepting certain and untimely death in their determination to follow Jesus: he laid down his life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 Jn 3:16).

As we know, for centuries the norms of the Catholic Church have provided that one may proceed to the beatification of a Servant of God along one of three paths:

When Jesus prayed, in the Gospel of John, for all future Christians he prayed, “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” (John 17:21a)

This kind of closeness—this kind of unity—is difficult to imagine.

God, as we understand Him, is triune: Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit existing in one and the same Being. One beautiful old hymn reminds us, “The Godhead, three-in-one.”

This is a closeness we cannot yet fathom.