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MEDITATIO

Monday, June 20 : Dorotheus of Gaza

Monday, June 20 : Dorotheus of Gaza

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Some people change every food they absorb into a bad mood, even if the food is healthy. The fault does not lie in the food but in their temperament, which changes the food. Even so, if our soul has a bad disposition, everything harms it; it transforms even useful things into things that are harmful to it. If you throw a little bit of bitter herbs into a pot of honey, won’t they change the whole pot by making all the honey bitter? That is what we do: we spread a little of our bitterness and we destroy our neighbor’s good by looking at him according to our bad disposition. Other people have a temperament that transforms everything into a good mood, even bad food. (…) Pigs have a very good constitution. They eat pods, date seeds and garbage. But they transform that food into succulent meat. In the same way, if we have good habits and a good state of the soul, we can benefit from everything, even from what is not beneficial. The Book of Proverbs says it very well: “The one who sees with gentleness will obtain mercy.” And in another place: “For the foolish person, everything is contrary.” I heard it said of a brother that if, when he went to see someone else, he found his cell in a state of neglect and in disorder, he told himself: “How happy is this brother to be completely detached from earthly things and to carry his spirit on high so well that he doesn’t even have the time to tidy his cell !” If he then went to another brother and found his cell tidy, clean, and in good order, he told himself: “This brother’s cell is as clean as his soul. As is the state of his soul, so is the state of his cell !” He never said of anyone: “This one is untidy,” or: “That one is frivolous.” Because of his excellent state, he benefited from everything. May God in his goodness also give us a good state so that we might benefit from everything and never think badly of our neighbor. If our malice inspires us to pass judgment or to be suspicious, let us quickly transform that into a good thought. For with God’s help, not seeing what is bad in our neighbor brings forth kindness.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team

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Monday, June 20 : Saint Bernard

Monday, June 20 : Saint Bernard

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The Holy Spirit overshadowed the Virgin Mary (Lk 1,35) and strengthened the apostles on the day of Pentecost. In her case it was to soften the impact on her virginal body of the coming of the divinity and, in theirs, to «clothe them with power from on high» (Lk 24,49), that is with burning charity… In their weakness how could they have fulfilled their mission of conquering death without that «love as strong as death» or not allowed the «gates of hell to prevail against them» without that «passion fierce as hell»? (Mt 16,18; Sg 8,6). However, when they saw this enthusiasm, some thought they were drunk (Acts 2,13). They were indeed drunk, but with new wine…, that which the «true Vine» poured down from the heights of heaven, that which «gladdens the human heart» (Jn 15,1; Ps 104[103],15)… This was a new wine for the dwellers on earth but it is found in abundance in heaven…, it runs in streams in the streets and squares of the holy city where it spreads gladness of heart… And so in heaven there was a special wine of which earth was ignorant. Yet earth, too, had something of its own that was its glory – Christ’s flesh – and heaven thirsted for the presence of that flesh. Could anyone stand in the way of so reliable and grace-filled an exchange, between heaven and earth, angels and apostles, as that by which earth possesses the Holy Spirit and heaven the flesh of Christ?… «If I do not go away,» Jesus says, «the Advocate will not come to you.» That is to say, if you do not allow what you love to leave you, you will not obtain what you desire. «It is to your advantage that I go» and that I should carry you over from earth to heaven, from flesh to spirit, for the Father is spirit, the Son is spirit and the Holy Spirit is also spirit… And the Father «who is spirit seeks worshipers who will worship him in spirit and in truth» (Jn 4,23-24).

maronite readings – rosary,team

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Sunday, June 19 : Saint John of the Cross

Sunday, June 19 : Saint John of the Cross

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The chief reason in the Old Law that the inquiries made of God were licit, and the prophets and priests appropriately desired visions and revelations from him, was that at that time faith was not yet perfectly grounded, nor was the Gospel law established… But in this era of grace, now… there is no reason for inquiring of him in this way, or expecting him to answer as before. In giving us his Son, his only Word (for he possesses no other), he spoke everything to us at once in this sole Word—and he has no more to say. This is the meaning of that passage where Saint Paul says to the Hebrews…: “God formerly spoke to our fathers through the prophets in many ways and manners, now, finally, in these days he has spoken to us all at once in his Son” (Heb. 1,1-2)… Those who now desire to question God or receive some vision or revelation are guilty not only of foolish behavior but also of offending him by not fixing their eyes entirely on Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty. God could answer as follows: “If I have already told you all things in my Word, my Son, and if I have no other word, what answer or revelation can I now make that would surpass this? Fasten your eyes on him alone because in him I have spoken and revealed all and in him you will discover even more than you ask for and desire… On that day when I descended with my Spirit on Mount Tabor proclaiming: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased: hear him” (Mt 17,5), I gave up these methods of answering and teaching… Hear him because I have no more faith to reveal or truths to manifest. If I spoke before it was to promise Christ. If they questioned me, their inquiries were related to their petitions and longings for Christ in whom they were to obtain every good, as is now explained in all the doctrine of the evangelists and apostles.
maronite readings – rosary,team

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الأحد، ١٩ يونيو : القدّيس يوحنّا الصليب

الأحد، ١٩ يونيو : القدّيس يوحنّا الصليب

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إنّ الدافع الأساسي الذي بسببه كانت مساءلة الله مباحةً في ظلّ الشّريعة القديمة، والذي بسببه كان ملائمًا للأنبياء وللكهنة أن يرغبوا في مشاهدة الرؤى والإيحاءات، هذا لأنّ الإيمان لم يكن بعد قد بُني، ولا الشريعة الإنجيليّة قد وُضعَت… أمّا الآن، فليس هناك مكان البتّة لمشاورة الله بهذه الطريقة، حتّى يتكلّم ويجيب كما كان يفعل في السابق. فمن خلال إرسال ابنه الذي هو كلمته الأخيرة والنهائيّة، قال لنا كلّ شيء مرّة واحدة، ولم يعد لديه شيء يقوله. هذا هو تعليم القدّيس بولس إلى العبرانيّين: “إِنَّ اللهَ، بَعدَما كَلَّمَ الآباءَ قَديمًا بِالأَنبِياءَ مَرَّاتٍ كَثيرةً بِوُجوهٍ كَثيرة، كَلَّمَنا في آخِرِ الأَيَّام هذِه بِابْنٍ جَعَلَه وارِثًا لِكُلِّ شيء وبِه أَنشَأَ العالَمِين” (عب 1: 1-2)… نستخلص أنّ التوق في ظلّ الشريعة الجديدة إلى رؤىً أو إيحاءات، ليس فقط فعل حماقةٍ، إنّما إهانة لله، بما أنّ أنظارنا، بذلك، لن تكون مُثبَتة على الرّب يسوع المسيح وحده من دون التفتيش عن شيء جديد. في الواقع، إنّ الله يمكنه أن يجيب بهذه الطريقة: بما إنّي قلت لكم كلّ ما لديّ قوله، بالكلمة الذي هو ابني، فذلك لأنّه ليس لديّ أحد آخرٌ يقدر أن يوحي أو يجيب عمّا هو أعظم من ذلك. ركّزوا أنظاركم عليه وحده، لأنّني به قد أنشأت كلّ شيء، وفيه قلت كلّ شيء، وأظهرت كلّ شيء، وسوف تجدون هنا أعظم ممّا تتوقون إليه وتطلبونه… منذ ذلك اليوم حيث نزلت عليه، مع روحي، على جبل طابور، قائلاً: “هذا هَو ابنيَ الحَبيبُ الَّذي عَنهُ رَضيت، فلَهُ اسمَعوا” (مت 17: 5)، أوقفت كلّ أساليب تعليمي القديمة، في الإجابات، ووضعت ثقتي في هذه الرسالة. اسمعوا له، لأنّه ليس لديّ بعد من إيمان لأوحيه، ولا أيّ شيءٍ آخر لإظهاره. إذا تكلّمت قبل هذه الساعة، فلكي أعدكم بالمسيح، وإن وجّهوا إليّ طلبات، فإنّها كانت تنسجم مع السعي وإلى المسيح والرّجاء به. إنّ كلّ شيء يجب أن يتركّز فيه، كما يعلنه اليوم تعليم الإنجيليّين والرّسل.

maronite readings – rosary.team

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Domingo, 19 De Junio : San Agustín

Domingo, 19 De Junio : San Agustín

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Lo que veis en el altar de Dios (…), es el pan y el cáliz: esto es lo que vuestros ojos os indican. Pero es vuestra fe quien quiere ser instruida, que ese pan es el cuerpo de Cristo, que ese cáliz es su sangre. Esto supone una breve fórmula, que puede bastar a la fe. Pero la fe busca instruirse. (…) ¿Cómo este pan es su cuerpo, y este cáliz, o más bien su contenido, puede ser su sangre? Hermanos míos esto es lo que se llaman sacramentos: muestran una realidad y de ellos se deduce otra. Lo que vemos es una apariencia corporal en tanto que lo que comprendemos es un fruto espiritual. Si queréis comprender lo que es el cuerpo de Cristo, escuchad al Apóstol, que dice a los fieles: “sois el cuerpo de Cristo, y cada uno de vosotros, sois los miembros de ese cuerpo” (1 Co 12,17). Así pues si sois vosotros el cuerpo de Cristo y sus miembros, es vuestro misterio quien se encuentra en la mesa del Señor, es vuestro misterio lo que recibís. A esto, lo que sois, responded: “Amén” y con esta respuesta, lo suscribiréis. Se os dice: «el cuerpo de Cristo» y respondéis “Amén”. Sed pues miembros del cuerpo de Cristo para que este Amén sea verdadero. ¿Por qué pues el cuerpo está en el pan? Aquí aun, no decimos nada de nosotros mismos, escuchemos una vez más al Apóstol, quien, hablando de este sacramento nos dice: “porque el pan es uno, nosotros, siendo muchos, formamos un solo cuerpo” (1 Co 10,17) ¡Comprended esto y permaneced en la alegría: unidad, verdad, piedad, caridad! “Un solo pan”; ¿quién es este pan único? “un solo cuerpo, nosotros que somos muchos”. Recordad que no se hace pan con un solo grano, sino con muchos. Sed lo que veis, y recibid lo que sois.
Lecturas Católicas Romanas – rosary.team

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Sunday, June 19 : Saint Augustine

Sunday, June 19 : Saint Augustine

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You see on God’s altar bread and a cup. That is what the evidence of your eyes tells you, but your faith requires you to believe that the bread is the body of Christ, the cup the blood of Christ. In these few words we can say perhaps all that faith demands. Faith, however, seeks understanding (…). How can bread be his body? And the cup, or rather what is in the cup, how can that be his blood ? These things, my friends, are called sacraments, because our eyes see in them one thing, our understanding another. Our eyes see the material form; our understanding, its spiritual effect. If, then, you want to know what the body of Christ is, you must listen to what the Apostle tells the faithful: “Now you are the body of Christ, and individually you are members of it” (1 Cor 12:17). If that is so, it is the sacrament of yourselves that is placed on the Lord’s altar, and it is the sacrament of yourselves that you receive. You reply “Amen” to what you are, and thereby agree that such you are. You hear the words “The body of Christ” and you reply “Amen.” Be, then, a member of Christ’s body, so that your “Amen” may accord with the truth. Yes, but why all this in bread? Here let us not advance any ideas of our own, but listen to what the Apostle says over and over again when speaking of this sacrament: “Because there is one loaf, we, though we are many, form one body” (1 Cor 10:17). Let your mind assimilate that and be glad, for there you will find unity, truth, piety, and love. He says, “one loaf”: and who this one loaf? “We, though we are many, form one body”. Now bear in mind that bread is not made of a single grain, but of many. Be, then, what you see, and receive what you are.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team

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السبت، ١٨ يونيو : القدّيس أوغسطينُس

السبت، ١٨ يونيو : القدّيس أوغسطينُس

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بعد أن وعد المخلّص تلاميذه بأن يرسل لهم الرُّوح القدس الذي سيجعل منهم جميعًا شهودًا للحقيقة، أضاف: “كَلَّمْتُكُم بِهذا لِئَلاَّ تَعْثُروا”. وبالفعل، عندما تنسكب محبّة الله في قلوبنا بواسطة الرُّوح القدس ينتشر في الوقت ذاته سلامٌ وافرٌ في أذهان أولئك الذين يحبّون شريعة الله، فلا يعود أيّ أمر يشكّل “حَجَرَ عِثَارٍ” بالنسبة إليهم (راجع مز 119[118]: 165). ثمّ تنبّأ لهم بالمحن التي تنتظرهم: “سَيَفْصِلُونَكُم مِنَ المَجَامِع”. ولكن ما هو الضرر البالغ الذي سيصيب الرسل عند فصلهم من المجامع اليهوديّة بما أنّهم كانوا سيخرجون بأنفسهم من غير أن يطردهم أحد؟ لقد أراد الرّب يسوع من خلال ذلك أن يعلّمهم بأنّ اليهود لن يستقبلوا الرَبّ يسوع الذي لا يمكن لتلاميذه أن ينفصلوا عنه. في الواقع، لو أراد اليهود أن يعترفوا بالرَبّ يسوع، وبما أنّه لم يكن هناك من شعب آخر لله سوى نسل إبراهيم، لكانت كنائس الربّ يسوع لا تختلف عن مجامع اليهود. لكن بما أنّ اليهود رفضوا استقبال الربّ يسوع، فالنتيجة الطبيعيّة هي أنّهم أبقوا أنفسهم خارجًا عنه، وكان عليهم بالتالي أن يطردوا من مجامعهم أولئك الذين لا يريدون الانفصال عن الربّ.

maronite readings – rosary.team

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Sábado, 18 De Junio : San Juan Crisóstomo

Sábado, 18 De Junio : San Juan Crisóstomo

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Vez que ventajas nos promete Jesucristo y cuantos de sus mandatos nos son útiles, puesto que nos liberan de tantos grandes males. Él dice que el daño que causan las riquezas, no es solo el armar a los ladrones contra vosotros y llenar vuestro espíritu de profundas tinieblas. La gran herida que producen, es que os arrastran  del bienaventurado servicio de Jesucristo para convertiros en esclavos de un metal insensible e inanimado.     «No podéis servir a Dios y al dinero» ¡Temblemos, hermanos, ante la idea de que forzamos a Cristo a hablar del dinero como de una divinidad opuesta a Dios!. ¿Pero cómo, diréis, han encontrado los antiguos patriarcas la manera de servir conjuntamente a Dios y al dinero? De ningún modo. ¿Pero cómo Abraham, como Job, ha lanzado tantas exclamaciones por su magnificencia?  Os respondo que no es necesario en absoluto alegar aquí lo que han poseído los ricos sino los que han sido poseídos por las riquezas. Job era rico; se servía del dinero, pero no servía al dinero, era el dueño y no el adorador. Consideraba su bien como si hubiera sido de otro, se consideraba como el dispensario y no como el propietario… Por eso no se afligió en absoluto cuando lo perdió.

Lecturas Católicas Romanas – rosary.team

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Saturday, June 18 : Saint John Chrysostom

Saturday, June 18 : Saint John Chrysostom

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See what benefits Jesus Christ promises and how beneficial his commands are to us since they set us free from such great evils. The misery caused you by riches, he says to us, is not just that of arming thieves against you and filling your mind with impenetrable gloom. The great wound they inflict is to snatch you away from the blessed service of Jesus Christ to make you slaves of a piece of senseless, soulless metal. “You cannot serve both God and money.” My brethren, let us shudder at the thought that we are forcing Jesus Christ to speak to us about money as though it were an alternative divinity to God ! But surely, you will say, didn’t the patriarchs of old find it possible to serve God and money at the same time? Certainly not. But how, then, was it that Abraham and Job set such store by their wealth? I reply that there’s no question here of invoking those who possessed riches but those who were possessed by them. Job was a rich man; he made use of money without being its slave; he was its master, not its worshipper. He considered his wealth as though it had been another’s and saw himself as its administrator, not its proprietor. (…) That was why he was not the least bothered when he lost it.
Roman Catholic Ordinary Calendar – rosary,team

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Saturday, June 18 : Saint Peter Chrysologus

Saturday, June 18 : Saint Peter Chrysologus

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“I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice” (Rm 12,1). With this plea the apostle Paul raises all men to participation in the priesthood… We do not look outside ourselves for something to offer God but bring with us and within us something to sacrifice to God for our own advantage… “I urge you by the mercies of God.” Brothers, this sacrifice is in Christ’s image, he who laid down his life here below and offered it for the life of the world. Indeed he made a living sacrifice of his body who yet lives after being killed. In so great a sacrifice death was destroyed, removed by the sacrifice… Hence martyrs are born at the time of their death and begin to live as their life ends; they live when they are killed and shine in heaven when people on earth think they have been snuffed out… The prophet sang: “You did not ask for sacrifice or oblation but a body you have prepared for me” (Ps 39[40],7). Become both the sacrifice that is offered and the one who offers it to God. Do not lose what God’s power has granted you. Put on the cloak of holiness. Take up the belt of chastity. May Christ be the veil over your head; the cross the breastplate that gives you perseverance. Keep in your heart the sacrament of Holy Scripture. May your prayer burn constantly like a sweet-smelling fragrance to God. Take up “the sword of the Spirit” (Eph 6,17); may your heart be the altar where, without fear, you may offer your whole self, your whole life… Offer your faith to make reparation for unbelief; offer your fasting to put an end to voraciousness; offer your chastity that sensuality may die; be fervent that wrongdoing may cease; exercise mercy to end avarice; and to suppress foolishness, offer your holiness. Thus will your life become your offering if it has not been wounded by sin. Your body lives, yes, it lives, each time that, putting evil to death within you, you offer living virtues to God.

maronite readings – rosary,team

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