Saturday 7/11/2020 Live Stream Mass at St. Monica Catholic Church

Thank you for joining the St. Monica’s Live Stream Mass for Saturday Morning 7/11/2020, Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot

Readings for Saturday 7/11/2020

Reading 1 IS 6:1-8

In the year King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,
with the train of his garment filling the temple.
Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings:
with two they veiled their faces,
with two they veiled their feet,
and with two they hovered aloft.

They cried one to the other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!
All the earth is filled with his glory!”
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook
and the house was filled with smoke.

Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
living among a people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me,
holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar.

He touched my mouth with it and said,
“See, now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”

Responsorial Psalm 93:1AB, 1CD-2, 5

R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
The LORD is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O LORD.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O LORD, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

Alleluia 1 PT 4:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you,
for the Spirit of God rests upon you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 10:24-33

Jesus said to his Apostles:
“No disciple is above his teacher,
no slave above his master.
It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher,
for the slave that he become like his master.
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,
how much more those of his household!

“Therefore do not be afraid of them.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

Our Hidden Life

“Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known.” Matthew 10:26b

This is either a very consoling thought, or very frightening depending upon what you may have “concealed” or what you hold “secret” within your heart. What is there, in the depth of your conscience? What is hiding that only God sees for now? There are two extremes into which people can fall in this regard, and many places between the extremes.

The first extreme is that person who lives a phony public persona but secretly lives a very different life. These are those who fall into the sin of hypocrisy, or are what we may call “two-faced.” This is a frightening situation to be in. It’s frightening because those living this sort of life are never truly at peace. They are completely caught up in what others think and what their public image looks like. Interiorly, they are filled with much sorrow, anxiety and fear. This person struggles greatly with any and every form of true humility, honesty and integrity.

But with that said, there is also another form of person who lives a hidden life. This is the hidden life of the saint! Take, for example, the Blessed Virgin Mary. She was seen as a fornicator early in her life and this “public image” of her was never corrected in this world. How else would she have gotten pregnant with Jesus? many thought. But the truth was that her soul was the most beautiful, pure and holy creation God ever made. And now, the beauty of her interior life is manifest before the angels and saints and will be made manifest for all eternity!

The promise of the Scripture above is that everything within our heart and conscience will be made manifest for all eternity. Therefore, those living truly holy, humble and sincere lives of virtue now will be seen in this light for eternity. Those living hidden dark lives will have those lives visible for eternity in some way in accord with God’s mercy and justice.

Again, this will most likely be either consoling or frightening, depending upon our hearts. But what we should take from this, more than anything, is the importance of striving for a truly holy and pure heart here and now. It doesn’t matter if no one sees your holiness, only God needs to see it. The goal is to allow God to form a beautiful interior life for you and to allow Him to make your soul beautiful to Him.

Reflect, today, on how well you do this. How well do you daily allow God to treat your heart and conscience as His possession, making it a place of true beauty that gives His heart, and yours, much delight.

Lord, please come and make my heart Your dwelling place. Make my soul pleasing to You in every way. May Your glory be made manifest there and may You allow this glory to be made manifest for all eternity. Jesus, I trust in You.

Source of content: mycatholic.life