READINGS OF THE DAYS

June 29

Thirteenth week of Ordinary Time

Acts 12:1-11

About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members of the church to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword, and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (It was [the] feast of Unleavened Bread.) He had him taken into custody and put in prison under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. He intended to bring him before the people after Passover. Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the church was fervently being made to God on his behalf. On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter, secured by double chains, was sleeping between two soldieres, while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison. Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, "Get up quickly." The chains fell from his wrists. The angel said to him, "Put on your belt and your sandals." He did so. Then he said to him, "Put on your cloal and follow me." So he followed him out, not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision they passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the iron gate leading out to the city, which opened for them by itself. They emerged and made their way down an alley, and suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter recovered his senses and said, "Now I know for certain that (the) Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting."

TODAY'S SAINT

June 28

Irenaeus of Lyons (ca. 130-202)

Bishop of Lyons, Father of the Church

Name meaning: Lover of peace

The writings of Irenaeus rank him among the greatest of the fathers of the church; he is condidered the first great Christian theologian. His work--much of it still extant--helped to lay the Gnostic heresy to rest and laid the foundations of Christian theology. Although he wrote in Greek, he was quickly translated into Latin, and was highly influential in his day.

Irenaeus was born in Asia Minor, probably around the year 130 (between 125 and 142), although some scholars believe earlier, between 115 and 125. This area had been heavily worked by the Apostles, and their memory would have been strong. While still very young, he heard St. Polycarp preach at Smyrna.

Irenaeus joined the Christian priesthood and was sent as a missionary to the Church of Lyons in Gaul during the time of Emperor Marcus Aurelius's bloody persecution of Chrisians. In 177 or 178 he was sent to Rome to deliver a letter asking for mercy on Montanism, a herretical sect, to Pope St. Eleutherius (r. 175-189), and thus escaped the persecutions in Lyons that resulted in the martyrdom of Bishop St. Pothinus. When he returned to Lyons, he was elected to the vacant bishopric, and remainned in that capacity for the rest of his life. He spent his time preaching and traveling in missionary work, especially targeting pockets of Gnosticism in Gaul.

The persecutions having subsided, Irenaeus found the greatest challenge to the Christian Church in Gnosticism, and set about clarifying the errors of the various sects in relation to the true teachings of the Apostles. He also took a stand on the Quartodeciman controveresy concernion the celebration of Easter, interceding with Pope St. Victor (r. 189-199) in 190 or 191 to lift the sentence of excommunication upon the Christian communities of Asia Minor.

Irenaeus is believed to have died in 202, although this is not certain. Probably he died a natural death. His remains were interred in a crypt under the altar of what was then known as the Church of St. John, but later called after him. The tomb became a shrine and was destroyed by Calvinists in 1562; all trace of his relics has been lost.

Irenaeus wrote numereous treatises and letters and has been quoted by numerous church theologians since. He was vigorous in his defense of orthodoxy and in his opposition to heresy. Composed in Greek, none have survived in their original editions, but are extant in Latin or Armenian translations. His best known work is Adveresus haereses, considered an excellent exposition of the Gnostic heresy as well as other heretical philosophies. A second treatise, Proof of the Apostolic Preaching, expounds on the Gospels as interpreted through Old Testament prophecies. Only fragments exist of Irenaeus's other works.

Feast: June 28 (West) August 23 (East)

PARYER

God, You enabled St. Irenaeus, Your Bishop,

to strengthen the truth of Faith and the peace

of the Church. Through his intercession may we

be renewed in Faith and love and always strive

to foster unity and concord. Amen

TODAY'S SAINT

June 27

Cyril of alexandria (ca. 376-444)

Patriarch of Alexandria, Father of the Church, Doctor of the Church

Cyril was born in Alexandria ca.376. He was the nephew of Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, and among those who deposed St. John Chrysostom. Cyril was raised, educated and ordainned by his uncle, and went with him to Constantinople in 403 for the diposition of John. When Theophilus died in 412, Cyril succeeded him as patriarch of Alexandria, but only after a riot broke out between his supporters and those of his rival, Timotheus.

Cyril spent much of his career embroiled in the church politics of heresies. He closed the churches of one heretical sect, the Novatianists, and chased the Jews out of Alexandria. In 430 he began a battle against the heretic Nestorius, who was preachinng that Mary was not the Mother of God, since Christ was Diviine and not human, and consequently she should not have the word Theotokos ("God-bearer") applied to her.

Cyril persuaded Pope Celestine I (r. 422-432) to convene a synod condemning Nestorius, and Cyril convened his own synod in Alexandria to do the same. Cyril also presided over the Third General Council of Ephesus, at which he condemned Nestorius, but then was deposed himself. Both Cyril and Nestorius were arrested, but Cyril was released upon intervention of the pope. Eventually Nestorius was condemned and banished to the Great Oasis of Egypt.

A brilliant scholar, Cyril left a legacy of exegtetical works, treatises, commentaries especially for his writing on the Holy Trinity and the Incarnation, On Adoration in Spirit and Truth is a 17-book exposition on the spiritual nature of the Old Law.

Declared Doctor of the Church: 1882 by Pope Leo XIII

Paryer

God, You made St. Cyril, Your Bishop,

invincible champion of the Divine Mat-

ernity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Grant

that we who believe her to be truly the

Mother of God may be saved through the

Incarnation of Christ Your son.

Amen.

TODAY'S SAINT

June 26

Anthelm (ca. 1105-07-1178)

Carthusian monk and bishop

Little is known of this saint's early life. Anthelm was born ca. 1105-07 at Chignin Castle, six miles from the town of Chambery, to nobility. Although he had chosen a life in the Church from an early age, he was more attracted to the things of this world, rather than the next, and pursued ecclesiastical positions to enhance his prestige. A visit to relatives at the Carthusian monastery at Portes changed his life, however, and he entered the stricct order of St. Bruno in 1137.

Not long into his novitate, Anthelm was sent to help rebuild the monstery at Grande Chartreuse, which had been nearly destroyed in anavalanche. His gifts for organization and business soon restored the life and prosperity of the mmonastey. He brought water to the monastry with an aqueduct and rennewedd the farmlands and sheepfolds. When Hugh I resigned aas prior of the nomastery in 1139, Anthelm succeeded him. Throughout these activities Anthelm enforced the Carthusiam rule and organized the various monasteries-previously answereable only to the bishop--into a unified order, calling the first general chapter about 1140. Grande Chartreuse became the mother house and Anthelm the first minister general. Anthelm's skills and reputation brought many new monk into the order, including his father, a brother, andf William, count of Nivernais.

Anthelm resigned his post in 1152, hoping to retire insolitude, but succeeded Bernard, prior of Portes monastery, as abbot instead.The monks at Portes had become very prosperous-- to prosperous, Anthelm believed, for an order with rules of poverty. He gave away most of the grain stores and evven sold church ornaments for alms.

Two years later Anthelm returned to Grande Chartreuse, longing for the contemplative life, but was again called to service. In 1159 two popes vied for legitimacy: Alexandere III (r. 115-81), supported by King Louis VII of France and most of the bishops, and Victor IV, the favorite of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Anthelm threw himself into the argument and, along with Geoffrey, the Cisterciaan abbot of Hautecombe, recruited both clergy and nobility from France, Spain and England in support of Alexander. In gratitude, Alexander II appointed Anthelm as bishop of Belley, much against Anthelm"s wishes, in September 1163.

Bishop Anthelm energetically promoted reform of his diocese. In his first synod he encouraged, the priests and clergy to return to celibacy; many priests had married. When after two years he still found lapsed celibattes he deprived them of their benefices. He tolerated no opression or disorder from the laity, either, standing firm against the intrusion of secular kings into ecclesiastical afairs. Alexander III even sent him to England to try to mediate a truce between with no success. Anthelm's flock so loved him that for a time the town of Belley was renamed Anthelmopolis.

Anthelm died at age 72 on June 26, 1178. He had devoted his last years to the Carthusian order and two other institutions: a women's community at bons and a leper house, His tomb at Grande Chartreuse quickly became known for its miraculous poweres; St. Hugh of Loncoln visited the shrine before he died in 1200.

Anthelm is depicted in art with a lamp lit by a divine hand.

PRAYER:

God, You made Your Bishop St. Anthelm an

outstanding minister of Your Church by his

prayer and pastoral zeal. Through his prayers

grant that Your faithful flock may always find

pastors after Your heart and salutary pastures.

Amen.

TODAY'S SAINT

JUNE 25

ST. PROSPER OF REGGIO, Bishop

This 5th century saint is shrouded in obscurity; beginning with the 9th century he was venerated in the Italian province of Emilia, although he may have been a native of Spain originally. A questionable tradition asserts that St. Prosper distributed all his goods to the poor in order to fulfill our Lord's precept to the rich young man. He became a Bishop and his beneficent episcopate lasted twinty-two years.

On June 25, 466, he passed on to his heavenly reward, surrounded by his priests and deacons, and he was buried in the church of St. Apollinaris, which he had built and consecrated, outside the walls of Reggio. In 703, his relics were transferred to a great new church erected in his honor be Bishop Thomas of Reggio. And fittingly enough he is the principal patron of that city.

PARYER:

God, You made St. Prosper an outstanding

exemplar of Divine love and the Faith that

conquers the world, and added him to the

role of saintly pastors. Grant by his interc-

ession that we may persevere in Faith and

love, and become sharers of his glory. Amen

TODAY'S SAINT

June 24

John the Baptist (first century)

Prophet, martyr, Precuuursor or Forerunner of the Lord

John's story is told in the Gospels. He was born to Zachary, a priest of the temple at Jerusalem, and his wife Elizabeth, a kinswoman of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Zacchary and elizabeth were advancced in years--and elizabeth was barren--when Gabriel the Archangel announced that a son, John, was to be born to them. John was borrrn about six months before Jesus.

Nothing of John's early yeaars is known. He probably was about 32 when he began his spiritual mission by withdrawing into the desert near Jordan to fast and pray. He wore only a garment made of camel's hair tied with a leatherr girdle, and he survived on locusts and wild honey. He then started preaching, and his intensity appealed to many, despite his disheveled appearance. He baptized people in the River Jordan as they confessed their sins.

Many thought him to be the Messiah who was prophesied to come, but he said he was not: "After me comes he who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but he wiill baptize you with the Holy Spirit" (Mark 1:7-8)

When Jesus came to te baptized, the heavens split, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus like a dove, and a voicce said, "Thou art my beloved Son, with thee I am well pleased" (Mark 1:11). Jesus later said therre was no greater prophet than John.

John ran affoul of King Herod Antipas (r. 4 B.C. - A.D. 39), the provincial governor under Emperor Tiberius Caesar of Rome. John in the criticized Herod's private affairs, including his mnarriage to his niece, Herodias, who had been married to Herod's half-brother, philip. Herod imprisoned John in the fortress of Machaerus on the Dead Sea.

John continued to preach from prison. Herodias despised him and plotted against him. On Herod's birthday, Herodias's 14-year-old daughter by Philip, Salome, pleased the king with herr dancing. He swore an oath promising her anything in return. Cooached by her mother. Salome answered that she wanted the head of John the Baptist brought to her on a platter. Herrod had no coice but to comply, and John was beheaded. Salome accepted it and presented it to herer mother.

Jesus' disciples removed the body to a tomb, and Jesus and his followers went into the desert to moun John's death.

According to Patristic tradition, John was freed from original sin and sanctified in his mother's womb. In art, John is depicted as an ascetic hermit, sometimes holding a lamb. He carries a staff that ends in a cross. His baptism of Jesus has been painted often.

Feast: June 24 (birth) and August 29 (martyrdom)

Patronage: baptissm; conversion; farriers; monastic life; tailors

JESUS, YOU ARE PRESENT

The RESPONSE is: Jesus, You are present; I trust in You!

Jesus, you are here in the Eucharist --
As Son of the Father and Son of Mary (Creed) --
As at the Annunciation when You, the Word, were made flesh (Lk 1; Jn 1) --
By word and the Spirit (Jn 3) --
As Mercy Incarnate (John Paul II) --
Because you love us (Jn 13:11) --
As the Lamb of God (Jn 1:29) --
As totally given and poured out (Lk 22:19-20) --
As the new covenant (Jn 6:27; Lk 22:20) --
Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity (Council of Trennt) --
As the memorial of Your passion, death and resurrection (Canon of Mass) --
As the remembrance of all you have done for us (1Cor 11:25) --
As the thanksgiving to the Father (Mt 26:27) --
As the sacrificial gift to the Father (Heb 10:10) --
As the promise of resurrection (see 1Cor 11:30) --
To give us eternal life (Jn 6:51-58) --
To norish us (Jn 6:54) --
As "My Lord and my God" (Jn 20:28) --
As the icon of the invisible God (Col 1:15) --
Though hidden like the Father --
As a pleasing aroma to the Father (2Cor 2:15) --
As Priest, Prophet and King --
As the Holy One, the Humble One, the Merciful One --
In all past and future (O Sacrum conviviumm) --
As the pledge of your coming again (1Cor 11:26) --
As the Bridegroom longing for communion (Lk 22:15) --
As the mystery of faith --
As the mystery of mercy --
As the hope of glory --
Jeaus, your are here and you call us (Jn 11:28) --

Christianity - Catholicism

In Roman Catholicism, being homosexual or gay alone is not wrong and not a sin. Catholicism views homosexuality as a tendency. However, this does not make it good to give into the tendency by doing homosexual acts. Homosexual acts are sins. Hommosexual marriages are a sin.

The Catholic faith teaches that homosexual acts goes against the loving meaning between a husband and a wife. The intimat actions between a husband and a wife should always leave open a chance of creating a new life. If the couple (man and woman) is infetil or past child bearing age, they are still allowed to marry. They aren't doing anything unnatural to stop life. For whatever reason, their bodies naturally can't produce a human being. however, homosexual acts could never lead to natural creation of life.

Catholicism is also against other acts that do not lead to procreation of life such as cooning, in vitro, mastubation, sex with animals, and so on. Homoacts aren't just singled out.

Being married in the eyes of the Catholic Church means to be open to creating life. That is nature and how God set things up Homosexual acts do not fit the marriage criterion so therefore Catholicism cannot accept homosexual ( same sex) marriages.

Catholics are advised not to be inolved in any form with homosexual marriages or the legalization of homosexual marriages.

Catholic Teaching

What does the church teach on homosexuality?

2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.
CCC 2359

The bible says in 1Cor 6:9 and 1Tm 1:10:

9 Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be decived; neither fornicators nor sodomites.

10 The unchaste, sodimites, kidnapers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is opposed to sound teaching.

Catholic Teaching

What does the church teach?

The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. They do not choose their homosexual condition; for most of them it is a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and seensitivvity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regarrd should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christian, to unite to sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encountere from their condition.
ccc 2358

The bible says in Rom 1:27 and Wis 14:26

And the males like wise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity.

Disturbance of good men, neglect of gratitude, besmirching of souls, unnatural lust, disorder in marriage, adultery and shamelessness.

Catholic Teaching

What dose the church teach on homosexuality?

Homosexuality refers to reations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents hoomosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexuality acts are intrinsically disordered. They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the of life. They do not proceed from a genuine afffective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances canthey be approved.
ccc 2357

The bible says in Lv 18:22 and 20:13:

You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; such a thing is an abommination.

If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed, they have forfeiited their lives.