God's Mercy

Today's Readings:
Jos 24:1-13
Ps 136
Mt 19:3-12

The antiphon to our psalm today should fill us with hope and love towards our God. We repeat the refrain "His mercy endures forever" after the verses in the psalm which is recounting the salvation history for the Jewish people. We believe that Jesus came to save and not condemn, truly God's mercy does endure forever. In order to receive that mercy though we are called to turn from anything that is not of God and place ourselves in the loving care of our God. Today let us commend ourselves to that mercy, asking forgiveness for our sinfulness and God's grace to live out our lives as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father. Have a great day and God Bless.
Prayer: Lord, forgive us our sins as we forgive others and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Saint of the Day - St. Maxmilian Kolbe
Raymond Kolbe was born in Poland in 1894. He joined the Franciscan order in 1907 and took the name that we know him by: Maximilian. Maximilian loved his vocation very much, and he especially loved the Blessed Mother. He added the name "Mary" when he pronounced solemn vows in 1914. Father Maximilian Mary was convinced that the world of the twentieth century needed their Heavenly Mother to guide and protect them. He used the press to make Mary more widely known. He and his fellow Franciscans published two monthly newsletters that soon went to readers around the world. The Mother of God blessed Father Maximilian's work. He built a large center in Poland. This center was called "City of the Immaculate." By 1938, eight hundred Franciscans lived there and labored to make the love of Mary known. Father Kolbe also started another City of the Immaculate in Nagasaki, Japan. Still another was begun in India. In 1938, the Nazis invaded the Polish City of the Immaculate. They stopped the wonderful work going on there. In 1941, the Nazis arrested Father Kolbe. They sentenced him to hard manual labor at Auschwitz. He was at Auschwitz three months when a prisoner successfully escaped. The Nazis made the rest of the prisoners pay for the escape. They chose ten prisoners at random to die in the starvation bunker. All the prisoners stood at attention, while ten men were pulled out of line. One chosen prisoner, a married man with a family, begged and pleaded to be spared for the sake of his children. Father Kolbe, who had not been picked, listened and felt deeply moved to help that suffering prisoner. He stepped forward and asked the commander if he could take the man's place. The commander accepted his offer. Father Kolbe and the other prisoners were marched into the starvation bunker. They remained alive without food or water for several days. One by one, as they died, Father Kolbe helped and comforted them. He was the last to die. An injection of carbolic acid hastened his death on August 14, 1941. Pope John Paul II proclaimed him a saint and a martyr in 1982.
Reflection: "Hatred is not a creative force. Only love is a creative power."-St. Maximillian Kolbe

Saint information comes from: http://www.holyspiritinteractive.net/dailysaint/august/0814.asp