June 14 through June 20, 2026
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(June 14, 2026: Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time)
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“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us…”
Today’s Scripture readings emphasize that God is the one who has taken the initiative in our salvation. God has borne us up on eagle wings and made us his special possession - we are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy people.
St. Paul is caught up in the wonder of God’s love for us: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us ...When we were God’s enemies, God reconciled to himself by the death of his Son.”
God is love, and the nature of love is to go outside itself toward others. God not only took the initiative in loving us. In the sacrificial death of Jesus, God proves in an incontestable way that we are loved far beyond any considerations of our worthiness. That is the mind-blowing mystery of our faith: we have been redeemed in total love by a God whose love is completely benevolent. God gains nothing by loving us. We gain everything by being loved by God.
Sometimes we can get too preoccupied with our duties as believers, our obligations as members of the people of God. We forget that God first moved toward us in love. We don’t have to seek God; God has found us.
Jesus has reconciled us to God by his death. Our heart-felt acceptance of our reconciliation can lead us to draw confidence from God’s boundless love and take greater hold of the life God offers us in Jesus. Our hope is sure. We have good reason to make God our boast every day of our life.
Our lives can become a joyful celebration of the grace that is ours. We are gifted by God’s love every day.
What return can we make to the Lord for his gift of love? Nothing better than freely and generously sharing that gift of God’s love with everyone we meet. May our thankfulness be evident each day as we choose to be an announcement of God’s gracious love in everything we say and do.
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(June 15, 2026: Monday, Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time)
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“He refused to let me have his vineyard…”
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines presumptuous as: “Overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties.”
The story from today’s selection from the First Book of Kings illustrates how one person’s desire can all-too-quickly become an obsession…with disastrous results. Ahab had his heart set on acquiring Naboth’s vineyard. When Ahab’s offer to purchase Naboth’s property was rebuffed, he couldn’t let it go. Undeterred, Ahab and his wife plotted to have Naboth first discredited and subsequently stoned to death. Once dead, Ahab could easily acquire Naboth’s property. Ahab felt entitled to take liberties with others; he believed that other people’s possessions were his for the taking, notwithstanding the fact that other people weren’t offering their possessions! Having little or no sense of boundaries, this presumptuous behavior – as we shall see tomorrow – ended badly for all concerned.
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales wrote:
“I think you will agree that what I about to describe is both unjust and unreasonable…we want our neighbor to give up his property and take our money for it. Is it not more reasonable that we simply allow him to keep his property while he allows us to keep our money?” (Part III, Chapter 36, p. 216)
It’s very tempting to tell other people how they should live their lives. It’s all-too-easy to expect other people to make us the center of their universe. In a letter written to Madame Brulart, Francis de Sales counseled:
“Don’t sow your desires in someone else’s garden. Just cultivate your own as best you can.” (Letters of Spiritual Direction, p. 112)
By all means follow your dreams and pursue your plans…just remember to extend the same courtesy to everyone else.
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(June 16, 2026: Tuesday, Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time)
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"I say to you, love your enemies…”
It’s safe to say that we all have enemies. We all have people in our lives that we do not like. We all have people in our lives whose company we avoid. We all have people in our lives that rub us the wrong way. We all have people in our lives that push our buttons. We all have people in our lives that drive us crazy.
In a conference to the Sisters of the Visitation, Francis de Sales observed:
“Antipathies are certain inclinations which excite in us a certain repugnance toward those about whom we entertain these feelings…If I feel a repugnance to conversing with a person whom I know to be most excellent – and from whom I mighty learn much that would do me good – I must not succumb to the antipathy which prompts me to avoid his company. On the contrary, I must discipline myself to listen to the voice of reason telling me rather to seek his company or at least, if I am already in it, to remain there in quiet, peaceful mind…People who are of a harsh, severe disposition will dislike those who are gentle and mild. They will regard such gentleness as extreme weakness, though indeed it is a quality most universally beloved. What remedy is there for these antipathies, since no one, however perfect, can be exempt from them? The only remedy for this evil – as indeed for all other kinds of temptation – is simply to turn away from it and think no more about it…We should never try to justify our reasons for our antipathies, let alone wishing to nourish them. If you have simply a natural, instinctive dislike for anyone, I beseech you to pay no attention to it; turn away your thoughts from it and so trick your mind. When, however, you find these antipathies going too far you must fight against them and overcome them, for reason will never permit us to foster antipathies and evil inclinations for fear of offending God.” (Conference XVI, pp. 298 - 301)
Francis knows the human heart very well. He acknowledges that “this instinctive tendency to love some more than others is natural.” (Ibid) Likes and dislikes are part-and-parcel of life. That said, Jesus commands us to love our enemies. Jesus commands us to love those whom we dislike. Jesus commands us to love those who get on our nerves: Like it or not!
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(June 17, 2026: Wednesday, Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time)
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“Take care not to perform righteous deeds…to win the praise of others.”
In a letter to Madame de la Flechere, Francis de Sales observed:
“Humility is the virtue of virtues, but a humility that is generous and peaceable. Preserve a spirit of holy joy which – modestly spreading over your words and actions – gives consolation to the good people who see you that thus they may glorify God, which is your only aim.” (Living Jesus, p. 150)
Jesus calls us to “perform righteous deeds”. He calls us to live a life of virtue. That said, Jesus cautions us against doing good to win the applause, praise or adulation of others. It isn’t enough to do the right thing – we also need to do it for the right reason: to give God the applause, praise and adulation due to him!
Let us try our level best this day to do the right thing for others. Let us try our level best to do it for the right reason: to the praise and glory of God!
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(June 18, 2026: Thursday, Eleventh Week of Ordinary Time)
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“In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales took a page right out of Jesus’ play book, when we wrote:
“Your prayers must be said with strict attention of mind and with affections aroused by the meaning of the words. Do not hurry along and say many things but try to simply speak from your heart. A single Our Father said with feeling has greater value than many Our Fathers said quickly and hurriedly…If you cannot say your vocal prayers because of your many duties, or for some other reason, don’t be disturbed on that account. Be satisfied with saying…the Lord’s Prayer…” (IDL, Part II, Chapter 1, p. 82)
When it comes to the amount of words that we employ in prayer, it would seem that less truly is more, provided that the words that we speak are deliberate, intentional and come from the heart.
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(June 19, 2026: Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time)
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“Store up treasures in heaven…”
In his Introduction to the Devout Life (in a chapter entitled, “We must be Faithful to both Great and Little Tasks”), Francis de Sales wrote:
“The Sacred Spouse implies that He is pleased to accept the great deeds of devout persons, that their least and lowest deeds are also acceptable to Him, and that to serve Him as He wishes we must have great care to serve Him well in both great, lofty matters and in small, unimportant things. With love we can capture His heart by the one just as well as by the other…For a single cup of water God has promised to his faithful a sea of endless bliss. Since such opportunities present themselves from moment to moment it will be a great means of storing up vast spiritual riches if only you use them well.” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 35, pp. 213-214)
Do you want to store up treasures in heaven? Do good things for God – be they little or great – as often as you can on this earth.
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(June 20, 2026: Saturday, Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time)
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“Do not worry about your life…”
In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales observed:
“We must always render ourselves pliable and tractable to God’s good pleasure, as though we were wax. We must not deceive ourselves into willing and wishing for things but we must leave them to God for Him to will and do them as He pleases, ‘casting all our cares upon him, because He cares for us,’ as the holy Apostle says (1 Peter 5: 7). Note that he says all our cares, that is, not only our cares as to accepting events but also that of willing or not willing them. He will have care as to the outcome of our affairs and to will whatever is best for us…” (Living Jesus, p. 439)
Francis de Sales isn’t asking us to be Pollyanna’s. For that matter, neither is Jesus. There are lots of things in life about which we should be concerned, especially when it comes to those we love. The challenge is to not allow our concerns and our cares to consume us. The challenge is to not allow our responsibilities to morph into anxieties.
But if Jesus’ exhortation and Francis de Sales, advice aren’t enough to convince you, consider this: most medical research suggests that worrying about life not only won’t lengthen your life but it will also – likely – shorten it!
So, by all means, be busy about your life. Just be careful not to allow your legitimate cares and concerns to overwhelm you.
By any means!
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