OXYGEN

31 Jul – Memorial for St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest, religious founder
St. Ignatius of Loyola was the founder of the Society of Jesus, whose members are known as the Jesuits. He was a man of Spanish nobility, and the youngest of 12 children. As a soldier, he joined the army in 1517 and served [...]

30 Jul – Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Christ Who Feeds Us
We celebrate today the new Elisha who feeds his people and makes us one body, one spirit, in himself.
- the Sunday Missal
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STRENGTH IN FOOD
Some American Indians had the custom of cutting out the heart of any especially brave enemy they [...]

29 Jul – Feast of St. Martha, disciple of the Lord
St. Martha was sister to St. Lazarus and Mary of Bethany. She was a friend of Jesus’, and hostess to him in her house.
St. Augustine, in a sermon of his, said: “Martha and Mary were sisters, related not only by blood but also [...]

28 Jul
CHILDREN, PRIDE OF PARENTS
Cornelia was a noble Roman lady, the wife of an emperor. She had two small sons, who were her pride and joy, since she had lost all her other children.
One day another noble Roman lady came to her house for a visit and was proudly showing off her [...]

27 Jul
NO ONE IS LOOKING FOR GOD
Rabbi Baruch’s nephew Jechiel was once playing hide and seek with the neighbourhood kids. He ran and hid himself well and then waited for his companion to find him. He waited and waited and came back out of his hiding place but could not find his companion [...]

26 Jul – Memorial for Sts. Joachim and Anne, parents of the Virgin Mary
Joachim and Anne were never mentioned in historical or canonical writings. What information we have of St. Joachim comes mainly from the apocryphal Protoevangelium of James (Gospel of James).
Tradition says that both of them were quite well off, and that [...]

25 Jul – Feast of St. James, apostle
St. James was one of the Twelve, son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of St. John the Apostle. He may have been Jesus’ cousin. He is called James “the Greater” simply because he became an apostle earlier than St. James the Lesser.
Apparently, he was a [...]

24 Jul – Memorial for St. Charbel Makhluf, priest
Information on St. Charbel Makhluf (or Makhlouf) was rather hard to find. He wasn’t in the usual Patron Saint Indices that can be easily found on the internet. Still, being canonized a saint by Pope Paul VI on Oct 9, 1977 means that he can’t be [...]

23 Jul – Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Christ The Good Shepherd
Today we celebrate the Shepherd who leads all men to the Father, however far apart they may be in race or culture.
- the Sunday Missal
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RELAXATION BRINGS PROGRESS
A man who had walked the whole day suddenly found darkness coming upon him. [...]

22 Jul – Feast of St. Mary Magdalen, disciple of the Lord
St. Mary of Magdalen has recently been brought to the world attention yet again by the novel “The Da Vinci Code” which portrays her as the wife of Jesus. There have been many attempts by people who have tried to find her true [...]