OXYGEN

06 Jul – Memorial for St. Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr

Maria Goretti (1890-1902) was a beautiful and pious farm girl, one of six children of Luigi Goretti and Assunta Carlini. In 1896 the family moved to Ferriere di Conca. Soon after, Maria’s father died of malaria, and the family was forced to move onto the Serenelli farm to survive.

In 1902, at the age of 12, Maria was attacked by 19-year-old farm hand Alessandro Serenelli. He tried to rape the girl who fought, yelled that it was a sin, and that he would go to hell. He tried to choke her into submission, then stabbed her 14 times. She survived in hospital for two days, forgave her attacker, asked God’s forgiveness of him, and died holding a crucifix and medal of Our Lady. She is counted as a martyr.

While in prison for his crime, Alessandro had a vision of Maria. He saw a garden where a young girl, dressed in white, gathered lilies. She smiled, came near him, and encouraged him to accept an armful of lilies. As he took them, each lily transformed into a still white flame. Maria then disappeared. This vision of Maria led to Alessandro’s conversion, and he latter testified at her cause for beatification.

- Patron Saint Index
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Genesis 28:10-22

Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Haran. When he had reached a certain place he passed the night there, since the sun had set. Taking one of the stones to be found at that place, he made it his pillow and lay down where he was. He had a dream: a ladder was there, standing on the ground with its top reaching to heaven; and there were angels of God going up it and coming down. And the Lord was there, standing over him, saying, ‘I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father, and the God of Isaac. I will give to you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants shall be like the specks of dust on the ground; you shall spread to the west and the east, to the north and the south, and all the tribes of the earth shall bless themselves by you and your descendants. Be sure that I am with you; I will keep you safe wherever you go, and bring you back to this land, for I will not desert you before I have done all that I have promised you.’ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Truly, the Lord is in this place and I never knew it!’ He was afraid and said, ‘How awe-inspiring this place is! This is nothing less than a house of God; this is the gate of heaven!’ Rising early in the morning, Jacob took the stone he had used for his pillow, and set it up as a monument, pouring oil over the top of it. He named the place Bethel, but before that the town was called Luz.

Jacob made this vow, ‘If God goes with me and keeps me safe on this journey I am making, if he gives me bread to eat and clothes to wear, and if I return home safely to my father, then the Lord shall be my God. This stone I have set up as a monument shall be a house of God.’
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Matthew 9:18-26

While Jesus was speaking, up came one of the officials, who bowed low in front of him and said, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and her life will be saved.’ Jesus rose and, with his disciples, followed him.

Then from behind him came a woman, who had suffered form a haemorrhage for twelve years, and she touched the fringe of his cloak, for she said to herself, ‘If I can only touch his cloak I shall be well again.’ Jesus turned round and saw her; and he said to her, ‘Courage, my daughter, your faith has restored you to health.’ And from that moment the woman was well again.

When Jesus reached the official’s house and saw the flute-players, with the crowd making a commotion he said, ‘Get out of here; the little girl is not dead, she is asleep.’ And they laughed at him. But when the people had been turned out he went inside and took the little girl by the hand; and she stood up. And the news spread all round the countryside.
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Truly the Lord is in this place

Ten months ago I returned to complete my National Service which I deferred for studies. Though as mentally prepared as I could be, there were still some jitters as the first day approached. That morning, before I left home I reached into my bag to remove some junk and I pulled out my rosary ring. Now I thought I had lost that ring on a bus ride about three months prior. To find it at that moment made me utterly speechless. It was a big affirmation. If that was not enough, I learned that one of my new colleagues was a devout Catholic. Ten months later and I can say that they were good ones, much better than those before deferment.

The Bible is full of passages in which God calls men and women to follow Him. Yet God does not just issue the summons and let them fend for themselves. He journeys with them closely. This is illustrated very clearly in the call of Jacob. He received a great affirmation that boosted his confidence in a difficult commission. To say that he met with success is an understatement. As the official in the Gospel passage put so succinctly, if God goes with us, nothing is impossible.

2009 has not been a year too many expected. News that the economy will take longer to recover than first projected. Then a new strain of influenza emerges. In the months to come, who knows what will happen next? It is in tough times like these when we need to recall that God is still with us as He was when he first called. The sure sign of this is each new day we wake up to, days which bring hope if we have faith like the woman who reached for Christ’s cloak. My sisters and brothers in the faith, let us bear the light of Christ in these dark times to those who need to find their way.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Aloysius Ting)
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Prayer: We pray for the warm, loving and secure embrace of Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks to the Lord for healthcare workers who put their lives on the line for those they serve.

Upcoming Readings:
Tue, 07 Jul – Genesis 32:23-33; Matthew 9:32-38
Wed, 08 Jul – Genesis 41:55-57;42:5-7.17-24; Matthew 10:1-7
Thu, 09 Jul – Genesis 44:18-21.23-29;45:1-5; Matthew 10:7-15
Fri, 10 Jul – Genesis 46:1-7.28-30; Matthew 10:16-23
Sat, 11 Jul – Genesis 49:29-33;50:15-26; Matthew 10:24-38; Memorial for St. Benedict, Abbot
Sun, 12 Jul – Amos 7:12-15; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 7-13; Fifteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time; Bible Sunday