"Young people need the light of watchful guides to lead them on the path of salvation." St. John Baptist de la Salle
Today's Meditation
“Heaven is the birth-place and home of love. Its blessed inhabitants love much, love forever, and love only what is worthy of love. Joseph, however, was blessed by anticipation, for he passed all his days in the exercise of divine love, and lived a life of love upon earth. The Evangelists do not record a single word of this great saint; he observed, indeed, a marvelous silence. Not, however, an ungracious silence. The silence of ordinary men, as well as their irrepressible flow of words, is often merely selfish. But Joseph’s silence and his speech were alike prompted and regulated by the law of charity … His words, indeed, were never superfluous, for they had their source in love, but they were also ruled by his will, not forced from him as the expression of his feelings.”
—Edward Healy Thompson, p. 362
Daily Verse
"For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God." 2 Timothy 1:7-8
St. Augustine Zhao Rong
Saint of the Day
St. Augustine Zhao Rong (d. 1815) was a Chinese soldier who was assigned to escort the captive Catholic bishop, John Gabriel Taurin Dufresse, to Beijing where he was to be executed by beheading. The bishop's faith made a strong impact on Zhao, who then requested baptism. He took the Christian name Augustine, and later entered the seminary and was ordained to the priesthood. During the continuing persecution of Christians in China, Augustine was one of thousands of Chinese Catholics who suffered martyrdom for the faith. He was arrested, tortured, and killed in 1815. St. Augustine Zhao Rong is honored with a group of 120 martyrs who were killed for their Catholic faith in China from 1648-1930. The group was canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in 2000. Of them, 87 were Chinese natives and 33 were Western missionaries. The feast day of St. Augustine Zhao Rong and the Chinese Martyrs is July 9th.
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Month of the Precious Blood
Devotion of the Month
The month of July traditionally honors the Most Precious Blood of Jesus. It is the blood of Christ, the Lamb of God, which cleanses us from sin—therefore the Church developed a