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Saturday, August 12, 2017

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St. Jane Frances de Chantal


Deuteronomy 6:4-13
Psalm 18:2-4, 47, 51
Matthew 17:14-20

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how god wants to work now

"Why could we not expel it?" —Matthew 17:19

Jesus makes us the amazing promise: "I assure you, if you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you would be able to say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it would move. Nothing would be impossible for you" (Mt 17:20). We can do the impossible through faith (Mt 17:20). We can express our faith in many ways, but the way on which Jesus focuses is prayer and fasting (Mt 17:21). Pope St. John Paul II prophesied that this way of expressing our faith is of special significance in our culture of death. He revealed: "Prayer and fasting are the first and most effective weapons against the forces of evil" (The Gospel of Life, 100).

To replace this culture of death with a civilization of love and life, we need to do the impossible again and again. We need faith to move not only mountains but even mountain ranges. The Lord promises to give us that great faith, and He even tells us how to express this faith. Believe, pray, and fast. Be part of the Holy Spirit's renewing the face of the earth (Ps 104:30).

Prayer:  Father, by faith I will do whatever it takes.

Promise:  "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength." —Dt 6:4-5

Praise:  Left a widow at age twenty-eight with four children, St. Jane Frances put her trust in the Lord, managed an estate and, later in life, founded a religious order for women.

Reference:  (Hear God's voice by reading the Bible every day. Listen to or download these series on our website to help you. Overview of the Bible is six CDs starting with CD 10A-1 or three DVDs starting with DVD 10-A. 15-minute Bible Teaching - New Testament is forty CDs starting with #700. An Introduction to each book of the Bible is thirty-two CDs starting with CD 21-1 or seventeen DVDs starting with DVD 21.)

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 27, 2017

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