Cristy Li

The Lord looks down from Heaven; He sees all humankind. –Psalm 33:13

Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom He has chosen as His heritage.

The Lord looks down from Heaven,

He sees all humankind.

From where He sits enthroned He watches

all the inhabitants of the earth,

He who fashions the hearts of them all (See: Psalm 139:13)

and observes all their deeds.

A king is not saved by his great army,

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

The war horse is a vain hope for victory

and by its great might it cannot save.

Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,

on those who hope in His steadfast love,

to deliver their soul from death

and to keep them alive in famine.

Our soul waits for the Lord;

He is our help and shield.

Our heart is glad in Him

because we trust in His Holy Name!

Let You steadfast love O Lord, be upon us,

even as we hope in You!  –Psalm 33:12-22

• You May Know the Joy of Salvation and Eternal Life Today
  Through The Good News of Christ Jesus!

Related: For Today’s Most Holy Scripture Readings, Please Visit: -USCCB

Final Battle Will be Over Marriage & Family, Fatima Visionary Secretly Told Cardinal -ChurchPop

Do not worry about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication (appeal) with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:6-7  Image Courtesy: EWTN@Facebook

The Joy of a Good Wife

Happy is the husband of a good wife;

the number of his days will be doubled.

A loyal wife brings joy to her husband

and he will complete his years in peace.

A good wife is a great blessing;

she will be granted among the blessings

of the man who fears the Lord.

Whether rich or poor his heart is content

and at all times his face is cheerful.

The Worst of Evils: A Wicked Wife

Of three things my heart is frightened

and of a fourth I am in great fear:

Slander in the city, the gathering of a mob

and false accusation — all these are worse than death

but it is heartache and sorrow when a wife is jealous of a rival

and a tongue-lashing makes it known to all.

A bad wife is a chafing yoke;

taking hold of her is like grasping a scorpion.

A drunken wife arouses great anger;

she cannot hide her shame.

The haughty stare betrays an unchaste wife,

her eyelids give her away.

Keep strict watch over a headstrong daughter

or else, when she finds liberty, she will make use of it.

Be on guard against her impudent eye

and do not be surprised if she sins against you.

As a thirst traveler opens his mouth

and drinks from any water near him

so she will sit in front of every tent peg

and open her quiver to the arrow.

The Blessing of a Good Wife

A wife’s charm delights her husband

and her skill puts flesh on his bones.

A silent wife is a gift from the Lord

and nothing is so precious as her self-discipline.

A modest wife ads charm to charm

and no scales can weigh the value of her chastity.

Like the sun rising in the heights of the Lord,

so is the beauty of a good wife in her well-ordered home.

like the shining lamp on the holy lampstand,

so is a beautiful face on a stately figure.

like golden pillars on silver bases,

so are shapely legs and steadfast feet.

My child, keep sound the bloom of your youth

and do not give your strength to strangers.

seek a fertile field within the whole plain

and sow it with your own seed, trusting in your fine stock.

So your offspring will prosper

and having confidence in the good descent, will grow great.

A prostitute is regarded as spittle (drool)

and a married woman as a tower of death to her lovers.

A godless wife is given as a portion to a lawless man

but a pious wife is given to the man who fears the Lord.

A shameless woman constantly acts disgracefully

but a modest daughter will even be embarrassed before her husband.

A headstrong wife is regarded as a dog

but the one who has a sense of shame will fear the Lord.

A wife honoring her husband will seem wise to all

but if she dishonors him in her pride she will be known to all as ungodly.

Happy is the husband of a good wife;

for the number of his years will be doubled.

A loud-voiced and garrulous wife is like a trumpet sounding the charge

and every person like this lives in the anarchy of war.

Three Depressing Things

At two things my heart is grieved

and because of a third anger comes over me;

A warrior in want through poverty,

intelligent men who are treated contemptuously

and a man who turns back from righteousness to sin —

the Lord will prepare him for the sword!

The Temptations of Commerce

A merchant can hardly keep from wrongdoing,

nor is a tradesman innocent of sin.

Many have committed sin for gain

and those who seek to get rich will avert their eyes.

As a stake is driven firmly into a fissure between stones,

so sin is weighed in between selling and buying.

If a person is not steadfast in the fear of the Lord,

his house will be quickly overthrown.  –Sirach 26:1-29 – 27:1-3

Related: For Today’s Most Holy Scripture Readings for the Memorial of St. Monica, Visit: -USCCB

Those who trust in the Lord will understand truth
and the faithful will abide with Him in love because grace and mercy
are upon His holy ones and He watches over His elect. –Wisdom 3:9  Image Courtesy: EWTN

The Destiny of the Righteous

The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God and no torment will ever touch them. In the

eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died and their departure was thought to be a disaster

and their going from us to be their destruction but they are at peace, For though in the sight of

others they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little,

they will receive great good because God tested them and found them worthy of Himself; Like

gold in the furnace He tried them and like a sacrificial burnt offering He accepted them. In the

time of their visitation they will shine forth and will run like sparks through the stubble. They

will govern nations and rule over peoples and the Lord will reign over them forever. Those who

trust in Him will understand truth and the faithful will abide with Him in love because grace

and mercy are upon the Holy ones and He watches over His elect.

The Destiny of the Ungodly

The ungodly will be punished as their reasoning deserves, those who disregarded the righteous

and rebelled against the Lord; For those who despise wisdom and instruction are miserable.

Their hope is vain, their labors are unprofitable and their works are useless. Their wives are

foolish and their children evil; their offspring are accursed.

On Childlessness

For blessed is the barren woman who is undefiled, who has not entered into a sinful union; she

will have fruit when God examines souls. Blessed also is the eunuch whose hands have done no

lawless deed and who has not devised wicked things against the Lord; for special favor will be

shown him for his faithfulness and a place of great delight in the Temple of the Lord. For the

fruit of good labors is renowned and the root of understanding does not fail but children of

adulterers will not come to maturity and the offspring of an unlawful union will perish. Even if

they live long they will be held of no account and finally their old age will be without honor. If

they die young, they will have no hope and no consolation on the Day of Judgment. For the end

of an unrighteous generation is grievous. Better than this is childlessness with virtue, for in the

memory of virtue is immortality because it is known both by God and by mortals. When it is

present, people imitate it and they long for it when it has gone; throughout all time it marches,

crowned in triumph, victor in the contest for prizes that are undefiled but the prolific brood of

the ungodly will be of no use and none of their illegitimate seedlings will strike a deep root or

take a firm hold. For even if they put forth boughs for a while, standing insecurely they will be

shaken by the wind and by the violence of the winds they will be uprooted. The branches will be

broken off before they come to maturity and their fruit will be useless, not ripe enough to eat

and good for nothing. For children born of unlawful unions are witnesses of evil against their

parents when God examines them but the righteous, though they die early, will be at rest. For

old age is not honored for length of time or measured by number of years but understanding is

gray hair for anyone and a blameless life is ripe old age.

There were some who pleased God and were loved by Him and while living among sinners were

taken up. They were caught up so that evil might not change their understanding or guile

deceive their souls. For the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good and roving desire

perverts the innocent mind. Being perfected in a short time, they fulfilled long years; for their

souls were pleasing to the Lord, therefore He took them quickly from the midst of wickedness.

Yet the peoples saw and did not understand or take such a thing to heart, that God’s grace and

mercy are with His elect and that He watches over His holy ones.

The Triumph of the Righteous

The righteous who have died will condemn the ungodly who are living and youth that is quickly

perfected will condemn the prolonged old age of the unrighteous. For they will see the end of

the wise and will not understand what the Lord purposed for them and for what He kept them

safe. The unrighteous will see and will have contempt for them but the Lord will laugh them to

scorn. After this they will become dishonored corpses and an outrage among the dead forever;

because He will dash them speechless to the ground and shake them from the foundations;

they will be left utterly dry and barren and they will suffer anguish and the memory of them

will perish.

The Final Judgment

They will come with dread when their sins are reckoned up and their lawless deeds will convict

them to their face. Then the righteous will stand with great confidence in the presence of those

who have oppressed them and those who make light of their labors. When the unrighteous see

them, they will be shaken with dreadful fear and they will be amazed at the unexpected

salvation of the righteous. They will speak to one another in repentance and in anguish of spirit

they will groan and say, “These are persons whom we once held in derision and made a byword

of reproach – fools that we were! We thought that their lives were madness and that their end

was without honor. Why have they been numbered among the children of God? Why is their lot

among the Saints? So it is we who strayed from the way of truth and the light of righteousness

did not shine on us and the sun did not rise upon is. We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness

and destruction and we journeyed through trackless deserts but the way of the Lord we have

not known. What has our arrogance profited us?

What good has our boasted wealth brought us?”

“All those things have vanished like a shadow and like a rumor that passes by; like a ship that

sails through the billowy water and when it has passed no trace can be found, no track of its

keel in the waves; or as, when a bird flies through the air, no evidence of its passage is found,

the light air, lashed by the beat of its pinions and pierced by the force of its rushing flight, is

traversed by the movement of its wings and afterward no sign of its coming is found there; or

as, when an arrow is shot at a target, the air, thus divided, comes together at once, so that no

one knows its pathway. So we also, as soon as we were born, ceased to be and we had no sign of

virtue to show but were consumed in our wickedness.” Because the hope of the ungodly is like

thistledown carried by the wind and like a light frost driven away by a storm; it is dispersed like

smoke before the wind and it passes like the remembrance of a guest who stays but a day.

The Reward of the Righteous

The righteous will live forever and their reward is with the Lord;

The Most High takes care of them.

Therefore they will receive a glorious crown and a beautiful diadem from the hand of the Lord because with His right hand He will cover them and with His arm He will shield them.
Wisdom 5:16

The Lord will take His zeal as His whole armor and will arm all creation to repel His enemies.

He will put on righteousness as a breastplate and wear impartial justice as a helmet; He will

take holiness as an invincible shield and sharpen stern wrath for a sword and creation will join

Him to fight against His frenzied foes. Shafts of lightning will fly with true aim and will leap

from the clouds to the target, as from a well-drawn bow and hailstones full of wrath will be

hurled as from a catapult; the water of the sea will rage against them and rivers will

relentlessly overwhelm them; a mighty wind will rise against them and like a tempest it will

winnow them away. Lawlessness will lay waste the whole earth and evildoing will overturn the

rulers.  –Wisdom 3-5

• Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God has come near;
  Repent and Believe in The Good News!”  –Mark 1:15

• You May Know the Joy of Salvation and Eternal Life Today
  Through The Good News of Christ Jesus!

Our Lady of Perpetual Help — Pray For The Salvation of Our Nation, Please Pray For Us!
Image Courtesy: St. Paul Street Evangelization

O Mother of Perpetual Help, grant that I may ever invoke thy most powerful name, which is the

safeguard of the living and the salvation of the dying. O Purest May, O Sweetest Mary, let thy

name henceforth be ever on my lips. Delay not, O Blessed Lady, to help me whenever I call on

thee, for in all my needs, in all my temptations I shall never cease to call on thee, ever repeating

thy sacred name, Mary, Mary!

O what consolation, what sweetness, what confidence, what emotion fill my soul when I

pronounce thy sacred name or even only think of thee. I thank God for having given thee, for

my good, so sweet, so powerful, so lovely a name but I will not be content with merely

pronouncing thy name: Let my love for thee prompt me ever to hail thee,

Mother of Perpetual Help!

For the wages of sin is death but the Free Gift of God
is Eternal Life in Christ Jesus Our Lord. –Romans 6:23

Prayer For Cleansing and Pardon

Against You God have I sinned

and done what is evil in Your sight. (CF. Psalm 51:4A)

Have mercy on me, O God,

according to Your steadfast love;

according to Your abundant mercy

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity

and cleanse me from my sin.

For I know my transgressions

and my sin is ever before me.

Against You, You alone have I sinned

and done what is evil in Your sight,

so that You are justified in Your sentence

and blameless when You pass judgment.

Indeed I was born guilty,

a sinner when my mother conceived me.

You desire truth in the inward being

therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean;

Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.

Let me hear joy and gladness;

Let the bones that You have crushed rejoice.

Hide Your face from my sins

and blot out my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God

and put a new and right spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence

and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation

and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors Your ways

and sinners will return to You.

Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,

O God of my salvation

and my tongue will sing aloud of Your deliverance.

O Lord, open my lips

and my mouth will declare Your praise.

For You have no delight in sacrifice;

If I were to give a burnt offering, You would not be pleased.

The sacrifice acceptable to God is broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

Do good to Zion in Your good pleasure;

Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,

then You will delight in right sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

Then bulls will be offered on Your alter.

Amen!  –Psalm 51:1-19

• Jesus said, “The time is fulfilled and the Kingdom of God has come near;
  Repent and Believe in The Good News!”  –Mark 1:15

• You May Know the Joy of Salvation and Eternal Life Today
  Through The Good News of Christ Jesus!

Related: For Today’s Holy Scripture Readings and More, Visit: -USCCB

Jesus said, “Those who love Me will keep My Word
and My Father will love them and We will come to them
and make Our Home with them.” –John 14:23

A Psalm of David

In You, O Lord, I seek refuge,

do not let me ever be put to shame;

In Your righteousness deliver me.

Incline Your ear to me;

rescue me speedily.

Be a rock of refuge for me,

a strong fortress to save me.

You are indeed my rock and my fortress;

For Your name’s sake lead me and guide me,

take me out of the net that is hidden for me,

for You are my refuge.

Into Your hand I commit my spirit;

You have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

You hate those who pay regard to worthless idols

(vanities –Tehillim 31:7)

but I trust in the Lord.

I will exult and rejoice in Your steadfast love

because You have seen my affliction;

You have taken heed of my adversities

and have not delivered me into the hand of my enemy;

You have set my feet in a broad place.

Be gracious to me, O Lord for I am in distress;

My eye wastes away from grief, my soul and body also.

For my life is spent with sorrow and my years with sighing;

My strength fails because of my misery and my bones waste away.

I am the scorn of all my adversaries,

a horror to my neighbors,

an object of dread to my acquaintances;

those who see me in the street flee from me.

I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;

I have become like a broken vessel.

For I hear the whispering of many — terror all around!

As they scheme together against me, as they plot to take my life.

I trust in You, O Lord;

I say, “You are My God!”

My times are in Your hand;

Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.

Let Your face shine upon Your servant;

Save me in Your steadfast love.

Do not let me be put to shame, O Lord,

for I call on You!

Let the wicked be put to shame,

let them go dumbfounded to Sheol (Hell).

Let the lying lips be stilled

that speak insolently against the righteous

with pride and contempt.

O how abundant is Your goodness

that You have laid up for those who fear You

and accomplished for those who take refuge in You,

in the sight of everyone!

In the shelter of Your presence You hide them

from human plots; You hold them safe under Your shelter

from contentious tongues.

Blessed be the Lord,

for He has wondrously shown His steadfast love to me

when I was beset as a city under siege.

I had said in my alarm,

“I am driven far from Your sight.”

You heard my supplications

when I cried out to You for help.

Love the Lord, all you His saints (pious ones. –Tehillim 31:24)

The Lord preserves the faithful

but abundantly repays the one who acts haughtily.

Be strong and let your heart take courage,

all you who wait for the Lord!  –Psalm 31:1-24

“Blessed are You, Father, Lord of Heaven and Earth, You have revealed to the little ones
the mysteries of the Kingdom.” Cf. Matthew 11:25  Image Courtesy: Sachin Jose

The Rich Man

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked,

‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’

Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the

Commandments: You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal;

You shall not bear false witness; You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.'”

(Exodus 20:1-17)

The rich man said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.’

Jesus looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing. Go, sell what you own and give

the money to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven, then come follow me.”

(See: Mark 10:29-31) When the rich man heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving

for he had many possessions.

Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have

wealth to enter the Kingdom of God! The disciples were perplexed by these words but Jesus

said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the Kingdom of God!

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich

to enter the Kingdom of God.”

The disciples were greatly astounded and said to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’

Jesus looked at them and said, “For mortals it is impossible but not for God;

For God all things are possible.”

Peter began to say to Jesus, ‘Look, we have left everything and followed You.’

Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or

mother or father or children or fields, for My sake and for the sake of The Good News

who will not received a hundredfold now in this age — houses, brothers and sisters,

mothers and children and fields, with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life

but many who are first will be last and the last will be first.”  –Mark 10:17-31

• You May Know the Joy of Salvation and Eternal Life Today
  Through The Good News of Christ Jesus!

Related: For Today’s Most Holy Scripture Readings and More, Visit: -USCCB