Jul 21 – Memorial for St. Lawrence of Brindisi, priest, religious, doctor
St. Lawrence (1559-1619) joined the Capuchin Friars in 1575. He studied theology, the Bible, French, German, Greek, Spanish, Syriac, and Hebrew. He was an effective and forceful preacher in any of his several languages, founded convents and wrote catechisms.
As the chaplain of the army of the Holy Roman Empire in 1601, he led the army into battle against the Turks carrying only a crucifix and defeated them. Later, he carried out important and successful diplomatic peace missions. He was the spiritual director of the Bavarian army. St Lawrence was proclaimed Apostolic Doctor of the Church by Pope John XXIII in 1959.
- Patron Saint Index
Mic 7:14-15,18-20
Mt 12:46-50
“‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.’”
Have you ever really thought about the above statement, what Jesus said to the crowd, when Mother Mary was looking for him? Did you think that Jesus was being rude to His mother, our Mother Mary? You and I both know that to be untrue. Jesus is never rude, never callous. Whatever He said, there is always a deeper meaning, even if we do not understand it at first. This is one of those instances.
If you look at His words at face value, then indeed, it seems rather cold and dismissive of our Mother. But if you dig a little deeper and recall the teachings of Jesus, then you will begin to realize how wonderful this news is that He proclaimed — it is a message of hope, that we can become part of His family.
“God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.” — Galatians 4:4-7
As Galatians 4 states, God sent His Son, Jesus, to redeem us and to reconcile us to the Heavenly Father. Through Christ, we can become adopted sons and daughters of God. As with any adoption, there is a process. As the adoptee, we need to prepare ourselves for adoption. We need to learn about the family adopting us, to become familiar with the family and its ways, so that we can fully participate as a member of the family. In God’s family, the only requirement is that we do the will of the Heavenly Father. In order to do that, we need to believe Jesus and His teachings. Our Lord gave us two simple rules that can ensure our adoption. One is to love God, and the other is to love others as ourselves. That is it. That is all that we need to do to be adopted into the Heavenly Father’s family, to enjoy life everlasting, life filled with joy. Is it difficult? Perhaps. Is it worth it? Infinitely so.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Winnie Kung)
Prayer: My most gracious Lord, thank you. By Your Cross and Resurrection, You have redeemed us so as to prepare us by cleansing us for the adoption process. Please grant the grace and strength to do the Father’s will in this life, so that the adoption process can be completed.
Thanksgiving: Heavenly Father, thank you for loving us and wanting to adopt us as Your children despite our brokenness, our weakness, our sinfulness and our unfaithfulness. Thank you for sending Your only Begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to come and save us.
OXYGEN 
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