The lover asked his Beloved if there was anything left in him to be loved; and his Beloved replied that whatever could make his love stronger remained to be loved.

They asked the lover what sign his Beloved bore upon His banner. He answered:  The sign of a Man that was dead. They asked him why He bore such a sign and the lover answered: Because He became Man and died on a Cross and because they that glory in being His lover must follow in His steps.

The lover said to his Beloved:   You, who fills the sun with glare, fill my heart with love.   To which the Beloved answered:  Without fulfillment of love your eyes would not be in tears, neither would you have come to this place to see your Loved One.

Tell me, my lover, said the Beloved: will you have patience if I double your misery?   (The lover answered)  Yes, if you just double my love.

O crazy lover: why do you destroy yourself and give your money away, and ignore the pleasures of this world and go disdained among the people?  He answered: To honor the principles of my Beloved, who by more people is despised and dishonored, than honored and loved.

A dispute occurred between the eyes and the memory of the lover, for the eyes said it was better to see the Beloved than to remember Him, and the memory said that through remembrance the water rises to the eyes and the heart swells with love.

Sighs and tears came to the judgment of the Beloved and asked Him which one He felt most strongly loved by. The Beloved judged that sighs are closer to love, and tears closer to the eyes.

The lover was asked where his Beloved was. He replied:  See Him in a house that is more noble than any other created nobilities; and see Him in my acts of love, and in my suffering and in my weepings.

The lover, who had worked hard to search for his Beloved, felt sleep coming to him; and he feared he might forget his Beloved. And he cried, so as not to fall asleep, and so that his Beloved would not be absent to his consciousness.

The lover disobeyed his Beloved, and he wept. And the Beloved came to die in the gown of His lover, to let him recover what he had lost; and he gave him yet a greater gift than the one he had lost.

The lover wept, and sang songs of his Beloved, and said: Swifter is love in the heart of the lover than is the splendor of the lightening to the eye, or the thunder to the ear. The tears of love gather more swiftly than the waves of the sea; and sighing is more proper to love than is whiteness to snow.

The Beloved revealed Himself to His lover, clothed in new and scarlet robes.  He stretched out His arms to embrace him; He inclined His head to kiss him, and He remained on high that he might ever seek Him.

They said to the lover:
– Where do you go?
– I come from my Beloved.
– Where do you come to?
– I go to my Beloved.
– When will you be back?
– I will be with my Beloved.
– How long will you be with your Beloved for?
– As long as my thoughts will be with Him.

+ Bl. Ramon Lull, Franciscan Tertiary

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Homily #140630b ( 11min) Play – Fr. Elias gives us the life of Bl. Raymond Lull who was a Third Order Franciscan who started a school to train missionaries about the year 1300 and then went to evangelize the Muslims in Africa where he was martyred.
Ave Maria!
Mass: Bl. Raymond Lull – Opt Mem – Form: OF
Readings: Monday 13th Week of Ordinary Time
1st: amo 2:6-10, 13-16
Resp: psa 50:16-17, 18-19, 20-21, 22-23
Gsp: mat 8:18-22

Audio (MP3)

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The post Jun 30 – Homily – Fr Elias: Bl. Raymond Lull Missionary Martyr first appeared on AirMaria.com.

The life of Bl. Raymond Lull, Martyr, Third Order (1232-1315) for the June 30th Franciscan Saint of the Day. He was a high official of the court of Majorca of the Belleric islands who had a call to join the Franciscan Tertiaries where he started a school to learn the languages of Africa to preach to the Muslims. On a journey there he was martyred for the faith.
The reflection is on how we should a great appreciation of the value the Christian faith, use it well, and preserve and grow in it.

More on Bl. Raymond Lull https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4517
and: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_Llull
Text: https://www.roman-catholic-saints.com/blessed-raymond-lull.html

Read by Fr. Terrance Chartier, FI from Marion Habig’s “The Franciscan Book of Saints” Revised Edition, Franciscan Herald Press, ISBN: 978-0819907516

Also on https://youtu.be/x9X1F2m9GTM

Ave Maria!

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The post June 30 – Bl. Raymond Lull – Franciscan Saint of the Day first appeared on AirMaria.com.

Fr Ignatius gives the homily at Bloomington, IN on Jun 30, 2021, on how the bad example of Sarah and the good example of Mary and Bl. Raymond Lull point to how humility leads to mercy and other virtues while pride leads to cruelty and other vices.

Ave Maria!

Mass: Bl. Raymond Lull – Opt Mem
Readings: Wednesday 13th Week of Ordinary Time – http://usccb.org/bible/readings/063021.cfm
1st: gen 21:5, 8-20
Resp: psa 34:7-8, 10-11, 12-13
Gsp: mat 8:28-34

More on the Readings: http://dev.airmaria.com/r?m=668&r=1434

Also on Facebook:
and YouTube: https://youtu.be/WXpltlZokog

The post Merciful Humility, Cruel Pride – Jun 30 – Homily – Fr Ignatius first appeared on AirMaria.com.