Do you trust in God's help and deliverance?

[Weedy]

Do you trust in God's help and deliverance?

A sin can only be unforgivable if repentance is impossible. If someone
repeatedly closes his or her heart to God and shuts their ear to his
voice, they come to a point where they can no longer recognize God
even when God makes his word and presence known to them. Such a person
ends up perceiving evil as good and good as evil (Isaiah 5:20). To
fear such a sin, however, signals that one is not dead to God and is
conscious of the need for God's merciful help and strength. There are
no limits to the mercy of God, but we can reject his mercy by refusing
to ask God's pardon for our wrongdoing and by refusing to accept the
help he gives us to turn away from sin and from whatever would keep us
from doing his will. God gives sufficient grace (his favor and mercy
towards us) and he gives sufficient help (his wisdom and strength) to
all who humbly call upon him. Giving up on God and refusing to turn
away from sin and disbelief results from our own sinful pride,
stubborn will, and the loss of hope in God's promises. God never turns
a deaf ear to those who seek his help and listen to his voice (his
word of hope, pardon, and deliverance).

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July 12th – St. Veronica (AC)
1st century; feast day formerly on February 4.

Veronica's story first appears fairly late in the history of the early
Church, though it relates to the very heart of the Gospel--Jesus' way
to Golgotha. Veronica is venerated as the woman who wiped Our Lord's
face when he fell beneath the Cross on the road to Calvary. On the
cloth was left an image of His divine face. Scholars have been quick
to point out that Veronica's name may well derive from the story
itself and not be historical. 'Vera' means 'true' and 'icon' means
'image.' Thus she obtained the true image, or vernicle, of Jesus.
Legend tells us that Veronica later went to Rome and cured the Emperor
Tiberius with the relic. When she died, she left the cloth to Pope
Saint Clement. A 'veil of Veronica' is preserved at Saint Peter's in
Rome, probably from the 8th century.

French folklore holds that Veronica was the wife of Zacchaeus, the tax
collector (Luke 19:1-10), and accompanied him to France, where he is
known as Amadour. When he became a hermit, Veronica went on to
evangelize southern France. Other accounts make her the same person as
Martha, the sister of Lazarus, or a princess of Edessa, or the wife of
an unnamed Gallo-Roman officer.

If the story of Veronica is a legend, it is a beautiful, simple, and
natural one, and one coming down from the first Good Friday itself.
Jesus was passing in the street, bent under His Cross, on the way to
His death; His head lowered, full of fever from His torments; His step
advancing amid mockery, curiosity, groans of those who lined the way.
A woman named Veronica or Bernice advanced, wearing the veil common
among her people, a piece of white linen like Noah's cloak.

Perhaps she had seen the Lord before, and maybe even spoken with Him:
The Eastern Church, based on the apocryphal Acts of Pilate, identifies
Veronica with the woman whom Christ healed of the hemorrhage suffered
for 12 years (Matthew 9:20-22). But even if she had not, her story is
no more incredible, because she was moved by the simple desire that
any human might have had: a wish to soothe this human face where dust
and tears and sweat and blood commingled all at once, and which cried
out to those who beheld it for relief. Then as the cloth touched
Christ's face, everything became sculptured together until the miracle
occurred which was within the Lord's power to command. Could he who at
the moment of strangulation on the Cross cried aloud, not grant to
this daughter the beauty of His face at the moment it was scorned by
all but a handful of close friends?

Some reject the legend because there are so many false reproductions
of the veil; because of the many legends and traditions woven into the
story of Veronica throughout Christendom; because of the far-fetched
claims made by preachers and writers in the course of time. None of
these criticisms have touched the real point of the story of Veronica:
whether there could have been a woman different from the other
"daughters of Jerusalem" whom Jesus warned to weep for themselves and
their children, and whether it was our Lord's wish to grant this woman
the imprint of his face for her good work (Attwater, Benedictines,
Bentley, Delaney, Encyclopedia, White).

Saint Veronica is depicted in art holding a cloth with Christ's face
imprinted on it. She might also be shown wiping the sweat from His
face as He carries the Cross or writing at the dictation of an angel,
the sudarium near her (Roeder). She is the patron of linen-drapers and
washerwomen (Roeder).


Saint Quote:
I work here on borrowed money, a prisoner for the sake of Jesus
Christ. And often my debts are so pressing that I dare not go out of
the house for fear of being seized by my creditors. Whenever I see so
many poor brothers and neighbors of mine suffering beyond their
strength and overwhelmed with so many physical or mental ills which I
cannot alleviate, then I become exceedingly sorrowful; but I trust in
Christ, who knows my heart. And so I say, woe to the man who trusts in
men rather than in Christ.
-- Saint John of God

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Meditation:
What does Jesus mean when he says his disciples must be sheep in the
midst of wolves (Matthew 10:16)? The prophet Isaiah foretold a time
when wolves and lambs will dwell in peace (Isaiah 11:6 and 65:25).
This Old Testament prophecy certainly refers to the second coming of
Christ when all will be united under the Lordship of Jesus after he
has put down his enemies and established the reign of God over the
heavens and the earth (Ephesians 1:10 and Revelation 11:15). In the
meantime, the disciples must expect opposition and persecution from
those who oppose the Gospel and the coming of God's kingdom.

Prayer:
"Lord Jesus, help me to patiently and joyfully accept the hardships,
adversities, and persecution which come my way in serving you and your
kingdom of love, truth,and goodness. Strengthen my faith and give me
courage that I may not shrink back from doing your will."