Episode 3198: Mercy Received, Mercy Given

www.catholic-reboot.com

Nightly Zoom Coordinates for Rosary:
Meeting ID: 865 8978 0399
Passcode: Wjjv4960!
Speak Lord for your Servant is Listening
Book Recommendation of the Day
Cathedral of St Raymond Nonnatus Dedication Book (1955)
A commemorative hardcover featuring mixed authorship, published to mark the dedication of the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet, Illinois in 1955. The same history is sometimes listed as History of the Joliet Diocese: Presented on the Occasion of the Dedication of the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus
The dedication of the Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet, Illinois (consecrated in 1955) to this particular saint isn’t random there are both practical and spiritual reasons behind it.
1. Timing of the Diocese’s Creation
• The Diocese of Joliet was carved out of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1948 by Pope Pius XII.
• When a new diocese is formed, a cathedral (the bishop’s church) must be established, and with it a patron saint chosen.
• The decision fell to Bishop Martin D. McNamara, the first bishop of Joliet.
2. Choice of St. Raymond Nonnatus
• Unique Patronage: St. Raymond is patron saint of childbirth, expectant mothers, midwives, and children. In the post–World War II era, America was experiencing the Baby Boom. A saint tied to family life, new life, and children would have resonated powerfully with the faithful at that moment.
• Connection to Mercy & Ransom: As a Mercedarian, he spent his life freeing captives and was willing to sacrifice his own freedom for others. This reflects Christ’s ransom of humanity. Choosing him as patron was a way of rooting the new diocese in sacrificial love and mercy.
• Rare Dedication: Very few churches worldwide are named for St. Raymond Nonnatus. The uniqueness of the name set the Joliet cathedral apart and gave the diocese a special identity.
• Personal Devotion: Some records suggest Bishop McNamara himself had a personal devotion to St. Raymond, which influenced his decision.
3. Symbolism for the Diocese
• By invoking St. Raymond’s protection, the diocese emphasized:
o Sanctity of life and family (especially childbirth and children).
o Courage in faith, since St. Raymond suffered torture for refusing to stop preaching.
o Pastoral care and mercy, since he dedicated his life to saving others.
In effect, the dedication was meant to give the new diocese a spiritual foundation rooted in life, mercy, and witness to the truth.
In summary: The Cathedral of St. Raymond Nonnatus in Joliet was dedicated to him because he symbolized protection of life and family during the Baby Boom era, embodied mercy and sacrifice, and gave the young diocese a distinctive and inspiring patron at its founding.

In America today, those who believe in Christ and practice the Christian faith remain the majority yet, paradoxically, they are treated as though they are a “silent minority.” Our culture has reached a strange point: while most Americans still profess faith, a very small but very vocal minority insists that Christians have no right to live or speak their faith publicly. Prayer in schools, expressions of Christian morality, even public displays of devotion are increasingly attacked, as if faith itself were an intrusion.
But here’s the irony: the same voices that demand Christians be silent are not actually neutral. They are not promoting “tolerance” or “freedom from religion.” In reality, they are advancing their own creed the modern religion of indifferentism, liberalism, and modernism. They insist their values are the only values that may be spoken, taught, or lived in public. And so, the majority is told to remain silent, while a minority imposes its own dogmas under the guise of progress and secular freedom.
Today, the so-called “silent majority” must no longer remain silent, why our faith cannot be hidden, and how the Church has always recognized that the greatest threat to truth is not outright persecution, but the slow suffocation of truth through indifference and compromise.
As St Augustine said “You don’t need to defend truth, its like a lion, let it lose and it will defend itself. So please stand up publicaly and profess your faith and stop being timid because they surely are not.
Mercy Received, Mercy Given: Living the 12th Sunday after Pentecost”
Introduction
Praised be Jesus Christ! Welcome to today’s episode. As we enter the week following the 12th Sunday after Pentecost, Holy Mother Church places before us powerful lessons about God’s mercy, the grace of the sacraments, and the need to live out our faith in works of charity.
The Epistle (2 Corinthians 3:4–9) contrasts the Old Covenant written on stone with the New Covenant, written on hearts through the Spirit. The Gospel (Luke 10:23–37) gives us the Parable of the Good Samaritan, reminding us that authentic faith expresses itself in charity and sacrifice, flowing from God’s grace within us.
Theme of the Week: Living the New Covenant of Grace
St. Paul reminds us that the law written on stone could not save; it only revealed our sin. But now, in Christ, the law is written on our hearts. We live not by mere legal observance, but by the indwelling Spirit of God through grace.
This week, we are challenged to ask:
• Am I living by the Spirit, or merely following external rules?
• Does my Catholic practice flow from love of God and neighbor, or from habit alone?
• Am I cooperating with grace, letting it transform my heart?
Living the New Covenant means letting the sacraments especially confession and the Eucharist renew us interiorly, not just outwardly.
Gospel Lesson: The Good Samaritan
The Gospel gives us the powerful parable of the Good Samaritan. The priest and Levite passed by, clinging to ritual purity and external observances. The Samaritan, despised by the Jews, showed true charity by binding wounds, caring for the stranger, and paying the cost himself.
This week, Our Lord is telling us: Go and do likewise.
• Charity must go beyond feelings it demands sacrifice.
• Mercy must be practical binding wounds, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick.
• Love must be universal we must love even those we find difficult, those “outside” our circle.
The Good Samaritan is also a symbol of Christ Himself, who comes to bind our wounds of sin and carry us to the inn of the Church, where grace heals us through the sacraments.
Practical Ways to Live This Week
1. Daily Prayer of Humility – Begin each day acknowledging your dependence on God’s grace, asking Him to write His law upon your heart.
2. Acts of Mercy – Intentionally perform at least one corporal or spiritual work of mercy this week: visit the sick, forgive someone, teach the ignorant, or comfort the sorrowful.
3. Examination of Charity – Each night, reflect: Did I treat others with true Christian charity, or did I pass by like the priest and Levite?
4. Frequent the Sacraments: Approach confession if you have not recently. Receive the Eucharist with devotion, remembering that it is Christ who heals our wounds and strengthens us to love.
5. Imitate the Saints: The feast of St. Raymond Nonnatus (Aug 31) and St. Augustine (Aug 28) this week remind us that holiness is about both detachment from the world and zeal for souls.
Epistle – Ecclesiasticus 31:8–11
"Blessed is the rich man that is found without blemish: and that hath not gone after gold, nor put his trust in money nor in treasures. Who is he, and we will praise him? For he hath done wonderful things in his life. Who hath been tried thereby, and made perfect, he shall have glory everlasting. He that could have transgressed, and hath not transgressed; and could do evil things, and hath not done them. Therefore are his goods established in the Lord, and all the church of the saints shall declare his alms."
Reflection on the Epistle
The sacred author praises the man who, though wealthy or powerful, remains unstained by greed and faithful to God. True greatness lies not in possession, but in restraint choosing virtue over vanity, generosity over selfishness, and fidelity over corruption.
This passage reminds us that virtue is tested precisely in our ability to resist misuse of power or wealth. God praises not the one who had no opportunity to sin, but the one who resisted when temptation was strong.
St. Raymond Nonnatus embodied this truth. Though born into privilege, he renounced comfort to join the Mercedarian Order, dedicating his life to freeing captives. He spent himself for others, even offering his own freedom in exchange for prisoners. His life was a testimony to the wisdom of Ecclesiasticus: he did not chase gold, but heavenly treasure.
Gospel: Luke 12:35–40
"Let your loins be girt, and lamps burning in your hands. And you yourselves like to men who wait for their lord, when he shall return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh, shall find watching... But this know ye, that if the householder did know at what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken open. Be ye then also ready: for at what hour you think not, the Son of man will come."
Reflection on the Gospel
Christ’s words are a solemn call to vigilance. We do not know the hour of His coming whether at death or at the Last Judgment. To be ready means to live each day as faithful servants: lamps filled with oil, girded for action, attentive to His will.
The contrast is stark: the vigilant servant is blessed, but the negligent one risks eternal loss. To delay conversion, to live carelessly, or to presume on God’s mercy is to be like the foolish servant caught unprepared.
St. Raymond lived this Gospel faithfully. His lamp was always burning in charity and prayer. His readiness for Christ was shown not in words, but in deeds—offering himself as ransom, preaching the Gospel under threat of death, and maintaining purity of heart even amid corruption. He teaches us that readiness is not passive waiting, but active service.

Feast of St. Raymond Nonnatus
St. Raymond (1204–1240) was miraculously born after his mother died in childbirth hence the name “Nonnatus,” meaning “not born.” He joined the Mercedarians, an order founded to ransom Christians enslaved by Muslims. When funds ran out, he surrendered himself as a hostage, suffering torture and even having his lips padlocked to silence his preaching of Christ.
His life is a striking example of today’s Scriptures: detached from wealth, vigilant in service, and unafraid to risk all for Christ. He shows us that true readiness is measured not by comfort, but by sacrifice.
Application for Today
• Detach from riches: Live with freedom from greed, using wealth for God’s glory and the service of others.
• Be vigilant in grace: Keep your soul always ready—through prayer, confession, and fidelity—since we know not the hour.
• Live active charity: Readiness for Christ is shown in works of mercy, as St. Raymond freed captives and cared for souls.
• Defend the faith boldly: Like St. Raymond, do not be silenced by the world; proclaim Christ with courage.
Conclusionary Prayer
O Lord, who hast taught us through Thy Word to despise earthly riches and to remain watchful for Thy coming, grant us, through the intercession of St. Raymond Nonnatus, the grace to live detached from worldly vanity and ever ready for Thy judgment. May our lamps be filled with the oil of charity, that when Thou comest we may enter with Thee into the eternal banquet of Heaven.
St. Raymond Nonnatus, pray for us.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, intercede for us.