August 1, 2013

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Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguouri, Bishop and Doctor of the Church 

Lectionary: 404

Reading 1EX 40:16-21, 34-38

Moses did exactly as the LORD had commanded him.
On the first day of the first month of the second year
the Dwelling was erected.
It was Moses who erected the Dwelling.

Moses built the Tabernacle where the presence of the Lord would dwell.

He placed its pedestals, set up its boards, put in its bars,
and set up its columns.
He spread the tent over the Dwelling
and put the covering on top of the tent,
as the LORD had commanded him.

The tent, as I understand it, is where the Priests would serve the Lord.

He took the commandments and put them in the ark;
he placed poles alongside the ark and set the propitiatory upon it.
He brought the ark into the Dwelling and hung the curtain veil,
thus screening off the ark of the commandments,
as the LORD had commanded him.

Then Moses took the Stone Tables upon which the Commandments were written and put them in the Ark of the Covenant and screened it off behind a veil so that it could not be seen.

Then the cloud covered the meeting tent,
and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling.

Then the Shekinah Cloud, the visible presence of the Holy Spirit, came down to indicate that God was present in the Tabernacle.

Moses could not enter the meeting tent,
because the cloud settled down upon it
and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling.

When the Shekinah Cloud was upon the Tabernacle, Moses could not enter the Tent.

Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling,
the children of Israel would set out on their journey.
But if the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward;
only when it lifted did they go forward.
In the daytime the cloud of the LORD was seen over the Dwelling;
whereas at night, fire was seen in the cloud
by the whole house of Israel
in all the stages of their journey.

When the Cloud descended upon the Tabernacle, the people of Israel would rest.  But if the Cloud rose, then the people wold move.

Responsorial PsalmPS 84:3, 4, 5-6A AND 8A, 11

R. (2) How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young–
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
Blessed the men whose strength you are!
They go from strength to strength.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!

God's dwelling place is our soul, if we keep it pure and holy by acting righteously.  We dwell with the Lord when we keep His Commandments.

GospelMT 13:47-53

Jesus said to the disciples:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

“Do you understand all these things?”
They answered, “Yes.”
And he replied,
“Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom
both the new and the old.”
When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

The Kingdom of God on earth, the Church, is full of righteous and sinful people.  God permits them to dwell together until the Judgment when the sinners will be cast into the Lake of fire and the righteous will go to heaven.

July 31, 2013

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Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest 

Lectionary: 403

Reading 1EX 34:29-35

As Moses came down from Mount Sinai

with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands,

he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant

while he conversed with the LORD.

Moses, having spoken to God face to face, was shining.

When Aaron, then, and the other children of Israel saw Moses

and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become,

they were afraid to come near him.

The Israelites saw Moses shining face and became fearful.

Only after Moses called to them did Aaron

and all the rulers of the community come back to him.

And the leaders of Israel would not approach him unless he called them by name.

Moses then spoke to them.

Later on, all the children of Israel came up to him,

and he enjoined on them all that the LORD

had told him on Mount Sinai.

Afterwards, the entire community gathered with him and he told them all which God had said.

When he finished speaking with them,

he put a veil over his face.

And when he finished, he covered his face so as not to scare the Hebrews any further.

Whenever Moses entered the presence of the LORD to converse with him,

he removed the veil until he came out again.

But when he spoke to God, Moses removed the veil.  This is what St. Paul makes reference to when he says:

2 Corinthians 3:12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:  13 And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:  14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ.

Meaning that the Israelites who do not believe in Christ still see God as through a veil.  Because it is by faith in Christ that one speaks to God face to face. 

On coming out, he would tell the children of Israel

all that had been commanded.

Then the children of Israel would see

that the skin of Moses’ face was radiant;

so he would again put the veil over his face

until he went in to converse with the LORD.

Then, after speaking to God on each occasion, Moses would report to the Israelites.  And they would see how his face glowed with God's light.  This also bespeaks how anyone who teaches the Word of God reflects the light of Christ upon the world.

Responsorial PsalmPS 99:5, 6, 7, 9

R. (see 9c) Holy is the Lord our God.
Extol the LORD, our God,
and worship at his footstool;
holy is he!
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
and Samuel, among those who called upon his name;
they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
From the pillar of cloud he spoke to them;
they heard his decrees and the law he gave them.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
Extol the LORD, our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for holy is the LORD, our God.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.

God is Holy and worthy of our praise.  Because He is holy we need to seek to be holy in order that we may be found worthy to spend eternal life with Him.

GospelMT 13:44-46

Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

God is precious.  And His Kingdom is a treasure.  We who find the Word of God, must seek to keep it in our mind, lips and heart and always to live according to His precepts.  

July 30, 2013

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Tuesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time 
Lectionary: 402

Reading 1EX 33:7-11; 34:5B-9, 28

The tent, which was called the meeting tent,
Moses used to pitch at some distance away, outside the camp.
Anyone who wished to consult the LORD
would go to this meeting tent outside the camp.
Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise
and stand at the entrance of their own tents,
watching Moses until he entered the tent.

Moses went to a tent where he would speak to God, face to face.

As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down
and stand at its entrance while the LORD spoke with Moses.
On seeing the column of cloud stand at the entrance of the tent,
all the people would rise and worship
at the entrance of their own tents.

When the Shekinah Cloud would descend upon the Tent, the people would worship God from the entrances of their own tents.

The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face,
as one man speaks to another.
Moses would then return to the camp,
but his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun,
would not move out of the tent.

After God spoke to Moses, he would go back to the camp.  But Joshua, Moses' assistant, would remain in the tent.

Moses stood there with the LORD and proclaimed his name, “LORD.”
Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out,
“The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity,
continuing his kindness for a thousand generations,
and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin;
yet not declaring the guilty guiltless,
but punishing children and grandchildren
to the third and fourth generation for their fathers’ wickedness!”
Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.
Then he said, “If I find favor with you, O LORD,
do come along in our company.
This is indeed a stiff-necked people;
yet pardon our wickedness and sins,
and receive us as your own.”

On one occasion, Moses asked if God would reveal Himself completely to Moses.  God said that He would only reveal His back.  Moses then asked God to forgive the people of Israel and make them His own.

So Moses stayed there with the LORD for forty days and forty nights,
without eating any food or drinking any water,
and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant,
the ten commandments.

Then Moses stayed with God for forty days and nights and God wrote the Ten Commandments on two tablets of stone.

Responsorial PsalmPS 103:6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13

R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
The LORD secures justice
and the rights of all the oppressed.
He has made known his ways to Moses,
and his deeds to the children of Israel.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
R. The Lord is kind and merciful.

God's mercy is inexhaustible.  If a man turns to God and acts with righteousness, God will forgive his sins and rescue him.

GospelMT 13:36-43

Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
“Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the Evil One,
and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his Kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

The weeds and the wheat will grow together.  That means that sinners and righteous will be in the Church together.  But on the Last Day, God will judge each soul, whether it is righteous or wicked.  The righteous will go to eternal life.  The wicked to eternal punishment.

July 29, 2013

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« July 28  |  July 30 »

Memorial of Saint Martha 

Lectionary: 401/607

Reading 1EX 32:15-24, 30-34

Moses turned and came down the mountain
with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands,
tablets that were written on both sides, front and back;
tablets that were made by God,

Moses came down the mountain with the Ten Commandments which God had written on tablets of stone.

having inscriptions on them that were engraved by God himself.
Now, when Joshua heard the noise of the people shouting,
he said to Moses, “That sounds like a battle in the camp.”
But Moses answered, “It does not sound like cries of victory,
nor does it sound like cries of defeat;
the sounds that I hear are cries of revelry.”

Joshua heard noises in the camp.  And Moses recognized that the Hebrews were having an orgy.

As he drew near the camp, he saw the calf and the dancing.
With that, Moses’ wrath flared up, so that he threw the tablets down
and broke them on the base of the mountain.

When he saw that this was true, Moses was so angry that he broke the stone tablets.

Taking the calf they had made, he fused it in the fire
and then ground it down to powder,
which he scattered on the water and made the children of Israel drink.

He took the calf iidol that they were worshipping and ground  it up into dust. 

Moses asked Aaron, “What did this people ever do to you
that you should lead them into so grave a sin?”

Moses then confronted Aaron, who had been put in charge when Moses left up the mountain.  He should have prevented them from such a sin.

Aaron replied, “Let not my lord be angry.
You know well enough how prone the people are to evil.
They said to me, ‘Make us a god to be our leader;
as for the man Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt,
we do not know what has happened to him.’

Aaron, however, blamed the people.  As they were prone to evil and he was afraid of disobeying their demands.

So I told them, ‘Let anyone who has gold jewelry take it off.’
They gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and this calf came out.”

On the next day Moses said to the people,
“You have committed a grave sin.
I will go up to the LORD, then;
perhaps I may be able to make atonement for your sin.”

On the next day, Moses informed the people that he would go back to God and do his best to make up for their sins.

So Moses went back to the LORD and said,
“Ah, this people has indeed committed a grave sin
in making a god of gold for themselves!
If you would only forgive their sin!
If you will not, then strike me out of the book that you have written.”

Moses traded his eternal life in exchange for God's forgiving of the people's sin.

The LORD answered, “Him only who has sinned against me
will I strike out of my book.

But God refused to punish an innocent man.  Only the guilty would be written out of the book.

Now, go and lead the people to the place I have told you.
My angel will go before you.
When it is time for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.”

And God said, when it is time for me to punish the people for their sin, I will punish them.

Responsorial PsalmPS 106:19-20, 21-22, 23

R. (1a) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
Our fathers made a calf in Horeb
and adored a molten image;
They exchanged their glory
for the image of a grass-eating bullock.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,
Wondrous deeds in the land of Ham,
terrible things at the Red Sea.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
Then he spoke of exterminating them,
but Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach
to turn back his destructive wrath.
R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

We must put God above all things.  There are many idols which people worship today.  The most prevalent of which is money.  People do almost anything for money and to be wealthy.  Don't fall in that trap.  Worship God alone.

GospelJN 11:19-27

Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.

St. Martha, although sad about her brother's death, had the presence of mind to come and welcome Jesus.

Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.

Martha said to Jesus, "If you had been here, Lazarus would still be alive."

But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”

And even now, I have faith that you can bring him back to life.

Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”

Jesus said, "Your brother will live again."

Martha said to him,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”

Martha suspected Jesus was talking about the resurrection of the faithful on Judgment day.

Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.

And He asked her, "Do you believe that I am the true life?'  She answered, "Yes."

I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”

I have come to understand that you are God.

OrLK 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me.”
The Lord said to her in reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.”

On that day, Martha learned that the most important person is Jesus.  And that the most important thing in the world is to keep our eyes upon Him.  

July 28, 2013

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« July 27  |  July 29 »

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 
Lectionary: 111

Reading 1GN 18:20-32

In those days, the LORD said: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great,
and their sin so grave,
that I must go down and see whether or not their actions
fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me.
I mean to find out.”

The great Patriarch Abraham was visited by God in the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity.    God then revealed that the time had come to punish Sodom and Gomorrah.

While Abraham’s visitors walked on farther toward Sodom,
the LORD remained standing before Abraham.

Abraham, realizing that this meant that his nephew, Lot, might also be killed, began to negotiate for his life.

Then Abraham drew nearer and said:
“Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty?

The innocent party being Lot (and his family).

Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city;
would you wipe out the place, rather than spare it
for the sake of the fifty innocent people within it?
Far be it from you to do such a thing,
to make the innocent die with the guilty
so that the innocent and the guilty would be treated alike!
Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?”
The LORD replied,
“If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom,
I will spare the whole place for their sake.”
Abraham spoke up again:
“See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord,
though I am but dust and ashes!
What if there are five less than fifty innocent people?
Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?”
He answered, “I will not destroy it, if I find forty-five there.”
But Abraham persisted, saying “What if only forty are found there?”
He replied, “I will forbear doing it for the sake of the forty.”
Then Abraham said, “Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on.
What if only thirty are found there?”
He replied, “I will forbear doing it if I can find but thirty there.”
Still Abraham went on,
“Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord,
what if there are no more than twenty?”
The LORD answered, “I will not destroy it, for the sake of the twenty.”
But he still persisted:
“Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time.
What if there are at least ten there?”
He replied, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.”

And God agreed not to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if He could find 10 innocent people there.  But He could only find four innocent people there.  Lot, his wife and two daughters.  Therefore God simply took Lot and his family out of Sodom and Gomorrah and then rained fire down upon the two cities.

Responsorial PsalmPS 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8

R. (3a) Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,
for you have heard the words of my mouth;
in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;
I will worship at your holy temple
and give thanks to your name.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Because of your kindness and your truth;
for you have made great above all things
your name and your promise.
When I called you answered me;
you built up strength within me.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,
and the proud he knows from afar.
Though I walk amid distress, you preserve me;
against the anger of my enemies you raise your hand.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.
Your right hand saves me.
The LORD will complete what he has done for me;
your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;
forsake not the work of your hands.
R. Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.

God is gracious and merciful.  When you call out to God with a sincere heart, God answers. 

Reading 2COL 2:12-14

Brothers and sisters:
You were buried with him in baptism,

When we are baptized, we die to ourselves.  

in which you were also raised with him

and we are born again to eternal life as He was raised to eternal life.

through faith in the power of God,
who raised him from the dead.

because we believe in the promise of God, that He will wash our sins

And even when you were dead
in transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh,
he brought you to life along with him,
having forgiven us all our transgressions;
obliterating the bond against us, with its legal claims,
which was opposed to us,
he also removed it from our midst, nailing it to the cross.

He washed away our sins, which are transgression of the Holy Law.  But the power of the Ten Commandments was overcome by the power of the grace of God which poured into our souls in the Sacraments.

GospelLK 11:1-13

Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished,
one of his disciples said to him,

The disciples wanted to learn how to pray.

“Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.”
He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be your name,

Jesus said to them the our Father.

your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread
and forgive us our sins
for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us,
and do not subject us to the final test.”

Then He told them a parable which advised them to pray forever.

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight and says,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,’
and he says in reply from within,
‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.’
I tell you,
if he does not get up to give the visitor the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven
give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”

Therefore, pray always.  Pray continually.  Remember that God is with you every moment of everyday.  God is always present with you and always at your side.  Turn to Him in prayer.

I don’t object to you trying to use the Bible against me.

Lutero said:

I don’t object to you trying to use the Bible against me.

Yes you do. That’s what you’re doing now.

What I object to is your attempt to try and be Roman Catholic and at the same time argue based on Scripture as a Protestant would.

1. I don’t argue like a Protestant. Protestants argue on the basis of personal interpretation using the Bible ALONE. My arguments are always completely in line with Catholic Doctrine.

2. You wouldn’t give one whit about me using the Bible or any other source, if you could overcome my arguments. But you can’t. I have debunked and shredded all your arguments, this is why you are objecting.

Even then it wouldn’t be so much of an issue if you actually gave an argument instead of just layers and layers of proof texting.

1. That is so funny. And I doubt that you see the incongruence of what you have just said.

2. If I argue like a Protestant and use layers and layers of proof texting, that means that you are aware that Protestants commonly use layers and layers of proof texting in their arguments.

3. The difference between a Catholic arguing based upon Scripture and a Protestant proof texting is that Catholic arguments are in line with the doctrines of the Church. Whereas, Protestants twist the meaning of Scripture to support their personal man made doctrines.

So, all you are saying is that Protestants don’t mind proof texting, when they are doing it. But when they are shown that they are misusing the Bible text and that the Bible actually supports Catholic doctrine, rather than admit their error, they get upset.

I don’t think its all about me.

Yeah, you do. That’s why you want me to respond in a certain manner.

Do you not realize that Protestants have always held the idea of natural theology as somewhat suspect?

1. That is besides the point.

2. You didn’t use that terminology initially.

3. You didn’t define what you meant by the terminology you used. You simply used a term which has a commonly understood meaning in a ridiculous sounding statement. And when you were called on the issue, you changed the terminology to another ridiculous sounding statement.

You may disagree with Protestants, but what I have said is hardly unique to me.

I agree that Protestants make a lot of illogical statements. That is not unique to you.

Sincerely,

De Maria

July 27, 2013

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« July 26  |  July 28 »

Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time 
Lectionary: 400

Reading 1EX 24:3-8

When Moses came to the people

and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD, 

they all answered with one voice,

“We will do everything that the LORD has told us.”

This is the Covenant which the people of Israel made with God.  The Covenant from which they fell away, many times.

Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and,

rising early the next day,

he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar

and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. 

Then, having sent certain young men of the children of Israel

to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice young bulls

as peace offerings to the LORD,

Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls;

the other half he splashed on the altar.

Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people,

who answered, “All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do.”

Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying,

“This is the blood of the covenant

that the LORD has made with you

in accordance with all these words of his.”

This foreshadowed the coming of Jesus Christ.  Scripture says:

Hebrews 10:4-10

King James Version (KJV)

4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.  5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:  6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.  7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.  8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;  9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.  10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Responsorial PsalmPS 50:1B-2, 5-6, 14-15

R. (14a) Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
God the LORD has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
“Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
“Offer to God praise as your sacrifice
and fulfill your vows to the Most High;
Then call upon me in time of distress;
I will rescue you, and you shall glorify me.”
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.

I don't understand why "praise" is considered a "sacrifice".  To me, a sacrifice entails some sort of pain, deprivation or want.  But praise does not cause any of those things.  

Unless the Scripture means that our sacrifices made joyfully for the love of God are a form of praise.   Elsewhere, Scripture says:

2 Corinthians 9:7

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 

GospelMT 13:24-30

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man
who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

This is a description of the Church.  In the Church, we have righteous people, the wheat.  We also find sinners in the Church.  And sometimes, it is very difficult to distinguish one from another.  Only God knows the workings of a man's heart.  I remember a new convert who recently said, "I will be a good Catholic in an age when virtually every Catholic is in mortal sin."

In so doing, that new convert became one of the sinners and not one of the righteous wheat.  Because it is a mortal sin to judge your brother wrongfully.  The weeds are alive and well, living amongst the wheat and we don't know whether we are weeds or wheat.  God is our judge folks.  Mind your own business and do your best to do God's will.  Perhaps He will have mercy upon you and let you enter the Kingdom of Heaven:

1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?