July 24, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Friday, 24 July 2009
Friday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : Saint Christina, Virgin and Martyr, St. Sharbel Makhluf, monk and priest (1828-1898)

Book of Exodus 20:1-17.

Then God delivered all these commandments: "I, the LORD, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery. You shall not have other gods besides me. You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth; you shall not bow down before them or worship them. For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation; but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments. "You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain. For the LORD will not leave unpunished him who takes his name in vain. "Remember to keep holy the sabbath day. Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God. No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you. In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. "Honor your father and your mother, that you may have a long life in the land which the LORD, your God, is giving you. "You shall not kill. "You shall not commit adultery. "You shall not steal. "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him."

Psalms 19:8.9.10.11.

The law of the LORD is perfect, refreshing the soul. The decree of the LORD is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple.
The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart. The command of the LORD is clear, enlightening the eye.
The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The statutes of the LORD are true, all of them just;
More desirable than gold, than a hoard of purest gold, Sweeter also than honey or drippings from the comb.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 13:18-23.

Hear then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."


Commentary of the day :

"A hundred or sixty or thirtyfold"


The sowing was carried out by the apostles and prophets, yet it is the Lord himself who sows. The Lord himself is the one present in them since it is the Lord himself who did the reaping. For without him they are nothing whereas, without them, he remains unmoved. As he said to them: «Without me you can do nothing» (Jn 15,5). And so what does Christ say as he sows among the gentiles? «A sower went out to sow» (Mt 13,3). In another text reapers were sent out to reap, but here the sower goes out to sow and does not complain of his labor. For what, indeed, does it matter if some seed falls on the path or rocky ground or among thorns? Were he to let himself be discouraged by these arid terrains he would make no progress towards the good soil!...

Now this has a bearing on ourselves: are we that pathway, those rocks, those weeds? Do we want to be good soil? Let us prepare our hearts to yield thirty, sixty, a hundred, a thousandfold. Thirtyfold or a thousandfold: in each case it is a question of wheat and nothing but wheat. Don't let us any longer be that path where our sowing is trampled on by passers-by and our enemy lays hold of us like a bird. Further, those rocks or that shallow soil cause seeds that are unable to endure the heat of the sun to shoot up too quickly. And most especially: not those weeds, the lusts of this world, a focus on wrongdoing. For what, indeed, could be worse than applying all our efforts to a life that hinders us from attaining life? What more miserable than to cultivate our lives in order to lose life? What could be sadder than to avoid death only to fall into the power of death? Let us cut off the thorns, prepare the soil, receive the seed, hold fast till the harvest and long to be taken into the barn.

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Thursday, 23 July 2009
Thursday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Bridget of Sweden (1304-1373)

Book of Exodus 19:1-2.9-11.16-20.

In the third month after their departure from the land of Egypt, on its first day, the Israelites came to the desert of Sinai. After the journey from Rephidim to the desert of Sinai, they pitched camp. While Israel was encamped here in front of the mountain, The LORD also told him, "I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they may always have faith in you also." When Moses, then, had reported to the LORD the response of the people, the LORD added, "Go to the people and have them sanctify themselves today and tomorrow. Make them wash their garments and be ready for the third day; for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people. On the morning of the third day there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke, for the LORD came down upon it in fire. The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking and God answering him with thunder. When the LORD came down to the top of Mount Sinai, he summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up to him.

Dn 3:52.53.54.55.56.

"Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.
Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory, praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.
Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven, praiseworthy and glorious forever.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 13:10-17.

The disciples approached him and said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because 'they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.' Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: 'You shall indeed hear but not understand you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.' But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.


Commentary of the day :


"Blessed are your eyes, because they see"


Our Lord said: «Many a prophet and many a saint longed to see what you see but did not see it.» We must understand the prophets as being the great, subtle and reasoning minds who hold to the sublety of their natural reason and draw from it emptiness. Those eyes are not happy. We must understand the kings as being men who are naturally dominant, with strong and powerful energy, who are masters over themselves, their words, their works, their language, and who can do whatever they want when it comes to fasting, vigils and prayers. But they make a big thing of it, as if this were something extraordinary, and they despise the others. These are also not the eyes that see the things that make them happy.

All those people wanted to see and did not see. They wanted to see, and they held on to their own will. Evil resides in the will... Our own will covers our interior eyes like a membrane or a film covers the exterior eye and prevents it from seeing... So long as you stay within your own will, you will be deprived of the joy of seeing with your interior eye. For all true happiness comes from real abandonment, from being detached from our own will. All that is born in the depth of humility... The more a person is small and humble, the less does he have his own will.

When all has been calmed, the soul sees its own essence and all its faculties; it recognizes itself as the rational image of Him from whom it came. The eyes... that look this far can rightly be called blest because of what they see. What a person discovers then is the marvel of marvels, what is most pure, most sure... May we be able to follow this path and to see in such a way that our eyes might be blest. And may God help us in that!

July 22, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Saint Mary Magdalene - Memorial

Today the Church celebrates : St. Mary Magdalene

Second Letter to the Corinthians 5:14-17.

For the love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come.

Psalms 63:2.3-4.5-6.8-9.

O God, you are my God-- for you I long! For you my body yearns; for you my soul thirsts, Like a land parched, lifeless, and without water.
So I look to you in the sanctuary to see your power and glory.
For your love is better than life; my lips offer you worship!
I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands, calling on your name.
My soul shall savor the rich banquet of praise, with joyous lips my mouth shall honor you!
That you indeed are my help, and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to you; your right hand upholds me.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 20:1-2.11-18.

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they put him." But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken my Lord, and I don't know where they laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" She thought it was the gardener and said to him, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni," which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and what he told her.

Commentary of the day :

"Mary Magdalene, apostle to the apostles"


According to the account given by Saint John the Theologian, the women bringing the spices sent Mary Magdalene ahead to the tomb. It was dark, but love gave her light. Thus she saw the large stone rolled away from the entrance to the tomb and returned saying: «Disciples, do you know what I saw? The stone is no longer covering the tomb. Could they have taken away my Lord? There are no guards in sight; they have fled. Could he have risen, he who brings resurrection to fallen humankind?»...

He who sees all, seeing Magdalene overcome with sobbing and weighed down by sorrow, was touched to the heart ... He who tests our innards and our heart, knowing that Mary would recognize his voice, called his little sheep - he, the true shepherd. «Mary», he said, and immediately, she recognized him. «It really is my shepherd who is calling me so that from now on he may count me among the ninety-nine sheep. I know well who it is who is calling me. I said to him: It is my Lord; it is he who brings resurrection to fallen humankind»...

The Lord said to her: «Woman, may your mouth henceforth proclaim these marvels and explain them to the children of the Kingdom who are waiting for me, the Living One, to awaken. Go quickly, Mary, gather together my disciples...; awake them all as if from sleep so they may come to meet me with torches alight. Go, tell them: the Bridegroom has awakened, he is coming out of his tomb... Apostles, drive away your mortal sorrow, for the one who brings resurrection to fallen humankind is awake...»

«Suddenly my mourning is transformed into rejoicing, everything has become joy and gladness for me. I say without wavering: I have received the same glory as Moses. I have seen - yes, I have seen! - not on the mountain, but in the tomb; not veiled with a cloud, but in my body: I have seen the Lord of all things incorporeal and their hosts, the one who is, who was, and who is to come. It is he who told me: Make haste, Mary, go to those who love me and reveal that I have risen. Carry the good news to the descendants of Noah as the dove carried them the olive branch (Gen 8:11). Tell them death has been destroyed, and he who brings resurrection to fallen humankind has risen from the tomb.»

July 21, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Tuesday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church (1559-1619)

Book of Exodus 14:21-31.15:1.

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the LORD swept the sea with a strong east wind throughout the night and so turned it into dry land. When the water was thus divided, the Israelites marched into the midst of the sea on dry land, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left. The Egyptians followed in pursuit; all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and charioteers went after them right into the midst of the sea. In the night watch just before dawn the LORD cast through the column of the fiery cloud upon the Egyptian force a glance that threw it into a panic; and he so clogged their chariot wheels that they could hardly drive. With that the Egyptians sounded the retreat before Israel, because the LORD was fighting for them against the Egyptians. Then the LORD told Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may flow back upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and their charioteers." So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at dawn the sea flowed back to its normal depth. The Egyptians were fleeing head on toward the sea, when the LORD hurled them into its midst. As the water flowed back, it covered the chariots and the charioteers of Pharaoh's whole army which had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not a single one of them escaped. But the Israelites had marched on dry land through the midst of the sea, with the water like a wall to their right and to their left. Thus the LORD saved Israel on that day from the power of the Egyptians. When Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the seashore and beheld the great power that the LORD had shown against the Egyptians, they feared the LORD and believed in him and in his servant Moses. Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.

Ex. 15:8-9.10.12.17.

At a breath of your anger the waters piled up, the flowing waters stood like a mound, the flood waters congealed in the midst of the sea.
The enemy boasted, "I will pursue and overtake them; I will divide the spoils and have my fill of them; I will draw my sword; my hand shall despoil them!"
When your wind blew, the sea covered them; like lead they sank in the mighty waters.
when you stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them!
And you brought them in and planted them on the mountain of your inheritance-- the place where you made your seat, O LORD, the sanctuary, O LORD, which your hands established.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 12:46-50.

While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. (Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.") But he said in reply to the one who told him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother."


Commentary of the day :

"Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother"


Predestined from eternity by that decree of divine providence which determined the incarnation of the Word to be the Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin was in this earth the virgin Mother of the Redeemer, and above all others and in a singular way the generous associate and humble handmaid of the Lord. She conceived, brought forth and nourished Christ. she presented Him to the Father in the temple, and was united with Him by compassion as He died on the Cross. In this singular way she cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Saviour in giving back supernatural life to souls. Wherefore she is our mother in the order of grace.

This maternity of Mary in the order of grace... lasts until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this salvific duty, but by her constant intercession continued to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation. By her maternal charity, she cares for the brethren of her Son, who still journey on earth surrounded by dangers and cultics, until they are led into the happiness of their true home. Therefore the Blessed Virgin is invoked by the Church under the titles of Advocate, Auxiliatrix, Adjutrix, and Mediatrix...

For no creature could ever be counted as equal with the Incarnate Word and Redeemer. Just as the priesthood of Christ is shared in various ways both by the ministers and by the faithful, and as the one goodness of God is really communicated in different ways to His creatures, so also the unique mediation of the Redeemer does not exclude but rather gives rise to a manifold cooperation which is but a sharing in this one source.

July 20, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Monday, 20 July 2009
Monday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Margaret of Antioch, Virgin and Martyr, St. Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr

See commentary below or click here
Saint Ephrem : The sign of Jonah


Book of Exodus 14:5-18.

When it was reported to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his servants changed their minds about them. "What have we done!" they exclaimed. "Why, we have released Israel from our service!" So Pharaoh made his chariots ready and mustered his soldiers-- six hundred first-class chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt, with warriors on them all. So obstinate had the LORD made Pharaoh that he pursued the Israelites even while they were marching away in triumph. The Egyptians, then, pursued them; Pharaoh's whole army, his horses, chariots and charioteers, caught up with them as they lay encamped by the sea, at Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon. Pharaoh was already near when the Israelites looked up and saw that the Egyptians were on the march in pursuit of them. In great fright they cried out to the LORD. And they complained to Moses, "Were there no burial places in Egypt that you had to bring us out here to die in the desert? Why did you do this to us? Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did we not tell you this in Egypt, when we said, 'Leave us alone. Let us serve the Egyptians'? Far better for us to be the slaves of the Egyptians than to die in the desert." But Moses answered the people, "Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today. These Egyptians whom you see today you will never see again. The LORD himself will fight for you; you have only to keep still." Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to go forward. And you, lift up your staff and, with hand outstretched over the sea, split the sea in two, that the Israelites may pass through it on dry land. But I will make the Egyptians so obstinate that they will go in after them. Then I will receive glory through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and charioteers. The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I receive glory through Pharaoh and his chariots and charioteers."

Ex. 15:1-2.3-4.5-6.

Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the LORD: I will sing to the LORD, for he is gloriously triumphant; horse and chariot he has cast into the sea.
My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior. He is my God, I praise him; the God of my father, I extol him.
The LORD is a warrior, LORD is his name!
Pharaoh's chariots and army he hurled into the sea; the elite of his officers were submerged in the Red Sea.
The flood waters covered them, they sank into the depths like a stone.
Your right hand, O LORD, magnificent in power, your right hand, O LORD, has shattered the enemy.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 12:38-42.

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, "Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you." He said to them in reply, "An evil and unfaithful generation seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. Just as Jonah was in the belly of the whale three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. At the judgment, the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and there is something greater than Jonah here. At the judgment the queen of the south will arise with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon here.

Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB



Commentary of the day :

Saint Ephrem (c.306-373), deacon in Syria, Doctor of the Church
Diatessaron 11, 1-3. (SC 121, p.195f. rev.)

The sign of Jonah


After all the signs our Lord had given these blind men, who could see nothing, said to him: «We wish to see a sign from you». Our Lord left aside his witnesses, the kings and prophets, and appealed to the Ninivites... Jonah had prophesied the destruction of the Ninivites; he had put fear into them and sown consternation among them. They, in return, gave him a harvest of contrition and the fruits of repentance. Thus the Gentiles were chosen and the uncircumcised drew near to God; the pagans were given life and sinners converted...

«They asked him for a sign from heaven» (Lk 11,16), like thunder, for example, as for Samuel (cf.1Sam 7,10)...They had heard preaching from on high and had not believed it, which is why this preaching rose up form below...: «The Son of Man ... Jonah rose up out of the sea and preached to the Ninivites, who repented and were saved. Even so our Lord, when he had raised his body from the dwellings of the dead, sent out his apostles among the nations. These were completely converted and received the fullness of life.

July 19, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Sunday, 19 July 2009
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : Servant of God Francis Garces and Companions, Martyrs (c. 1781)


Book of Jeremiah 23:1-6.

Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the LORD. Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who shepherd my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away. You have not cared for them, but I will take care to punish your evil deeds. I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and bring them back to their meadow; there they shall increase and multiply. I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them so that they need no longer fear and tremble; and none shall be missing, says the LORD. Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David; As king he shall reign and govern wisely, he shall do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah shall be saved, Israel shall dwell in security. This is the name they give him: "The LORD our justice."

Psalms 23(22):1-2.3-4.5.6.

A psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.
In green pastures you let me graze; to safe waters you lead me;
you restore my strength. You guide me along the right path for the sake of your name.
Even when I walk through a dark valley, I fear no harm for you are at my side; your rod and staff give me courage.
You set a table before me as my enemies watch; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Only goodness and love will pursue me all the days of my life; I will dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come.


Letter to the Ephesians 2:13-18.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, he who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh, abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims, that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile both with God, in one body, through the cross, putting that enmity to death by it. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near, for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:30-34.

The apostles gathered together with Jesus and reported all they had done and taught. He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while." People were coming and going in great numbers, and they had no opportunity even to eat. So they went off in the boat by themselves to a deserted place. People saw them leaving and many came to know about it. They hastened there on foot from all the towns and arrived at the place before them. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.


Commentary of the day :

"He began to teach them many things"


«Tell me, O you whom my soul has loved, where you feed and where you have your couch?' I think that in Psalm 23[22] the prophet likewise is speaking of this place, concerning which the Bride desires of the Bridegroom to learn, set as he is under the same Shepherd. He says: «The Lord is my shepherd and I shall want nothing» (v.1). And because he knew that other shepherds, through sloth or inexperience, assemble their flocks in the drier places, he says about the Lord, this best of shepherds: «In a green place, there he has set me; he has brought me up to the water of refreshment» (v.2), thus making it clear that this Shepherd provides His sheep with water that is not only plentiful but also wholesome and pure and utterly refreshing ...

That first life, the pastoral, was a preparatory one, in order that, being set in a green place, he might be brought up to the water of refreshment. But the things that follow have to do with progress and perfection. And, since we have brought up the subject of pastures and of greenness, it seems fitting to support what we say out of the Gospels also. There, too, I have encountered this Good Shepherd talking about the pastures of the sheep; there is a passage where He styles Himself the Shepherd, and even calls Himself the Door, saying: I am the Door. By me, if anyone enters, he shall be saved; and he shall go in and go out, and shall find pastures» (Jn 10,9). Him, therefore, the Bride now plies with questions... And what she calls 'midday' denotes those secret places of the heart in which the soul pursues the clearer light of knowledge from the Word of God; for midday is the time when the sun is at the zenith of its course. So when Christ, the Sun of Justice (Mal 3,20), shows to his Church the high and lofty secrets of his power, then he will be teaching her where lie His pleasant pastures and his places of repose at noon.

For when she has only begun to learn these things and is receiving from Him the rudiments, so to speak, of knowledge, then the prophet says: «And God will help her in the morning early» (Ps 46[45],6). At this time, however, because she is now seeking things that are more perfect, and desiring higher things, she asks for the noonday light of knowledge.

July 18, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Saturday, 18 July 2009
Saturday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Camillus de Lellis, Priest (1550-1614)



Book of Exodus 12:37-42.

The Israelites set out from Rameses for Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, not counting the children. A crowd of mixed ancestry also went up with them, besides their livestock, very numerous flocks and herds. Since the dough they had brought out of Egypt was not leavened, they baked it into unleavened loaves. They had been rushed out of Egypt and had no opportunity even to prepare food for the journey. The time the Israelites had stayed in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. At the end of four hundred and thirty years, all the hosts of the LORD left the land of Egypt on this very date. This was a night of vigil for the LORD, as he led them out of the land of Egypt; so on this same night all the Israelites must keep a vigil for the LORD throughout their generations.

Psalms 136:1.23-24.10-12.13-15.

Praise the LORD, who is so good; God's love endures forever;
The LORD remembered us in our misery, God's love endures forever;
Freed us from our foes, God's love endures forever;
Who struck down the firstborn of Egypt, God's love endures forever;
And led Israel from their midst, God's love endures forever;
With mighty hand and outstretched arm, God's love endures forever;
Who split in two the Red Sea, God's love endures forever;
And led Israel through, God's love endures forever;
But swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea, God's love endures forever;


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 12:14-21.

But the Pharisees went out and took counsel against him to put him to death. When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many (people) followed him, and he cured them all, but he warned them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet: Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight; I shall place my spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope."



Commentary of the day :


"In his name the Gentiles will hope"


Who among us can know all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Christ and buried within the poverty of his flesh? For «for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty, you might become rich» (2Cor 8,9). Since he came in order to assume our mortal condition and lay low death itself, he appeared as one who was poor. But he who has promised us distant riches has by no means lost those from which he is kept away. «How great is his abundant goodness which he keeps in store for those who fear him; he satisfies those who hope in him» (cf. Ps 31[30],20)...

So that we might be able to lay hold of it, he who is equal to the Father, having the nature of God, became like us by taking the nature of a servant and recreates us in God's likeness. Having become son of man, the only Son of God transforms numberless men into sons of God. And after having sustained his servants by his own visible nature of a servant, he sets them free to contemplate the nature of God. For «we are God's children; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he really is» (1Jn 3,2). For in what do these treasures of wisdom and knowledge and these divine riches consist? In what this abundant goodness? All we know is that it is this that satisfies us.

July 17, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Friday, 17 July 2009
Friday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Alexius, Confessor (+404)

Book of Exodus 11:10.12:1-14.

Thus, although Moses and Aaron performed these various wonders in Pharaoh's presence, the LORD made Pharaoh obstinate, and he would not let the Israelites leave his land. The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, "This month shall stand at the head of your calendar; you shall reckon it the first month of the year. Tell the whole community of Israel: On the tenth of this month every one of your families must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household. If a family is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join the nearest household in procuring one and shall share in the lamb in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it. The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present, it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight. They shall take some of its blood and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel of every house in which they partake of the lamb. That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. It shall not be eaten raw or boiled, but roasted whole, with its head and shanks and inner organs. None of it must be kept beyond the next morning; whatever is left over in the morning shall be burned up. "This is how you are to eat it: with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand, you shall eat like those who are in flight. It is the Passover of the LORD. For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every first--born of the land, both man and beast, and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt-I, the LORD! But the blood will mark the houses where you are. Seeing the blood, I will pass over you; thus, when I strike the land of Egypt, no destructive blow will come upon you. "This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution.

Psalms 116(115):12-13.15-16.17-18.

How can I repay the LORD for all the good done for me?
I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.
Too costly in the eyes of the LORD is the death of his faithful.
LORD, I am your servant, your servant, the child of your maidservant; you have loosed my bonds.
I will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.
I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 12:1-8.

At that time Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him, "See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath." He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry, how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering, which neither he nor his companions but only the priests could lawfully eat? Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbath the priests serving in the temple violate the sabbath and are innocent? I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath."


Commentary of the day :


"The Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath"



The Sabbath was instituted as a holy day; all the saints and just must observe the Sabbath... Let us see, then, in what the Sabbath observance consists for christians: on the Sabbath day we should not carry out any work here below; we are to abstain from all earthly works, do nothing that pertains to this world and give ourselves to spiritual work, go to church, listen attentively to Scripture and to the explanations given to us about it, think of heavenly things, give our minds to hope of future life, keep the judgement to come before our eyes and meditate, not present, visible realities, but the future, invisible ones.

The Jews, too, have to observe all that. And among them blacksmiths, builders and every kind of manual laborer remain without doing anything on the Sabbath day. Yet on this day the lectors who proclaim Holy Scripture and the teachers who explain God's Law never cease in their duties without, however, profaning the Sabbath. My Lord himself acknowledges this: «Have you not heard,» he said to them, «that the priests in the Temple go without resting on the Sabbath without sin?» Thus it is the person who abstains from this world's works and frees himself for spiritual activities who offers the true Sabbath sacrifice and sanctifies the Sabbath day as a festival...

During the Sabbath, all remain in their own homes and do not go out. Now what is the home of the spiritual soul? That home is justice, truth, wisdom, holiness: all those things are Christ who is, himself, the soul's home. We should never go out of that home if we would keep the true Sabbath and celebrate that day of festival with sacrifice, according to the Lord's word: «Whoever remains in me, I remain in him» (cf. Jn 15,5).

July 16, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Thursday, 16 July 2009
Thursday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : Our Lady of Mount Carmel


Book of Exodus 3:13-20.

"But," said Moses to God, "when I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?" God replied, "I am who am." Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you." God spoke further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. "This is my name forever; this is my title for all generations. "Go and assemble the elders of the Israelites, and tell them: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, has appeared to me and said: I am concerned about you and about the way you are being treated in Egypt; so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey. "Thus they will heed your message. Then you and the elders of Israel shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him: The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word. Permit us, then, to go a three days' journey in the desert, that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God. "Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless he is forced. I will stretch out my hand, therefore, and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there. After that he will send you away.

Psalms 105:1.5.8-9.24-25.26-27.

Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the peoples his deeds!
Recall the wondrous deeds he has done, his signs and his words of judgment,
He remembers forever his covenant, the pact imposed for a thousand generations,
Which was made with Abraham, confirmed by oath to Isaac,
God greatly increased his people, made them too many for their foes.
He turned their hearts to hate his people, to treat his servants unfairly.
He sent his servant Moses, Aaron whom he had chosen.
They worked his signs in Egypt and wonders in the land of Ham.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 11:28-30.

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."


Commentary of the day :

"Come to me"


Let anyone who would find their soul's true rest learn humility! Let them understand that all joy, all glory, all rest are to be found in it just as the opposite is to be found in pride. For how, indeed, is it that we have come to all these tribulations? Why have we fallen into all this misery? Isn't it because of our pride, our foolishness? Isn't it because we followed our own evil counsel and were attached to the bitterness of our own wills? And why so? Wasn't man created in perfect equanimity, in complete happiness, rest and glory? Wasn't he in Paradise? He was commanded: Don't do this, yet he did it. Don't you note his pride, his arrogance, his insubordination? «Man is a foolish creature,» said God, when he saw this insolence; «he has no idea how to be happy. Unless he experiences evil days he will be lost forthwith. Unless he learns what affliction is, he will never know the meaning of rest.» And so God gave him what deserved by driving him out of Paradise...

And yet, as I often say to you, God's goodness has not failed his creature but keeps turning towards it, calling it back: «Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.» That is to say: See, how weary you are, how unhappy! You have learned by experience the evil of your disobedience. Come along then, be converted; come along, recognise your powerlessness and shame so that you can return to the rest and glory that is yours. Come on, you who were dead from pride: live by humility. «Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.»

July 15, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Wednesday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (1218-1274)


Book of Exodus 3:1-6.9-12.

Meanwhile Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian. Leading the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed. So Moses decided, "I must go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned." When the LORD saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, "Moses! Moses!" He answered, "Here I am." God said, "Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father," he continued, "the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob." Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. So indeed the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have truly noted that the Egyptians are oppressing them. Come, now! I will send you to Pharaoh to lead my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?" He answered, "I will be with you; and this shall be your proof that it is I who have sent you: when you bring my people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this very mountain."

Psalms 103(102):1-2.3-4.6-7.

Of David. Bless the LORD, my soul; all my being, bless his holy name!
Bless the LORD, my soul; do not forget all the gifts of God,
Who pardons all your sins, heals all your ills,
Delivers your life from the pit, surrounds you with love and compassion,
The LORD does righteous deeds, brings justice to all the oppressed.
His ways were revealed to Moses, mighty deeds to the people of Israel.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 11:25-27.

At that time Jesus said in reply, "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.


Commentary of the day :


"You have hidden these things from the wise and the learned; you have revealed them to the childlike"



Simplicity is so pleasing to God! As you know, Scripture says that his delight is to converse with the simple, with those who have simplicity of heart and who behave unaffectedly and simply: «With the upright is his friendship» (Prv 3,32). Do you want to find God? He speaks with the simple. O my Savior! O my brothers! You who feel the need to be simple; what happiness! what happiness! Take heart, because you have the assurance that God's delight is to be with the simple.

Something else that wonderfully recommends simplicity to us are these words of our Lord: «I bless you, Father, for having hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to the childlike.» Father, I acknowledge and thank you that the teaching I have learned from your divine Majesty and pass on to others is known only to the simple and that you do not allow the prudent of this world to understand it. For you have concealed, if not the words then at least the spirit from them.

O my Savior and my God! This ought to astonish us. We run after knowledge as if all our happiness depended on it. Woe to us if we don't have it! We certainly need it, but in its fullness; we ought to study, but in moderation. Other people claim understanding of business and pass for people of substance and negotiation in the world. These are the ones from whom God takes away perception of Christian truths: from the learned and knowing of this world. Who does he give it to, then? To simple, ordinary people... Gentlemen, true religion is to be found among the poor. God enriches them with living faith; they believe, touch, taste the words of life... For the most part they preserve their peace in the midst of trouble and distress. What is the reason for this? Faith. Why? Because they are simple God causes those graces to abound in them that he refuses to the rich and learned of this world.

July 14, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Tuesday, 14 July 2009
Tuesday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Francis Solano, Priest (1549-1610)

Book of Exodus 2:1-15.

Now a certain man of the house of Levi married a Levite woman, who conceived and bore a son. Seeing that he was a goodly child, she hid him for three months. When she could hide him no longer, she took a papyrus basket, daubed it with bitumen and pitch, and putting the child in it, placed it among the reeds on the river bank. His sister stationed herself at a distance to find out what would happen to him. Pharaoh's daughter came down to the river to bathe, while her maids walked along the river bank. Noticing the basket among the reeds, she sent her handmaid to fetch it. On opening it, she looked, and lo, there was a baby boy, crying! She was moved with pity for him and said, "It is one of the Hebrews' children." Then his sister asked Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call one of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?" "Yes, do so," she answered. So the maiden went and called the child's own mother. Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will repay you." The woman therefore took the child and nursed it. When the child grew, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, who adopted him as her son and called him Moses; for she said, "I drew him out of the water." On one occasion, after Moses had grown up, when he visited his kinsmen and witnessed their forced labor, he saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his own kinsmen. Looking about and seeing no one, he slew the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day he went out again, and now two Hebrews were fighting! So he asked the culprit, "Why are you striking your fellow Hebrew?" But he replied, "Who has appointed you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?" Then Moses became afraid and thought, "The affair must certainly be known." Pharaoh, too, heard of the affair and sought to put him to death. But Moses fled from him and stayed in the land of Midian. As he was seated there by a well,

Psalms 69:3.14.30-31.33-34.

I have sunk into the mire of the deep, where there is no foothold. I have gone down to the watery depths; the flood overwhelms me.
But I pray to you, LORD, for the time of your favor. God, in your great kindness answer me with your constant help.
But I am afflicted and in pain; let your saving help protect me, God,
That I may praise God's name in song and glorify it with thanksgiving.
"See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, take heart!
For the LORD hears the poor, does not spurn those in bondage.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 11:20-24.

Then he began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum: 'Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.' For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."


Commentary of the day :

"Christ calls us all to conversion"


Christ, who always practiced in his life what he preached, before beginning his ministry spent forty days and forty nights in prayer and fasting, and began his public mission with the joyful message: "The kingdom of God is at hand." To this he added the command: "Repent and believe in the Gospel."(Mk 1,15) These words constitute, in a way, a compendium of the whole Christian life. The kingdom of God announced by Christ can be entered only by a "change of heart" ("metanoia") that is to say through an intimate and total change and renewal of the entire man... The invitation of the Son to "metanoia" becomes all the more inescapable inasmuch as he not only preaches it but himself offers an example. Christ, in fact, is the supreme model for those doing penance. He willed to suffer punishment for sins which were not his but those of others.

In the presence of Christ man is illumined with a new light and consequently recognizes the holiness of God and the gravity of sin. Through the word of Christ a message is transmitted to him that invites him to conversion and grants forgiveness of sins. These gifts he fully attains in baptism. This sacrament, in fact, configures him to the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord, and places the whole future of the life of the baptized under the seal of this mystery. Therefore, following the Master, every Christian must renounce himself, take up his own cross and participate in the sufferings of Christ. Thus transformed into the image of Christ's death, he is made capable of meditating on the glory of the resurrection. Furthermore, following the Master, he can no longer live for himself, but must live for him who loves him and gave himself for him.(Gal 2,20) He will also have to live for his brethren, completing "in his flesh that which is lacking in the sufferings of Christ...for the benefit of his body, which is the church"(Col 1,24).

July 13, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Monday, 13 July 2009
Monday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Henry II, the Pious (973-1024), St. Eugenius, Bishop of Carthage (+505)

Book of Exodus 1:8-14.22.

Then a new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to power in Egypt. He said to his subjects, "Look how numerous and powerful the Israelite people are growing, more so than we ourselves! Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase; otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemies to fight against us, and so leave our country." Accordingly, taskmasters were set over the Israelites to oppress them with forced labor. Thus they had to build for Pharaoh the supply cities of Pithom and Raamses. Yet the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread. The Egyptians, then, dreaded the Israelites and reduced them to cruel slavery, making life bitter for them with hard work in mortar and brick and all kinds of field work--the whole cruel fate of slaves. Pharaoh then commanded all his subjects, "Throw into the river every boy that is born to the Hebrews, but you may let all the girls live."

Psalms 124(123):1-3.4-6.7-8.

A song of ascents. Of David. I Had not the LORD been with us, let Israel say,
Had not the LORD been with us, when people rose against us,
They would have swallowed us alive, for their fury blazed against us.
The waters would have engulfed us, the torrent overwhelmed us;
seething waters would have drowned us.
Blessed be the LORD, who did not leave us to be torn by their fangs.
We escaped with our lives like a bird from the fowler's snare; the snare was broken and we escaped.
Our help is the name of the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10:34-42.11:1.

Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man 'against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's enemies will be those of his household.' Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple--amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward." When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.


Commentary of the day :


"Whoever gives... one of these little ones a drink because he is a disciple... will surely not lose his reward."


So «I will entrust my soul to my most faithful God» 1Pt 4,19), whom I serve here as his «ambassador» (Eph 6,20) in spite of my shortcomings - but God doesn't use the world's standards in such matters. He chose me for this job - me, one of the least of his servants (Mt 25,40) - to be his assistant. «How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done to me?» (Ps 116[115],12). But what can I say or do for God? Everything I can do comes from him...

So may God never permit me to be separated from his people «whom he formed for himself» (Is 43,21), here at the end of the earth. I pray that God will give me perseverance and allow me to be a faithful witness for him until I die. If have ever done anything worthwhile for the God I love, I ask that I might be allowed to die here for his name with these converts and slaves... I know if that were to happen, I would gain my soul along with a new body on that day we will undoubtedly rise again like the sun in the morning, like the son, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer.

My final prayer is that all of you who believe in God and respect him, whoever you may be who read this letter that Patrick, the unlearned sinner, wrote from Ireland, that none of you will ever say that I, in my ignorance, did anything for God. You must understand - because it is the truth - that it was all the gift of God. And this is my confession before I die.

July 12, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Sunday, 12 July 2009
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. John Gualbert, Abbot (99-1073


Book of Amos 7:12-15.

To Amos, Amaziah said: "Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah! There earn your bread by prophesying, but never again prophesy in Bethel; for it is the king's sanctuary and a royal temple." Amos answered Amaziah, "I was no prophet, nor have I belonged to a company of prophets; I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores. The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me, Go, prophesy to my people Israel.

Psalms 85(84):9-10.11-12.13-14.

I will listen for the word of God; surely the LORD will proclaim peace To his people, to the faithful, to those who trust in him.
Near indeed is salvation for the loyal; prosperity will fill our land.
Love and truth will meet; justice and peace will kiss.
Truth will spring from the earth; justice will look down from heaven.
The LORD will surely grant abundance; our land will yield its increase.
Prosperity will march before the Lord, and good fortune will follow behind.


Letter to the Ephesians 1:3-14.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. In him we have redemption by his blood, the forgiveness of transgressions, in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us the mystery of his will in accord with his favor that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times, to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth. In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the one who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ. In him you also, who have heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him, were sealed with the promised holy Spirit, which is the first installment of our inheritance toward redemption as God's possession, to the praise of his glory.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 6:7-13.

He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick--no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave from there. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them." So they went off and preached repentance. They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.


Commentary of the day :


"He began to send them out two by two"


Dearly beloved brethren, our Lord and Savior teaches us sometimes by his words and sometimes by his actions. His actions themselves are commandments, for when he does something without saying anything, he shows us how we must act. So here he is sending his disciples out two by two to preach, because there are two commandments of love: love of God and of the neighbor. The Lord sent his disciples to preach two by two to suggest to us without saying it that the person who does not have love for the other must absolutely not take on the ministry of preaching.

It is very good that he «sent them in pairs before him to every town and place he intended to visit.» (Lk 10:1) For the Lord comes after his preachers, because preaching is a prerequisite: the Lord comes to dwell in our soul when the words of exhoration have come as a forerunner and have caused us to welcome the truth in our soul. That is why Isaiah said to the preachers: «Prepare the way of the Lord! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!» (Isa 40:3) And the psalmist also told them: «Prepare the way for him who rises up to the west.» (Ps 67:5 Vulgate) The Lord rises up to the west [the lying down of the sun] because in lying down in his passion, he showed himself in greater glory in his resurrection. He rose up to the lying down, because in rising, he trampled underfoot the death that he suffered. Thus, we prepare the way for him who rises up to the lying down when we preach his glory to your souls, so that when he comes after, he might enlighten them by the presence of his love.

July 11, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Saturday, 11 July 2009
Saturday of the Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Benedict, Abbot (c. 480-547), Patron of Europe


Book of Genesis 49:29-32.50:15-26.

Then he gave them this charge: "Since I am about to be taken to my kindred, bury me with my fathers in the cave that lies in the field of Ephron the Hittite, the cave in the field of Machpelah, facing on Mamre, in the land of Canaan, the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite for a burial ground. There Abraham and his wife Sarah are buried, and so are Isaac and his wife Rebekah, and there, too, I buried Leah-- the field and the cave in it that had been purchased from the Hittites." Now that their father was dead, Joseph's brothers became fearful and thought, "Suppose Joseph has been nursing a grudge against us and now plans to pay us back in full for all the wrong we did him!" So they approached Joseph and said: "Before your father died, he gave us these instructions: 'You shall say to Joseph, Jacob begs you to forgive the criminal wrongdoing of your brothers, who treated you so cruelly.' Please, therefore, forgive the crime that we, the servants of your father's God, committed." When they spoke these words to him, Joseph broke into tears. Then his brothers proceeded to fling themselves down before him and said, "Let us be your slaves!" But Joseph replied to them: "Have no fear. Can I take the place of God? Even though you meant harm to me, God meant it for good, to achieve his present end, the survival of many people. Therefore have no fear. I will provide for you and for your children." By thus speaking kindly to them, he reassured them. Joseph remained in Egypt, together with his father's family. He lived a hundred and ten years. He saw Ephraim's children to the third generation, and the children of Manasseh's son Machir were also born on Joseph's knees. Joseph said to his brothers: "I am about to die. God will surely take care of you and lead you out of this land to the land that he promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Then, putting the sons of Israel under oath, he continued, "When God thus takes care of you, you must bring my bones up with you from this place." Joseph died at the age of a hundred and ten. He was embalmed and laid to rest in a coffin in Egypt.

Psalms 105(104):1-4.6-7.

Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name; make known among the peoples his deeds!
Sing praise, play music; proclaim all his wondrous deeds!
Glory in his holy name; rejoice, O hearts that seek the LORD!
Rely on the mighty LORD; constantly seek his face.
You descendants of Abraham his servant, offspring of Jacob the chosen one!
The LORD is our God who rules the whole earth.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10:24-33.

No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household! Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.


Commentary of the day :


«What you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops»


It is not I who undertook this work, but it is Christ the Lord who commanded me to come to be with these Irish pagans for the rest of my life, if the Lord shall will it and shield me from every evil... But I do not trust myself «as long as I am in this mortal body» (2P 1:13; Rm 7:24)... I did not lead a perfect life like other believers, but I confess to my Lord and do not blush in his sight, because I am not lying; from the time when I came to know him in my youth, the love of God and fear of him increased in me, and right up until now, by God's favour, «I have kept the faith» (2Tm 4:7).

What is more, let anyone laugh and taunt if he so wishes. I am not keeping silent, nor am I hiding «the signs and wonders» (Dn 6:27) that were shown to me by the Lord many years before they happened, he who knew everything, even before the beginning of time. Thus, I should give thanks unceasingly to God, who has frequently forgive my folly and my negligence, in more than one instance, and has never been angry with me, who am placed as his helper, though I did not easily assent to what had been revealed to me, as the Spirit was urging. The Lord «took pity» on me «thousands upon thousands» of times, (Ex 20:6) because he saw within me that I was prepared to serve him... Many were trying to prevent this mission; they were talking among themselves behind my back and saying, «Why is this fellow throwing himself into danger among enemies who do not know God?» Not from malice did they say this; as I myself can testify, they perceived my rusticity. And I was not quick to recognize the grace that was then in me; I now know that I should have done so earlier.

Now I have put it frankly to my brothers and co-workers, who have believed me because of what «I have proclaimed and still proclaim» (2Co 13:2) to strengthen and reinforce your faith. I wish only that you, too, would make greater and better efforts. This will be my pride, for "a wise son makes a proud father". (Pr 10:1)

July 10, 2009

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Friday, 10 July 2009
Friday of the Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : Sts. Rufina & Secunda, Virgins and Martyrs (3rd century)


Book of Genesis 46:1-7.28-30.

Israel set out with all that was his. When he arrived at Beer-sheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. There God, speaking to Israel in a vision by night, called, "Jacob! Jacob!" "Here I am," he answered. Then he said: "I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make you a great nation. Not only will I go down to Egypt with you; I will also bring you back here, after Joseph has closed your eyes." So Jacob departed from Beer-sheba, and the sons of Israel put their father and their wives and children on the wagons that Pharaoh had sent for his transport. They took with them their livestock and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Thus Jacob and all his descendants migrated to Egypt. His sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters--all his descendants--he took with him to Egypt. Israel had sent Judah ahead to Joseph, so that he might meet him in Goshen. On his arrival in the region of Goshen, Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and rode to meet his father Israel in Goshen. As soon as he saw him, he flung himself on his neck and wept a long time in his arms. And Israel said to Joseph, "At last I can die, now that I have seen for myself that Joseph is still alive."

Psalms 37(36):3-4.18-19.27-28.39-40.

Trust in the LORD and do good that you may dwell in the land and live secure.
Find your delight in the LORD who will give you your heart's desire.
The LORD watches over the days of the blameless; their heritage lasts forever.
They will not be disgraced when times are hard; in days of famine they will have plenty.
Turn from evil and do good, that you may inhabit the land forever.
For the LORD loves justice and does not abandon the faithful. When the unjust are destroyed, and the children of the wicked cut off,
The salvation of the just is from the LORD, their refuge in time of distress.
The LORD helps and rescues them, rescues and saves them from the wicked, because in God they take refuge.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10:16-23.

Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of people, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.


Commentary of the day :


"When they hand you over, do not worry"


Turning my thoughts in on myself and on the varied events of humble life, I must admit that hitherto the Lord has spared me tribulations which make the service of truth, justice and charity hard distasteful for so many souls... O God, how can I thank you for the kindness always shown to me wherever I went in your name, always in simple obedience, not to do my own will but yours? «What shall I render to the Lord for all the things that he has rendered to me?» (Ps 116[115],12). I know that my answer, to myself and to the Lord, is always the same: «I will take the chalice salvation, and I will call upon the name of the Lord» (v.13).

As I have already indicated in these pages: if and when the great tribulation befalls me, I must accept it willingly; and if it delays its coming a little longer, I must continue to nourish myself with the Blood of Jesus, with the addition of all those great and little tribulations which the good Lord may send me. The short Psalm 131[130] has always made, and still makes, a great impression on me: «O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvellous for me. But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother's breast.» Oh, how I love these words! But even if they were to lose their comfort for me towards the end of my life, Lord Jesus, you will strengthen me in my suffering. Your blood, your blood which I shall continue to drink from your chalice, that is, from your Heart, shall be for me a pledge of eternal salvation and happiness. «For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory, beyond all comparison» (2 Cor 4,17).

July 9, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Thursday, 09 July 2009
Thursday of the Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : Sts. Agostino Zhao Rong (+ 1815) and Companions, Martyrs in China


Book of Genesis 44:18-21.23-29.45:1-5.

Judah then stepped up to him and said: "I beg you, my lord, let your servant speak earnestly to my lord, and do not become angry with your servant, for you are the equal of Pharaoh. My lord asked your servants, 'Have you a father, or another brother?' So we said to my lord, 'We have an aged father, and a young brother, the child of his old age. This one's full brother is dead, and since he is the only one by that mother who is left, his father dotes on him.' Then you told your servants, 'Bring him down to me that my eyes may look on him.' But you told your servants, 'Unless your youngest brother comes back with you, you shall not come into my presence again.' When we returned to your servant our father, we reported to him the words of my lord. "Later, our father told us to come back and buy some food for the family. So we reminded him, 'We cannot go down there; only if our youngest brother is with us can we go, for we may not see the man if our youngest brother is not with us.' Then your servant our father said to us, 'As you know, my wife bore me two sons. One of them, however, disappeared, and I had to conclude that he must have been torn to pieces by wild beasts; I have not seen him since. If you now take this one away from me too, and some disaster befalls him, you will send my white head down to the nether world in grief.' Joseph could no longer control himself in the presence of all his attendants, so he cried out, "Have everyone withdraw from me!" Thus no one else was about when he made himself known to his brothers. But his sobs were so loud that the Egyptians heard him, and so the news reached Pharaoh's palace. "I am Joseph," he said to his brothers. "Is my father still in good health?" But his brothers could give him no answer, so dumbfounded were they at him. "Come closer to me," he told his brothers. When they had done so, he said: "I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt. But now do not be distressed, and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here. It was really for the sake of saving lives that God sent me here ahead of you.

Psalms 105(104):16-17.18-19.20-21.

Then he called down a famine on the land, destroyed the grain that sustained them.
He had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, sold as a slave.
They shackled his feet with chains; collared his neck in iron,
Till his prediction came to pass, and the word of the LORD proved him true.
The king sent and released him; the ruler of peoples set him free.
He made him lord over his palace, ruler over all his possessions,


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10:7-15.

As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words--go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.


Commentary of the day :


"If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it"


«On entering any house, first say, 'Peace to this house,'» (Lk 10:5) so that the Lord himself might enter and remain there, like with Mary... This greeting is the mystery of faith, which shines forth in the world. Through it, enmity is stifled, war is stopped, and men acknowledge one another. The effect of that greeting was hidden by a veil, in spite of the fact that the mystery of the resurrection is prefigured... when the light rises and dawn chases away the night. From the moment when Christ sent his disciples, men began to give and to receive this greeting, a source of healing and of blessing...

This greeting with its hidden power... is amply sufficient for all men. That is why Our Lord sent it together with his disciples as a forerunner, so that it might bring about peace and that, carried by the voice of the apostles, whom he sent, it might prepare the way before them. It was sown into all the houses...; it entered into all who heard it, so as to separate and to put aside its children, whom it recognized. It remained in them, but it denounced those who were foreign to it, for they did not welcome it.

This greeting of peace did not dry up; it began in the apostles and then sprang up in their brothers, revealing the Lord's inexhaustible treasures... Present in those who greeted in this way and in those who welcomed the greeting, this announcement of peace was neither diminished nor divided. It announced that the Father is near and in everyone; it revealed that the Son's mission is entirely with everyone, even if its goal is to be with his Father. It will not cease to proclaim that the images are now fulfilled and that the truth will finally chase away all shadows.

July 8, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Wednesday, 08 July 2009
Wednesday of the Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Edgar the Peaceful (c.943-975)


Book of Genesis 41:55-57.42:5-7.17-24.

When hunger came to be felt throughout the land of Egypt and the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, Pharaoh directed all the Egyptians to go to Joseph and do whatever he told them. When the famine had spread throughout the land, Joseph opened all the cities that had grain and rationed it to the Egyptians, since the famine had gripped the land of Egypt. In fact, all the world came to Joseph to obtain rations of grain, for famine had gripped the whole world. Thus, since there was famine in the land of Canaan also, the sons of Israel were among those who came to procure rations. It was Joseph, as governor of the country, who dispensed the rations to all the people. When Joseph's brothers came and knelt down before him with their faces to the ground, he recognized them as soon as he saw them. But he concealed his own identity from them and spoke sternly to them. "Where do you come from?" he asked them. They answered, "From the land of Canaan, to procure food." With that, he locked them up in the guardhouse for three days. On the third day Joseph said to them: "Do this, and you shall live; for I am a God-fearing man. If you have been honest, only one of your brothers need be confined in this prison, while the rest of you may go and take home provisions for your starving families. But you must come back to me with your youngest brother. Your words will thus be verified, and you will not die." To this they agreed. To one another, however, they said: "Alas, we are being punished because of our brother. We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us, yet we paid no heed; that is why this anguish has now come upon us." "Didn't I tell you," broke in Reuben, "not to do wrong to the boy? But you wouldn't listen! Now comes the reckoning for his blood." They did not know, of course, that Joseph understood what they said, since he spoke with them through an interpreter. But turning away from them, he wept. When he was able to speak to them again, he had Simeon taken from them and bound before their eyes.

Psalms 33(32):2-3.10-11.18-19.

Give thanks to the LORD on the harp; on the ten-stringed lyre offer praise.
Sing to God a new song; skillfully play with joyful chant.
The LORD foils the plan of nations, frustrates the designs of peoples.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever, wise designs through all generations.
But the LORD'S eyes are upon the reverent, upon those who hope for his gracious help,
Delivering them from death, keeping them alive in times of famine.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10:1-7.

Then he summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. Jesus sent out these twelve after instructing them thus, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'


Commentary of the day :

"And Judas Iscariot who betrayed him"


«Christ summoned his disciples and chose twelve of them» to send them out as sowers of the faith and to shed abroad his help and healing for humankind in all the world. Take good note of this divine plan: these were not the wise, nor the wealthy, nor those of high standing, but sinners and publicans whom he chose for sending out lest they might seem to have been drawn by natural ability, bought by riches, or drawn to his grace by the status attached to power and notoriety. This he did so that victory might come from the soundness of truth and not from the acclaim of speech.

Judas himself was chosen, not by oversight but in full knowledge of the implications. What greatness do we see in that truth that not even a traitorous servant can weaken! What a mark of our Lord's character that he should prefer, from our point of view, to compromise his judgement rather than his love! He had taken human weakness on himself and did not refuse even this aspect of human weakness. He sought to be forsaken, betrayed and delivered up by his apostle so that you, should a friend abandon you, a friend betray you, might take peacefully this error of judgement and the squandering of your goodness.

July 7, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Tuesday, 07 July 2009
Tuesday of the Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Pantaenus, Father of the Church, (+ c. 216)


Book of Genesis 32:23-33.

In the course of that night, however, Jacob arose, took his two wives, with the two maidservants and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. After he had taken them across the stream and had brought over all his possessions, Jacob was left there alone. Then some man wrestled with him until the break of dawn. When the man saw that he could not prevail over him, he struck Jacob's hip at its socket, so that the hip socket was wrenched as they wrestled. The man then said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go until you bless me." "What is your name?" the man asked. He answered, "Jacob." Then the man said, "You shall no longer be spoken of as Jacob, but as Israel, because you have contended with divine and human beings and have prevailed." Jacob then asked him, "Do tell me your name, please." He answered, "Why should you want to know my name?" With that, he bade him farewell. Jacob named the place Peniel, "Because I have seen God face to face," he said, "yet my life has been spared." At sunrise, as he left Penuel, Jacob limped along because of his hip. That is why, to this day, the Israelites do not eat the sciatic muscle that is on the hip socket, inasmuch as Jacob's hip socket was struck at the sciatic muscle.

Psalms 17:1.2-3.6-7.8.15.

A prayer of David. Hear, LORD, my plea for justice; pay heed to my cry; Listen to my prayer spoken without guile.
From you let my vindication come; your eyes see what is right.
You have tested my heart, searched it in the night. You have tried me by fire, but find no malice in me. My mouth has not transgressed
I call upon you; answer me, O God. Turn your ear to me; hear my prayer.
Show your wonderful love, you who deliver with your right arm those who seek refuge from their foes.
Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings
I am just--let me see your face; when I awake, let me be filled with your presence.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 9:32-38.

As they were going out, a demoniac who could not speak was brought to him, and when the demon was driven out the mute person spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, "Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel." But the Pharisees said, "He drives out demons by the prince of demons." Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest."


Commentary of the day :


"Ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers"


One day I was pondering over what I could do to save souls; a phrase from the Gospel showed me a clear light: Jesus said to his disciples, pointing to the fields of ripe corn, «Look up and see the fields ripe for harvest» (Jn 4,35) and a little later, "The harvest is abundant, but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers". How mysterious it is! Is not Jesus all-powerful? Do not creatures belong to Him who made them? Why then does Jesus say: "Pray the master of the harvest to send out laborers ... "? Why? ...

Ah! Jesus has so incomprehensible a love for us, that He wants us to have a share with Him in the salvation of souls. He wants to do nothing without us. The creator of the universe waits for the prayer of a poor little soul to save other souls redeemed like itself at the price of all His blood.
Our vocation, yours and mine, is not to go harvesting in the fields of ripe corn; Jesus does not say to us; "Lower your eyes, look at the fields, and go and reap them"; our mission is still loftier. Here are Jesus' words: "Lift up your eyes and see .... " See how in my Heaven there are places empty; it is for you to fill them ... each one of you is my Moses praying on the mountain (Ex 17,8f.); ask Me for laborers and I shall send them, I await only a prayer, a sigh from your heart!

July 6, 2009 Gospel

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Monday, 06 July 2009
Monday of the Fourteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr (1890-1902), St. Palladius, Bishop and Apostle of the Scots, (+ c. 450)


Book of Genesis 28:10-22.

Jacob departed from Beer-sheba and proceeded toward Haran. When he came upon a certain shrine, as the sun had already set, he stopped there for the night. Taking one of the stones at the shrine, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep at that spot. Then he had a dream: a stairway rested on the ground, with its top reaching to the heavens; and God's messengers were going up and down on it. And there was the LORD standing beside him and saying: "I, the LORD, am the God of your forefather Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you are lying I will give to you and your descendants. These shall be as plentiful as the dust of the earth, and through them you shall spread out east and west, north and south. In you and your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessing. Know that I am with you; I will protect you wherever you go, and bring you back to this land. I will never leave you until I have done what I promised you." When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he exclaimed, "Truly, the LORD is in this spot, although I did not know it!" In solemn wonder he cried out: "How awesome is this shrine! This is nothing else but an abode of God, and that is the gateway to heaven!" Early the next morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head, set it up as a memorial stone, and poured oil on top of it. He called that site Bethel, whereas the former name of the town had been Luz. Jacob then made this vow: "If God remains with me, to protect me on this journey I am making and to give me enough bread to eat and clothing to wear, and I come back safe to my father's house, the LORD shall be my God. This stone that I have set up as a memorial stone shall be God's abode. Of everything you give me, I will faithfully return a tenth part to you."

Psalms 91(90):1-2.3-4.14-15.

You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
Say to the LORD, "My refuge and fortress, my God in whom I trust."
God will rescue you from the fowler's snare, from the destroying plague,
Will shelter you with pinions, spread wings that you may take refuge; God's faithfulness is a protecting shield.
Whoever clings to me I will deliver; whoever knows my name I will set on high.
All who call upon me I will answer; I will be with them in distress; I will deliver them and give them honor.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 9:18-26.

While he was saying these things to them, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, "My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live." Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, "If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured." Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, "Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you." And from that hour the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official's house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, "Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping." And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. And news of this spread throughout all that land.


Commentary of the day :


"He came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose"


The incorporeal and incorruptible and immaterial Word of God came to our realm, although he was not far from us before. For no part of Creation is left void of him: he has filled all things everywhere, remaining present with his own Father. But he came in condescension to show us loving-kindness and visit us... He took pity on our race, and had mercy on our infirmity, and condescended to our corruption, and, unable to bear it that death should have the mastery— lest the creature should perish, and his Father's handiwork be spent in vain — he took to himself a body no different from ours. For He did not simply will to become embodied, or will merely to appear. For if he had willed merely to appear, he would have been able to effect his divine appearance by some other and higher means as well. But he took a body of our kind...

The Word took a body capable of death so that it... might remain incorruptible because of the Word which had come to dwell in it and, from now on, all might be delivered from corruption by the grace of the Resurrection. Whence, by offering to death the body he himself had taken, as an offering and sacrifice free from stain, the Word straightway obliterated death by delivering from death all those who shared his likeness by the offering of that body like theirs.

For it is only right that the Word of God, who is above all, and who offered his own temple, his body, for the life of all, should satisfy our debt by His death. And thus he, the incorruptible Son of God, being united with all by a like nature, naturally clothed all with incorruption by the promise of the resurrection. For the actual corruption in death has no power against us any longer by reason of the Word that by has come to dwell among us in his singular body.

July 4, 2009

DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Saturday, 04 July 2009
Saturday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Elizabeth of Portugal (1271-1336)


Book of Genesis 27:1-5.15-29.

When Isaac was so old that his eyesight had failed him, he called his older son Esau and said to him, "Son!" "Yes, father!" he replied. Isaac then said, "As you can see, I am so old that I may now die at any time. Take your gear, therefore--your quiver and bow--and go out into the country to hunt some game for me. With your catch prepare an appetizing dish for me, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my special blessing before I die." Rebekah had been listening while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau. So when Esau went out into the country to hunt some game for his father, Rebekah then took the best clothes of her older son Esau that she had in the house, and gave them to her younger son Jacob to wear; and with the skins of the kids she covered up his hands and the hairless parts of his neck. Then she handed her son Jacob the appetizing dish and the bread she had prepared. Bringing them to his father, Jacob said, "Father!" "Yes?" replied Isaac. "Which of my sons are you?" Jacob answered his father: "I am Esau, your first-born. I did as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your special blessing." But Isaac asked, "How did you succeed so quickly, son?" He answered, "The LORD, your God, let things turn out well with me." Isaac then said to Jacob, "Come closer, son, that I may feel you, to learn whether you really are my son Esau or not." So Jacob moved up closer to his father. When Isaac felt him, he said, "Although the voice is Jacob's, the hands are Esau's." (He failed to identify him because his hands were hairy, like those of his brother Esau; so in the end he gave him his blessing.) Again he asked him, "Are you really my son Esau?" "Certainly," he replied. Then Isaac said, "Serve me your game, son, that I may eat of it and then give you my blessing." Jacob served it to him, and Isaac ate; he brought him wine, and he drank. Finally his father Isaac said to him, "Come closer, son, and kiss me." As Jacob went up and kissed him, Isaac smelled the fragrance of his clothes. With that, he blessed him, saying, "Ah, the fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field that the LORD has blessed! "May God give to you of the dew of the heavens And of the fertility of the earth abundance of grain and wine. "Let peoples serve you, and nations pay you homage; Be master of your brothers, and may your mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you."

Psalms 135(134):1-2.3-4.5-6.

Hallelujah! Praise the name of the LORD! Praise, you servants of the LORD,
Who stand in the house of the LORD, in the courts of the house of our God!
Praise the LORD; the LORD is good! Sing to God's name; it is gracious!
For the LORD has chosen Jacob, Israel as a treasured possession.
I know that the LORD is great, our Lord is greater than all gods.
Whatever the LORD wishes he does in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all the deeps.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 9:14-17.

Then the disciples of John approached him and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast (much), but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."


Commentary of the day :

Saint John of the Cross (1542-1591), Carmelite, Doctor of the Church
Living Flame of Love, st. 3, 6 (©Institute of Carmelite Studies)

"The bridegroom is with them"


When one loves and does good to another, he loves and does good to him in the measure of his own nature and properties. Thus your Bridegroom, dwelling within you, grants you favors according to his nature. Since he is omnipotent, he omnipotently loves and does good to you.

Since he is wise, you feel that he loves and does good to you with wisdom; since he is infinitely good, you feel that he loves you with goodness; since he is holy, you feel that with holiness he loves and favors you; since he is just, you feel that in justice he loves and favors you; since he is merciful, mild, and clement, you feel his mercy, mildness, and clemency; since he is a strong, sublime, and delicate being, you feel that his love for you is strong, sublime, and delicate; since he is pure and undefiled, you feel that he loves you in a pure and undefiled way; since he is truth, you feel that he loves you in truthfu1ness; since he is liberal, you feel that he liberally loves and favors you, without any personal profit, only in order to do good to you; since he is the virtue of supreme humility, he loves you with supreme humility and esteem.

He makes you his equal, gladly revealing himself to you in these ways of knowledge, in this his countenance filled with graces, and telling you in this his union, not without great rejoicing: "I am yours and for you and delighted to be what I am so as to be yours and give myself to you." Who, then, will be able to express your experience, O happy soul, since you know that you are so loved and with such esteem exalted?