June 30, 2009 Gospel

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


Tuesday, 30 June 2009
Tuesday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : 1st Martyrs of Rome (+ 1st century)


Book of Genesis 19:15-29.

As dawn was breaking, the angels urged Lot on, saying, "On your way! Take with you your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city." When he hesitated, the men, by the LORD'S mercy, seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters and led them to safety outside the city. As soon as they had been brought outside, he was told: "Flee for your life! Don't look back or stop anywhere on the Plain. Get off to the hills at once, or you will be swept away." "Oh, no, my lord!" replied Lot. "You have already thought enough of your servant to do me the great kindness of intervening to save my life. But I cannot flee to the hills to keep the disaster from overtaking me, and so I shall die. Look, this town ahead is near enough to escape to. It's only a small place. Let me flee there--it's a small place, isn't it?--that my life may be saved." "Well, then," he replied, "I will also grant you the favor you now ask. I will not overthrow the town you speak of. Hurry, escape there! I cannot do anything until you arrive there." That is why the town is called Zoar. The sun was just rising over the earth as Lot arrived in Zoar; at the same time the LORD rained down sulphurous fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah (from the LORD out of heaven). He overthrew those cities and the whole Plain, together with the inhabitants of the cities and the produce of the soil. But Lot's wife looked back, and she was turned into a pillar of salt. Early the next morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood in the LORD'S presence. As he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole region of the Plain, he saw dense smoke over the land rising like fumes from a furnace. Thus it came to pass: when God destroyed the Cities of the Plain, he was mindful of Abraham by sending Lot away from the upheaval by which God overthrew the cities where Lot had been living.

Psalms 26(25):2-3.9-10.11-12.

Test me, LORD, and try me; search my heart and mind.
Your love is before my eyes; I walk guided by your faithfulness.
Do not take me away with sinners, nor my life with the violent.
Their hands carry out their schemes; their right hands are full of bribes.
But I walk without blame; redeem me, be gracious to me!


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 8:23-27.

He got into a boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. They came and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?"


Commentary of the day :

"Lord, save us!"


O my God, my heart is like an immense sea, constantly tossed about by storms: may it find its peace and rest in you. You commanded the winds and the sea to be calm and they were stilled at the sound of your voice; come, still my heart's restlessness so that everything within me may be calm and peaceful and so that I may possess you, O my only good, and contemplate you, O sweet light of my eyes, free from disturbance or darkness. O my God, may my soul, set free from restless thoughts of this world, «hide under the shadow of your wings» (Ps 17[16],8). May it find its place of refreshment and peace close to you; wholly carried out of itself with joy, may it sing: «In you alone I lie down and fall peacefully asleep» (Ps 4,9).

Let it rest, I pray, my God, let it rest from the remembrance of all that lies beneath the heaven, awake to you alone, as it is written: «I sleep, but my heart keeps vigil» (Sg 5,2). O my God, my heart cannot rest in peace or safety except beneath the wings of your protection (Ps 91[90],4). Let it therefore remain in you forever and be kindled by your fire. Rising above itself, may it contemplate you and joyfully sing your praises. In the midst of all the difficulties that disturb me, may your gifts be my sweet consolation until I come to you, O my true peace.

June 29, 2009 Gospel

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


Monday, 29 June 2009
Saint Peter and Saint Paul, apostles - Solemnity

Today the Church celebrates : Saints Peter and Paul - Solemnity

Acts of the Apostles 12:1-11.

About that time King Herod laid hands upon some members of the church to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword, and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (It was (the) feast of Unleavened Bread.) He had him taken into custody and put in prison under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. He intended to bring him before the people after Passover. Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the church was fervently being made to God on his behalf. On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter, secured by double chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison. Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, "Get up quickly." The chains fell from his wrists. The angel said to him, "Put on your belt and your sandals." He did so. Then he said to him, "Put on your cloak and follow me." So he followed him out, not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the iron gate leading out to the city, which opened for them by itself. They emerged and made their way down an alley, and suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter recovered his senses and said, "Now I know for certain that (the) Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting."

Psalms 34(33):2-3.4-5.6-7.8-9.

I will bless the LORD at all times; praise shall be always in my mouth.
My soul will glory in the LORD that the poor may hear and be glad.
Magnify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.
I sought the LORD, who answered me, delivered me from all my fears.
Look to God that you may be radiant with joy and your faces may not blush for shame.
In my misfortune I called, the LORD heard and saved me from all distress.
The angel of the LORD, who encamps with them, delivers all who fear God.
Learn to savor how good the LORD is; happy are those who take refuge in him.


Second Letter to Timothy 4:6-8.17-18.

For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance. But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the proclamation might be completed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat and will bring me safe to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 16:13-19.

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."


Commentary of the day :

«I have prayed that your faith may not fail; and once you have turned back, you must strengthen your brothers » (Lk 22,32)


Christ the Mediator «committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth» (1Pt 2,22). How could I venture to draw near him, I who am a sinner, a grievous sinner whose sins are more numerous than the sands of the sea? He is all that is most pure, I am all that is most impure...This is the reason why God has given me these apostles, men and sinners – very grievous sinners – who learnt for themselves, through their own experience, how merciful they should be to others. Guilty themselves of great offences, they will grant a ready pardon to great offences and repay us according to the measure meted out to them (Lk 6,38).

The apostle Peter committed a very great sin, possibly the greatest of all. He received a forgiveness for it that was as swift as it was ready, even to not losing anything of the privilege of his primacy. And Paul, who unleashed unrestrained aggression against the newborn Church, was brought to faith at the call of God's Son himself. In return for so many evils he was filled with such great blessings that he became «a chosen instrument to carry the Lord's name before Gentiles, kings and Israelites» (Acts 9,15)...

Peter and Paul are our teachers: they learned the way of life fully from the one Teacher of all and continue to teach us today.

June 28, 2009 Gospel

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


Sunday, 28 June 2009
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Today the Church celebrates : St. Irenaeus, Bishop and Martyr (+ 202)


Book of Wisdom 1:13-15.2:23-24.

Because God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. For he fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome, And there is not a destructive drug among them nor any domain of the nether world on earth, For justice is undying. For God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made him. But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world, and they who are in his possession experience it.

Psalms 30:2.4.5-6.11.12.13.

I praise you, LORD, for you raised me up and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
LORD, you brought me up from Sheol; you kept me from going down to the pit.
Sing praise to the LORD, you faithful; give thanks to God's holy name.
For divine anger lasts but a moment; divine favor lasts a lifetime. At dusk weeping comes for the night; but at dawn there is rejoicing.
Hear, O LORD, have mercy on me; LORD, be my helper."
You changed my mourning into dancing; you took off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness.
With my whole being I sing endless praise to you. O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.


Second Letter to the Corinthians 8:7.9.13-15.

Now as you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you, may you excel in this gracious act also. For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich. not that others should have relief while you are burdened, but that as a matter of equality your surplus at the present time should supply their needs, so that their surplus may also supply your needs, that there may be equality. As it is written: "Whoever had much did not have more, and whoever had little did not have less."

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 5:21-43.

When Jesus had crossed again (in the boat) to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, "My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live." He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him. There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. She said, "If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured." Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who has touched my clothes?" But his disciples said to him, "You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'" And he looked around to see who had done it. The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction." While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house arrived and said, "Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?" Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, "Do not be afraid; just have faith." He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. So he went in and said to them, "Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep." And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child's father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. He took the child by the hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!" The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. (At that) they were utterly astounded. He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.


Commentary of the day :

"The child is not dead but asleep"



Every gospel reading, Beloved, is most helpful both for our present life and for the attainment of the life to come. Today's reading, however, sums up the whole of our hope, banishing all grounds for despair. Let us consider the synagogue official who took Christ to his daughter and in so doing gave the woman with a hemorrhage an opportunity to approach him... Christ could foresee the future and he knew this woman would approach him. Through her the Jewish official was to learn that there is no need to move God to another place, take him on a journey, or attract him by a physical presence. One must only believe that he is present in the whole of his being always and everywhere, and that he can do all things effortlessly by a simple command; that far from depriving us of strength, he gives it; that he puts death to flight by a word of command rather than by physical touch, and gives life by his mere bidding, without need of any art...

So when Christ reached the house and saw the mourners lamenting as though the girl were dead, he declared that she was not dead but sleeping, in order to move their unbelieving minds to faith and convince them that one can rise from death more easily than from sleep. «The girl is not dead,» he told them, «but asleep.»

And indeed, for God death is nothing but sleep, since he can raise the dead to life more quickly than we can rouse a sleeper... Listen to the Apostle Paul: «In an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, the dead will rise» (1Cor 15,52)... How could he explain its swiftness verbally when divine power outstrips the very notion of swiftness? How could time enter the picture when an eternal gift is given outside of time?

June 27, 2009 Gospel

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


Saturday, 27 June 2009
Saturday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : , , St. Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (+ 444), St. Lasdilas, King (1041-1095)


Book of Genesis 18:1-15.

The LORD appeared to Abraham by the terebinth of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot. Looking up, he saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground, he said: "Sir, if I may ask you this favor, please do not go on past your servant. Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest yourselves under the tree. Now that you have come this close to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way." "Very well," they replied, "do as you have said." Abraham hastened into the tent and told Sarah, "Quick, three seahs of fine flour! Knead it and make rolls." He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice steer, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. Then he got some curds and milk, as well as the steer that had been prepared, and set these before them; and he waited on them under the tree while they ate. "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There in the tent," he replied. One of them said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son." Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years, and Sarah had stopped having her womanly periods. So Sarah laughed to herself and said, "Now that I am so withered and my husband is so old, am I still to have sexual pleasure?" But the LORD said to Abraham: "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Shall I really bear a child, old as I am?' Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do? At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you, and Sarah will have a son." Because she was afraid, Sarah dissembled, saying, "I didn't laugh." But he said, "Yes you did."

Lk 1:46-47.48-49.50.53.54-55.

And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
His mercy is from age to age to those who fear him.
The hungry he has filled with good things; the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped Israel his servant, remembering his mercy,
according to his promise to our fathers, to Abraham and to his descendants forever."


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 8:5-17.

When he entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully." He said to him, "I will come and cure him." The centurion said in reply, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, "Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven, but the children of the kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." And Jesus said to the centurion, "You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you." And at that very hour (his) servant was healed. Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him. When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick, to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: "He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases."



Commentary of the day :

"Many will come from the east and the west, and will recline... at the banquet in the kingdom of heaven"



I have seen our Lord in the Gospel accomplish many miracles and, reassured by them, have strengthened my fearful words. I have seen the centurion throw himself at the Lord's feet, nations send their firstfruits to Christ. The cross has not yet been erected and already pagans hasten towards their master. The words «Go, teach all nations» have not yet been heard (Mt 28,19) but the nations are already hastening. Their race precedes their call, they are burning with desire for the Lord. The sound of preaching has not yet been heard but they are hurrying towards the one who preaches. Peter... has now been instructed and they gather around the one who is teaching him; the light of Paul has not yet blazed beneath Christ's standard and nations are coming with incense to adore the king (Mt 2,11).

And now, see how a centurion begs him and says to him: «Lord, my servant is lying at home paralysed, suffering dreadfully». Here is a new miracle indeed! The servant whose limbs are paralysed leads his master to the Lord; the slaves' sickness gives health to his owner. Seeking his servant's healing he finds our Lord; and while he is seeking out his slave's cure he becomes Christ's conquest.

June 26, 2009

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


Friday, 26 June 2009
Friday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer - Priest, Founder of Opus Dei - (1902-1975), SS. John and Paul, Martyrs

Book of Genesis 17:1.9-10.15-22.

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said: "I am God the Almighty. Walk in my presence and be blameless. God also said to Abraham: "On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. God further said to Abraham: "As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai; her name shall be Sarah. I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. Him also will I bless; he shall give rise to nations, and rulers of peoples shall issue from him." Abraham prostrated himself and laughed as he said to himself, "Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Or can Sarah give birth at ninety?" Then Abraham said to God, "Let but Ishmael live on by your favor!" God replied: "Nevertheless, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son, and you shall call him Isaac. I will maintain my covenant with him as an everlasting pact, to be his God and the God of his descendants after him. As for Ishmael, I am heeding you: I hereby bless him. I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation. But my covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next year." When he had finished speaking with him, God departed from Abraham.

Psalms 128(127):1-2.3.4-5.

A song of ascents. Happy are all who fear the LORD, who walk in the ways of God.
What your hands provide you will enjoy; you will be happy and prosper:
Like a fruitful vine your wife within your home, Like olive plants your children around your table.
Just so will they be blessed who fear the LORD.
May the LORD bless you from Zion, all the days of your life That you may share Jerusalem's joy


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 8:1-4.

When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, "Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean." He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, "I will do it. Be made clean." His leprosy was cleansed immediately. Then Jesus said to him, "See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them."


Commentary of the day :


"I will do it. Be made clean"


Like action, suffering [in all its forms] is a part of our human existence. Suffering stems partly from our finitude, and partly from the mass of sin which has accumulated over the course of history, and continues to grow unabated today.

Certainly we must do whatever we can to reduce suffering: to avoid as far as possible the suffering of the innocent; to soothe pain; to give assistance in overcoming mental suffering. These are obligations both in justice and in love, and they are included among the fundamental requirements of the Christian life and every truly human life. Great progress has been made in the battle against physical pain; yet the sufferings of the innocent and mental suffering have, if anything, increased in recent decades.

Indeed, we must do all we can to overcome suffering, but to banish it from the world altogether is not in our power. This is simply because we are unable to shake off our finitude and because none of us is capable of eliminating the power of evil, of sin which, as we plainly see, is a constant source of suffering. Only God is able to do this: only a God who personally enters history by making himself man and suffering within history. We know that this God exists, and hence that this power to «take away the sin of the world» (Jn 1:29) is present in the world. Through faith in the existence of this power, hope for the world's healing has emerged in history.

June 25, 2009

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


Thursday, 25 June 2009
Thursday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. William of Vercelli


Book of Genesis 16:1-12.15-16.

Abram's wife Sarai had borne him no children. She had, however, an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar. Sarai said to Abram: "The LORD has kept me from bearing children. Have intercourse, then, with my maid; perhaps I shall have sons through her." Abram heeded Sarai's request. Thus, after Abram had lived ten years in the land of Canaan, his wife Sarai took her maid, Hagar the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his concubine. He had intercourse with her, and she became pregnant. When she became aware of her pregnancy, she looked on her mistress with disdain. So Sarai said to Abram: "You are responsible for this outrage against me. I myself gave my maid to your embrace; but ever since she became aware of her pregnancy, she has been looking on me with disdain. May the LORD decide between you and me!" Abram told Sarai: "Your maid is in your power. Do to her whatever you please." Sarai then abused her so much that Hagar ran away from her. The LORD'S messenger found her by a spring in the wilderness, the spring on the road to Shur, and he asked, "Hagar, maid of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?" She answered, "I am running away from my mistress, Sarai." But the LORD'S messenger told her: "Go back to your mistress and submit to her abusive treatment. I will make your descendants so numerous," added the LORD'S messenger, "that they will be too many to count. Besides," the LORD'S messenger said to her: "You are now pregnant and shall bear a son; you shall name him Ishmael, For the LORD has heard you, God has answered you. He shall be a wild ass of a man, his hand against everyone, and everyone's hand against him; In opposition to all his kin shall he encamp." Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram named the son whom Hagar bore him Ishmael. Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.

Psalms 106(105):1-2.3-4.5.

Hallelujah! Give thanks to the LORD, who is good, whose love endures forever.
Who can tell the mighty deeds of the LORD, proclaim in full God's praise?
Happy those who do what is right, whose deeds are always just.
Remember me, LORD, as you favor your people; come to me with your saving help,
That I may see the prosperity of your chosen, rejoice in the joy of your people, and glory with your heritage.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 7:21-29.

Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?' Then I will declare to them solemnly, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.' Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined." When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.


Commentary of the day :


"To enter the kingdom of heaven... you must do the will of my Father "


What can be sweeter to us, dearest brethren, than this voice of our Lord inviting us? Behold in his loving mercy the Lord shows us the way of life... And, if we wish to dwell in the tabernacle of his kingdom, unless we run there with good deeds we shall not arrive. But let us ask the Lord with the prophet: «O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy mountain?» (Ps 15,1). Then, brethren, let us hear the Lord answering and showing us the way to that tabernacle and saying: «He who walks blamelessly and does justice; who thinks the truth in his heart..., who harms not his fellow man, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor» (vv.2-3)...

Such men as these, fearing the Lord, are not puffed up on account of their good works, but judging that they can do no good of themselves and that all comes from God...: «Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name give the glory» (Ps 115[114b],1). So the apostle Paul imputed nothing of his preaching to himself, but said: «By the grace of God I am what I am» (1Cor 15,10)...

Wherefore the Lord also says in the Gospel: «Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been solidly set on rock». Having given us these instructions, the Lord daily expects us to make our lives correspond with his holy admonitions. And the days of our lives are lengthened and a respite allowed us for this very reason, that we may amend our evil ways. For the Apostle says: «Are you unaware that the kindness of God would lead you to repentance?» (Rm 2,4). For the merciful Lord says: «Do I not rather rejoice when the wicked turns from his evil way that he may live?» (Ez 18,23).

June 24, 2009 Gospel

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


Wednesday, 24 June 2009
The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist - Solemnity

Today the Church celebrates : The Nativity of St. John the Baptist - Solemnity


Book of Isaiah 49:1-6.

Hear me, O coastlands, listen, O distant peoples. The LORD called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name. He made of me a sharp-edged sword and concealed me in the shadow of his arm. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. You are my servant, he said to me, Israel, through whom I show my glory. Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength, Yet my reward is with the LORD, my recompense is with my God. For now the LORD has spoken who formed me as his servant from the womb, That Jacob may be brought back to him and Israel gathered to him; And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength! It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and restore the survivors of Israel; I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Psalms 139(138):1-3.13-14.15.

For the leader. A psalm of David. I LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and stand; you understand my thoughts from afar.
My travels and my rest you mark; with all my ways you are familiar.
You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb.
I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew;
my bones were not hidden from you, When I was being made in secret, fashioned as in the depths of the earth.


Acts of the Apostles 13:22-26.

Then he removed him and raised up David as their king; of him he testified, 'I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish.' From this man's descendants God, according to his promise, has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus. John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel; and as John was completing his course, he would say, 'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.' "My brothers, children of the family of Abraham, and those others among you who are God-fearing, to us this word of salvation has been sent.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 1:57-66.80.

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child, they were going to call him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said in reply, "No. He will be called John." But they answered her, "There is no one among your relatives who has this name." So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called. He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name," and all were amazed. Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed, and he spoke blessing God. Then fear came upon all their neighbors, and all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. All who heard these things took them to heart, saying, "What, then, will this child be?" For surely the hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the desert until the day of his manifestation to Israel.


Commentary of the day :


"John was not the light but came to testify to the light" (Jn 1,8)


The fact that John's birth is commemorated when the days begin to shorten and the Savior's when they begin to lengthen indicates a symbolic meaning. And indeed, John himself disclosed the hidden significance of this difference between them. The crowds were taking him to be the Christ on account of his outstanding virtues, whereas some were thinking of the Lord, not as Christ, but as a prophet because of the weakness of his bodily state. So John said: «He must increase, I must decrease» (Jn 3,30). Our Lord certainly increased since, while they were looking on him as a prophet, he made known to all believers in the whole world that he was the Christ. John decreased and grew less in that he who was taken for the Christ came to be seen, not as the Christ, but as the one who proclaimed the Christ.

And so it is natural that daylight begins to decrease after John's birth because his reputation for divinity is going to vanish and his baptism will soon disappear. It is equally natural that the brightness of the shortest days begins to increase following our Lord's birth: for, in truth, he came to earth to reveal the light of his knowledge to all the pagans, of which formerly only the Jews had possessed a part, and to shed abroad the fire of his love through all the earth.

June 23, 2009 Gospel

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


Tuesday, 23 June 2009
Tuesday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Etheldreda, abbess (7th century)


Book of Genesis 13:2.5-18.

Now Abram was very rich in livestock, silver, and gold. Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support them if they stayed together; their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. There were quarrels between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and those of Lot's. (At this time the Canaanites and the Perizzites were occupying the land.) So Abram said to Lot: "Let there be no strife between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land at your disposal? Please separate from me. If you prefer the left, I will go to the right; if you prefer the right, I will go to the left." Lot looked about and saw how well watered the whole Jordan Plain was as far as Zoar, like the LORD'S own garden, or like Egypt. (This was before the LORD had destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) Lot, therefore, chose for himself the whole Jordan Plain and set out eastward. Thus they separated from each other; Abram stayed in the land of Canaan, while Lot settled among the cities of the Plain, pitching his tents near Sodom. Now the inhabitants of Sodom were very wicked in the sins they committed against the LORD. After Lot had left, the LORD said to Abram: "Look about you, and from where you are, gaze to the north and south, east and west; all the land that you see I will give to you and your descendants forever. I will make your descendants like the dust of the earth; if anyone could count the dust of the earth, your descendants too might be counted. Set forth and walk about in the land, through its length and breadth, for to you I will give it." Abram moved his tents and went on to settle near the terebinth of Mamre, which is at Hebron. There he built an altar to the LORD.

Psalms 15:2.3-4.5.

Whoever walks without blame, doing what is right, speaking truth from the heart;
Who does not slander a neighbor, does no harm to another, never defames a friend;
Who disdains the wicked, but honors those who fear the LORD; Who keeps an oath despite the cost,
lends no money at interest, accepts no bribe against the innocent. III Whoever acts like this shall never be shaken.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 7:6.12-14.

Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces. Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets. Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few.



Commentary of the day :


"The road that leads to life"


This, beloved, is the way in which we found our salvation, Jesus Christ, the High Priest who offers our gifts, the patron and helper in our weakness (Heb 10,20; 7,27; 4,15). It is through him that we look straight at the heavens above. Through him we see mirrored God's faultless and transcendent countenance. Through him the eyes of our heart were opened. Through him our unintelligent and darkened mind shoots up into the light. Through him the Master was pleased to let us taste the knowledge that never fades; he who is «the radiance of his splendor, who towers as much above the angels as the title he has inherited is superior to theirs» (He 1,3-4)...

Let us take our body. The head is nothing without the feet, and the feet are nothing without the head. The smallest organs of our body are necessary and valuable to the whole body; in fact, all parts conspire and yield the same obedience toward maintaining the whole of the body (cf.1Co 12,12f.). Therefore let the whole of our body be maintained in Christ Jesus, and let each submit to their neighbor's rights in the measure determined by the special gift bestowed on them. Let the strong care for the weak, and the weak respect the strong; let the rich support the poor, and the poor render thanks to God for giving them the means of supplying their needs; let the wise show their wisdom not in words but in active help; the humble must not testify to themselves, but leave it to another to testify in their behalf. Those who are continent must not boast, knowing that it is another who confers on them the ability to remain continent.

Let us therefore reflect, brethren, of what clay we were made, what and who we were when we entered the world, out of what grave and darkness our Maker and Creator has brought us into the world, where he has prepared his benefits before our birth. Since, then, we owe all these blessings to him, we are obliged to thank him in every way.

June 22, 2009 Gospel

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


Monday, 22 June 2009
Monday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Thomas More, St. John Fisher, Bishop and Martyr (1459-1535)


Book of Genesis 12:1-9.

The LORD said to Abram: "Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. "I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who curse you. All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you." Abram went as the LORD directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai, his brother's son Lot, all the possessions that they had accumulated, and the persons they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land as far as the sacred place at Shechem, by the terebinth of Moreh. (The Canaanites were then in the land.) The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." So Abram built an altar there to the LORD who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country east of Bethel, pitching his tent with Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there to the LORD and invoked the LORD by name. Then Abram journeyed on by stages to the Negeb.

Psalms 33(32):12-13.18-19.20.22.

Happy the nation whose God is the LORD, the people chosen as his very own.
From heaven the LORD looks down and observes the whole human race,
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.
Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and shield.
May your kindness, LORD, be upon us; we have put our hope in you.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 7:1-5.

Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,' while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye.

Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB



Commentary of the day :


"Why do you not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?"


If people would only be humble about their own shortcomings, how little it takes to disarm ill-feeling, how little it costs to put things right! It's humble people God protects and preserves, God loves and comforts; he stoops down and gives his grace lavishly, raising the humble to heights of glory, as soon as neglect has done its work. Such a one he chooses for his confidant, beckons to him gently and calls him apart. Only a humble person takes it calmly when put to the blush; what does it matter? It is God, not the world, that gives him countenance. Never think that you have made any progress, till you have learned to regard all as your betters.

Peace in your own soul first of all, then you can think about making peace between other people. Peaceable folk do more good than learned folk do. When someone is at the mercy of their own feelings, they misinterprets the most innocent actions, always ready to believe the worst; whereas the peaceable see good everywhere; at peace in themselves, they aren't suspicious of others. It's when you become discontented and unbalanced that your mind is torn by suspicions; there is no rest for you, no rest for those around you. You are always saying the wrong thing, and missing your chance of doing the right thing; you are jealous about your rights, and forget that you have duties. If you will begin by having a high standard yourself then you can afford to have a high standard for other people.

June 21, 2009 Gospel

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


Sunday, 21 June 2009
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Aloysius Gonzaga


Book of Job 38:1.8-11.

Then the LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said: And who shut within doors the sea, when it burst forth from the womb; When I made the clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling bands? When I set limits for it and fastened the bar of its door, And said: Thus far shall you come but no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stilled!

Psalms 107(106):23-24.25-26.28-29.30-31.

Some went off to sea in ships, plied their trade on the deep waters.
They saw the works of the LORD, the wonders of God in the deep.
He spoke and roused a storm wind; it tossed the waves on high.
They rose up to the heavens, sank to the depths; their hearts trembled at the danger.
In their distress they cried to the LORD, who brought them out of their peril,
Hushed the storm to a murmur; the waves of the sea were stilled.
They rejoiced that the sea grew calm, that God brought them to the harbor they longed for.
Let them thank the LORD for such kindness, such wondrous deeds for mere mortals.


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.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 4:35-41.

On that day, as evening drew on, he said to them, "Let us cross to the other side." Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Quiet! Be still!" The wind ceased and there was great calm. Then he asked them, "Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?" They were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?"



Commentary of the day :


"Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?"


Creation is the foundation of "all God's saving plans," the "beginning of the history of salvation" that culminates in Christ. Conversely, the mystery of Christ casts conclusive light on the mystery of creation and reveals the end for which "in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"(Gn 1,1): from the beginning, God envisaged the glory of the new creation in Christ (Rm 8,18-23)...

The revelation of creation is inseparable from the revelation and forging of the covenant of the one God with his People. Creation is revealed as the first step towards this covenant, the first and universal witness to God's all-powerful love...

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"... "In the beginning was the Word. . . and the Word was God. . . all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made" (Jn 1,1-3). The New Testament reveals that God created everything by the eternal Word, his beloved Son. In him "all things were created, in heaven and on earth.. . all things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together" (Col 1,16-17). The Church's faith likewise confesses the creative action of the Holy Spirit, the "giver of life", "the Creator Spirit", the "source of every good". The Old Testament suggests and the New Covenant reveals the creative action of the Son and the Spirit, inseparably one with that of the Father. This creative co-operation is clearly affirmed in the Church's rule of faith: "There exists but one God. . . he is the Father, God, the Creator, the author, the giver of order. He made all things by himself, that is, by his Word and by his Wisdom", "by the Son and the Spirit" who, so to speak, are "his hands". Creation is the common work of the Holy Trinity.

June 20, 2009 Gospel

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


Saturday, 20 June 2009
Immaculate Heart of Mary - Memorial

Immaculate Heart of Mary, memorial
Today the Church celebrates : Ss Alban, Julius and Aaron


Book of Isaiah 61:9-11.

Their descendants shall be renowned among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; All who see them shall acknowledge them as a race the LORD has blessed. I rejoice heartily in the LORD, in my God is the joy of my soul; For he has clothed me with a robe of salvation, and wrapped me in a mantle of justice, Like a bridegroom adorned with a diadem, like a bride bedecked with her jewels. As the earth brings forth its plants, and a garden makes its growth spring up, So will the Lord GOD make justice and praise spring up before all the nations.

1 Sam. 2:1.4-5.6-7.8.

and as she worshiped the LORD, she said: "My heart exults in the LORD, my horn is exalted in my God. I have swallowed up my enemies; I rejoice in my victory.
The bows of the mighty are broken, while the tottering gird on strength.
he well-fed hire themselves out for bread, while the hungry batten on spoil. The barren wife bears seven sons, while the mother of many languishes.
"The LORD puts to death and gives life; he casts down to the nether world; he raises up again.
The LORD makes poor and makes rich, he humbles, he also exalts.
He raises the needy from the dust; from the ash heap he lifts up the poor, To seat them with nobles and make a glorious throne their heritage. He gives to the vower his vow, and blesses the sleep of the just. "For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, and he has set the world upon them.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 2:41-51.

Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.


Commentary of the day :

«Behold your mother » (Jn 19,27)


Let us strive to love our Lord Jesus with the heart of the Immaculate: to welcome him with her heart, praise him with her own dispositions, atone and give thanks, even though we have no knowledge of it, yet this is the reality. It is through her heart, with her dispositions that we give praise to the Lord Jesus. And if in fact it is she who loves and glorifies Jesus through us, yet we are her instruments.

She alone teaches us how to love the Lord Jesus, incomparably better than any book or teacher. She teaches us to love him as she herself loves him. And all our striving must aim towards her loving our Lord Jesus with our hearts.

Only the soul possessed by the love of God puts aside all that hinders it. All is centred on God's love. Now which of us loves Jesus poor, crucified, in the crib, more than his Mother most holy! There is no one in the world, not even among the angels, who has loved - and loves - the Lord Jesus as intensely as the Mother of God... The Immaculate one is the flowering of divine love in our souls and the means by which we draw near to Jesus' heart.

June 19, 2009 Gospel

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


Friday, 19 June 2009
The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus - Solemnity

The Sacred Heart of Jesus, solemnity
Today the Church celebrates : St. Juliana Falconieri, (1270-1340), St. Romuald


Book of Hosea 11:1.3-4.8-9.

When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my arms; I drew them with human cords, with bands of love; I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks; Yet, though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer. How could I give you up, O Ephraim, or deliver you up, O Israel? How could I treat you as Admah, or make you like Zeboiim? My heart is overwhelmed, my pity is stirred. I will not give vent to my blazing anger, I will not destroy Ephraim again; For I am God and not man, the Holy One present among you; I will not let the flames consume you.

Is 12:2-3.4.5-6.

God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the LORD, and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water at the fountain of salvation,
and say on that day: Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name; among the nations make known his deeds, proclaim how exalted is his name.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement; let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel!


Letter to the Ephesians 3:8-12.14-19.

To me, the very least of all the holy ones, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable riches of Christ, and to bring to light (for all) what is the plan of the mystery hidden from ages past in God who created all things, so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the principalities and authorities in the heavens. This was according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness of speech and confidence of access through faith in him. For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 19:31-37.

Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may (come to) believe. For this happened so that the scripture passage might be fulfilled: "Not a bone of it will be broken." And again another passage says: "They will look upon him whom they have pierced."


Commentary of the day :


"Immediately blood and water flowed out"


Let us draw near to the heart of our most sweet Lord Jesus and we shall be glad and rejoice in it. How good and how sweet it is to dwell in this heart! This is the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price that we discover, O Jesus, when we dig in the field of your body (cf. Mt 13,44f.). Who, then, would cast aside this pearl? Far from it! For it I will give away all my goods and offer in exchange all my concerns and affections. I will lay down all my cares in the heart of Jesus: it is he who will suffice for me and who will, without fail, supply all I need to live on.

It is within this temple, this Holy of holies, this ark of the covenant, that I shall come to offer worship and praise to the Lord's name. «I have found a heart with which to pray to my God» said David (1Ch 17,25 Vg.). And I too have found the heart of my Lord and King, my brother and friend. Shall I not pray to him, then? Indeed I shall pray for, I dare to say it: his heart is all mine...

O Jesus, deign to receive and answer my prayer. Draw me wholly into your heart. Though the deformity of my sins prevents me from entering in yet you can receive and purify me from my impurities since, through an incomprehensible love, this heart has expanded and opened wide. O most pure Jesus, wash me from my iniquities so that, purified by you, I may dwell in your heart all the days of my life to see and do your will. If your side has been pierced, then it is so that our entrance there should be opened. If your heart has been wounded, then it is so that, sheltered from outward distress, we can make our home within it. And, too, it is so that in this visible wound we might see the invisible wound of love.

June 18, 2009 Gospel

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


Thursday, 18 June 2009
Thursday of the Eleventh week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Elizabeth of Schoenau, St. Gregory Barbarigo, Bishop and Confessor (1625-1697), Sts. Marcus and Marcellianus, Martyrs (+286)


Second Letter to the Corinthians 11:1-11.

If only you would put up with a little foolishness from me! Please put up with me. For I am jealous of you with the jealousy of God, since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts may be corrupted from a sincere (and pure) commitment to Christ. For if someone comes and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it well enough. For I think that I am not in any way inferior to these "superapostles." Even if I am untrained in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; in every way we have made this plain to you in all things. Did I make a mistake when I humbled myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge? I plundered other churches by accepting from them in order to minister to you. And when I was with you and in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. By the truth of Christ in me, this boast of mine shall not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

Psalms 111(110):1-2.3-4.7-8.

Hallelujah. I will praise the LORD with all my heart in the assembled congregation of the upright.
Great are the works of the LORD, to be treasured for all their delights.
Majestic and glorious is your work, your wise design endures forever.
You won renown for your wondrous deeds; gracious and merciful is the LORD.
The works of your hands are right and true, reliable all your decrees,
Established forever and ever, to be observed with loyalty and care.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 6:7-15.

In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This is how you are to pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one. If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.


Commentary of the day :


"Our daily bread"


«Give us this day our daily bread.» This can be understood both spiritually and materially, because either understanding is of profit in divine usefulness for salvation.

For Christ is the bread of life and the bread here is not for all, but is ours. And as we say «Our Father» because he is the Father of those who understand and believe, so too we say «our bread» because Christ is the bread of those of us who attain to his body. Moreover, we ask that this bread be given daily, lest... by the intervention of some grievous sin... we be separated from the body of Christ, as he himself declares, saying: «I am the bread of life which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of my bread he shall live forever. Moreover, the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world» (Jn 6,51)... The Lord himself warns us, saying: «Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you» (Jn 6,53). And so we petition that our bread, that is Christ, be given us daily, so that we, who abide and live in Christ, may not withdraw from His sanctification and body.

But it can also be understood that we who have renounced the world and have cast aside its riches and pomps in the faith given by spiritual grace seek only food and sustenance for ourselves... Moreover, those who have begun to be disciples of Christ according to their Master's words, renouncing all things, should ask for bread daily and not put off their petition and its desires, as the Lord himself again prescribes in these words: «Be not anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will have anxieties of its own. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble» (Mt 6,34). Worthily then does the disciple of Christ ask for sustenance for the day, since he is forbidden to worry about the morrow.

June 17, 2009 Gospel

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


Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Wednesday of the Eleventh week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Avitus, Abbot, Ss Teresa and Sancia of Portugal

Second Letter to the Corinthians 9:6-11.

Consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You are being enriched in every way for all generosity, which through us produces thanksgiving to God,

Psalms 112(111):1-2.3-4.9.

Hallelujah! Happy are those who fear the LORD, who greatly delight in God's commands.
Their descendants shall be mighty in the land, generation upright and blessed.
Wealth and riches shall be in their homes; their prosperity shall endure forever.
They shine through the darkness, a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and just.
Lavishly they give to the poor; their prosperity shall endure forever; their horn shall be exalted in honor.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 6:1-6.16-18.

(But) take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.



Commentary of the day :


"They have received their reward"


«Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them.» Why not? If people see them then what will you get out of them? «You will have no recompense from your heavenly Father». My brethren, the Lord is not bringing judgement here but giving an explanation. He casts light on the wiles of our thoughts; he strips bare the secret intentions of our souls. He draws attention to the measure of a just retribution to those unrighteously pondering righteousness. Righteousness that sets itself in the sight of others can expect no divine reward from the Father. It wanted to be seen and it was seen; it wanted to please others and it pleased them. It has received the recompense it wanted; the recompense it did not want, it will not have...

«When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do.» «Blow your trumpet»: this is the exact phrase in that this kind of alms is more like a deed of war than of peace. It passes wholly into its sound but has nothing to do with mercy. It comes from the land of disunion but has not been nourished by goodness. It is a dealing in outward show, not a chaste commerce... «So, then, when you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.» You have taken good note: alms offered at a meeting, in public squares and street corners is not an offering made for the comforting of the poor but has been set forward in the sight of others to attract their admiration... Flee hypocrisy, my brethren, flee from it... It does not bring comfort to the poor; the groans of the homeless is only a pretext for it to seek out even more busily a spectacular glory for itself. It inflates its praise of the suffering of the poor.

June 16, 2009 Gospel

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


Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Tuesday of the Eleventh week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. John Francis Regis, priest (1597-1640)


Second Letter to the Corinthians 8:1-9.

We want you to know, brothers, of the grace of God that has been given to the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their profound poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For according to their means, I can testify, and beyond their means, spontaneously, they begged us insistently for the favor of taking part in the service to the holy ones, and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us through the will of God, so that we urged Titus that, as he had already begun, he should also complete for you this gracious act also. Now as you excel in every respect, in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness, and in the love we have for you, may you excel in this gracious act also. I say this not by way of command, but to test the genuineness of your love by your concern for others. For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that for your sake he became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty you might become rich.

Psalms 146:2.5-6.7.8-9.

Praise the LORD, my soul; I shall praise the LORD all my life, sing praise to my God while I live.
Happy those whose help is Jacob's God, whose hope is in the LORD, their God,
The maker of heaven and earth, the seas and all that is in them, Who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners free;
the LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD raises up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.
The LORD protects the stranger, sustains the orphan and the widow, but thwarts the way of the wicked.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 5:43-48.

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.


Commentary of the day :

"Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect"


Here John wants to say: perfect in love (1Jn 4,17). And what is the perfection of love? To love our enemies, and love them to the point of their becoming our brothers. For indeed, our love should not be according to the flesh. So love your enemies by wanting them to become your brothers; love your enemies in such a way that they may be drawn into communion with you.

This is in fact how he loved who, when hanging on the cross, said: «Father, forgive them for they know not what they do» (Lk 23,34). He wanted to snatch them away from everlasting death by this prayer utterly full of mercy and of great might. Moreover a number of them believed and were forgiven for having shed Christ's blood. They shed it when they set themselves up against him; but later on, after they had believed, they drank it. «By this sign we know that we dwell in him, if we are perfect in him.» Our Lord invites us to this perfection of love when he says: «Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.»

June 15, 2009 Gospel

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


Monday, 15 June 2009
Monday of the Eleventh week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St Aurelian


Second Letter to the Corinthians 6:1-10.

Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says: "In an acceptable time I heard you, and on the day of salvation I helped you." Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. We cause no one to stumble in anything, in order that no fault may be found with our ministry; on the contrary, in everything we commend ourselves as ministers of God, through much endurance, in afflictions, hardships, constraints, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, vigils, fasts; by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, in a holy spirit, in unfeigned love, in truthful speech, in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness at the right and at the left; through glory and dishonor, insult and praise. We are treated as deceivers and yet are truthful; as unrecognized and yet acknowledged; as dying and behold we live; as chastised and yet not put to death; as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things.

Psalms 98:1.2-3.4.

Sing a new song to the LORD, who has done marvelous deeds, Whose right hand and holy arm have won the victory.
The LORD has made his victory known; has revealed his triumph for the nations to see,
Has remembered faithful love toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth; break into song; sing praise.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 5:38-42.

You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on (your) right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.


Commentary of the day :


"I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil"


The Law used to say: «An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth» (Ex 21,24). But the Lord not only exhorts us to take patiently the blow of one who slaps us in the face but, even more, humbly to offer him the other cheek. For the purpose of the Law was to teach us not to do to others what we ourselves would not want done to us. And so it prevents us from doing evil from fear of suffering. But what is now asked of us is to reject hatred, love of pleasure, love of glory and the other evil inclinations.

Christ teaches us through the holy commandments how we are to be purified from our passions so that they no longer cause us to fall back into the same sins. He shows us the cause of our going so far as to despise and transgress from God's precepts. Thus he provides us with the cure so that we can obey and be saved.

What is this cure, then, and what is the cause of this contempt? Hear what our Lord himself says: «Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves» (Mt 11,29). Here, very briefly and in a word, he shows us the root and cause of all our ills together with the remedy, the source of all good. He shows us that it is our haughtiness of heart that causes us to fall and that it is impossible to win mercy except by means of the opposite attitude, which is humility. In fact haughtiness begets contempt and the disobedience that leads to death, whereas humility begets obedience and the salvation of souls. (By which I mean, true humility, not an abasement in words and demeanor only, but a truly humble attitude in the interior of our heart and soul.) Hence the Lord says: «I am meek and humble of heart». So let anyone who wants to find true rest for his soul learn humility.

June 14, 2009 Gospel

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


Sunday, 14 June 2009
The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi) - Solemnity

The Body and Blood of Christ, solemnity
Today the Church celebrates : St Vitus


Book of Exodus 24:3-8.

When Moses came to the people and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all answered with one voice, "We will do everything that the LORD has told us." Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and, rising early the next day, he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. Then, having sent certain young men of the Israelites to offer holocausts and sacrifice young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD, Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls; the other half he splashed on the altar. Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people, who answered, "All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do." Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words of his."

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,


Letter to the Hebrews 9:11-15.

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation, he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer's ashes can sanctify those who are defiled so that their flesh is cleansed, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God. For this reason he is mediator of a new covenant: since a death has taken place for deliverance from transgressions under the first covenant, those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 14:12-16.22-26.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"' Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there." The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover. While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.


Commentary of the day :


"This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many"


Today we have gazed upon our Lord Jesus Christ on the altar.
Today we have been fed with the burning coal in whose shadow sing the Cherubim (Is 6,2).
Today we have heard the sweet and powerful voice saying to us:

This body burns away the thorns of sin; it gives light to men's souls.
This body the woman with the issue of blood touched and was delivered of her infirmity.
This body, the Canaanite woman's daughter was cured at the sight of it.
This body was approached with all her heart by the sinful woman and she was rescued from the mire of her sins.
This body Thomas touched; he acknowledged it, crying aloud: «My Lord and my God».
This body, so great and so high, is the foundation of our salvation.

In former times he who is Word and Life declared:
«This blood has been shed for you and given up for the remission of sins».
We have drunk, my beloved, the holy and immortal blood.
We have drunk, beloved, the blood flowing from the Savior's side
that heals all ills, that frees all souls.
We have drunk the blood by which we have been redeemed.
We have been bought and we have been taught; we have been enlightened.
Behold, my brethren, what body it is that we have eaten!
Behold, my children, what blood has inebriated us!
Behold the covenant sealed with our God lest we should be ashamed on that terrible day, the day of judgement (cf. 1Cor 11,29).

Who is equal to giving glory to the mystery of grace?
We have been accounted worthy of participating in this gift.
Let us keep ourselves to the end that we may hear his blessed, sweet and holy voice:
«Come you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you» (Mt 25,34)...

Beloved, we will celebrate the wonders of Jesus' baptism (cf. Mk 10,38),
his holy and life-giving resurrection,
through which salvation has been given to the world.
All of us are awaiting its happy fulfilment,
in the grace and happiness of our Lord Jesus Christ:
to him be glory, honor and adoration.

June 13, 2009 Gospel

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


Saturday, 13 June 2009
Saturday of the Tenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church (1195-1231)

See commentary below or click here
Origen : «Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law...: I have come not to abolish but to fulfil» (Mt 5,17)


Second Letter to the Corinthians 5:14-21.

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. And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Psalms 103(102):1-2.3-4.9-10.11-12.

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,
God does not always rebuke, nurses no lasting anger,
Has not dealt with us as our sins merit, nor requited us as our deeds deserve.
As the heavens tower over the earth, so God's love towers over the faithful.
As far as the east is from the west, so far have our sins been removed from us.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 5:33-37.

Again you have heard that it was said to your ancestors, 'Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow.' But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the evil one.









Commentary of the day :


«Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law...: I have come not to abolish but to fulfil» (Mt 5,17)


I should like to remind the disciples of Christ of God's goodness: let no one among you let yourselves be shaken by the heretics if, in controversy, they say that the God of the Law is not good but just and that the Law of Moses does not teach goodness but justice. Let these detractors of both God and the Law take note of how Moses himself and Aaron fulfilled, as precursors, what the Gospel would later teach. Consider how Moses «loves his enemies and prays for those who persecute him» (Mt 5,44)...; see how, «falling prostrate», they both pray for those who grumbled and wanted to kill them (Nb 17,10f.). Thus we find the Gospel powerfully present in the Law and should understand that the Gospels are supported on the foundation of the Law.

As for me, I do not apply the name 'Old Testament' to the Law when I consder it spiritually. The Law only becomes an 'Old Testament' for those unwilling to understand it according to the spirit. For them, it has necessarily become 'old' and has aged because it cannot preserve its strength. But for us who understand and expound it in spirit and according to the sense of the Gospel, it is always new. The two Testaments are one new Testament for us, not according to date but in the newness of their meaning.

Doesn't the apostle John also think of it in this way when he says in his epistle: «Children, I give a new commandment to you, let us love one another»? (cf. 1Jn 2,8; 4,7; Jn 13,34). He knew that the love commandment had long ago been given in the Law (1Jn 2,7f.; Lv 19,18). But since «love never fails» (1Cor 13,8)..., he asserts the perpetual newness of this precept that never grows old... For sinners, and for those who fail to keep the bond of charity, even the Gospels grow old. There can be no New Testament for anyone who does not «put away the old self and put on the new self, created in God's way» (Eph 4,22.24).

June 12, 2009 Gospel

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


Friday, 12 June 2009
Friday of the Tenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St John Sahagun

See commentary below or click here
Paul VI: "God created man in his image... male and female he created them" (Gn 1,27)


Second Letter to the Corinthians 4:7-15.

But we hold this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed, therefore I spoke," we too believe and therefore speak, knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and place us with you in his presence. Everything indeed is for you, so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.

Psalms 116(115):10-11.15-16.17-18.

I kept faith, even when I said, "I am greatly afflicted!"
I said in my alarm, "No one can be trusted!"
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 5:27-32.

You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna. It was also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.' But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful) causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

June 11, 2009 Gospel

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


Thursday, 11 June 2009
Saint Barnabas, apostle - Memorial

Today the Church celebrates : St. Barnabas, Apostle

See commentary below or click here
Vatican Council II: "Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give"


Acts of the Apostles 11:21-26.13:1-3.

The hand of the Lord was with them and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas (to go) to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced and encouraged them all to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart, for he was a good man, filled with the holy Spirit and faith. And a large number of people was added to the Lord. Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a large number of people, and it was in Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians. Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Then, completing their fasting and prayer, they laid hands on them and sent them off.

Psalms 98(97):1-6.

Sing a new song to the LORD, who has done marvelous deeds, Whose right hand and holy arm have won the victory.
The LORD has made his victory known; has revealed his triumph for the nations to see,
Has remembered faithful love toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.
Shout with joy to the LORD, all the earth; break into song; sing praise.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn shout with joy to the King, the LORD.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 10:7-13.

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.


Commentary of the day :
Learnings:


"Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give"


Now, the Lord Jesus, before freely giving His life for the world, so arranged the Apostles' ministry and promise to send the Holy Spirit that both they and the Spirit might be associated in effecting the work of salvation always and everywhere. Throughout all ages, the Holy Spirit makes the entire Church one in communion and in ministering...

From the very beginning, the Lord Jesus "called to Himself those whom He wished; and He caused twelve of them to be with Him, and to be sent out preaching (Mk 3,13). Thus the Apostles were the first budding-forth of the New Israel, and at the same time the beginning of the sacred hierarchy. Then, when He had by His death and His resurrection completed once for all in Himself the mysteries of our salvation and the renewal of all things, the Lord, having now received all power in heaven and on earth (Mt 28,18), before He was taken up into heaven, founded His Church as the sacrament of salvation and sent His Apostles into all the world just as He Himself had been sent by His Father (Jn 20,21), commanding them: "Go, therefore, and make disciples of a nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt 28,19f.).

Whence the duty that lies on the Church of spreading the faith and the salvation of Christ, not only in virtue of the express command which was inherited from the Apostles by the order of bishops, assisted by the priests, together with the successor of Peter and supreme shepherd of the Church, but also in virtue of that life which flows from Christ into His members... The mission of the Church, therefore, is fulfilled by that activity which makes her, obeying the command of Christ and influenced by the grace and love of the Holy Spirit, fully present to all people and nations, in order that, by the example of her life and by her preaching, by the sacraments and other means of grace, she may lead them to the faith, the freedom and the peace of Christ; that thus there may lie open before them a firm and free road to full participation in the mystery of Christ.

June 10, 2009 Gospel

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


Wednesday, 10 June 2009
Wednesday of the Tenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Getulius & Comp., St Ithamar

See commentary below or click here
Melito of Sardis : "I have come not to abolish but to fulfill the Law"


Second Letter to the Corinthians 3:4-11.

Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that of ourselves we are qualified to take credit for anything as coming from us; rather, our qualification comes from God, who has indeed qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, was so glorious that the Israelites could not look intently at the face of Moses because of its glory that was going to fade, how much more will the ministry of the Spirit be glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious, the ministry of righteousness will abound much more in glory. Indeed, what was endowed with glory has come to have no glory in this respect because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was going to fade was glorious, how much more will what endures be glorious.

Psalms 99:5.6.7.8.9.

Exalt the LORD, our God; bow down before his footstool; holy is God!
Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel among those who called on God's name; they called on the LORD, who answered them.
From the pillar of cloud God spoke to them; they kept the decrees, the law they received.
O LORD, our God, you answered them; you were a forgiving God, though you punished their offenses.
Exalt the LORD, our God; bow down before his holy mountain; holy is the LORD, our God.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 5:17-19.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law, until all things have taken place. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Commentary of the day :
Learnings:

"I have come not to abolish but to fulfill the Law"


The sacrifice of the lamb, the Passover rite and the letter of the Law have reached their term in Jesus Christ, in view of whom everything in the ancient Law took place – and even more so in the new dispensation. For the Law became the Word; from being old it became new...; the commandments have been transformed into grace and the foreshadowing into truth; the lamb has become the son, the sheep has become man, and man has become God...

God though he was, the Lord put on our humanity; he suffered for him who was suffering, was bound for him who was captive, was judged for the guilty, was buried for him who was buried. He was raised from the dead and cried out in a loud voice: «If anyone wishes to oppose me, let us appear together» (Is 50,8). It is I who delivered the condemned man; I who restored life to the dead; I who raised up those in the grave. «Who disputes my right?» It is I, he says, I who am the Christ, I who destroyed death, who triumphed over the enemy, who bound the mighty enemy and carried off man to the heights of heaven; it is I, he says, who am the Christ.

Come along then, every human family, full of sin as you are, and receive the forgiveness of your sins. For I myself am your forgiveness, I am the Passover of salvation, the lamb slain for your sakes, your redemption, life and resurrection; I am your light, your salvation and your king. It is I who lead you to the heights of heaven, I who will raise you up; it is I who will bring you to see the Father who is from all eternity; it is I who will raise you up by my all-powerful hand.