July 10, 2009

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


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

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


Book of Genesis 46:1-7.28-30.

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

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

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


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

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


Commentary of the day :


"When they hand you over, do not worry"


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

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