July 24, 2009 Gospel

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


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

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

Book of Exodus 20:1-17.

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

Psalms 19:8.9.10.11.

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


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

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


Commentary of the day :

"A hundred or sixty or thirtyfold"


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

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

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


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

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

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

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

Dn 3:52.53.54.55.56.

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


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

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


Commentary of the day :


"Blessed are your eyes, because they see"


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

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

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

July 22, 2009 Gospel

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


Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Saint Mary Magdalene - Memorial

Today the Church celebrates : St. Mary Magdalene

Second Letter to the Corinthians 5:14-17.

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

Psalms 63:2.3-4.5-6.8-9.

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


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

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

Commentary of the day :

"Mary Magdalene, apostle to the apostles"


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

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

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

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

July 21, 2009 Gospel

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


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

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

Book of Exodus 14:21-31.15:1.

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

Ex. 15:8-9.10.12.17.

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


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

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


Commentary of the day :

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


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

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

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

July 20, 2009 Gospel

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


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

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

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


Book of Exodus 14:5-18.

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

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

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


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

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

Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB



Commentary of the day :

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

The sign of Jonah


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

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