Year of Saint Joseph
Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"
Other saints: Bl. Robert Anderton (1560-1568) and William Marsden (-1586)
Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 68 Assignment of Impossible Tasks
Mass: Acts 11:1-18; Resp Ps 42;43; Jn 10:1-10
Athirst is my soul for the living God.
JESUS, GOOD SHEPHERD,
HAVE MERCY ON US.
Still with Jesus the Good Shepherd these days, we continue to ask Our Good Shepherd to have mercy on us. This may come in handy when assigned what may first appear as an impossible task in community, at work, home or school. Saint Benedict addresses this in another one of my favorites from the Holy Rule, that is, Chapter 68, Assignment of Impossible Tasks. It's a short chapter so you will find it below in its entirety. Whatever is asked of you, remember that Jesus the Good Shepherd calls you by name; He will lead you; follow Him. And you just may discover that you have gifts you never knew you had. All things are possible with God.
A brother may be assigned a burdensome task or something he cannot do. If so, he should, with complete gentleness and obedience, accept the order given him. Should he see, however, that the weight of the burden is altogether too much for his strength, then he should choose the appropriate moment and explain patiently to his superior the reasons why he cannot perform the task. This he ought to do without pride, obstinacy or refusal. If after the explanation the superior is still determined to hold his original order, then the junior must recognize that this is best for him. Trusting in God's help, he must in love obey.
(Rule of Saint Benedict, 68)
Let's not wait for our neighbors to be good before we are good to them, for others to respect us before we serve them. Let's begin with ourselves.
(Pope Francis, Twitter, April 26, 2021)
BLESSED ROBERT ANDERTON AND WILLIAM MARSDEN,
SAINT JOSEPH,
PRAY FOR US.
Today's photo: Pink dogwood in West Linn, OR. Thanks d.
© Gertrude Feick 2021
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