Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Other Saints: Saint Cuthbert Mayne (1543-1577)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 49 The Observance of Lent 

Mass: Rm 10:9-18; Resp Ps 19; Mt 4:18-22

The precepts of the Lord are right.

HEART OF JESUS, DELIGHT OF ALL THE SAINTS,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

On this last day of the glorious month of November, when we celebrate all the saints in heaven and on earth, and pray too for the repose of the souls of all the faithful departed, we conclude in a rousing fashion by commemorating Saint Andrew the Apostle. God is praised. 

At the same time, we read from Chapter 49 of the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict, on the observance of Lent. Since it is as Saint Benedict says, that life ought to be a continuous Lent (RB 49:1), there are many aspects of the chapter that apply to the Season of Advent. Saint Benedict urges the whole community to keep its manner of life most pure and to wash away the negligences of other times (RB 49:2-3). We can do this during the holy season of Advent so as to be clear in our mind and heart to remember the birth of Jesus, and look forward to His Second Coming, as written about this past Sunday. We want to do what we can with the grace of God, to strengthen our hearts to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ, as Saint Paul exhorts (1 Th 3:13). We can devote ourselves to prayer, and reading, to compunction of heart and self-denial (RB 49:4), and stand erect and alert, even while carrying the burdens of daily life, things that weigh us down like pressures at work, problems in the family, illness, and so on. We can, as we do during Lent, deny ourselves of some food, drink, needless talking and idle jesting (RB 49:7), or any other things that make us "bobalized", as also written about last Sunday. We ask God to help us then, O God, come to my assistance, O Lord, make haste to help me. During Lent, we look forward to holy Easter with joy and spiritual longing (RB 49:7) Let us look forward to Christmas then, with joy and spiritual longing. United in faith and prayer, we support each other, from near and far. 

SAINT ANDREW THE APOSTLE,

SAINT CUTHBERT MAYNE,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: More beauty in the clay pot. Happy Name Day bro James Andrew. 

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Monday of the First Week of Advent

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saints: Blessed Bernard Francis de Hoya (1711-1735); Blesseds Denis and Redemptus, Martyrs (d. 1638)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch Ch 48:22-25 The Daily Manual Labor

Mass: Is 2:1-5; Resp Ps 122; Mt 8:5-11

Let us go rejoicing to the house of the Lord.

HEART OF JESUS, OF INFINITE MAJESTY,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

"Beloved, now is the acceptable time spoken of by the Spirit, the day of salvation, peace and reconciliation: the great season of Advent", begins Saint Charles Borromeo in one of his pastoral letters, included as today's patristic reading in the Office of Readings. The great saint continues, "This is the season that the Church has always celebrated with special solemnity. We too should observe it with faith and love, offering praise and thanksgiving to the Father for the mercy and love he has shown us in this mystery." May Jesus find us with a deeper faith and more openness to receive his mercy and love. To be more in a space of receptivity, we can listen again to Saint Charles Borromeo: "The Church asks us to understand that Christ, who came once in the flesh, is prepared to come again. When we remove all obstacles to his presence he will come, at any hour and moment, to dwell spiritually in our hearts, bringing with him the riches of his grace." As we continue this First Week of Advent, let us give thanks to God and praise his name for his marvelous deeds. At the same time, let us remove those obstacles that hinder the presence of Jesus in our lives. Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. 

Since the first coming brought grace and the last will bring glory, this one indeed partakes both of grace and of glory; for in it, through the consolation of grace, we are given a foretaste of future glory.

(Guerric of Igny)

BLESSED FRANCIS DE HOYA,

BLESSEDS DENIS AND REDEMPTUS,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Another look at our Advent wreath.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

First Sunday of Advent

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 48: 10-21 The Daily Manual Labor 

Mass: Jer 33:14-16; Resp Ps 25; 1 Th 3:12-4:2; Lk 21:25-28, 34-36

Good and upright is the Lord.

HEART OF JESUS, KING AND CENTER OF ALL HEARTS,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

Happy New Liturgical Year 2022 and the beginning of the Season of Advent. A word that comes to mind this morning when we enter this "period of devout and expectant delight", is the Swati word "bobalized." I do not recall the correct spelling, it is a word that I learned some 23 years ago when I was serving our country as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer in the Republic of South Africa. Bobalized means hungover. Yes, hungover in the customary sense, when it is used in relationship to overindulgence in drink. However, bobalized is more expansive. One can be bobalized from overindulgence in drink, food, exercise, extreme high or lows, work, trying "to keep up with the Joneses", travel, or what many of these things result in, namely, stress. 

It occurs to me that this season is anything about being bobalized. The season of Advent, as the Universal Norms on the Liturgical Year teach us, "is a time of preparation for the Solemnities of Christmas, in which the First Coming of the Son of God to humanity is remembered, and likewise a time when, by remembrance of this, minds and hearts are led to look forward to Christ's Second Coming at the end of time" (39). Therefore, we want to, as Saint Paul tells us in our second reading at Mass, strengthen our hearts, to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Th 3:13). Jesus, in the Gospel, tells us to stand erect and raise our heads because our redemption is at hand (Lk 21:28). Our Lord warns us: Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you be surprise like a trap (Lk 21:34-35). 

We can use this season, then, as a time to cleanse ourselves of things that make us drowsy. Let us not be about overindulgence. We want to be alert and ready, free from what burdens us, or from what we burden ourselves with. Saint Benedict tells us that our way of acting should be different from the world's way (RB 4:20). He tells the Abbot not to show too great concern for the fleeting and temporal things of this world (RB 2:33). It is difficult, we have the daily struggles of life, pressure at work and home, temptations, illness, death, making ends meet. There are some things though, that we can choose to free ourselves from. What is it that weighs down your heart or mind? Jesus loves you. He will help you. Ask Him. O God, come to my assistance, make haste to help me. 

United in faith and prayer, we pray for ourselves and for one another, that we be free from what makes us bobalized and drowsy. We keep watch over our ways, then, and heed Jesus' words: Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man (Lk 21:36). We want to be clear in our mind and heart to remember the birth of Jesus, and look forward to His Second Coming. 

MARY, WHO AWAITED THE LORD WITH A VIGILANT HEART,

SAINT JOSEPH, CHASTE GUARDIAN OF THE VIRGIN,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Our Advent wreath, Week One

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Saturday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saturday Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Saint: Saint Fergal (c.700-784)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 48:1-9 The Daily Manual Labor

Mass: Dn 7:15-27; Resp Ps (Dn 3); Lk 21:34-36

Praise and exalt Him above all forever.

VIRGIN MOST VENERABLE,

PRAY FOR US.

I always look forward to reading from Chapter 48 of the Rule of Saint Benedict, the one addressing the daily manual labor. Our holy father Benedict begins in this way: "Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore, the brothers should have specified periods for manual labor as well as for prayerful reading" (RB 48:1). Having time for this and for that, especially the essentials in our way of life like prayer, manual labor, and spiritual reading, is a key to a well-balanced life. Not too much of this or that can help us from overdoing it, as Saint Benedict writes later, "all things are to be done with moderation on account of the fainthearted" (RB 48:9). It is a privilege and blessing to live in this way, whatever our circumstances, while taking into account various gifts, strengths, and weaknesses in each one of us. It is important to keep in mind how Saint Benedict begins his chapter on the proper amount of drink, as he quotes from Saint Paul, everyone has his own gift from God, one this and another that (1 Cor 7:7/RB 40:1). This also helps us heed Jesus' words in today's Gospel: "Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life" (Lk 21:34. As Jesus continues then, be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man (Lk 21:36).

Saint Augustine, in a sermon in today's Office of Readings, speaks to us too.

Let us sing alleluia here on earth, while we still live in anxiety, so that we may sing it one day in heaven in full security ...

let us sing now, not to enjoy a life of leisure, but in order to lighten our labors. You should sing as wayfarers do-sing, but continue your journey. Do not be lazy, but sing to make your journey more enjoyable. Sing, but keep going. What do I mean by keep going? Keep on making progress. This progress, however, must be in virtue; for there are some, the Apostle warns, whose only progress is in vice. If you make progress, you will be continuing your journey, but be sure that your progress is in virtue, true faith and right living. Sing then, but keep going.

And the Blessed Virgin Mary will help us. 

Knowing in advance the course and the outcome of all miseries, she soothes our fear, she awakens our faith, she strengthens our hope, she dispels our lack of confidence, she bolsters our timidness.

(Bernard of Clairvaux in Mary, Most Holy: Meditating with the Early Cistercians)

SAINT FERGAL,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: There is much beauty to be found in this clay pot. The red berries of Thanksgiving Day share space with these leaves.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Friday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saint: Saint Leonard of Porto Maurizio (1676-1751); Saint John Berchmans (1599-1621)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 47 Announcing the Hours for the Work of God

Mass: Dn 7:2-14; Resp Ps (Dn 3); Lk 21:29-33

Give glory and eternal praise to him!

JESUS, ETERNAL WISDOM,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

In the wake of Thanksgiving, our national holiday, we continue to give thanks and be deeply grateful to Our God from whom all blessings flow. No matter if we are tired, energized, or not quite sure yet, we glorify the Name of the Lord in word and deed. At the same time, we know that Thanksgivings come and go. However, as Jesus tells us in today's Gospel, Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (Lk 21:29-33). Hold firm and take heart; hope in the Lord. 

The cup of amity is inexhaustible. Drink deep from it, and be glad.

(Christopher R. Altieri, "Thanksgiving back in the States", in The Catholic World Report, November 25, 2021)

SAINT LEONARD OF PORTO MAURIZIO,

SAINT JOHN BERCHMANS,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Welcome to Bear Branch, Ohio County, Indiana. A brother and his wife were there for Thanksgiving. It is nice to see the beauty in all parts of our beloved country, especially here east of the Mississippi, in my home state. 

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Thanksgiving Day

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Thursday of the Thirty-Fourth, or Last, Week in Ordinary Time

Saint: Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Virgin, Martyr (d.305); Saint Colman of Cloyne (522-600)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 46 Faults Committed in Other Matter

Mass: For Thanksgiving Day: Sirach 50:20-22; Resp Ps 145; 1 Cor 1:3-9; Lk 17:11-19

They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty and tell of your wondrous works.

JESUS, GIVER OF ALL GOOD GIFTS,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

Happy Thanksgiving. We give "thanks for all the good God has done for us as individuals and as a nation." Praise Him from whom all blessings flow. And we unite ourselves with all those who are suffering, grieving, lonely, or estranged from loved ones. This can be a difficult time for many. God's love endures forever. 

The Merrian-Webster Word for the Day is jovial - "markedly good-humored" and describes people and things that are cheerful and full of joy. Let's get busy! 😊

Gratitude goes beyond the "mine" and "thine" and claims the truth that all life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.

(Henri Nouwen, The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming)

Write the wrongs that are done to you in sand, but write the good things that happen to you in a piece of marble. Let go of all emotions such as resentment and retaliation, which diminish you, and hold on to emotions, such as gratitude and joy, which increase you.

(Arabic Proverb)

IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, GIVE, THANKS, FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD FOR YOU IN CHRIST JESUS.

(Gospel versicle, Mass)

SAINT CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA,

SAINT COLMAN OF CLOYNE,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: When I saw this the other morning, I thought it was festive and fitting for today's National Holiday.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Wednesday of the Thirty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saints: Saints Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions, Martyrs (17th-19th century) 

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 45 Mistakes in the Oratory

Mass: Dn 5:1-6, 13-14, 16-17, 23-28; Resp Ps (Dn 3); Lk 21:12-19

Give glory and eternal praise to him.

JESUS, INFINITE GOODNESS,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

I was thinking this morning that it is not as if Jesus did not warn us, as He does in today's Gospel: You will be hated because of my name (Lk 21:17). He continues though: Not a hair on your head will be destroyed (Lk 21:18). As Our Lord says, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute (Lk 21:15). We meet adversaries in small and not so small ways, and sometimes in the least likely circumstances, or from the least likely people. The many martyrs we commemorate this week bear witness to that. May we, like them, persevere, for by our perseverance we will secure our lives (Lk 21:19). In whatever form martyrdom comes, we can remember words of Venerable Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan: "Martyrdom does not place limits on loving the Lord". We are united in faith and love as we continue our week of gratitude and blessing, thanking God from whom all blessings flow. Remain faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life (Gospel versicle, Mass). 

I close today with a prayer offered by Pope Francis, at the conclusion of this morning's General Audience catechesis.

Saint Joseph, 

you who guarded the bond with Mary and Jesus,

help us to care for the relationships in our lives.

May no one experience that sense of abandonment

that comes from loneliness.

Let each of us be reconciled with our own history,

with those who have gone before,

and recognize even in the mistakes made,

a way through which Providence has made its way,

and evil did not have the last word.

Show yourself to be a friend to those who struggle the most,

and as you supported Mary and Jesus in difficult times,

support us too on our journey. Amen.

SAINTS ANDREW DUNG-LAC AND COMPANIONS,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: I spotted this treasure yesterday morning.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Tuesday of the Thirty-Fourth Week In Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saints: Pope Saint Clement I (end of 1st century); Saint Columbanus, Abbot (540?-615); Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro (1891-1927)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 44 Satisfaction by the Excommunicated

Mass: Dn 2:31-45; Resp Ps (Dn 3); Lk 21:5-11

Give glory and eternal praise to him.

JESUS, BRIGHTNESS OF THE ETERNAL LIGHT,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

It is a blessing for us this week, the last one of the liturgical year and also one in which we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, to have verses from the Book of Daniel, Chapter 3, as our Responsorial Psalm. They are wonderful verses to use for our prayer, to recall the marvelous works of Our Lord, and to give thanks to Him, whose loving kindness endures forever.

Another blessing for us today especially is that we hear wisdom from Pope Saint Clement I, taken from a letter to the Corinthians, found in today's Office of Readings. Pope Clement I was writing around the end of first century. Pope Saint Clement I writes to us too and he brings to mind words of Saint Benedict written several centuries later. It is in Chapter 72 of the Holy Rule where Saint Benedict exhorts us to support with greatest patience one another's weaknesses of body or behavior (vs. 5), and also to pray that Christ may bring us all to everlasting life (vs. 12).

Our entire body ... will be preserved in Christ Jesus, and each of us should be subject to his neighbor in accordance with the grace given to each. The stronger should care for the weak, and the weak should respect the stronger. The wealthy should give to the poor, and the poor man should thank God that he has sent him someone to supply his needs. The wise should manifest their wisdom not in words but in good deeds, and the humble should not talk about their own humilty but allow others to bear witness to it. Since, therefore, we have all this from him, we ought to thank him for it all. Glory to him for ever. Amen.

(Pope Saint Clement I)

POPE SAINT CLEMENT I,

SAINT COLUMBANUS,

BLESSED MIGUEL AUGUSTIN PRO,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: One of my favorite views, from a Sunday late afternoon walk.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Monday of the Thirty-Fourth Week or Last Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saint: Saint Cecilia, Virgin, Early Christian Martyr 

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 43:13-19 Tardiness at the Work of God or at Table 

Mass: Dn 1:1-6, 8-20; Resp Ps (Dn 3); Lk 21:1-4

Glory and praise forever!

JESUS, TRUE LIGHT,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

Welcome to Monday. As we continue in the last week of the liturgical year, it is unlikely that we will not encounter things that test our resolve, our patience, and our humility. Jesus, in today's Gospel, tells us that the widow gave from her poverty. She offered her whole livelihood. May we follow suit, and give our all, in whatever comes our way. Jesus will help us. By the grace of God go I.

If we put the Gospel at the center and bear witness to it with fraternal love, we will be able to look to the future with hope, whatever the tempests, great or small, we may experience today.

(Pope Francis, Twitter, November 22, 2021)

SAINT CECILIA,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: This shot taken about 4 pm yesterday. There is never a dull moment with this scene.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

In other years: The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 43:1-12 Tardiness at the Work of God or at Table  

Mass: Dn 7:13-14; Resp Ps 93; Rev 1:5-8; Jn 18:33b-37

The Lord is king, in splendor robed.

THE LORD SITS AS KING FOREVER. 

THE LORD WILL BLESS HIS PEOPLE WITH PEACE.

(Communion Antiphon, Mass)

On this glorious Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the universe, we enter the last week of the liturgical year with next Sunday the First Sunday of Advent. I have been thinking about Jesus as king this morning. I am thinking about Jesus as king, the King who wants to seize control of my heart. As we prepare for a new liturgical year, we might reflect upon how we could let Jesus take hold of our hearts. What is one thing you could release or do so Our Lord and King can enter your heart? Jesus is knocking on the door of your heart. Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts, have mercy on us.

Jesus is the center of creation; and so the attitude demanded of us as true believers is that of recognizing and accepting in our lives the centrality of Jesus Christ, in our thoughts, in our words and in our works.

(Pope Francis, homily, November 24, 2013) 

MARY, MOTHER OF JESUS OUR KING,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: I took this photo in October. Splendor revealed through the marvelous works of God.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Saturday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saturday Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Saints: Satin Raphael Kalinowski (1835-1907); Saint Edmund (d. 869)

Readings of the Day

RB:  Ch 42 Silence After Compline

Mass:  1 Macc 6:1-13; Resp Ps 9; Lk 20:27-40

I will be glad and exult in you.

HOLY MARY,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's reading from the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict focuses on Ch 42 Silence after Compline. Silence is foundational to a life lived in a monastery, or any Christian home, where the faithful truly seek God. We need silence to be still, listen, and be in touch with ourselves and with Jesus who loves each and every one of us. It is a privilege in a monastery to embrace and observe all that Saint Benedict teaches about the importance of silence. There are many passages in the Holy Rule where Saint Benedict teaches about silence. For example, in Ch 6 Restraint of Speech, Saint Benedict writes, "so important is silence that permission to speak should seldom be granted even to mature disciples ..." (RB 6:3). This is not about trying to keep everyone quiet, it is more about remembering what is said in the Book of Proverbs. As Saint Benedict quotes: In a flood of words you will not avoid sin (Prov 10:19); and elsewhere, The tongue holds the key to life and death (Prov 18:21) (RB 6:4). 

Today, however, we are reflecting on the value of silence after Compline, or Night Prayer, the last prayer of the day. As Saint Benedict begins, "Monks should diligently cultivate silence at all times, but especially at night" (RB 42:1). And privileged as we are in the monastery, and in many Christian homes, our day ends with singing the Salve, Regina. As such, the last word on our lips is Mary. O clemens, O pia, O dulcis Virgo Maria. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Dear Mary, you who kept all things, reflecting on them in your heart, pray for us.

And speaking of last words, here is an excerpt from the Office Readings.  

It is fitting that the end of all our desires, namely eternal life, coincides with the words at the end of the creed, "Life everlasting. Amen" ...

eternal life consists of the joyous community of all the blessed, a community of supreme delight, since everyone will share all that is good with all the blessed. Everyone will love everyone else as himself, and therefore will rejoice in another's good as in his own. So it follows that the happiness and joy of each grows in proportion to the joy of all.

(From a conference by Saint Thomas Aquinas, priest, in Office of Readings, Saturday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time)

SAINT RAPHAEL KALINOWSKI,

SAINT EDMUND,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Another photo from a week ago yesterday. I always enjoy looking at what grows here.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Friday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saints: Saint Mechtilde of Hackeborn (1241-1298); Saint Rogue Gonzalez and his companions (-1628)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 41 The Times for Meals

Mass: 1 Macc 4:36-37, 52-59; Resp Ps (1 Chr 29); Lk 19:45-48

For all in heaven and earth is yours.

First for this wet Friday, let us not forget that we are in the month of November, and remember all those who have died, those suffering in Purgatory who await full union with Our Lord in heaven. As put nicely in my prayer missal, "As we serve our brothers and sisters here on earth, let us never forget to pray for our brothers and sisters awaiting heaven" (Magnificat). 

As far as our saints for the day, one is Saint Mechtilde of Hackeborn, friend and mentor to Saint Gertrude the Great. Together they are two of the giants of Helfta. There is a passage about Saint Mechtilde in Gertrude the Great's The Herald of God's Loving Kindness, found in Book V, 4, 1. There you will read:

When Lady Mechtilde of blessed memory, our most devoted chantress, was sick unto death, full of good works and of God, scarcely a month before her decease and already bedridden, with her customary devotion and virtuous will she eagerly studied the exercise in preparation for death that [Gertrude] composed.

You can find Gertrude the Great's exercise, "Life in Death", in her Spiritual Exercises, Book VII. Not a bad book to look at this month of November when we remember the dead. At the same time, we remember Saint Benedict's admonition to keep death daily before our eyes (RB 4:47). Jesus, Crown of Saints, have mercy on us.

BLESSED ARE THE DEAD WHO DIE IN THE LORD. LET THEM REST FROM THEIR LABORS, FOR THEIR WORKS ACCOMPANY THEM.

(Entrance Antiphon, Mass).

SAINT MECHTILDE OF HACKEBORN,

SAINT ROGUE GONZALEZ AND HIS COMPANIONS,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: This is nice, from my walk a week ago today. Not as giant as the Maple leaves along the Avenue of the Giants, it is giant in its beauty.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Thursday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saints: Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne (1769-1852); The Dedication of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul  

Readings of the Day

RB:  Ch 40 The Proper Amount of Drink 

Mass: 1 Macc 2:15-29; Resp Ps 50; Lk 19:41-44

To the upright I will show the saving power of God.

EVERYONE HAS HIS OWN GIFT FROM GOD, ONE THIS AND ANOTHER THAT.

(RB 40:1/1 Cor 7:7)

In addition to celebrating the anniversary of the dedication of St. Peter at the Vatican and St Paul in the Via Ostiene (I used to live across the street from Saint Paul's Outside the Walls. It is enormous and magnificent. It was a favorite place to spend time, just being there, roaming around, and going to Mass in a side chapel), we commemorate another great women saint, Saint Rose Philippine Duchnese. 

Born in France, Rose entered religious life at the age of 18. Due to the French Revolution and the abolishment of her community, her dream of being a missionary was fulfilled. She joined the Religious of the Sacred Heart and in 1818 sailed for the New World. She and her companions eventually settled in St Charles, Missouri, and founded an orphanage. Among other notables, Rose "is credited with saving the Jesuit mission to Missouri from failure", providing them with much needed resources. Not done yet, Rose, now 72, in the company of three of sisters, went to Sugar Creek, Kansas to start a school for Indian girls. Only with the girls for one year, Rose inspired them through "her habit of constant prayer." After returning to St. Charles, she spent the last ten years in constant prayer before the Blessed Sacrament (Universalis). May she inspire us too.  

SAINTS PETER AND PAUL,

SAINT ROSE PHILIPPINE DUCHESNE,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: A favorite peer into the woods, from last Friday's walkabout.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Wednesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saints: Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231); Saint Hilda of Whitby (614-680); Saint Hugh of Lincoln (1140-1200); Saint Dionysius of Alexandria, Bishop (190-265)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 39 The Proper Amount of Food  

Mass:  2 Macc 7:1, 20-31; Resp Ps 17; Lk 19:11-28

My steps have been steadfast in your paths, my feet have not faltered.

I CHOSE YOU FROM THE WORLD TO GO AND BEAR FRUIT THAT WILL LAST, SAYS THE LORD.

(Gospel versicle, Mass)

Today we commemorate another great saint, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, daughter of a king, became queen when she was fourteen. Even as a child she served the poor. She became a wife, then the mother of three children. After her husband's death, she "entered the Franciscan Third Order and gave herself wholly to nursing the sick" (Magnificat). It is said too that Elizabeth "frequently meditated on heavenly things" (Universalis). 

Then we have the great Saint Hilda of Whitby from the 7th century. Hilda was "an extraordinary woman of her time" (Universalis). For one, Hilda established the famous double monastery (a monastery of men and women) at Whitby which she governed for the rest of her life" (Universalis). Saint Bede the Venerable said of Hilda, "all who knew her called her mother, such were her wonderful godliness and grace" (Universalis).

May Saint Elizabeth of Hungary and Saint Hilda of Whitby intercede for us and help us bear fruit, bear fruit that will last. 

SAINT ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY,

SAINT HILDA OF WHITBY,

SAINT HUGH OF LINCOLN,

SAINT DIONYSIUS OF ALEXANDRIA,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: From Isaac's run in Forest Park, Portland, OR.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Tuesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saints: Saint Gertrude the Great of Helfta (1256-1301/2); Saint Margaret of Scotland (1046-1093); Saint Edmund of Abingdon (1175?-1240); Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn 

Readings of the Day

RB:  Ch 38 The Reader for the Week

Mass: 2 Macc 6:18-31; Resp Ps 3; Lk 19:1-10

Set me as a seal upon your heart.

MARY, QUEEN OF ALL SAINTS,

PRAY FOR US.

Today we begin a litany of commemorating powerhouse women saints. We have two on tap for today, one for tomorrow, and another on Thursday. You will see. 

We kick-off with two very different women. First, there is my patron, German Saint Gertrude the Great of Helfta, who, as written in The Herald of Divine Love, "like a white lily, [God] freely planted her in the perfumed garden of the church, that is to say, among the assembly of the just. As a little girl of four years old he withdrew her from the turmoil of the world to introduce her into the bridal chamber of holy religion" (I, 1.). It wasn't until Gertrude's 26th year though, that she "realized she was far from God, in a land of unlikeness" (I, 1). She had her "day of salvation" (II, 1), and "her love of learning now became desire for knowledge of God" (I, 1). There is much more to her story. However, for today, let's invoke her. Gertrude the Great was very close to the heart of Jesus. In fact, Jesus said to one of Gertrude's sisters, I live in the heart of Gertrude, as shown in the icon featured in today's photo. We await the day when Gertrude the Great is named a Doctor of the Church. She is being considered and deserves the overdue honor. 

Second, we have Saint Margaret of Scotland, Hungarian born, wife of King Malcolm III of Scotland, mother of eight children. Among other notables, "she reformed the royal court, founded monasteries, and supported major reforms of Church life ... she is remembered for the happiness of her marriage, for her devotion to prayer and learning, and especially for her generosity to the poor" (Universalis).

Holy Spirit, Paraclete, ah! with that glue of love with which you unite Father and Son, unite my heart with Jesus forever.

(Gertrude the Great of Helfta, Spiritual Exercises, 121-122)

SAINT GERTRUDE THE GREAT OF HELFTA,

SAINT MARGARET OF SCOTLAND,

SAINT EDMUND OF ABINGDON, 

OUR LADY OF THE GATE OF DAWN,

SAINT JOSEPH

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Gertrude the Great through the hand of Br. Claude, OSB. Used with permission of the Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel, OR.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Monday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saints: Saint Albert the Great, Bishop, Doctor (1206-1280); Commemoration of All Carmelite Souls

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 37 The Elderly and Children 

Mass: 1 Maccabees 1:10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63; Resp Ps 119; Lk 18:35-43 

Give me life, O Lord, and I will do your commands.

JESUS, TRUE LIGHT,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

It's Monday and as I've said before, Mondays are Mondays, no matter where you are. Just what is it about Mondays? No matter your answer, it seems that Mondays are a good day to join the blind man in today's Gospel and shout to Jesus who is always passing by: "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" And when Jesus responds by asking, What do you want me to do for you?, tell Him. May our faith save us. 

Monday, Monday

Can't trust that day

Monday, Monday

It just turns out that way.

(From the Mamas and the Papas, Monday, Monday, 1966)

SAINT ALBERT THE GREAT,

ALL CARMELITE SOULS,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: From last Friday's walkabout.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Fifth World Day of the Poor

World Diabetes Day

In other years: Saint Dyfrig of Dubric or Dubricius (6th-7th century): Saint Laurence O'Toole (1128-1180); The Beatified Martyrs of the Clifton Diocese (16th-17th century): The Reading Martyrs (16th century); Saint Joseph Pignatelli (1737-1811); All Carmelite Saints 

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 36 The Sick Brothers

Mass: Dn 12:1-3; Resp Ps 16; Heb 10:11-14, 18; Mk 13:24-32 

Learn a lesson from the fig tree.

JESUS, OUR REFUGE,

HAVE MERCY ON US. 

Here with news from the Department of Scattered Musings. In light of today's Gospel when Jesus tells us to "learn a lesson from the fig tree" (Mk 13:28), I have been thinking about our fig tree. As it now stands, there aren't many leaves left on the tree with a few scattered on the ground below. Its branches are certainly not tender and sprouting leaves. Summer is not near. However, I did manage to make my first piece of leaf art with some of the fallen leaves, as seen in today's photo. All of these things, in many ways, are signs of hope. Trees fade, leaves change colors and fall to the ground, daylight diminishes, the earth lies dormant, the weather cools, and snow even starts in some areas, like in Indianapolis, Indiana, reports a friend who celebrates his birthday today. We grow older and all respond to these changes in mind and body in different ways. Things, and we, pass away. However, as Jesus says, Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away (Mk 13:31). We must hope now, and not wait until tomorrow. We can be more creative during these times. We can be more vigilant as sung in today's Gospel versicle: "Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to stand before the Son of Man." So as Saint Benedict tells us to place our hope in God alone (RB 4:41), we do. However, we don't have to wait. We can get busy and keep going, no matter what, amid the joy and beauty, amid diminishment and the absurd. In what ways will you be more creative and vigilant?

 

SAINT DYFRIG,

SAINT LAURENCE O'TOOLE,

THE BEATIFIED MARTYRS OF THE CLIFTON DIOCESE,

THE READING MARTYRS,

SAINT JOSEPH PIGNATELLI,

ALL CARMELITE SAINTS,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: My trinitarian fig leaf art. 

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Saturday of the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Saints: All Saints of the Benedictine Family; Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Foundress (1850-1970); Saint Machar (8th century); Blessed Maria Teresa Scrilli (1825-1829)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 35:12-18 Kitchen Servers of the Week

Mass: Wis 18:14-16; 19:6-9; Resp Ps 105; Lk 18:1-8

Remember the marvels the Lord has done!

MARY, MOTHER OF DIVINE GRACE,

PRAY FOR US.

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells His disciples and us too about the necessity to pray always without becoming weary (Lk 18:1). It is important as Saint Benedict echoes in a tool for good works: "devote yourself often to prayer" (RB 4:56), as does another one of the saints we commemorate today, Italian born, sent to New York in 1889 by Pope Leo XIII, Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini: "We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success; nor on sciences that cloud the intellect. Neither does it depend on arms and human industries, but on Jesus alone." Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Not unrelated, here is a rendition of a Rabia of Basra (Islamic saint, 717-801) poem by Daniel Ladinsky in Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West (Penguin, 2002), p. 11.

IN MY SOUL

In

my soul

there is a temple, a shrine, a mosque, a church

where I kneel.

Prayer should bring us to an altar where no walls or names exist.

Is there not a region of love where sovereignty is 

illumined nothing,

where ecstasy gets poured into itself

and becomes

lost,

where the wing is fully alive

but has no mind or

body?

In

my soul

there is a temple, a shrine, a mosque,

a church

that dissolve, that

dissolve in

God.

ALL SAINTS OF THE BENEDICTINE FAMILY,

SAINT FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI,

SAINT MACHAR,

BLESSED MARIA TERESA SCRILLI,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Enjoying unseasonably mild November days, I went on an overdue walkabout yesterday and found myself at a favorite lookout. It's been a while. 

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Friday of the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saint: Saint Josaphat, Bishop, Martyr (c.1580-1623)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 35:1-11 Kitchen Servers of the Week 

Mass:  Wis 13:1-9; Resp Ps 19; Lk 17:26-37

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

MARY, QUEEN OF MARTYRS,

PRAY FOR US.

We are in what has been called the center of the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict today, namely, Ch 35 Kitchen Servers of the Week. It is in verse one where Saint Benedict tells us that the "brothers should serve one another" (RB 35:1). When reading the Holy Rule, you will see that everything flows from loving service and flows back to loving service, service of God, and service of one another, and receiving service too. For, as the last verse of Ch 72 on the Good Zeal of Monks says, "may Christ bring us all together to everlasting life" (RB 72:12). Everlasting life if not just for the healthy, or just the sick, or just for the elders, or just for the younger, or any one person in particular, we go all together. Yes, we serve "one another in love" (RB 35:6). We "support with greatest patience one another's weaknesses of body or behavior, and earnestly compete in obedience to one another" (RB 72:5-6). Yes, our way of acting should be different than the world's way (RB 4:20), as the life of all Christians should be. Do they know we are Christians by our loving service?

BECAUSE OF THE LORD'S COVENANT AND THE ANCESTRAL LAWS, THE SAINTS OF GOD PERSEVERED IN LOVING BROTHERHOOD, FOR THERE WAS ALWAYS ONE SPIRIT IN THEM, AND ONE FAITH.

(Entrance Antiphon, Mass)

One last thing, I just opened my new book with poems by Hafiz the Great Sufi Master, The Gift. I found this:

Two Giant Fat People

God

And I have become

Like two giant fat people

Living in a 

Tiny boat

We 

Keep

Bumping into each other and

L

a

u

g

h

i

n

g.

SAINT JOSAPHAT,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: An early morning sky over the Williamette Valley, OR, seen here September 30.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Thursday of the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saint: Saint Martin of Tours, Bishop (c.316-397)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 34 Distribution of Good According to Need 

Mass: Wis 7:22b-8:1; Resp Ps 119; Lk 17:20-25

Your word, O Lord, endures forever; it is firm as the heavens.

JESUS, CROWN OF SAINTS,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

There is something Sulpicius Severus (363-425) wrote about the saint we commemorate today, Saint Martin of Tours, hermit then monk at Liguge in western France, priest, and bishop who "founded other monasteries, educated the clergy, and preached the Gospel to the poor." Martin of Tours "was a man words cannot describe. Death could not defeat him nor toil dismay him. He was quite without a preference of his own; he neither feared to die or refused to live" (Office of Readings, November 11). May Saint Martin of Tours intercede for us as we, in the words of Saint Benedict, "yearn for everlasting life with holy desire and day by day remind ourselves that we are going to die" (RB 4:46-47). Then, "as we progress in this way of life and in faith, we shall run on the path of God's commandments, our hearts overflowing with the inexpressible delight of love" (RB Prol. 49). At the same time, we pray for wisdom, a gift of the Holy Spirit. Today's first reading from the Book of Wisdom (1:22b-8:1) describes wisdom, which certainly was embodied in Saint Martin of Tours. Wisdom "reaches from end to end mightily and governs all things well" (Wis 8:1). 

SAINT MARTIN OF TOURS,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Another look at the sky over the second field is always worth it. Praise God in the heavens.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Wednesday of the Thirty-Second Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saint: Pope Saint Leo the Great, Doctor (-461)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 33 Monks and Private Ownership

Mass: Wis 6:1-11; Resp Ps 82; Lk 17:11-19 

Rise up, O God, bring judgment to the earth.

IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, GIVE THANKS, FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD FOR YOU IN CHRIST JESUS.

(Gospel versicle, Mass)

In our reading from the Book of Wisdom, we hear that the "Lord of all shows no partiality, nor does He fear greatness. Because He himself made the great as well as the small, and He provides for all alike" (Wis 6:7). Therefore, we should put our trust in the Lord and release whatever anxieties or worries we have today. That is easier said than done. Ask the Lord to help you. O God, come to my assistance, O Lord, make haste to help me. We join in prayer this day for all those who are suffering in any way, those facing surgery, grieving, hurting, or worried. For we are united in our faith. We are the Body of Christ. And as Dom M. Eugene Boylan, O.C.R., said, "We are united to our Lady, to all the saints in heaven, to all living members of the Church on earth, to the suffering members in purgatory. We can share in all their works and merits, for we are all one in Christ" (quoted in Magnificat, November 2021, p. 128). At the same time, we join the one leper in today's Gospel, and fall at the feet of Jesus, to give thanks and glorify God (Lk 17:16) for all the gifts He has bestowed upon us. 

Invisible in His own nature [God] became visible in ours. Beyond our grasp, He chose to come within our grasp.

(Pope Saint Leo the Great)

POPE SAINT LEO THE GREAT,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: A niece and her husband had this view in Naples, FL.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 32 The Tools and Goods of the Monastery

Mass: Ezk 47:1-2, 8-9, 12; Resp Ps 46; 1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17; Jn 2:13-22

The waters of the river gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High!

DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT YOU ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD, AND THAT THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS IN YOU?

(1 Cor 3:16)

I recall every year on this date (which happens to be my birthday 😊) the years I spent in Rome and my annual pilgrimage to the magnificent Lateran Basilica on the Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano. I would always walk there, not a short distance from where I lived, and sit for many hours, and when ready, attend Mass in one the side chapels. It is the anniversary of the dedication of the Lateran Basilica that we commemorate today. The basilica "was built by the Emperor Constantine on the Lateran Hill in Rome in about 324." We honor the basilica, "'the mother and head of all the churches of the City and the World ...'"

A friend sent wishes that this year be a healthy and joy-filled one for me. I reflect on today's Feast, a new year, and care of mind and body, not only mine, but yours too. We are the Body of Christ. May we treat and care for our bodies as the temple of God, and for one another as we, in the words of Saint Benedict, "support with greatest patience one another's weaknesses in body and behavior" (RB 72:5). We are united in faith and prayer and go to our heavenly home together. Saint Caesarius of Arles (460-542) has this to say, taken from one of his sermons, included in today's Office of Readings. 

Whenever we come to church, we must prepare our hearts to be as beautiful as we expect this church to be. Do you wish to find this basilica immaculately clean? Then do not soil your soul with the filth of sins. Do you wish to this basilica to be full of light? God too wishes that your soul be not in darkness, but that the light of good works shine in us. so that He who dwells in the heavens will be glorified. Just as you enter this church building, so God wishes to enter your soul, for He promised: I shall live in them, and I shall walk the corridors of their hearts.

SAINT JOHN,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: From my brother in Indianapolis, IN, the mighty White River, just some of the beauty of the Midwest.

© Gertrude Feick 2021