Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Saints: Saint Bonaventure, Cardinal-Bishop, Doctor of the Church (1218-1274): Saint Swithun (-862); Saint Osmund of Salisbury (-1099)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 36 The Sick Brothers 

Mass: Is 38:1-6, 21-22, 7-8; Resp Ps (Is 38); Mt 12:1-8

Those live whom the Lord protects.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

For the Son of Man is the Lord of the sabbath.

(Mt 12:8)

Heed the words of the Lord that the Prophet Isaiah delivered to Hezekiah in today's first reading: "Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you shall not recover" (Is 38:1). Hezekiah's response? He turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord (Is 38:2). Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee, have mercy on us. Lord, yours is the life of my spirit. You have given me health and life (Hezekiah's song of thanksgiving, see Is 38:9-20). Amen.

We must suspend all operations of the mind and we must transform the peak of our affections, directing them to God alone. This is a sacred mystical experience ...

If you ask how such things can occur, seek the answer in God's grace, not in doctrine; in the longing of the will, not in the understanding; in the sighs of prayer, not in research; seek the bridegroom not the teacher; God and not man; darkness and not daylight; and look not to the light but rather to the raging fire that carries the soul to God with intense fervor and glowing love ...

Let us die, then, and enter into the darkness, silencing our anxieties, our passions and all the fantasies of our imagination ...

My flesh and my heart fail me, but God is the strength of my heart and my heritage for ever. Blessed be the Lord for ever, and let all the people say: Amen. Amen!

(From the Journey of the Mind to God by Saint Bonaventure, in Office of Readings, July 15)

SAINT BONAVENTURE,

SAINT SWITHUN, 

SAINT OSMUND OF SALISBURY,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Crocosmia adorned in brilliant red. 

© Gertrude Feick 2022