Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

In other years: Saint Edith of Kemsing (961-984); Saint Stanislaw Kostka (1550-1568)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 4:1-21 The Tools for Good Works

Mass: Amos 8:4-7; Resp Ps 113; 1 Tim 2:1-8; Lk 16:1-13

Above the heavens is His glory.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

MARY, MOTHER OF MERCY,

PRAY FOR US.

Since ...

No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.

(Lk 16:13)

then, 

First of all, love the Lord God with your whole heart, your whole soul and all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.

(Rule of Saint Benedict, 4:1-2)

and we go from there.

Bouna domenica! And it's one of those Sundays when many things work together, primarily in the Word as spoken in the Gospel, in wisdom from Saint Benedict, and in what others have to say it about it all, including you. 😊 God is praised!

It is about making choices. We have been given the gift of reason; let us not waste it. May we be faithful in little matters, and faithful in bigger matters too, as a wise and prudent steward would. If what we encounter day by day, hour by hour, and minute by minute, leads us to love and serve God, and to love and serve our neighbors as ourselves, then let us choose to go there. If our encounters detract from this love and service, we must choose to avoid them. In all things, may God be glorified (1 Pet 4:11/RB 57:9). Coraggio, dear faithful readers. United in faith and prayer, we pick our crosses, "go against the tide," and follow Him.

And from Pope Benedict XVI, during a 2007 Pastoral Visit to the Suburbicarian Diocese of Velletri-Segni, Italy: 

If loving Christ and one's brethren is not to be considered as something incidental and superficial but, rather, the true and ultimate purpose of our whole existence, it will be necessary to know how to make basic choices, to be prepared to make radical renouncements, if necessary, even to the point of martyrdom. Today, as yesterday, Christian life demands the courage to go against the tide, to love like Jesus, who even went so far as to sacrifice Himself on the Cross.

(Pope Benedict XVI, September 23, 2007, Eucharistic Concelebration, Holy Mass, Homily, Saint Clement's Square, Velletri, Italy)

And from Pope Francis, in today's Angelus Address, delivered to the pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square:

We are called to be creative in doing good with the prudence and cleverness of the Gospel, using the goods of this world, not only the material but all the gifts we have received from the Lord, not to enrich ourselves, but to generate fraternal love and social fellowship ... Let us pray to the Blessed Virgin Mary so that she may help us be like herself poor in spirit and rich in works of charity for one another.

(Pope Francis, Sunday Angelus, Saint Peter's Square, Rome, September 18, 2022)

SAINT EDITH KEMSING,

SAINT STANISLAW KOSTKA,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Seeing some blue sky with a smattering of clouds yesterday morning, I thought it was time to share some of this beauty with a friendly reminder: "Don't forget to look up!" And speaking of looking up, it rained during the night, and it continues to rain this morning. High above the nations is the Lord.

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Monday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

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

Saints: Saints Alban, Julius and Aaron, early Christian martyrs; The Irish Martyrs (16th-17th century)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 16 The Celebration of the Divine Office During the Day

Mass: 2 Kgs 17:5-8, 13-15a, 18; Resp Ps 60; Mt 7:1-5

Help us with your right hand, O Lord, and answer us.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

Welcome back to Monday, this one the day before the Summer Solstice, in the month of June dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and in the last week of the Year of the Family. Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father, have mercy on us.

Enough for today are the first and last lines of Jesus in today's Gospel. They are pretty clear. Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged ...remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye (Mt 7:1-2, 5)

Since, by the goodness of God, we who are called "Christians" have been granted the honor of sharing this name, the greatest, the highest, the most sublime of all names, it follows that each of the titles that express its meaning should be clearly reflected in us. If we are not to lie when we call ourselves "Christians," we must bear witness to it by our way of living.

(From a treatise on Christian Perfection by Saint Gregory of Nyssa, bishop, in Office of Readings, Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time, Monday)

SAINTS ALBAN, JULIUS AND AARON,

THE IRISH MARTYRS,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: I like our fig tree. Watch out as the leaves are just getting started.

© Gertrude Feic 2022

Saturday of the Third Week of Easter

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

First Saturday of the Month

Saints: Saint John of Beverley (-721); Blessed Albert of Bergamo OP (1214-1279)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Prologue 39-44

Mass: Acts 9:31-42; Resp Ps 116; Jn 6:60-69

My vows to the Lord I will pay in the presence of the people.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

(Jn 6:63)

Welcome to the First Saturday of the Month, another busy day with the Word made Flesh who dwells among us. Christ is risen. He is truly risen! 

In our account from the Acts of the Apostles, the Church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. The Church was growing in numbers; many turned to the Lord after witnessing the healing of Aeneas, who was paralyzed and confined to bed for eight years. Many also came to believe after the Lord, through Peter, raised Tabitha (which translated is Dorcas 😊) from the dead. Meanwhile, in the Gospel, after Jesus talks about His Flesh being the true food, and His Blood as the true drink, many of the disciples struggle and murmur. So much so that some returned to their former way of life and no longer walked with Him. Let's not go there. Rather, may we join Simon Peter and exclaim: "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God" (Jn 6:68-69). And may many others come to believe through our witness. What is not possible to us by nature, let us ask the Lord to supply through the help of His grace ... we must run and do now what will profit us forever (RB Prologue 41, 44).

To make Christ, always living and present within us, the model of our life and the friend of every hour, the painful hours and the blessed ones as well. To ask Him to make Himself loved by other souls through us, and to be, following a comparison I love, "the rough vessel that contains a brilliant light and through which this light brightens and warms everything around it."

(E. Leseur, The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur, p. 161)

SAINT JOHN OF BEVERLEY,

BLESSED ALBERT OF BERGAMO,

SERVANT OF GOD ELISABETH LESEUR,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: It is always fitting to honor Our Lady, especially in this month of May. This hot off the press photo was sent from a longtime, hometown friend, now faithful reader. She sends her contribution from Carmel, Indiana. As related, her daughter received this beautiful flower while volunteering during a 2nd grade religious education class this past weekend. My dear friend thought it would look beautiful with the addition of three of her favorite statues of Mary. Mary, singular vessel of devotion, pray for us. Shout out to all those east of Mississippi!

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Saturday within the Octave of Easter

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

Saints: Saint George, Martyr (-c.303); Saint Adalbert of Prague (956-997); Blessed Teresa Maria of the Cross (1846-1910)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 65:11-22 The Prior of the Monastery

Mass: Acts 4:13-21; Resp Ps 118; Mk 16:9-15

Alleluia.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

We find our friend who was healed on Wednesday still hanging around in today's account from the Acts of the Apostles. We find him standing there, beside Peter and John. He seems to have left the opposition speechless. Never without something to say, though, and perhaps intimidated by the boldness of Peter and John (Acts 4:13), the naysayers decide to warn Peter and John, and command them not to speak or teach in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18). Yeah, right. I don't expect Peter and John were shaking in their boots. Meanwhile, nearly everybody else was praising God for what had happened. And this is a great line left out of the lectionary, "for the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old" (Act 4:22). I admire the courage of the man who was healed. He stuck with the program. I don't imagine him just standing there; this man was standing tall. In fact, his witness is strong: Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature (Mk 16:15). Alleluia.

Saint George was a man who abandoned one army for another: he gave up the rank of tribune to enlist as a soldier for Christ. Eager to encounter the enemy, he first stripped away his worldly wealth by giving all he had to the poor. Then, free and unencumbered, bearing the shield of faith, he plunged into the thick of the battle, an ardent soldier for Christ.

Clearly what he did serves to teach us a valuable lesson: if we are afraid to strip ourselves of our worldly possessions, then we are unfit to make a strong defense of the faith.

(From a sermon by Saint Peter Damian, bishop, in Office of Readings, April 23)

SAINT GEORGE,

SAINT ADALBERT OF PRAGUE,

BLESSED TERESA MARIA OF THE CROSS,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: I don't think you've seen this particular arrangement before. Even so, it doesn't hurt to see it again. From our garden.

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Thursday of the Seventh Week of Easter

Year of Saint Joseph

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

Month of May Dedicated to Our Lady and a “Marathon” of Prayer to End the Pandemic 

Other saints: Saint Bernardine of Siena (1380-1444); Bl Columba of Rieta OP (1467-1501)

500th Anniversary of Saint Ignatius's injury during the Battle of Pamplona (May 20, 1521). Commencement of the Year of Ignatius (May 20, 2021-July 31, 2022, the Feast of Saint Ignatius): "To See All Things New in Christ"

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 4:22-43

Mass: Acts 22:30; 23:6-11; Resp Ps 16; Jn 17:20-26

Keep me safe, O God, you are my hope.

JESUS, TREASURE OF THE FAITHFUL,

PRAY FOR US.

Take to heart the Lord's words to Saint Paul in today's account from the Acts of the Apostles: Take courage (Acts 23:11). May we be as bold, strong, and courageous as Saint Paul providing Christian witness in word and deed so that others see the love of Jesus in us. Some ways to go about it are included in Saint Benedict's tools for good works:

You are not to act in anger or nurse a grudge.

Rid your heart of all deceit.

Never give a hollow greeting of peace or turn away when someone needs your love.

Bind yourself to no oath lest it prove false, but speak the truth with heart and tongue.

Do not repay one bad turn for another.

Do not injure anyone, but bear injuries patiently.

Love your enemies.

If people curse you, do not curse them back but bless them instead.

Endure persecution for the sake of justice.

You must not be proud, nor given to wine.

Refrain from too much eating or sleeping, and from laziness.

Do not grumble or speak ill of others.

Place your hope in God alone.

If you notice something good in yourself, give credit to God, not to yourself, but be certain that the evil you commit is always your own and yours to acknowledge.

(Rule of Saint Benedict, 4:22-43)

Now, with the feast pressing upon us, let us persevere with one accord in prayer, with greater fervor and increased faithfulness, that the kind Spirit, the sweet Spirit, the strong Spirit, may deign to bestow on us his visitation, consolation, and strengthening: strengthening what is weak, smoothing what is rough, and purifying our hearts.

(Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, from Sermons for the Summer Season)

SAINT BERNARDINE OF SIENA,

BLESSED COLUMBA OF RIETA,

SAINT IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA,

SAINT PAUL,

SAINT BONIFACE,

SAINT JOSEPH,

MARY, MOTHER OF MERCY,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: This beauty was tucked away waiting to burst forth. 

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Thursday of the Sixth Week of Eastertide

Year of Saint Joseph

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

Month of May Dedicated to Our Lady and a “Marathon” of Prayer to End the Pandemic 

Other saints: Our Lady of Fatima; Saint Erconwald (-693); Bl Imelda Lambertini OP (c.1321-1333)

40th Anniversary of the Assassination Attempt on Pope Saint John Paul II (May 13, 1981)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 2:16-22

Mass: Acts 18:1-8; Resp Ps 98; Jn 16:16-20

Praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted.

BEHOLD, I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE, ALLELUIA.

(Communion Antiphon, Mass)

There is so much good news in these accounts from the Acts of Apostles. The last lines of today's passage cause to me to join the psalmist and Sing to the Lord a new song, for He has done wondrous deeds (Ps 98). Why? Because we learn from the reading that "Crispus, the synagogue official, came to believe in the Lord along with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard believed and were baptized"! (Acts 18:8). May we, like Paul, Silas, Timothy, and their friends Aquila, Priscilla, and Titus Justus, witness to the wondrous deeds of the Lord. What is one thing you will do today to witness to the wondrous deeds of the Lord?

OUR LADY OF FATIMA,

SAINT ERCONWALD,

BLESSED IMELDA LAMBERTINI,

POPE SAINT JOHN PAUL II,

SAINT JOSEPH, HOPE OF THE SICK,

MARY, HEALTH OF THE SICK, 

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Everything growing from the earth, bless the Lord.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Saturday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Saint Paul Miki and Companions, the Martyrs of Japan (16th century)

First Saturday of the Month

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 7:56-58

Mass: Heb 13:15-17, 20-21; Resp Ps 23; Mk 6:30-34

Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.

JESUS, COURAGE OF MARTYRS,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

Welcome to the First Saturday of the Month. It may be a good day to pray with the Litany of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. Here are some reasons why with related texts to guide us. 

First, from the Letter to the Hebrews: "Through Jesus, let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess His name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have; God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind" (Heb 13:15-16). 

We confess the Name of Jesus then, while guarding our lips from harmful or deceptive speech (RB 4:51) and remembering Saint Benedict's ninth step of humility, where our holy father Benedict quotes a Proverb and the psalmist: "In a flood of words you will not avoid sinning (Pr 10:19), and A talkative man goes about aimlessly on earth (Ps 140:12)" (RB 7:57-58). 

And lastly, from the writings of Servant of God Elisabeth Leseur (1866-1914).

I wish I could organize a holy crusade against hate and promote justice and love among men and women. At any rate, in this garden God has given me to cultivate, I want to plead by my attitude, my words, and my actions before everyone I meet the great cause of charity. Will I not be defending the cause of God? My God, help us; send a ray of light and love into our midst.

(In Magnificat, January 6, 2021, p. 97)

PAUL MIKI AND COMPANIONS,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: I don't think I've ever captured this view before. Taken yesterday, it shows what a beautiful day it was. God is praised.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Friday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Saint Agatha, Early Christian Martyr

First Friday of the Month

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 7:55

Mass: Heb 13:1-8; Resp Ps 27; Mk 6:14-29

The Lord is my light and my help.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND FOREVER.

(Heb 13:8)

On this First Friday of the Month, we have three related texts.

First, from the Letter to the Hebrews: "Remember your leaders who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith" (Heb 13:7).

Second, from the Holy Rule: "The eighth step of humility is that a monk does only what is endorsed by the common rule of the monastery and the example set by his superiors" (RB 7:55).

Third, from the Office of Readings and a homily on Saint Agatha by Saint Methodius of Sicily: "Agatha, the name of our saint, means 'good'. She was truly good because she was a child of God ... Agatha, her goodness coincides with her name and way of life. She won a good name by her noble deeds, and by her name she points to the nobility of those deeds. Agatha, her name wins all men over to her company. She teaches them by her example to hasten with her to the true Good, God alone."

May we be noble in word and deed, and by our way of life and faith, set a good example to those who look to us to lead and guide them.

Modern man listens more readily to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.

(Pope Saint Paul VI, Address to the Members of the Consilium de Laicis, October 2, 1974)

To us, also, your servants,

who, though sinners,

hope in your abundant mercies,

graciously grant some share

and fellowship with your holy Apostles and Martyrs:

with ... Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia

and all your Saints;

admit us we beseech you,

into their company,

not weighing our merits,

but granting us your pardon,

through Christ our Lord.

[Eucharist Prayer I (Roman Canon)]

SAINT AGATHA,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: I can't help it folks. Our sky is marvelous indeed. Here around 11am yesterday.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Christian witness

Thursday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Saint Eusebius of Vercelli (d. 371)
Saint Peter Julian Eymard (d. 1868)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 51 Those on Local Errands or Work
Mass: Jr 18:1-8; Resp Ps 146; Mt 13:47-53

We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves.

 (Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate, 14)