Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Saint: Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, Doctor of the Church  (1559-1619)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 42 Silence after Compline

Mass: Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13; Resp Ps 36; Mt 13:10-17

Your justice is like the mountains of God.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven have been granted to you.

(Mt 13:11)

Blessed are your eyes, says the Lord, because they see, and your ears because you hear (Mt 13:16). It is our privilege. May we be open, then, so that we see with our eyes and hear with our ears. The one who hears the word and understands it, indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold (Mt 13:23).

We turn to today's saint, Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, whose most important task in life was preaching. However, "he took care to ensure that his preaching was backed by sound learning, so that he could preach to and not at his audiences. Let us take care that our own apostolate is similarly well founded" (Universalis).

For the word of the Lord is light to the mind and a fire to the will. It enables man to know God and to love Him. And for the interior man who lives by the Spirit of God through grace, it is bread and water, but a bread sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, a water better than wine and milk. For the soul it is a spiritual treasure of merits yielding an abundance of gold and precious stones. Among the hardness of the heart that persists in wrongdoing, it acts as a hammer. Against the world, the flesh and the devil it serves as a sword that destroys all sin.

(From a sermon by Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, priest, in Office of Readings, July 21)

I have not forgotten about the Holy Rule of Saint Benedict. Another favorite chapter is up for today, Ch 42 Silence after Compline. Benedict begins the chapter telling us that "monks should diligently cultivate silence at all times, but especially at night, when, after Compline (or Night Prayer, the last prayer of the day), no will be permitted to speak further (RB 42:1, 8). It is the time of the Summum Silentium, the grand silence. And the privileged way to enter the night comes at the conclusion of Compline and the singing of the Salve Regina. The last word on our lips, then, each and every day, is a name, the name of the mother of Jesus, Mary. O clemens, o pia, o dulcis Virgo Maria ... O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. 

SAINT LAWRENCE OF BRINDISI,

MARY, HELP OF CHRISTIANS,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Another one from Mount Rainier is fitting for today, here with bear grass in abundance. O Lord, your mercy reaches to heaven; your faithfulness to the clouds.

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Wednesday of the Third Week of Lent

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

Saint: Saint Turibius of Mongrovejo, Bishop (15381606)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 43:13-19 Tardiness at the Work of God or at Table

Mass: Dt 4:1, 5-9; Resp Ps 147; Mt 5:17-19

Praise the Lord, Jerusalem

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, O Lord.

(Communion Antiphon, Mass)

Let us pray today for help to keep God's commandments, and the greatest is this: Love the Lord God with your whole heart, your whole soul and all your strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. As the Lord says, "Whoever obeys and teaches these commandments will be called the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven" (Mt 5:19). We remain united in faith and prayer. 

If you say, "Show me your God," I will say to you, "Show me what kind of person you are, and I will show you my God." Show me then whether the eyes of your mind can see, and the ears of your heart hear ...

Hand yourself over to the doctor, and He will open the eyes of your mind and heart. Who is to be the doctor? It is God, who heals and gives life through His word and wisdom. 

(From the book addressed to Autolycus by Saint Theophilus of Antioch, bishop, in Office of Readings, Third Week of Lent, Wednesday)

Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life.

(Verse before the Gospel, Mass)

SAINT TURIBIUS OF MONGROVEJO,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: There is plenty of beauty to behold around here. 

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Saturday of the Twenty-Seventh 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: Saint Denis, Bishop, and his Companions, Martyrs (-258); Saint John Leonardi, Priest (1541-1609)

Readings of the Day

RB:  Ch 7:60-61 Humility

Mass: Joel 4:12-21; Resp Ps 97; Lk 11:27-28

Rejoice in the Lord, you just.

MARY, MORNING STAR,

PRAY FOR US.

We have cascading words to take to heart today.

First, from the Gospel, Jesus tell us the foundation: Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it (Lk 11:28).

Second, from the Office of Readings, from a commentary on psalm 118 by Saint Ambrose, bishop: "The true witness is one who bears witness to the commandments of the Lord Jesus and supports that witness by deeds" (October 9).

Third, also from the Office of Readings, from a letter to Pope Paul V by Saint John Leonardi, priest: "Those who want to work for moral reform in the world must first seek the glory of God before all else. Because he is the source of all good, they must wait for his help, and pray for it in this difficult and necessary undertaking. They must then present themselves to those they seek to reform, as mirrors of every virtue and as lamps on the lampstand. Their upright lives and noble conduct must shine before all who are in the house of God. In this way they will gently entice the members of the Church to reform instead of forcing them, lest, in the words of the Council of Trent, they demand of the body what is not found in the head, and thus upset the whole order of the Lord's household" (October 9).

SAINT DENIS AND HIS COMPANIONS,

SAINT JOHN LEONARDI,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: More from Queen of Angels Monastery.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Tuesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

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

Saints: Blessed Titus Brandsma (1881-1942); Blessed Robert Sutton (1545-1588); Blessed Rudolph Acquaviva and Companions (-1538)

Readings of the Day

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

Mass: Ex 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28; Resp Ps 103; Mt 13:36-43

Merciful and gracious is the Lord.

WHOEVER HAS EARS OUGHT TO HEAR.

(Mt 13:43)

When I read Jesus' words to the disciples in today's Gospel, I thought of something Jesus said to the disciples earlier in the same chapter of Saint Matthew's Gospel: Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear (Mt 13:16). May we open our eyes and our ears and our hearts to fully receive the Word of God. In other words, be receptive to the Word of God in all things, people, and events, for as Cistercian monk Father Francis Mahieu Acharya (1912-2002) said: "Being receptive to the Word of God that comes to us through everyday events is real contemplation."

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all His benefits.

(Communion Antiphon, Mass)

SAINT TITUS BRANDSMA,

BLESSED ROBERT SUTTON,

BLESSED RUDOLPH ACQUAVIVA AND COMPANIONS,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Camellia from the monastery.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

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

Saints: Saint Bridget of Sweden, Religious (1303-1373); Saints Philip Evans (1645-1679) and John Lloyd,  (1630-1679); Our Lady, Mother of Divine Grace

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 43:13-19 

Mass: Ex 20:1-17; Resp Ps 19; Mt 13:18-23

Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.

THE WOMAN WHO FEARS THE LORD WILL HERSELF BE PRAISED. HER CHILDREN HAVE CALLED HER MOST BLESSED, HER HUSBAND HAS SUNG HER PRAISES.

(Entrance Antiphon, Mass)

One of our saints of the day, and another favorite of mine, Saint Bridget of Sweden, is certainly someone who heard the Word of God, understood it, and bore fruit (Mt 13:23). Her life was full. Happily married to a nobleman, she and her husband Ulf had eight children. Among other notables, Bridget served as a lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Sweden; after she and Ulf went on pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint James at Compostela in Spain, they decided to spend the rest of their lives in monasteries; after Ulf's death in 1944, Bridget founded a double monastery starting a new monastic order, the Order of the Most Holy Savior, what we now call the Bridgettines; in 1350 Bridget went to Rome and spent the rest of her life there "caring for the poor and sick, denouncing the excesses of the aristocracy, and robustly telling the Pope to return to Rome from Avignon." Bridget was also a mystic. Her revelations have been published. May Saint Bridget of Sweden, and her husband Ulf, intercede for us so that we do too bear fruit in our little part of the world. The following prayers I have on a little piece of paper given to me by dear Father Paschal, OSB, of happy memory. He loved Saint Bridget of Sweden.

Prayers of Saint Bridget

Lord, show me your way and make me willing to follow it.

Amen.

Lord God, for whom nothing is impossible, who can do everything, give me the power to do good and to persevere,

Mary, Mother of Peace, Light, and Love who gave birth to the Savior on earth, ask Jesus to show me the way on my pilgrimage to eternal life.

SAINT BRIDGET OF SWEDEN,

SAINTS PHILIP EVANS AND JOHN LLOYD,

OUR LADY, MOTHER OF DIVINE GRACE,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: This is a view of the underside of a licorice fern frond with the little groups of spores all lined up! A favorite fern of today's contributor. These Catherine found in the forest near Neskowin, Oregon. 

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

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

Saints: Saint Lawrence of Brindisi (1559-1619)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 42 Silence after Compline

Mass: Ex 16:1-5; Resp Ps 78; Mt 13:1-9

The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

MARY, VIRGIN MOST RENOWNED,

PRAY FOR US.

Whoever has ears ought to hear (Mt 13:9), Jesus tells us in today's Gospel. And a great time to listen and hear is during silence. It is no secret that Saint Benedict calls us to "diligently cultivate silence at all times, but especially at night (RB 42:1), most especially after Compline, the last common prayer of the day, when "no one will be permitted to speak further" (RB 42:8). In fact, the last word on our lips each and every day should be "Mary", sung in the Salve Regina at the end of Compline: O clemens: O pia: O dulcis Virgo Maria; O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary. Ask Mary to help you listen to the words of her Son. Speak, Lord, your servant is listening. 

The word of God is a light to the mind and a fire to the will. It enables man to know God and to love Him. And for the interior man who lives by the Spirit of God through grace, it is bread and water, but a bread sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, a water better than wine and milk. For the soul it is a spiritual treasure of merits yielding and abundance of gold and precious stones. Against the hardness of a heart that persists in wrongdoing, it acts as a hammer. Against the world, the flesh and the devil it serves as a sword that destroys all sin.

(From a sermon by Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, priest, in Office of Readings, July 21)

SAINT LAWRENCE OF BRINDISI,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Back to Maddy and her backpack trip, Marmot Pass, Buckhorn Wilderness, WA.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Monday 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: Saint John of Avila, Priest, Doctor (c.1500-1569); Saint Damian of Molokai (1840-1889); Saint Comgall (510/520-597/602); Saint Antonius of Florence OP (1389-1459)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 1:6-13

Mass: Acts 16:11-15; Resp Ps 149; Jn 15:26-16:4a

The Lord takes delight in His people.

HEART OF JESUS, ABYSS OF ALL VIRTUES,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

One of my favorite lines from the Bible comes in today's account from the Acts of the Apostles. It is there that we meet "a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira" (Acts 16:14). Lydia was a worshiper of God. Lydia listened and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying (Acts 16:14). Lydia, please intercede for us so that we become better listeners. Dear Lord, open our hearts to pay better attention so as to receive your Word.

Everything we would like others to do for us, let us do for them instead (cf. Mt 7:12). Do we want to be heard? Let us first listen. Do we need encouragement? Let us give encouragement. Do we want someone to care for us? Let us care for those who are alone and abandoned.

(Pope Francis, Twitter, May 10, 2021)

SAINT JOHN OF AVILA,

SAINT DAMIAN OF MOLOKAI,

SAINT COMGALL,

SAINT ANTONIUS OF FLORENCE,

SAINT JOSEPH,

MARY, MOTHER OF MERCY,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Kathleen going for it at Joshua Tree National Park. Thank you for the great and  memorable days there in 2017.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Saturday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Blessed Virgin Mary

Other saints: Blessed Jordan of Saxony, successor to Saint Dominic (c. 1177-1237)

World Radio Day

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 11 The Celebration of Vigils on Sunday

Mass: Gn 3:9-24; Resp Ps 90; Mk 8:1-10

From everlasting to everlasting you are God.

MARY, SEAT OF WISDOM,

PRAY FOR US.

It is Saturday and as is customary on most Saturdays, it is a day dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It is a day when I look to the Litany of Mary for a fitting invocation. The title above goes well with part of the Responsorial Psalm I marked: "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on your servants" (Ps 90:12-13). Be assured, as in today's Gospel, Jesus says, My heart is moved with pity for the crowd, because they have been with me now for three days and have nothing to eat (Mk 8:2). We join those gathered in the crowd. Eat and be satisfied (Mk 8:8).

ONE DOES NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT COMES FORTH FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD.

(Gospel versicle, Mass)

Today's photo: Latest (yesterday) ice storm on "the hill" of Mt. Angel Abbey. Notice if you can the icicles on the leaves.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Word of God Sunday: A day devoted to the celebration, study, and dissemination of the Word of God

Year of Saint Joseph

Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: "Abide in my love and you will bear much fruit"

In other years: Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor (1567-1622)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 6 Restraint of Speech

Mass: Jon 3:1-5, 10; Resp Ps 25; 1 Cor 7:29-31; Mk 1:14-20

In your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O Lord.

I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD, SAYS THE LORD; WHOEVER FOLLOWS ME WILL NOT WALK IN DARKNESS, BUT WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE.

(Communion Antiphon, Mass)

As can be seen at the top of today's reflection, it is a busy day. Therefore, we could be about many things. One, as I was reminded by a commentator, is to go back to the basics. That is by listening to Jesus when He begins His public ministry: This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the Gospel (Mk 1:15). Indeed, this is the time of fulfillment. Repent, and believe in the Gospel. 

Spend some time with the Word of God today. How is Jesus calling you to repent and follow Him more closely? Teach me your ways, O Lord (Ps 25).

To accept Jesus' call is to reject other options, with all their joys and sorrows. The first disciples grew slowly into their call and its price tag as they left behind families, jobs, home, country, and finally life itself. They counted the choice worth the cost. And so may we.

(Magnificat, Prayer for the Evening, Canticle commentary, January 23, 2021)

SAINT FRANCES DE SALES,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: A beautiful look at Crater Lake, Oregon. Thanks, MO. 

© Gertrude Feick 2021