Thursday of Holy Week (Holy Thursday)

The Month of April Dedicated both to Devotion to the Eucharist and Devotion to the Holy Spirit

In other years: Saint Galla, Roman Widow (6th century); Saint Peter of Verona, Dominican and Martyr (1205-1252); Blessed Pierina Morosini (1931-1957)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 54 Letters of Gifts for Monks

Chrism Mass: Is 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9; Resp Ps 89; Rev 1:5-8; Lk 4:16-21

Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper: Ex 12:1-8, 11-14; Ps 116; 1 Cor 11:23-36; Jn 13:1-15

To You I will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL, 

PRAY FOR US.

JESUS, OUR HOPE,

SPIRIT OF HUMILITY,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

If I, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. 

I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.

(Jn 13:14-15)

Welcome to Maundy Thursday. Jesus' words in today's Gospel take me to Saint Benedict and what has been called the center of his holy rule. You will find it in Chapter 35. Kitchen Servers of the Week. There we learn that the sisters should serve one another (RB 35:1). So important is this service of those in our midst; no one should be excused from it unless she is sick or otherwise engaged in something important. It is this kind of service that increases reward and fosters love (RB 35:1-2). Jesus, Master and Teacher has given us the model. Do whatever He tells you (Jn 2:5).

Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus.

(Ph 2:5)

SAINT GALLA,

SAINT PETER OF VERONA,

BLESSED PIERINA MOROSINI,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: In the presence of all His people.

© Gertrude Feick 2023

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 Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

Labor Day

Saints: Saint Herbert (d. 687); Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Prologue 33-38 

Mass: 1 Cor 5:1-8; Ps 5; Lk 6:6-11 

May your favor, O Lord, be upon us.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

AFFLICTED MOTHER,

PRAY FOR US.

Stretch out your hand.

(Lk 6:10)

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells the man with the withered hand to stretch out his hand. There are all sorts of people who stretch out their hands. And we don't have to go too far to find them as Saint Teresa of Calcutta says: "The fruit of prayer is deepening of faith, and the fruit of faith is love; and the fruit of love is service, in whatever form, even in our family. Love begins at home." Wherever we find ourselves honoring out National Holiday, at home, in community, with friends or relatives, or even enjoying some time alone, we remember this: "What a wonderful thought, that God loves me, and that I can love you, and you can love me, as He loves us. What a wonderful gift of God!" (Saint Teresa of Calcutta). He did so and his hand was restored (Lk 6:10).

On this Labor Day then, "let us celebrate the feast, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (1 Cor 5:8)

The true worth and nobility of man lie in his moral qualities, that is, his virtue; that virtue is, moreover, the common inheritance of all people, equally within the reach of high and low, rich and poor; and that virtue, and virtue alone, wherever found, will be followed by the rewards of everlasting happiness.

(Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum Of Revolutionary Change, Encyclical on Capitol and Labor, May 15, 1891, #24)

"If you ever feel distressed during your day, call upon Our Lady, just say this simple prayer: 'Mary, Mother of Jesus, please be a mother to me now." I must admit, this prayer never failed me."

(Saint Teresa of Calcutta)

SAINT TERESA OF CALCUTTA,

SAINT HERBERT,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: And may you give success to the work of our hands.

 

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Friday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Saints: Saint Jane Frances de Chantal, Religious (1572-1641); Blessed Isidore Bakanja (c.1886-1909); Saint Muredach (5th century); Saint Attracta (5th or 6th century); Saint Lelia (?); Saint Blaan (-590)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 58:17-29 The Procedure for Receiving Brothers

Mass: Ezk 16:1-15, 60, 63 or Ezk 16:59-63; Resp Ps (Is 12); Mt 19:3-12

My strength and my courage is the Lord.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

HEART OF MARY, FULL OF GRACE,

PRAY FOR US.

Receive me, Lord, as you have promised, and I shall live; do not disappoint me in my hope.

(Rule of Saint Benedict 58:21/Ps 118:116)

As on many days, we turn to our saints of the day for inspiration and intercession. We have plenty of them to pray for us today, some more well-known than others. Big inspirations for me are women, those who were wives and mothers, and we have a powerful one to commemorate, namely, Saint Jane Frances de Chantal. Jane, born in Dijon, France in the mid-sixteenth century, married a nobleman and was happily married for nine years as wife and the mother of six children, whom she raised in the faith. After her husband's untimely death in a hunting accident, Jane sought the spiritual guidance of Francis de Sales. As she continued to seek God, Jane served the poor and the sick. In 1610, Jane and Francis founded the Order of Visitation for women who devoted themselves to "total trust in humble and gentle service in the spirit of Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth. " And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy (Lk 1:43-44). My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord (Lk 1:46). Amen. 

In our neighbor we should only observe what is good.

(Saint Jane Frances de Chantal)

The great method of prayer is to have none. If in going to prayer one can form in oneself a pure capacity for receiving the spirit of God, that will suffice for all method.

(Saint Jane Frances de Chantal)

Hell is full of the talented, but Heaven of the energetic.

(Saint Jane Frances de Chantal)

SAINT JANE FRANCES DE CHANTAL,

SAINT FRANCIS DE SALES,

BLESSED ISIDORE BAKANIA,

SAINT MUREDACH,

SAINT ATTRACTA,

SAINT LELIA,

SAINT BLAAN

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Not looking for something to include in today's reflection, I walked by this and went straight for the camera. Sing praise to the Lord for His glorious achievements.

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Saints: Saints Louis Martin and Marie Azelie Guerin (19th century); Saint John Jones (-1598)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 34 Distribution of Goods According to Need

Mass: Is 7:1-9; Resp Ps 48; Mt 11:20-24

Great is the Lord and wholly to be praised.

MARY QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

Let not your courage fail.

(Is 7:4)

Even though we are no longer in the year dedicated to families, the Year of the Family "Amoris laetitia The Joy of Love," we always pray for families. And we have two great intercessors commemorated today, namely, Saint Louis Martin and Marie Azelie Guerin, the first-ever married couple with children to be canonized in the same ceremony. Remarkably, five of their nine children (four died in infancy) entered religious life, including the Little Flower, that is, Saint Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church. Still, their life was simple and faith filled. One Carmelite source has this to say: "Louis and Zelie did not do anything extraordinary in their lifetimes, but rather lived their faith in a very simple, humble way, teaching by example, knowing what it was like to mourn the loss of loved ones, nurturing the vocation of their children, and putting their faith into action by reaching out to others in need" (Society of the Little Flower).  At their 2015 canonization, Pope Francis preached this: "The holy spouses Louis Martin and Marie-Azelie Guerin practiced Christian service in the family, creating day by day an environment of faith and love which nurtured the vocations of their daughters, among whom was Saint Therese of the Child Jesus." Furthermore, "the radiant witness of these new saints inspires us to persevere in joyful service to our brothers and sisters, trusting in the help of God and the maternal protection of Mary. From heaven may they now watch over us and sustain us by their powerful intercession" (October 18, 2015). May we be inspired. Mary, queen of families, pray for us. Saint Joseph, pillar of families, pray for us.

SAINTS LOUIS MARTIN AND MARIE AZELIE GUERIN,

SAINT JOHN JONES,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: This one was taken early this last Sunday morning. Nice. The joy of all the earth.

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

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

Saint: Saint Anthony of Padua, "Hammer of the Heretics", Patron Saint of the Lost and Found (1195?-1231)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 10 The Arrangement of the Night Office in Summer

Mass: 1 Kgs 21:1-16; Resp Ps 5; Mt 5:38-42 

Hearken to my words, O Lord.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.

(Mt 5:41-42)

Welcome to Monday. 😊 Jesus' words above and Saint Anthony of Padua's below should keep us busy enough. United in faith and prayer, we keep going. And if you can't seem to find something, ask Saint Anthony of Padua to help. He comes through. 

Actions speak louder than words; let your words teach and your actions speak.

(From a sermon by Saint Anthony of Padua, priest, in Office of Readings, June 13)

SAINT ANTHONY OF PADUA,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: My king and my God!

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Friday of the Third Week of Easter

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

First Friday of the Month

Saint: Saint Francois de Laval (1623-1708)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Prologue 33-38 

Mass: Acts 9:1-20; Resp Ps 117; Jn 6:52-59

The fidelity of the Lord endures forever.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

The crucified is risen from the dead and has redeemed us, alleluia.

(Communion Antiphon, Mass)

Welcome to the First Friday of the Month of May, a glorious month dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mary, help of Christians, pray for us. 

We have another action packed and lively account from the Acts of the Apostles today. We begin with Saul breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. By the end of it all, not without being baptized, then eating and recovering his strength, Saul proclaims Jesus in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. The marvels of God never cease. The Lord waits for us daily to translate into action, as we should, His holy teachings (RB Prologue 35).

Little duties, little efforts, the better for being seen by no one, except by Him in whose eyes nothing is little.

(E. Leseur, The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur, p. 157)

SAINT FRANCOIS DE LAVAL,

SERVANT OF GOD ELISABETH LESEUR,

BLESSED PIER GIORGIO FRASSITI,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Glorify Him all you peoples!

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Friday after Epiphany

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

Saint: Saint Raymond of Penafort, Patron Saint of Canon Lawyers (c.1175-1275)

First Friday of the Month

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Prologue 45-50

Mass: 1 Jn 5:5-13; Resp Ps 147; Lk 5:12-16

A light has risen in the darkness for the upright of heart.

WHOEVER POSSESSES THE SON HAS LIFE; 

WHOEVER DOES NOT POSSESS THE SON OF GOD DOES NOT HAVE LIFE.

(1 Jn 5:12)

Do you know any Canon Lawyers? If so, today is the day to send them congratulations and ask our Saint of the Day, Raymond of Penafort, to intercede for them. Come to think of it, since Raymond held degrees in both Civil and Canon law, he can intercede for all lawyers. Go Raymond go. I love the saints and as I have said, this week has been loaded with them. It is fascinating to read about the saints and all they did for the glory of God and the Church. I had to chuckle just now when reading about Saint Raymond in Butler's Lives of the Saints, January volume, pp. 51-53. It was the line, "Exhausted by his labours, Raymond returned to Barcelona" (p. 51). Dear Raymond was already exhausted, and it is no wonder, at the age of 59. Yet he lived to be between ninety and ninety-nine as estimates vary. To give you an idea of Raymond's brilliance and service, he was already teaching philosophy at the age of 20, and that was before he earned his law degrees. He joined the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), was attentive to the needs of the poor, spent long periods in solitude and study, wrote tomes, preached to the Moors and Jewish people, was elected third master general of the Order of Preachers, and encouraged a young Thomas Aquinas to write the Summa contra Gentiles. And by helping Pope Gregory IX to lay the foundations for the Code of Canon Law that lasted until the 1917 Code, the last line in the Butler's entry reads, "Raymond thereby forms the main link in canon law between the Middle Ages and modern times" (p.53). Whew! I had an Irish Dominican for a course in Canon Law and his question to us was, "what is the purpose of Canon Law?" And the answer is, "the salvation of souls." Thank you, Saint Raymond of Penafort.

We have been busy with the Prologue of the Rule of Saint Benedict this week. I have neglected to write much about it since we've been so busy with the saints. We conclude the Prologue today and there is a line for all of us on this First Friday of the Month and we have many saints to model for us. Saint Benedict writes this: "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 (Prologue 49). 

We also, along with Pope Francis, pray for "peace and every good" for the Eastern Churches, both Catholic and Orthodox, who celebrate the Nativity of the Lord today.  

SAINT RAYMOND OF PENAFORT,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: You can see a hint of blue sky that after days of rain was a blessing. The Lord is generous, merciful and just.

© Gertrude Feick 2022

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

Saturday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

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

National Back to School Month

Saints: Saint Maximilian Kolbe, Priest, “Martyr of Charity” (1894-1941)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 60 The Admission of Priests to the Monastery

Mass: Joshua 24:14-29; Resp Ps 16; Mt 19:13-15

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

JESUS, STRENGTH OF MARTYRS,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

Greater love has no one than to lay down his life for his friends, says the Lord.

(Communion Antiphon, Mass)

With a little bit of research I found that it was now Pope Saint Paul VI who called our saint of the day, Saint Maximilian Kolbe, a "martyr of love", when Pope Paul VI beatified Maximilian in 1971. Then, when canonizing Maximilian Kolbe in 1982, now Pope Saint John Paul II, echoed his predecessor and declared Maximilian Kolbe a "martyr of charity." I find these tidbits fascinating. Oh the gift and beauty of our faith tradition. All said, we have plenty of inspiration on this Saturday as we promise with "all the tribes of Israel at Shechem" (Joshua 24:1), We will serve the Lord for He is our God ... and obey His voice (Joshua 24:18, 24)!

Let us love [Mary] concretely, fulfilling all our duties as well as we can from morning to night, since all this is the will of Jesus, in order to prove our love for Jesus by loving His Mother, the Immaculate Mary. 

(Maximilian Kolbe, in Magnificat "Meditation of the Day", August 14, 2021).

We should make each day a resume of our whole life by filling it with prayer, work and charity.

(Elisabeth Leseur, The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur, p. 163)

SAINT MAXIMILIAN KOLBE,

BLESSED ELISABETH LESEUR,

POPE SAINT PAUL VI,

POPE SAINT JOHN PAUL II,

JOSEPH, MOST STRONG,

MARY, QUEEN OF MARTYRS,

PRAY FOR US.

NB. Another interesting to me tidbit is that Saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941) and Servant of God Elisabeth Leseur (1866-1914), two of my favorites, lives overlapped. Two different people, leading very different lives, both rooted in our faith, doing the will of God, in their parts of the world. God is praised. May they both intercede for us.

Today's photo: I found these delights taking a bit of refuge in a bush behind Lima's Professional Pharmacy in Eureka, CA.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

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

National Back to School Month

Saints: Saint Lawrence, Deacon, Martyr (-258)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 57 The Artisans of the Monastery

Mass:  2 Cor 9:6-10; Resp Ps 112; Jn 12:24-26

The just one shall be in everlasting remembrance.

WHOEVER FOLLOWS ME WILL NOT WALK IN DARKNESS BUT WILL HAVE THE LIGHT OF LIFE, SAYS THE LORD,

ALLELUIA.

(Gospel versicle, Mass)

A funny story I once heard was from a priest who was in Rome, set to meet some friends at the Church of Saint Lawrence, Chiesa de San Lorenzo. The priest hales a taxi, gets in, and asks to be taken to the Church. Unbeknownst to the priest, there are nearly ten churches dedicated to, or associated with the life of Saint Lawrence in Rome. It happened though, that through trial and error, the taxi driver managed to eventually get the priest to where he was meant to be. You know, Chiesa di San Lorenzo. 😉

So on this Feast of Saint Lawrence, we ask Saint Lawrence to intercede for us so that we sow bountifully through whatever is presented to us today, "without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor 9:7). We remember that God is able to make every grace abundant for us, so that in all things, always having what we need, we may have abundance for every good work (2 Cor 9:8). In this way, we sow so that in all things God may be glorified (Rule of Saint Benedict 57:9/1 Pet 4:11). 

Lawrence was a deacon of the Church at Rome ... in his life he loved Christ; in his death he followed in His footsteps ... 

Let us understand, then, how a Christian must follow Christ even though he does not shed his blood for Him, and his faith is not called upon to undergo the great test of the martyr's suffering ...

Christ humbled Himself . Christian, that is what you must make your own. Christ became obedient. How is it that you are proud? When this humbling experience was completed and death itself lay conquered, Christ ascended into heaven. Let us follow Him there, for we hear Paul saying: If you have been raised with Christ, you must lift your thoughts on high, where Christ now sits at the right hand of God.

(From a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop, in Office of Readings, August 10)

SAINT LAWRENCE,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Sunflower with bee from d in West Linn, OR.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

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

Saints: Saint Henry (973-1024); Saint Teresa of Los Andes (1900-1920)

Readings of the Day

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

Mass: Ex 2:1-15a; Resp Ps 69; Mt 11:2-24

I have reached the watery depths; the flood overwhelms me.

HEART OF JESUS, PATIENT AND MOST MERCIFUL,

HAVE MERCY ON US. 

It has been said that the first verse from today's reading from the Holy Rule is the center of the Rule. It is there in the chapter on kitchen servers of the week that Saint Benedict tell us that we should serve one another (RB 35:1). Then our holy father tells us how we are to go about it. So important is kitchen service is that no one is to be excused from it. However, help is assigned as needed, and adjustments are made for the sick and those otherwise engaged. In the end, we are to serve one another in love. And wherever we are at work, home, or in community, we can do all that we do for one another in love.

Henry, king by the preordained mercy of God, to all the sons of the church, both future and present. By all most salutary instructions of sacred eloquences we are taught and advised to abandon temporal riches, to lay aside earthly goods, and to strive to reach the eternal and everlasting dwelling-places in heaven. For present glory is fleeting and meaningless, while it is possessed, unless in it we can glimpse something of heaven's eternity. But God's mercy toward the human race provided a useful remedy when he made the reward for earthly existence a share in our heavenly country.

(From the ancient Life of Saint Henry, in Office of Readings, July 13)

SAINT HENRY,

SAINT TERESA OF LOS ANDES,

SAINT JOSEPH, 

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: This looks refreshing to me. Thanks EJF for the nice photo of Laguna Beach. 

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

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

Saints: Saint Philip Neri (1515-1595)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 7:1-4 Humility

Mass: Sirach 36:1, 4-5a, 10-17; Resp Ps 79; Mk 10:32-45

Deliver us and pardon our sins for your name's sake.

O GOD, SHOW US THE LIGHT OF YOUR MERCIES.

(Sirach 36:1)

Do you wish to be great? Then, as Jesus tells us in today's Gospel, we are to serve (Mk 10:43). So we listen to three great saints for some ways to go about our service. The first quotation is especially fitting as we begin Saint Benedict's chapter on humility. Indeed, whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted (Lk 14:11;18:14/RB 7:1). 

When we go to confession, we should accuse ourselves of our worst sins first, and of those things which we are ashamed of, because by this means we put the devil to greater confusion and reap more fruit from our confession. One of the very best means of obtaining humility is sincere and frequent confession.

(Saint Philip Neri)

It is an old custom of the servants of God to have some little prayers ready and to be frequently darting them up to heaven during the day, lifting their minds to God out of the mire of this world.

(Saint Philip Neri)

Cast yourself into the arms of God and be very sure if He wants anything of you, He will fit you for the work and give you strength.

(Saint Philip Neri)

Rejoice in the Lord, not in the world. That is, rejoice in the truth, not in wickedness; rejoice in the hope of eternity, not in the fading flower of vanity. That is the way to rejoice. Wherever you are on the earth, however long you remain on earth, the Lord is near, do not be anxious about anything.

(From a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop, in Office of Readings, May 26)

SAINT PHILIP NERI,

SAINT BENEDICT,

SAINT JOSEPH,

MARY, MOTHER OF MERCY,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Hi friends, we're Max (l) and Millie (r), and belong to dear Stephanie and Mike, the former and Sister Gertrude have been friends for not too many years shy of 40. Can you imagine? We look like we've been up to a bit o mischief. And perhaps we have. At the same time, we think Saint Philip would like us, for he had a sense of humor. Although we aren't especially fond of cats, Philip Neri was. It is said that "when some of his more pompous penitents made their confession to him (he was famous as a confessor) he imposed salutary and deflating penances on them, such as walking through the streets of Rome carrying his cats (he was very fond of cats)." And there is more. "When a novice showed signs of excessive seriousness, Philip stood on his head in from of him, to make him laugh"! (Universalis, "About Today", May 26, 2021). 😉 

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Feast of All Saints of the Benedictine Family; Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917)

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 35:12-18

Mass:
For Feast: Is 61:9-11; Resp Ps 88; Jn 15:1-8
For Ferial Day: Tt 2:1-8, 11-14; Resp Ps 37; Lk17:7-10

Listen carefully to the master's instructions, and attend to them with the of your heart.

Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

National Vocations Week

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 28 The Treatment of Those Who Relapse
Mass: Dt 6:2-6; Resp Ps 18; Heb 7:23-28; Mk 12:28b-34

He is the One and there is no other than he.

All is gift!

Readings of the day
RB: Ch 34 Fair Provision for the Needs of All
Mass: Ho 11:1-4, 8c-9; Resp Ps 80; Mt 10:7-15

Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. 

Jesus' words to the Apostles are a good reminder for us. All is gift. Our talents, gifts, or 'skill sets' if your prefer, were given freely by God to each one of us. We did not have to pay for them, or exhibit good behavior in order to receive them. God simply loves us and gives us each according to need. These gifts, though, are not to be hoarded or used for our own edification and glory. Rather, like Jesus told the Apostles, we are to go out and proclaim the Good News to all those we meet. We use our gifts and talents for the glory of God, remembering a favorite verse from St Benedict included in yesterday's post: 'When you see any good in yourself, then, don't take it to be your very own, but acknowledge it as a gift from God' (RB 4:42). What we have received from the Lord we return to the Lord by serving the needs of others. In this way, we love and serve God and our neighbor, simultaneously! Herewith a friendly reminder from St Paul via St Benedict: 'God loves a cheerful giver' (2 Cor 9:7/RB 5:16).

Please notice today's photo of our first Passion Flower of the season. All is gift!

Thursday of the Fourth Week of Easter

Readings of the day: RB 68 Assignment of Impossible Tasks

Mass: Ac 13:13-25; Resp Ps 89; Jn 13:16-20

Jesus embodies humble service by washing the disciples’ feet. Then the Word speaks:Amen, amen, I say to you, no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you understand this, blessed are you if you do it. For a few reasons I am drawn to one of my favorite paragraphs in Gaudete et Exsultate, 136:

We need to open the door of our hearts to Jesus, who stands and knocks (cf. Rev 3:20). Sometimes I wonder, though, if perhaps Jesus is already inside us and knocking on the

door for us to let him escape from our stale self-centredness. In the Gospel, we see how Jesus “went through the cities and villages, preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God” (Lk 8:1). After the resurrection, when the disciples went forth in all directions, the Lord accompanied them (cf. Mk 16:20). This is what happens as the result of true encounter.

The self-centred are neither humble nor about a life of service. The self-centred neither let Jesus in their hearts nor let him out. We might ask ourselves: How is my heart today? Am I ready for true encounter?

The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. 

With Christ joy is constantly born anew.

(Evangelii Gaudium, 1)