Wednesday of the Twenty-Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Respect Life Month

Saints: Saint Wilfrid (634-709); Blessed Jan Beyzym (1850-1912); Our Lady of Aparecida (Brazil)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 9 The Number of Psalms at the Night Office

Mass: Gal 5:18-25; Resp Ps 1; Lk 11:42-46

He is like a tree planted near running water.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

MARY, QUEEN OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY,

SAINT JOSEPH DEFENDER OF LIFE,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.

(Gal 5:25)

In the spirit of commemorating the 60th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, it occurred to me this morning to include passages from some of the documents promulgated at the Second Vatican Council. In this spirit then, and as we live in the Spirit, and desire to follow the Spirit, we pray for the fruit of the Spirit, that is, "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal 5:22-23). The Spirit will help us bear fruit as we respond to the universal call of holiness. 

In the Church, everyone whether belonging to the hierarchy, or being cared for by it, is called to holiness, according to the saying of the Apostle: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification." However, this holiness of the Church is unceasingly manifested, and must be manifested, in the fruits of grace which the Spirit produces in the faithful; it is expressed in many ways in individuals, who in their walk of life, tend toward the perfection of charity, thus causing the edification of others ...

Every person must walk unhesitatingly according to his own personal gifts and duties in the path of living faith, which arouses hope and works through charity.

(Lumen Gentium Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Ch 5:39, 41)

United in faith and prayer, we belong to Christ Jesus and have crucified our flesh with its passions and desires (see Gal 5: 24). At the same time, we know there will be ongoing suffering, setbacks, obstacles, and failures. No matter, we keep going. Heart of Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, have mercy on us.

A sincere desire knows how to touch deeply the chords of our being, which is why it is not extinguished in the face of difficulties or setbacks ... obstacles and failures do not stifle desire; on the contrary, they make it even more alive in us.

(Pope Francis, Wednesday General Audience Catechesis, October 12, 2022)

SAINT WILFRID,

BLESSED JAN BEYZYM,

OUR LADY OF APARECIDA,

POPE SAINT JOHN XXIII,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: The Metolius River, Central Oregon. Whose leaves never fade.

© Gertrude Feick 202

Tuesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Saints: Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 46 Faults Committed in Other Matters

Mass: Jer 14:17-22; Resp Ps 79; Mt 13:36-42

All generations will declare your praise.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

Is it not you alone, O Lord, our God, to whom we look?

(Jer 14:22)

The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to Him will live forever.

(Gospel acclamation, Mass)

Teach us your ways, O Lord. And, whoever has ears ought to hear (Mt 13:43). May we listen to the voice of the Lord, often through others who have formed us, and do form us in the faith: parents, grandparents, and teachers, religious and lay alike. May those who have gone before us rest in the peace of Christ. United in faith and prayer, all of us, pilgrims and companions on the journey, we go forth to bear good fruit.

Today the Church celebrates the parents of the Virgin Mary, the grandparents of Jesus, Saints Joachim and Anne; she was surrounded by their love and faith ... They were part of a long chain of people who had transmitted their faith and love for God, expressed in the warmth and love of family life, down to Mary, who received the son of God in her womb and who have Him to the world, to us.

(Pope Francis, Angelus Address, July 26, 2013)

SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANNE,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: In honor of Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. Grandma and Grandpa with their precious, little grandson Teddy, on a stroll at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park. Let us praise Joachim and Anne, to whom, in their generation, the Lord gave him who was a blessing for all the nations.

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Saturday of the Twenty-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

20th Anniversary of the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks on the United States

Other saints: Saint Deiniol (-584); Blessed Mary of Jesus (1560-1640)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 2:11-16 The Qualities of the Abbot 

Mass: 1 Tim 1:15-17; Resp Ps 113; Lk 6:43-49 

Above the heavens is God's glory.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

On this 20th Anniversary of 9/11, may we bear good fruit and out of goodness in our hearts, produce only good. For all those who died, may they rest in peace. And for all those who grieve the loss of loved ones, dear Jesus, give them comfort and peace. We go forth, with Jesus Christ, the Rock, as our foundation. As Pope Saint John Paul said at his General Audience on the day following the terrorist attacks, "Even if the forces of darkness appear to prevail, those who believe in God know that evil and death do not have the final say." And in the words of Pope Benedict XVI on the first papal visit to Ground Zero in New York, may the Lord "give us the wisdom and courage to work tirelessly for a world where true peace and love reign among nations and the hearts of all" (April 20, 2008). 

In honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary who helps us, the following is from French Cistercian Adam of Perseigne (1145-1241), from Letter Three, in Mary, Most Holy: Meditating With the Early Cistercians, pp. 350-353.

How happy is she

who is both mother and spouse of God

the gate of heaven

the loveliness of paradise

lady of angels

queen of the universe

joy of the saints

advocate of believers

courage of those who fight

recaller of those who wander

medicine of the penitent.

O sure salvation!

Short path of life!

Sole hope of pardon

sweetness unique.

You, my Lady,

are my all.

In your hands

has been stored for me

the fulness of good.

With you

have been hidden the unfailing treasures

 of truth and grace

 of peace and pity

of salvation and wisdom

of glory and honor.

You are my anchor amid the billows

my port in shipwreck

my support in tribulation

my comfort in grief.

For those who are yours

you are

aid in oppression

help in time of crisis

temperance in prosperity

joy in time of waiting

refreshment in toil.

Whatsoever I can stammer

in your praise

is less

than your praise

for you are worthy of all praise.

SAINT DEINIOL,

BLESSED MARY OF JESUS,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: This one from Wednesday, when the sky was Mary's blue. We had a repeat performance yesterday.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Friday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

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

World Day Against Trafficking in Human Persons

Saints: Saint Peter Chrysologus, Bishop, Doctor (380-450); Saint Justin de Jacobis (1800-1860)

Readings of the Day

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

Mass: Lev 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37; Resp Ps 81; Mt 13:54-58

Sing with joy to God our help.

IT WAS NOT YOU WHO CHOSE ME, SAYS THE LORD, BUT I CHOSE YOU AND APPOINTED YOU TO GO AND BEAR FRUIT, FRUIT THAT WILL LAST.

(Communion Antiphon, Mass)

May we not be like the people in today's Gospel and question Jesus' wisdom and mighty deeds. We have work to do, as Saint Peter Chrysologus tells us: [The Creator] "has made you in His image that you might in your person make the invisible Creator present on earth; He has made you His legate, so that the vast empire of the world might have the Lord's representative" (From a sermon by Saint Peter Chrysologus, bishop, in Office of Readings, July 30). And Saint Ignatius of Antioch has something to say too. 

Give yourself to prayer continually, ask for wisdom greater than you now have, keep alert with unflagging spirit. Speak to each man individually, following God's example; bear the infirmities of all, like a perfect athlete of God. The greater the toil, the greater the reward ... be prudent as the serpent in all things, and innocent as the dove always. You are both body and soul; treat gently the manifestation of human fault, even as you pray for the knowledge of things invisible, and then you will lack nothing but abound in every good blessing ... Exercise self-discipline, for you are God's athlete; the prize is immortality and eternal life, as you know full well ... And above all we must bear with everything for God, so that He in turn may bear with us. Increase your zeal.

(From the beginning of a letter to Polycarp by Saint Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr, in Office of Readings, Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time, Friday)

A gentle maiden [Mary], having lodged a God in her womb, asks as its price, peace for the world, salvation for those who are lost, and life for the dead.

(Saint Peter Chrysologus)

SAINT PETER CHRYSOLOGUS,

SAINT JUSTIN DE JACOBIS,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Heavenly bamboo at 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 Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

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

Saints: Saint Etheldreda (-679); Saint Thomas Garnet (1575-1607)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 18:7-11

Mass: Gn 15:1-12, 17-18; Resp Ps 105; Mt 7:15-20

Glory in God's holy name.

REMAIN IN ME, AS I REMAIN IN YOU, SAYS THE LORD;

WHOEVER REMAINS IN ME WILL BEAR MUCH FRUIT.

ALLELUIA.

(Gospel versicle, Mass)

By their fruits you will know them (Mt 7:20), says the Lord. 

You will not see anyone who is really striving after his advancement who is not given to spiritual reading, and to him who neglects it, the fact will soon be observed in his progress.

(Saint Athanasius, 296-373)

Sanctify yourself and you will sanctify society.

(Saint Francis of Assisi, 1181-1226)

I feel a longing and a need to be a saint. I did not know it was so easy to be one, but now I see that one can be holy and happy too. I feel I simply must be a saint.

(Saint Dominic Savio, 1842-1857)

You cannot be half a saint. You must be a whole saint or no saint at all.

(Saint Therese of Lisieux, 1873-1897)

The path of evangelization does not always depend on our will and plans, but requires a willingness to allow ourselves to be shaped and to follow other paths that were not foreseen.

(Pope Francis, General Audience, June 23, 2021)

SAINT ETHELDREDA,

SAINT THOMAS GARNET,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: From a home in Garberville, CA, one I walk past when I am in town. I like to see what kind of beauty grows there. The colors here I find especially appealing.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Friday 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 Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (1473-1541); Bl Mary Bartholomew Bagnesi OP (1514-1577)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 7:10-18

Mass: Sirach 44:1, 9-13; Resp Ps 149; Mk 11:11-26

Sing to the Lord a new song.

HEART OF JESUS, ONE WITH THE ETERNAL WORD,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

I thought to include some poetry today so turned to the Breviary for help. I found a poem by William Blake that may help us take to heart the words of the Gospel versicle: I chose your from the world, to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord. Alleluia. 

The Divine Image

To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love

All pray in their distress;

And to these virtues of delight

Return their thankfulness.

For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love

Is God, our Father dear,

And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love

Is man, His child and care.

For Mercy has a human heart,

Pity a human face,

And Love, the human form divine,

And Peace, the human dress.

Then every man, of every clime,

That prays in his distress,

Prays to the human form divine,

Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.

And all must love the human form,

In heathen, Turk, or Jew;

Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell

There God is dwelling too. 

SAINT MARGARET POLE,

BLESSED MARY BARTHOLOMEW BAGNESI,

SAINT JOSEPH,

MARY, MOTHER OF MERCY,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: The world is charged with the grandeur of God.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Fifth Sunday of Easter

Year of Saint Joseph

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

In other years: Saint Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor (295-373)

Readings of the Day

RB: Prologue 1-7

Mass: Acts 9:26-31; Resp Ps 22; 1 Jn 3:18-24; Jn 15:1-8

You, Lord, are my praise in the great assembly.

CHILDREN, LET US LOVE NOT IN WORD OR SPEECH BUT IN DEED AND TRUTH.

(1 Jn 3:18)

In today's Regina Caeli Address, the Holy Father asked the faithful to ask themselves, "in what sense does Jesus need us?" As Pope Francis said, it may be an audacious concept to think that Jesus needs us. But He does. Jesus "needs our witness," said the Holy Father. Still Saul not yet Paul was a witness as he moved about freely in Jerusalem and "spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord" (Acts 9:29). Saint John encourages us to be witnesses of God's love in deed and truth (1 Jn 3:18). We witness by keeping the commandments and doing what pleases the Lord. We believe in the name of Jesus Christ, and love one another as He commanded us (1 Jn 3:22-23). We must also keep it all in perspective. If we are to witness to our faith we remain in Jesus, the true vine. As Jesus tells us: Remain in me, as I remain in you. Why? Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine, says the Lord, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing (Jn 15:4-5). Put another way, without Jesus we are merely resounding gongs or clashing symbols (1 Cor 13:1). 

All that we do, we should do in God; let us stop for a moment before beginning an activity, so that it may always flow from our union with God. Let us love our sisters and brothers, for they are also Christ, and we love them with God's love. May all our judgements be those of Christ, let us look at everything through His eyes. May it be His prayer that wells up from our heart, His praise that sings in our voices.

(A Carthusian, from Advent to Pentecost: Carthusian Novice Conferences)

First of all, every time you begin a good work, you must pray to God to bring it to perfection.

(Rule of Saint Benedict, Prologue 4)

We begin today, and continue in the coming days, to invoke Saint Joseph by one of seven new invocations to be included in the Litany to Saint Joseph. Just yesterday, on the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments presented the new invocations to Pope Francis, who approved their integration into the Litany. 

SAINT JOSEPH, GUARDIAN OF THE REDEEMER,

SAINT ANTHANASIUS,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: More beauty in the cloister.

© Gertrude Feick 2021

Blessed Virgin Mary

Saturday of the Twenty-Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 20 Reverence in Prayer

Mass: Ep 4:7-16; Resp Ps 122; Lk 13:1-9

Grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.