Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

June is the month of the Sacred Heart 

Father's Day

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 14 The Celebration of Vigils on the Anniversary of Saints - Ch 18 The Order of the Psalmody

Mass: Ex 19:2-6a; Resp Ps 100; Rm 5:6-11; Mt 9:36-10:8

Serve the Lord with gladness.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

MARY, MOTHER OF THE CHURCH,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.  

HEART OF JESUS, DESIRE OF THE EVERLASTING HILLS,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

Without cost you have received; 

without cost you are to give.

(Mt 10:8)

Welcome to the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. And Happy Father's Day to all fathers and grandfathers, and all Father fathers too. Saint Joseph, pillar of families, pray for us.

Today, and throughout the week, why not reflect on all the gifts God has given you, without measure. Write down five gifts, and then, pay something forward. Remember too some words from Jesus: Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you (Lk 6:38). In doing this, then, your spirits may be lifted, and your mood may lighten; you may be rejuvenated. Yes, the Kingdom of God is at hand (Mt 10:7). So, we boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rm 5:11) and remember that "In everything we do God considers our disposition rather than our actions. And so, whether we retire mentally to God in earnest contemplation and remain at rest or whether we are intent of being of service to those around us with good works and worthy undertakings, let our object be that we are motivated only by the love of Christ" (Saint Laurence Justinian, 1381-1456). 

Our voices for the week come from tea bag tags ☺, all fitting intros to a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844-1889). United in faith and prayer, Jesus summons each one of us, just like He summoned His twelve disciples (Mt 10:1), and we go forth. Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection, have mercy on us.

Plant kindness and gather love.

(Proverb)

Beauty is not caused. It is.

(Emily Dickinson, 1830-1886)

Are not flowers stars of the earth?

(Clara Lucas Balfour, 1808-1878)

In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous.

(Aristotle, 384-322 BC)

One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.

(Shakespeare, 1564-1616)

The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.

(Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1803-1882)

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

(Lao Tzu, 6th-5th century BC)

Pied Beauty

Gerard Manley Hopkins

Glory be to God for dappled things-

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut falls; finches' wings;

Landscape plotted and pieced-fold, fallow, and plough;

All all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;

Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows him?)

With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;

He fathers-forth whose beauty is past changed:

Praise him.

SAINT ROMUALD

SAINTS ALBAN, JULIUS AND AARON,

THE IRISH MARTYRS,

SAINT ALOYSIUS GONZAGA,

SAINT JOHN RIGBY,

SAINT JOHN FISHER,

SAINT THOMAS MORE,

SAINT PAULINUS OF NOLA,

SAINT ETHELREDA,

SAINT THOMAS GARNET,

SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: In Ordinary Time there is always something extraordinary. The world is charged with the grandeur of God ...

© Gertrude Feick 2023

Wednesday of the Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

The Month of February Dedicated to the Holy Family

Saints: Saint Josephine Bakhita, Virgin (1869-1947); Saint Jerome Emiliani (1486-1537); Saint Cuthman of Steyning (7th-8th century)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 7:60-61 Humility

Mass: Gn 2:4b-9, 15-17; Resp Ps 104; Mk 7:14-23

At the time when the Lord made the earth and the heavens.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Then the Lord God planted a garden in Eden ... out of the ground the Lord God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food.

(Gn 2:8-9)

On this Wednesday, called "hump day" by those eager for the work week's end, let us pray that the Lord Our God gives us the grace to rid ourselves of the evils from within, those that defile us, those in our hearts, such as evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, and folly (see Mk 7:21-23). And also remember what Saint Benedict teaches us today in the eleventh step of humility: Speak gently and without laughter, seriously with becoming modesty, briefly and reasonably, but without raising your voice, as it is written: "A wise man is known by his few words" (Rule of Saint Benedict, 7:60-61). Otherwise, we may be inclined to sin with our tongues, as we are warned in Scripture, In a flood of words you will not avoid sinning (RB 7:57)

One of our saints of the day, Saint Josephine Bakhita, born in a small village in the Darfur region of Sudan, a valiant woman of faith who endured much suffering at the hands of her captors before being "purchased" by a kind and loving Italian family, somehow maintained a certain awe for the world and its creator. Fitting for us as we hear the word proclaimed in the first story of creation, we hear from Saint Josephine Bakhita, "Seeing the sun, the moon and the stars, I said to myself: 'Who could be the Master of these beautiful things?' And I felt a great desire to see Him, to know Him and to pay Him homage.'" May we have the same desire to see Him, know Him, and to pay Him homage. Not surprisingly, it was Pope Saint John Paul II who canonized Saint Josephine Bakhita in 2000. She is the first person to be canonized from Sudan and is the patron saint of the country.* United in faith and prayer, we go forth. ☺⚘

SAINT JOSEPHINE BAKHITI,

SAINT JEROME ELIMILIANI,

SAINT CUTHMAN OF STEYNING,

PRAY FOR US.

*See Catholic News Agency, "St. Josephine Bakhita."

Today's photo: It is true that one can't get enough of this. More from Torres del Pain National Park, Patagonia, South America. O bless the Lord, my soul!

© Gertrude Feick 2023

Tuesday of the Twenty-Seventh Week in Ordinary Time

Respect Life Month

Saint: Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 7:49-54 Humility

Mass: Gal 1:13-24; Resp Ps 139; Lk 10:38-42

You know when I sit and when I stand.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

MARY, QUEEN OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY,

SAINT JOSEPH, DEFENDER OF LIFE,

PRAY FOR US.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.

(Communion Antiphon, Mass)

Raise your hand if you have had or do have a statue of Saint Francis in your yard. There just might be more than a few hands raised. Certainly popular, Saint Francis of Assisi has been called "the most beloved saint of the Western world." There is more to this cherished saint then meets the eye, however. Wander the streets of Assisi and explore the Umbrian countryside and you will see. We turn to Saint Francis today, and ask him to intercede for us, so that we become meek and humble of heart.

Auguri e buon onomastico Papa Francesco! We extend congratulations to Pope Francis on his name day. May il Poverello intercede for the Holy Father.

I very much understand the outbursts of those saints who shouted in the name of Christ through streets and plazas, and I don't know how they didn't go crazy when they realized that people weren't listening to them ... I very much understand why Saint Francis preached to the fish and the birds.

(Rafael Arnaiz in The Collected Works: Saint Rafael Arnaiz, p. 180)

GOD'S ADMIRATION

God's admiration for us is infinitely greater

than anything we can conjure up

for Him.*

HUMILITY AND COMPASSION

Can true humility and compassion exist in our words and eyes

unless we know we too are capable of

any act?*

IN ALL THINGS

It was easy to love God in all that

was beautiful.

The lessons of deeper knowledge, though, instructed me

to embrace God in all

things.*

THE RESULT OF PRAYER

The result of prayer is life.

Prayer irrigates the 

earth and

heart.*

SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI,

PRAY FOR US.

*Saint Francis of Assisi in Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West, renderings by Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin, 2002), pp. 49, 37, 52, 54.

Today's photo: Saint Francis of Assisi did preach to the birds after all. 🐦 With all my ways you are familiar.

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Thursday 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 Augustine of Canterbury (-605); Bl. Andrew Franchi OP (1335-1401)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 7:5-9

Mass: Sirach 42:15-25; Resp Ps 33; Mk 10:46-52

For upright is the word of the Lord, and all his works are trustworthy.

AT GOD'S WORD WERE HIS WORKS BROUGHT INTO BEING; THEY DO HIS WILL AS HE HAS ORDAINED THEM.

(Sirach 42:15)

The above words from the Book of Sirach take me to fond memories of Sister Antoinette, OSB, of happy memory. I've shared this before yet it remains inspiring food for thought. It was one day some 21 years ago when Sister Antoinette and I were visiting in her office. It was quiet and she looked out of the window and said, "See that tree there? It is doing just what God wants it to do." One might say the same about the flowers in today's photo. May we be inspired by beauty that surrounds us, even if it be a tiny flower growing through the crack in the sidewalk, and do God's will as He has ordained each one of us. And if you find you can't manage to see any beauty around you, be bold with Bartimaeus in today's Gospel, and say to Jesus, "Master, I want to see" (Mk 10:51). And may Jesus respond, Go your way, your faith has saved you (Mk 10:51). Our Father who art in heaven ... may your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

SAINT AUGUSTINE OF CANTERBURY,

BLESSED ANDREW FRANCHI,

SAINT JOSEPH,

MARY, MOTHER OF MERCY,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: These beauties are in our cloister flower garden. 

© Gertrude Feick 2021