Thursday of the Thirty-Fourth, or Last, Week in Ordinary Time

For the Poor Souls in Purgatory

Thanksgiving Day

Saints: Saints Andrew Dung-Lac and his Companions, Martyrs (17th-19th centuries)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 45 Mistakes in the Oratory

Mass for Thanksgiving Day: Sirach 50:22-24; Resp Ps 145: 1 Cor 1:3-9; Lk 17:11-19

Generation after generation praises Your works. 

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE, 

OUR LADY OF VAILANKANNI,

SAINT GERTRUDE THE GREAT,

SAINT NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

And now, bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth.

(Sirach 50:22)

Dear faithful readers, "I give thanks to my God always, remembering you in my prayers" (Philemon 4). Thank you for being there. Happy Thanksgiving! It is a day to give thanks, to express our gratitude to God for the abundance of gifts that have been bestowed upon us. It may be helpful too, to listen to Pope Saint Paul VI, from his encyclical on the Holy Eucharist, Mysterium Fidei: "To visit the Blessed Sacrament is ... a proof of gratitude, an expression of love, and a duty of adoration toward the Christ Our Lord" (66). And if nothing else, we can heed these words attributed to Meister Eckhart (1260-1328): "If the only prayer you say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough."

May God grant you joy of heart and may peace abide among you.

(Sirach 50:24)

SAINT ANDREW DUNG-LAC AND HIS COMPANIONS,

SAINT MARY ELIZABETH HESSELBLAD,

PRAY FOR US.

Please note: Today we begin a novena to Our Lady of Vailankanni, Our Lady of Good Health, a shrine dedicated to her shrine is at the Basilica of Our Lady of Health, Vailankanni, Tamil Nadu, India. You will find a statue of her at Saint Luke Catholic Church in Indianapolis, IN, brought there by nuns from India. For the sick and infirmed we pray, for health of mind and body.  

Today's photo: Three generations of women of faith. The beauty in the face of Grandma, who died at the age of 94, speaks volumes; Mother is without guile; Granddaughter and Daughter is a beloved of both. All three beloved children of God. 

© Gertrude Feick 2022

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Respect Life Month

In other years: Saint Denis, Bishop and Martyr (-258); Saint John Leonardi (1541-1609); Saint John Henry Newman (1801-1890)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 7:60 Humility

Mass: Kings 5:14-17; Resp Ps 98; 2 Tim 2:8-13; Lk 17:11-19

All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

MARY, QUEEN OF THE MOST HOLY ROSARY,

SAINT JOSEPH, DEFENDER OF LIFE,

PRAY FOR US.

Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances;

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

(1 Th 5:16-18)

Welcome to Sunday faithful readers. In Saint Benedict's eleventh step of humility, our holy father Benedict looks to the Book of Proverbs for inspiration, as it is written: "A wise man is known by his few words" (Pr 17:27/Rule of Saint Benedict, 7:61). In fact, it takes only two words as it has also been written: "If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough" (attributed to Meister Eckhart, 1260-1328). Thank you, faithful readers, for being there. United in faith and prayer, we glorify God in a loud voice. We thank Him for the gift of faith, and for His unconditional love and mercy. I believe, help my unbelief.

Stand up and go; your faith has saved you.

(Lk 17:19)

Let us turn to the Virgin Mary that She might help us be witnesses of the Gospel, 

enlivened by the example of the Saints.

(Pope Francis, homily, Mass for the Canonization of Bishop Giovanni Baptista Scalabrini, 1839-1905, and Artemide Zatti, 1880-1951, October 9, 2022)

SAINT GIOVANNI BAPTISTA SCALABRINI,

SAINT ARTEMIDE ZATTI,

SAINT DENIS,

SAINT JOHN LEONARDI,

SAINT JOHN HENRY NEWMAN,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: A view from Skyline Drive, Canon City, Colorado. In the sight of the nations He has revealed His justice.

© Gertrude Feick 2022