The Solemnity of our Holy Father Saint Benedict

Jubilee Holy Year 2025: Pilgrims of Hope

July is the month dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus

He lived a holy life; 

Benedict, blessed in name and in grace.

MARY, QUEEN OF MONKS AND NUNS,

MARY, QUEEN OF ALL DISCIPLES OF SAINT BENEDICT,

MARY, QUEEN OF ANGELS,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

BLOOD OF CHRIST, PEACE AND TENDERNESS OF HEARTS,

SAVE US.

Let them prefer nothing to the love of Christ. 

(Rule of Saint Benedict, 72:11)

"Is there anyone here who yearns for life and desires to see good days?", asks Saint Benedict who echoes the psalmist. If you hear this call, and your answer is "I do," then welcome to the Solemnity of our Holy Father Saint Benedict (480-546). Otherwise, well, how can anyone not yearn for life and not desire to see good days? If you join, then, the multitude that has answered this question in the affirmative for the last 1,500 years or so, "then God directs these words to you: If you desire true and eternal life, keep your tongue free from vicious talk and your lips from all deceit; turn away from evil and do good; let peace be your quest and aim" (Rule of Saint Benedict, Prologue 15-17). And "once you have done this, my eyes will be upon you and my ears will listen for your prayers: and even before you ask me, I will say to you: Here I am" (Prologue, 18). Not much, dear faithful readers, is more delightful than this voice of the Lord calling to us. See, then, how the Lord in His love shows us the way of life (see Prologue 19-20). Ready or not, let us, clothed with faith and the performance of good works, set out on this way, with the Gospel for our guide, that we may deserve to see Him who has called us to His kingdom (see Prologue 21). This alone should keep us busy for the next 1,500 years or so. And we are only in the Prologue of the Holy Rule, a "little Rule written for beginners” which has a Prologue followed by 73 short chapters. Even though written around the year 500ish or so, the Holy Rule withstands time and place. Everything Saint Benedict teaches is relevant today. Same world, different people. And Saint Benedict certainly knew something about the human condition which doesn't change too much. 

Before moving on, why is Saint Benedict's Rule a holy rule?  It is a relic, one we treasure, and where we learn of the wisdom, insight, moderation, compassion, love, and sanity of Saint Benedict, as he guides us in this way of life, lived by monks, nuns and sisters in monasteries throughout the world for ages, and by even more Benedictine oblates all over the world, those men and women, many lay, others not, who admirably live by the Gospel and Holy Rule, wherever they find themselves. All those in monasteries owe the oblates heartfelt gratitude for keeping the tradition alive. It is through Saint Benedict's voice in the holy rule, then, that often quotes directly from or alludes to Sacred Scripture or is adapted from rules that came before his, where one learns the genius of Saint Benedict. One can learn too from the Dialogues of Saint Gregory the Great, Book Two, the "Life and Miracles of Saint Benedict." In the Dialogues, we also meet Saint Scholastica, Benedict's twin sister (see Ch. 33). O, dear Saint Scholastica, whose love was greater than her brother's. Saint Scholastica knew, after all, what Saint John tells us, that is, "God is love."

It is from the Holy Rule, however, where one learns of the true character of Saint Benedict. Pope Saint Paul VI was a big promoter of Saint Benedict. In the apostolic letter Pacis Nuntius (October 24, 1964), the pontiff proclaimed Saint Benedict as the principal patron of Europe giving him the illustrious titles of messenger of peace, creator of unity, teacher of civility, and above all the herald of the religion of Christ and the founder of western monasticism!* And it was Pope Saint Paul VI who appointed Abbot Basil Hume as Archbishop of Westminster in 1976, and encouraged him when he said, "Always remain a monk." With that, may all of us always remain disciples of Saint Benedict, here, there, and everywhere. We keep going, united, as we strive to keep our way of acting different from the world's way, knowing too that the love of Christ must come before all else (see RB 4:20-21). So, we join Saint Benedict's favorite apostle, Saint Paul, and declare: "By God's grace I am what I am," and again, "He who boasts should make his boast in the Lord" (see RB 4:31-32).

One voice to inspire us for the following weeks is Saint Benedict, with other voices scattered throughout. It could go on forever, so, in order to refrain from rambling, I will restrain myself ☺. Chapter 4, "The Tools for Good Works," provides more than enough practical tools to use for generations to come. In any case, you can always pick up your handy copy of the Holy Rule and reflect on your favorite passages. The Holy Rule will be referenced as RB, other sources will be made clear.  The first is from a novel I am in the thick of, A Hiker's Guide to Purgatory, by Michael Norton (Ignatius, 2022). The voice is the angel Rafe, something he says to our hiker Dan. It provides a commentary of sorts on the Prologue 15-17, seen above, and the passages from Chapter 4:24-28, that follow Rafe's words.

What I am trying to tell you is this: you're about to discover how much you've been dependent on lies and evasions to get by in the world, and how difficult it can be to give them up. Truthfulness-being truthful in everything-is a skill that doesn't come easily to most people (p. 32).

Rid yourself of all deceit. Never give a hollow greeting of peace or turn away when someone needs your love. Bind yourself to no oath lest it prove false, but speak the truth with heart and tongue.

(RB 4: 24-28)

Truth is not something we invent; if we do, it is a lie, rather, truth is something we discover, like love.

(Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, 1895-1979)

Pray for your enemies out of love for Christ. If you have a dispute with someone, make peace with him before the sun goes down.

(RB 4:73)

The real test of a Christian is not how much he loves his friends, but how much he loves his enemies.

(Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, 1895-1979)

Listen readily to holy reading, and devote yourself often to prayer.

(RB 4:55-56)

Give yourself over to sacred reading until continual meditation fills your mind and the Scriptures fashion you after their likeness.

(John Cassian, 340-435)

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

(RB Prologue 1)

The direction of oneself toward God and toward solitude in Him prepares the soul for the acquisition of that peace that helps us in the most distracting, most active external work ... Man's silence makes room for God's word. When man is silent, God is heard. And once we listen intently to God we maintain our silence even in the midst of our speech.

(Blessed Stefan Wyszynski, 1901-1981)

Every time you begin a good work, you must pray to Him most earnestly to bring it to perfection.

(RB Prologue 4)

The first step of humility is unhesitating obedience.

(RB 5:1)

Humility is a lovable virtue-delightful to observe in others; painfully difficult to acquire for oneself ... humility ... is a whole attitude of mind ... humility is a virtue for the strong monk, because it enables him to put God and other people at the center of his life, and not himself. It should release the powers and energies with which God has endowed him, and make him a valuable instrument in the service of the Lord. Monks have to be good human beings; the proud are not.

(Cardinal Basil Hume, June 9, 1980, Archabbey of St Vincent's, Latrobe, PA)

Place your hope in God alone ... never lose hope in God's mercy.

(RB 4:41, 74)

The younger monks, then, must respect their seniors, and the seniors must love their juniors.

(RB 63:10)

They should each try to be the first to show respect to the other, supporting with greatest patience one another's weaknesses of body or behavior, and earnestly competing in obedience to one another. No one is to pursue what he judges better for himself, but instead, what he judges better for someone else.

(RB 72:4-7)

Our lives are involved with one another, through innumerable interactions they are linked together. No one lives alone. No one sins alone. No one is saved alone.

(Pope Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, 48)

May Christ bring us all together to everlasting life.

(Rule of Saint Benedict, 72:12)

OUR HOLY FATHER SAINT BENEDICT,

SAINT SCHOLASTICA,

AMMA SYNCLETICA,

AMMA SARAH, 

SAINT ANTHONY, 

SAINT PACHOMIUS,

SAINT BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX,

SAINT FRANCES OF ROME,

BLESSED COLUMBA MARMION,

SAINT JOHN JONES,

SAINT KJELD,

SAINTS LOUIS MARTIN AND MARIE AZELIE GUERIN,

SAINT VERONICA,

SAINT HENRY,

SAINT TERESA OF LOS ANDES,

SAINT KATERI TEKAKWITHA,

 “LILY OF THE MOHAWKS,” “ GENEVIEVE OF NEW FRANCE,”

SAINT BONAVENTURE, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH,

SAINT SWITHUS,

SAINT OSMUND OF SALISBURY,

OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL,

SAINT HELIER,

SAINT KENELM,

BLESSED JOHN SUGAR, PRIEST AND ROBERT GRISSOLD, MARTYRS,

BLESSED INACIO DE AZEVEDO,

BLESSED THERESE OF SAINT AUGUSTINE AND COMPANIONS,

SAINT CAMILLUS DE LELLIS,

SAINT JOHN PLESSINGTON,

SAINT APOLLINARIS, BISHOP, MARTYR,

SAINT THORLAK,

SAINT ELIJAH, FATHER OF THE CARMELITES,

POPE SAINT LEO IV,

SAINT ARSENIUS,

SAINT LAURENCE OF BRINDISI,

SAINT MARY MAGDALENE,

SAINT BRIDGET OF SWEDEN,

SAINT PHILIP EVANS AND SAINT JOHN LLOYD,

OUR LADY, MOTHER OF DIVINE GRACE,

SAINT CHARBEL MAKHLOUF, PRIEST,

SAINT DECLAN,

SAINT JOHN BOSTE,

BLESSED ROBERT LUDLAM AND NICHOLAS GARLICK,

BLESSED JOHN SORETH,

BLESSED MARIA MERCEDES PRAT,

SAINTS JOACHIM AND ANNE,

SAINT JAMES, APOSTLE,

SAINT TITUS BRANDSMA,

SAINTS MARTHA, MARY, AND LAZARUS,

SAINT OLAV, MARTYR, PATRON OF NORWAY,

BLESSED STANLEY ROTHER,

POPE SAINT VICTOR I,

SAINT SAMPSON, 

SAINT ALPHONSA MUTTATHUPADATHU,

SAINT PETER CHRYSOLOGUS,

SAINT JUSTIN DE JACOBIS,

SAINT IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA,

SAINT ALPHONSUS LIGUORI

PRAY FOR US.

*From Gertrude Feick, "The Lived Theology of St. Benedict: Echoes of St. Paul the Apostle in the ‘Holy Rule.’" Thesis, License in Sacred Theology, 2012. 

Today's photo: Saint Benedict, by the hand of Brother Claude, OSB, used with permission of the Benedictine Sisters of Mt. Angel, OR.

© Gertrude Feick 2025

Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time

September is the Month dedicated to the Sorrowful Mother

September 2: Labor Day

Readings for the Rule of Saint Benedict for the Week:  Prologue

Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice. 

MARY, ROCK OF CONSTANCY,

SAINT JOSEPH THE WORKER,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

Listen with the ear of your heart.

(Rule of Saint Benedict, Prologue 1)

Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in your souls.

(James 1:21)

Welcome to the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time and the commencement of the month of September dedicated to the Sorrowful Mother. And tomorrow is Labor Day in our country. Let us honor all those who work in one way or another, those who seek to build a better society in their homes, families and communities. Here is something Andreas Widmer, a Swiss Guard under Pope Saint John Paul II, said about work: "Work can be liberating. It should infuse us with a purpose. It is a means of sanctification. This is the good news that we want to shout from the tallest skyscrapers and into the deepest valleys." So, in the words of our holy father Saint Benedict, every time we begin a good work, we must pray to God most earnestly to bring it to perfection (Prologue 4). Labor Day is also the unofficial end of summer. Many families and friends are together to celebrate. May all those who gather, gather in a spirit of good-will, seeking to spread the love of God with one another and all those they meet along the way. After all, we are doers of the word and not hearers only. Remember too, that we, although in the world, are not to be of the world. We go forth, then, and keep ourselves unstained by the world (James 1:27), and make our way of acting different from the world's way (RB 4:20). Bless the work of our hands and hearts; bless the work of our hands and hearts.

Let us make the best use of fleeting moments. They will not return.

(Saint Marianne Cope, 1838-1918)

Consider the immensity of my love: if you want to know it well, nowhere will you find it more clearly expressed than in the Gospel. No one has ever heard expressed stronger or more tender sentiments than these: As my Father has loved me, so I have loved you" (Jn 15:9).

(Jesus to Saint Mechtilde of Hackeborn, 1241-1298)

Let us love our neighbors, my friends, let us love the one who is near us, so that we may be able to reach the love of the one who is above us. Then we shall reach the happiness of the heavenly multitude, the happiness of which we have received an assurance of the Holy Spirit. Let us move forward toward that goal where we shall be happy without end with all our love.

(Pope Saint Gregory the Great, 540-604)

In Mary ... all the saints have their model. Through the grace that is hers as mother she is able to form each of her children according to the image of her Son. For this reason there are no hopes that may not be fervently entertained by those who entrust themselves to Mary's guiding care.

(Father Marie-Michel Philipon, OP, d. 1972) 

Let us respond to the tremendous thirst of God by our loving trust in His love for us and total surrender to His will with joy. Let us turn to God with deep faith and love, repenting for our sins and begging for His mercy. Let us turn to each other also in love and trust, asking pardon for the hurt we have caused others and forgiving all the hurt we have received ...

(Saint Teresa of Calcutta, 1910-1997)

Thankfully, I was recently introduced to novelist Maeve Binchey, a great storyteller who knows something about character development. I've finished two of her novels so far, Night Class, and just yesterday, Echoes. The following voices come from the latter:

Clare in a conversation with her teacher, Miss O'Hara, who encouraged Clare:

"You could get anywhere you wanted, Clare, you know, if you didn't give up and say it's all hopeless. You don't have to turn out like the rest of them."

"I'd love to ... well, to get on you know," Clare admitted. It was out, this thing that had been inside for so long and never said in case it would be laughed at. "But it would be very hard, wouldn't it?"

"Of course, it would, but that's what makes it worth doing. If it were easy, then every divil and dirt could do it. It's because it's hard it's special."

"Like being a saint," Clare said, eyes shining.

"Yes, but that's a different road to go down. Let's see if you can get your education first. Be a mature saint, not a child saint, will you?" ...

"I'd prefer not to be a child saint all right. They're usually martyred for their faith, aren't they?"

"Almost invariably," Miss O'Hara said, nearly sweeping the statue of the Sacred Heart with her as she gathered her books for class.

Clare and her sister Agnes:

"There are some things that are neither right nor wrong. You can't have rules laid down for. Would you understand that?"

"Yes, Clare said immediately, "I would. Like the Holy Ghost."

"Like what?"

"Like the Holy Ghost. We have to believe in Him without understanding Him. He's not a bird and He's not a great wind. He's something though, and that should be enough without understanding it."

"I don't think that's the same at all," said Agnes, troubled. "But if it helps you to understand the problems of trade in a small town, then for heaven's sake use it."

SAINT GILES,

SAINT TERESA REDI OF THE SACRED HEART,

SAINT BEATRICE DA SILVA MENESES,

BLESSED ANDRE GRASSET,

JESUIT MARTYRS FOR THE NAME OF JESUS,

POPE SAINT GREGORY THE GREAT, SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD,

SAINT CUTHBERT,

SAINT MAC NISSI,

BLESSED THOMAS TZUGI,

BLESSED DINA BELANGER,

POPE SAINT BONIFACE,

SAINT HERBERT,

MOTHER SAINT TERESA OF CALCUTTA,

SAINT ZACHARY, PROPHET,

SAINT ONESIPHORE, DISCIPLE OF SAINT PAUL,

SAINT CLODOALD,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: From a Spaziergang of some weeks ago. Whoever does these things shall never be disturbed.

© Gertrude Feick 2024

Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

June is the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart

Readings for the Rule of Saint Benedict for the Week: Ch 13 The Celebration of Lauds on Ordinary Days - Ch 18:6 The Order of the Psalmody

Vigorous and sturdy shall they be.

    HEART OF JESUS, OUR PEACE AND OUR RECONCILIATION,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

MARY, MOTHER OF HOPE,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

We are always courageous, although we know that while we are home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.

(2 Cor 5:6-7)

Welcome to the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, still in the month of June dedicated to the Sacred Heart. Happy Father's Day to all fathers and soon to be fathers. We also remember our fathers who have died. May they, and Saint Joseph, pray for all of us. 

Thanks to today's "Meditation of the Day," in my monthly missal,* I was introduced to Blessed Stefan Wyszynski's (1901-1981, Polish archbishop, cardinal, and teacher of Pope Saint John Paull II) book, Sanctify Your Daily Life: How to Transform Work into a Source of Strength (EWTN, 2018). In the passage, the Cardinal speaks of the seventh day, the Sabbath, the Lord's Day, a day a rest from labor. We know from the Book of Genesis that God rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. And He blessed the seventh day, sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which He had created and made (see Genesis 2:1-3). God rested and blessed that day; Our Lord gifted that day of rest to us. Blessed Stefan comments: "From the moment this blessing was linked with rest from labor, the seventh day has had a double task in the history of God's world: the giving of worship to God and the granting of rest to the tired body and mind ... It is not enough for the human heart to devote the whole day or even six days of the week to binding sheaves: for it to be fully satisfied there must be a possibility, either in the evening or at the end of the toilsome week, for him to offer his sheaves to God." If we look to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we find what the Church teaches us: "'Just as God rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done,' human life has a rhythm of work and rest. The institution of the Lord's Day helps everyone enjoy adequate rest and leisure to cultivate their familial, cultural, social, and religious lives" (CCC 2184). Saint Benedict, in his chapter the Daily Manual Labor, has something to say too: "On Sunday all are to be engaged in reading except those who have been assigned various duties. If anyone is so remiss and indolent that he is unwilling or unable to study or to read, he is to be given some work in order that he may not be idle" (RB 48:22-23). Today, and this week, then, may be a time to reflect on your work and your rest. Are there things that hinder your worship to God? Are you getting rest so that you can fully engage, with energy and joy, in your service to God and others? What is the state of your health and well-being? Certainly, everyone has obligations and responsibilities that include family life, employment, community involvement, and so on. However, our minds and bodies need a rest. Blessed Stefan continues with this: "The fulfillment of one's duties toward God and the fulfillment of the needs of the mind and the heart are the main aims of freedom from work, a freedom that should do good to both soul and body." We have been gifted with freedom. Might your soil need more cultivation? How might you yield a richer harvest? God, give us the grace and courage. I believe, help my unbelief.

And here come the voices for the week. The first two are from Saint Cyprian, here with his treatise on the Lord's Prayer, one of my favorites. And it is certainly fitting as Jesus teaches us how to pray in this Thursday's Gospel (Mt 6:7-15). After the Bishop and Martyr, we hear from Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Cardinal Robert Sarah, il poverello Saint Francis of Assisi, the Holy Father Pope Francis, and Saint Richard of Chichester who had a life that was anything but dull.

When we pray, our words should be calm, modest and disciplined. Let us reflect that we are standing before God. We should please Hime both by our bodily posture and the manner of our speech. It is characteristic of the vulgar to shout and make a noise, not those who are modest. On the contrary, they should employ a quiet tone in their prayer.

(From a treatise on the Lord's Prayer by Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr, in Office of Readings, Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time)

My dear friends, the Lord's Prayer contains many great mysteries of our faith. In these few words there is great spiritual strength, for this summary of divine teaching contains all our prayers and petitions. And so, the Lord commands us: Pray then like this: Our Father, who art in heaven.

(From a treastise on the Lord's Prayer by Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr, in Office of Readings, Monday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time)

Jesus taught us how to pray, and He also told us to learn from Him to be meek and humble of heart. Neither of these can we do unless we know what silence is. Both humility and prayer grow from an ear, mind, and tongue that have lived in silence with God, for the silence of the heart God speaks. 

(Saint Teresa of Calcutta, No Greater Love, in Robert Cardinal Sarah with Nicolas Diat, The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise, p. 45)

In the presence of God, in silence, we become meek and humble of heart. God's meekness and humility penetrate us, and we enter into a real conversation with Him. Humility is a condition and a result of silence. Silence needs meekness and humility, and it also open for us the way to these two qualities. The humblest, meekest, and most silent of all beings is God. Silence is the only means by which to enter into this great mystery.

(Robert Cardinal Sarah with Nicolas Diat, The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise, p. 48)

Humble yourselves that you may be exalted by Him! Hold nothing back of yourselves for yourselves, that He who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally!

(Saint Francis of Assisi, 1181-1226)

If I turn something negative into positive, I win! But that can only happen with the grace of Jesus.

(Pope Francis to African Youth, 2015)

Thanks be to Thee, O Lord Jesus Christ

for all the benefits which Thou hast given us,

for all the pains and insults which Thou hast borne for us:

O most merciful Redeemer, Friend and Brother,

may we know Thee more clearly,

love thee more dearly,

and follow Thee more nearly.

Amen.

(Saint Richard's Prayer)

SAINT RICHARD OF CHICHESTER,

SAINT BOTOLPH,

SAINT ALBERT CHMIELOWSKI,

SAINT OSANNA ANDREASI,

SAINTS ALBAN, JULIAN AND AARON,

THE IRISH MARTYRS,

SAINT JOHN RIGBY,

SAINT OSANNA ANDREASI,

SAINTS JOHN FISHER, BISHOP, AND THOMAS MORE, MARTYRS,

SAINT PAULINUS OF NOLA,

BLESSED M-JOSEPH CASSANT, MONK, PRIEST,

SAINT ROMAULD, ABBOT,

SAINT ALOYSIUS GONZAGA,

PRAY FOR US.

*Magnificat, June 16, 2024, pp. 255-257.

Today's photo: This beauty comes as gift from Germany. Vielen herzlichen Dank, meine liebe Moni. It is good to give thanks to the Lord.

© Gertrude Feick 2024

Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time

September is the month dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of Mary

Rule of Saint Benedict for the Week: Ch 6 - Ch 7:33 Humility Restraint of Speech

Every day I will bless you.

MARY, CONQUERER OF THE INCREDULOUS,

MARY, PROTECTRESS OF THOSE WHO FIGHT,

MARY, HELP OF THE FAINT,

MARY, QUEEN OF THY SERVANTS,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

Conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel.

(Ph 1:27a)

Welcome to the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time in the last week of the month dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of Mary. Have you checked out the Litany of Our Lady of Sorrows yet? If not, there is still time. As seen above, I have invoked our Blessed Mother under a few of my favorite titles from the litany. Dear Mary, treasure of the faithful, please cover us in your protective veil and pray for us!

It was during First Vespers yesterday afternoon that I thought of Saint Benedict and his Holy Rule, specifically Ch 34. Distribution of Goods According to Need. What prompted my thinking was today's Gospel (Mt 20:1-16a). It is there that Jesus tells us the parable about the landowner and the laborers. There are many layers to the parable, and also several perspectives to look at it, and reflect on the effect of Jesus' words on our lives. One thing we do know about the passage is that at the end of a day's work there was a lot of grumbling about. You see, the landowner paid all the laborers the same wage, whether they worked all day in the heat, or showed up later in the day for just a few hours of work. "This just isn't fair," grumbled the first group. "We certainly worked much harder and longer than the others!" Putting things a bit closer to home, we might think of the colleague who was promoted over "me." "She is much younger and has only worked here for two years and look it, I have been here for 20 years!" Or at home, when Clotilde is incredulous that mom brought home a new pair of sneakers for Bonaventure who needed them and didn't bring her a new pair even though she didn't need them! And these sorts of things go on in a monastery too, and wherever humans are gathered. If it were not so, Saint Benedict would not have written Ch. 34. With wisdom and insight into human nature, our holy father Benedict put it this way:

It is written: Distribution was made to each one as he had need (Acts 4:35). By this we do not imply that there should be favoritism-God forbid-but rather consideration for weaknesses. Whoever needs less should thank God and not be distressed, but whoever needs more should feel humble because of his weakness, not self-important because of the kindness shown to him. In this way all the members will be at peace. First and foremost, there must be no word or sign of the evil of grumbling, no manifestation of it for any reason at all. If, however, anyone is caught grumbling, let him undergo more severe discipline.

Something else to consider is that we never know the whole story. For example, why were some of the laborers idle in the marketplace? It is easy to make assumptions. However, maybe some of the laborers were exhausted after being engaged in spiritual and/or corporeal works of mercy like comforting the sorrowful or visiting the imprisoned or the sick. Or maybe some of them were up all night working another job so as to "put Keds on the kids," so to speak. As a teacher of pastoral counseling taught me, "You may try to walk in someone else's shoes, but remember, you will never walk in someone else's shoes. " Thankfully too, Jesus loves all of us, whether we are full of energy or exhausted. 

"To be a Christian," said Willi Graf (1918-1943), "is perhaps the hardest thing to ever become in life." So, united in faith and prayer, we pray to conduct ourselves in a way worthy of the Gospel, and that is a way of love, mercy, forgiveness, and abundant generosity, putting aside all assumptions, jealousy, envy, suspicion, and animosity. Dear Willi was right, this will keep us busy and is perhaps the hardest way to ever become in life. However, our reward will be great in heaven. It seems that Blessed Solanus Casey's words are always fitting: "Thank God ahead of time." And being thankful takes a lot less energy than grumbling. 

About our beloved saints for the week, I gained insight on our relationships with the saints thanks to Lisa Lickona who writes regularly for the Elizabeth Ann Seton Shrine: "After eight years of writing about the saints day in and day out," Mrs. Lickona wrote, "I find myself attempting less and less to imitate them. But I do want to follow them ... Following means beginning to get to the heart of what a saint is teaching us through their lives. It's less about copying someone else's life and more about immersing oneself in his or her way of being and way of seeing the world. It is beginning to see with the 'eyes of the heart' (Eph 1:18).* So why not choose one of our saints of the week and see how he or she may help you see with eyes of your heart. 

Our voices for this week serve several purposes. First, I honor a dear friend and mentor of happy memory, Father Paschal Cheline, OSB (1936-2015), whose anniversary of birth is next month. And it was Father Paschal who said, among other gems, that reading a novel is a necessary part of the spiritual life. Novels help to bring one out of the day-to-day drudgery and get in touch with other people, many of whom have more complicated lives than we. Through the characters we meet, with their varied stories, we just might gain a widened outlook, a new perspective on things, and develop more compassion. Who knows. ☺ Always busy with a novel himself, Father Paschal would recommend good reading. I took his teaching to heart not only in my personal life, but also with students. I made a novel required reading for classes; I might recommend one, or the student was free to choose one. So, our voices for the week all come from a novel I just finished, passed to me by my dear sister, and now passed to you for your consideration. It is a work of historical fiction by Lynda Rutledge, West with Giraffes: A Novel (Lake Union: 2021). Here are the passages I marked (some rather long-winded like me lol), the first one brings a grin to my face.

At that, the Old Man whopped that poor fedora of his to the ground and stomped it flat, produced a rolling cuss I would have admired any other time, creative as sin and the length of a long spiral spit into the wind.

(p. 144)

Home's not the place you're from, Woody. Home's the place you want to be.

(p. 215)

The land you grow up in is a forever thing, remembered when all else is forgotten, whether it did you right or wrong. Even when it flat near kills you. Even when it invades your dreams and stokes your nightmares. Even when you run from it never to return, then find yourself headed straight back for it, and the best you can wish for is to drive through it with your head down and your wits about you, dodging the worst of it so you can get on with your young life somewhere else.

(p. 227)

I didn't know which would keep me driving-the lie or the truth. You can carry around a heavy load only for so long, and that goes double if you're only eighteen.

(p. 277)

The thing about knowing you are doing something for the last time is that it takes the joy right out of it. I've done lots of things for the last time in my long life, but didn't know it.

(p. 301)

We had left an hour before dawn again, By the time we were watching the moon set on one side of us and the sun rise on the other, we'd all fallen into a moving bit of peace. I'd felt a sliver of that peaceful feeling after we'd made it through the mountains. This time, though, it was long and lingering and soul-soothing deep. It seems now like the closest thing to praying I'd ever done. When I'd live a little longer and heard people talking about such things, calling it by spiritual names, I'd want to scoff but couldn't. In the years ahead, through the War and beyond, it was this quiet day moving through the unmoving land with Boy and Girl and the Old Man and Red that I returned to when I needed it most ... its peace passed any understanding, any attempt at words. You only get a few of those in your life if you're lucky, and some only get one. If that be true, this was my one. When I remember it, I'm not eighteen in the memory. I am whatever age its came to me, be it 33 or 103 ...

(p. 304)

There's no explaining the world, boy. How you come into it. Where you find yourself. Or who your friends turn out to be-be you man or be you beast.

(p. 310)

Cyrus smiled. "Well, now, I wouldn't go so far as calling him a liar. Nobody abides a liar. But everybody sure likes a good storyteller, don't they? Sometimes the best medicine is a good story.

(p. 332)

It's a strange thing how you can spend years with some folks and never know them, yet, with others, you need only a handful of days to know them far beyond years.

(p. 333)

Time spent with animals is added to your life.

(p. 334)

Time heals all wounds, they say. I'm here to tell you that time can wound you all on its own. In a long life, there is a singular moment when you know you've made more memories than any new ones you'll ever make. That's the moment your truest stories-the ones that made you the you that you became-are ever more in front of your mind, as you begin to reach back for the you that you deemed best.

(p. 336)

It's a foolish man who thinks stories do not matter-when in the end, they may be all that matter and all the forever we'll ever know ... And it is a selfish man who takes stories to the grave that aren't his and his alone. Shouldn't you know your mother's brave heart and daring dreams? And shouldn't you know your friends, even though we're gone?

(p. 339)

SAINT STEPHANIE,

OUR LADY OF WALSINGHAM,

BLESSED EMILIE TAVERNIER-GAMELIN,

SAINT NICHOLAS OF FLUE,

SAINT FINBARR,

SAINT HERMANN CONTRACTUS,

SAINTS COSMAS AND DAMIAN,

SAINT VINCENT DE PAUL,

SAINT LOUISE DE MARILLAC,

SAINT WENCESLAUS,

SAINT LAURENECE RUIZ AND HIS COMPANIONS,

SAINT LIOBA,

SAINT MICHAEL,

SAINT GABRIEL,

SAINT RAPHAEL,

SAINT JEROME,

PRAY FOR US.

* L. Lickona, "Learning to Follow with Padre Pio and Mother Seton," in Seton Reflections, September 23, 2023.

Today's photo: The glow of this beauty illuminates this heart of leaf. The Lord is holy in all His works.

© Gertrude Feick 2023

Monday of the Third Week of Easter

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

Saint: Saint Athanasius, Bishop, Doctor (295-373)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Prologue 1-7 

Mass: Acts 6:8-15; Resp Ps 119; Jn 6:22-29

Teach me your statutes.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

PRAY FOR US.

This is the work of God, that you believe in the one He sent.

(Jn 6:29)

Welcome to Monday and the Prologue of the Rule of Saint Benedict, when we begin our second read through of the year (see RB 58:9-13). For starters then, we listen with the ear of our hearts (RB Prol. 1) to Saint Benedict: "First of all, every time you begin a good work, you must pray to God most earnestly to bring it to perfection" (RB Prol. 4). It seems a fitting way to begin the week and the month of May, the month dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

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)

Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore, the sisters should have specified periods for manual labor as well as for prayerful reading.

(Rule of Saint Benedict 48:1)

SAINT ATHANASIUS,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Benvenuta. "All absent sisters should always be remembered at the closing prayer of the Work of God ... when they come back from a journey ... they ask prayers for all their faults ..." (Rule of Saint Benedict, 67:2-4).

© Gertrude Feick 2022

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

Saint Joseph the Worker

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Eastertide

First Saturday of the Month

Year of Saint Joseph

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

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 73 This Rule Only a Beginning of Perfection

Mass: Acts 13:44-52; Resp Ps 98; Jn 14:7-14

Optional memorial: Gn 1:26-2:3 or Col. 3:14-15, 17, 23-24; Resp Ps 90; Mt 13:54-58

Lord, give success to the work of our hands.

JOSEPH, MODEL OF WORKERS,

PRAY FOR US.

Welcome to the First Saturday of the Month and the Optional Memorial of Saint Joseph the Worker. As a friendly reminder, and as already included in last Tuesday's reflection, the commemoration of Saint Joseph the Worker was instituted by Pope Pius XII in 1955. Today is an especially good day to "go to Joseph" (Gn 41:55) for intercession. One way to begin and be encouraged is by re-reading the December 8, 2020, Apostolic Letter of Pope Francis, Patris Corde With a Father's Heart. As written there, the aim of the letter "is to increase our love for this great saint, to encourage us to implore his intercession and to imitate his virtues and zeal." The following are two prayers, also already included in previous reflections. The first was made "famous" by Pope Leo XIII in 1889. The second has been prayed by Pope Francis every day for over 40 years after Lauds. The prayer, taken from a 19th century French prayer book of the Congregation of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary, expresses devotion and trust, and even poses a certain challenge to Saint Joseph (Patris Corde, endnote 10). Lastly, whatever you are about today, why not go at it inspired by the words of Saint Paul: Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance of your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ (Col. 323-24). 

Defend, O most watchful guardian of the Holy Family, the chosen off-spring of Jesus Christ. Keep from us, O most loving Father, all blight of error and corruption. Aid us from on high, most valiant defender, in this conflict with the powers of darkness. As you once rescued the child Jesus from deadly peril, so now defend God's Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity. Shield us ever under your patronage, that, following your example and strengthened by your help, we may live a holy life, die a happy death, and attain to everlasting bliss in heaven.

Amen.

Glorious Patriarch Saint Joseph, whose power makes the impossible possible, come to my aid in these times of anguish and difficulty. Take under your protection the serious and troubling situations that I commend to you, that they may have a happy outcome. My beloved father, all my trust is in you. Let it not be said that I invoked you in vain, and since you can do everything with Jesus and Mary, show me that your goodness is as great as your power. Amen. 

SAINT JOSEPH THE WORKER,

SAINT JOSEPH, PATRON OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH,

SAINT JOSEPH, PATRON OF WORKERS,

SAINT JOSEPH, GUARDIAN OF THE REDEEMER,

SAINT JOSEPH, PATRON OF A HAPPY DEATH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: This photo was included last year on this feast. This lovely statue is in the home of a faithful reader who happens to be one of my brothers. 

© Gertrude Feick 2021