Saturday, November 05, 2011 {Commemoration of All the Deceased of the Seraphic Order (Memorial)}

REFLECTION FOR TODAY
Occupy your minds with good thoughts, or the enemy will fill them with bad ones. Unoccupied, they cannot be.
-- St Thomas More

READINGS FOR TODAY
First Reading: Wisdom 3:1-9
(The Destiny of the Righteous)
1 But righteous people are protected by God and will never suffer torment.
2 It is a foolish mistake to think that righteous people die and that their death is a terrible evil.
3 They leave us, but it is not a disaster. In fact, the righteous are at peace.

4 It might appear that they have suffered punishment, but they have the confident hope of immortality.
5 Their sufferings were minor compared with the blessings they will receive. God has tested them,
6 like gold in a furnace, and found them worthy to be with him. He has accepted them, just as he accepts the sacrifices which his worshipers burn on the altar.
7 When God comes to reward the righteous, they will blaze out against the wicked like fire in dry straw.
8 They will rule over nations and peoples, and the Lord will be their king forever.
9 Those who have put their trust in God will come to understand the truth of his ways. Those who have been faithful will live with him in his love, for he is kind and merciful to the ones whom he has chosen.
Psalms: Psalm 23:1-6
(The Lord Our Shepherd)
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have everything I need.
2 He lets me rest in fields of green grass and leads me to quiet pools of fresh water.
3 He gives me new strength. He guides me in the right paths, as he has promised.
4 Even if I go through the deepest darkness, I will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with me. Your shepherd's rod and staff protect me.
5 You prepare a banquet for me, where all my enemies can see me; you welcome me as an honored guest and fill my cup to the brim.
6 I know that your goodness and love will be with me all my life; and your house will be my home as long as I live.
Gospel: John 6:37-40
37 Everyone whom my Father gives me will come to me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to me,
38 because I have come down from heaven to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me.
39 And it is the will of him who sent me that I should not lose any of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them all to life on the last day.
40 For what my Father wants is that all who see the Son and believe in him should have eternal life. And I will raise them to life on the last day.”