Thursday, November 10, 2011 {St. Leo the Great, Pope, Doctor of the Church (Memorial)}

REFLECTION FOR TODAY
When our hands have touched spices, they give fragrance to all they handle. Let us make our prayers pass through the hands of the Blessed Virgin. She will make them fragrant.
-- St. John Vianney

READINGS FOR TODAY
First Reading: Wisdom 7:22 -- 8:1
(The Nature of Wisdom)
22 because Wisdom, who gave shape to everything that exists, was my teacher. The spirit of Wisdom is intelligent and holy. It is of one nature but reveals itself in many ways. It is not made of any material substance, and it moves about freely. It is clear, clean, and confident; it cannot be harmed.  It loves what is good. It is sharp and unconquerable,
23 kind, and a friend of humanity. It is dependable and sure, and has no worries. It has power over everything, and sees everything. It penetrates every spirit that is intelligent and pure, no matter how delicate its substance may be.
24 Wisdom moves more easily than motion itself;

Friday, September 16, 2011 {St. Cornelius, Pope, Martyr and St. Cyprian, Bishop, Martyr (Memorial)}

REFLECTION FOR TODAY

The Servant of Charity must go to bed each night so tired from work that he will think he has been beaten!

-- St. Louis Guanella

READINGS FOR TODAY

First Reading: 1 Timothy 6:2-12

(False Teaching and True Riches)

2 Slaves belonging to Christian masters must not despise them, for they are believers too. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their work are believers whom they love. You must teach and preach these things.

3 Whoever teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the true words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching of our religion

4 is swollen with pride and knows nothing. He has an unhealthy desire to argue and quarrel about words, and this brings on jealousy, disputes, insults, evil suspicions,

5 and constant arguments from people whose minds do not function and who no longer have the truth. They think that religion is a way to become rich.

6 Well, religion does make us very rich, if we are satisfied with what we have.

7 What did we bring into the world? Nothing! What can we take out of the world? Nothing!

8 So then, if we have food and clothes, that should be enough for us.

9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction.

10 For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.

11 But you, man of God, avoid all these things. Strive for righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

12 Run your best in the race of faith, and win eternal life for yourself; for it was to this life that God called you when you firmly professed your faith before many witnesses.

Psalms: Psalm 49:6-10, 17-20

6 by evil people who trust in their riches and boast of their great wealth.

7 We can never redeem ourselves; we cannot pay God the price for our lives,

8 because the payment for a human life is too great. What we could pay would never be enough

9 to keep us from the grave, to let us live forever.

10 Anyone can see that even the wise die, as well as the foolish and stupid. They all leave their riches to their descendants.

17 he cannot take it with him when he dies; his wealth will not go with him to the grave.

18 Even if someone is satisfied with this life and is praised because he is successful,

19 he will join all his ancestors in death, where the darkness lasts forever.

20 Our greatness cannot keep us from death; we will still die like the animals.

Gospel: Luke 8:1-3

(Women Who Helped Jesus / Women Who Accompanied Jesus)

1 Some time later Jesus traveled through towns and villages, preaching the Good News about the Kingdom of God. The twelve disciples went with him,  

2 and so did some women who had been healed of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (who was called Magdalene), from whom seven demons had been driven out;

3 Joanna, whose husband Chuza was an officer in Herod's court; and Susanna, and many other women who used their own resources to help Jesus and his disciples.

Saturday, September 03, 2011 {St. Gregory the Great, Pope, Doctor of the Church (Memorial)}

READINGS FOR TODAY
First Reading: Colossians 1:21-23
21 And you, who once were estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds,
22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him,
23 provided that you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.


Psalms: Psalm 54:3-4, 6, 8
3 For insolent men have risen against me, ruthless men seek my life; they do not set God before them. [Selah]
4 Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is the upholder of my life.
6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to thee; I will give thanks to thy name, O LORD, for it is good.


Gospel: Luke 6:1-5
1 On a sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.
2 But some of the Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath?"
3 And Jesus answered, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:
4 how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?"
5 And he said to them, "The Son of man is lord of the sabbath."


REFLECTION FOR TODAY
"On receiving the blow of death, I shall accept it from your hands with the fullest delight and joy of spirit. For this reason, my beloved Jesus, and because of the surging joy which moves me, here and now I offer my blood and body and life. May I die only for you, if you will grant me this grace, since you willingly died for me. Let me so live that you may grant me the gift of such a happy death. In this way, my God and Saviour, I will take from your hand the cup of your sufferings and call on your name: Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!"


-- St John de Brébeuf