EVANGELIO DEL DÍA

domingo, 4 de julio de 2010

"Charity: soul of the mission"

DAILY GOSPEL: 04/07/2010
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68



Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time


Book of Isaiah 66:10-14.
Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad because of her, all you who love her; Exult, exult with her, all you who were mourning over her!
Oh, that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort, That you may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts!
For thus says the LORD: Lo, I will spread prosperity over her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing torrent. As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms, and fondled in her lap;
As a mother comforts her son, so will I comfort you; in Jerusalem you shall find your comfort.
When you see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bodies flourish like the grass; The LORD'S power shall be known to his servants, but to his enemies, his wrath.

Psalms 66(65):1-3.4-5.6-7.16.20.
For the leader. A song; a psalm.
Shout joyfully to God, all you on earth; sing of his glorious name; give him glorious praise.
Say to God: "How awesome your deeds! Before your great strength your enemies cringe.
All on earth fall in worship before you; they sing of you, sing of your name!" Selah
Come and see the works of God, awesome in the deeds done for us.
He changed the sea to dry land; through the river they passed on foot. Therefore let us rejoice in him,
who rules by might forever, Whose eyes are fixed upon the nations. Let no rebel rise to challenge! Selah
Come and hear, all you who fear God, while I recount what has been done for me.
Blessed be God, who did not refuse me the kindness I sought in prayer.

Letter to the Galatians 6:14-18.
But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
For neither does circumcision mean anything, nor does uncircumcision, but only a new creation.
Peace and mercy be to all who follow this rule and to the Israel of God.
From now on, let no one make troubles for me; for I bear the marks of Jesus on my body.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10:1-12.17-20.
After this the Lord appointed seventy (-two) others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.
He said to them, "The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them, 'The kingdom of God is at hand for you.'
Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say,
'The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.' Yet know this: the kingdom of God is at hand.
I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.
The seventy (-two) returned rejoicing, and said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name."
Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power 'to tread upon serpents' and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven."
Lc 10,1-12#Lc 10,17-20
Commentary of the day 
Pope Benedict XVI
Message for the World Mission Day 2006 - Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
"Charity: soul of the mission"
      Unless the mission is oriented by charity, that is, unless it springs from a profound act of divine love, it risks being reduced to mere philanthropic and social activity. In fact, God's love for every person constitutes the heart of the experience and proclamation of the Gospel, and those who welcome it in turn become its witnesses. God's love, which gives life to the world, is the love that was given to us in Jesus, the Word of salvation, perfect icon of the Heavenly Father's mercy.

      The saving message can be summed up well, therefore, in the words of John the Evangelist:  "In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him" (I Jn 4: 9). It was after his Resurrection that Jesus gave the Apostles the mandate to proclaim the news of this love, and the Apostles, inwardly transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, began to bear witness to the Lord who had died and was risen. Ever since, the Church has continued this same mission, which is an indispensable and ongoing commitment for all believers.


Sunday, 04 July 2010

St. Elizabeth of Portugal (1271-1336)



SAINT ELIZABETH OF PORTUGAL
Queen of Portugal
(1271-1336)
        Elizabeth was born in 1271. She was daughter of Pedro III. of Arragon, being named after her aunt, St. Elizabeth of Hungary. At twelve years of age she was given in marriage to Denis, King of Portugal, and from a holy child became a saintly wife. She heard Mass and recited the Divine Office daily, but her devotions were arranged with such prudence that they interfered with no duty of her state. She prepared for her frequent communions by severe austerities, fasting thrice a week, and by heroic works of charity.
        She was several times called on to make peace between her husband and her son Alphonso, who had taken up arms against him. Her husband tried her much, both by his unfounded jealousy and by his infidelity to herself. A slander affecting Elizabeth and one of her pages made the king determine to slay the youth, and he told a lime-burner to cast into his kiln the first page who should arrive with a royal message. On the day fixed the page was sent; but the boy, who was in the habit of hearing Mass daily, stopped on his way to do so. The king, in suspense, sent a second page, the very originator of the calumny, who, coming first to the kiln, was at once cast into the furnace and burned. Shortly after, the first page arrived from the church, and took back to the king the lime-burner's reply that his orders had been fulfilled. Thus hearing Mass saved the page's life and proved the queen's innocence. Her patience, and the wonderful sweetness with which she even cherished the children of her rivals, completely won the king from his evil ways, and he became a devoted husband and a truly Christian king.
        She built many charitable institutions and religious houses, among others a convent of Poor Clares. After her husband's death, she wished to enter their Order; but being dissuaded by her people, who could not do without her, she took the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis, and spent the rest of her life in redoubled austerities and almsgiving.
        She died at the age of sixty-five, while in the act of making peace between her children. 

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