DAILY GOSPEL: 02/07/2010
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68
Friday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time
Book of Amos 8:4-6.9-12.
Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land!
"When will the new moon be over," you ask, "that we may sell our grain, and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat? We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix our scales for cheating!
We will buy the lowly man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals; even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!"
On that day, says the Lord GOD, I will make the sun set at midday and cover the earth with darkness in broad daylight.
I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentations. I will cover the loins of all with sackcloth and make every head bald. I will make them mourn as for an only son, and bring their day to a bitter end.
Yes, days are coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send famine upon the land: Not a famine of bread, or thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the LORD.
Then shall they wander from sea to sea and rove from the north to the east In search of the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.
Psalms 119:2.10.20.30.40.131.
Happy those who observe God's decrees, who seek the LORD with all their heart.
With all my heart I seek you; do not let me stray from your commands.
At all times my soul is stirred with longing for your edicts.
The way of loyalty I have chosen; I have set your edicts before me.
See how I long for your precepts; in your justice give me life.
I sigh with open mouth, yearning for your commands.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 9:9-13.
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
He heard this and said, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land!
"When will the new moon be over," you ask, "that we may sell our grain, and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat? We will diminish the ephah, add to the shekel, and fix our scales for cheating!
We will buy the lowly man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals; even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!"
On that day, says the Lord GOD, I will make the sun set at midday and cover the earth with darkness in broad daylight.
I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentations. I will cover the loins of all with sackcloth and make every head bald. I will make them mourn as for an only son, and bring their day to a bitter end.
Yes, days are coming, says the Lord GOD, when I will send famine upon the land: Not a famine of bread, or thirst for water, but for hearing the word of the LORD.
Then shall they wander from sea to sea and rove from the north to the east In search of the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.
Psalms 119:2.10.20.30.40.131.
Happy those who observe God's decrees, who seek the LORD with all their heart.
With all my heart I seek you; do not let me stray from your commands.
At all times my soul is stirred with longing for your edicts.
The way of loyalty I have chosen; I have set your edicts before me.
See how I long for your precepts; in your justice give me life.
I sigh with open mouth, yearning for your commands.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 9:9-13.
As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
He heard this and said, "Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
Mt 9,9-13
Saint Bede the Venerable (c.673-735), monk, Doctor of the Church
Homilies on the Gospels, I, 21 ; CCL 122, 149-151
At table with Jesus
«While he was at table in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples.» Let us try to understand what we are told here at a deeper level. Matthew did not simply offer a material meal to the Lord in his earthly home but, even more importantly, he prepared a feast in the house of his heart through his faith and love like the one who bore witness, saying: «I stand at the door and knock: if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will enter his house and dine with him and he with me» (Rv 3,20).
Our Lord does indeed stand at the door and knock when he makes our hearts attentive to his will, whether through the words of teachers or through an interior inspiration. We open our door to the sound of his voice when we freely accept his teachings, whether interior or exterior, and when, after understanding what we are to do, we carry them out. And he comes in to share our meal, he with us and we with him, because he dwells in the hearts of his friends, thanks to his love, to feed them constantly with his own hand by the light of his presence. Thus he causes their desires to rise up by degrees while he himself feeds on their earnest desire for heaven as on the most delicious food.
Our Lord does indeed stand at the door and knock when he makes our hearts attentive to his will, whether through the words of teachers or through an interior inspiration. We open our door to the sound of his voice when we freely accept his teachings, whether interior or exterior, and when, after understanding what we are to do, we carry them out. And he comes in to share our meal, he with us and we with him, because he dwells in the hearts of his friends, thanks to his love, to feed them constantly with his own hand by the light of his presence. Thus he causes their desires to rise up by degrees while he himself feeds on their earnest desire for heaven as on the most delicious food.
 St. Bernardino Realino, Priest (1530-1616)SAINT BERNARDINO REALINO Priest (1530-1616) St. Bernardino Realino was born into a noble family of Capri, Italy in 1530. After receiving a thorough and devout Christian education at the hands of his mother, he went on to study medicine at the University of Bologna, but after three years he switched to law and received his doctorate in 1563. Word of his learning, dedication, and legal brilliance spread rapidly, and in 1554 he was summoned to Naples to assume the position of auditor and lieutenant general. Shortly afterward, his exemplary young man came to the realization that he had a religious vocation and, aided by our Lady's appearance to him, joined the Society of Jesus, being ordained in 1567. For three years he labored unstintingly at Naples, devoting himself wholeheartedly to the service of the poor and the youth, and then he was sent to Lecce where he remained for the last forty-two years of his life. St. Bernardino won widespread recognition as a result of his ceaseless apostolic labors. He was a model confessor, a powerful preacher, a diligent teacher of the Faith to the young, a dedicated shepherd of souls, as well as Rector of the Jesuit college in Lecce and Superior of the Community there. His charity to the poor and the sick knew no bounds and his kindness brought about the end of vendettas and public scandals that cropped up from time to time. So greatly was this saint loved and appreciated by his people that in 1616, as he lay on his death bed the city's magistrates formally requested that he should take the city under his protection. Unable to speak, St. Bernardino bowed his head. He died with the names of Jesus and Mary on his lips. | |
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