DAILY GOSPEL: 10/09/2010
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68
Friday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time
First Letter to the Corinthians 9:16-19.22-27.
If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!
If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
What then is my recompense? That, when I preach, I offer the gospel free of charge so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible.
To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it.
Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win.
Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.
Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.
No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.
Psalms 84:3.4.5-6.12.
My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the LORD. My heart and flesh cry out for the living God.
As the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest to settle her young, My home is by your altars, LORD of hosts, my king and my God!
Happy are those who dwell in your house! They never cease to praise you. Selah
Happy are those who find refuge in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrim roads.
For a sun and shield is the LORD God, bestowing all grace and glory. The LORD withholds no good thing from those who walk without reproach.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6:39-42.
And he told them a parable, "Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,' when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother's eye.
If I preach the gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it!
If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
What then is my recompense? That, when I preach, I offer the gospel free of charge so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible.
To the weak I became weak, to win over the weak. I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the gospel, so that I too may have a share in it.
Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win.
Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.
Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.
No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.
Psalms 84:3.4.5-6.12.
My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the LORD. My heart and flesh cry out for the living God.
As the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest to settle her young, My home is by your altars, LORD of hosts, my king and my God!
Happy are those who dwell in your house! They never cease to praise you. Selah
Happy are those who find refuge in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrim roads.
For a sun and shield is the LORD God, bestowing all grace and glory. The LORD withholds no good thing from those who walk without reproach.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6:39-42.
And he told them a parable, "Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,' when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother's eye.
Lc 6,39-42
Saint Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo (North Africa) and Doctor of the Church
Explanation of the Sermon on the montain, 19 (trans. ©Fathers of the Church; DDB 1978, p. 134)
The splinter and the beam
In other words, first rid yourself of hatred and then you will immediately be able to correct the one you love. The word 'hypocrite' is aptly employed here, since the denouncing of evils is a matter for those who are upright and of good will. But when the evil engage in it they impersonate others; like masqueraders, they hide their real selves beneath a mask...
Therefore, whenever necessity compels us to reprove or rebuke someone, we ought to proceed with piety and caution. First of all, let us consider whether the fault is such as we ourselves may have had, or whether it is one we have overcome. Then, if we have never had such a fault, let us remember that we are human and could have had it. But if we have had it and are rid of it now, let us remember our common frailty, in order that mercy – and not hatred – may lead us to the giving of reproval or rebuke. In this way, whether the rebuke occasions the amendment or worsening of the person to whom we are giving it (for the result cannot be foreseen), we ourselves shall be secure through the singleness of our eye. But if, on reflection, we find that we ourselves have the same fault as the person we are about to rebuke, let us neither reprove nor rebuke him; rather, let us bemoan the fault and induce the other to a similar effort without asking for submission to our correction.
Therefore, whenever necessity compels us to reprove or rebuke someone, we ought to proceed with piety and caution. First of all, let us consider whether the fault is such as we ourselves may have had, or whether it is one we have overcome. Then, if we have never had such a fault, let us remember that we are human and could have had it. But if we have had it and are rid of it now, let us remember our common frailty, in order that mercy – and not hatred – may lead us to the giving of reproval or rebuke. In this way, whether the rebuke occasions the amendment or worsening of the person to whom we are giving it (for the result cannot be foreseen), we ourselves shall be secure through the singleness of our eye. But if, on reflection, we find that we ourselves have the same fault as the person we are about to rebuke, let us neither reprove nor rebuke him; rather, let us bemoan the fault and induce the other to a similar effort without asking for submission to our correction.
St. Nicholas of Tolentino (+ 1310)
ST. NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO
(+ 1310)
(+ 1310)
Born in answer to the prayer of a holy mother, and vowed before his birth to the service of God, Nicholas never lost his baptismal innocence. His austerities were conspicuous even in the austere Order -the Hermits of St. Augustine- to which he belonged, and to the remonstrances which were made by his superiors he only replied, "How can I be said to fast, while every morning at the altar I receive my God?"
He conceived an ardent charity for the Holy Souls, so near and yet so far from their Saviour; and often after his Mass it was revealed to him that the souls for whom he had offered the Holy Sacrifice had been admitted to the presence of God.
Amidst his loving labors for God and man, he was haunted by fear of his own sinfulness. "The heavens," said he, "are not pure in the sight of Him Whom I serve; how then shall I, a sinful man, stand before Him?" As he pondered on these things, Mary, the Queen of all Saints, appeared before him. "Fear not, Nicholas," she said, "all is well with you: my Son bears you in his heart, and I am your protection." Then his soul was at rest; and he heard, we are told, the songs which the angels sing in the presence of their Lord.
He died September 10, 1310.
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