DAILY GOSPEL Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. John 6:68 Saturday, 09 August 2014 Saturday of the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time Feast of the Church : In Europe: feast of St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), patron of Europe - Proper readings Saint(s) of the day : St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), co-patron of Europe (1891-1942) See commentary below or click here Seraphim of Sarov : “Because of your little faith” Book of Habakkuk 1:12-17.2:1-4. Are you not from eternity, O LORD, my holy God, immortal? O LORD you have marked him for judgment, O Rock, you have readied him for punishment! Too pure are your eyes to look upon evil, and the sight of misery you cannot endure. Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence while the wicked man devours one more just than himself? You have made man like the fish of the sea, like creeping things without a ruler. He brings them all up with his hook, he hauls them away with his net, He gathers them in his seine; and so he rejoices and exults. Therefore he sacrifices to his net, and burns incense to his seine; For thanks to them his portion is generous, and his repast sumptuous. Shall he, then, keep on brandishing his sword to slay peoples without mercy? I will stand at my guard post, and station myself upon the rampart, And keep watch to see what he will say to me, and what answer he will give to my complaint. Then the LORD answered me and said: Write down the vision Clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late. The rash man has no integrity; but the just man, because of his faith, shall live. Wealth, too, is treacherous: the proud, unstable man-- Psalms 9(9A):8-9.10-11.12-13. The LORD sits enthroned forever; he has set up his throne for judgment. He judges the world with justice; he governs the peoples with equity. The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of distress. They trust in you who cherish your name, for you forsake not those who seek you, O LORD. Sing praise to the LORD enthroned in Zion; proclaim among the nations his deeds; for the avenger of blood has remembered; he has not forgotten the cry of the poor. Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 17:14-20. A man approached Jesus, knelt down before him, and said, Lord, have pity on my son, for he is a lunatic and suffers severely; often he falls into fire, and often into water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him. Jesus said in reply, O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you? How long will I endure you? Bring him here to me. Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him, and from that hour the boy was cured. Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said, Why could we not drive it out? He said to them, Because of your little faith. Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB Commentary of the day : Seraphim of Sarov (1759-1833), Russian monk, saint of the Orthodox churches Conversation with Motovilov (Balamand Monastery) “Because of your little faith” “The Lord is near to all those that call upon him in truth and there is no partiality with him. For the Father loves the Son and gives everything into his hand” (Ps 143[144]:18; Rm 2:11; Jn. 3:35). If only we ourselves loved our heavenly Father in a truly childlike way! The Lord listens equally to the monk and the simple Christian, provided that both are believers and both love God from the depth of their souls and have faith in him, even if it is only faith “like a grain of mustard seed”. They shall both move mountains… The Lord himself says: “All things are possible to one who believes” (Mk 9:23). And the holy apostle Paul loudly exclaims: “I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me” (Phil 4,13). But does not our Lord Jesus Christ speak even more wonderfully than this of those who believe in him? “He who believes in me will do not only the works that I do, but even greater then these, because I am going to my Father. And I will pray for you that your joy may be complete. Until now you have asked nothing in my name. But now ask...” (Jn 14,12.16; 16,24). Therefore, oh God’s beloved, whatever you ask of the Lord God you will receive, if it is for the glory of God or for the good of your neighbour, because he does not separate from his own glory whatever we do for the good of our neighbour. That is why he says: All that you have done unto one of the least of these, you have done unto me (Mt 25,45).
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 02:47:33 +0000
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