Daily Gospel for Saturday, 18 October 2014

Daily Gospel for Saturday, 18 October 2014
"Peter replied, 'Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life. We’ve already committed ourselves, confident that you are the Holy One of God.'"(John 6:68-69)
Saturday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Feast of the Church:
Saints of the Day:
SAINT LUKE
Evangelist
(Feast)
St. Luke, a physician at Antioch, and a painter, became a convert of St. Paul, and afterwards his fellow-laborer. He is best known to us as the historian of the New Testament. Though not an eye-witness of our Lord's life, the Evangelist diligently gathered information from the lips of the apostles, and wrote, as he tells us, all things in order.
The acts of the Apostles were written by this Evangelist as a sequel to his Gospel, bringing the history of the Church down to the first imprisonment of St. Paul at Rome. The humble historian never names himself, but by his occasional use of "we" for "they" we are able to detect his presence in the scenes which he describes. We thus find that he sailed with St. Paul and Silas from Troas to Macedonia; stayed behind apparently for seven years at Philippi, and, lastly, shared the shipwreck and perils of the memorable voyage to Rome.
Here his own narrative ends, but from St. Paul's Epistles we learn that St. Luke was his faithful companion to the end. He died a martyr's death some time afterwards in Achaia.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
SAINT PETER OF ALCANTARA
Priest
(1499-1562)
Peter, while still a youth, left his home at Alcantara in Spain, and entered a convent of Discalced Franciscans. He rose quickly to high posts in the Order, but his thirst for penance was still unappeased, and in 1539, being then forty years old, he founded the first convent of the "Strict Observance."
The cells of the friars resembled graves rather than dwelling-places. That of St. Peter himself was four feet and a half in length, so that he could never lie down; he ate but once in three days; his sack-cloth habit and a cloak were his only garments, and he never covered his head or feet. In the bitter winter he would open the door and window of his cell that, by closing them again, he might experience some sensation of warmth.
Amongst those whom he trained to perfection was St. Teresa. He read her soul, approved of her spirit of prayer, and strengthened her to carry out her reforms.
St. Peter died, with great joy, kneeling in prayer, October 18, 1562, at the age of sixty-three.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

Saturday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

Second Letter to Timothy 4:9-13 Get here as fast as you can. Demas, chasing fads, went off to Thessalonica and left me here. Crescens is in Galatia province, Titus in Dalmatia. Luke is the only one here with me. Bring Mark with you; he’ll be my right-hand man since I’m sending Tychicus to Ephesus. Bring the winter coat I left in Troas with Carpus; also the books and parchment notebooks.
14-15 Watch out for Alexander the coppersmith. Fiercely opposed to our Message, he caused no end of trouble. God will give him what he’s got coming.
16-18 At my preliminary hearing no one stood by me. They all ran like scared rabbits. But it doesn’t matter—the Master stood by me and helped me spread the Message loud and clear to those who had never heard it. I was snatched from the jaws of the lion! God’s looking after me, keeping me safe in the kingdom of heaven. All praise to him, praise forever! Oh, yes!
Psalm 145:10-11 Creation and creatures applaud you, God;
    your holy people bless you.
They talk about the glories of your rule,
    they exclaim over your splendor,
12 Letting the world know of your power for good,
    the lavish splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is a kingdom eternal;
    you never get voted out of office.
God always does what he says,
    and is gracious in everything he does.
17 Everything God does is right—
    the trademark on all his works is love.
18 God’s there, listening for all who pray,
    for all who pray and mean it.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 10: Lambs in a Wolf Pack
1-2 Later the Master selected seventy and sent them ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he intended to go. He gave them this charge:
“What a huge harvest! And how few the harvest hands. So on your knees; ask the God of the Harvest to send harvest hands.
3 “On your way! But be careful—this is hazardous work. You’re like lambs in a wolf pack.
4 “Travel light. Comb and toothbrush and no extra luggage.
“Don’t loiter and make small talk with everyone you meet along the way.
5-6 “When you enter a home, greet the family, ‘Peace.’ If your greeting is received, then it’s a good place to stay. But if it’s not received, take it back and get out. Don’t impose yourself.
7 “Stay at one home, taking your meals there, for a worker deserves three square meals. Don’t move from house to house, looking for the best cook in town.
8-9 “When you enter a town and are received, eat what they set before you, heal anyone who is sick, and tell them, ‘God’s kingdom is right on your doorstep!’
Saturday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the Day:
Saint John Chrysostom (c.345-407), priest at Antioch then Bishop of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church 
3rd Homily on the inscriptionto the Acts of the Apostles; PG 51,87
Saint Luke, the evangelist : « I have decided…to write it down in an orderly sequence» (1,3)
The reading of holy Scripture is a spiritual meadow and paradise of pleasure, far more agreeable than the paradise of former times. God has not planted this paradise on earth but in the souls of the faithful. He has not set it in Eden nor in some precise location in the East (Gn 2,8), but has spread it all over the earth and displayed it to the ends of the inhabited world. And since you understand that he has spread out holy Scripture through all the inhabited world, listen to the prophet who says: “Their voice resounds through all the earth and their words to the ends of the world” (Ps 18,5; Rm 10,18)…
This paradise also has a source like the former one (Gn 2,6.10), a source from which innumerable rivers flow… Who says so ? God does, who made us the gift of all these rivers : « Whoever believes in me, » he says, « as Scripture says : rivers of water will flow from within him » (Jn 7,38)… This source has no equal, not only for its abundance but still more by its nature. In effect, these are not rivers of water but gifts of the Spirit. This source is shared amongst the souls of all the faithful yet it is not lessened. It is divided but not stanched… Wholly in all and wholly in each: these are indeed the gifts of the Spirit.
Do you want to know what the abundance of these rivers means ? Do you want to know the nature of these waters? How they differ from waters here below because they are superior and more splendid? To understand the abundance of the source listen again to Christ speaking to the Samaritan woman: “The water I shall give to one who believes will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4,14)… Would you like to know its nature as well? Use it! In fact it is of no use for life here below but for eternal life. So let us spend our time in this paradise: let us receive an invitation to drink from this source. 
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