The Daily Gospel for Saturday, 12 September 2015

The Daily Gospel for Saturday, 12 September 2015
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."[John 6:68]
Saturday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time
Feast of the Church:
The Most Holy Name of Mary - Optional memorial

The Most Holy Name of Mary
(Optional memorial)

St. Bernard says and we say with him: "Look to the star of the sea, call upon Mary... in danger, in distress, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. May her name never be far from your lips, or far from your heart... If you follow her, you will not stray; if you pray to her, you will not despair; if you turn your thoughts to her, you will not err. If she holds you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you need not fear; if she is your guide, you will not tire; if she is gracious to you, you will surely reach your destination."
(Pope Benedict XVI address at Heiligenkreuz Abbey, September 9, 2007)
Collect
Grant, we pray, almighty God,
that, for all who celebrate the glorious Name
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,
she may obtain your merciful favor.
Though our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.© Copyright 2007 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
Saints of the day:
St. Guy of Anderlecht († c.1012)

SAINT GUY OF ANDERLECHT
(† c. 1012)

As a child Guy had two loves, the Church and the poor. The love of prayer growing more and more, he left his poor home at Brussels to seek greater poverty and closer union with God. He arrived at Laeken, near Brussels, and there showed such devotion before Our Lady's shrine that the priest besought him to stay and serve the Church. Thenceforth his great joy was to be always in the church, sweeping the floor and ceiling, polishing the altars, and cleansing the sacred vessels. By day he still found time and means to befriend the poor, so that his almsgiving became famous in all those parts.
A merchant of Brussels, hearing of the generosity of this poor sacristan, came to Laeken, and offered him a share in his business. Guy could not bear to leave the church; but the offer seemed providential, and he at last closed with it. Their ship, however, was lost on the first voyage, and on returning to Laeken Guy found his place filled. The rest of his life was one long penance for his inconstancy. About the year 1012, finding his end at hand, he returned to Anderlecht, in his own country.
As he died, a light shone round him, and a voice was heard proclaiming his eternal reward.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894] Saturday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time
The First Letter to Timothy 1:15 So here is a statement you can trust, one that fully deserves to be accepted: the Messiah came into the world to save sinners, and I’m the number one sinner! 16 But this is precisely why I received mercy — so that in me, as the number one sinner, Yeshua the Messiah might demonstrate how very patient he is, as an example to those who would later come to trust in him and thereby have eternal life. 17 So to the King — eternal, imperishable and invisible, the only God there is — let there be honor and glory for ever and ever! AmenPsalm 113:1 Halleluyah!
Servants of Adonai, give praise!
Give praise to the name of Adonai!
2 Blessed be the name of Adonai
from this moment on and forever!
3 From sunrise until sunset
Adonai’s name is to be praised.
4 Adonai is high above all nations,
his glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like Adonai our God,
seated in the heights,
6 humbling himself to look
on heaven and on earth.
7 He raises the poor from the dust,
lifts the needy from the rubbish heap,
The Holy Gospel of Yeshua the Messiah according to Saint Luke 6:43 “For no good tree produces bad fruit, nor does a bad tree produce good fruit. 44 Each tree is recognized by its own fruit — figs aren’t picked from thorn bushes, nor grapes from a briar patch. 45 The good person produces good things from the store of good in his heart, while the evil person produces evil things from the store of evil in his heart. For his mouth speaks what overflows from his heart.
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ but not do what I say? 47 Everyone who comes to me, hears my words and acts on them — I will show you what he is like: 48 he is like someone building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on bedrock. When a flood came, the torrent beat against that house but couldn’t shake it, because it was constructed well. 49 And whoever hears my words but doesn’t act on them is like someone who built his house on the ground without any foundation. As soon as the river struck it, it collapsed and that house became a horrendous wreck!”

Saturday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary TimeCommentary of the day:
Saint Bernard (1091-1153), Cistercian monk and doctor of the Church
24th sermon on the Song of Songs (trans. ©Cistercian Publications Inc. 1976)

"Every tree is known by its own fruit"

Do you believe in Christ ? Do the works of Christ so that your faith may live; love will animate your faith, deed will reveal it… If you say you abide in Christ you ought to walk as he walked. But if you seek your own glory, envy the successful, slander the absent, take revenge on those who injure you, this Christ did not do. You profess to know God, yet reject him by your deeds… "Such a one honors me with his lips, but his heart is far from me" (Is 29,13; Mt 15,8)... 
You see then that right faith will not make a man righteous unless it is enlivened by love. Someone who has no love has no means of loving the Bride, Christ’s Church. But on the other hand, deeds, however righteous, cannot make the heart righteous without faith. Who would call a person righteous who does not please God? But "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb 11,6). And God cannot please the one who is not pleasing to him; for if God is pleasing to someone, that person cannot displease God. Furthermore, if God is not pleasing to that person, neither is his Bride, the Church. How then can he be righteous who loves neither God nor God's Church, to whom is said: "The righteous love you"? (Sg 1,3 Vg.).
If therefore neither faith without good works nor good works without faith suffice for a man's righteousness, we, my brothers, who believe in Christ, should strive to ensure that our behavior and desires are righteous. Let us raise up both our hearts and hands to God, that our whole being may be righteous, our righteous faith being revealed in our righteous actions. So we shall be lovers of the Bride, the Church, and loved by the Bridegroom Jesus Christ our Lord, who is God, blessed for ever.
____________________________