The Daily Gospel for Thursday, 10 September 2015

 

The Daily Gospel for Thursday, 10 September 2015
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."[John 6:68]
Thursday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time
 Saints of the day:
St. Nicholas of Tolentino († 1310)

ST. NICHOLAS OF TOLENTINO
(† 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. 
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
Thursday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time
The Letter to the Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with feelings of compassion and with kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with one another; if anyone has a complaint against someone else, forgive him. Indeed, just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must forgive.
14 Above all these, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together perfectly; 15 and let the shalom which comes from the Messiah be your heart’s decision-maker, for this is why you were called to be part of a single Body.
And be thankful — 16 let the Word of the Messiah, in all its richness, live in you, as you teach and counsel each other in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude to God in your hearts. 17 That is, everything you do or say, do in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Psalm 150:1 Halleluyah!
Praise God in his holy place!
Praise him in the heavenly dome of his power!
2 Praise him for his mighty deeds!
Praise him for his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with a blast on the shofar!
Praise him with lute and lyre!
4 Praise him with tambourines and dancing!
Praise him with flutes and strings!
5 Praise him with clanging cymbals!
Praise him with loud crashing cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise Adonai!
Halleluyah!The Holy Gospel of Yeshua the Messiah according to Saint Luke 6:27 Nevertheless, to you who are listening, what I say is this:

“Love YOUR enemies!

    Do good to those who hate you,

28 bless those who curse you,

    pray for those who mistreat you.

29 “If someone hits you on one cheek,

     OFFER the other too;

if someone takes your coat,

    let him have your shirt as well.

30 “If someone asks you for something,

    give it to him;

if someone takes what belongs to you,

    don’t demand it back.

31 “Treat other people as you would like them to treat you. 32 What CREDIT is it to you if you love only those who love you? Why, even sinners love those who love them. 33 What CREDIT is it to you if you do good only to those who do good to you? Even sinners do that. 34 What credit is it to you if you LEND only to those who you expect will pay you back? Even sinners LEND TO each other, expecting to be repaid in full. 35 But love YOUR enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing back! Your reward will be great, and you will be children of Ha‘Elyon; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Show compassion, just as your Father shows compassion.

37 “Don’t judge,

    and you won’t be judged.

Don’t condemn,

    and you won’t be condemned.

“Forgive,

    and you will be forgiven.

38 Give,

    and you will receive GIFTS —

the full measure, compacted, shaken together and overflowing, will be put right in your lap. For the measure with which you measure out will be used to measure back to you!”
Thursday of the Twenty-third week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the day:
Saint Maximus the Confessor (c.580-662), monk and theologian
Century 1 on Love, in the Philocalia
“Be merciful as your Father is merciful” Don't attach yourself to the suspicions or the persons of those who would tempt you to become scandalized about certain things. Because those who, in one way or another, are scandalized by what comes their way, whether they wanted it to or not, are unmindful of the way of peace that, through love, guides those who are caught up by it to knowledge of God.
Anyone who is still swayed by other people's characters and who, for example, loves one but hates another, or who sometimes loves, sometimes hates the same person for the same reasons, does not as yet have perfect love. Perfect love does not split men's common nature because some of them have different personalities but, always regarding that nature, it loves all equally. It loves the virtuous as friends and the wicked as enemies, doing good to them, bearing with them with patience, enduring what comes from them, paying no attention to malice, going so far as to suffer for them if the opportunity presents itself. So it makes friends of them if at all possible. Or, at the least, it is faithful to itself, always showing its fruits to all alike. Our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, demonstrating the love he bears us, suffered for all humankind and proffered the hope of resurrection to all alike even though each individually, by his works, calls upon himself glory or punishment.

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