Daily Gospel for Saturday, 4 January 2014
“Peter replied, “Master, to whom would we go? You have the words
of real life, eternal life.”(John 6:68, The Message).
Saturday before Epiphany
Saint of the Day:
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph's
(1774-1821)
Yes, Venerable Brothers and beloved sons and daughters!
Elizabeth Ann Seton is a Saint! We rejoice and we are deeply moved that our
apostolic ministry authorizes us to make this solemn declaration before all of
you here present, before the holy Catholic Church, before our other Christian
brethren in the world, before the entire American people, and before all
humanity.
Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton is a Saint! She is the first daughter
of the United States of America to be glorified with this incomparable
attribute! But what do we mean when we say: «She is a Saint»? We all have some
idea of the meaning of this highest title; but it is still difficult for us to
make an exact analysis of it. Being a Saint means being perfect, with a
perfection that attains the highest level that a human being can reach. A Saint
is a human creature fully conformed to the will of God. A Saint is a person in
whom all sin-the principle of death-is cancelled out and replaced by the living
splendor of divine grace. The analysis of the concept of sanctity brings us to
recognize in a soul the mingling of two elements that are entirely different
but which come together to produce a single effect: sanctity. One of these
elements is the human and moral element, raised to the degree of heroism:
heroic virtues are always required by the Church for the recognition of a
person's sanctity. The second element is the mystical element, which express
the measure and form of divine action in the person chosen by God to realize in
herself-always in an original way-the image of Christ (Cfr. Rom. 8, 29).
The science of sanctity is therefore the most interesting, the
most varied, the most surprising and the most fascinating of all the studies of
that ever mysterious being which is man. The Church has made this study of the
life, that is, the interior and exterior history, of Elizabeth Ann Seton. And
the Church has exulted with admiration and joy, and has today heard her own
charism of truth poured out in the exclamation that we send up to God and
announce to the world: She is a Saint! (...). This will be one of the most
valuable fruits of the Canonization of the new Saint: to know her, in order to
admire in her an outstanding human figure; in order to praise God who is
wonderful in his saints; to imitate her example which this ceremony places in a
light that will give perennial edification; to invoke her protection, now that
we have the certitude of her participation in the exchange of heavenly life in
the Mystical Body of Christ, which we call the Communion of Saints and in which
we also share, although still belonging to life on earth. (...)
Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was born, brought up and educated in
New York in the Episcopalian Communion. To this Church goes the merit of having
awakened and fostered the religious sense and Christian sentiment which in the
young Elizabeth were naturally predisposed to the most spontaneous and lively
manifestations. We willingly recognize this merit, and, knowing well how much
it cost Elizabeth to pass over to the Catholic Church, we admire her courage
for adhering to the religious truth and divine reality which were manifested to
her therein. And we are likewise pleased to see that from this same adherence
to the Catholic Church she experienced great peace and security, and found it
natural to preserve all the good things which her membership in the fervent
Episcopalian community had taught her, in so many beautiful expressions,
especially of religious piety, and that she was always faithful in her esteem
and affection for those from whom her Catholic profession had sadly separated
her. (...)
And then we must note that Elizabeth Seton was the mother of a
family and at the same time the foundress of the first Religious Congregation of
women in the United States. (...)The Church renders the greatest honor possible
to Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton and extols her personal and extraordinary
contribution as a woman a wife, a mother, a widow, and a religious.
May the dynamism and authenticity of her life be an example in
our day-and for generations to come-of what women can and must accomplish, in
the fulfillment of their role, for the good of humanity. And finally we must
recall that the most notable characteristic of our Saint is the fact that she
was, as we said, the foundress of the first Religious Congregation of women in
the United States. It was an offspring of the religious family of Saint Vincent
de Paul, which later divided into various autonomous branches-five principal ones-now
spread throughout the world. And yet all of them recognize their origin in the
first group, that of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph's, personally
established by Saint Elizabeth Seton at Emmitsburg in the Archdiocese of
Baltimore. The apostolate of helping the poor and the running of parochial
schools in America had this humble, poor, courageous and glorious beginning.
(...)
Yes, brethren, and sons and daughters: the Lord is indeed
wonderful in his saints. Blessed be God for ever!
[ Canonization of Elisabeth Ann Seton: Homily of Pope Paul VI -
September 14, 1975] - Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana
SAINT GREGORY
Bishop
(† c. 541)
St. Gregory was one of the principal senators of Autun, and
continued from the death of his wife a widower till the age of fifty-seven, et
which time, for his singular virtues, he was consecrated Bishop of Langres,
which see he governed with admirable prudence and zeal thirty-three years,
sanctifying his pastoral labors by the most profound humility, assiduous
prayer, and extraordinary abstinence and mortification.
An incredible number of infidels were converted by him from
idolatry, and worldly Christians from their disorders.
He died about the beginning of the year 541, but some days after
the Epiphany. Out of devotion to St. Benignus, he desired to be buried near
that Saint's tomb at Dijon; this was executed by his virtuous son Tetricus, who
succeeded him in his bishopric.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
Saturday before Epiphany
First Letter of John 3: 7 Little children, let no one deceive
you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8
Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning
from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy
the works of the devil. 9 Those who have been born of God do not sin, because
God’s seed abides in them;[a] they cannot sin, because they have been born of
God. 10 The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this
way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not
love their brothers and sisters.[b]
Footnotes:
a. 1 John 3:9 Or because the children of God abide in him
b. 1 John 3:10 Gk his brother
Psalm 98: Praise the Judge of the World
A Psalm.
1 O sing to the Lord a new song,
for he has done
marvelous things.
His right hand and his holy arm
have gotten him
victory.
7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
the world and those
who live in it.
8 Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing
together for joy
9 at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with
equity.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 1: The First
Disciples of Jesus
35 The next day John again was standing with two of his
disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the
Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus.
38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you
looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher),
“where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw
where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four
o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed
him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and
said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed[a]). 42 He
brought Simon[b] to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of
John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter[c]).
Footnotes:
a. John 1:41 Or Christ
b. John 1:42 Gk him
c. John 1:42 From the word for rock in Aramaic (kepha) and Greek
(petra), respectively
Saturday before Epiphany
Commentary of the Day:
Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), Bishop and Doctor of the
Church
1st meditation for the Octave of Christmas
"Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
world"
“I have gone astray like a lost sheep : seek your servant” (Ps
119[118],176). Lord, it is I who am the poor sheep who became lost running
after the satisfaction of its appetites and whims. But you, who are both
Shepherd and Lamb, came down from heaven to save me, sacrificing yourself on
the cross as a victim for the expiation of my sins: “Behold the Lamb of God who
takes away the sins of the world.” Therefore, if I want to amend myself, what
can I fear?... “God indeed is my Savior; I am confident and unafraid” (Is
12,2). You have given yourself to me: could you have given me a greater proof
of your mercy to inspire confidence in me?
Dear Child! How much I regret having offended against you! I
have caused you to weep in the stable at Bethlehem. Yet I know you have come to
seek me out. Therefore I cast myself at your feet and, in spite of the distress
and humiliation in which I see you in that crib and on that straw, I recognise
you to be my King an my sovereign Lord. Yes, I understand the meaning of such
tender tears: they are inviting me to love you, they are taking possession of
my heart. Here it is, O my Jesus. I come
to your feet today to offer it to you. Change it; set it alight, since you have
come down from heaven to set hearts on fire with your holy love. From the crib
I hear you say to me: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart”
(Mt 23,37; Dt 6,5). And I reply: “O my Jesus, if I were not to love you, my
Lord and my God, who am I to love?”
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