Daily Gospel for Friday, 26 September 2014

Daily Gospel for Friday, 26 September 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)
Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Feast of the Church: In Canada: feast of St John de Brebeuf and St Isaac Jogues - proper readings
SAINTS JOHN DE BRÉBEUF AND ISAAC JOGUES, PRIESTS & THEIR COMPANIONS
MARTYRS
(1642-1649)
Theses eight men were Jesuit missionaries in North America in the 17th century, put to death,
after fearful torture by members of the Iroquois and Huron tribes.
Readings for the Feast in Canada
Book of Revelation 7:9-12 I looked again. I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count. Everyone was there—all nations and tribes, all races and languages. And they were standing, dressed in white robes and waving palm branches, standing before the Throne and the Lamb and heartily singing:
Salvation to our God on his Throne!
Salvation to the Lamb!
All who were standing around the Throne—Angels, Elders, Animals—fell on their faces before the Throne and worshiped God, singing:
Oh, Yes!
The blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving,
The honor and power and strength,
To our God forever and ever and ever!
Oh, Yes!
13-14 Just then one of the Elders addressed me: “Who are these dressed in white robes, and where did they come from?” Taken aback, I said, “O Sir, I have no idea—but you must know.”
14-17 Then he told me, “These are those who come from the great tribulation, and they’ve washed their robes, scrubbed them clean in the blood of the Lamb. That’s why they’re standing before God’s Throne. They serve him day and night in his Temple. The One on the Throne will pitch his tent there for them: no more hunger, no more thirst, no more scorching heat. The Lamb on the Throne will shepherd them, will lead them to spring waters of Life. And God will wipe every last tear from their eyes.”
Second letter to the Corinthians 4:7-12 If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us—trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us—he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best!
13-15 We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise!
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 9:23-27 Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way I’m leading you, know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you when he arrives in all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy angels. This isn’t, you realize, pie in the sky by and by. Some who have taken their stand right here are going to see it happen, see with their own eyes the kingdom of God.”
Saints of the Day:
SAINTS COSMAS and DAMIAN 
Martyrs
(† c. 283)
Sts. Cosmas and Damian were brothers, and born in Arabia, but studied the sciences in Syria, and became eminent for their skill in physic. Being Christians, and full of that holy temper of charity in which the spirit of our divine religion consists, they practised their profession with great application and wonderful success, but never took any fee. They were loved and respected by the people on account of the good offices received from their charity, and for their zeal for the Christian faith, which they took every opportunity to propagate.
When the persecution of Diocletian began to rage, it was impossible for persons of so distinguished a character to lie concealed. They were therefore apprehended by the order of Lysias, Governor of Cilicia, and after various torments were bound hand and foot and thrown into the sea.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
Friday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Book of Ecclesiastes 3: There’s a Right Time for Everything
1 There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth:
2-8 A right time for birth and another for death,
A right time to plant and another to reap,
A right time to kill and another to heal,
A right time to destroy and another to construct,
A right time to cry and another to laugh,
A right time to lament and another to cheer,
A right time to make love and another to abstain,
A right time to embrace and another to part,
A right time to search and another to count your losses,
A right time to hold on and another to let go,
A right time to rip out and another to mend,
A right time to shut up and another to speak up,
A right time to love and another to hate,
A right time to wage war and another to make peace.
9-13 But in the end, does it really make a difference what anyone does? I’ve had a good look at what God has given us to do—busywork, mostly. True, God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going. I’ve decided that there’s nothing better to do than go ahead and have a good time and get the most we can out of life. That’s it—eat, drink, and make the most of your job. It’s God’s gift.
Psalms 144: A David Psalm
1-2 Blessed be God, my mountain,
    who trains me to fight fair and well.
He’s the bedrock on which I stand,
    the castle in which I live,
    my rescuing knight,
The high crag where I run for dear life,
    while he lays my enemies low.
3-4 I wonder why you care, God—
    why do you bother with us at all?
All we are is a puff of air;
    we’re like shadows in a campfire.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 9: Don’t Run from Suffering
18 One time when Jesus was off praying by himself, his disciples nearby, he asked them, “What are the crowds saying about me, about who I am?”
19 They said, “John the Baptizer. Others say Elijah. Still others say that one of the prophets from long ago has come back.”
20-21 He then asked, “And you—what are you saying about me? Who am I?”
Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.” Jesus then warned them to keep it quiet. They were to tell no one what Peter had said.
22 He went on, “It is necessary that the Son of Man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the religious leaders, high priests, and religion scholars, be killed, and on the third day be raised up alive.”
Friday of the Twenty-fifth 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 
Homily on «Father, if it is possible » ; PG 51, 34-35 (trans. ©Friends of Henry Ashworth)
«The sufferings destined for Christ and the glories to follow them » (1P 1,11)
As his death drew near, the Savior exclaimed: Father, the hour has come: glorify your Son” (Jn 17,1). Christ called the cross ‘glory’. How could he have sought to avoid it at one time when he longed for it at another? That the cross is glory we can learn from the Evangelist, who says: “The Holy Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified” (Jn 7,39), by which he meant that grace had not yet been given because Christ had not yet gone forth to be crucified and so to end the hostility existing between God and the human race. For the cross reconciled us with God, made earth heaven, caused human beings to mingle with angels, destroyed the citadel of death, broke the strength of the devil, freed the world from error, and founded churches. The cross was the will of the Father, the glory of the Son, the joy of the Holy Spirit. It was the boast of Paul, who said: “Let me boast of nothing except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Gal 6,14).
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