Saturday, July 4, 2015

Daily Gospel for Saturday, 4 July 2015

Daily Gospel for Saturday, 4 July 2015
"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."[John 6:68]
Saturday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time
Feast of the Church:

In the USA: Independance Day

Independance Day
Variously known as the Fourth of July and Independence Day, July 4th is a federal holiday in the United States. The tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution (1775-83). In June 1776, representatives of the 13 colonies then fighting in the revolutionary struggle weighed a resolution that would declare their independence from Great Britain. On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later its delegates adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 until the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, and for many the birth of democracy, one could also note it was an experiment in religious liberty and the seperation of Church and State. Typical festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues. Please note that parishes in the United States may choose specific readings to honor the day as follows:

Isaiah 9:1 (2) The people living in darkness

have seen a great light;

upon those living in the land that lies

in the shadow of death, light has dawned.

2 (3) You have enlarged the nation

and increased their joy;

they rejoice in your presence

as if rejoicing at harvest time,

the way men rejoice

when dividing up the spoil.

3 (4) For the yoke that weighed them down,

the bar across their shoulders,

and their driver’s goad

you have broken as on the day of Midyan[’s defeat].

4 (5) For all the boots of soldiers marching

and every cloak rolled in blood

is destined for burning,

fuel for the fire.

5 (6) For a child is born to us,

a son is given to us;

dominion will rest on his shoulders,

and he will be given the name

Pele-Yo‘etz El Gibbor

Avi-‘Ad Sar-Shalom

[Wonder of a Counselor, Mighty God,

Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace],

6 (7) in order to extend the dominion

and perpetuate the peace

of the throne and kingdom of David,

to secure it and sustain it

through justice and righteousness

henceforth and forever.

The zeal of Adonai-Tzva’ot

will accomplish this.

Philippians 4:6 Don’t worry about anything; on the contrary, make your requests known to God by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving. 7 Then God’s shalom, passing all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with the Messiah Yeshua. 8 In conclusion, brothers, focus your thoughts on what is true, noble, righteous, pure, lovable or admirable, on some virtue or on something praiseworthy. 9 Keep doing what you have learned and received from me, what you have heard and seen me doing; then the God who gives shalom will be with you.
Psalm 72:
(0) By Shlomo:

(1) God, give the king your fairness in judgment,

endow this son of kings with your righteousness,

2 so that he can govern your people rightly

and your poor with justice.

3 May mountains and hills provide your people

with peace through righteousness.

4 May he defend the oppressed among the people,

save the needy and crush the oppressor.

5 May they fear you as long as the sun endures

and as long as the moon, through all generations.

6 May he be like rain falling on mown grass,

like showers watering the land.

7 In his days, let the righteous flourish

and peace abound, till the moon is no more.

8 May his empire stretch from sea to sea,

from the [Euphrates] River to the ends of the earth.

9 May desert-dwellers bow before him;

may his enemies lick the dust.

10 The kings of Tarshish and the coasts will pay him tribute;

the kings of Sh’va and S’va will offer gifts.

11 Yes, all kings will prostrate themselves before him;

all nations will serve him.

12 For he will rescue the needy when they cry,

the poor too and those with none to help them.

13 He will have pity on the poor and needy;

and the lives of the needy he will save.

14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence;

their blood will be precious in his view.

15 May [the king] live long!

May they give him gold from the land of Sh’va!

May they pray for him continually;

yes, bless him all day long.

16 May there be an abundance of grain in the land,

all the way to the tops of the mountains.

May its crops rustle like the L’vanon.

May people blossom in the city like the grasses in the fields.

17 May his name endure forever,

his name, Yinnon, as long as the sun.[Psalm 72:17 Or: “May his name flourish/propagate as long as the sun.” Jewish tradition considers Yinnon a name of the Messiah.]

May people bless themselves in him,

may all nations call him happy.

18 Blessed be Adonai, God,

the God of Isra’el,

who alone works wonders.

19 Blessed be his glorious name forever,

and may the whole earth be filled with his glory.

Amen. Amen.

20 This completes the prayers of David the son of Yishai.

Gospel: Matthew 5:1 Seeing the crowds, Yeshua walked up the hill. After he sat down, his talmidim came to him, 2 and he began to speak. This is what he taught them:

3 “How blessed are the poor in spirit!

    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

4 “How blessed are those who mourn!

    for they will be comforted.

5 “How blessed are the meek!

    for they will inherit the Land![Matthew 5:5 Psalm 37:11]

6 “How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness!

    for they will be filled.

7 “How blessed are those who show mercy!

    for they will be shown mercy.

8 “How blessed are the pure in heart!

    for they will see God.

9 “How blessed are those who make peace!

    for they will be called sons of God.

10 “How blessed are those who are persecuted

because they pursue righteousness!

    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

11 “How blessed you are when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of vicious lies about you because you follow me! 12 Rejoice, be glad, because your reward in heaven is great — they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.

“We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on theprotection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” The Declaration of Independance

Saints of the day:
St. Elizabeth of Portugal (1271-1336)
SAINT ELIZABETH OF PORTUGAL
Queen of Portugal
(1271-1336)
Elizabeth was born in 1271. She was daughter of Pedro III. of Arragon, being named after her aunt, St. Elizabeth of Hungary. At twelve years of age she was given in marriage to Denis, King of Portugal, and from a holy child became a saintly wife. She heard Mass and recited the Divine Office daily, but herdevotions were arranged with such prudence that they interfered with no duty of her state. She prepared for her frequent communions by severe austerities, fasting thrice a week, and by heroic works of charity.
She was several times called on to make peace between her husband and her son Alphonso, who had taken up arms against him. Her husband tried her much, both by his unfounded jealousy and by his infidelity to herself. A slander affecting Elizabeth and one of her pages made the king determine to slay the youth, and he told a lime-burner to cast into his kiln the first page who should arrive with a royalmessage. On the day fixed the page was sent; but the boy, who was in the habit of hearing Mass daily, stopped on his way to do so. The king, in suspense, sent a second page, the very originator of the calumny, who, coming first to the kiln, was at once cast into the furnace and burned. Shortly after, the first page arrived from the church, and took back to the king the lime-burner's reply that his orders had been fulfilled. Thus hearing Mass saved the page's life and proved the queen's innocence. Her patience, and the wonderful sweetness with which she even cherished the children of her rivals, completely won the king from his evil ways, and he became a devoted husband and a truly Christian king.
She built many charitable institutions and religious houses, among others a convent of Poor Clares. After her husband's death, she wished to enter their Order; but being dissuaded by her people, who could not do without her, she took the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis, and spent the rest of her life in redoubled austerities and almsgiving.
She died at the age of sixty-five, while in the act of making peace between her children. 
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
Saint Ulric
Image of St. Ulric

Feastday: July 4

Patron against birth complications; against faintness; against fever; against mice and moles; diocese of Augsburg, Germany; happy death; weavers
Birth: 890
Death: 973
Ulric was born at Augsburg, Germany. He was educated at St. Gall Abbey in Switzerland and by his uncle, St. Adalbeo, bishop of Augsburg. Ulric succeeded to the See as bishop in 923, and when Augsburgwas plundered and ravaged by the Magyars, he led its inhabitants in the task of rebuilding the city and its cathedral. In his old age, he retired to St. Gall, named his nephew as his successor, and was accused of nepotism for his action. His canonization by Pope John XV in 993 is the first recorded canonization by a Pope. His feast day is July 4th.
Independence Day (USA)
Saturday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time
Book of Genesis 27:1 In the course of time, after Yitz’chak had grown old and his eyes dim, so that he couldn’t see, he called ‘Esav his older son and said to him, “My son?” and he answered, “Here I am.” 2 “Look, I’m old now, I don’t know when I will die. 3 Therefore, please take your hunting gear — your quiver of arrows and your bow; go out in the country, and get me some game. 4 Make it tasty, the way I like it; and bring it to me to eat. Then I will bless you [as firstborn], before I die.”
5 Rivkah was listening when Yitz’chak spoke to his son ‘Esav. So when ‘Esav went out to the country to hunt for game and bring it back,
15 Next, Rivkah took ‘Esav her older son’s best clothes, which she had with her in the house, and put them on Ya‘akov her younger son; 16 and she put the skins of the goats on his hands and on the smooth parts of his neck. 17 Then she gave the tasty food and the bread she had prepared to her son Ya‘akov.
18 He went to his father and said, “My father?” He replied, “Here I am; who are you, my son?” 19 Ya‘akov said to his father, “I am ‘Esav your firstborn. I’ve done what you asked me to do. Get up now, sit down, eat the game, and then give me your blessing.” 20 Yitz’chak said to his son, “How did you find it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Adonai your God made it happen that way.” 21 Yitz’chak said to Ya‘akov, “Come here, close to me, so I can touch you, my son, and know whether you are in fact my son ‘Esav or not.” 22 Ya‘akov approached Yitz’chak his father, who touched him and said, “The voice is Ya‘akov’s voice, but the hands are ‘Esav’s hands.” 23 However, he didn’t detect him; because his hands were hairy like his brother ‘Esav’s hands; so he gave him his blessing. 24 He asked, “Are you really my son ‘Esav?” And he replied, “I am.” 25 He said, “Bring it here to me, and I will eat my son’s game, so that I can give you my blessing.” So he brought it up to him, and he ate; he also brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Yitz’chak said to him, “Come close now, and kiss me, my son.” 27 He approached and kissed him. Yitz’chak smelled his clothes and blessed Ya‘akov with these words: “See, my son smells like a field which Adonai has blessed. (vi) 28 So may God give you dew from heaven, the richness of the earth, and grain and wine in abundance. 29 May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be lord over your kinsmen, let your mother’s descendants bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”
Psalm 135: Halleluyah!
(1) Give praise to the name of Adonai!
Servants of Adonai, give praise!
2 You who stand in the house of Adonai,
in the courtyards of the house of our God,
3 praise Yah, for Adonai is good;
sing to his name, because it is pleasant.
4 For Yah chose Ya‘akov for himself,
Isra’el as his own unique treasure.
5 I know that Adonai is great,
that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Adonai does whatever pleases him,
in heaven, on earth, in the seas, in all the depths.

The Holy Gospel of Yeshua the Messiah According to Saint Matthew 9:14 Next, Yochanan’s talmidim came to him and asked, “Why is it that we and the P’rushim fast frequently, but your talmidim don’t fast at all?” 15 Yeshua said to them, “Can wedding guests mourn while the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them; then they will fast. 16 No one patches an old coat with a piece of unshrunk cloth, because the patch tears away from the coat and leaves a worse hole. 17 Nor do people put new wine in old wineskins; if they do, the skins burst, the wine spills and the wineskins are ruined. No, they pour new wine into freshly prepared wineskins, and in this way both are preserved.”
Saturday of the Thirteenth week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the day:
Saint Pacian of Barcelona (?-c.390), Bishop 
Homily on Baptism; PL 13, 1092 

"The bridegroom is with them"
Adam's sin was passed on to all humankind, to all his descendants... Therefore it is necessary that Christ's righteousness be passed on to all humankind. Just as Adam, through sin, caused life to be lost to his posterity, so Christ, through his righteousness, will give life to his children (cf. Rom 5, 18f.)... 
At the conclusion of the ages Christ received a soul and our flesh from Mary. It was this flesh he came to save; he did not abandon it to the nether world (Ps 16[15],10); he united it to his own spirit and made it his own. Therein lies the marriage of the Lord, his union with one flesh so that, according to “that great mystery”, “the two might become one flesh: Christ and the Church” (Eph 5,31). The christian people, on whom the Spirit of the Lord descended, was born of this union. This sowing, come down from heaven, has been immediately assimilated into the substance of our souls and mixed into them. After this we develop in our Mother's womb and, growing up within her breast, receive life in Christ. This is what made the apostle Paul say: “The first man, Adam, became a living being; the last Adam a life-giving spirit,” (1Cor 15,45). 
Thus it is that Christ begets children in the Church through his priests, as the same apostle says: “I became your father in Christ,” (1Cor 4,15). And in this way Christ brings the new man to birth, formed in his Mother's womb and sent into the world in the waters of baptism through the hands of the priest, with faith for witness... So we should believe that we can be brought to birth... and that it is Christ who gives life to us. As the apostle John says: “To those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God,” (Jn 1,12).
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