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From: Luke 6:6-11

The Cure of a Man with a Withered Hand

[6] On another Sabbath, when He (Jesus) entered the synagogue and
taught, a man was there whose right hand was withered. [7] And the
scribes and the Pharisees watched Him, to see whether He would heal on
the Sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against Him.
[8] But He knew their thoughts, and He said to the man who had the
withered hand, "Come and stand here." And he rose and stood there.
[9] And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful on the Sabbath to
do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?" [10] And He
looked around on them all, and said to him, "Stretch out your hand."
And he did so, and his hand was restored. [11] But they were filled
with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

Commentary:

10. The Fathers teach us how to discover a deep spiritual meaning in
apparently casual things Jesus says. St. Ambrose, for example,
commenting on the phrase "Stretch out your hand," says: "This form of
medicine is common and general. Offer it often, in benefit of your
neighbor; defend from injury anyone who seems to be suffering as a
result of calumny; stretch your hand out also to the poor man who asks
for your help; stretch it out also to the Lord asking Him to forgive
your sins; that is how you should stretch your hand out, and that is
the way to be cured" ("Expositio Evangelii sec. Lucam, in loc".).

11. The Pharisees do not want to reply to Jesus' question and do not
know how to react to the miracle which He goes on to work. It should
have converted them, but their hearts were in darkness and they were
full of jealousy and anger. Later on, these people, who kept quiet in
our Lord's presence, began to discuss Him among themselves, not with a
view to approaching Him again but with the purpose of doing away with
Him. In this connection St. Cyril comments: "O Pharisee, you see Him
working wonders and healing the sick by using a higher power, yet out
of envy you plot His death" ("Commentarium in Lucam, in loc.").

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

FEAST OF THE DAY

St. Bega, also known as St. Bee was born during the seventh
century into a royal Irish family. When Bega was old enough, it was
arranged for her to marry the son of the King of Norway. Bega, who
wanted to devote her life and virginity to the Lord, refused this
arrangement and fled. She eventually arrived in the city of
Cumberland and lived there as a hermit for many years. St. Bega
began to take spiritual direction from St. Oswald and through his
recommendation and encouragement, entered the religious life.

Soon after she professed vows. Bega founded a monastery, which
later came to be named after her. Bega was elected abbess and was
known for her generosity to the poor and oppressed who came to the
abbey for assistance. St. Bega died around the end of the seventh
century and after her death many legends began to be spread
concerning her life.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Labor without stopping; do all the good works you can while you still
have the time. -St. John of God

TODAY IN HISTORY

972 Death of Pope John VIII

TODAY'S TIDBIT

A dispensation is a relaxation of a law in a particular case. Laws
made for the common good sometimes work undue hardship in
particular cases and in such cases, where sufficient reasons are
present, dispensations may be given by appropriate authorities.
Bishops and religious superiors are two groups of people that can
give out dispensations. No one has authority to dispense from
obligations of Divine law.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for all who have died.