Daily Readings for:October 03, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)
Collect: O God, who manifest your almighty power above all by pardoning and showing mercy, bestow, we pray, your grace abundantly upon us and make those hastening to attain your promises heirs to the treasures of heaven. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
RECIPES
ACTIVITIES
o Religion in the Home for Elementary School: October
o Religion in the Home for Preschool: October
PRAYERS
· Ordinary Time: October 3rd
· Friday of the Twenty-Sixth Week of Ordinary Time
Old Calendar: St. Theresa of the Child Jesus, virgin; St. Gerard of Brogne, abbot (Hist)
According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus. Her feast in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite is celebrated on October 1. Historically it is the feast of St. Gerard of Brogne who was born in the county of Namur. He trained for the army, as a page of the count of Namur he was sent on a special mission to the French court. He stayed in France and joined the Benedictines of St. Denis. After some eleven years he was ordained priest, and left for Belgium in order to found a new abbey on his own estate of Brogne. He was its abbot for twenty-two years and during that period was instrumental in introducing St. Benedict's Rule into numerous houses in Flanders, Lorraine and Champagne. He was noted for his engaging sweetness of temper.
St. Gerard of Brogne
St. Gerard entered this world blessed with the advantages of noble birth and a naturally pleasing disposition which made him universally liked, yet he saw through the emptiness of a worldly life. Upon returning from a hunting trip one day, he retreated to a chapel, where he sighed, "How happy are they who have no other obligation but to praise the Lord night and day, and who live always in His presence." St. Gerard had a vision in which St. Peter asked him to bring the relics of St. Eugenius to Brogne, Belgium. Upon completing this task, St. Gerard entered into religious life at the monastery of Saint-Denis, where he was later elevated to the priesthood. After founding an abbey of monks on his own estate at Brogne, the Saint set up a cell for himself near the church so he could live a life of reclusion. He was not allowed to remain a recluse for long though. God soon called him to reform the abbey of St. Ghislain, where the monks would expose the relics of their founder in exchange for money. Due to his success there St. Gerard was later given the commission to reform all the abbeys in Flanders. For nearly twenty years, he labored for their reformation by the Rule of St. Benedict. Toward the end of his life, St. Gerard made one last general visit to each of the monasteries under his direction, then retired to his cell at Brogne to prepare for his death.
26th Week in Ordinary Time
You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13)
What makes babies so delightful? Science suggests that a baby’s large, round eyes and chubby cheeks trigger an instinctual reaction in its parents. Almost automatically, we smile. We feel a drive to care for and protect the child, to hold him or her close and shower love on this innocent little person that God has entrusted to us. Toy makers use this knowledge to their advantage: for example, eighty-six-year-old Mickey Mouse has gotten “younger” through the years as his head and eyes were drawn bigger and his ears rounder to make him look more appealing.
Of course, this isn’t the whole story. We savor each stage of our children’s growth. We still beam with pride as our daughters become mothers, navigate morning sickness, and fall in love with their own children. We marvel as our sons tackle the challenges of fatherhood. Simply because they are our children, we feel an unbreakable bond, even when relations between us are strained.
If earthly parents can feel so connected to their children, imagine how much God delights in you—even when you aren’t particularly delighting in him! Think of Job in today’s first reading. After enduring disaster upon disaster, he has taken up his case against God. As Job sees it, God owes him an explanation for the way he has treated him, and he will not rest until God answers for himself. But God, ever the loving Father, patiently works to set Job straight. He loves this son of his no matter what, and he will not rest until Job is at peace.
Just as he was for Job, God is there for you. He is watching over you, showering you with love, and pouring out grace as you face the challenges of your life. Even if you can’t see him right now, a time will come, as it came for Job, when you will be able to look back and see that your heavenly Father has never left your side. You are his child, and he can’t help but smile every time he sees you. So try to relax in his gaze today and feel his delight in you.
“Lord, help me grasp your love for me. Father, I believe that you delight in me. By your Spirit, deepen my faith today.”
Job 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5; Luke 10:13-16