Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 7-29-03, Memorial, St. Martha

Reading I
Ex 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28

The tent, which was called the meeting tent,
Moses used to pitch at some distance away, outside the camp.
Anyone who wished to consult the LORD
would go to this meeting tent outside the camp.
Whenever Moses went out to the tent, the people would all rise
and stand at the entrance of their own tents,
watching Moses until he entered the tent.
As Moses entered the tent, the column of cloud would come down
and stand at its entrance while the LORD spoke with Moses.
On seeing the column of cloud stand at the entrance of the tent,
all the people would rise and worship
at the entrance of their own tents.
The LORD used to speak to Moses face to face,
as one man speaks to another.
Moses would then return to the camp,
but his young assistant, Joshua, son of Nun,
would not move out of the tent.

Moses stood there with the LORD and proclaimed his name, "LORD."
Thus the LORD passed before him and cried out,
"The LORD, the LORD, a merciful and gracious God,
slow to anger and rich in kindness and fidelity,
continuing his kindness for a thousand generations,
and forgiving wickedness and crime and sin;
yet not declaring the guilty guiltless,
but punishing children and grandchildren
to the third and fourth generation for their fathers' wickedness!"
Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship.
Then he said, "If I find favor with you, O LORD,
do come along in our company.
This is indeed a stiff-necked people;
yet pardon our wickedness and sins,
and receive us as your own."

So Moses stayed there with the LORD for forty days and forty nights,
without eating any food or drinking any water,
and he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant,
the ten commandments.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 103:6-7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13

R (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful.
The LORD secures justice
and the rights of all the oppressed.
He has made known his ways to Moses,
and his deeds to the children of Israel.
R The Lord is kind and merciful.
Merciful and gracious is the LORD,
slow to anger and abounding in kindness.
He will not always chide,
nor does he keep his wrath forever.
R The Lord is kind and merciful.
Not according to our sins does he deal with us,
nor does he requite us according to our crimes.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.
R The Lord is kind and merciful.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has he put our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him.
R The Lord is kind and merciful.

Gospel
Jn 11:19-27

Many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother [Lazarus, who had died].
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
"Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you."
Jesus said to her,
"Your brother will rise."
Martha said to him,
"I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day."
Jesus told her,
"I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?"
She said to him, "Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world."

or Lk 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
"Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me."
The Lord said to her in reply,
"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her."

From: Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5b-9, 28

The Tent of Meeting

[7] Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off
from the camp; and he called it the tent of meeting. And every one who
sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the
camp. [8] Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people rose up, and
every man stood at his tent door, and looked after Moses, until he had gone
into the tent. [9] When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would
descend and stand at the door of the tent, and the Lord would speak with
Moses. [10] And when all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the
door of the tent, all the people would rise up and worship, every man at his
tent door. [11] Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man
speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his servant
Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tent.

[5] (God) stood with him (Moses) there, and (Moses) proclaimed the name of
the Lord.

God Appears

[6] The Lord passed before him, and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord, a God
merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and
faithfulness, [7] keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity
and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's
children, to the third and the fourth generation." [8] And Moses made haste
to bow his head toward the earth, and worshiped. [9] And he said, "If now I
have found favor in thy sight, 0 Lord, let the Lord, I pray thee, go in the
midst of us, although it is a stiff-necked people; and pardon our iniquity
and our sin, and take us for thy inheritance."

The Ritual Decalogue (Continuation)

[28] And he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he neither
ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the
covenant, the ten commandments.

Commentary:

33:7-11. The tent of meeting, sometimes called the tent of witness, and also
the sanctuary, normally means the main tent in the sacred precinct (cf.
chaps. 25-27). Here, however, it seems to be different firm the sanctuary,
because the sanctuary was located in the center of the encampment and was a
place of worship, whereas this tent is pitched away from the camp and is
used for consultation. This discrepancy may well be due to the fact that
this passage belonged to an older tradition than the Priestly one. Whereas
the Priestly tradition lays the stress on matters to do with worship, the
earlier one would have focused more on social matters.

The sacred writer, through this account, is showing that God continues to be
present but at a certain distance, and that only Moses has the privilege of
speaking to him "face to face" (cf. 33:20). The people are simply the silent
witnesses of the conversations which take place between God and Moses, but
God still shows them special favor.

34:1-28. This chapter narrating the renewal of the Covenant follows the same
pattern as the account of its original establishment (cf. Ex 19-24); but it
is shorter, concentrating on the two main protagonists, God and Moses. Thus,
it begins with the preparations for the theophany and for the encounter with
the Lord (vv. 1-5); then follows the revelation of God, and Moses' prayer
(vv. 6-9); and it ends with the renewal of the Covenant and the so-called
Rite of the Covenant (vv. 10-28). The account hinges on the remaking of the
tables of stone after the sin of the golden calf; the tables symbolize God's
offer to keep to the pact and never to go back on it.

34:1-5. The theophany is described very soberly here, but it has exactly the
same elements as given in chapter 19: very careful preparation by Moses (v
2; cf. 19:10-11.); the people forbidden to approach the mountain (v.3; cf.
19:12-13); God appearing wrapped in the cloud (v. 5; cf. 19:16-20).

Comparing the two accounts, this one says less about the transcendence of
God and puts more stress on his closeness to Moses: "he stood with him
there" (v. 5). God's initiative in drawing close to man is clear to see; it
lies at the very basis of the Covenant.

"He proclaimed the name of the Lord" (v. 6); the context would suggest that
it is Moses who proclaims the name of the Lord, but the Hebrew could indeed
be as the RSV has it, "and he proclaimed his name, 'Lord' ". The same
wording appears in v. 6 implying that it is the Lord who is "proclaiming",
defining himself as he promised he would (cf 33:19). The sacred writer may
have intentionally left these words open to either interpretation; whether
spoken by Moses or said directly by God, they are equal from the revelation
point of view.

34:6-7. In response to Moses' pleading, the Lord makes himself manifest The
solemn repetition of the name of Yahweh (Lord) emphasizes that the Lord is
introducing himself liturgically to the assembled Israelites. In the
description of himself which follows (and which is repeated elsewhere, cf
20:5-6; Num 14:18; Deut 5:9-18; etc.), two key attributes of God are
underlined--justice and mercy. God cannot let sin go unpunished, nor does
he; the prophets, too, will teach that sin is, first and foremost, something
personal (cf. Jer 31:29; Ezek I 8:2ff). But this ancient text refers only in
a general way to the fact that God is just, and puts more stress on his
mercy. A person who is conscious of his own sin has access to God only if he
is sure that God can and will forgive him. "The concept of 'mercy' in the
Old Testament," John Paul II comments, "has a long and rich history. We have
to refer back to it in order that the mercy revealed by Christ may shine
forth more clearly. [...] Sin too constitutes man's misery. The people of
the Old Covenant experienced this misery from the time of the Exodus, when
they set up the golden calf. The Lord himself triumphed over this act of
breaking the covenant when he solemnly declared to Moses that he was a 'God
merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and
faithfulness' (Ex 34:6). It is in this central revelation that the chosen
people, and each of its members, will find, every time that they have
sinned, the strength and the motive for turning to the Lord to remind him of
what he had exactly revealed about himself and to beseech his forgiveness"
("Dives In Misericordia", 4). On "God's jealousy", see the note on 20:5-6.

[The note on 20:5-6 states: "A jealous God": an antropomorphism emphasizing
the uniqueness of God. Since he is the only true God, he cannot abide either
the worship of other gods (cf. 34:14) or worship of idols. Idolatry is the
gravest and most condemned sin in the Bible (cf. "Catechism of the Catholic
Church", 2113). Those in charge of worship in the temple are described as
being "jealous" for the Lord (cf. Num 25:13; 1 Kings 19:10, 14), because
they have to watch to ensure that no deviations occur. When expelling the
money-changers from the temple (Jn 2:17), Jesus refers to this aspect of
priests' responsibility: "Zeal for thy house has consumed me" (Ps 69:9).

On the Lord's merciful retribution, cf. the note on Ex 34:6-7.]

34:8-9. Moses once more implores the Lord on behalf of his people; he makes
three requests, which sum up many earlier petitions: he begs God to stay
with the people and protect them in their hazardous journeying in the desert
(cf. 33:15-17), to forgive the very grave sin they have committed (cf.
32:11-14), and finally to make them his own property, thereby distinguishing
them from all other peoples (cf. 33:16) and restoring them to their status
as "his own possession" (cf. 19:5). These three requests are ones that were
constantly on the lips of the people of Israel and in the hearts of everyone
who acknowledges God (cf. Ps 86:1-15; 103:8-10; etc.).

34:7-8. The conclusion of the Covenant is described as soberly as its
introduction (v. 10). On the meaning of the forty days, see the note on
24:12-18.

[The note on 24:12-18 states: ...then Moses stayed on the mountain for forty
days, in close contact with the Lord. These periods of time are not meant to
be exact but rather to show how intense Moses' relationship with God was;
they will be evoked when important events are narrated later: thus, Elijah
walked for forty days in search of God (cf. 1 Kings 19:8) and Jesus will
spend forty days in the desert before beginning his public life (cf. Mt 4:2).]

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.

From: John 11:19-27

The Raising of Lazarus (Continuation)

[19] And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them
concerning their brother. [20] When Martha heard that Jesus was
coming, she went and met Him, while Mary sat in the house. [21] Martha
said to Jesus, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have
died. [22] And even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God
will give You." [23] Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise
again." [24] Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in
the resurrection at the last day." [25] Jesus said to her, "I am the
resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me, though he die, yet
shall he live, [26] and whoever lives and believes in Me shall never
die. Do you believe this?" [27] She said to Him, "Yes, Lord; I
believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, He who is coming into
the world."

Commentary:

1-45. This chapter deals with one of Jesus' most outstanding miracles.
The Fourth Gospel, by including it, demonstrates Jesus' power over
death, which the Synoptic Gospels showed by reporting the raising of
the daughter of Jairus (Matthew 9:25 and paragraph) and of the son of
the widow of Nain (Luke 7:12).

The Evangelist first sets the scene (verses 1-16); then he gives Jesus'
conversation with Lazarus' sisters (verses 17-37); finally, he reports
the raising of Lazarus four days after his death (verses 38-45).
Bethany was only about three kilometers (two miles) from Jerusalem
(verse 18). On the days prior to His passion, Jesus often visited this
family, to which He was very attached. St. John records Jesus'
affection (verses 3, 5, 36) by describing His emotion and sorrow at the
death of His friend.

By raising Lazarus our Lord shows His divine power over death and
thereby gives proof of His divinity, in order to confirm His disciples'
faith and reveal Himself as the Resurrection and the Life. Most Jews,
but not the Sadducees, believed in the resurrection of the body.
Martha believed in it (cf. verse 24).

Apart from being a real, historical event, Lazarus' return to life is a
sign of our future resurrection: we too will return to life. Christ,
by His glorious resurrection through He is the "first-born from the
dead" (1 Corinthians 15:20; Colossians 1:18; Revelation 1:5), is also
the cause and model of our resurrection. In this His resurrection is
different from that of Lazarus, for "Christ being raised from the dead
will never die again" (Romans 6:9), whereas Lazarus returned to earthly
life, later to die again.

21-22. According to St. Augustine, Martha's request is a good example
of confident prayer, a prayer of abandonment into the hands of God, who
knows better than we what we need. Therefore, "she did not say, But
now I ask You to raise my brother to life again. [...] All she said
was, I know that You can do it; if you will, do it; it is for you to
judge whether to do it, not for me to presume" ("In Ioann. Evang.", 49,
13). The same can be said of Mary's words, which St. John repeats at
verse 32.

24-26. Here we have one of those concise definitions Christ gives of
Himself, and which St. John faithfully passes on to us (cf. John 10:9;
14:6; 15:1): Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. He is the
Resurrection because by His victory over death He is the cause of the
resurrection of all men. The miracle He works in raising Lazarus is a
sign of Christ's power to give life to people. And so, by faith in
Jesus Christ, who arose first from among the dead, the Christian is
sure that he too will rise one day, like Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians
15:23; Colossians 1;18). Therefore, for the believer death is not the
end; it is simply the step to eternal life, a change of dwelling-place,
as one of the Roman Missal's Prefaces of Christian Death puts it:
"Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended. When the
body of our earthly dwelling lies in death, we gain an everlasting
dwelling place in Heaven".

By saying that He is Life, Jesus is referring not only to that life
which begins beyond the grave, but also to the supernatural life which
grace brings to the soul of man when he is still a wayfarer on this
earth.

"This life, which the Father has promised and offered to each man in
Jesus Christ, His eternal and only Son, who 'when the time had fully
come' (Galatians 4:4), became incarnate and was born of the Virgin
Mary, is the final fulfillment of man's vocation. It is in a way the
fulfillment of the 'destiny' that God has prepared for him from
eternity. This 'divine destiny' is advancing, in spite of all the
enigmas, the unsolved riddles, the twists and turns of 'human destiny'
in the world of time. Indeed, while all this, in spite of all the
riches of life in time, necessarily and inevitably leads to the
frontiers of death and the goal of the destruction of the human body,
beyond that goal we see Christ. 'I am the resurrection and the life,
He who believes in Me...shall never die.' In Jesus Christ, who was
crucified and laid in the tomb and then rose again, 'our hope of
resurrection dawned...the bright promise of immortality' ("Roman
Missal", Preface of Christian Death, I), on the way to which man,
through the death of the body, shares with the whole of visible
creation the necessity to which matter is subject" ([Pope] John Paul
II, "Redemptor Hominis", 18).

FEAST OF THE DAY

Martha was the sister of Mary and Lazarus. In the Gospel according
to John, we learn that Jesus had a special relationship with this
family and that "Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus."

Martha plays a prominent role in several places in the Gospels. She
in the Gospel of Luke the Lord and the Apostles are traveling through
Bethany and they are invited to stay at the home of Martha and
Mary. Martha welcomes them into her home and immediately goes
to work to serve them. Instead of helping Martha, her sister Mary
showed what was most important thing to do by sitting at the Lord's
feet listening to him speak.

When the Lord comes to Bethany after hearing of the death of
Lazarus, Martha has learned what is truly important and goes
immediately to the Lord. Martha is the patron saint of housewives,
waiters, waitresses and cooks.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort
them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was
coming, she went to meet him: but Mary sat at home. Martha said to
Jesus, "Lord, if you had been her, my brother would not have died.
Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you."
Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." Martha said to him, "I know
he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus told her, "I am
the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies,
will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to
believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is
coming into the world. -Jn 11:19-27

TODAY IN HISTORY

479 Death of St. Lupus of Troyes
1095 Death of St. Ladislaus I, King of Hungary
1099 Death of St. Urban II, Pope
1644 Death of Pope Urban VIII

TODAY'S TIDBIT

IHS is a symbol of Jesus Christ that is often found inscribed in
churches or on other holy objects. It is the first three letters of the
name of Jesus in Greek.

INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray, through the intercession of St. Martha, for all who make
their living by serving other people, especially for those working in
the food industry.

The Word Among Us

Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Meditation
John 11:19-27

St. Martha

Jesus was returning to a place he knew well. He frequently traveled through Bethany during his ministry and probably stopped to visit his friends Lazarus, Mary, and Martha often. We can imagine him eating at their table and telling them all that God was doing. During one of these visits, Martha worried and fretted about how to feed everyone while Mary sat at Jesus’ feet listening to him. Jesus exhorted Martha to realize how important it was to take the time, push aside the distractions, and sit at his feet to experience his refreshing words (Luke 10:38-42).

Martha’s response to Jesus at her brother’s tomb revealed how she had grown to trust in him. Her trust developed as she took Jesus’ words to heart, applied them to daily life, and experienced the fruits of peace, joy, hope, and love. When Jesus came to help Lazarus, Martha had grown in her faith immeasurably—her words focusing on her knowledge of the kingdom of God. Martha had learned to treasure Jesus’ revelation and could now understand his message. The Martha who once worried so about mundane, daily tasks now responded to Jesus in faith and confidence.

Do you see how Jesus led Martha into faith? Abandonment to God’s will is a wonderful thing, but there is also the promise of the power of God at work in the world, something Martha was about to witness as Jesus raised her brother. How flexible Martha had become! She could confidently proclaim, not only that Jesus’ prayer to the Father would be answered, but that his claims about eternal life were true and that he himself was the resurrection.

Martha can be our example of teachableness. If we listen to Jesus’ words and diligently apply them to our lives, he will continue to increase our faith. We too can have the peace of knowing that Jesus can do anything. This should be our confidence as we pray for the conversion of family members, healing for the sick, and even resurrection of the dead. Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and he can do all things.

“Jesus, we thank you that you can do all things through the power the Father has given you. Continue to teach us through your Holy Spirit so that our faith and confidence can grow and you will be glorified.”

One Bread, One Body

<< Tuesday, July 29, 2003 >>

St. Martha

Exodus 33:7-11; 34:5-9, 28

Psalm 103

John 11:19-27
or Luke 10:38-42

View Readings

M & Ms

“Martha welcomed Him.” —Luke 10:38

The Lord said to Moses: “You have found favor with Me and you are My intimate friend” (Ex 33:17). “The Lord used to speak to Moses face to face” (Ex 33:11). God even let Moses glimpse all His beauty and revealed to Moses His name, “Lord” (Ex 33:19). Moses was God’s intimate friend.

“Jesus loved Martha” (Jn 11:5). When He was tired, He rested at Martha’s house and “Martha welcomed Him” (Lk 10:38). Jesus even revealed to Martha His title, “the Resurrection and the Life” (Jn 11:25). Martha was Jesus’ intimate friend.

Moses and Martha were blessed with a special intimate friendship with the Lord. Can we be close to Him as they were? That’s up to us. Jesus stands at the door of our heart and knocks (see Rv 3:20), saying “Open to Me...My beloved” (Sg 5:2). To be intimate friends means to reveal to the beloved a never-ending increase of delights. The bride and groom in Song of Songs offer delight to each other five times (Sg 1:2; 2:3; 4:10; 5:16; 7:7). Jesus offers to us “the delights at [God’s] right hand forever” (Ps 16:11). We in turn offer to Him what He delights in: the love of all our heart, all our mind, all our being, and all our strength (Lk 10:27). As we open ourselves up to Him, He calls us: “My delight” (Sg 7:7). Of Him, we exclaim: “He is all delight” (Sg 5:16). Of course, Jesus’ ultimate offer of intimacy is the Eucharist, in which we receive into our body the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus. Receive Him, and be His intimate friend (Jn 15:15).

Prayer: Father, I will find my delight in You, and you will give me the desires of my heart: intimacy with You (Ps 37:4).

Promise: “Merciful and gracious is the Lord, slow to anger and abounding in kindness.” —Ps 103:8

Praise: St. Martha so loved Jesus that she served a banquet in His honor (Jn 12:2).

Catholic Online Saints

St. Martha
Feastday: July 29 Patron of cooks

"Jesus loved Martha and Mary and Lazarus." This unique statement in John's gospel tells us of the special relationship Jesus had with Martha, her sister, and her brother.

Apparently Jesus was a frequent guest at Martha's home in Bethany, a small village two miles from Jerusalem. We read of three visits in Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-53, and John 12:1-9.

Many of us find it easy to identify with Martha in the story Luke tells. Martha welcomes Jesus and his disciples into her home and immediately goes to work to serve them. Hospitality is paramount in the Middle East and Martha believed in its importance. Imagine her frustration when her sister Mary ignores the rule of hospitality and Martha's work in order to sit and listen to Jesus. Instead of speaking to her sister, she asks Jesus to intervene. Jesus' response is not unkind, which gives us an idea of his affection for her. He observes that Martha is worried about many things that distract her from really being present to him. He reminds her that there is only one thing that is truly important -- listening to him. And that is what Mary has done. In Martha we see ourselves -- worried and distracted by all we have to do in the world and forgetting to spend time with Jesus. It is, however, comforting to note that Jesus loved her just the same.

The next visit shows how well Martha learned this lesson. She is grieving the death of her brother with a house full of mourners when she hears that Jesus has just come to the area. She gets up immediately and leaves the guests, leaves her mourning, and goes to meet him.

Her conversation with Jesus shows her faith and courage. In this dialogue she states clearly without doubt that she believes in Jesus' power, in the resurrection, and most of all that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus tells her that he is the resurrection and the life and then goes on to raise her brother from the dead. Our final picture of Martha in Scripture is the one that sums up who she was. Jesus has returned to Bethany some time later to share a meal with his good friends. In this home were three extraordinary people. We hear how brother Lazarus caused a stir when was brought back to life. We hear how Mary causes a commotion at dinner by annointing Jesus with expensive perfume. But all we hear about Martha is the simple statement: "Martha served." She isn't in the spotlight, she doesn't do showy things, she doesn't receive spectacular miracles. She simply serves Jesus.

We know nothing more about Martha and what happened to her later. According to a totally untrustworthy legend Martha accompanied Mary to evangelize France after Pentecost.

But wouldn't it be wonderful if the most important thing that could be said about us is "They served"?

Martha is the patron saint of servants and cooks.

In Her Footsteps
Dorothy Day said: "If everyone were holy and handsome, it would be easy to see Christ in everyone. But it was not Christ's way for himself. Ask honestly what you would do when a beggar asked at your house for food. Would you give it on an old cracked plate, thinking that was good enough? Do you think that Martha and Mary thought that the old and chipped dish was good enough for their guest? It is not a duty to help Christ -- it is a privilege." In what ways do you serve Christ others grudgingly or sparingly? How can you serve them the way Martha served Christ, putting her whole self into it?

Prayer:
Saint Martha, pray for us that we might serve Jesus better. Help us to overcome our distractions and worries to listen to his words and be present to him this day. Amen

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