Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year C
Saint(s) of the day : St. Juliana Falconieri (1270-1340), St. Romuald, Abbot (c. 952-1027)
See commentary below or click here
Saint John XXIII : "He must... take up his cross daily"
Book of Zechariah 12:10-11.13:1.
Thus says the LORD:
I will pour out on the house of David
and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem
a spirit of grace and petition;
and they shall look on him whom they have pierced,
and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only son,
and they shall grieve over him as one grieves over a firstborn.
On that day the mourning in Jerusalem shall be as great as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
On that day there shall be open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, a fountain to purify from sin and uncleanness.
Letter to the Galatians 3:26-29.
Brothers and sisters: Through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus.
For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's descendant, heirs according to the promise.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke9:18-24.
Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"
They said in reply, "John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, 'One of the ancient prophets has arisen.'"
Then he said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Peter said in reply, "The Messiah of God."
He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.
He said, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised."
Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB
Commentary of the day :
Saint John XXIII (1881-1963), pope
Journal of a soul, 1930, retreat at Rustchuk
"He must... take up his cross daily"
I feel ever more strongly a love for my Lord's Cross, especially in these days. O blessed Jesus, do not let this be a spurt of flame to flicker out in the first shower of rain, but a burning,inextinguishable fire! During this retreat I have come across another beautiful prayer which corresponds very well to the state of my spiritual life...: «O Jesus, my crucified love, I worship you in all your sufferings... I welcome with all my heart, for love of you, all the afflictions of body and soul which you may send me. And I promise to find all my glory, my treasure and my joy your Cross, that is in humiliations, privations and sufferings, saying with St Paul: 'Far be it from me to glory except in the Cross of our Lord Christ' (Gal 6:14). As for me, I want no other paradise in this world than the Cross of my Lord Jesus Christ.»... The profound and lasting impression I have received... convinces me that the Lord wants me all for himself along the royal road of the holy Cross. It is along this way and none other that I wish to follow him...
A characteristic of this retreat has been a greater inner peace and joy which embolden me to offer myself to the Lord for any sacrifice he may wish me to make of what is dear to me. My whole person and my whole life must be imbued with this tranquillity and joy... I must do my best to preserve this cheerfulness in my soul and inward behaviour... One of the similes used by St Francis de Sales, which I love to repeat, is: "I am like a bird singing in a thicket of thorns"; this must be an inspiration to me. So, I must say very little to anyone about the things that hurt me. Great discretion and forbearance in my judgments of people and situations: willingness to pray particularly for those who may cause me suffering, and in everything great kindness and endless patience, remembering that any other sentiment or mixture of sentiments, "Macédoine", as they say here, is contrary to the spirit of the Gospel and of evangelical perfection. So long as charity may triumph, at all costs, I would choose to be considered as of little worth. I will be patient and good to a heroic degree, even if I am to be crushed.
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