Today, September 10
Feast of the Day
No feast of the day
Saint of the Day
Readings of the Day
First Letter to the Corinthians 8,1b-7.11-13.
Brothers and sisters : Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up. If anyone supposes he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if one loves God, one is known by him. So about the eating of meat sacrificed to idols: we know that "there is no idol in the world," and that "there is no God but one." Indeed, even though there are so-called gods in heaven and on earth (there are, to be sure, many "gods" and many "lords"), yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom all things are and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things are and through whom we exist. But not all have this knowledge. There are some who have been so used to idolatry up until now that, when they eat meat sacrificed to idols, their conscience, which is weak, is defiled. Thus through your knowledge, the weak person is brought to destruction, the brother for whom Christ died. When you sin in this way against your brothers and wound their consciences, weak as they are, you are sinning against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I may not cause my brother to sin.
Psalms 139(138),1-3.13-14ab.23-24.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me; you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar. Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works. Probe me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; See if my way is crooked, and lead me in the way of old.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke 6,27-38.
Jesus said to his disciples : "To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit (is) that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount. But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as (also) your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."
Daily Reflection
Dearest Father in Christ, the gentle Jesus—I, Catherine, the slave of the servants of Jesus Christ, write to you in His precious blood, desiring to see you grounded in true and perfect charity. (…) This is one of the particular signs showing whether or not a soul dwells in charity. It despises no one but patiently bears the faults of others; it does not grow angry but is full of gentleness; it renders a man not unjust but just, leading him to give each person their due, whether he obeys or commands. He gives glory to God and praise to His name; he harbors hatred and horror for sin, while holding love and benevolence for his neighbor. If he is in a position of power and must administer justice, he listens to the great and the small, the poor and the rich alike. He does not stain his conscience by yielding to flattery, threats, pleasure, or displeasure; rather, he holds the scales straight, rendering to each what justice demands. He serves his neighbor with zeal, showing them the love he bears for God: he cannot render service to God directly, but he strives to serve what God loves so dearly—the rational creature, who is given to him as an intermediary. How sweet is charity, that tender mother! It is free from bitterness and always brings joy to the heart of the one who possesses it.