Today, July 14
Feast of the Day
No feast of the day
Saint of the Day
Born in Abruzzi in central Italy, Camillus (1550-1614) became a Venetian soldier like his father. When his aged father died, Camillus pursued his mania for gambling, lost everything, but was cared for by some Capuchins. Because of a diseased leg, he was unable to join that order, but found his vocation in caring for the sick. The conditions in hospitals in the 16th century were horrific and Camillus resolved to establish an order to care for the sick and dying. He was ordained and founded the nursing congregation of the Ministers of the Sick, the Camillians. Despite his own ill health, he served as general of his order, built hospitals, and ministered to soldiers on the battlefield. He was canonized in 1746, and is a patron saint of nurses and of the sick.©2011 Living with Christ, Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/. Reprinted with permission.
Readings of the Day
Book of Isaiah 7,1-9.
In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah, Rezin, king of Aram, and Pekah, king of Israel, son of Remaliah, went up to attack Jerusalem, but they were not able to conquer it. When word came to the house of David that Aram was encamped in Ephraim, the heart of the king and heart of the people trembled, as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind. Then the LORD said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz, you and your son Shear-jashub, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool, on the highway of the fuller's field, and say to him: Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail before these two stumps of smoldering brands (the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans, and of the son of Remaliah), because of the mischief that Aram (Ephraim and the son of Remaliah) plots against you, saying, "Let us go up and tear Judah asunder, make it our own by force, and appoint the son of Tabeel king there." Thus says the LORD: This shall not stand, it shall not be! Damascus is the capital of Aram, and Rezin the head of Damascus; Samaria is the capital of Ephraim, and Remaliah's son the head of Samaria. But within sixty years and five, Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation. Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm!
Psalms 48(47),2-3a.3b-4.5-6.7-8.
Great is the LORD and wholly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, fairest of heights, is the joy of all the earth. Mount Zion, “the recesses of the North,” is the city of the great King. God is with her castles; renowned is he as a stronghold. For lo! the kings assemble, they come on together; They also see, and at once are stunned, terrified, routed. Quaking seizes them there; anguish, like a woman's in labor, As though a wind from the east were shattering ships of Tarshish.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 11,20-24.
Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum: 'Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.' For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."
Daily Reflection
Let us cry out with David; let us hear him weep and let us shed tears with him. Let us see how he rises up again and let us rejoice with him: “Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness.” (Ps 51:3) Let us place before the eyes of our soul a man who is seriously injured, almost on the point of breathing his last breath, and who is lying naked in the dust. In his desire to see a doctor arrive, he is moaning and begging the person who understands his condition to have pity. Now sin is a wound to the soul. You who are this wounded person, learn that your doctor is within you, and show him the wounds of your sins. May he to whom every secret thought is known hear the moaning of your heart. May your tears move him, and if you have to seek him with some insistence, let deep sighs rise up to him from the bottom of your heart. May your pain come to him and may you also be told, like David: “The Lord… has forgiven your sin.” (2 Sam 12:13)… “Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness.” The people who belittle their fault because they do not know this great tenderness, only draw a little tenderness to themselves. As for me, I fell far, I sinned with full knowledge. But you, almighty doctor, correct those who scorn you; you teach those who do not know their fault, and you forgive those who admit it to you.