Today, July 21
Feast of the Day
No feast of the day
Saint of the Day
Readings of the Day
Book of Micah 7,14-15.18-20.
Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, That dwells apart in a woodland, in the midst of Carmel. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old; As in the days when you came from the land of Egypt, show us wonderful signs. Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency, And will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our guilt? You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins; You will show faithfulness to Jacob, and grace to Abraham, As you have sworn to our fathers from days of old.
Psalms 85(84),2-4.5-6.7-8.
You have favored, O LORD, your land; you have brought back the captives of Jacob. You have forgiven the guilt of your people; you have covered all their sins. You have withdrawn all your wrath; you have revoked your burning anger. Restore us, O God our savior, And abandon your displeasure against us. Will you be ever angry with us, prolonging your anger to all generations? Will you not instead give us life; and shall not your people rejoice in you? Show us, O LORD, your kindness, and grant us your salvation.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 12,46-50.
While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you." But he said in reply to the one who told him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother."
Daily Reflection
Gertrude listened attentively to the Epistle (2 Cor 6:1–10) in order to choose from among the virtues enumerated therein, those most useful to imitate and to teach to others. And as she received no spiritual illumination on this matter, she said to the Lord: “Teach me, O my most sweet Beloved, which of these virtues are those through which I may serve You in a manner that is particularly pleasing to You—since, alas! I cannot each day apply myself to every single one through extraordinary effort.” The Lord replied: “Note well that, amidst the other virtues, these words are inserted: ‘in the Holy Spirit’ (cf. 2 Cor 6:6); and because the Spirit is good will, strive above all else to possess a good will. In this way, you shall possess the radiance and the specific perfection of all the virtues; for the will alone gains more than anything that could be accomplished or acquired through outward acts. He whose entire will seeks to surpass the praise of every creature—to give Me thanks, to love Me, to share in My sorrows, and to practice every virtue in the most perfect manner possible—that man, undoubtedly, shall be amply rewarded by My divine generosity with the recompense for countless deeds that no human being could ever have accomplished through their own works.” Then the Holy Spirit—the Paraclete—stepping forward into the midst and standing directly before the soul, began to flood with the marvelous radiance of His divine splendor in the center of the soul (…) where the soul could behold, laid bare, the enormity of its own wretchedness. Thus, through the power of this divine light, that soul—now utterly stripped of all wretchedness—was granted the blessedness of being immersed in the living fountain of the light that never fades.