Today, July 6
Feast of the Day
No feast of the day
Saint of the Day
Maria Goretti was born near Ancona, Italy, in 1890. Her parents were poor farm-workers, and her father died while she was still a child. When Maria was 12, an 18-year-old neighbour, Alessandro, began to make advances towards her which she rebuffed. On July 5, 1902, he arranged that they should be alone in the house and he assaulted her, promising death if she did not yield. She chose death and in his rage Alessandro stabbed her several times. She died the following day, having forgiven him.
Alessandro was sentenced to 30 years in prison, but by 1910 he was a changed man and spent the rest of his life working in a monastery garden. Both he and Maria's family, including her mother, lived to see her canonized in 1950 by Pope Pius XII for her defence of Christian virtue. She is a patron of young women. ©2011 Living with Christ, Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/. Reprinted with permission.
Readings of the Day
Book of Hosea 2,16.17b-18.21-22.
Thus says the LORD: I will allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart. She shall respond there as in the days of her youth, when she came up from the land of Egypt. On that day, says the LORD, She shall call me “My husband,” and never again “My baal.” I will espouse you to me forever: I will espouse you in right and in justice, in love and in mercy; I will espouse you in fidelity, and you shall know the LORD.
Psalms 145(144),2-3.4-5.6-7.8-9.
Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. Great is the LORD and highly to be praised; His greatness is unsearchable. Generation after generation praises your works and proclaims your might. They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty and tell of your wondrous works. They discourse of the power of your terrible deeds and declare your greatness. They publish the fame of your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your justice. The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 9,18-26.
While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, "My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live." Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, "If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured." Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, "Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you." And from that hour the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official's house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, "Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping." And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. And news of this spread throughout all that land.
Daily Reflection
I am a stable and sure pillar, [said the Lord to Saint Hildegard in a vision] and I never abandon those who seek me. He who takes hold of me and clings to me with confidence will never fall into perdition. But he who relegates me to the oblivion of his soul and who, by puffing himself up, elevates himself above me, that is to say, he has more confidence in himself than in me and, for this reason, does not care about having confidence in me, because he counts the grace of God for nothing, I am in his soul like a whirling wind because he despises me and mocks me with superb pride. In his despair, not because of the seriousness of the sins he has committed, but because of his pride, he mocks me, saying, “What is the grace of God? "I will destroy this one by rejecting him and I do not want to elevate him by my choice, because he died for eternal happiness. And those men who do not firmly believe that they can recover from all the heavy faults of their sins, and who thus reject Almighty God and his grace, that is to say, those who, in immense sadness, despair thinking that they can no longer escape the enormity of their crimes, these are cast down and rejected, and they rush fiercely towards death. But my beloved sons who receive me with an open mind, the good will of their soul, a keen intelligence, who touch me with their groans and their tears, embracing me with joy, in an unrestrained enthusiasm, these are like flowers. As soon as they feel that I am there, immediately they rejoice in me and I in them... I want to polish and purify them constantly, until they are placed honorably and gloriously in the heavenly Jerusalem... Often I abandon them, so that in them the external man may not be puffed up with pride... in this way, I subject their faith to a harsh examination.