Today, June 1
Feast of the Day
No feast of the day
Saint of the Day
Justin, a Samaritan, was called "The Philosopher." A convert to Christianity, this layman used his knowledge of philosophy to explain Christian doctrine. Denounced to the authorities by a disgruntled debating opponent, Justin was brought to trial and martyred about the year 165. The official account from court records still exists and shows how Justin and his companions, when brought before the Roman prefect, declared themselves to be Christians, refused to sacrifice to the gods and were condemned to death. His writings include one of the earliest descriptions of the Mass.©2011 Living with Christ, Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/. Reprinted with permission.
Readings of the Day
second Letter of Peter 1,2-7.
may grace and peace be yours in abundance through knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has bestowed on us everything that makes for life and devotion, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and power. Through these, he has bestowed on us the precious and very great promises, so that through them you may come to share in the divinenature, after escaping from the corruption that is in the world because of evil desire. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love.
Psalms 91(90),1-2.14-15ab.15c-16.
You who dwell in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, Say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." Because he clings to me, I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he acknowledges my name. He shall call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in distress. I will deliver him and glorify him; With length of days I will gratify him And will show him my salvation.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 12,1-12.
Jesus began to speak to the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders in parables. "A man planted a vineyard, put a hedge around it, dug a wine press, and built a tower. Then he leased it to tenant farmers and left on a journey. At the proper time he sent a servant to the tenants to obtain from them some of the produce of the vineyard. But they seized him, beat him, and sent him away empty-handed. Again he sent them another servant. And that one they beat over the head and treated shamefully. He sent yet another whom they killed. So, too, many others; some they beat, others they killed. He had one other to send, a beloved son. He sent him to them last of all, thinking, 'They will respect my son.' But those tenants said to one another, 'This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.' So they seized him and killed him, and threw him out of the vineyard. What (then) will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come, put the tenants to death, and give the vineyard to others. Have you not read this scripture passage: 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes'?" They were seeking to arrest him, but they feared the crowd, for they realized that he had addressed the parable to them. So they left him and went away.
Daily Reflection
Sweet Jesus, how sorry the state in which I see you! Sweetest and most loving, who has condemned you to such a bitter death? Only Savior of all our ancient wounds, who is taking you to undergo so cruel and, even more, so humiliating a wounding? O my good Jesus, sweetest vine, see the fruit your vine is yielding you... Up until this day of your espousals, patiently you have waited for it to produce its grapes yet it yielded only thorns (Is 5,6). It has crowned you with thorns and encircled you with the thorns of its sins. How bitter has become this vine, which now is no longer yours but has become a foreign vine! It has denied you, crying: “We have no other king but Caesar!” (Jn 19,15). When they had cast you out from the vineyard of your city and inheritance, those vinedressers put you to death: not at one fell blow but only after crushing you beneath the long agony of the cross and torturing you with the wounds of whip and nails... Lord Jesus... it is you yourself who surrender your soul to death; no one can take it from you, it is you who give it (Jn 10,18)... O wonderful exchange! The King surrenders for the slave, God for man, the Creator for the one he has created, the Innocent for the guilty.