Today, July 5
Feast of the Day
No feast of the day
Saint of the Day
Anthony was born in Cremona, Italy, in 1502. Both a physician and priest, he was greatly inspired by Saint Paul. Anthony was the founder of the Clerks Regular of Saint Paul (known as the Barnabites from their headquarters at the church of Saint Barnabas in Milan). He encouraged the laity to work with the clergy in helping the poor, and also promoted the frequent reception of communion. Anthony died in 1539 at age 37, worn out by his apostolic zeal. He was canonized in 1897.©2011 Living with Christ, Novalis - Bayard Press Canada Inc., http://www.livingwithchrist.ca/. Reprinted with permission.
Readings of the Day
Book of Zechariah 9:9-10.
Thus says the LORD: Rejoice heartily, O daughter Zion, shout for joy, O daughter Jerusalem! See, your king shall come to you; a just savior is he, Meek, and riding on an ass, on a colt, the foal of an ass. He shall banish the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem; The warrior's bow shall be banished, and he shall proclaim peace to the nations. His dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Psalms 145(144):1-2.8-9.10-11.13cd-14.
I will extol you, O my God and King, and I will bless your name forever and ever. Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever. The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great kindness. 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. Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD, and let your faithful ones bless you. And let your faithful ones bless you. Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom and speak of your might. The LORD is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works. Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words and holy in all his works. The LORD lifts up all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed down.
Letter to the Romans 8:9.11-13.
Brothers and sisters: You are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit that dwells in you. Consequently, brothers, we are not debtors to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 11:25-30.
At that time Jesus exclaimed, "I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him." "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
Daily Reflection
"On whom shall I rest," says Scripture, "but on the one who is gentle and humble and trembles at my words?" (cf. Is 66:2 LXX) It is clear from this that the kingdom of God the Father belongs to the humble and gentle. For "blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth," (Mt 5:5). (…) I think that the word "earth" signifies the resolution and strength of the inner stability, immovably rooted in goodness, which is possessed by gentle people. This state of stability exists eternally with the Lord, contains unfailing joy, enables the gentle to attain the kingdom prepared from the beginning, and has its station and dignity in heaven. It also permits the gentle to inherit the principle of virtue, as if virtue were the earth that occupies a middle place in the universe. For the gentle person holds a middle position between honor and obloquy, and remains dispassionate, neither puffed up by the first nor cast down by the second. For the intelligence is by nature superior to both praise and blame, and so, when it has put away sensual desire, it is no longer troubled either by the one or the other, having anchored the soul in divine and unassailable dignity. The Lord, wanting to impart this liberty to his disciples, says: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls," (Mt 11:29). He calls the rule of the divine kingdom "rest" because it confers on those worthy of it a lordship free from all servitude. If the indestructible power of the pure kingdom is given to the humble and gentle, who will be so lacking in love and so completely without appetite for divine blessings that they will not desire the greatest degree of humility and gentleness in order to take on the imprint of the divine kingdom, so far as this is possible, and to bear, by grace, an exact spiritual likeness to Christ, who is by nature the truly great king?