Prayer of the Day for Friday, October 30, 2015

Psalm 111

Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord:
in His commandments he shall take great delight.

Mighty on earth shall be his seed:
the generation of the righteous shall be blessed.

Glory and wealth shall be in his house:
and his righteousness endureth for ever and ever.

He is risen in darkness, a light to the upright:
He is merciful, and compassionate, and just.

Acceptable is the man that showeth mercy and lendeth;
he shall order his words with judgment:
and he shall never give way.

The righteous man shall be in eternal remembrance:
he shall not fear an evil report.

His heawrt is ready to hope in the Lord:
his heart is strengthened:
he shall not yield till he despise his enemies.

He hath distributed and given to the poor;
his righteousness remaineth for ever:
his power shall be exalted in glory.

The sinner shall see it, and be enraged;
he shall gnash his teeth and pine away:
the desire of sinners shall perish.

Ant. He that feareth the Lord,
in His commandments shall have great delight.

Ant. Blessed be the Name of the Lord.

Daily Reading for Friday, October 30th, 2015

Reading 1, Romans 9:1-5

1 This is the truth and I am speaking in Christ, without pretence, as my conscience testifies for me in the Holy Spirit;

2 there is great sorrow and unremitting agony in my heart:

3 I could pray that I myself might be accursed and cut off from Christ, if this could benefit the brothers who are my own flesh and blood.

4 They are Israelites; it was they who were adopted as children, the glory was theirs and the covenants; to them were given the Law and the worship of God and the promises.

5 To them belong the fathers and out of them, so far as physical descent is concerned, came Christ who is above all, God, blessed for ever. Amen.

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Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20

12 Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem, Zion, praise your God.

13 For he gives strength to the bars of your gates, he blesses your children within you,

14 he maintains the peace of your frontiers, gives you your fill of finest wheat.

15 He sends his word to the earth, his command runs quickly,

19 He reveals his word to Jacob, his statutes and judgements to Israel.

20 For no other nation has he done this, no other has known his judgements.

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Gospel, Luke 14:1-6

1 Now it happened that on a Sabbath day he had gone to share a meal in the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched him closely.

2 Now there in front of him was a man with dropsy,

3 and Jesus addressed the lawyers and Pharisees with the words, 'Is it against the law to cure someone on the Sabbath, or not?'

4 But they remained silent, so he took the man and cured him and sent him away.

5 Then he said to them, 'Which of you here, if his son falls into a well, or his ox, will not pull him out on aSabbath day without any hesitation?'

6 And to this they could find no answer.

St. Alphonsus Rodriguez

Short Cuts

Facts

Feastday: October 30

Birth: 1532

Death: 1617

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Confessor and Jay brother, also called Alonso. He was born in Segovia, Spain, on July 25, 1532, the son of a wealthy merchant, and was prepared for First Communion by Blessed Peter Favre, a friend of Alphonsus' father. While studying with the Jesuits at Alcala, Alphonsus had to return home when his father died. In Segovia he took over the family business, was married, and had a son. That son died, as did two other children and then his wife. Alphonsus sold his business and applied to the Jesuits. His lack of education and his poor health, undermined by his austerities, made him less than desirable as a candidate for the religious life, but he was accepted as a lay brother by the Jesuits on January 31, 1571. He underwent novitiate training and was sent to Montesion College on the island of Majorca. There he labored as a hall porter for twenty-four years. Overlooked by some of the Jesuits in the house, Alphonsus exerted a wondrous influence on many. Not only the young students, such as St. Peter Claver, but local civic tad and social leaders came to his porter's lodge for advice tad and direction. Obedience andpenance were the hallmarks of his life, as well as his devotion to the Immaculate Conception. He experienced many spiritual consolations, and he wrote religious treatises, very simple in style but sound in doctrine. Alphonsus died after a long illness on October 31, 1617, and his funeral was attended by Church and government leaders. He was declared Venerable in 1626, and was named a patron of Majorca in 1633. Alphonsus was beatified in 1825 and canonized in September 1888 with St. Peter Claver.