6th week of Pentecost

Acts 12:12-24
When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who is called Mark, where there were many people gathered in prayer. When he knocked on the gateway door, a maid named Rhoda came to answer it. She was so overjoyed when she recognized Peter’s voice that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. They told her, “You are out of your mind,” but she insisted that it was so. But they kept saying, “It is his angel.” But Peter continued to knock, and when they opened it, they saw him and were astounded. He motioned to them with his hand to be quiet and explained (to them) how the Lord had led him out of the prison, and said, “Report this to James 4 and the brothers.” Then he left and went to another place. At daybreak there was no small commotion among the soldiers over what had become of Peter. Herod, after instituting a search but not finding him, ordered the guards tried and executed. Then he left Judea to spend some time in Caesarea. He had long been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon, who now came to him in a body. After winning over Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they sued for peace because their country was supplied with food from the king’s territory. On an appointed day, Herod, attired in royal robes, (and) seated on the rostrum, addressed them publicly. The assembled crowd cried out, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” At once the angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not ascribe the honor to God, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. But the word of God continued to spread and grow.

Matthew 15:10-20
He summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand. It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles that person; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.” Then his disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” He said in reply, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides (of the blind). If a blind person leads a blind person, both will fall into a pit.” Then Peter said to him in reply, “Explain (this) parable to us.” He said to them, “Are even you still without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that enters the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled into the latrine? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, unchastity, theft, false witness, blasphemy. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”

Prayer of the Faithful, vol. III Ramsho – Opening Prayer
Long-suffering Lord, rich in grace and truth, grant us the gifts of meekness, calm, mercy, compassion, and spiritual understanding. Lead us in joy to that dawn that does not pass away. With grateful hearts we will remain in your presence, and offer humble praise to you, your Father and your Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.
Saint of the Day: Saint Marciana of Caesarea, Martyr (died, 4th century). Born in Mauritania in modern Algeria. She chose to live a live of penance as a hermit, but was martyred in the amphitheatre of Caesarea during the persecutions of the Roman Emperor Diocletian.
Meditation: What does God ask of us? The call to holiness is summed up for us in the Gospel of Matthew, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.” (Matthew, 6:33) Saints are sinners who realize that all things of earth and flesh are passing, flickering lights that dim and die. Christ is the light that never fades, in his light there is no darkness, and his light is the path to our true and eternal home; the Kingdom of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. The righteousness of Christ, is the bond of love, the relationship of love we have with God, purchased through the blood of the Cross. Jesus taught us to love God with all our being, and to love our neighbor as if they were ourselves; this is the wisdom of holiness, this is what God asks of us.