Optional Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal
July 5, 2024
First Reading: Amos 8:4-6, 9-12
4 Hear this, you who trample upon the needy, and bring the poor of the land to an end, 5 saying, “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great, and deal deceitfully with false balances, 6 that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and sell the refuse of the wheat?” 9 “And on that day,” says the Lord GOD, “I will make the sun go down at noon, and darken the earth in broad daylight. 10 I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day. 11 Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord GOD, “when I will send a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. 12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD, but they shall not find it.”
Psalm: 119:2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies, who seek him with their whole heart, 10 With my whole heart I seek thee; let me not wander from thy commandments! 20 My soul is consumed with longing for thy ordinances at all times. 30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness, I set thy ordinances before me. 40 Behold, I long for thy precepts; in thy righteousness give me life! 131 With open mouth I pant, because I long for thy commandments.
9 As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. 10 And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, `I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Reflection of the Day: “One’s love for God should be limitless. Honouring God with conditions, is dishonouring Him!” — St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria
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