Gospel: (Luke 12:32-34)
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not live in fear, little flock. It has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms. Get purses for yourselves that do not wear out, never-failing treasure with the Lord which no thief comes near nor any moth destroys. Wherever your treasure lies, there your heart will be.”
Reflection:
St. Catherine Laboure entered the Daughters of Charity in 1830. When she was a novice, the Blessed Mother appeared to her several times in the Motherhouse Chapel asking that a medal be made in her honor. Although the Miraculous Medal became well known through out the world, Sister Catherine devoted her life to the service of the poor elderly in silence and humility for forty-six years. She is known as the saint of silence, as she kept her secret of being the one who saw Mary until her death. She was a woman of profound prayer and service, a true “mystic in action” as a Daughter of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac. She is, in a special way, the patroness of the elderly.
Vincentian Meditation:
“Whenever I go to the chapel, I put myself in the presence of our good Lord, and I say to him, ‘Lord I am here. Tell me what you would have me to do.’ If he gives me some task, I am content and I thank him. If he gives me nothing, I still thank him since I do not deserve to receive anything more than that. And then, I tell God everything that is in my heart. I tell him about my pains and joys, and then I listen… If you listen, God will also speak to you, for with the good Lord, you have to both speak and listen. God always speaks to you when you approach him plainly and simply.” (Words of St. Catherine Laboure)
Discussion: (Share thoughts on the readings after a moment of silence)
In your prayer do you “speak and listen?” How has God directed you in your service to the poor- giving you a “task to do”?
Closing Prayer:
St. Catherine, servant of the sick and elderly poor,
-help us to grow in the virtue of humility.
St. Catherine, visionary of the Miraculous Medal,
-increase our devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary
St. Catherine, model of prayer and service,
-show us how to be contemplatives in action.
St. Catherine, woman of prayer
-give us the grace to approach God plainly and simply.
Amen