The Lord sent the holy prophet Amos to the sons of Israel. He was a herdsman of Tekoa and a dresser of sycamores, and his preaching was to defend the Lord’s righteousness and holiness against the transgressions of the children of Israel.
The venerable Jerome, priest of Stridon, who, born in Dalmatia, was an exceptional laborer. He pursued the studies of all literature in Rome and was baptized there. Then, seized by the power of contemplative life and having embraced the ascetic life, he proceeded to the East and was ordained a priest. When he returned to Rome, he stayed in a retreat of Pope Damasus, and then left for Bethlehem in Judea. There he founded a monastery. The notable teacher escaped the world by translating and explaining the Holy Scriptures. In a marvelous way he was a worker fulfilling very many of the needs of the Church. Finally, when he had lived to an advanced age, he reposed in peace in the early 5th century.
Celebrating the memory of your prophet Amos, O Lord, we beg You to save our souls through his intercession.
O guide of the true faith, mirror of piety and commendable behavior, bright star of the universe, and adornment of pontiffs, you enlightened us all by your teachings. O wise Jerome, inspired by God and lyre of the Holy Spirit, intercede with Christ our God that He may save our souls.
Purifying your heart by the Spirit, you accepted the gift of prophecy. You stood up and shouted your message. This is our God, and you shall have none before Him.
Delighting in purity, O wise in God, you repressed the urges to the flesh. You glowed with faith and bloomed like an orchard in paradise, O priest and father Jerome.
Romans 6: 11-17
Brothers and sisters: You must consider yourself dead to sin but alive for God in Christ Jesus. Do not, therefore, let sin rule your mortal body and make you obey its lusts; no more shall you offer the members of your body to sin as weapons for evil. Rather, offer yourselves to God as men who have come back from the dead to life, and your bodies to God as weapons for justice. Sin will no longer have power over you; you are now under grace, not under the law.
What does all this lead to? Just because we are not under the law but under grace, are we free to sin? By no means! You must realize that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are the slaves of the one you obey, whether yours is the slavery of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to justice. Thanks be to God, though once you were slaves of sin, you sincerely obeyed that rule of teaching which was imparted to you.
Matthew 8: 14-23
At that time Jesus entered Peter’s house and found Peter’s mother-in-law in bed with a fever. He took her by the hand and the fever left her. She got up at once and began to wait on him. As evening drew on, they brought him many who were possessed. He expelled the spirits by a simple command and cured all who were afflicted thereby fulfilling what had been said through Isaiah the prophet: “It was our infirmities he bore, our sufferings he endured.”
Seeing the people crowd around him, Jesus gave orders to cross to the other shore. A scribe approached him and said, “Teacher, wherever you go I will come after you.” Jesus said to him, “The foxes have lairs, the birds in the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another, a disciple to him, “Lord, let me go and bury my father first.” But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.” Jesus got into the boat and his disciples followed him.
Icon courtesy of Jack Figel, Eastern Christian Publications – ecpubs.com
Friday, June 14 –
