Gospel and Saint of the day: 4 December 2019

Book of Isaiah 25,6-10a.
On that day, the Lord of hosts will prepare on this mountain, a feast of fat food, for all peoples, a feast of excellent wines, succulent foods, refined wines.
He will tear on this mountain the veil that covered the face of all peoples and the blanket that covered all peoples.
It will eliminate death forever; the Lord God will wipe away the tears on every face; the dishonorable condition of his people will make him disappear from all over the country, since the Lord has spoken.
And it will be said on that day: “Here is our God; in him we hoped that he would save us; this is the Lord in whom we have hoped; let us rejoice, we rejoice for his salvation.
For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain. "
Salmi 23(22),1-3a.3b-4.5.6.
The Lord is my Shepherd:
I lack nothing.
On grassy pastures it makes me rest
to calm waters it leads me.
Reassures me, guides me on the right path,
for the love of his name.

If I had to walk in a dark valley,
I wouldn't fear any harm, because you are with me.
Your staff is your bond
they give me security.

In front of me you prepare a canteen
under the eyes of my enemies;
sprinkle my head with oil.
My cup overflows.

Happiness and grace will be my companions
all the days of my life,
and I will live in the house of the Lord
for very long years.

From the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Matthew 15,29-37.
At that time, Jesus came to the sea of ​​Galilee and went up to the mountain and stopped there.
A great crowd gathered around him bringing with them lame, crippled, blind, deaf and many other sick people; they laid them at his feet, and he healed them.
And the crowd was full of amazement at seeing the mute who spoke, the crippled straightened, the lame who walked and the blind who saw. And glorified the God of Israel.
Then Jesus called the disciples to himself and said: «I feel compassion for this crowd: for three days now they have been following me and have no food. I don't want to postpone them fasting, so that they won't pass out along the way ».
And the disciples said to him, "Where can we find so many loaves in a desert as to feed such a large crowd?"
But Jesus asked: "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven, and a few little fish."
After ordering the crowd to sit on the ground,
Jesus took the seven loaves and the fishes, gave thanks, broke them, gave them to the disciples, and the disciples distributed them to the crowd.
Everyone ate and was satisfied. Pieces left over took seven full bags.

04 December

SAINT YOUNG CALABRIA

Giovanni Calabria was born in Verona on October 8, 1873 to Luigi Calabria and Angela Foschio, the youngest of seven brothers. Since the family lived in poverty, when his father died he had to interrupt his studies and find work as an apprentice: he was however noted for his qualities by Don Pietro Scapini, Rector of San Lorenzo, who helped him pass the entrance exam to the high school. of the Seminary. At the age of twenty he was called up for military service. He resumed his studies after military service, and in 1897 he enrolled in the Faculty of Theology of the Seminary, with the intention of becoming a priest. A singular episode that happened to him marked the beginning of his activity in favor of orphans and the abandoned: one night in November he found an abandoned child and welcomed him into his home, sharing its comforts. A few months later he founded the "Pious Union for assistance to the sick poor". He was the founder of the congregations of the Poor Servants and the Poor Servants of Divine Providence. He died on December 4, 1954, he was 81 years old. He was beatified on April 17, 1988 and canonized on April 18, 1999.

PRAYER TO OBTAIN THANKS WITH THE INTERCESSION OF SAINT JOHN CALABRIA

O God, our Father, we praise you for the providence with which you lead the universe and our life. We thank you for the gift of evangelical holiness that you have granted to your servant Don Giovanni Calabria. Following his example, we abandon all our worries in you, wishing only for your Kingdom to come. Give us your Spirit to make our heart simple and available to your will. Arrange for us to love our brothers, especially the poorest and most abandoned, to arrive one day together with them in endless joy, where you await us with Jesus your Son and our Lord. Through the intercession of St. John Calabria grant us the grace that we now confidently ask of you ... (expose)