September 1, 2024

Labor Day, Monday of the Twenty-second week in Ordinary Time

O Saint Joseph, Patron of the Church, you who, alongside the Incarnate Word, worked each day to earn your bread, finding in Him the strength to live and work: you who have felt the anxiety of tomorrow, the bitterness of poverty, the precariousness of work; you who show today the example of your figure, humble before men, but greatest before God, protect workers in their harsh daily existence, defend them from discouragement, from negative revolt, as well as from the temptation of hedonism; and guard the peace of the world, that peace which alone can guarantee the development of peoples. Amen

Daily Thought from the Saints

"It is requisite for the relaxation of the mind that we make us, from time to time, of playful deeds and jokes.

— St. Thomas Aquinas

Daily Scripture Verse

"And the King will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these breothers of mine, you did for me.’”

Matthew 25:40

Daily Meditation

"He who is humble, even thou he fall through frailty, soon repents with sorrow and implores the divine assistance to help him to amend; nor is he astonished at having fallen, because he knows that of hiself he is only capable of evil and would do far worse if God did not protect him with His grace. After having sinned, it is good to humble oneself before God,  and without losing courage, to remain in humility in order not to fall again… but to afflict ourselves without measure and to give way to a certain pusillanimous melancholy, which brings us to the verge of despair, is a temptation of pride, insinuated by the devil… however upright we may be, we must never be scandalized nor amazed at the conduct of evildoer, nor consider ourselves better than they, because we do not know what is  ordained for them or for us in the supreme disposition of God.”

— Rev. Cajetan Da Bergamo

Day to Day with Mary

As chickens when they see a kite soaring above run and find refuge under the wings of the hen, so are we preserved under the shadow of your wing. And you, who are our Lady and Mother, have to defend us: for after God, we have no other refuge than you who are our only hope and our protectress; towards you we all turn our eyes with confidence.

St. Thomas of Villanova

A Prayer from Notre Dame University

Rev. Steve Gibson, C.S.C.

Lord, how quickly the people would change their opinion of you. Sometimes you were the hottest thing in town; the next day you were despised and threatened with your life. Regardless of the situation, you remained constant in your mission and clung to your Father’s faithfulness. Please give us the grace to live with purpose and to believe in your presence, even when loneliness may seem our only companion. Amen.