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Delight Read: Luke 6: 12-19 |
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On the death of Clovis, King of the Franks, in the year 511 his kingdom was divided between his four sons, of whom the second was Clodomir. Thirteen years later he was killed fighting against his cousin, Gondomar, leaving three sons to share his dominions. The youngest of these sons of Clodomir was St. Clodoald, a name more familiar to English people under its French form of Cloud from the town of Saint-Cloud near Versailles. When Cloud was eight years old, his uncle Childebert plotted with his brother, to get rid of the boys and divide their kingdom. The eldest boy, Theodoald was stabbed to death. The second, Gunther fled in terror, but was caught and also killed. Cloud escaped and was taken for safety into Provence or elsewhere.
Childebert and his brother Clotaire shared the fruits of their crime, and Cloud made no attempt to recover his kingdom when he came of age. He put himself under the discipline of St. Severinus, a recluse who lived near Paris, and he afterwards went to Nogent on the Seine and had his heritage where is now Saint-Cloud. St. Cloud was indefatigable in instructing the people of the neighboring country, and ended his days at Nogent about the year 560 when he was some thirty-six years old. St. Cloud's feast day is September 7th. |
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Joy. Delight. Do you recall when you last felt joy and delight? In a world where we are bombarded with life and all of its details, I think joy might escape sometimes, unheeded in our rush to finish our to-do list. We do have to get those things done. We have responsibilities to our families, to our jobs, to society. For adults, the moments of pure joy can be few and far between. And we probably take so much time trying to figure out if that moment actually was joy that we miss it. Maybe parents with children can more easily think of those moments when the toddler giggles uncontrollably at a simple game of peek-a-boo. The child is so completely in the moment, present, full of joy and delighted to be there. Today’s responsorial psalm made me think of this. “The Lord takes delight in his people. Let them praise his name in the festive dance, let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp. The Lord does take delight in us. We need to remember that when we are being less than delightful. The festive language of the psalm contrasts with a more stern reading from Corinthians, where we are told the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God. The list of those who will not inherit is pretty exhaustive and a good reminder to be true to God and to ourselves, to our true selves where there is joy. How do we open ourselves up to joy? The Gospel gives us a clue. Jesus goes to the mountain to pray. Take time for yourself to pray even if your mountain isn’t quite so mountainous. Quiet time, even if it’s in the shower or in your car after dropping the kids off or late in the evening when you’re loading the dishwasher or at your computer. Jesus then came down from the mountain and chose the Twelve. Surround yourself with people who believe in you. You can’t do it all yourself. Be in the moment, be present and feel the power of joy. The Lord takes delight in his people. |
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Reflection:
Are you too hard on yourself?
Lord, nothing can be greater than Your love and mercy. Teach me to forgive not just others, but also myself. |
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TODAYS SAINT: St. Cloud |
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Today’s Bible Reading :
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Reading 1
Responsorial Psalm
Reading 2
Gospel: |
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DAILY HIGHLIGHTS |
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That is what some of you used to be; but now you have had yourselves washed….in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. - 1 Corinthians 6:11 |
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