Today is Thursday, the Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost, an ordinary day without fasting. In the Gospel, the disciples wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan village that had refused to receive Jesus. He rebuked them: the Son of Man came not to destroy but to save. It is a story about our own anger. It is so easy to decide that someone does not deserve mercy, and so hard to remember that we, too, were once saved without any merit of our own. Today's memory is of Saint Anastasia the Roman, who lived in Rome in the middle of the third century, in a time of persecution. She suffered martyrdom for Christ. Her steadfastness and quiet courage have been remembered. Her witness reminds us that faithfulness to God sometimes calls for simplicity and endurance. Dear friends, may this day be quiet and kind. May patience take the place of irritation in difficult conversations, and may there be room in your heart for mercy. May the Lord bless you and keep you in peace. Saint Anastasia, pray to God for us.