JUNE 9, 2013 : TENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME year C

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 
Lectionary: 90

Reading 11 KGS 17:17-24

Elijah went to Zarephath of Sidon to the house of a widow.
The son of the mistress of the house fell sick,
and his sickness grew more severe until he stopped breathing.
So she said to Elijah,
“Why have you done this to me, O man of God?
Have you come to me to call attention to my guilt
and to kill my son?”
Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.”
Taking him from her lap, he carried the son to the upper room
where he was staying, and put him on his bed.
Elijah called out to the LORD:
“O LORD, my God,
will you afflict even the widow with whom I am staying
by killing her son?”
Then he stretched himself out upon the child three times
and called out to the LORD:
“O LORD, my God,
let the life breath return to the body of this child.”
The LORD heard the prayer of Elijah;
the life breath returned to the child’s body and he revived.
Taking the child, Elijah brought him down into the house
from the upper room and gave him to his mother.
Elijah said to her, “See! Your son is alive.”
The woman replied to Elijah, 
“Now indeed I know that you are a man of God.
The word of the LORD comes truly from your mouth.”

Responsorial PsalmPS 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13

R. (2a) I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear
and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Sing praise to the LORD, you his faithful ones,
and give thanks to his holy name.
For his anger lasts but a moment;
a lifetime, his good will.
At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me;
O LORD, be my helper.
You changed my mourning into dancing;
O LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
R. I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

Reading 2GAL 1:11-19

I want you to know, brothers and sisters,

that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin.

For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it,

but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ.



For you heard of my former way of life in Judaism,

how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure

and tried to destroy it, and progressed in Judaism

beyond many of my contemporaries among my race,

since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions.

But when God, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart

and called me through his grace,

was pleased to reveal his Son to me,

so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles,

I did not immediately consult flesh and blood,

nor did I go up to Jerusalem

to those who were apostles before me; 

rather, I went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus.



Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem

to confer with Cephas and remained with him for fifteen days.

But I did not see any other of the apostles,

only James the brother of the Lord.

GospelLK 7:11-17

Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain,
and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him.
As he drew near to the gate of the city,
a man who had died was being carried out,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
A large crowd from the city was with her.
When the Lord saw her,
he was moved with pity for her and said to her,
“Do not weep.”
He stepped forward and touched the coffin;
at this the bearers halted,
and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!”
The dead man sat up and began to speak,
and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming,
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst, ”
and “God has visited his people.”
This report about him spread through the whole of Judea
and in all the surrounding region.

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "The Lord had compassion on her"

How do you respond to the misfortunes of others? In a number of places the gospel records that Jesus was "moved to the depths of his heart" when he met with individuals and with groups of people. Our modern use of the word "compassion" doesn't fully convey the deeper meaning of the original Hebrew word which expresses heart-felt "sympathy" and personal identification with the suffering person's grief and physical condition. Why was Jesus so moved on this occasion when he met a widow and a crowded funeral procession on their way to the cemetery? Jesus not only grieved the untimely death of a young man, but he showed the depth of his concern for the woman who lost not only her husband, but her only child as well. The only secure means of welfare in biblical times was one's family. This woman had lost not only her loved ones, but her future security and livelihood as well.
The scriptures make clear that God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone (see Ezekiel 33:11) – he desires life, not death. Jesus not only had heart-felt compassion for the widow who lost her only son, he also had extraordinary supernatural power – the ability to restore life and to make a person whole again. Jesus, however, did something which must have shocked the sensibilities of the widow and her friends. Jesus approached the bier to make physical contact with the dead man. The Jews understood that contact with a dead body made oneself ritually unclean or impure. Jesus' physical touch and personal identification with the widow's loss of her only son not only showed the depths of his love and concern for her, but pointed to his desire to free everyone from the power of sin and moral corruption, and even death itself. Jesus' simple word of command – "Young man, arise" – not only restored him to physical life, but brought freedom and wholeness to his soul as well as his body.
This miracle took place near the spot where the prophet Elisha raised another mother's son back to life again (see 2 Kings 4:18-37). Jesus claimed as his own one whom death had seized as its prey. By his word of power he restored life for a lad marked for death. Jesus is Lord not only of the living but of the dead as well. When Jesus died on the cross for our sins he also triumphed over the grave when he rose again on the third day, just as he had promised his disciples. Jesus promises everyone who believes in him, that because he lives (and will never die again), we also shall have abundant life with and in him both now and forever (John 14:19). Do you trust in the Lord Jesus to give you abundant life and everlasting hope in the face of life's trials, misfortunes, and moments of despair?
"Lord Jesus, your healing presence brings life and restores us to wholeness of mind, body, and spirit. Speak your word to me and give me renewed hope, strength, and courage to follow you in the midst of life's sorrows and joys."

www.dailyscripture.net

From Death to Life

Tenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

Father Matthew Kaderabek, LC Luke 7: 11-17 Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep." He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, "A great prophet has arisen in our midst," and "God has visited his people." This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region. Introductory Prayer: Jesus, what a joy and what a gift to have this time to be with you alone! I want to know you more deeply. I want to hope in you more firmly. I want to love you with greater constancy in my daily life. Only you can give me these gifts. Only you can make me a bold and joyful apostle of your Kingdom. Petition: Lord Jesus, help me to appreciate and remain in the state of grace. 1. Compassionate and Merciful: Surrounded by many enthusiastic followers, Jesus encounters a funeral procession as he approaches the city gate. He stops walking, he stops his conversation, and he shifts his full attention to the grieving mother who has lost her only son. Luke explains that Jesus was “moved with pity.” Jesus, in his human nature, felt much compassion for this grieving woman. He “feels her pain.” How much more does Jesus in his divine nature comprehend the pain—physical, emotional or spiritual—that each of us encounters in our daily lives. As in the case of this widow, he meets each of us with compassion and will work a miracle if we let him. Sometimes the miracle is that he relieves our pain, as he does for the widow in this Gospel passage. But sometimes the miracle is that he forgives our sins or strengthens us to bear our pain for his sake, and for the sake of bringing more souls to eternal happiness in his kingdom. 2. The Church’s Joy: The Church, often called “Mother Church,” rejoices when her sinful children return to a life of grace through the sacrament of confession. Saints Ambrose and Augustine saw this Gospel story as reflecting this truth. St. Ambrose tells us that the Church is a mother who intercedes for each one of her children like the widow for her only son (Commentary on Saint Luke’s Gospel, V, 92). Saint Augustine points out: “The widowed mother rejoiced at the raising of that young man… Our Mother the Church rejoices every day when people are raised again in spirit. The young man had been dead physically; the latter, dead spiritually. The young man’s death was mourned visibly; the death of the latter was invisible and unmourned. He seeks them out who knew them to be dead; only he can bring them back to life” (Sermons, 98, 2). 3. Raised from Spiritual Death: Christ, in his endless mercy, wants eternal life for each one of us. The treasury of his compassion is inexhaustible, as Saint Faustina tells us. In his mercy, Jesus gave his earthly, ministerial priests the power to forgive sins (John 20:22-23). When our venial sins are confessed and forgiven, we receive more grace (a greater share in the divine life of the Trinity) and draw closer to Christ, receiving strength to avoid mortal sin. When our mortal sins are confessed and forgiven, we not only receive grace and draw closer to Christ, but we are raised from the worst kind of fate, namely, spiritual death, the eternal death of our soul. Praise God! No wonder Mother Church rejoices. Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, through confession, I can be sure that I am forgiven, and you restore peace to my soul. Do not allow my pride and my shame ever to keep me from taking advantage of this beautiful sacrament, the sacrament of freedom. Resolution: I will spend at least five minutes examining my conscience today and begin preparing my next confession, which I will go to this week.

www.regnumchristi.org

SUNDAY, JUNE 9
TENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
LUKE 7-11-17

(1 Kings 17:17-24; Psalm 30; Galatians 1:11-19)
KEY VERSE: "A great prophet has risen among us!" and "God has looked favorably on his people!" (v 16).
READING: Jesus had healed the servant of a Gentile Centurion (Lk 7:1-10). Then Jesus went to the town of Nain, a day's journey from Capernaum. When Jesus saw a widow accompanying the bier of her dead son, he was moved with compassion for her. Since the widow had no husband or son to support her, she would soon find herself destitute. Riskingthe possibility of ritual impurity for touching a corpse (Nm 19:11), Jesus laid a hand on the litter bearing the dead man. With a word of authority he commanded him to rise to life. Luke compares Jesus' ministry to that of two prophets in the Hebrew Testament. The prophet Elijah revived the only son of a Gentile widow in Zarephath (1 Kgs 17:8-24). And the prophet Elisha raised to life the only son of a Shunammite woman whose husband was old (2 Kgs 4:31-37). When Jesus raised the widow's son and gave him back to his grateful mother, the people praised God for sending a new prophet to them.
REFLECTING: How can I offer Christ's compassion to someone who is grieving?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, thank you for your compassionate love that raises me to new life.

www.daily-word-of-life.com

I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.

'Do not cry', he said.
One of the less welcome consequences of the communications revolution is that we are brought into daily touch with calamities that overtake people the world over - war, crime, famine, flood. A local calamity may galvanise us into giving help, but for the most part we can only voice our sympathy or indignation. And it soon rings hollow, even to ourselves.

Jesus shows us the value of our personal presence with the sufferer. Even when we can do nothing to alleviate distress, our presence with a friend who is hurting can be a channel for God’s healing action. Lord, I cannot raise the dead, and I cannot comfort unknown sufferers on other continents. Give me an eye for the sorrows of the people I meet each day, and help me convey some of your healing care and love.

www.churchresources.info

June 9
St. Ephrem
(306?-373)

Poet, teacher, orator and defender of the faith, Ephrem is the only Syrian recognized as a doctor of the Church. He took upon himself the special task of opposing the many false doctrines rampant at his time, always remaining a true and forceful defender of the Catholic Church.

Born in Nisibis, Mesopotamia, he was baptized as a young man and became famous as a teacher in his native city. When the Christian emperor had to cede Nisibis to the Persians, Ephrem, along with many Christians, fled as a refugee to Edessa. He is credited with attracting great glory to the biblical school there. He was ordained a deacon but declined becoming a priest (and was said to have avoided episcopal consecration by feigning madness!).
He had a prolific pen, and his writings best illumine his holiness. Although he was not a man of great scholarship, his works reflect deep insight and knowledge of the Scriptures. In writing about the mysteries of humanity’s redemption, Ephrem reveals a realistic and humanly sympathetic spirit and a great devotion to the humanity of Jesus. It is said that his poetic account of the Last Judgment inspired Dante.
It is surprising to read that he wrote hymns against the heretics of his day. He would take the popular songs of the heretical groups and, using their melodies, compose beautiful hymns embodying orthodox doctrine. Ephrem became one of the first to introduce song into the Church’s public worship as a means of instruction for the faithful. His many hymns have earned him the title “Harp of the Holy Spirit.”
He preferred a simple, austere life, living in a small cave overlooking the city of Edessa. It was here he died around 373.

Comment:

Many Catholics still find singing in church a problem, probably because of the rather individualistic piety that they inherited. Yet singing has been a tradition of both the Old and the New Testament. It is an excellent way of expressing and creating a community spirit of unity as well as joy. Ephrem's hymns, an ancient historian testifies, "lent luster to the Christian assemblies." We need some modern Ephrems—and cooperating singers—to do the same for our Christian assemblies today.

Quote:

Lay me not with sweet spices,
For this honor avails me not,
Nor yet use incense and perfumes,
For the honor befits me not.
Burn yet the incense in the holy place;
As for me, escort me only with your prayers,
Give ye your incense to God,
And over me send up hymns.
Instead of perfumes and spices,
Be mindful of me in your intercessions.
(From The Testament of St. Ephrem)

www.americancatholic.org

LECTIO: 10TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (C)

Lectio: 

 Sunday, June 9, 2013  

he Raising of the Widow’s Only Son Jesus was moved with great compassion
Lk 7,11-17

1. OPENING PRAYER

O Holy Spirit, soul of my soul, I adore you. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me, teach me always to do the will of the Father. Help me to know what you desire: I promise to submit to everything that you want from me and to accept all that you allow to happen to me.

Amen.

 (Card. Désiré Mercier)

2. READING

 a) A Key to the Reading

Today’s gospel gives us the story of the raising of the son of the widow of Nain. A look at the literary context of the 7^th chapter of the Gospel of Luke will help us to understand this episode. The evangelist wishes to show that Jesus opens the way for us by showing us something of what is new about God as it comes to us in the proclamation of the Good News. This is how  transformation and openness come about: Jesus listens to the prayer of a foreigner, a non-Jew (Lk 7:1-10)  and raises the son of a widow (Lk 7:11-17) The way in which Jesus reveals the Reign of God comes as a surprise to the Jewish brethren who were not used to this kind of openness. It is a surprise also to John the Baptist who sends messengers to ask, Are you the one who is to come or are we to  wait for another (Lk 7:18-30). Jesus mocks the fickleness of his contemporaries: They are like children sitting in the market-place and calling to one another,“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not weep.”’(Lk 7:31-35). At the end we see Jesus’ openness to women (Lk 7:36-50)

b) Reading

From the Gospel according to Luke (7:11-17)

11 Soon afterwards^* he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him.¹²As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town.¹³When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’¹⁴Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, rise!’¹⁵The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus^* gave him to his mother.¹⁶Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has risen among us!’ and ‘God has looked favourably on his people!’¹⁷This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.

c) A division of the text that will help our reading

Lk 7,11-12:    The meeting of the two processions

Lk 7,13:        Compassion in action

Lk 7,14-15:    "Young man, I say to you, rise!"

Lk 7,16-17:    The repercussions

c) The Text: Luke 7,11-17

11 Soon afterwards^* he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him.¹

²As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town.

¹³When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’¹⁴Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, rise!’

¹⁵The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

¹⁶Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has risen among us!’ and ‘God has looked favourably on his people!’¹⁷This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.

3. A MOMENT OF PRAYERFUL SILENCE

So that the Word of God may enter us and give light to our lives.

4. SOME QUESTIONS

To help our meditation and prayer.

 - The text tells us that there were two groups of people. Which of them caught the attention of Jesus?

- Compassion moved Jesus to raise the son of the widow to life. Does the pain of others move me to the same kind of compassion?

- What do I do to help others to overcome their pain and open out to a new life?
- God visited his people. Am I aware of the many visits of God in my life and in the life of the people?

- Am I appreciative, and do I praise and thank God for the very many good things I have received?

5. FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO HAVE A DEEPER GRASP OF THE TEXT

a) Commentary on the text

Lk 7,11-12: The meeting of the two processions

” Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town”.

Luke is like a painter. With very few words he manages to paint a very beautiful picture of the meeting of two crowds or processions, the funeral procession that leaves the city and accompanies the widow bringing her only son to the cemetery; the procession of the crowd that was heading for the city accompanying Jesus. The two meet in the small square near the gate of the city of Nain. 

Lc 7,13: Compassion in action

“¹³When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep”.It was compassion that moved Jesus to speak and to act. Compassion means, literally, to suffer-with, to take on the pain of the other person, to be identified with the other person and to feel the other person’s pain. It was compassion that ignited the power in Jesus, the power of life over death, the power of creation. 

Lc 7,14-15: "Young man, I tell you, rise!"

Jesus went nearer to the bier and said, “Young man, I tell you, rise”. The dead man “sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother”. Sometimes, when there is great suffering because of the death of a loved-one, people say, “In the time of Jesus, when Jesus walked on this earth, there was the hope of not losing a loved-one because Jesus could bring people back to life”. Such people think of the raising of the widow’s son in Nain as something that happened in the past, that makes us think about the past and have a certain envy. However the intention of the Gospel is not to get us thinking about the past or to produce any kind of envy, but rather to help us come to a better experience of the living presence of  Jesus among us. It is the same Jesus, who has power to overcome death and the pain of death, and who continues to be alive in our midst. He is with us today and in the face of the problems that are capable of dragging us down he says again, “I tell you, Rise!”

Lk 7,16-17: The repercussions

“¹⁶Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has risen among us!’ and ‘God has looked favourably on his people!’ ¹⁷This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country. This was the prophet that was foretold by Moses (Dt 18,15).The God who comes to visit us is “the Father of orphans and the protector of widows” (Ps 68,6; cfr. Jud 9,11).

6. PRAYER – Psalm 68,4-8

⁴ Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds^*—
his name is the Lord—
be exultant before him.

⁵ Father of orphans and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
⁶ God gives the desolate a home to live in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a parched land.

⁷ O God, when you went out before your people,
when you marched through the wilderness,
⁸ the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

7. CLOSING PRAYER

Lord Jesus, we thank you for your Word that has helped us to see the will of the Father more clearly. Let your Spirit enlighten our actions and enable us to carry our  what your Word has helped us to see. May we, just like Mary, your Mother, not only listen to your Word but also put it into practice. You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen.

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