Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 366
Lectionary: 366
After the death of
Naboth the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite:
“Start down to meet Ahab, king of Israel,
who rules in Samaria.
He will be in the vineyard of Naboth,
of which he has come to take possession.
This is what you shall tell him,
‘The LORD says: After murdering, do you also take possession?
For this, the LORD says:
In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth,
the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.’”
Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me out, my enemy?”
“Yes,” he answered.
“Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the LORD’s sight,
I am bringing evil upon you: I will destroy you
and will cut off every male in Ahab’s line,
whether slave or freeman, in Israel.
I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat,
and like that of Baasha, son of Ahijah,
because of how you have provoked me by leading Israel into sin.”
(Against Jezebel, too, the LORD declared,
“The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.”)
“When one of Ahab’s line dies in the city,
dogs will devour him;
when one of them dies in the field,
the birds of the sky will devour him.”
Indeed, no one gave himself up to the doing of evil
in the sight of the LORD as did Ahab,
urged on by his wife Jezebel.
He became completely abominable by following idols,
just as the Amorites had done,
whom the LORD drove out before the children of Israel.
When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments
and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh.
He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about subdued.
Then the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite,
“Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me?
Since he has humbled himself before me,
I will not bring the evil in his time.
I will bring the evil upon his house during the reign of his son.”
“Start down to meet Ahab, king of Israel,
who rules in Samaria.
He will be in the vineyard of Naboth,
of which he has come to take possession.
This is what you shall tell him,
‘The LORD says: After murdering, do you also take possession?
For this, the LORD says:
In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth,
the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.’”
Ahab said to Elijah, “Have you found me out, my enemy?”
“Yes,” he answered.
“Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the LORD’s sight,
I am bringing evil upon you: I will destroy you
and will cut off every male in Ahab’s line,
whether slave or freeman, in Israel.
I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat,
and like that of Baasha, son of Ahijah,
because of how you have provoked me by leading Israel into sin.”
(Against Jezebel, too, the LORD declared,
“The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.”)
“When one of Ahab’s line dies in the city,
dogs will devour him;
when one of them dies in the field,
the birds of the sky will devour him.”
Indeed, no one gave himself up to the doing of evil
in the sight of the LORD as did Ahab,
urged on by his wife Jezebel.
He became completely abominable by following idols,
just as the Amorites had done,
whom the LORD drove out before the children of Israel.
When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments
and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh.
He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about subdued.
Then the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite,
“Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me?
Since he has humbled himself before me,
I will not bring the evil in his time.
I will bring the evil upon his house during the reign of his son.”
Responsorial Psalm PS 51:3-4, 5-6AB, 11 AND 16
R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my guilt.
Free me from blood guilt, O God, my saving God;
then my tongue shall revel in your justice.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my guilt.
Free me from blood guilt, O God, my saving God;
then my tongue shall revel in your justice.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Gospel MT 5:43-48
Jesus said to his
disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Meditation: Love
your enemies and pray for them
What makes the disciples of Jesus different from others and
what makes Christianity distinct from any other religion? It is grace - treating
others, not as they deserve, but as God wishes them to be treated - with
loving-kindness, forebearance, and mercy. God is good to the unjust as well as
the just. His love embraces saint and sinner alike. God seeks our highest good
and teaches us to seek the greatest good of others, even those who hate and
abuse us. Our love for others, even those who are ungrateful and selfish
towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and mercy which God has shown
to us. It is easier to show kindness and mercy when we can expect to benefit
from doing so. How much harder when we can expect nothing in return. Our prayer
for those who do us ill both breaks the power of revenge and releases the power
of love to do good in the face of evil.
How can we possibly love those who cause us harm or
ill-will? With God all things are possible. He gives power and grace to those
who believe and accept the gift of the Holy Spirit. His love conquers all, even
our hurts, fears, prejudices and griefs. Only the cross of Jesus Christ can
free us from the tyranny of malice, hatred, revenge, and resentment and gives
us the courage to return evil with good. Such love and grace has power to heal
and to save from destruction. Do you know the power of Christ’s redeeming love
and mercy?
Was Jesus exaggerating when he said we must be perfect as
our heavenly Father is perfect? The original meaning of
"perfect" in Aramaic is "completeness" or "wholeness -
not lacking in what is essential." God gives us every good gift in Jesus
Christ so that we may not lack anything we need to do his will and to live as
his sons and daughters (2 Peter 1:3). He knows our weakness and sinfulness
better than we do. And he assures us of his love, mercy, and grace to follow in
his ways. Do you want to grow in your love for God and for your neighbor? Ask
the Holy Spirit to change and transform you in the image of the Father that you
may walk in the joy and freedom of the gospel.
"Lord Jesus, your love brings freedom and pardon. Fill
me with your Holy Spirit and set my heart ablaze with your love that nothing
may make me lose my temper, ruffle my peace, take away my joy, nor make me
bitter towards anyone."
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We Are All Brothers and Sisters, Children of Our Heavenly Father. 2014-06-17 |
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Matthew 5: 43-48
Jesus said to his disciples: "You have
heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But
I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that
you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the
bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if
you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax
collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual
about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your
heavenly Father is perfect."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, you present a
message that is not easy for my fallen nature to accept. However, I believe
in your words, and I trust in you because you alone have the words of eternal
life. As I begin this moment of prayer, I turn to you as one in need. I want
only to please you in all I do.
Petition: Lord, help me to love my enemies and
pray for those who persecute me.
1. True Love for Your Enemies: Nowhere does
the radical newness of the Christian ethic stand out more clearly than in
Christ’s simple phrase: “Love your enemies.” There are four words for “love”
in Greek. Storge refers to the love between parents and children. Eros is the
love of attraction between man and woman. Philia is the love of friendship.
Finally, agape is love as goodwill, benevolent love that cannot be conquered,
a love that wills only the good for the person loved. In his book, Love and
Responsibility, Karol Wojtyla remarks that to love someone with truly
benevolent love is to will God for them, since God is the supreme good of
each human person. It is precisely love as agape that Christ asks from every
one of his followers: “Pray for those who persecute you.”
2. “Children of Your Heavenly Father”: Why
does Christ ask, even demand, of us such a radical form of love? Precisely
because that is how God the Father loves each and every one of his sons and
daughters, with no consideration of whether they are good or evil. “For he makes
his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and
the unjust.” How much the world around us would change if those with whom we
came into contact perceived in us a love like that of the Father of mercies!
His love is absolutely without self-interest. He continues to love and pour
forth his gifts even when he is not loved in return. Christ calls us to a
lofty and challenging ideal, but one that is capable of transforming lives.
What joy could be greater than to be true sons and daughters of our heavenly
Father?
3. Seeking True Perfection Through Love: Why
is Christ almost relentless in insisting that we must be perfect — and not
just a human perfection, but as our heavenly Father is perfect? He knows that
is the Father’s original plan for mankind, from the dawn of creation. “So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and
female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). Christ is well aware that sin has
darkened the divine image within us, that his call to perfect charity is not
possible for our fallen human nature. But he is equally aware that by the
power of his own death and resurrection, through the new life of the Holy
Spirit whom he will send, God’s original plan for mankind will be restored.
There can be no more powerful motive for hope, even in the midst of our own
failures in charity and our human weaknesses.
Conversation with Christ: Thank you, Lord, for
your radical message, for the constant challenge it is to me, never allowing
me to become complacent or self-satisfied. Help me to be a better witness of
Christian charity so that the world will believe in you.
Resolution: I will pray for those with whom I
am experiencing difficulties and do an act of charity for them.
TUESDAY, JUNE 17, MATTHEW 5:43-48
(1 Kings 21:17-29; Psalm 51)  KEY VERSE: "But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you" (v 44). READING: Israel believed that their enemies were also enemies of God (Ps 139:21), but God did not command Israel to hate their enemies. Neither was Israel allowed to mistreat a "neighbor," that is, anyone who dwelled in the land -- a resident alien (Lv 19:17-18, 34). But Jesus took the law further. He said that it was no virtue to love only those who loved them; nonbelievers could do as much. Jesus asked his disciples to imitate their loving God who gave gifts of sun and rain to the just and unjust alike. Loving our enemies doesn't mean that we don't have any enemies; however, the Christian must never seek retaliation for any insult no matter how hostile. Those who plan evil against their enemies do not have love; consequently, they do not know God. Jesus' followers must strive to love even those who persecute them (Mt 5:11). Jesus showed us the supreme example of enemy love when he asked God to forgive those who were putting him to death (Lk 23:34). REFLECTING: Do we as individuals or as a nation measure up to Jesus' command to forgive and pray for our enemies? PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to forgive those who have injured me and to pray for their welfare.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
The Sustaining Force
Forgiveness is a practice worth pursuing with all one's
strength, as it may be the single most sustaining force in any relationship,
as well as being indispensable to one's own emotional well-being.
Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned
Jesus’ command to love one’s enemies is a difficult one to
accept.Our instincts oppose any idea of loving those who threaten us physically, psychologically or spiritually. Fortunately, grace intervenes to enable the seemingly impossible to become possible. To love one’s enemies does not equate necessarily with liking them or what they do. Such love points to a deeper insight into why people act the way they do. Jesus’ words from the cross, ‘Father forgive them for they know not what they do,’ capture the essence of this love. It is an acceptance that we are all sinners who are unconditionally loved by God. |
June 17
St. Joseph Cafasso
(1811-1860)
St. Joseph Cafasso
(1811-1860)
Even as a young man, Joseph loved to attend Mass and was known for
his humility and fervor in prayer. After his ordination he was assigned to a
seminary in Turin. There he worked especially against the spirit of Jansenism,
an excessive preoccupation with sin and damnation. Joseph used the works of St.
Francis de Sales and St. Alphonsus Liguori to moderate the rigorism popular at
the seminary.
Joseph
recommended membership in the Secular Franciscan Order to priests. He urged
devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and encouraged daily Communion. In addition
to his teaching duties, Joseph was an excellent preacher, confessor and retreat
master. Noted for his work with condemned prisoners, Joseph helped many of them
die at peace with God.
St. John
Bosco was one of Joseph’s pupils. Joseph urged John Bosco to establish the
Salesians to work with the youth of Turin. Joseph was canonized in 1947.
Comment:
Devotion to the Eucharist gave energy to all Joseph's other activities. Long prayer before the Blessed Sacrament has been characteristic of many Catholics who have lived out the gospel well, St. Francis, Bishop Sheen, Cardinal Bernardin and Blessed Mother Teresa among them.
Devotion to the Eucharist gave energy to all Joseph's other activities. Long prayer before the Blessed Sacrament has been characteristic of many Catholics who have lived out the gospel well, St. Francis, Bishop Sheen, Cardinal Bernardin and Blessed Mother Teresa among them.
Quote:
“O admirable heights and sublime lowliness! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the universe, God and the Son of God, so humbles Himself that for our salvation He hides Himself under the little form of bread! Look, brothers, at the humility of God and pour out your hearts before Him! Humble yourselves, as well, that you may be exalted by Him. Therefore, hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves so that He Who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally” (Saint Francis, Letter to the Entire Order).
“O admirable heights and sublime lowliness! O sublime humility! O humble sublimity! That the Lord of the universe, God and the Son of God, so humbles Himself that for our salvation He hides Himself under the little form of bread! Look, brothers, at the humility of God and pour out your hearts before Him! Humble yourselves, as well, that you may be exalted by Him. Therefore, hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves so that He Who gives Himself totally to you may receive you totally” (Saint Francis, Letter to the Entire Order).
Patron Saint of:
Prisoners
Prussia
Prisoners
Prussia
LECTIO DIVINA:
MATTHEW 5,43-48
Lectio:
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
1)
OPENING PRAYER
Almighty God,
our hope and our strength,
without you we falter.
Help us to follow Christ
and to live according to your will.
Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
our hope and our strength,
without you we falter.
Help us to follow Christ
and to live according to your will.
Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2)
GOSPEL READING - MATTHEW 5,43-48
Jesus said to his disciples: 'You have heard how it was said,
You will love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you, love
your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; so that you may be children
of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as
the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike. For
if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax
collectors do as much? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are
you doing anything exceptional? Do not even the gentiles do as much? You must
therefore be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.'
3)
REFLECTION
• In today’s Gospel we get to the summit of the Mountain of the
Beatitudes, where Jesus proclaimed the Law of the Kingdom of God, the ideal of
which can be summarized in this lapidarian phrase: “Be perfect as your
Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5, 48) Jesus was correcting the Law of
God! Five times, one after another, he had already affirmed: “It was said,
but I say to you!” (Mt 5, 21.27, 31.33.38). This was a sign of great
courage on his part, in public, before all the people gathered there, to
correct the most sacred treasure of the people, the origin of their identity,
which was the Law of God. Jesus wants to communicate a new way of looking and
of practicing the Law of God. The key, so as to be able to get this new look,
is the affirmation: “Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect”. Never
will anyone be able to say: “Today I have been perfect as the Heavenly Father
is perfect!” We are always below the measure which Jesus has placed before us.
Perhaps, because of this, he has placed before us an ideal which is impossible
for us mortal beings to attain?
• Matthew 5, 43-45: It was said: You will love your
neighbour and hate your enemy. In this phrase Jesus explains the
mentality with which the Scribes explained the Law; a mentality which resulted
from the divisions among the Jews and the non Jews, between neighbour and non neighbour,
between saint and sinner, between the clean and the unclean, etc. Jesus orders
to overthrow this pretence, these interested divisions. He orders to overcome
divisions. “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you! So that you may be children of your Father in Heaven, for he
causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to
fall on the upright and the wicked alike”. And from here we draw from
the source from which springs the novelty of the Kingdom. This source is proper
to God who is recognized as Father, who causes his sun to rise on the bad as
well as the good. Jesus orders that we imitate this God: “Be perfect as your
Heavenly Father is perfect” (5, 48). And, it is in imitating this God
that we can create a just society, radically new:
• Matthew 5,46-48: Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is
perfect. Everything is summarized in imitating God: "But
I say to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that
you may be children of your Father in Heaven who causes the sun to rise on the
bad as well as on the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the
wicked alike. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do
not even the tax collectors do as much? And if you save your greetings for your
brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Do not even the gentiles do as
much? Therefore, you be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt
5, 43-48). Love is the beginning and the end of everything. There is no greater
love than to give one’s life for the brother (Jn 15, 13). Jesus imitated the
Father and revealed his love. Every gesture, every word of Jesus, from his
birth until the hour of his death on the cross, it was an expression of this
creative love which does not depend on the gift received, neither does it
discriminate the other because of race, sex, religion or social class, but
which comes from wishing well in a completely gratuitous way. This was
continually growing, from birth until his death on the Cross.
• The full manifestation of the creative love in Jesus. This
was when on the Cross he offered forgiveness to the soldier who tortured him
and killed him. The soldier, employed by the Empire, placed the wrist of Jesus
on the arm of the Cross, placed a nail and began to hammer. He hammered several
times. The blood fell flowing down. The body of Jesus twisted with pain. The
mercenary soldier, ignorant of what he was doing and of what was happening
around him, continued to hammer as if it was a nail on the wall to hang a
picture. At that moment Jesus addresses this prayer to the Father: “Father,
forgive them; they do not know what they are doing!” (Lk 23, 34). In
spite of all the will of men, the lack of humanity did not succeed to
extinguish humanity in Jesus. They take him, they mock him, they spit on his
face, they scoff him, they make of him a clown king with a crown of thorns on
the head, they scourged him, torture him, make him walk on the streets as if he
were a criminal, he has to listen to the insults of the religious authority, on
Calvary they leave him completely naked at the sight of all. But the poison of
lack of humanity does not succeed to reach the source of humanity which sprang
from the Heart of Jesus. The water which sprang from within was stronger than
the poison from without, wanting to contaminate everything. Looking at that
ignorant and rude soldier, Jesus felt compassion for the soldier and prayed for
him and for all: “Father, forgive them!” And he adds even an
excuse: “They are ignorant. They do not know what they are doing!” Before the
Father, Jesus is in solidarity with those who torture him and ill treat him.
Like the brother who sees his murder brothers before the judge and he, victim
of his own brothers, tells the judge: “You know they are my brothers. They are
ignorant. Forgive them. They will become better!” It was as if Jesus was afraid
that the minimum anger against man could extinguish in him the remaining
humanity which still existed. This unbelievable gesture of humanity and of
faith in the possibility of recovering that soldier has been the greatest
revelation of the love of God. Jesus can die: “It is fulfilled!” And bowing his
head he gave up his spirit (Jn 19, 30). In this way he fulfilled the prophecy
of the Suffering Servant (Is 53).
4)
PERSONAL QUESTIONS
• Which is the most profound reason for the effort which you
make to observe God’s Law: to merit salvation or to thank for God who in his
immense goodness has created you, keeps you alive and saves you?
• What meaning do you give to the phrase: “to be perfect as the
Heavenly Father is perfect?
5)
CONCLUDING PRAYER
Have mercy on me, O God, in your faithful love,
in your great tenderness wipe away my offences;
wash me clean from my guilt,
purify me from my sin. (Ps 51,1-2)
in your great tenderness wipe away my offences;
wash me clean from my guilt,
purify me from my sin. (Ps 51,1-2)
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