Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 382
Lectionary: 382
When Isaac was so
old that his eyesight had failed him,
he called his older son Esau and said to him, “Son!”
“Yes father!” he replied.
Isaac then said, “As you can see, I am so old
that I may now die at any time.
Take your gear, therefore–your quiver and bow–
and go out into the country to hunt some game for me.
With your catch prepare an appetizing dish for me, such as I like,
and bring it to me to eat,
so that I may give you my special blessing before I die.”
Rebekah had been listening
while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau.
So, when Esau went out into the country
to hunt some game for his father,
Rebekah [then] took the best clothes of her older son Esau
that she had in the house,
and gave them to her younger son Jacob to wear;
and with the skins of the kids she covered up his hands
and the hairless parts of his neck.
Then she handed her son Jacob the appetizing dish
and the bread she had prepared.
Bringing them to his father, Jacob said, “Father!”
“Yes?” replied Isaac. “Which of my sons are you?”
Jacob answered his father: “I am Esau, your first-born.
I did as you told me.
Please sit up and eat some of my game,
so that you may give me your special blessing.”
But Isaac asked, “How did you succeed so quickly, son?”
He answered,
“The LORD, your God, let things turn out well with me.”
Isaac then said to Jacob,
“Come closer, son, that I may feel you,
to learn whether you really are my son Esau or not.”
So Jacob moved up closer to his father.
When Isaac felt him, he said,
“Although the voice is Jacob’s, the hands are Esau’s.”
(He failed to identify him because his hands were hairy,
like those of his brother Esau;
so in the end he gave him his blessing.)
Again he asked Jacob, “Are you really my son Esau?”
“Certainly,” Jacob replied.
Then Isaac said, “Serve me your game, son, that I may eat of it
and then give you my blessing.”
Jacob served it to him, and Isaac ate;
he brought him wine, and he drank.
Finally his father Isaac said to Jacob,
“Come closer, son, and kiss me.”
As Jacob went up and kissed him,
Isaac smelled the fragrance of his clothes.
With that, he blessed him saying,
“Ah, the fragrance of my son
is like the fragrance of a field
that the LORD has blessed!
“May God give to you
of the dew of the heavens
And of the fertility of the earth
abundance of grain and wine.
“Let peoples serve you,
and nations pay you homage;
Be master of your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be those who curse you,
and blessed be those who bless you.”
he called his older son Esau and said to him, “Son!”
“Yes father!” he replied.
Isaac then said, “As you can see, I am so old
that I may now die at any time.
Take your gear, therefore–your quiver and bow–
and go out into the country to hunt some game for me.
With your catch prepare an appetizing dish for me, such as I like,
and bring it to me to eat,
so that I may give you my special blessing before I die.”
Rebekah had been listening
while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau.
So, when Esau went out into the country
to hunt some game for his father,
Rebekah [then] took the best clothes of her older son Esau
that she had in the house,
and gave them to her younger son Jacob to wear;
and with the skins of the kids she covered up his hands
and the hairless parts of his neck.
Then she handed her son Jacob the appetizing dish
and the bread she had prepared.
Bringing them to his father, Jacob said, “Father!”
“Yes?” replied Isaac. “Which of my sons are you?”
Jacob answered his father: “I am Esau, your first-born.
I did as you told me.
Please sit up and eat some of my game,
so that you may give me your special blessing.”
But Isaac asked, “How did you succeed so quickly, son?”
He answered,
“The LORD, your God, let things turn out well with me.”
Isaac then said to Jacob,
“Come closer, son, that I may feel you,
to learn whether you really are my son Esau or not.”
So Jacob moved up closer to his father.
When Isaac felt him, he said,
“Although the voice is Jacob’s, the hands are Esau’s.”
(He failed to identify him because his hands were hairy,
like those of his brother Esau;
so in the end he gave him his blessing.)
Again he asked Jacob, “Are you really my son Esau?”
“Certainly,” Jacob replied.
Then Isaac said, “Serve me your game, son, that I may eat of it
and then give you my blessing.”
Jacob served it to him, and Isaac ate;
he brought him wine, and he drank.
Finally his father Isaac said to Jacob,
“Come closer, son, and kiss me.”
As Jacob went up and kissed him,
Isaac smelled the fragrance of his clothes.
With that, he blessed him saying,
“Ah, the fragrance of my son
is like the fragrance of a field
that the LORD has blessed!
“May God give to you
of the dew of the heavens
And of the fertility of the earth
abundance of grain and wine.
“Let peoples serve you,
and nations pay you homage;
Be master of your brothers,
and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be those who curse you,
and blessed be those who bless you.”
Responsorial PsalmPS 135:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6
R. (3a) Praise the Lord for the Lord is good!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the name of the LORD;
Praise, you servants of the LORD
Who stand in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God.
R. Praise the Lord for the Lord is good!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
sing praise to his name, which we love;
For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel for his own possession.
R. Praise the Lord for the Lord is good!
or:
R. Alleluia.
For I know that the LORD is great;
our LORD is greater than all gods.
All that the LORD wills he does
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and in all the deeps.
R. Praise the Lord for the Lord is good!
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the name of the LORD;
Praise, you servants of the LORD
Who stand in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God.
R. Praise the Lord for the Lord is good!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
sing praise to his name, which we love;
For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel for his own possession.
R. Praise the Lord for the Lord is good!
or:
R. Alleluia.
For I know that the LORD is great;
our LORD is greater than all gods.
All that the LORD wills he does
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and in all the deeps.
R. Praise the Lord for the Lord is good!
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaJN 10:27
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord.
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord.
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 9:14-17
The disciples of
John approached Jesus and said,
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.
No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,
for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.
People do not put new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.
Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”
Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn
as long as the bridegroom is with them?
The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
and then they will fast.
No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,
for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.
People do not put new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.
Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”
Meditation: "The day will come when they will fast"
Which comes first, fasting or feasting? The disciples of John
the Baptist were upset with Jesus' disciples because they did not fast. Fasting
was one of the three most important religious duties, along with prayer and
almsgiving. Jesus gave a simple explanation. There's a time for fasting and a
time for feasting (or celebrating). To walk as a disciple with Jesus is to experience
a whole new joy of relationship akin to the joy of the wedding party in
celebrating with the groom and bride their wedding bliss.
A time to rejoice and a time to mourn
But there also comes a time when the Lord's disciples must bear the cross of affliction and purification. For the disciple there is both a time for rejoicing in the Lord's presence and celebrating his goodness and a time for seeking the Lord with humility and fasting and for mourning over sin. Do you take joy in the Lord’s presence with you and do you express sorrow and contrition for your sins?
But there also comes a time when the Lord's disciples must bear the cross of affliction and purification. For the disciple there is both a time for rejoicing in the Lord's presence and celebrating his goodness and a time for seeking the Lord with humility and fasting and for mourning over sin. Do you take joy in the Lord’s presence with you and do you express sorrow and contrition for your sins?
The closed mind that refuses to learn
Jesus goes on to warn his disciples about the problem of the "closed mind" that refuses to learn new things. Jesus used an image familiar to his audience - new and old wineskins. In Jesus' times, wine was stored in wineskins, not bottles. New wine poured into skins was still fermenting. The gases exerted gave pressure. New wine skins were elastic enough to take the pressure, but old wine skins easily burst because they were hard. What did Jesus mean by this comparison? Are we to reject the old in place of the new?
Jesus goes on to warn his disciples about the problem of the "closed mind" that refuses to learn new things. Jesus used an image familiar to his audience - new and old wineskins. In Jesus' times, wine was stored in wineskins, not bottles. New wine poured into skins was still fermenting. The gases exerted gave pressure. New wine skins were elastic enough to take the pressure, but old wine skins easily burst because they were hard. What did Jesus mean by this comparison? Are we to reject the old in place of the new?
Treasuring the old and new wine of the Holy Spirit
Just as there is a right place and a right time for fasting and for feasting, so there is a right place for the old as well as the new. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old (Matthew 13:52). How impoverished we would be if we only had the Old Testament or the New Testament books of the Bible, rather than both. The Lord gives us wisdom so we can make the best use of both the old and the new. He doesn't want us to hold rigidly to the past and to be resistant to the new work of his Holy Spirit in our lives. He wants our minds and hearts to be like new wine skins - open and ready to receive the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Are you eager to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God’s word and plan for your life?
Just as there is a right place and a right time for fasting and for feasting, so there is a right place for the old as well as the new. Jesus says the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old (Matthew 13:52). How impoverished we would be if we only had the Old Testament or the New Testament books of the Bible, rather than both. The Lord gives us wisdom so we can make the best use of both the old and the new. He doesn't want us to hold rigidly to the past and to be resistant to the new work of his Holy Spirit in our lives. He wants our minds and hearts to be like new wine skins - open and ready to receive the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Are you eager to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God’s word and plan for your life?
"Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit, that I may grow
in the knowledge of your great love and truth. Help me to seek you earnestly in
prayer and fasting that I may turn away from sin and wilfulness and conform my
life more fully to your will. May I always find joy in knowing, loving, and
serving you.”
SATURDAY, JULY 4,
MATTHEW 9:14-17
(Genesis 27:1-5, 15-29, Psalm 135)
(Genesis 27:1-5, 15-29, Psalm 135)
KEY VERSE: “The wedding guests cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, can they?” (v.15)
TO KNOW: The followers of John the Baptist were curious to know why the disciples of Jesus did not fast as they and the Pharisees did. Jesus compared his presence among the people to a marriage feast, a sign that anticipated the Messianic banquet in which he and his bride, the Church, would be united forever. Fasting and mourning were inappropriate at a wedding, a time for rejoicing. When the bridegroom was “taken away” (v. 15), then the people would fast. Jesus said the old ways were incompatible with the new. A worn out garment could not be patched; it must be discarded. An old wine skin, symbolizing the old religion, was not flexible enough to contain the fresh new wine of the Holy Spirit.
TO LOVE: Lord Jesus, on this Independence Day, help me to live in the freedom of your presence.
TO SERVE: Does my presence give joy to others?
JULY 4 (U.S.A.)
INDEPENDENCE DAY
Independence Day is celebrated on July 4th as America's official split from Britain's rule and the beginning of the American Revolution. The original resolution was introduced by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia on June 7, 1776. Three days later a committee headed by Thomas Jefferson was appointed to prepare an appropriate writing for the occasion. The document that we know as the Declaration of Independence was adopted by Congress on July 4th although the resolution that led to the writing of the Declaration was actually approved two days earlier.
NOTE: Francis Bellamy (1855 - 1931), a Baptist minister, wrote the original Pledge of Allegiance in August 1892. In 1954, after a campaign by the Knights of Columbus, Congress added the words, 'under God,' to the Pledge. The Pledge is now both a patriotic oath and a public prayer. I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. President John F. Kennedy declared in his Inaugural address January 20, 1961: "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."
Saturday 4 July 2015
St
Elizabeth of Portugal. Genesis 27:1-5, 15-29. Praise the Lord for he is
good—Ps 134(135):1-6. Matthew 9:14-17.
The tension between the old and the new is a challenge for all
Christians.
Some of
us like to cling to the security of the old ways, but that makes it unlikely
that we shall be a relevant Christian force in a changing world. Others of us
can get so enthusiastic about new and different ways to express our faith that
we lose sight of the values of the old.
Lord
Jesus, it is not easy to be an effective Christian in our rapidly changing
world. Help us to be open minded and open hearted that we may be led by your
Holy Spirit through the many concerns and issues and decisions we face each
day. Send forth your Spirit, Lord, and renew the face of the earth.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
|
The Sign of the Cross
|
In the name of the Father, use my mind to bring you honor, and of
the Son, fill my heart to spread your word, and of the Holy Spirit, strengthen
me to carry you out to all the world. Amen.
July
4
St. Elizabeth of Portugal
(1271-1336)
St. Elizabeth of Portugal
(1271-1336)
Elizabeth is usually depicted in royal garb with a dove or an
olive branch. At her birth in 1271, her father, Pedro III, future king of
Aragon, was reconciled with his father, James, the reigning monarch. This
proved to be a portent of things to come. Under the healthful influences
surrounding her early years, she quickly learned self-discipline and acquired a
taste for spirituality. Thus fortunately prepared, she was able to meet the
challenge when, at the age of 12, she was given in marriage to Denis, king of
Portugal. She was able to establish for herself a pattern of life conducive to
growth in God’s love, not merely through her exercises of piety, including
daily Mass, but also through her exercise of charity, by which she was able to
befriend and help pilgrims, strangers, the sick, the poor—in a word, all those
whose need came to her notice. At the same time she remained devoted to her
husband, whose infidelity to her was a scandal to the kingdom.
He, too,
was the object of many of her peace endeavors. She long sought peace for him
with God, and was finally rewarded when he gave up his life of sin. She
repeatedly sought and effected peace between the king and their rebellious son,
Alfonso, who thought that he was passed over to favor the king’s illegitimate
children. She acted as peacemaker in the struggle between Ferdinand, king of
Aragon, and his cousin James, who claimed the crown. And finally from Coimbra,
where she had retired as a Franciscan tertiary to the monastery of the Poor
Clares after the death of her husband, she set out and was able to bring about
a lasting peace between her son Alfonso, now king of Portugal, and his
son-in-law, the king of Castile.
Story:
Elizabeth was not well enough to undertake her final peacemaking journey,
made all the more difficult by the oppressive heat of the season. She would
not, however, permit herself to be dissuaded from it. She answered that there
was no better way to give of her life and her health than by averting the
miseries and destruction of war. By the time she had successfully brought about
peace, she was so sick that death was imminent. After her death in 1336, her
body was returned to the monastery at Coimbra for burial.
Comment:
The work of promoting peace is anything but a calm and quiet endeavor. It takes a clear mind, a steady spirit and a brave soul to intervene between people whose emotions are so aroused that they are ready to destroy one another. This is all the more true of a woman in the early 14th century. But Elizabeth had a deep and sincere love and sympathy for humankind, almost a total lack of concern for herself and an abiding confidence in God. These were the tools of her success.
The work of promoting peace is anything but a calm and quiet endeavor. It takes a clear mind, a steady spirit and a brave soul to intervene between people whose emotions are so aroused that they are ready to destroy one another. This is all the more true of a woman in the early 14th century. But Elizabeth had a deep and sincere love and sympathy for humankind, almost a total lack of concern for herself and an abiding confidence in God. These were the tools of her success.
LECTIO DIVINA:
MATTHEW 9,14-17
Lectio:
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
you call your children
to walk in the light of Christ.
Free us from darkness
and keep us in the radiance of your truth.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
you call your children
to walk in the light of Christ.
Free us from darkness
and keep us in the radiance of your truth.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 9,14-17
Then John's disciples came to Jesus and said, 'Why is it that we
and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not?'
Jesus replied, 'Surely the bridegroom's attendants cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
No one puts a piece of unshrunken cloth onto an old cloak, because the patch pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, the wine runs out, and the skins are lost. No; they put new wine in fresh skins and both are preserved.'
Jesus replied, 'Surely the bridegroom's attendants cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is still with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.
No one puts a piece of unshrunken cloth onto an old cloak, because the patch pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. Nor do people put new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the skins burst, the wine runs out, and the skins are lost. No; they put new wine in fresh skins and both are preserved.'
3) Reflection
• Matthew 9, 14: The question of the disciples of John
concerning the practice of fasting. Fasting is quite an ancient use,
practiced by almost all religions. Jesus himself practiced it during
forty days (Mt 4, 2). But he does not insist with the disciples so that they do
the same thing. He leaves them free. Because of this, the disciples of John the
Baptist and of the Pharisees, who were obliged to fast, want to know why Jesus
does not insist on fasting “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but
your disciples do not?”
• Matthew 9, 15: The answer of Jesus. Jesus answers with a comparison in the form of a question: “Surely the bridegroom’s attendants cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is still with them?” Jesus associates fasting to mourning, and he considers himself the bridegroom. When the bridegroom is with his friends, that is, during the wedding feast, they have no need to fast. When Jesus is with them, with his disciples, it is a feast, the wedding feast. Therefore, they should not fast. But one day the bridegroom will go away. It will be a day of mourning. Then, if they want they can fast. Jesus refers to his death. He knows and feels that if he continues on this way of liberty, the authority will want to kill him.
• Matthew 9, 16-17: New wine in new skins! In these two verses, the Gospel of Matthew gives two separate phrases of Jesus on the patch of new cloth on an old cloak and of the new wine in new skins. These words throw light on the discussions and the conflicts of Jesus with religious authority of the time. A patch of new cloth is not put on an old cloak; because when washing it, the new piece of cloth shrinks and pulls on the old cloak and tears it and the tear becomes bigger. Nobody puts new wine in old skins, because when the new wine ferments, it tears the old skins. New wine in new skins! The religion defended by the religious authority was like a piece of old cloth, like an old skin. Both the disciples of John and the Pharisees, tried to renew the religion. In reality, they hardly put some patches and because of this, they ran the risk of compromising and harming both the novelty as well as the old uses. It is not necessary to want to change the novelty which Jesus brings to us for the old uses. Either one or the other! The new wine which Jesus brings to us tears the old skins. It is necessary to know how to separate things. Most probably, Matthew presents these words of Jesus to orientate the communities of the years 80’s. There was a group of Jew-Christians who wanted to reduce the novelty of Jesus to the Judaism of the time before the coming of Jesus. Jesus is not against what is “old”. He does not want that what is old be imposed on that which is new and, that it prevents it from manifesting itself. Vatican II cannot be reread with the mentality before the Council, like some try to do today.
• Matthew 9, 15: The answer of Jesus. Jesus answers with a comparison in the form of a question: “Surely the bridegroom’s attendants cannot mourn as long as the bridegroom is still with them?” Jesus associates fasting to mourning, and he considers himself the bridegroom. When the bridegroom is with his friends, that is, during the wedding feast, they have no need to fast. When Jesus is with them, with his disciples, it is a feast, the wedding feast. Therefore, they should not fast. But one day the bridegroom will go away. It will be a day of mourning. Then, if they want they can fast. Jesus refers to his death. He knows and feels that if he continues on this way of liberty, the authority will want to kill him.
• Matthew 9, 16-17: New wine in new skins! In these two verses, the Gospel of Matthew gives two separate phrases of Jesus on the patch of new cloth on an old cloak and of the new wine in new skins. These words throw light on the discussions and the conflicts of Jesus with religious authority of the time. A patch of new cloth is not put on an old cloak; because when washing it, the new piece of cloth shrinks and pulls on the old cloak and tears it and the tear becomes bigger. Nobody puts new wine in old skins, because when the new wine ferments, it tears the old skins. New wine in new skins! The religion defended by the religious authority was like a piece of old cloth, like an old skin. Both the disciples of John and the Pharisees, tried to renew the religion. In reality, they hardly put some patches and because of this, they ran the risk of compromising and harming both the novelty as well as the old uses. It is not necessary to want to change the novelty which Jesus brings to us for the old uses. Either one or the other! The new wine which Jesus brings to us tears the old skins. It is necessary to know how to separate things. Most probably, Matthew presents these words of Jesus to orientate the communities of the years 80’s. There was a group of Jew-Christians who wanted to reduce the novelty of Jesus to the Judaism of the time before the coming of Jesus. Jesus is not against what is “old”. He does not want that what is old be imposed on that which is new and, that it prevents it from manifesting itself. Vatican II cannot be reread with the mentality before the Council, like some try to do today.
4) Personal questions
• Which are the conflicts around the religious practices which
today make many persons suffer and are a reason for heated discussions and
polemics? Which is the image of God which is behind all these preconceptions,
these norms and these prohibitions?
• How is this phrase of Jesus to be understood: “Nobody puts a piece of new cloth on an old cloak? Which is the message which we can draw from all this for your community today?
• How is this phrase of Jesus to be understood: “Nobody puts a piece of new cloth on an old cloak? Which is the message which we can draw from all this for your community today?
5) Concluding Prayer
I am listening. What is God's message?
Yahweh's message is peace for his people,
for his faithful, if only they renounce their folly. (Ps 85,8)
Yahweh's message is peace for his people,
for his faithful, if only they renounce their folly. (Ps 85,8)
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