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
PsalmPS 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.
AlleluiaJN 13:34
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
I give you a new commandment:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 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, forbearance, 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."
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Pray for those who persecute you, by
John Chrysostom, 347-407 A.D.
"For neither did Christ simply command to love
but to pray. Do you see how many steps he has ascended and how he has set us on
the very summit of virtue? Mark it, numbering from the beginning. A first step
is not to begin with injustice. A second, after one has begun, is not to
vindicate oneself by retaliating in kind. A third, to refuse to respond in kind
to the one who is injuring us but to remain tranquil. A fourth, even to offer
up one's self to suffer wrongfully. A fifth, to give up even more than the
wrongdoer wishes to take. A sixth, to refuse to hate one who has wronged us. A
seventh, even to love such a one. An eighth, even to do good to that one. A
ninth, to entreat God himself on our enemy's behalf. Do you perceive how
elevated is a Christian disposition? Hence its reward is also glorious. (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY
18.4)
TUESDAY, JUNE 14, MATTHEW 5:43-48
Weekday
(1 Kings 21:17-29; Psalm 51)
Weekday
(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).
TO KNOW: Israel believed that their enemies were also the enemies of God (Ps 139:21), but God did not command Israel to hate their enemies (Lev 19:17-18). Neither were they allowed to mistreat a resident alien, that is, someone who dwelled in the land but was not a member of the nation or religion of the Jews (v 34). Israel ought to remember that they too were once aliens in the land of Egypt. 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. His disciples should imitate their loving God who gave gifts of sun and rain to the just and unjust alike. Christians must never seek retaliation for any insult no matter how hostile. They must strive to love even those who persecuted 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).
TO LOVE: Do we as individuals or as a nation measure up to Jesus' command to forgive and pray for our enemies?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to forgive those who have injured me and to pray for their welfare.
FLAG DAY (USA)
On June 14, 1777, the Continental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes pattern for the national flag. This was almost a year after the Declaration of Independence and more than a decade before the U.S. Constitution was finalized. Flag Day was first celebrated in 1877, the centennial of the U.S. flag's existence. After that many citizens and organizations advocated the adoption of a national day of commemoration for the U.S. Flag. It was not until 1949, that President Harry Truman signed legislation making Flag Day a day of national observance.
Tuesday 14 June, 2016
Tue 14th. 1 Kings
21:17-29. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned—Ps 50(51):3-6, 11, 16.
Matthew 5:43-48.
Love as
your heavenly Father loves.
In yesterday’s
Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples how they must act in the face of injustice.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus goes one step further by challenging them – and us –
to respond not just with passive cooperation but with love.
He exhorts us
to a higher standard than the Levitical love of neighbour; instead we are to
love everyone, including those who don’t love us. I’m a bit of a perfectionist,
so hearing Jesus’ words ‘you must therefore be perfect’ triggers something in
me. But Jesus often clarifies his teachings with metaphors, and this is no
exception.
The perfection
that Jesus calls us to is the perfection of our heavenly Father: we are called
to be perfect in our love for all.
MINUTE
MEDITATIONS
|
Pure of Heart
|
Purity of heart, singleness of mind, means focusing my vision
totally on God. Looking only to God is the purpose, the goal, and the meaning
of my life. If I have that kind of vision, if I really look that way I’ll see
God as Jesus tells me: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God”
(Matthew 5:8).
June 14
St. Albert Chmielowski
(1845-1916)
St. Albert Chmielowski
(1845-1916)
Born
in Igolomia near Kraków as the eldest of four children in a wealthy family, he
was christened Adam. During the 1864 revolt against Czar Alexander III, Adam’s
wounds forced the amputation of his left leg.
His
great talent for painting led to studies in Warsaw, Munich and Paris. Adam
returned to Kraków and became a Secular Franciscan. In 1888 he took the name
Albert when he founded the Brothers of the Third Order of Saint Francis,
Servants to the Poor. They worked primarily with the homeless, depending
completely on alms while serving the needy, regardless of age, religion or
politics. A community of Albertine sisters was established later.
Pope
John Paul II beatified him in 1983 and canonized him six years later.
Comment:
Reflecting on his own priestly vocation, Pope John Paul II wrote in 1996 that Brother Albert had played a role in its formation "because I found in him a real spiritual support and example in leaving behind the world of art, literature and the theater, and in making the radical choice of a vocation to the priesthood" (Gift and Mystery: On the Fiftieth Anniversay of My Priestly Ordination, p. 33). As a young priest, Karol Wojtyla repaid his debt of gratitude by writing The Brother of Our God, a play about Brother Albert’s life.
Reflecting on his own priestly vocation, Pope John Paul II wrote in 1996 that Brother Albert had played a role in its formation "because I found in him a real spiritual support and example in leaving behind the world of art, literature and the theater, and in making the radical choice of a vocation to the priesthood" (Gift and Mystery: On the Fiftieth Anniversay of My Priestly Ordination, p. 33). As a young priest, Karol Wojtyla repaid his debt of gratitude by writing The Brother of Our God, a play about Brother Albert’s life.
Quote:
The first reading at the canonization included Isaiah 58:6 (“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?”). The pope referred to this passage and said: “This is the theology of messianic liberation, which contains what we are accustomed to calling today the ‘option for the poor’.... In this tireless, heroic service on behalf of the marginalized and the poor, he [Albert] ultimately found his path. He found Christ. He took upon himself Christ’s yoke and burden; he did not become merely ‘one of those who give alms,’ but became the brother to those he served...” (L'Osservatore Romano 1989, Vol. 49, No. 9).
The first reading at the canonization included Isaiah 58:6 (“Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?”). The pope referred to this passage and said: “This is the theology of messianic liberation, which contains what we are accustomed to calling today the ‘option for the poor’.... In this tireless, heroic service on behalf of the marginalized and the poor, he [Albert] ultimately found his path. He found Christ. He took upon himself Christ’s yoke and burden; he did not become merely ‘one of those who give alms,’ but became the brother to those he served...” (L'Osservatore Romano 1989, Vol. 49, No. 9).
LECTIO DIVINA: MATTHEW 5,43-48
Lectio
Divina:
Tuesday,
June 14, 2016
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)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét