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Chủ Nhật, 20 tháng 8, 2017

AUGUST 21, 2017 : MEMORIAL OF SAINT PIUS X, POPE

Memorial of Saint Pius X, Pope
Lectionary: 419

Reading 1JGS2:11-19
The children of Israel offended the LORD by serving the Baals.
Abandoning the LORD, the God of their fathers,
who led them out of the land of Egypt,
they followed the other gods of the various nations around them,
and by their worship of these gods provoked the LORD.

Because they had thus abandoned him and served Baal and the Ashtaroth,
the anger of the LORD flared up against Israel,
and he delivered them over to plunderers who despoiled them.
He allowed them to fall into the power of their enemies round about
whom they were no longer able to withstand.
Whatever they undertook, the LORD turned into disaster for them,
as in his warning he had sworn he would do,
till they were in great distress.
Even when the LORD raised up judges to deliver them
from the power of their despoilers,
they did not listen to their judges,
but abandoned themselves to the worship of other gods.
They were quick to stray from the way their fathers had taken,
and did not follow their example of obedience
to the commandments of the LORD. 
Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, he would be with the judge
and save them from the power of their enemies
as long as the judge lived;
it was thus the LORD took pity on their distressful cries
of affliction under their oppressors.
But when the judge died,
they would relapse and do worse than their ancestors,
following other gods in service and worship,
relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn conduct.

R. (4a) Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They did not exterminate the peoples,
as the LORD had commanded them,
But mingled with the nations
and learned their works.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They served their idols,
which became a snare for them.
They sacrificed their sons 
and their daughters to demons.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
They became defiled by their works,
and wanton in their crimes.
And the LORD grew angry with his people,
and abhorred his inheritance.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.
Many times did he rescue them,
but they embittered him with their counsels.
Yet he had regard for their affliction
when he heard their cry.
R. Remember us, O Lord, as you favor your people.

AlleluiaMT 5:3
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

A young man approached Jesus and said,
"Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"
He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good?
There is only One who is good.
If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."
He asked him, "Which ones?"
And Jesus replied, "You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself."
The young man said to him,
"All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?"
Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go,
sell what you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, follow me."
When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,
for he had many possessions.


Meditation: "Give - and you will have treasure in heaven"

Where can you find true peace, security, and happiness?
A young man who had the best the world could offer - wealth, position, and security - came to Jesus because he lacked one thing. He wanted the kind of lasting peace and happiness which money and possessions could not buy him. The answer he got, however, was not what he was looking for. He protested that he kept all the commandments - but Jesus spoke to the trouble in his heart. One thing kept him from giving himself wholeheartedly to God. While he lacked nothing in material goods, he was nonetheless possessive of what he had. He placed his hope and security in what he possessed. So when Jesus challenged him to make God his one true possession and treasure, he became dismayed.
What do you treasure the most?
Why did he go away from Jesus with sadness rather than with joy? His treasure and his hope for happiness were misplaced. Treasure has a special connection to the heart, the place of desire and longing, the place of will and focus. The thing we most set our heart on is our highest treasure. The Lord himself is the greatest treasure we can possibly have. Giving up everything else to have the Lord as our treasure is not sorrowful, but the greatest joy. See Jesus' parable about the treasure hidden in a field (Matthew 13:44). Selling all that we have could mean many different things - our friends, our job, our style of life, what we do with our free time.
Possessiveness and fear robs us of joy and abundant life
Jesus challenged the young man because his heart was possessive. He was afraid to give to others for fear that he would lose what he had gained. Those who are generous towards God and others find that they cannot outmatch God in generosity. God blesses us with innumerable spiritual goods - such as long-lasting peace, unspeakable joy, enduring love, abiding relationships and friendship that do not fade or fail - that far outweigh the fleeting joys of material possessions which fail to satisfy us beyond the present moment. God alone can satisfy the deepest longing and desires of our heart. Are you willing to part with anything that might keep you from seeking true and everlasting  joy with Jesus?
"Lord Jesus, you alone can satisfy the deepest longing in my heart. No other treasure can compare with you. Keep me free from all discontentment, possessiveness, greed and selfishness, that I may have joy in knowing that you alone are my true Treasure and my Portion."  
Daily Quote from the early church fathersSeek the life that endures, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The Lord said to a certain young man, 'If you would enter life, keep the commandments.' He did not say 'If you would have life' but 'If you would enter life,' defining that life as eternal life. Let us first consider then the love of this life. For this life is loved, whatever its quality - and however troubled it is, however wretched, people are afraid to end it. Hence we should see, we should consider, how much eternal life is to be loved, when this miserable life that must at some time be ended is so loved. Consider, brothers, how much that life is to be loved when it is a life you never end. You love this life, where you work so much, run, are busy, pant. In this busy life the obligations can scarcely be counted: sowing, plowing, working new land, sailing, grinding, cooking, weaving. And after all this hard work your life comes to an end. Look at what you suffer in this wretched life that you so love. And do you think that you will always live and never die? Temples, rocks, marbles, all reinforced by iron and lead, still fall. And a person thinks that he will never die? Learn therefore, brothers, to seek eternal life, when you will not endure these things but will reign with God forever."  (excerpt from Sermon 84,1)


MONDAY, AUGUST 21, MATTHEW 19:16-22
​(Judges 2:11-19; Psalm 106)

KEY VERSE: "Give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven" (v 21).
TO KNOW: On his journey toward his destiny in Jerusalem, Jesus' left Galilee and went south to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. Large crowds followed him, and he cured many. A young man approached him and asked what he might do to inherit eternal life. The man was thinking in terms of keeping rules and regulations. So Jesus tried to correct his view. He told him that righteousness flows from a personal relationship with God. It is lived out by obeying the commandments, which reflect divine goodness. The man remarked that he had observed the entire law, yet still felt there was something more that he could do. Jesus told him that if he wished to be 'perfect' (In Greek, teleios means 'reaching a goal'), he should share his wealth with the poor and commit himself totally to God's service. The young man went away sad because he was unable to relinquish his many possessions. Obeying God's commands is a step on the road to perfection, but following Jesus demands total commitment of one's life.
TO LOVE: Do I use my gifts for the sake of God's kingdom?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to let go of anything that stands in the way of following you.

Memorial of Saint Pius X, pope

Giuseppe Melchore Sarto was born in 1835, in Riese near Venice. He entered the seminary in Padua, and was ordained at the age of 23. Due to his pastoral and administrative abilities, his bishop named him spiritual director of the diocesan major seminary and chancellor of the archdiocese. After nine years as bishop he was transferred to Venice as the city's patriarch and cardinal. After the death of Leo XIII the conclave of 1903 elected Cardinal Sarto pope despite his own hesitancy to accept the office. The new pope assumed the name Pius X taking as his motto the passage from Paul, "To restore all things in Christ, that Christ might be all and in all" (I Cor. 15:28), a goal which was particularly important during that period of the Church's emergence into the modern world. His profound devotion to the Blessed Sacrament prompted a universal appeal to all Catholics to a frequent and fervent reception of Holy Communion. He also exhorted catechists to prepare the young for an early, knowledgeable reception of the Eucharist. It was his love for the liturgy which caused him to be remembered as the pope who began modern liturgical reform. Pius was also instrumental in urging sound Biblical scholarship, which led him to found the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome which, to this day, is an important source of scholarship. His sorrow over the international conflict that led to Word War I led to his death on August 20, 1914, at the age of 79. He was canonized Saint Pius X on May 31, 1954. He was the first pope in modern times to be canonized. His will read: "I was born poor; I lived poor; I wish to die poor."



Monday 21 August 2017

St Pius X.
Judges 2:11-19. Psalm 105(106):34-37, 39-40, 43-44. Matthew 19:16-22.
Lord, remember us, for the love you bear your people — Psalm 105(106):34-37, 39-40, 43-44.
‘He went away sad …’
Today’s extract from Matthew is normally entitled ‘The Rich Young Man’. He asks Jesus: ‘What good thing must I do to have eternal life?’ As though there were only one way. On the contrary, it is true to say that there are as many ways to God as there are people.
Each of us follows the way that seems best for each of us according to the circumstances of our lives—as long as that embraces the two essential commandments that we know so well. So often the road to eternal life seems to consist in loving our neighbour. The young man tells Jesus that he has kept all the commandments and asks what more he could do.
We do not know what became of him, but Jesus challenged him about his over-attachment to his many possessions. How does Jesus challenge us?


POPE ST. PIUS X

Pope Pius X, born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the first Pope elected in the 20th century. He came to the papal office in 1903 and died 11 years later in 1914, just as World War I was beginning.
He was born in 1835 at Riese, near Venice, and was one of eight children. His family was poor. He felt a calling to be a priest at a young age and was ordained in 1858. After 26 years, he was named bishop of Mantua, Italy, and in 1893, he became patriarch of Venice.
As Pope, he issued decrees making the age of First Holy Communion earlier (at the age of 7) and advocated frequent and even daily reception of the Eucharist. He promoted the reading of the Bible among laypeople, reformed the liturgy, promoted clear and simple homilies, and brought back Gregorian chant. He revised the Breviary, reorganized the curia, and initiated the codification of canon law.
He died in 1914 of natural causes reportedly aggravated by worries over the beginning of World War I.
Pope Pius X was canonized by Pope Pius XII in 1954.


LECTIO DIVINA: MATTHEW 19,16-22
Lectio Divina: 
 Monday, August 21, 2017
Ordinary Time


1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
may we love you in all things and above all things
and reach the joy you have prepared for us
beyond all our imagining.
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 19,16-22
A man came to Jesus and asked, 'Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?' Jesus said to him, 'Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one alone who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.' He said, 'Which ones?' Jesus replied, 'These: You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false witness. Honour your father and your mother. You shall love your neighbour as yourself.' The young man said to him, 'I have kept all these. What more do I need to do?' Jesus said, 'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.'
But when the young man heard these words he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.

3) Reflection
• The Gospel today speaks to us about a young man who asks Jesus which is the way to eternal life. Jesus indicates to him the way of poverty. The young man does not accept the proposal of Jesus because he is very rich. A rich person is protected by the security of the riches which he possesses. He has difficulty to open the hand of his security. Attached to the advantages of his goods, he lives concerned to defend his own interests. A poor person does not have this concern. But there are some poor people who have the mentality of the rich. Many times, the desire for riches creates in them a great dependence and renders the poor, slaves of consumerism, because they seek riches everywhere. They no longer have time to dedicate themselves to the service of neighbour.
• Matthew 19, 16-19: The commandments and eternal life. A person approaches Jesus and asks him: “Master, what good deed should I do to possess eternal life?” Some manuscripts say that it was a young man. Jesus responds abruptly: “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one alone who is good!” Then he responds to the question and says: “If you wish to enter into life keep the commandments”. The young rich man reacts and asks: “Which commandments?” Jesus very kindly enumerates the commandments which the young man already knew: “You shall not kill, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honour father and mother, love your neighbour as yourself”. The response of Jesus is very significant. The young man had asked what to do to obtain eternal life. He wanted to live close to God! But Jesus recalls only the commandments which refer to respect for the life close to others! He does not mention the first three commandments which define the relationship with God. According to Jesus, we will be well with God only if we are well with our neighbour. It is not worth it to deceive oneself. The door to reach God is our neighbour.
In Mark, the question of the young man is different: “Good Master what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answers: “Why do you call me good? No one is good, but God alone.” (Mk 10, 17-18). Jesus deviates the attention from himself toward God, because what is important is to do God’s will, to reveal the project of the Father.
• Matthew 19, 20: What does it serve to observe the commandments? The young man responds: “I have always observed all these things. What more do I need to do?” What follows is strange. The young man wanted to know the way which leads to eternal life. Now, the way of eternal life was and continues to be: to do God’s will, expressed in the commandments. In other words, the young man observed the commandments without knowing for what purpose. If he had known it he would not have asked the question. It is like for many Catholics who do not know why they are Catholics. “I was born a Catholic and this is why I am Catholic!” It is as if was a custom!
• Matthew 19, 21-22: The proposal of Jesus and the response of the young man. Jesus answers: “If you wish to be perfect, go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven; then come follow me”. But on hearing these words the young man went away very sad because he was very rich. The observance of the commandments is only the first degree of a stairway that goes beyond, much farther and much higher. Jesus asks more! The observance of the commandments prepares the persons to be able to reach the point of giving oneself completely to the neighbour. Mark says that Jesus looked at the young man with love (Mk 10, 21). Jesus asks for very much, but he asks for it with much love. The young man did not accept the proposal of Jesus and goes away, “because he was very rich”.
• Jesus and the option for the poor. A two-fold slavery marked the situation of the people at the time of Jesus: the slavery of the politics of Herod, supported by the Roman Empire and maintained by a whole system which was well organized for exploitation and repression, and the slavery of the official religion, maintained by the religious authority of the time. For this reason the clan, the families, the community, were disintegrating and the majority of the people were excluded, marginalized, homeless, without either a religion or a society. So, for this reason, there were diverse movements which, like Jesus, tried to build up life in the communities: Essens, Pharisees and later on, the Zelots. But in the community of Jesus, there was something new which made it different from the other groups. There was the attitude concerning the poor and the excluded. The communities of the Pharisees lived separated. The word “Pharisee” meant “separated”. This was the attitude concerning the poor and the excluded. The communities of the Pharisees lived separated from the impure people. Some Pharisees considered the people, ignorant and damned (Jn 7, 49), in sin (Jn 9, 34). They could learn nothing from the people (Jn 9,34). On the contrary, Jesus and his community lived in the midst of persons who were excluded, considered impure; tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes, lepers (Ml 2, 16; 1, 41; Lk 7, 37). Jesus recognizes the richness and the values which the poor possess (Mt 11, 25-26; Lk 2 1, 1-4). He proclaims them blessed, because the Kingdom is theirs, of the poor (Lk 6, 20; Mt 5, 3). He defines his mission in this way: “To announce the Good News to the poor” (Lk 4, 18). He himself lives poorly. He possesses nothing for himself, not even a stone where to recline his head (Lk 9, 58). And to anyone who wants to follow him, who wants to live like him, he orders that he choose either God or money! (Mt 6, 24). He orders to choose the poor, as he proposed it to the rich young man! (Mk 10, 21). This different way of accepting the poor and of living with them is a sign of the Kingdom of God.

4) Personal questions
• Can a person who lives concerned about his wealth or with acquiring the goods which the propaganda of consumerism offers, free himself from all this in order to follow Jesus and live in peace in a Christian community? Is this possible? What do you think?
• What does it mean for us today: “Go, sell all you possess and give it to the poor?” Is it possible to do this concretely? Do you know anybody who has succeeded to do this for the Kingdom?

5) Concluding Prayer
Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
In grassy meadows he lets me lie.
By tranquil streams he leads me to restore my spirit.
He guides me in paths of saving justice
as befits his name. (Ps 23,1-3)



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