Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 392
Lectionary: 392
Moses, hearing the voice of the LORD from the burning bush, said to him,
"When I go to the children of Israel and say to them,
'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,'
if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?"
God replied, "I am who am."
Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel:
I AM sent me to you."
God spoke further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the children of Israel:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,
has sent me to you.
"This is my name forever;
this my title for all generations.
"Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and tell them:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
has appeared to me and said:
I am concerned about you
and about the way you are being treated in Egypt;
so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt
into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites,
Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,
a land flowing with milk and honey.
"Thus they will heed your message.
Then you and the elders of Israel
shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him:
"The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word.
Permit us, then, to go a three-days' journey in the desert,
that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God.
"Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go
unless he is forced.
I will stretch out my hand, therefore,
and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there.
After that he will send you away."
"When I go to the children of Israel and say to them,
'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,'
if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?"
God replied, "I am who am."
Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel:
I AM sent me to you."
God spoke further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the children of Israel:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,
has sent me to you.
"This is my name forever;
this my title for all generations.
"Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and tell them:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
has appeared to me and said:
I am concerned about you
and about the way you are being treated in Egypt;
so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt
into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites,
Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,
a land flowing with milk and honey.
"Thus they will heed your message.
Then you and the elders of Israel
shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him:
"The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word.
Permit us, then, to go a three-days' journey in the desert,
that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God.
"Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go
unless he is forced.
I will stretch out my hand, therefore,
and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there.
After that he will send you away."
Responsorial
PsalmPS 105:1 AND 5, 8-9,
24-25, 26-27
R.(8a) The
Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations--
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He greatly increased his people
and made them stronger than their foes,
Whose hearts he changed, so that they hated his people,
and dealt deceitfully with his servants.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He sent Moses his servant;
Aaron, whom he had chosen.
They wrought his signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations--
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He greatly increased his people
and made them stronger than their foes,
Whose hearts he changed, so that they hated his people,
and dealt deceitfully with his servants.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He sent Moses his servant;
Aaron, whom he had chosen.
They wrought his signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaMT 11:28
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 11:28-30
Jesus said:
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."
For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Camillus de Lellis,
please go here.
Meditation:
"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me"
What
does the yoke of Jesus refer to in the Gospel? The Jews used the image of a
yoke to express submission to God. They spoke of the yoke of the law, the yoke
of the commandments, the yoke of the kingdom, and the yoke of God. Jesus says
his yoke is "easy". The Greek word for "easy" can also mean
"well-fitting". Yokes were tailor-made to fit the oxen well. Oxen
were yoked two by two. Jesus invites us to be yoked with him, to unite our life
with his life, our will with his will, and our heart with his heart. To be
yoked with Jesus is to be united with him in a relationship of love, trust, and
obedience.
Jesus
carries our burdens with us
Jesus also says his "burden is light". There's a story of a man who once met a boy carrying a smaller crippled lad on his back. "That's a heavy load you are carrying there," exclaimed the man. "He ain't heavy; he's my brother!" responded the boy. No burden is too heavy when it's given in love and carried in love. When we yoke our lives with Jesus, he also carries our burdens with us and gives us his strength to follow in his way of love. Do you know the joy of resting in Jesus' presence and walking daily with him along the path he has for you?
Jesus also says his "burden is light". There's a story of a man who once met a boy carrying a smaller crippled lad on his back. "That's a heavy load you are carrying there," exclaimed the man. "He ain't heavy; he's my brother!" responded the boy. No burden is too heavy when it's given in love and carried in love. When we yoke our lives with Jesus, he also carries our burdens with us and gives us his strength to follow in his way of love. Do you know the joy of resting in Jesus' presence and walking daily with him along the path he has for you?
Freed
from the burden of sin and guilt
Jesus offers us a new kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy. In his kingdom sins are not only forgiven but removed, and eternal life is poured out for all its citizens. This is not a political kingdom, but a spiritual one. The yoke of Christ's kingdom, his kingly rule and way of life, liberates us from the burden of guilt and from the oppression of sinful habits and hurtful desires. Only Jesus can lift the burden of sin and the weight of hopelessness from us. Jesus used the analogy of a yoke to explain how we can exchange the burden of sin and despair for a weight of glory and victory with him. The yoke which Jesus invites us to embrace is his way of love, grace, and freedom from the power of sin. Do you trust in God's love and submit to his will and plan for your life?
Jesus offers us a new kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy. In his kingdom sins are not only forgiven but removed, and eternal life is poured out for all its citizens. This is not a political kingdom, but a spiritual one. The yoke of Christ's kingdom, his kingly rule and way of life, liberates us from the burden of guilt and from the oppression of sinful habits and hurtful desires. Only Jesus can lift the burden of sin and the weight of hopelessness from us. Jesus used the analogy of a yoke to explain how we can exchange the burden of sin and despair for a weight of glory and victory with him. The yoke which Jesus invites us to embrace is his way of love, grace, and freedom from the power of sin. Do you trust in God's love and submit to his will and plan for your life?
"Lord
Jesus, inflame my heart with love for you and for your ways and help me to
exchange the yoke of rebellion for the yoke of submission to your holy and
loving word. Set me free from the folly of my own sinful ignorance and
rebellious pride that I may wholly desire what is good and in accord with your
will."
Daily
Quote from the early church fathers: Grace bear us, by an anonymous
early author from the Greek church
"'My
yoke is easy and my burden light.' ... The prophet says this about the burden
of sinners: 'Because my iniquities lie on top of my head, so they have also
placed a heavy burden on me' (Psalm 38:4)' ...'Place my yoke upon you, and
learn from me that I am gentle and humble of heart.' Oh, what a very pleasing
weight that strengthens even more those who carry it! For the weight of earthly
masters gradually destroys the strength of their servants, but the weight of
Christ rather helps the one who bears it, because we do not bear grace; grace
bears us. It is not for us to help grace, but rather grace has been given to
aid us.' (excerpt from INCOMPLETE WORK ON MATTHEW, HOMILY, the
Greek fathers).
THURSDAY, JULY 18, MATTHEW 11:28-30
Weekday
(Exodus 3:13-20; Psalm 105)
Weekday
(Exodus 3:13-20; Psalm 105)
KEY VERSE: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest" (v. 28).
TO KNOW: The prophet Jeremiah told the people that they would find "rest for their souls" if they would follow the straight path to God (Jer 6:16). However, the religious leaders had laid a crushing weight on the people by complicating God's law with numerous legal obligations. They made no effort to lighten the load of those burdened by these regulations, and they often neglected the true purpose of the law -- justice and mercy. Jesus invited all who were weary of trying to fulfill the law to come to him. Obedience to his word would be light in comparison to the religious leader's legalistic requirements. Jesus was the embodiment of God's law of compassion and love, and he made the way to God accessible. By taking on the light yoke of obedience to his word, Jesus' followers would find rest from all that oppressed them (Is 25:4-5).
TO LOVE: How can I help someone carry their burdens today?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to find rest in you when life becomes complicated.
Optional Memorial of Saint Camillus de Lellis, priest
Camillus entered the Capuchin novitiate three times, but each time a nagging leg injury, which he received while fighting the Turks, forced him to give up. He went to Rome for medical treatment where Saint Philip Neri became his priest and confessor. Camillus moved into San Giacomo Hospital for the incurable, and eventually became its administrator. Lacking education, he began to study with children when he was 32 years old. Camillus was ordained in 1584, and in 1586 he obtained approval for the congregation of priests he had founded, devoted to hospital service, the Servants of the Sick (Camellians). Camillus honored the sick as living images of Christ, and hoped that the service he gave them did penance for his wayward youth. He was canonized in 1746, was declared patron of the sick, with St. John of God, by Pope Leo XIII, and patron of nurses and nursing groups by Pope Pius XI.
Thursday 18 July 2019
Exodus 3:13-20. Psalm 104(105):1, 5, 8-9, 24-
The Lord remembers his covenant for ever – Psalm 104(105):1, 5, 8-9, 24-27
‘Come to me … and I will give you rest.’
Before we reach these comforting words of Jesus from today’s
reading, we are opened up by the readings from Exodus and the Psalms. God
reveals to Moses his divine name: ‘I Am Who Am’. Moses will invoke God’s name
and bring the Israelites, with God’s help, out of Egypt. Today’s psalm provides
us with a potted version of the wonderful history of Israel.
All this richness is a prelude to the brief but ever so powerful
message of Jesus related by Matthew. The love of Jesus for his followers leads
to compassion for them. They have been weighed down and overburdened by the Law
as proclaimed by the religious leaders of the day.
As Jesus encouraged them, let us all take up the yoke of Jesus.
With his help, we will find it easy and the burden light. We will find rest for
our souls.
Saint Camillus de Lellis
Saint of the Day for July 18
(1550 – July 14, 1614)
 |
| Saint Camillus de Lellis in facade of church Santa Maria Maddalena | photo by Livioandronico2013 |
Saint Camillus de Lellis’ Story
Humanly speaking, Camillus was not a likely candidate for
sainthood. His mother died when he was a child, his father neglected him, and
he grew up with an excessive love for gambling. At 17, he was afflicted with a
disease of his leg that remained with him for life. In Rome he entered the San
Giacomo Hospital for Incurables as both patient and servant, but was dismissed
for quarrelsomeness after nine months. He served in the Venetian army for three
years.
Then in the winter of 1574, when he was 24, Camillus gambled
away everything he had—savings, weapons, literally down to his shirt. He
accepted work at the Capuchin friary at Manfredonia, and was one day so moved
by a sermon of the superior that he began a conversion that changed his life.
He entered the Capuchin novitiate, but was dismissed because of the apparently
incurable sore on his leg. After another stint of service at San Giacomo, he
came back to the Capuchins, only to be dismissed again, for the same reason.
Again, back at San Giacomo, his dedication was rewarded by his
being made superintendent. Camillus devoted the rest of his life to the care of
the sick. Along with Saint John of God he has been named patron of hospitals, nurses,
and the sick. With the advice of his friend Saint Philip Neri, he studied
for the priesthood and was ordained at the age of 34. Contrary to the advice of
his friend, Camillus left San Giacomo and founded a congregation of his own. As
superior, he devoted much of his own time to the care of the sick.
Charity was his first concern, but the physical aspects of the
hospital also received his diligent attention. Camillus insisted on cleanliness
and the technical competence of those who served the sick. The members of his
community bound themselves to serve prisoners and persons infected by the
plague as well as those dying in private homes. Some of his men were with
troops fighting in Hungary and Croatia in 1595, forming the first recorded
military field ambulance. In Naples, he and his men went onto the galleys that
had plague and were not allowed to land. He discovered that there were people
being buried alive, and ordered his brothers to continue the prayers for the
dying 15 minutes after apparent death.
Camillus himself suffered the disease of his leg through his
life. In his last illness, he left his own bed to see if other patients in the
hospital needed help.
Reflection
Saints are created by God. Parents must indeed nurture the faith
in their children; husbands and wives must cooperate to deepen their baptismal
grace; friends must support each other. But all human effort is only the
dispensing of divine power. We must all try as if everything depended on us.
But only the power of God can fulfill the plan of God—to make us like himself.
Saint Camillus de Lellis is the Patron Saint of:
Hospitals
Nurses
Sick
Nurses
Sick
Lectio Divina: Matthew 11:28-30
Lectio Divina
Thursday, July 18, 2019
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
Your light of truth
guides us to the way of Christ.
May all who follow Him
reject what is contrary to the Gospel.
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.
Your light of truth
guides us to the way of Christ.
May all who follow Him
reject what is contrary to the Gospel.
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 11:28-30
Jesus said: "Come to me, all you who labor and are
burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my
yoke is easy, and my burden light."
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today is composed of only three verses (Mt
11:28-30) which form part of a brief literary unit, one of the most beautiful
ones, in which Jesus thanks the Father for having revealed the wisdom of the
Kingdom to the little children and because He has hidden it from the doctors
and the wise (Mt 11:25-30). In the brief commentary which follows we will
include the entire literary unit.
• Matthew 11:25-26: Only the little children accept and
understand the Good News of the Kingdom. Jesus recites a prayer: “I thank You
Father, Lord of Heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned
and the clever and revealing them to little children.” The wise, the
doctors of that time, have created a system of laws which they imposed on the
people in the name of God (Mt 23:3-4). They thought that God demanded this
observance from the people. But the law of love, which Jesus has revealed
to us, said the contrary. What is important in order to be saved is not
what we do for God, but what God, in His great love, does for us! God wants
mercy and not sacrifice (Mt 9:13). The simple and poor people understood Jesus’
way of speaking and rejoiced. The wise said that Jesus was in
error. They could not come to understand His teaching. “Yes, I
praise you! He praised the Father that the little children understand the
message of the Kingdom despite it being hidden from the wise and the learned!
If they want to understand it they have to become the pupils of the little
children! This way of thinking and of teaching makes people feel
uncomfortable.
• Matthew 11:27: The origin of the new Law: the Son knows
the Father. What the Father has to tell us He has given to Jesus, and
Jesus reveals it to the little children, so that they may be open to His
message. Jesus, the Son, knows the Father. He knows what the Father
wanted to communicate to us, when many centuries ago He gave His Law to Moses.
Today, Jesus is teaching many things to the poor and to the little children
and, through them, to all His Church.
• Matthew 11:28-30: The invitation of Jesus which is still
valid today. Jesus invites all those who are tired to go to Him, and
He promises them rest. In our communities today, we should be the
continuation of this invitation which Jesus addresses to people who were tired
and oppressed by the weight of the observance asked by the laws of
purity. He says, “Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart.” Many
times, this saying has been manipulated, to ask people for submission, meekness
and passivity. Jesus wants to say the opposite. He asks people not to listen
to “the wise and learned,” the professors of religion of that time,
and to begin to learn from Him, from Jesus, a man who came from Galilee,
without higher instruction, who says He is “meek and humble of heart.” Jesus
does not do as the scribes, who exalt themselves because of their science, but
He places Himself at the side of the people who are exploited and humiliated.
Jesus, the new Master, knows by experience what takes place in the heart of the
people who suffer. He has lived this well and has known it during the
thirty years of His life in Nazareth.
• How Jesus puts into practice what He taught in the
Discourse on the Mission. Jesus has a passion: to announce the Good News
of the Kingdom. He had a passion for the Father and for the people of His
country who are poor and abandoned. There, where Jesus found people
who listened to Him, Jesus announced the Good News, in any place: In the synagoguesduring
the celebration of the Word (Mt 4:23), in the houses of friends (Mt
13:36); walking along the way with the disciples (Mt 12:1-8); along the shore of
the sea, sitting in the boat (Mt 13:3); on the Mount from where He
proclaims the Beatitudes (Mt 5:1); in the squares and in the
cities, where people would bring the sick to Him (Mt 14:34-36). Also in
the Temple of Jerusalem, during the pilgrimage (Mt 26:55)! In
Jesus everything is revelation of everything which He bore inside Himself! He
not only announced the Good News of the Kingdom; He Himself was and continues
to be a living sign of the Kingdom. In Him we see clearly what
happens when a human being allows God to reign in his life. Today’s Gospel
reveals the tenderness with which Jesus welcomes the little children. He wanted
them to find rest and peace. And because of this choice of His for the little
children and the excluded, He was criticized and persecuted. He suffered very
much! The same thing happens today. When a community tries to open itself to be
a place of welcome and consolation for the little children and the excluded of
today who are the foreigners and the migrants, many people do not agree and
criticize.
4) Personal questions
• Have you ever experienced the rest promised by Jesus?
• How can the words of Jesus help our community to be a place of rest for our life?
• How can one be meek and humble while at the same time striving for promotion or advancement at work or in the community?
• To follow Jesus requires radical change. How can this be an easy yoke or a light burden?
• How can the words of Jesus help our community to be a place of rest for our life?
• How can one be meek and humble while at the same time striving for promotion or advancement at work or in the community?
• To follow Jesus requires radical change. How can this be an easy yoke or a light burden?
5) Concluding Prayer
In You is the source of life,
by Your light we see the light.
Continue Your faithful love to those who acknowledge You,
and Your saving justice to the honest of heart. (Ps 36:9-10)
by Your light we see the light.
Continue Your faithful love to those who acknowledge You,
and Your saving justice to the honest of heart. (Ps 36:9-10)
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