JUNE 27, 2020 : SATURDAY OF THE TWELFTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 376

Reading 1LAM 2:2, 10-14, 18-19

The Lord has consumed without pity
all the dwellings of Jacob;
He has torn down in his anger
the fortresses of daughter Judah;
He has brought to the ground in dishonor
her king and her princes.

On the ground in silence sit
the old men of daughter Zion;
They strew dust on their heads
and gird themselves with sackcloth;
The maidens of Jerusalem
bow their heads to the ground.

Worn out from weeping are my eyes,
within me all is in ferment;
My gall is poured out on the ground
because of the downfall of the daughter of my people,
As child and infant faint away
in the open spaces of the town.

In vain they ask their mothers,
“Where is the grain?”
As they faint away like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
And breathe their last
in their mothers’ arms.

To what can I liken or compare you,
O daughter Jerusalem?
What example can I show you for your comfort,
virgin daughter Zion?
For great as the sea is your downfall;
who can heal you?

Your prophets had for you
false and specious visions;
They did not lay bare your guilt,
to avert your fate;
They beheld for you in vision
false and misleading portents.

Cry out to the Lord;
moan, O daughter Zion!
Let your tears flow like a torrent
day and night;
Let there be no respite for you,
no repose for your eyes.

Rise up, shrill in the night,
at the beginning of every watch;
Pour out your heart like water
in the presence of the Lord;
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your little ones
Who faint from hunger
at the corner of every street.

Responsorial Psalm74:1B-2, 3-5, 6-7, 20-21

R. (19b) Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Why, O God, have you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
Remember your flock which you built up of old,
the tribe you redeemed as your inheritance,
Mount Zion, where you took up your abode.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Turn your steps toward the utter ruins;
toward all the damage the enemy has done in the sanctuary.
Your foes roar triumphantly in your shrine;
they have set up their tokens of victory.
They are like men coming up with axes to a clump of trees.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
With chisel and hammer they hack at all the paneling of the sanctuary.
They set your sanctuary on fire;
the place where your name abides they have razed and profaned.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
Look to your covenant,
for the hiding places in the land and the plains are full of violence.
May the humble not retire in confusion;
may the afflicted and the poor praise your name.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.

AlleluiaMT 8:17

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 8:5-17

When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”
He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”
The centurion said in reply,
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes;
and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
“Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven,
but the children of the Kingdom
will be driven out into the outer darkness,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
And Jesus said to the centurion,
“You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.”
And at that very hour his servant was healed.

Jesus entered the house of Peter,
and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.
He touched her hand, the fever left her,
and she rose and waited on him.

When it was evening, they brought him many
who were possessed by demons,
and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick,
to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:

He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.

For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Cyril of Alexandria, please go here.

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/062720.cfm

 

 

Meditation: "Say the word and my servant will be healed"

What kind of expectant faith and trust does the Lord Jesus want you to place in him? In Jesus' time the Jews hated the Romans because they represented everything the Jews stood against - including pagan beliefs and idol worship, immoral practices such as abortion and infanticide, and the suppression of the Israelites' claim to be a holy nation governed solely by God's law. It must have been a remarkable sight for the Jewish residents of Capernaum to see Jesus conversing with an officer of the Roman army.

The power to command with trust and respect
Why did Jesus not only warmly receive a Roman centurion but praise him as a model of faith and confidence in God? In the Roman world the position of centurion was very important. He was an officer in charge of a hundred soldiers. In a certain sense, he was the backbone of the Roman army, the cement which held the army together. Polybius, an ancient write, describes what a centurion should be: "They must not be so much venturesome seekers after danger as men who can command, steady in action, and reliable; they ought not to be over-anxious to rush into the fight, but when hard pressed, they must be ready to hold their ground, and die at their posts."

Faith in Jesus' authority over sickness and power to heal
The centurion who approached Jesus was not only courageous, but faith-filled as well. He risked the ridicule of his associates as well as mockery from the Jews by seeking help from a wandering preacher from Galilee. Nonetheless, he approached Jesus with great confidence and humility. He was an extraordinary man because he loved his slave. In the Roman world slaves were treated as property and like animals rather than people. The centurion was also an extraordinary man of faith. He believed that Jesus could heal his beloved slave. Jesus commended him for his faith and immediately granted him his request. Are you willing to suffer ridicule in the practice of your faith? And when you need help, do you approach the Lord Jesus with expectant faith?

"Heavenly Father, you sent us your Son Jesus that we might be freed from the tyranny of sin and death. Increase my faith in the power of your saving word and give me freedom to love and serve others with generosity and mercy as you have loved me."

 

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Welcoming the Lord Jesus with expectant faith and humility, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"When the Lord promised to go to the centurion's house to heal his servant, the centurion answered, 'Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof; but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.' By viewing himself as unworthy, he showed himself worthy for Christ to come not merely into his house but also into his heart. He would not have said this with such great faith and humility if he had not already welcomed in his heart the One who came into his house. It would have been no great joy for the Lord Jesus to enter into his house and not to enter his heart. For the Master of humility both by word and example sat down also in the house of a certain proud Pharisee, Simon, and though he sat down in his house, there was no place in his heart. For in his heart the Son of Man could not lay his head" (Matthew 8:20). (excerpt from SERMON 62.1)

http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2020/jun27.htm

 

 

 

SATURDAY, JUNE 27, MATTHEW 8:5-17
Weekday
(Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19; Psalm 74)

KEY VERSE: "As you have believed, let it be done for you" (v. 13).
TO KNOW: As Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion (a military commander of one hundred men) approached him with a request to heal his paralyzed servant. Although Jesus' ministry was to the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Mt 15:24), he told this non-Israelite that he would go with him to his house. According to Jewish law, a Jew could not enter the house of a Gentile, who were considered to be unclean. The centurion protested, saying that he was unworthy to have Jesus enter his home. The officer understood authority and he had faith that the power of Jesus' command would heal his servant even from a distance. Jesus was amazed by this Gentile's faith. It was in sharp contrast to his own people's stubborn refusal to believe in him. The officer's servant was healed by Jesus, the true servant of God.
TO LOVE: Do I bring others to Jesus for healing?
TO SERVE: Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof; but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed. (Prayer before Communion from the New Roman Missal)

http://www.togetherwithgodsword.com/commentaries-on-the-daily-gospel-of-the-mass.html

 

 

Saturday 27 June 2020

St Cyril of Alexandria

Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19. Lord, forget not the life of your poor ones – Psalm 73(74):1-7, 20-21. Matthew 8:5-17.

‘I am not worthy to have you under my roof’

Lord, I am not worthy. I cannot think how many times I have thrown these words up to God in prayer. Sometimes in anger, sometimes in dejection, sometimes in fear, often in guilt; seldom in wonder.

Yet, what better and more fitting sentiment to have when uttering these words. For indeed, I am not worthy, I am a sinner, a liar and a coward, yet he grants me the grace to speak, to yearn for and seek him. He, whose power is beyond all understanding, stoops to my nothingness and allows me to beg him for life and healing.

How wondrous it is that he, to whom all creation bows in adoration, should become fixated upon this one lowly creature and speak his true Word of healing. The sublime mercy of God overrides all unworthiness, all anger, shame and guilt.

Jesus, Lord, I am not worthy, yet in mercy come to me.

http://www.pray.com.au/gospel_reflection/saturday-27-june-2020/

 

 

Saint Cyril of Alexandria

Saint of the Day for June 27

(378 – June 27, 444)

 

Statue in Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora do Sameiro, Braga, Portugal | photo by Joseolgon

Saint Cyril of Alexandria’s Story

Saints are not born with halos around their heads. Cyril, recognized as a great teacher of the Church, began his career as archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt, with impulsive, often violent, actions. He pillaged and closed the churches of the Novatian heretics—who required those who denied the faith to be re-baptized—participated in the deposing of Saint John Chrysostom, and confiscated Jewish property, expelling the Jews from Alexandria in retaliation for their attacks on Christians.

Cyril’s importance for theology and Church history lies in his championing the cause of orthodoxy against the heresy of Nestorius, who taught that in Christ there were two persons, one human and one divine.

The controversy centered around the two natures in Christ. Nestorius would not agree to the title “God-bearer” for Mary. He preferred “Christ-bearer,” saying there are two distinct persons in Christ—divine and human—joined only by a moral union. He said Mary was not the mother of God but only of the man Christ, whose humanity was only a temple of God. Nestorianism implied that the humanity of Christ was a mere disguise.

Presiding as the pope’s representative at the Council of Ephesus in 431, Cyril condemned Nestorianism and proclaimed Mary truly the “God-bearer”—the mother of the one Person who is truly God and truly human. In the confusion that followed, Cyril was deposed and imprisoned for three months, after which he was welcomed back to Alexandria.

Besides needing to soften some of his opposition to those who had sided with Nestorius, Cyril had difficulties with some of his own allies, who thought he had gone too far, sacrificing not only language but orthodoxy. Until his death, his policy of moderation kept his extreme partisans under control. On his deathbed, despite pressure, he refused to condemn the teacher of Nestorius.

---

Reflection

Lives of the saints are valuable not only for the virtue they reveal but also for the less admirable qualities that also appear. Holiness is a gift of God to us as human beings. Life is a process. We respond to God’s gift, but sometimes with a lot of zigzagging. If Cyril had been more patient and diplomatic, the Nestorian church might not have risen and maintained power so long. But even saints must grow out of immaturity, narrowness, and selfishness. It is because they—and we—do grow, that we are truly saints, persons who live the life of God.

https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-cyril-of-alexandria/

 

 

Lectio Divina: Matthew 8:5-17

Lectio Divina

Saturday, June 27, 2020

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Father,
guide and protector of Your people,
grant us an unfailing respect for Your name,
and keep us always in Your love.
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 8:5-17

When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully." He said to him, "I will come and cure him." The centurion said in reply, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, "Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven, but the children of the Kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." And Jesus said to the centurion, "You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you." And at that very hour his servant was healed. Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him. When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick, to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.

3) Reflection

• The Gospel today continues the description of the activity of Jesus to indicate how He put into practice the law of God, proclaimed on the mountain of the Beatitudes. After the cure of the leper in the Gospel of yesterday (Mt 8:1-4), it now follows the description of other cures.
• Matthew 8:5-7: The petition of the centurion and the answer of Jesus. When analyzing the texts of the Gospel, it is always good to be attentive to small details. The centurion is a pagan, a foreigner. He does not ask for anything, he only informs Jesus, telling him that his servant is sick and suffers terribly. Behind this attitude of people in regard to Jesus, there is the conviction that it was not necessary to ask things of Jesus. It was sufficient to communicate the problem to Him, and Jesus will do the rest. An attitude of unlimited trust! In fact, the reaction of Jesus is immediate: “I will come Myself and cure him!”
• Matthew 8:8: The reaction of the centurion. The centurion did not expect such an immediate and generous gesture. He did not expect that Jesus would go to his house. Beginning with his own experience of “head” he gives an example to express his faith and the trust that he had in Jesus. He tells Him: “Lord, I am not worthy to have You under my roof, just say a word and my servant will be cured. For I am under authority myself and have soldiers under me; and I say to one man, ‘Go’ and he goes, to another, ‘Come here’ and he comes, to my servant, ‘Do this’ and he does it”. This reaction of a foreigner before Jesus reveals what the opinion of the people was in regard to Jesus. Jesus was a person who could be trusted. He would not have driven away those who would go to Him to tell Him their problems. This is the image of Jesus which the Gospel of Matthew communicates to us even now that we read it in the XXI century.
• Matthew 8:10-13: Jesus’ comment. The official admired the reaction of Jesus and Jesus admired the reaction of the official: “In truth I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found faith as great as this”. Jesus already foresaw what was happening when Matthew wrote the Gospel: “And I tell you many will come from east and west and sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven, but the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the darkness outside where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth”. The message of Jesus, the new law of God proclaimed from the top of the mount of the Beatitudes is a response to the deepest desires of the human heart. The sincere and honest pagans like the centurion and so many others coming from the east and the west saw in Jesus the response to their yearning and they accepted it. The message of Jesus is not, in the first place, a doctrine or morals, nor a rite or a series of norms, but a deep experience of God which responds to what the human heart desires. It is this experience of God that people look for in the Church, or in their seeking through other religions, and we should live and radiate this way of God to others and to seekers.
• Matthew 8:14-15: The cure of Peter’s mother-in-law. Jesus goes to Peter’s house and cures his mother-in-law. She was sick. In the second half of the first century, when Matthew writes, the expression “Peter’s house” evoked the Church, constructed on the rock which was Peter. Jesus enters into this house and cures Peter’s mother-in-law. “He touched her hand and the fever left her and she got up and began to serve Him”. In Greek, the word used is diakonew, to serve. A woman becomes deaconess in Peter’s house. This is what was happening in the communities of that time. In the letter to the Romans, Paul mentions the deaconess Phoebe of the community of Cenchreae (Rm 16:1). Service was a hallmark of the first Christians.
• Matthew 8, 16-17: The fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. Matthew says that “when evening came”, they brought many people to Jesus who were possessed by the devil. Why only at night? Because in Mark’s Gospel, from where Matthew takes his information, it was a Saturday (Mk 1:21), and Saturday ended at sunset. Then people could go out of the house, carry a burden and take the sick to the place where Jesus was. “Jesus, with His word, cast out the evil spirits and cured all the sick! Using a text of Isaiah, Matthew throws light on the meaning of Jesus’ actions: “So that which Isaiah had said would be fulfilled”. “Ours were the sufferings He was bearing, ours the sorrows He was carrying”. In this way, Matthew teaches that Jesus was the Messiah-Servant, announced by Isaiah (Is 53:4; cf. Is 42:1-9; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12). Matthew was doing what our communities do today: to use the Bible to enlighten and interpret the events and discover the presence of the creative word of God.

4) Personal questions

• Notice how Jesus didn’t wait to be asked. In our imitation of Him, do we wait to help others until we are asked? Why?
• The Good News of Jesus is not, in the first place, a doctrine or morals, nor a rite or a series of norms, but it is a profound and authentic experience of God that responds to what the human heart yearns for, and contained in the summation of the two greatest commandments. However, how can Church doctrine, morality, and instruction work in bringing us this profound and authentic experience of God? What spiritual practices help to bring this experience?
• Many people and religions claim to offer a profound experience of God. This is also an area where Satan, the deceiver, is expert in. How do we discern authentic experience from one that is just “feel good” or one that merely satisfies our earthly desires at the moment?
• Two thousand years ago there was no Internet, no shopping malls, no television or movies, no printing presses, etc. Religion filled peoples’ lives. Is the experience of the centurion possible today with so many doubts, alternatives, and distractions? How can we move to make God central to our lives again?

5) Concluding Prayer

Proclaim with me the greatness of Yahweh,
let us acclaim His name together.
I seek Yahweh and He answers me,
frees me from all my fears. (Ps 34:3-4)

https://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-divina-matthew-85-17