Friday of
the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 411
Reading 1
See, upon the mountains there advances
the bearer of good news,
announcing peace!
Celebrate your feasts, O Judah,
fulfill your vows!
For nevermore shall you be invaded
by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed.
The LORD will restore the vine of Jacob,
the pride of Israel,
Though ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined the tendrils.Woe to the bloody city, all lies,
full of plunder, whose looting never stops!
The crack of the whip, the rumbling sounds of wheels;
horses a-gallop, chariots bounding,
Cavalry charging, the flame of the sword, the flash of the spear,
the many slain, the heaping corpses,
the endless bodies to stumble upon!
I will cast filth upon you,
disgrace you and put you to shame;
Till everyone who sees you runs from you, saying,
“Nineveh is destroyed; who can pity her?
Where can one find any to console her?”
Responsorial
Psalm
DEUTERONOMY
32:35CD-36AB, 39ABCD, 41
R. (39c) It is I who deal death and give life.
Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
“Learn then that I, I alone, am God,
and there is no god besides me.
It is I who bring both death and life,
I who inflict wounds and heal them.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
I will sharpen my flashing sword,
and my hand shall lay hold of my quiver,
“With vengeance I will repay my foes
and requite those who hate me.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay each according to his conduct.
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080720.cfm
Meditation: What is the most
important investment you can make with your life? Jesus poses some probing
questions to challenge our assumptions about what is most profitable and
worthwhile. In every decision of life we are making ourselves a certain kind of
person. The kind of person we are, our character, determines to a large extent
the kind of future we will face and live. It is possible that some can gain all
the things they set their heart on, only to wake up suddenly and discover that
they missed the most important things of all. Of what value are material things
if they don't help you gain what truly lasts in eternity. Neither money nor
possessions can buy heaven, mend a broken heart, or cheer a lonely person.
The great exchange - my life for His Life
Jesus asks the question: What will a person give in exchange for his or
her life? Everything we have is an out-right gift from God. We owe him
everything, including our very lives. It's possible to give God our money, but
not ourselves, or to give him lip-service, but not our hearts. A true disciple
gladly gives up all that he or she has in exchange for an unending life of joy
and happiness with God. God gives without measure. The joy he offers no sadness
or loss can diminish.
True freedom and gain
The cross of Christ leads to victory and freedom from sin, despair, and death.
What is the cross which Jesus Christ commands me to take up each day?
When my will crosses with his will,
then his will must be done. Are you ready to lose all for
Jesus Christ in order to gain all with Jesus Christ?
"When the Lord tells us in the Gospel that anyone who wants to be his
follower must renounce himself, the injunction seems harsh; we think he is
imposing a burden on us. But an order is no burden when it is given by one who
helps in carrying it out. To what place are we to follow Christ if not where he
has already gone? We know that he has risen and ascended into heaven; there,
then, we must follow him. There is no cause for despair - by ourselves we can
do nothing, but we have Christ's promise... One who claims to abide in Christ
ought to walk as he walked. Would you follow Christ? Then be humble as he was
humble. Do not scorn his lowliness if you want to reach his exaltation. Human
sin made the road rough. Christ's resurrection leveled it. By passing over it
himself, he transformed the narrowest of tracks into a royal highway. Two feet
are needed to run along this highway; they are humility and charity. Everyone
wants to get to the top - well, the first step to take is humility. Why take
strides that are too big for you - do you want to fall instead of going up?
Begin with the first step, humility, and you will already be climbing." (excerpt
from SERMONS 159, 1.4-6)
https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2020&date=aug7
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, MATTHEW 16:24-28
Weekday
(Nahum 2:1, 3, 3:1-3, 6-7; Psalm: Deuteronomy 32)
KEY VERSE: "Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me" (v. 24).
TO KNOW: Following the first prediction of his passion, Jesus warned his disciples of the cost and reward of discipleship. By taking up the cross they would share in his own fate. Before revealing his glory in the Transfiguration (Mt 17:1-9), he wanted them to know that the pathway to exultation was not one of power but of self-denial. True glory could only be found through the way of the cross. Sharing Jesus' passion was not an option for his disciples. If they wished to follow him, they must be willing to let go of everything, even their own lives. Those things that the world valued would profit them nothing. They could not exchange eternal salvation for an earthly reward. At the final judgment, God would repay each one according to their faithful conduct.
TO LOVE: What holds me back from completely following Jesus?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to surrender my life to you.
Optional Memorial of Saint Sixtus II, pope and martyr, and companions, martyrs
Sixtus II was pope from 257 to 258, following Stephen I as bishop of Rome. Sixtus was more conciliatory than his predecessor, who had broken off relations with Saint Cyprian over the question of whether lapsed Christians should be re-baptized before being allowed back into the Church. Sixtus was willing to let bishops decide what to do in their own areas and accepted both practices. Sixtus restored the relations with the African and Eastern churches, which had been broken off by his predecessor on the question of heretical baptism. In the persecutions under Emperor Valerian I in 258, numerous priests and bishops were put to death. Pope Sixtus II was one of the first victims of this persecution. He was captured by soldiers while giving a sermon and perhaps beheaded right there, along with four deacons. He was buried in the same catacomb where he had been celebrating Mass when he was arrested. He died as a martyr.
Optional Memorial of Saint Cajetan, priest
Cajetan was born in 1480 at Vicenza, Italy, and was a Venetian nobleman, Gaetano dei Conti di Tiene. He studied law in Padua, and was offered governing posts, but turned them down for a religious vocation. In 1522, Cajetan founded a hospital in Venice for victims of incurable illness. Cajetan was aware of the need of reformation in the Church, and felt called to enter a religious community to serve the sick and poor. On 3 May 1524, with three others, including John Peter Caraffa, who later became Pope Paul IV, Cajetan formed the Congregation of Clerks Regular at Rome (Theatines), with the mission of fostering the Church's mission and reviving the spirit and zeal of the clergy. Cajetan founded a bank to help the poor and offered an alternative to usurers (loan sharks); it later became the Bank of Naples. Cajetan died in 1547 at Naples, Italy. He was canonized 1671 by Pope Clement X
http://www.togetherwithgodsword.com/commentaries-on-the-daily-gospel-of-the-mass.html
Friday 7 August 2020
St Sixtus II & Cc.; St Cajetan. Day of penance
Nahum 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7. It is I who deal death and give life –
Deuteronomy 32:35-36, 39, 41. Matthew 16:24-28.
Anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it
The readings today are full of violence and excitement. My
nine-year-old son would take delight in these.
In the Gospel, Jesus challenges his disciples, ‘If any want to
become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and
follow me.’ In some times in history, and indeed, in some parts of the world
today, being a Christian means risking death. For us, we don’t have to give up
our lives (at least, not in the literal sense) to live out our faith. There are
times, perhaps, when we are called to sacrifice our own comfort.
A difficult conversation, the fear of using our talents, an
examination of conscience, showing love when it hurts. In what way am I being
called to take up my cross today?
http://www.pray.com.au/gospel_reflection/friday-7-august-2020/
Saint Cajetan
Saint of the Day for August 7
(October 1, 1480 – August 7, 1547)
Saint Cajetan \ sculptor: Pedro Alonso de los Ríos
Saint Cajetan’s Story
Like most of us, Cajetan seemed headed for an “ordinary”
life—first as a lawyer, then as a priest engaged in the work of the Roman
Curia.
His life took a characteristic turn when he joined the Oratory
of Divine Love in Rome, a group devoted to piety and charity, shortly after his
ordination at 36. When he was 42 he founded a hospital for incurables at
Venice. At Vicenza, he joined a “disreputable” religious community that
consisted only of men of the lowest stations of life—and was roundly censured
by his friends, who thought his action was a reflection on his family. He
sought out the sick and poor of the town and served them.
The greatest need of the time was the reformation of a Church
that was “sick in head and members.” Cajetan and three friends decided that the
best road to reformation lay in reviving the spirit and zeal of the clergy.
Together they founded a congregation known as the Theatines—from Teate [Chieti]
where their first superior-bishop had his see. One of the friends later became
Pope Paul IV.
They managed to escape to Venice after their house in Rome was
wrecked when Emperor Charles V’s troops sacked Rome in 1527. The Theatines were
outstanding among the Catholic reform movements that took shape before the
Protestant Reformation. Cajetan founded a monte de pieta—“mountain
or fund of piety”—in Naples, one of many charitable, nonprofit credit
organizations that lent money on the security of pawned objects. The purpose
was to help the poor and protect them against usurers. Cajetan’s little
organization ultimately became the Bank of Naples, with great changes in
policy.
Reflection
If Vatican II had been summarily stopped after its first session
in 1962, many Catholics would have felt that a great blow had been dealt to the
growth of the Church. Cajetan had the same feeling about the Council of Trent,
held from 1545 to 1563. But as he said, God is the same in Naples as in Venice,
with or without Trent or Vatican II. We open ourselves to God’s power in
whatever circumstances we find ourselves, and God’s will is done. God’s
standards of success differ from ours
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-cajetan/
Lectio Divina: Matthew 16:24-28
Lectio Divina
Friday, August 7, 2020
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father of everlasting goodness,
our origin and guide,
be close to us
and hear the prayers of all who praise You.
Forgive our sins and restore us to life.
Keep us safe 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 16:24-28
Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me
must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save
his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his
life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will
come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay each
according to his conduct. Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who
will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
3) Reflection
• The five verses of today’s Gospel continue with the words of
Jesus to Peter which we meditated on yesterday. Jesus does not hide nor lessen
the demands of discipleship. He does not allow Peter to take the initiative and
puts him in his place: “Far from Me!” Today’s Gospel makes
explicit these demands for all of us.
• Matthew 16:24: “Take up his cross and follow
Me”. Jesus draws the conclusions which are valid even until now: “If
anyone wants to follow Me, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and
follow Me”. At that time, the cross was the death sentence which the
Roman Empire inflicted on marginalized persons and bandits. To take up the
cross and carry it behind Jesus was the same as to accept to be marginalized by
the unjust system which legitimized injustice. The Cross is not fatalism, nor
exigency from the Father. The Cross is the consequence of the commitment freely
taken up by Jesus to reveal the Good News that God is Father, and therefore, we
all have to be accepted and treated as brothers and sisters. Because of this
revolutionary announcement, Jesus was persecuted and He was not afraid to give
His life. Nobody has greater love than this: to give one’s life for his
friends (Jn 15:13). The witness of Paul in the letter to the Galatians
indicates the concrete significance and importance of all this: “But as for
me, it is out of the question that I should boast at all, except of the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and
I to the world”. (Gal 6:14). He ends by referring to the marks of the
tortures which he suffered: “After this, let no one trouble me, I carry
branded on my body the marks of Jesus” (Gal 6:17).
• Matthew 16:25-26: “Anyone who loses his life for My sake
will find it”. These two verses make explicit universal human values
which confirm the experience of many Christians and non Christians: to save
one’s life, to lose one’s life, to find one’s life. The experience of many is
the following: anyone who is always seeking goods and riches is never
satisfied. Anyone who gives himself to others, forgetting himself, experiences
great happiness. This is the experience of the mothers who give themselves and
of so many people who do not think of self, but think of others. Many do this
and live in this way almost out of instinct, as something which comes from the
bottom of the heart. Others act in this way because they have had a painful
experience of frustration which has led them to change attitude. Jesus is right
in saying, “Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who
loses his life for My sake will find it”. The reason is important:
“For My sake”, or like Mark says: “For the sake of the Gospel” (Mk 8:35). He
ends saying, “What, then will anyone gain by winning the whole world
and forfeiting his life? Or what can anyone offer in exchange for his
life?” This last phrase recalls the psalm where it is said that no one
is capable of paying the ransom for his life: “But no one can ever
redeem himself or pay his own ransom to God; the price for himself is too high,
it can never be that he will live on for ever and avoid the sight of the
abyss” (Ps 49: 8-10).
• Matthew 16:27-28: The Son of Man is going to come in
the glory of the Father and He will reward each one according to his
behavior. These two verses refer to the hope regarding the coming of the
Son of Man in the last times, as judge of humanity, as he is presented in the
vision of the prophet Daniel (Dan 7:13-14). The first verse says, “The
Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels and will
reward each one according to his behavior”. (Mt 16:27). This phrase
speaks about the justice of the Judge. Each one will receive according to his
own behavior. The second verse says, “There are some standing here who
will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming with His
kingdom”. (Mt 16:28). This phrase is an advertisement to help us
perceive the coming of Jesus, the Judge of the actions of life. Some thought
that Jesus would have come afterwards (1 Thess 4:15-18). But in fact, Jesus was
already present in persons, especially in the poor. They did not perceive this,
even though Jesus Himself had said, “Every time that you have helped the poor,
the sick, the homeless, the prisoner, the pilgrim, you helped Me, it was Me!”
(cf. Mt 25: 34-45).
4) Personal questions
• Anyone who loses his life will find it. What experience do I
have regarding this?
• The words of Paul: “As for me, instead, there is no other glory than the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified for me and
I for the world”. Do I have the courage to repeat these words in my
life?
• From Matt 16:25, to Lk 9:24, to Jn 21:18 we learn of the importance of
following rather than leading. In my life, do I follow, give my life to others,
or do I "lead my own life"?
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-1624-28
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