Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua
Lectionary:
361
Ahab sent to all the children of Israel
and had the prophets assemble onMount
Carmel .
Elijah appealed to all the people and said,
"How long will you straddle the issue?
If the LORD is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him."
The people, however, did not answer him.
So Elijah said to the people,
"I am the only surviving prophet of the LORD,
and there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal.
Give us two young bulls.
Let them choose one, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood,
but start no fire.
I shall prepare the other and place it on the wood,
but shall start no fire.
You shall call on your gods, and I will call on the LORD.
The God who answers with fire is God."
All the people answered, "Agreed!"
Elijah then said to the prophets of Baal,
"Choose one young bull and prepare it first,
for there are more of you.
Call upon your gods, but do not start the fire."
Taking the young bull that was turned over to them, they prepared it
and called on Baal from morning to noon, saying,
"Answer us, Baal!"
But there was no sound, and no one answering.
And they hopped around the altar they had prepared.
When it was noon, Elijah taunted them:
"Call louder, for he is a god and may be meditating,
or may have retired, or may be on a journey.
Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened."
They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears,
as was their custom, until blood gushed over them.
Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state
until the time for offering sacrifice.
But there was not a sound;
no one answered, and no one was listening.
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me."
When the people had done so, he repaired the altar of the LORD
that had been destroyed.
He took twelve stones, for the number of tribes of the sons of Jacob,
to whom the LORD had said, "Your name shall beIsrael
He built an altar in honor of the LORD with the stones,
and made a trench around the altar
large enough for two measures of grain.
When he had arranged the wood,
he cut up the young bull and laid it on the wood.
"Fill four jars with water," he said,
"and pour it over the burnt offering and over the wood."
"Do it again," he said, and they did it again.
"Do it a third time," he said,
and they did it a third time.
The water flowed around the altar,
and the trench was filled with the water.
At the time for offering sacrifice,
the prophet Elijah came forward and said,
"LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
let it be known this day that you are God in Israel
and that I am your servant
and have done all these things by your command.
Answer me, LORD!
Answer me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God
and that you have brought them back to their senses."
The LORD's fire came down
and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust,
and it lapped up the water in the trench.
Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said,
"The LORD is God! The LORD is God!"
and had the prophets assemble on
Elijah appealed to all the people and said,
"How long will you straddle the issue?
If the LORD is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him."
The people, however, did not answer him.
So Elijah said to the people,
"I am the only surviving prophet of the LORD,
and there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal.
Give us two young bulls.
Let them choose one, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood,
but start no fire.
I shall prepare the other and place it on the wood,
but shall start no fire.
You shall call on your gods, and I will call on the LORD.
The God who answers with fire is God."
All the people answered, "Agreed!"
Elijah then said to the prophets of Baal,
"Choose one young bull and prepare it first,
for there are more of you.
Call upon your gods, but do not start the fire."
Taking the young bull that was turned over to them, they prepared it
and called on Baal from morning to noon, saying,
"Answer us, Baal!"
But there was no sound, and no one answering.
And they hopped around the altar they had prepared.
When it was noon, Elijah taunted them:
"Call louder, for he is a god and may be meditating,
or may have retired, or may be on a journey.
Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened."
They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears,
as was their custom, until blood gushed over them.
Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state
until the time for offering sacrifice.
But there was not a sound;
no one answered, and no one was listening.
Then Elijah said to all the people, "Come here to me."
When the people had done so, he repaired the altar of the LORD
that had been destroyed.
He took twelve stones, for the number of tribes of the sons of Jacob,
to whom the LORD had said, "Your name shall be
He built an altar in honor of the LORD with the stones,
and made a trench around the altar
large enough for two measures of grain.
When he had arranged the wood,
he cut up the young bull and laid it on the wood.
"Fill four jars with water," he said,
"and pour it over the burnt offering and over the wood."
"Do it again," he said, and they did it again.
"Do it a third time," he said,
and they did it a third time.
The water flowed around the altar,
and the trench was filled with the water.
At the time for offering sacrifice,
the prophet Elijah came forward and said,
"LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
let it be known this day that you are God in Israel
and that I am your servant
and have done all these things by your command.
Answer me, LORD!
Answer me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God
and that you have brought them back to their senses."
The LORD's fire came down
and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust,
and it lapped up the water in the trench.
Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said,
"The LORD is God! The LORD is God!"
Responsorial Psalm Ps 16:1b-2ab, 4, 5ab And
8, 11
R. (1b) Keep me safe, O God; you are my
hope.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you."
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
They multiply their sorrows
who court other gods.
Blood libations to them I will not pour out,
nor will I take their names upon my lips.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
O LORD, my allotted portion and cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you."
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
They multiply their sorrows
who court other gods.
Blood libations to them I will not pour out,
nor will I take their names upon my lips.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
O LORD, my allotted portion and cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.
R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
.jpg)
Gospel Mt 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
Meditation: "He
who does the commandments and teaches them shall be called great”
Jesus taught reverence for God’s law – reverence for God himself, for the Lord’s Day, reverence or respect for parents, respect for life, for property, for another person’s good name, respect for oneself and for one’s neighbor lest wrong or hurtful desires master us. Reverence and respect for God’s commandments teach us the way of love – love of God and love of neighbor. What is impossible to men is possible to God and those who have faith in God. God gives us the grace to love as he loves, to forgive as he forgives, to think as he thinks, and to act as he acts. The Lord loves righteousness and hates wickedness. As his followers we must love his commandments and hate every form of sin. Do you love the commands of the Lord?
“Lord Jesus, grant this day, to direct and sanctify, to rule and govern our hearts and bodies, so that all our thoughts, words and deeds may be according to your Father’s law and thus may we be saved and protected through your mighty help.”
(Don Schwager)
 Cancelling or Fulfilling – Emptiness or Plenitude |
|
Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, priest
and doctor of the Church
|
|
Father Shawn Aaron,
LC
.
Matthew 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Introductory Prayer: Father of love, source of all blessings, you have led me
throughout my life, and you lead me still. Thank you for your paternal care.
Jesus, Son of God, you died for me on the cross to pay for my sins and
manifest your unconditional love for me. Thank you for showing me the way
home to the Father. Holy Spirit, sweet guest of the soul, you heal me and
strengthen me and set me on fire from the most intimate depths of my soul.
Thank you for your loving presence within me.
Petition: Jesus, help me to live authentic freedom in union with
your will.
1. Bringing to All Fulfillment: Through the law and the prophets God prepared his people
for salvation. In Christ that salvation is at hand: Jesus, the Word made
flesh, will fulfill the law and the prophets and give them their proper
interpretation. The law will move from the tablets of stone to the hearts of
men, as demonstrated by the Beatitudes. Jesus came especially to fulfill the
deep longing in the human heart for happiness, which is ultimately found in
eternal life with God. “But when the time had fully come, God sent forth his
Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the
law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).
2. Breaking the Rules: “Rules are meant to
be broken” – according to the first law of the “Teenage Creed.” As we
approach adulthood we may discover external conflicts to our subjective
happiness. We call them rules. And as the desire to exercise our own free
will grows, we begin to feel the seemingly oppressive weight of these rules –
“Do this, don’t do that.” Authority figures can then be perceived to be in
direct opposition to our personal fulfillment. We wrongly conclude that rules
and happiness are like oil and water. Then we permit patterns of sin to
develop despite what our conscience tells us, and we are unwittingly given a
glimpse into the way the devil suggests his criteria to us. If we are not
careful, we may form deep-seated attitudes that will make us struggle against
God and against his criteria – the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, the
cross, and the teachings of the Church.
3. The Proper Use of Freedom: “The moral law has
its origin in God and always finds its source in him” (Pope John Paul II, The
Splendor of Truth, no. 40). Our true freedom lies not in the rejection but in
the acceptance of God’s moral law. God is not a heartless dictator but a
Father who loves us and wills our very best. If he sets standards for us, it
is because he has our eternal happiness in mind, like a skilled coach who
challenges the athlete to reach his full potential. “Is there anyone among
you who, if your child asks for bread, will give a stone? Or if the child
asks for a fish, will give a snake?” (Matthew 7:9-10). Jesus posits the
question because he knows the Father. Even if we were to know a parent that
did not love his child, God the Father is incapable of not desiring what is
truly best for us. God is and will always be love.
Conversation with Christ: Lord, sin is always tapping on my door but you have
promised me that your grace will always be available. Help me to avail myself
of the means of grace you give me to live in union with your eternal law.
Mother Most Pure, make my heart only for Jesus.
Resolution: Today I will take a few moments to reflect upon the Ten
Commandments or the duties of my state in life.
|
(Signum Christi)
Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope
Today’s psalm speaks of people flocking to their ‘teeming idols’, but prays to keep God always in sight for ‘if God is by my side nothing can shake me’. What are the idols we flock to today? Perhaps crowds bursting through the doors for the Boxing Day sales, or queuing or even camping overnight to buy tickets for a football final.
And what are my idols? What stops me from keeping on the true path? Busyness, maybe! Things that I think have to be done now! No time for praying the psalms? The psalms can be wonderful prayers for reflection. One way is to take a phrase or a couple of lines and carry them around with us, repeating the words mentally as we wait at the lights or at the checkout or as we go about our daily tasks.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
YOU ARE NOT ALONE
This was the theme of the following letter written by a parent in response to the above letter from 'a microscopic minority' at the College.
Dear Father Gleeson,
The letter you quote from a parent about the asylum seekers issue saddens me, as the parent believes that in voicing support for a more humanitarian response to asylum seekers he is part of 'a microscopic minority' at the College. He is not so alone as he imagines. We all share the shame that he perceives this to be the case. Hence my email, voicing support for a change of heart befitting a civilised nation, a much needed change, as signalled by yesterday's High Court decision. Jesuits engage with 'hot potatoes' and - this is our blessing - encourage our sons to do likewise. To be alive is to be political, unless one is mute. To be mute where we enjoy such freedom of speech is, I suggest, both irresponsible and un-Catholic.
Thank you for the holistic education you provide to our sons.
From A Canopy of Stars: Some Reflections for the Journey by Fr Christopher Gleeson SJ [David Lovell Publishing 2003]
(www.churchresources.info)
MINUTE
MEDITATIONS
|
Free
Gift of God
|
|
||
|
To convert now means to believe the good news
(“gospel”) that salvation is offered to people as the free gift of God; it
means seizing the kingdom that has come and leaving everything else behind in
exchange for it.
|
|||
|
|
|||
June 13
St. Anthony ofPadua
(1195-1231)
St. Anthony of
(1195-1231)
The gospel call to leave everything and
follow Christ was the rule of Anthony’s life. Over and over again God called
him to something new in his plan. Every time Anthony responded with renewed
zeal and self-sacrificing to serve his Lord Jesus more completely.
His journey as the servant of God began as a very young man when he decided to join the Augustinians inLisbon
So Anthony entered the Franciscan Order and set out to preach to the Moors. But an illness prevented him from achieving that goal. He went toItaly
The call of God came again at an ordination where no one was prepared to speak. The humble and obedient Anthony hesitantly accepted the task. The years of searching for Jesus in prayer, of reading sacred Scripture and of serving him in poverty, chastity and obedience had prepared Anthony to allow the Spirit to use his talents. Anthony’s sermon was astounding to those who expected an unprepared speech and knew not the Spirit’s power to give people words.
Recognized as a great man of prayer and a great Scripture and theology scholar, Anthony became the first friar to teach theology to the other friars. Soon he was called from that post to preach to the Albigensians inFrance
After he led the friars in northernItaly for three years, he made his headquarters
in the city of Padua
His journey as the servant of God began as a very young man when he decided to join the Augustinians in
So Anthony entered the Franciscan Order and set out to preach to the Moors. But an illness prevented him from achieving that goal. He went to
The call of God came again at an ordination where no one was prepared to speak. The humble and obedient Anthony hesitantly accepted the task. The years of searching for Jesus in prayer, of reading sacred Scripture and of serving him in poverty, chastity and obedience had prepared Anthony to allow the Spirit to use his talents. Anthony’s sermon was astounding to those who expected an unprepared speech and knew not the Spirit’s power to give people words.
Recognized as a great man of prayer and a great Scripture and theology scholar, Anthony became the first friar to teach theology to the other friars. Soon he was called from that post to preach to the Albigensians in
After he led the friars in northern
Comment:
Anthony should be the patron of those who find their lives completely uprooted and set in a new and unexpected direction. Like all saints, he is a perfect example of turning one's life completely over to Christ. God did with Anthony as God pleased—and what God pleased was a life of spiritual power and brilliance that still attracts admiration today. He whom popular devotion has nominated as finder of lost objects found himself by losing himself totally to the providence of God.
Anthony should be the patron of those who find their lives completely uprooted and set in a new and unexpected direction. Like all saints, he is a perfect example of turning one's life completely over to Christ. God did with Anthony as God pleased—and what God pleased was a life of spiritual power and brilliance that still attracts admiration today. He whom popular devotion has nominated as finder of lost objects found himself by losing himself totally to the providence of God.
Quote:
In his sermon notes, Anthony writes: "The saints are like the stars. In his providence Christ conceals them in a hidden place that they may not shine before others when they might wish to do so. Yet they are always ready to exchange the quiet of contemplation for the works of mercy as soon as they perceive in their heart the invitation of Christ."
In his sermon notes, Anthony writes: "The saints are like the stars. In his providence Christ conceals them in a hidden place that they may not shine before others when they might wish to do so. Yet they are always ready to exchange the quiet of contemplation for the works of mercy as soon as they perceive in their heart the invitation of Christ."
Patron
Saint of:
Lost items
Poor
Travelers
Lost items
Poor
Travelers
LECTIO: MATTHEW 5,17-19
Lectio:
Wednesday, June 13,
2012
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Lord our God,
your prophets remind us
in season and out of season
of our responsibilities toward you
and toward the world of people.
When they disturb and upset us,
let it be a holy disturbance
that makes us restless, eager to do your will
and to bring justice and love around us.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
your prophets remind us
in season and out of season
of our responsibilities toward you
and toward the world of people.
When they disturb and upset us,
let it be a holy disturbance
that makes us restless, eager to do your will
and to bring justice and love around us.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.
2) Gospel Reading
'Do not imagine that I have come to abolish
the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. In
truth I tell you, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little
stroke, is to disappear from the Law until all its purpose is achieved.
Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of Heaven.
Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of Heaven.
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel (Mt 5, 17-19) teaches how to
observe the law of God in such a way that its practice indicates in what its
complete fulfilment consists (Mt 5, 17-19). Matthew writes in order to help the
communities of the converted Jews to overcome the criticism of the brothers of
their own race who accused them saying: You are unfaithful to the Law of Moses”.
Jesus himself had been accused of infidelity to the Law of God. Matthew has the
clarifying response of Jesus concerning his accusers. Thus, he gives some light
to help the communities solve their problems.
• Using images of daily life, with simple and direct words, Jesus had said that the mission of the community, its reason for being, is that of being salt and light! He had given some advice regarding each one of the two images. Then follow two or three brief verses of today’s Gospel.
• Matthew 5, 17-18: Not one dot, nor one stroke is to disappear from the Law. There were several different tendencies in the communities of the first Christians. Some thought that it was not necessary to observe the laws of the Old Testament, because we are saved by faith in Jesus and not by the observance of the Law (Rm 3, 21-26). Others accepted Jesus, the Messiah, but they did not accept the liberty of spirit with which some of the communities lived the presence of Jesus. They thought that being Jews they had to continue to observe the laws of the Old Testament (Acts 15, 1.5). But there were Christians who lived so fully in the freedom of the Spirit, who no longer looked at the life of Jesus of Nazareth, nor to the Old Testament and they even went so far as to say: ”Anathema Jesus!” (1 Co 12, 3). Observing these tensions, Matthew tries to find some balance between both extremes. The community should be a space, where the balance can be attained and lived. The answer given by Jesus to those who criticized him continued to be actual for the communities: “I have not come to abolish the law, but to complete it!” The communities could not be against the Law, nor could they close up themselves in the observance of the law. Like Jesus, they should advance, and show, in practice, which was the objective which the law wanted to attain in the life of persons, that is, in the perfect practice of love.
• Matthew 5, 19: Not one dot or stroke will disappear from the Law. It is for those who wanted to get rid of all the law that Matthew recalls the other parable of Jesus: “Anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the Kingdom of Heaven”. The great concern in Matthew’s Gospel is to show that the Old Testament, Jesus of Nazareth and the life in the Spirit cannot be separated. The three of them form part of the same and unique project of God and communicate to us the certainty of faith: The God of Abraham and of Sarah is present in the midst of the community by faith in Jesus of Nazareth who sends us his Spirit.
• Using images of daily life, with simple and direct words, Jesus had said that the mission of the community, its reason for being, is that of being salt and light! He had given some advice regarding each one of the two images. Then follow two or three brief verses of today’s Gospel.
• Matthew 5, 17-18: Not one dot, nor one stroke is to disappear from the Law. There were several different tendencies in the communities of the first Christians. Some thought that it was not necessary to observe the laws of the Old Testament, because we are saved by faith in Jesus and not by the observance of the Law (Rm 3, 21-26). Others accepted Jesus, the Messiah, but they did not accept the liberty of spirit with which some of the communities lived the presence of Jesus. They thought that being Jews they had to continue to observe the laws of the Old Testament (Acts 15, 1.5). But there were Christians who lived so fully in the freedom of the Spirit, who no longer looked at the life of Jesus of Nazareth, nor to the Old Testament and they even went so far as to say: ”Anathema Jesus!” (1 Co 12, 3). Observing these tensions, Matthew tries to find some balance between both extremes. The community should be a space, where the balance can be attained and lived. The answer given by Jesus to those who criticized him continued to be actual for the communities: “I have not come to abolish the law, but to complete it!” The communities could not be against the Law, nor could they close up themselves in the observance of the law. Like Jesus, they should advance, and show, in practice, which was the objective which the law wanted to attain in the life of persons, that is, in the perfect practice of love.
• Matthew 5, 19: Not one dot or stroke will disappear from the Law. It is for those who wanted to get rid of all the law that Matthew recalls the other parable of Jesus: “Anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the Kingdom of Heaven”. The great concern in Matthew’s Gospel is to show that the Old Testament, Jesus of Nazareth and the life in the Spirit cannot be separated. The three of them form part of the same and unique project of God and communicate to us the certainty of faith: The God of Abraham and of Sarah is present in the midst of the community by faith in Jesus of Nazareth who sends us his Spirit.
4) Personal questions
• How do I see and live the law of God: as a
growing horizon of light or as an imposition which limits my freedom?
• What can we do today for our brothers and sisters who consider all this type of discussion as obsolete and not actual? What can we learn from them?
• What can we do today for our brothers and sisters who consider all this type of discussion as obsolete and not actual? What can we learn from them?
5) Concluding Prayer
Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem ,
Zion
For he gives strength to the bars of your gates,
he blesses your children within you. (Ps 145,12-13)
For he gives strength to the bars of your gates,
he blesses your children within you. (Ps 145,12-13)
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét