JUNE 16, 2012 : MEMORIAL OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

Memorial of The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Lectionary: 364/573

Reading 1 1 Kgs 19:19-21

Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat,
as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen;
he was following the twelfth.
Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him.
Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said,
"Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,
and I will follow you."
Elijah answered, "Go back!
Have I done anything to you?"
Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them;
he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh,
and gave it to his people to eat.
Then he left and followed Elijah as his attendant.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 96:10, 11-12, 13

R. (see 5a) You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, "My Lord are you."
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
Because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.
R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Gospel Lk 2:41-51

Each year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
"Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety."
And he said to them,
"Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.

(www.usccb.org)

Meditation:  “His mother kept all these things in her heart”

 Do you know the pain and grief of losing someone close to you? Mary and Joseph must have felt anxious and helpless when the boy Jesus disappeared. Nonetheless they returned to Jerusalem with confident trust that God would guide them in their hour of trial. Why did Jesus stay back when his parents left for home? Just as the prophet Samuel heard the call of the Lord at a very young age, Jesus in his youth recognized that he has been given a call by his heavenly Father. His answer to his mother's anxious inquiry reveals his trusting faith and confident determination to pursue his heavenly Father's will. Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house? Our Heavenly Father calls each of us. With the call God gives grace – grace to say "yes" to his will and grace to persevere through obstacles and trials.  Do you recognize God's call on your life and do you trust in his grace?
"Lord, in love you have called me to live for your praise and glory. May I always find joy in your presence and trust in your wise and loving plan for my life."

Don Schwager – www.dailyscripture.net

Blessed is She Who Believed

Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Father Timothy Mulcahey, LC  Listen to podcast version here. Luke 2:41-51 Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father´s house?" But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. Introductory Prayer: Dearest Mother Mary, Christ your Son learned to love from your loving example. Teach me to love in the same way. Instruct me in the way of your virtues. Help me to make use of every opportunity to grow in them. Never let me miss the opportunities life gives me to love and form myself in virtue. I always want to love the way you love. Petition: Mary, my Mother, help me be your faithful child. Bring me to your son. 1. Not Everything Is Clear From the Outset: Mary has a mother’s heart that wants to love the loves of her Son. For Mary the road was not always clear. There would be many trials and difficulties. Nevertheless, Mary is resolved to follow her Son. She wants to follow him, understanding the mission. She cares for him in every way – even spiritually. There were many surprises in store for her as Christ matured and prepared for his mission. She never expected this one: losing her son for three days, at such an early age. Her son desired to be in his Father’s house and prepare his work. He loved being there and was preparing for the day when he would go out and actively do the work he had been sent to complete. Mary too was preparing for that day and Christ helped her get ready. 2. She Stored All These Things Up In Her Heart: It was hard for Mary to understand the full meaning of this moment. Being a woman of prayer and contemplation, she stored all these things up in her heart where she could recall them, reflect on them and compare them to other moments of her mission. What did all this mean? What did it point to? God’s plan would only reveal itself with time and Mary would be ready for it. It was not so much understanding that she needed but rather acceptance and fidelity to complete it. Mary had a contemplative heart that sought to unite itself and identify itself to the mission of her Son. She knew that she had a part to play in that mission and that she would need to prepare herself for it through prayer. 3. Take Mary’s Hand: We will never understand the purpose and meaning of our life unless we pray and contemplate like Mary did. It takes time, patience and a great deal of simplicity and trust. “Blessed is she that believed that the promises made to her would be fulfilled!” exclaims her cousin Elizabeth after the annunciation by the angel Gabriel. We are blessed when we can believe. It may take a long time to see the fulfillment of God’s designs in our lives too. We need to be like Mary and follow through by faithfully walking the path that is marked out for us. It can be a path that is not clear. We don’t need to know all of what lies ahead – just where we need to walk. Mary identified with her Son’s mission with her whole heart. She invites us to identify with it too. She will not fail to take you by the hand and lead you along that unclear, difficult and unknown path. Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus Christ, when you had already given us everything – your life, your love, your Body and Blood in the Eucharist – from the cross you gave us the gift of your Mother. I thank you for this great gift. I want to be her faithful child. I want to imitate all her virtues, especially her faithfulness to you up to and beyond the moment of the cross. Grant me the grace to accompany both you and your mother at the foot of the cross. I want to follow you closely and perfectly as Mary did. I want to belong only to you and do only your will. Resolution: I will ask Mary to shape all Christian virtues in me by my daily prayer to her in the Rosary. I will also make a special visit to her at one of her statues or images this week.

(Signum Christi)

You are my inheritance, O Lord

I keep the Lord always before me, therefore, my soul rejoices.
Dear Lord, it needs a scripture scholar to enlighten us about Elisha killing oxen or to find your meaning when you tell us not to use oaths but rather to just say yes or no. Not many of us have to take oaths today but it would not be well received in the present court of law to just say yes or no; disposing of oxen to follow a prophet is right out of our league.

So today’s prayer from the psalmist is the one we love best. It is rejoicing in your protection and knowing that you are God and that we can take refuge in you because you are always with us. With the psalmist, we acknowledge that you are Lord and all good comes from you; that you will never let us down.
(www.churchresources.info)

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Take the Leap
The Lord invites you to have confidence not in yourself but in his Holy Spirit. With him, you can do it. Take the leap and do not stop until you are in the arms of the Father, who is waiting for you.
— from Sober Intoxication of the Spirit

June 16
St. John Francis Regis
(1597-1640)

Born into a family of some wealth, John Francis was so impressed by his Jesuit educators that he himself wished to enter the Society of Jesus. He did so at age 18. Despite his rigorous academic schedule he spent many hours in chapel, often to the dismay of fellow seminarians who were concerned about his health. Following his ordination to the priesthood, he undertook missionary work in various French towns. While the formal sermons of the day tended toward the poetic, his discourses were plain. But they revealed the fervor within him and attracted people of all classes. Father Regis especially made himself available to the poor. Many mornings were spent in the confessional or at the altar celebrating Mass; afternoons were reserved for visits to prisons and hospitals.

The Bishop of Viviers, observing the success of Father Regis in communicating with people, sought to draw on his many gifts, especially needed during the prolonged civil and religious strife then rampant throughout France. With many prelates absent and priests negligent, the people had been deprived of the sacraments for 20 years or more. Various forms of Protestantism were thriving in some cases while a general indifference toward religion was evident in other instances. For three years Father Regis traveled throughout the diocese, conducting missions in advance of a visit by the bishop. He succeeded in converting many people and in bringing many others back to religious observances.
Though Father Regis longed to work as a missionary among the North American Indians in Canada, he was to live out his days working for the Lord in the wildest and most desolate part of his native France. There he encountered rigorous winters, snowdrifts and other deprivations. Meanwhile, he continued preaching missions and earned a reputation as a saint. One man, entering the town of Saint-Andé, came upon a large crowd in front of a church and was told that people were waiting for "the saint" who was coming to preach a mission.
The last four years of his life were spent preaching and in organizing social services, especially for prisoners, the sick and the poor. In the autumn of 1640, Father Regis sensed that his days were coming to a conclusion. He settled some of his affairs and prepared for the end by continuing to do what he did so well: speaking to the people about the God who loved them. On December 31, he spent most of the day with his eyes on the crucifix. That evening, he died. His final words were: "Into thy hands I commend my spirit."
He was canonized in 1737.

Comment:

John longed to travel to the New World and become a missionary to the Native Americans, but he was called instead to work among his own compatriots. Unlike many famous preachers, he isn’t remembered for golden-tongued oratory. What people who listened to him heard was his own fervent faith, and it had a powerful effect on them. We can recall homilists who impressed us for the same reason. More importantly for us, we can also remember ordinary people, neighbors and friends, whose faith and goodness touched us and brought us to deeper faith. That is the calling most of us must follow.

(www.americancatholic.org)

ST. LUTGARDIS

St. Lutgardis is the patron saint of the blind and physically disabled. Born in the 12th century, she came to her vocation in part due to her father’s bad business sense. Her father lost her dowry in a failed business venture and sent her to a Benedictine convent at the age of 12.

A few years later, she received a vision of Christ showing her his wounds, and at age 20 she became a Benedictine nun. Her visions continued and she is said to have levitated and dripped blood from her head when meditating on the Passion.

Seeking a stricter life, she joined the Cistercians and displayed the gifts of healing, prophecy, spiritual wisdom and teaching on the Gospels.

She accepted the blindness that afflicted her for the last 11 years of her life as a gift that helped reduce the distractions of the outside world. In her last vision, Christ told her when she was to die, the day after the Feast of the Holy Trinity, June 16, 1246. She was 64.

(www.catholicnewsagency.com)

LECTIO: MATTHEW 5,33-37

Lectio: 

 Saturday, June 16, 2012

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer
God of wisdom and love,
source of all good,
send your Spirit to teach us your truth
and guide our actions
in your way of peace.
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 5,33-37

Jesus said to his disciples: 'Again, you have heard how it was said to our ancestors, You must not break your oath, but must fulfil your oaths to the Lord. But I say this to you, do not swear at all, either by heaven, since that is God's throne; or by earth, since that is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your own head either, since you cannot turn a single hair white or black. All you need say is "Yes" if you mean yes, "No" if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the Evil One.'

3) Reflection

• In today’s Gospel, Jesus rereads the commandment: “Do not commit perjury”. And here also he surpasses the letter, concerning the spirit of the law and seeks to indicate the last objective of this commandment: to attain total transparency in the relationship among persons. Here we can apply what we said concerning the two commandments “Do not kill” and “Do not commit adultery”. It is a question of a new way of interpreting and setting into practice the law of Moses, starting from the new experience of God Father/Mother which Jesus has brought to us. He rereads the law beginning with the intention which God had in proclaiming it centuries ago on Mount Sinai.
• Matthew 5, 33: It was said to our ancestors: you must not swear. The Law of the Old Testament said: “Do not commit perjury” And it added that the person should swear for the Lord (cf. Nb 20, 2). In the prayer of the Psalms it is said that “one can go up to the Mountain of Yahweh and reach the holy place, if he does not have innocent hands and a pure heart, and does not confide in idols, nor swears in order to deceive”(Ps 24, 4). The same thing is said in diverse other points of the Old Testament (Ecl 5, 3-4), because one must be able to trust the words of others. In order to favour this reciprocal trust, tradition had invented the help of the oath. In order to strengthen one’s own word, the person would swear for someone or for something which was greater than he and who could punish him if he did not fulfil what he had promised. Things continue to be like this up to the present time. Whether in the Church or in society, there are some moments and occasions which demand a solemn oath on the part of persons. In last instance, the oath is the expression of the conviction according to which nobody can trust completely the word of the other.
• Matthew 5, 34-36: But I say to you: do not swear. Jesus wants to heal this deficiency. It is not sufficient “not to swear”. He goes beyond and affirms: “But I say to you: do not swear at all: either by heaven, since that is God’s throne; or by earth, since that is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your own head either, since you cannot turn a single hair white or black. All you need say is ‘Yes if you mean yes, ‘No’ if you mean no; anything more than this comes from the Evil One”.
They would swear for heaven and for earth, for the city of Jerusalem, for their own head. Jesus shows that all that is medicine which does not cure the pain and suffering of the lack of transparency in the relationship among persons. Which is the solution which he proposes?
• Matthew 5, 37: Let your speech be yes, yes; no, no. The solution which God proposes is the following: Let your speech be yes, yes; no, no; anything more than this comes from the Evil One”. He proposes a radical and total honesty. Nothing more. Anything more that you say comes from the Evil One. Here again, we are confronted with an objective which will always remain in our mind and which we will never succeed in fulfilling it completely. It is another expression of the new ideal of justice which Jesus proposes: “to be perfect like the Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5, 48). Jesus uproots any attempt to create in myself the conviction that I am saved because I observe the law. Nobody can merit God’s grace. Because otherwise it would not be a grace. We observe the Law, not in order to merit salvation, but in order to thank with all our heart, for the immense gratuitous goodness of God who accepts us, and saves us without any merit on our part.

4) Personal questions

• How do I observe the law?
• Have I experienced some time in my life the gratuitous goodness of God?

5) Concluding Prayer

I bless Yahweh who is my counsellor,
even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep Yahweh before me always,
for with him at my right hand, nothing can shake me.
(Ps 16,7-8)

(www.ocarm.org)