Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary:
366
After the death of Naboth the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite:
"Start down to meet Ahab, king ofIsrael ,
who rules inSamaria
He will be in the vineyard of Naboth,
of which he has come to take possession.
This is what you shall tell him,
'The LORD says: After murdering, do you also take possession?
For this, the LORD says:
In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth,
the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.'"
Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me out, my enemy?"
"Yes," he answered.
"Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the LORD's sight,
I am bringing evil upon you: I will destroy you
and will cut off every male in Ahab's line,
whether slave or freeman, inIsrael
I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat,
and like that of Baasha, son of Ahijah,
because of how you have provoked me by leadingIsrael
(Against Jezebel, too, the LORD declared,
"The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.")
"When one of Ahab's line dies in the city,
dogs will devour him;
when one of them dies in the field,
the birds of the sky will devour him."
Indeed, no one gave himself up to the doing of evil
in the sight of the LORD as did Ahab,
urged on by his wife Jezebel.
He became completely abominable by following idols,
just as the Amorites had done,
whom the LORD drove out before the children ofIsrael
When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments
and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh.
He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about subdued.
Then the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite,
"Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me?
Since he has humbled himself before me,
I will not bring the evil in his time.
I will bring the evil upon his house during the reign of his son."
"Start down to meet Ahab, king of
who rules in
He will be in the vineyard of Naboth,
of which he has come to take possession.
This is what you shall tell him,
'The LORD says: After murdering, do you also take possession?
For this, the LORD says:
In the place where the dogs licked up the blood of Naboth,
the dogs shall lick up your blood, too.'"
Ahab said to Elijah, "Have you found me out, my enemy?"
"Yes," he answered.
"Because you have given yourself up to doing evil in the LORD's sight,
I am bringing evil upon you: I will destroy you
and will cut off every male in Ahab's line,
whether slave or freeman, in
I will make your house like that of Jeroboam, son of Nebat,
and like that of Baasha, son of Ahijah,
because of how you have provoked me by leading
(Against Jezebel, too, the LORD declared,
"The dogs shall devour Jezebel in the district of Jezreel.")
"When one of Ahab's line dies in the city,
dogs will devour him;
when one of them dies in the field,
the birds of the sky will devour him."
Indeed, no one gave himself up to the doing of evil
in the sight of the LORD as did Ahab,
urged on by his wife Jezebel.
He became completely abominable by following idols,
just as the Amorites had done,
whom the LORD drove out before the children of
When Ahab heard these words, he tore his garments
and put on sackcloth over his bare flesh.
He fasted, slept in the sackcloth, and went about subdued.
Then the LORD said to Elijah the Tishbite,
"Have you seen that Ahab has humbled himself before me?
Since he has humbled himself before me,
I will not bring the evil in his time.
I will bring the evil upon his house during the reign of his son."
Responsorial Psalm Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 11 And
16
R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we
have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
"Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight."
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my guilt.
Free me from blood guilt, O God, my saving God;
then my tongue shall revel in your justice.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
"Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight."
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my guilt.
Free me from blood guilt, O God, my saving God;
then my tongue shall revel in your justice.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Gospel Mt 5:43-48
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
"You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Meditation: “Love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you”
What makes
Christians different from others and what makes Christianity distinct from any
other religion? It is grace – treating others, not as they
deserve, but as God wishes them to be treated – with loving-kindness and mercy.
God is good to the unjust as well as the just. His love embraces saint and
sinner alike. God seeks our highest good and teaches us to seek the greatest
good of others, even those who hate and abuse us. Our love for others, even
those who are ungrateful and selfish towards us, must be marked by the same
kindness and mercy which God has shown to us. It is easier to show kindness and
mercy when we can expect to benefit from doing so. How much harder when we can
expect nothing in return. Our prayer for those who do us ill both breaks the
power of revenge and releases the power of love to do good in the face of evil.
How can we possibly love those who cause us harm or ill-will? With God all
things are possible. He gives power and grace to those who believe and accept
the gift of the Holy Spirit. His love conquers all, even our hurts, fears, prejudices
and griefs. Only the cross of Jesus Christ can free us from the tyranny of
malice, hatred, revenge, and resentment and gives us the courage to return evil
with good. Such love and grace has power to heal and to save from destruction.
Do you know the power of Christ’s redeeming love and mercy?Was Jesus exaggerating when he said we must be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect? The original meaning of “perfect” in Aramaic is “completeness” or “wholeness – not lacking in what is essential.” God gives us every good gift in Jesus Christ so that we may not lack anything we need to do his will and to live as his sons and daughters (2 Peter 1:3). He knows our weakness and sinfulness better than we do. And he assures us of his love, mercy, and grace to follow in his ways. Do you want to grow in your love for God and for your neighbor? Ask the Holy Spirit to change and transform you in the image of the Father that you may walk in the joy and freedom of the gospel.
“Lord Jesus, your love brings freedom and pardon. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and set my heart ablaze with your love that nothing may make me lose my temper, ruffle my peace, take away my joy, nor make me bitter towards anyone.”
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We Are All Brothers and Sisters, Children of Our Heavenly Father |
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Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary
Time
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Matthew 5: 43-48
Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, you present a message that is not easy for my
fallen nature to accept. However, I believe in your words, and I trust in you
because you alone have the words of eternal life. As I begin this moment of
prayer, I turn to you as one in need. I want only to please you in all I do.
Petition: Lord, help me to love my enemies and pray for those who
persecute me.
1. True Love for Your
Enemies: Nowhere does the radical newness of
the Christian ethic stand out more clearly than in Christ’s simple phrase:
“Love your enemies.” There are four words for “love” in Greek. Storgerefers to the love between parents and children. Eros is the love of
attraction between man and woman. Philia is the love of friendship. Finally, agape is love as goodwill, benevolent love
that cannot be conquered, a love that wills only the good for the person
loved. In his book, Love and Responsibility, Karol Wojtyla remarks that to love someone with truly
benevolent love is to will God for them, since God is the supreme good of
each human person. It is precisely love as agape that Christ asks from every one of his followers: “Pray for
those who persecute you.”
2. “Children of Your
Heavenly Father”: Why does Christ ask,
even demand, of us such a radical form of love? Precisely because that is how
God the Father loves each and every one of his sons and daughters, with no
consideration of whether they are good or evil. “For he makes his sun rise on
the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.”
How much the world around us would change if those with whom we came into
contact perceived in us a love like that of the Father of mercies! His love
is absolutely without self-interest. He continues to love and pour forth his
gifts even when he is not loved in return. Christ calls us to a lofty and
challenging ideal, but one that is capable of transforming lives. What joy
could be greater than to be true sons and daughters of our heavenly Father?
3. Seeking True
Perfection Through Love: Why is Christ almost
relentless in insisting that we must be perfect — and not just a human
perfection, but as our heavenly Father is perfect? He knows that is the
Father’s original plan for mankind, from the dawn of creation. “So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and
female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). Christ is well aware that sin has
darkened the divine image within us, that his call to perfect charity is not
possible for our fallen human nature. But he is equally aware that by the
power of his own death and resurrection, through the new life of the Holy
Spirit whom he will send, God’s original plan for mankind will be restored.
There can be no more powerful motive for hope, even in the midst of our own
failures in charity and our human weaknesses.
Conversation with
Christ: Thank you, Lord, for your radical
message, for the constant challenge it is to me, never allowing me to become
complacent or self-satisfied. Help me to be a better witness of Christian
charity so that the world will believe in you.
Resolution: I will pray for those with whom I am experiencing
difficulties and do an act of charity for them.
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Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned
Perhaps nothing so closes us to the love of God or so constricts the flow of our love towards God as a spirit of unforgivingness towards someone who has, or we fancy has, wronged us—for this makes us most unlike God. When Jesus makes the love of him and the love of others—even our enemies—inseparable, he is not uttering a threat, nor offering a bribe to induce us to love our neighbour. He is simply stating a fact.
We have only one mind and heart with which to love whoever or whatever our love reaches out to. If, then, a bitterness, a hardness or a lack of sympathy lodges in our mind and heart, it affects all the loves that flow from them. Brackish pools cannot give rise to streams of fresh water.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
WE ARE ALL CONNECTED
More than ever today it makes sense to talk about one global
community. Let us not descend to the violence of terrorists who have no respect
for human life.
Rather let us remember that we are all connected, all linked across
the world.
Gerard Hughes said once, 'When a baby throws its rattle out of the
cradle, the planets rock. We are miniscule parts of a vast interlocking system
dancing through space, affecting and being affected by everything around us'.
Someone else said that dropping a stone in Sydney
Harbour will have an effect, however
small, on a whale in the Antarctic Ocean , even
on a distant star. The poet Francis Thompson was absolutely right when he wrote
in 'The Mistress of Vision':
All things by immortal power,
Near or far,
Hiddenly
To each other linked are,
Thou canst not stir a flower
Without troubling a star.
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School Assembly, 12 September 2001 (Australian EST time), shortly
after the horrors of the terrorist attack on the World
Trade Center
in New York
MINUTE
MEDITATIONS
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Seeing
the World Anew
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The purpose of contemplation is to change who
we are by allowing God to shape and influence the way we see reality.
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June 19
St. Romuald
(950?-1027)
St. Romuald
(950?-1027)
fter a wasted youth, Romuald saw his
father kill a relative in a duel over property. In horror he fled to a
monastery near Ravenna in Italy
He
spent the next 30 years going about During another period of his life, he suffered great spiritual dryness. One day as he was praying Psalm 31 (“I will give you understanding and I will instruct you”), he was given an extraordinary light and spirit which never left him.
At the next monastery where he stayed, he was accused of a scandalous crime by a young nobleman he had rebuked for a dissolute life. Amazingly, his fellow monks believed the accusation. He was given a severe penance, forbidden to offer Mass and excommunicated, an unjust sentence he endured in silence for six months.
The most famous of the monasteries he founded was that of the Camaldoli (Campus Maldoli, name of the owner) in
His father later became a monk, wavered and was kept faithful by the encouragement of his son.
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| In San Romualdo, painted for the Church of San Romualdo, Ravenna, by Guernico, 1641, an angel uses the abbot's baton to chastise an errant figure ( Pinatoceca comunale, Ravenna). |
Comment:
Christ is a gentle leader, but he calls us to total holiness. Now and then men and women are raised up to challenge us by the absoluteness of their dedication, the vigor of their spirit, the depth of their conversion. The fact that we cannot duplicate their lives does not change the call to us to be totally open to God in our own particular circumstances.
Christ is a gentle leader, but he calls us to total holiness. Now and then men and women are raised up to challenge us by the absoluteness of their dedication, the vigor of their spirit, the depth of their conversion. The fact that we cannot duplicate their lives does not change the call to us to be totally open to God in our own particular circumstances.
LECTIO: MATTHEW 5,43-48
Lectio:
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty God,
our hope and our strength,
without you we falter.
Help us to follow Christ
and to live according to your will.
Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
our hope and our strength,
without you we falter.
Help us to follow Christ
and to live according to your will.
Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading
Jesus said to his disciples: 'You have heard
how it was said, You will love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say
this to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; so that
you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on
the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the
wicked alike. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do
not even the tax collectors do as much? And if you save your greetings for your
brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Do not even the gentiles do as
much? You must therefore be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.'
3) Reflection
• In today’s Gospel we get to the summit of
the Mountain of the Beatitudes, where Jesus proclaimed the Law of the Kingdom
of God, the ideal of which can be summarized in this lapidarian phrase: “Be
perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5, 48) Jesus was correcting the
Law of God! Five times, one after another, he had already affirmed: “It was
said, but I say to you!” (Mt 5, 21.27, 31.33.38). This was a sign of great
courage on his part, in public, before all the people gathered there, to
correct the most sacred treasure of the people, the origin of their identity,
which was the Law of God. Jesus wants to communicate a new way of looking and
of practicing the Law of God. The key, so as to be able to get this new look,
is the affirmation: “Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect”. Never will
anyone be able to say: “Today I have been perfect as the Heavenly Father is
perfect!” We are always below the measure which Jesus has placed before us.
Perhaps, because of this, he has placed before us an ideal which is impossible
for us mortal beings to attain?
• Matthew 5, 43-45: It was said: You will love your neighbour and hate your enemy. In this phrase Jesus explains the mentality with which the Scribes explained the Law; a mentality which resulted from the divisions among the Jews and the non Jews, between neighbour and non neighbour, between saint and sinner, between the clean and the unclean, etc. Jesus orders to overthrow this pretence, these interested divisions. He orders to overcome divisions. “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you! So that you may be children of your Father in Heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike”. And from here we draw from the source from which springs the novelty of the Kingdom. This source is proper to God who is recognized as Father, who causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good. Jesus orders that we imitate this God: “Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (5, 48). And, it is in imitating this God that we can create a just society, radically new:
• Matthew 5,46-48: Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect. Everything is summarized in imitating God: "But I say to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven who causes the sun to rise on the bad as well as on the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax collectors do as much? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Do not even the gentiles do as much? Therefore, you be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5, 43-48). Love is the beginning and the end of everything. There is no greater love than to give one’s life for the brother (Jn 15, 13). Jesus imitated the Father and revealed his love. Every gesture, every word of Jesus, from his birth until the hour of his death on the cross, it was an expression of this creative love which does not depend on the gift received, neither does it discriminate the other because of race, sex, religion or social class, but which comes from wishing well in a completely gratuitous way. This was continually growing, from birth until his death on the Cross.
• The full manifestation of the creative love in Jesus. This was when on the Cross he offered forgiveness to the soldier who tortured him and killed him. The soldier, employed by the Empire, placed the wrist of Jesus on the arm of the Cross, placed a nail and began to hammer. He hammered several times. The blood fell flowing down. The body of Jesus twisted with pain. The mercenary soldier, ignorant of what he was doing and of what was happening around him, continued to hammer as if it was a nail on the wall to hang a picture. At that moment Jesus addresses this prayer to the Father: “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing!” (Lk 23, 34). In spite of all the will of men, the lack of humanity did not succeed to extinguish humanity in Jesus. They take him, they mock him, they spit on his face, they scoff him, they make of him a clown king with a crown of thorns on the head, they scourged him, torture him, make him walk on the streets as if he were a criminal, he has to listen to the insults of the religious authority, on Calvary they leave him completely naked at the sight of all. But the poison of lack of humanity does not succeed to reach the source of humanity which sprang from the Heart of Jesus. The water which sprang from within was stronger than the poison from without, wanting to contaminate everything. Looking at that ignorant and rude soldier, Jesus felt compassion for the soldier and prayed for him and for all: “Father, forgive them!” And he adds even an excuse: “They are ignorant. They do not know what they are doing!” Before the Father, Jesus is in solidarity with those who torture him and ill treat him. Like the brother who sees his murder brothers before the judge and he, victim of his own brothers, tells the judge: “You know they are my brothers. They are ignorant. Forgive them. They will become better!” It was as if Jesus was afraid that the minimum anger against man could extinguish in him the remaining humanity which still existed. This unbelievable gesture of humanity and of faith in the possibility of recovering that soldier has been the greatest revelation of the love of God. Jesus can die: “It is fulfilled!” And bowing his head he gave up his spirit (Jn 19, 30). In this way he fulfilled the prophecy of the Suffering Servant (Is 53).
• Matthew 5, 43-45: It was said: You will love your neighbour and hate your enemy. In this phrase Jesus explains the mentality with which the Scribes explained the Law; a mentality which resulted from the divisions among the Jews and the non Jews, between neighbour and non neighbour, between saint and sinner, between the clean and the unclean, etc. Jesus orders to overthrow this pretence, these interested divisions. He orders to overcome divisions. “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you! So that you may be children of your Father in Heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike”. And from here we draw from the source from which springs the novelty of the Kingdom. This source is proper to God who is recognized as Father, who causes his sun to rise on the bad as well as the good. Jesus orders that we imitate this God: “Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (5, 48). And, it is in imitating this God that we can create a just society, radically new:
• Matthew 5,46-48: Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect. Everything is summarized in imitating God: "But I say to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in Heaven who causes the sun to rise on the bad as well as on the good, and sends down rain to fall on the upright and the wicked alike. For if you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even the tax collectors do as much? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Do not even the gentiles do as much? Therefore, you be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5, 43-48). Love is the beginning and the end of everything. There is no greater love than to give one’s life for the brother (Jn 15, 13). Jesus imitated the Father and revealed his love. Every gesture, every word of Jesus, from his birth until the hour of his death on the cross, it was an expression of this creative love which does not depend on the gift received, neither does it discriminate the other because of race, sex, religion or social class, but which comes from wishing well in a completely gratuitous way. This was continually growing, from birth until his death on the Cross.
• The full manifestation of the creative love in Jesus. This was when on the Cross he offered forgiveness to the soldier who tortured him and killed him. The soldier, employed by the Empire, placed the wrist of Jesus on the arm of the Cross, placed a nail and began to hammer. He hammered several times. The blood fell flowing down. The body of Jesus twisted with pain. The mercenary soldier, ignorant of what he was doing and of what was happening around him, continued to hammer as if it was a nail on the wall to hang a picture. At that moment Jesus addresses this prayer to the Father: “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing!” (Lk 23, 34). In spite of all the will of men, the lack of humanity did not succeed to extinguish humanity in Jesus. They take him, they mock him, they spit on his face, they scoff him, they make of him a clown king with a crown of thorns on the head, they scourged him, torture him, make him walk on the streets as if he were a criminal, he has to listen to the insults of the religious authority, on Calvary they leave him completely naked at the sight of all. But the poison of lack of humanity does not succeed to reach the source of humanity which sprang from the Heart of Jesus. The water which sprang from within was stronger than the poison from without, wanting to contaminate everything. Looking at that ignorant and rude soldier, Jesus felt compassion for the soldier and prayed for him and for all: “Father, forgive them!” And he adds even an excuse: “They are ignorant. They do not know what they are doing!” Before the Father, Jesus is in solidarity with those who torture him and ill treat him. Like the brother who sees his murder brothers before the judge and he, victim of his own brothers, tells the judge: “You know they are my brothers. They are ignorant. Forgive them. They will become better!” It was as if Jesus was afraid that the minimum anger against man could extinguish in him the remaining humanity which still existed. This unbelievable gesture of humanity and of faith in the possibility of recovering that soldier has been the greatest revelation of the love of God. Jesus can die: “It is fulfilled!” And bowing his head he gave up his spirit (Jn 19, 30). In this way he fulfilled the prophecy of the Suffering Servant (Is 53).
4) Personal questions
• Which is the most profound reason for the
effort which you make to observe God’s Law: to merit salvation or to thank for
God who in his immense goodness has created you, keeps you alive and saves you?
• What meaning do you give to the phrase: “to be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect?
• What meaning do you give to the phrase: “to be perfect as the Heavenly Father is perfect?
5) Concluding Prayer
Have mercy on me, O God, in your faithful
love,
in your great tenderness wipe away my offences;
wash me clean from my guilt,
purify me from my sin. (Ps 51,1-2)
in your great tenderness wipe away my offences;
wash me clean from my guilt,
purify me from my sin. (Ps 51,1-2)
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