Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 375
Lectionary: 375
When Abram was
ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him
and said: “I am God the Almighty.
Walk in my presence and be blameless.”
God also said to Abraham:
“On your part, you and your descendants after you
must keep my covenant throughout the ages.
This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you
that you must keep:
every male among you shall be circumcised.”
God further said to Abraham:
“As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai;
her name shall be Sarah.
I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her.
Him also will I bless; he shall give rise to nations,
and rulers of peoples shall issue from him.”
Abraham prostrated himself and laughed as he said to himself,
“Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?
Or can Sarah give birth at ninety?”
Then Abraham said to God,
“Let but Ishmael live on by your favor!”
God replied: “Nevertheless, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son,
and you shall call him Isaac.
I will maintain my covenant with him as an everlasting pact,
to be his God and the God of his descendants after him.
As for Ishmael, I am heeding you: I hereby bless him.
I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly.
He shall become the father of twelve chieftains,
and I will make of him a great nation.
But my covenant I will maintain with Isaac,
whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next year.”
When he had finished speaking with him, God departed from Abraham.
and said: “I am God the Almighty.
Walk in my presence and be blameless.”
God also said to Abraham:
“On your part, you and your descendants after you
must keep my covenant throughout the ages.
This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you
that you must keep:
every male among you shall be circumcised.”
God further said to Abraham:
“As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai;
her name shall be Sarah.
I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her.
Him also will I bless; he shall give rise to nations,
and rulers of peoples shall issue from him.”
Abraham prostrated himself and laughed as he said to himself,
“Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old?
Or can Sarah give birth at ninety?”
Then Abraham said to God,
“Let but Ishmael live on by your favor!”
God replied: “Nevertheless, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son,
and you shall call him Isaac.
I will maintain my covenant with him as an everlasting pact,
to be his God and the God of his descendants after him.
As for Ishmael, I am heeding you: I hereby bless him.
I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly.
He shall become the father of twelve chieftains,
and I will make of him a great nation.
But my covenant I will maintain with Isaac,
whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next year.”
When he had finished speaking with him, God departed from Abraham.
Responsorial PsalmPS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5
R. (4) See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
AlleluiaMT 8:17
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Christ took away our infirmities
and bore our diseases.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 8:1-4
When Jesus came
down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.
And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I will do it. Be made clean.”
His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one,
but go show yourself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I will do it. Be made clean.”
His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one,
but go show yourself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
Meditation: "Lord, you can make me clean"
What might hold us back from approaching the
Lord Jesus with expectant faith and confidence that he can change us and make
us holy - perhaps fear, pride, and the risk of losing one's reputation or
friends? Jesus did something which was both remarkable and unthinkable at the
same time. He approached the unapproachables - he touched the untouchables.
Lepers were outcasts of society. Their physical condition was terrible as they
slowly lost the use of their limbs and withered away with open sores over their
entire bodies. They were not only shunned but regarded as “already dead” even
by their relatives. The Jewish law forbade anyone from touching or approaching
a leper, lest ritual defilement occur.
Approaching the Lord Jesus with expectant faith
The leper who came to Jesus did something quite remarkable. He approached Jesus confidently and humbly, expecting that Jesus could and would heal him. Normally a leper would be stoned or at least warded off if he tried to come near a rabbi. Jesus not only grants the man his request, but he demonstrates the personal love, compassion, and tenderness of God in his physical touch. The medical knowledge of his day would have regarded such contact as grave risk for incurring infection. Jesus met the man’s misery with compassion and tender kindness. He communicated the love and mercy of God in a sign that spoke more eloquently than words. He touched the man and made him clean - not only physically but spiritually as well.
The leper who came to Jesus did something quite remarkable. He approached Jesus confidently and humbly, expecting that Jesus could and would heal him. Normally a leper would be stoned or at least warded off if he tried to come near a rabbi. Jesus not only grants the man his request, but he demonstrates the personal love, compassion, and tenderness of God in his physical touch. The medical knowledge of his day would have regarded such contact as grave risk for incurring infection. Jesus met the man’s misery with compassion and tender kindness. He communicated the love and mercy of God in a sign that spoke more eloquently than words. He touched the man and made him clean - not only physically but spiritually as well.
Some twelve centuries later, a man named Francis
(1181-1226 AD) met a leper on the road as he journeyed towards Assisi. A
contemporary of Francis wrote, "Though the leper caused him no small
disgust and horror, he nonetheless, got off the horse and prepared to kiss the
leper. But when the leper put out his hand as though to receive something, he
received money along with a kiss" (from the Life of St. Francis by Thomas of
Celano). Francis did what
seemed humanly impossible because he was filled with the love and compassion of
Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit inflames our hearts with the
fire of Christ's love that we may reach out to others with compassionate care
and kindness, especially to those who have been rejected, mistreated, and left
utterly alone. Do you allow the Holy Spirit to fill your heart with the love
and compassion of Jesus Christ for others?
“May the power of your love, Lord Christ, fiery
and sweet as honey, so absorb our hearts as to withdraw them from all that is
under heaven. Grant that we may be ready to die for love of your love, as you
died for love of our love." (Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi,1181-1226 AD)
FRIDAY, JUNE 26, MATTHEW
8:1-4
Weekday
Weekday
KEY VERSE: "He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, `I will do it. Be made clean'" (v 3).
TO KNOW: Some Scripture scholars regard chapters 5-7 of Matthew's gospel as portraying Jesus as the "Messiah of the Word," whereas in chapters 8-9 Jesus is represented as the "Messiah of the Deed." When Jesus finished his Sermon on the Mount, he came down from the mountain and put his words into action. Jesus performed ten miracles that correspond to the ten plagues of the Exodus that vanquished Israel's enemy (Ex 7-11). These miracles signify Jesus' assault on Satan and his establishment of God's reign. The first miracle was the healing of a leper. In Jesus' day, leprosy was regarded as synonymous with sin. The diseased person was an outcast and was separated from the healthy community. Jesus came to heal and reinstate all people to full membership in God's family.
TO LOVE: How can I touch those who feel despised and outcast?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, heal me of my defects and restore me to your likeness and image.
Friday 26 June 2015
FRI 26TH. Day of penance.
Genesis 17:1, 9-10, 15-22. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him—Ps 127(128):1-5. Matthew 8:1-4.
Genesis 17:1, 9-10, 15-22. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him—Ps 127(128):1-5. Matthew 8:1-4.
The experiences of Abraham and the leper
are quite similar.
There
is an emptiness in both lives that only God is able to touch. God fills this
emptiness not just by removing a handicap or limitation—in these cases disease
or infertility—but by giving himself in an intimate relationship. The covenant
with Abraham is not just a legal contract: it comes out of sensitivity to deep
human longing.
God’s response to
Abraham and to us all is the same response as to the leper: ‘Of course I want
to. Be cured.’ As our intimacy with the Lord becomes increasingly the centre of
our lives, we sense the many moments in which God is responding to our personal
needs: ‘ Be cured.’
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
|
Fraternal Love
|
We all have our likes and dislikes, and perhaps at this very
moment we are angry with someone. At least let us say to the Lord: “Lord, I am
angry with this person. I pray to you for him.” To pray for a person with whom
I am irritated is a beautiful step forward in love, and an act of
evangelization. Let us do it today!
June
26
Blessed Raymond Lull
(1235-1315)
Blessed Raymond Lull
(1235-1315)
Raymond worked all his life to promote the missions and died a
missionary to North Africa.
Raymond
was born at Palma on the island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean Sea. He earned
a position in the king’s court there. One day a sermon inspired him to dedicate
his life to working for the conversion of the Muslims in North Africa. He
became a Secular Franciscan and founded a college where missionaries could
learn the Arabic they would need in the missions. Retiring to solitude, he
spent nine years as a hermit. During that time he wrote on all branches of
knowledge, a work which earned him the title "Enlightened Doctor."
Raymond
then made many trips through Europe to interest popes, kings and princes in
establishing special colleges to prepare future missionaries. He achieved his
goal in 1311 when the Council of Vienne ordered the creation of chairs of
Hebrew, Arabic and Chaldean at the universities of Bologna, Oxford, Paris and
Salamanca. At the age of 79, Raymond went to North Africa in 1314 to be a
missionary himself. An angry crowd of Muslims stoned him in the city of Bougie.
Genoese merchants took him back to Mallorca, where he died. Raymond was
beatified in 1514.
Comment:
Raymond worked most of his life to help spread the gospel. Indifference on the part of some Christian leaders and opposition in North Africa did not turn him from his goal.
Raymond worked most of his life to help spread the gospel. Indifference on the part of some Christian leaders and opposition in North Africa did not turn him from his goal.
Three hundred years
later Raymond’s work began to have an influence in the Americas. When the
Spanish began to spread the gospel in the New World, they set up missionary
colleges to aid the work. Blessed Junipero Serra belonged to such a college.
Quote:
Thomas of Celano wrote of St. Francis: "In vain does the wicked man persecute one striving after virtue, for the more he is buffeted, the more strongly will he triumph. As someone says, indignity strengthens a generous spirit" (I Celano, #11).
Thomas of Celano wrote of St. Francis: "In vain does the wicked man persecute one striving after virtue, for the more he is buffeted, the more strongly will he triumph. As someone says, indignity strengthens a generous spirit" (I Celano, #11).
LECTIO: MATTHEW
8,1-4
Lectio:
Friday, June 26, 2015
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
guide and protector of your people,
grant us an unfailing respect for your name,
and keep us always in your love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
guide and protector of your people,
grant us an unfailing respect for your name,
and keep us always in your love.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 8,1-4
After Jesus had come down from the mountain large crowds
followed him. Suddenly a man with a virulent skin-disease came up and bowed low
in front of him, saying, 'Lord, if you are willing, you can cleanse me.' Jesus
stretched out his hand and touched him saying, 'I am willing. Be cleansed.' And
his skin-disease was cleansed at once. Then Jesus said to him, 'Mind you tell
no one, but go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering prescribed
by Moses, as evidence to them.'
3) Reflection
•In chapters 5 to 7 we have heard the words of the New Law
proclaimed on the Mountain by Jesus. Now, in chapters 8 and 9, Matthew
indicates how Jesus put into practice that which he had just taught. In today’s
Gospel (Mt 8, 1-4) and of tomorrow (Mt 8, 5-17), we see closely the following
episodes which reveal how Jesus practiced the Law: the cure of a leper (Mt 8,
1-4), the cure of the servant of the Roman soldier (Mt 8, 5-13), the cure of
Peter’s mother-in law (Mt 8, 14-15) and the cure of numerous sick people (Mt 8,
14-17).
• Matthew 8, 1-2: The leper asks: “Lord, if you are willing you can cleanse me”. A leper comes close to Jesus. He was one who was excluded. Anybody who would touch him would remain unclean! This is why the lepers had to remain far away (Lv 13, 45-46). But that leper had great courage. He transgresses the norms of religion in order to be able to enter into contact with Jesus. Getting close to him he says: If you are willing you can cleanse me! That is: “It is not necessary for you to touch me! It suffices that the Lord wants it and he will be cured”. This phrase reveals two things: 1) the sickness of leprosy which made people unclean; 2) the sickness of solitude to which the person was condemned, separated from society and from religion. It reveals also the great faith of the man in the power of Jesus.
• Matthew 8, 3: Jesus touches him and says: I am willing. Be cleansed. Filled with compassion, Jesus cures two sicknesses. In the first place, in order to cure solitude, loneliness, before saying any word, he touches the leper. It is as if he would say: “For me, you are not excluded. I am not afraid to become unclean by touching you! And I accept you as a brother!” Then he cures the leper saying: I am willing! Be cleansed! The leper, in order to be able to enter in contact with Jesus, had transgressed the norms of the Law. Thus Jesus, in order to help that excluded person and reveal the new face of God, transgresses the norms of his religion and touches the leper.
• Matthew 8, 4: Jesus orders the man to go and show himself to the priest. At that time, a leper in order to be reintegrated into the community needed a certificate of healing confirmed by the priest. It is the same thing today. The sick person gets out of the hospital only if he has a certificate signed by the doctor of the department. Jesus obliges the person to look for that document, in order to be able to live normally. He obliges the authority to recognize that the man had been cured. Jesus not only heals but wants the healed person to be able to live with others. He reintegrates the person in the fraternal life of the community. The Gospel of Mark adds that the man did not present himself to the priest. Instead, “He went away and started freely proclaiming and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into the town, but stayed outside in deserted places (Mk 1, 45). Why could Jesus no longer enter openly into the town? Because he had touched the leper and had become unclean before the religious authority who embodied the law of that time. And now, because of this, Jesus was unclean and had to be away far from everybody. He could no longer enter into the city. But Mark shows that people cared very little for these official norms, because people came to Jesus from all pats! This was totally overthrowing things! The message which Mark gives us is the following: In order to take the Good News of God to the people, we should not be afraid to transgress the religious norms which are contrary to God’s project and which prevent a fraternal spirit and love. Even if this causes some difficulty to the people, as it did to Jesus.
• In Jesus everything is revelation of what he has within himself! He does not only announce the Good News of the Kingdom. He is an example, a living witness of the Kingdom, a revelation of God. In Him appears what happens when a human being allows God to reign, allows God to occupy the centre of his life.
• Matthew 8, 1-2: The leper asks: “Lord, if you are willing you can cleanse me”. A leper comes close to Jesus. He was one who was excluded. Anybody who would touch him would remain unclean! This is why the lepers had to remain far away (Lv 13, 45-46). But that leper had great courage. He transgresses the norms of religion in order to be able to enter into contact with Jesus. Getting close to him he says: If you are willing you can cleanse me! That is: “It is not necessary for you to touch me! It suffices that the Lord wants it and he will be cured”. This phrase reveals two things: 1) the sickness of leprosy which made people unclean; 2) the sickness of solitude to which the person was condemned, separated from society and from religion. It reveals also the great faith of the man in the power of Jesus.
• Matthew 8, 3: Jesus touches him and says: I am willing. Be cleansed. Filled with compassion, Jesus cures two sicknesses. In the first place, in order to cure solitude, loneliness, before saying any word, he touches the leper. It is as if he would say: “For me, you are not excluded. I am not afraid to become unclean by touching you! And I accept you as a brother!” Then he cures the leper saying: I am willing! Be cleansed! The leper, in order to be able to enter in contact with Jesus, had transgressed the norms of the Law. Thus Jesus, in order to help that excluded person and reveal the new face of God, transgresses the norms of his religion and touches the leper.
• Matthew 8, 4: Jesus orders the man to go and show himself to the priest. At that time, a leper in order to be reintegrated into the community needed a certificate of healing confirmed by the priest. It is the same thing today. The sick person gets out of the hospital only if he has a certificate signed by the doctor of the department. Jesus obliges the person to look for that document, in order to be able to live normally. He obliges the authority to recognize that the man had been cured. Jesus not only heals but wants the healed person to be able to live with others. He reintegrates the person in the fraternal life of the community. The Gospel of Mark adds that the man did not present himself to the priest. Instead, “He went away and started freely proclaiming and telling the story everywhere, so that Jesus could no longer go openly into the town, but stayed outside in deserted places (Mk 1, 45). Why could Jesus no longer enter openly into the town? Because he had touched the leper and had become unclean before the religious authority who embodied the law of that time. And now, because of this, Jesus was unclean and had to be away far from everybody. He could no longer enter into the city. But Mark shows that people cared very little for these official norms, because people came to Jesus from all pats! This was totally overthrowing things! The message which Mark gives us is the following: In order to take the Good News of God to the people, we should not be afraid to transgress the religious norms which are contrary to God’s project and which prevent a fraternal spirit and love. Even if this causes some difficulty to the people, as it did to Jesus.
• In Jesus everything is revelation of what he has within himself! He does not only announce the Good News of the Kingdom. He is an example, a living witness of the Kingdom, a revelation of God. In Him appears what happens when a human being allows God to reign, allows God to occupy the centre of his life.
4) Personal questions
• In the name of the Law of God, the lepers were excluded and
they could not live with others. In our Church are there norms and customs
which are not written and, which up until now, marginalize persons and exclude
them from living together with others and from communion. Do you know any such
persons? Which is your opinion concerning this?
• Jesus had the courage to touch the leper. Would you have this courage?
• Jesus had the courage to touch the leper. Would you have this courage?
5) Concluding Prayer
I will bless Yahweh at all times,
his praise continually on my lips.
I will praise Yahweh from my heart;
let the humble hear and rejoice. (Ps 34,1-2)
his praise continually on my lips.
I will praise Yahweh from my heart;
let the humble hear and rejoice. (Ps 34,1-2)
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