JUNE 07, 2018 : THIRSDAY OF THE NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Thursday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 356

Reading 12 TM 2:8-15

Beloved:
Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David:
such is my Gospel, for which I am suffering,
even to the point of chains, like a criminal.
But the word of God is not chained.
Therefore, I bear with everything for the sake of those who are chosen,
so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus,
together with eternal glory.
This saying is trustworthy:

If we have died with him
we shall also live with him;
if we persevere
we shall also reign with him.
But if we deny him
he will deny us.
If we are unfaithful
he remains faithful,
for he cannot deny himself.

Remind people of these things
and charge them before God to stop disputing about words.
This serves no useful purpose since it harms those who listen.
Be eager to present yourself as acceptable to God,
a workman who causes no disgrace,
imparting the word of truth without deviation.

Responsorial PsalmPS 25:4-5AB, 8-9, 10 AND 14

R. (4) Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
he teaches the humble his way. 
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.
All the paths of the LORD are kindness and constancy
toward those who keep his covenant and his decrees.
The friendship of the LORD is with those who fear him,
and his covenant, for their instruction.
R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.

AlleluiaSEE 2 TM 1:10

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMK 12:28-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel! 
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul, with all your mind, 
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these."
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
He is One and there is no other than he.
And to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength"

What is the purpose of God's law or commandments? The Pharisees prided themselves in the knowledge of the law and their ritual requirements. They made it a life-time practice to study the 613 precepts of the Old Testament along with the numerous rabbinic commentaries. They tested Jesus to see if he correctly understood the law as they did. Jesus startled them with his profound simplicity and mastery of the law of God and its purpose. 

Our love for God is a response to his exceeding grace and kindness towards us
What does God require of us? Simply that we love as he loves! God is love and everything he does flows from his love for us. God loved us first and our love for him is a response to his exceeding grace and kindness towards us. The love of God comes first and the love of neighbor is firmly grounded in the love of God. The more we know of God's love and truth the more we love what he loves and reject what is hateful and contrary to his will. 

Faith and hope strengthen our love for God
What makes our love for God and his commands grow in us? Faith in God and hope in his promises strengthens us in the love of God. They are essential for a good relationship with God, for being united with him. The more we know of God the more we love him and the more we love him the greater we believe and hope in his promises. The Lord, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, gives us a new freedom to love as he loves. Do you allow anything to keep you from the love of God and the joy of serving others with a generous heart?  Paul the Apostle says: hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us (Romans 5:5). Do you know the love which conquers all?

"We love you, O our God; and we desire to love you more and more. Grant to us that we may love you as much as we desire, and as much as we ought. O dearest friend, who has so loved and saved us, the thought of whom is so sweet and always growing sweeter, come with Christ and dwell in our hearts; that you keep a watch over our lips, our steps, our deeds, and we shall not need to be anxious either for our souls or our bodies. Give us love, sweetest of all gifts, which knows no enemy. Give us in our hearts pure love, born of your love to us, that we may love others as you love us. O most loving Father of Jesus Christ, from whom flows all love, let our hearts, frozen in sin, cold to you and cold to others, be warmed by this divine fire. So help and bless us in your Son." (Prayer of Anselm, 1033-1109)

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Love God with one's whole self, by Gregory of Nyssa, 330-395 AD

"Human life consists in a threefold unity. We are taught similarly by the apostle in what he says to the Ephesians, praying for them that the complete grace of their 'body and soul and spirit' may be preserved at the coming of the Lord. We use the word 'body,' for the nutritive part, the word for the vital, 'soul,' and the word 'spirit' for the intellective dimension. In just this way the Lord instructs the writer of the Gospel that he should set before every commandment that love to God which is exercised with all the heart and soul and mind (Mark 12:30; Matthew 22:37; Luke 10:27). This single phrase embraces the human whole: the corporeal heart, the mind as the higher intellectual and mental nature, and the soul as their mediator." (excerpt from ON THE MAKING OF MAN 8.5.10)

www.dailyscripture.net

THURSDAY, JUNE 7, MARK 12:28-34
Weekday
(2 Timothy 2:8-15; Psalm 25)

KEY VERSE: "There is no other commandment greater than these" (v 31).
TO KNOW: The scribes were the learned interpreters of the Law of Moses. They expanded the Law into 613 greater and lesser rules and regulations. One scribe recognized Jesus' skill as a teacher, and asked him which one of the Mosaic Laws was the greatest. Jesus recognized the scribe's sincere search for truth, and summed up the entire Law with two basic decrees that he saw as inseparable. They were the laws upon which all the other commandments were based: to love God with one's entire being, and to love one's neighbor as oneself. The scribe saw how Jesus has combined two commands given to Israel by Moses (Deut 6:2 and Lev 19:18), and he declared that the love of God and love of neighbor was worth more than any religious acts that one could perform. Because the scribe understood this principle, he moved a step closer to God's reign.
TO LOVE: Is my love of God demonstrated by the way I love my neighbor? Do I have a healthy self-love?
TO SERVE: Lord God, help me to love you with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Thursday 7 June 2018

2 Timothy 2:8-15. Psalm 24(25):4-5, 8-10, 14. Mark 12:28-34.

Teach me your ways, O Lord—Psalm 24(25):4-5, 8-10, 14.

‘God’s message cannot be chained up.’

The fundamental commandments, to love God and neighbour, draw us into the powerful simplicity, challenge and responsibility of love.

Love is a commitment renewed daily in our relationships with others and our God through prayer, words and actions.

Love comes easily when we judge people as loveable.

However, we would sooner loathe and scorn than love the ‘lepers’ of our community.

Sporting coaches fire up their champions with impassioned half-time speeches to give their all, for the love of the game, the good of the team.

We might reflect that the same is asked of our capacity to love — for the love of God and team, our fellow humans.

www.pray.com.au

Blessed Franz Jägerstätter

Saint of the Day for June 7

(May 20, 1907 – August 9, 1943)

 

Memorial for Franz Jägerstätter in St. Radegund | photo by Sziklai

Blessed Franz Jägerstätter’s Story

Called to serve his country as a Nazi solider, Franz eventually refused, and this husband and father of three daughters—Rosalie, Marie and Aloisia—was executed because of it.

Born in St. Radegund in Upper Austria, Franz lost his father during World War I and was adopted after Heinrich Jaegerstaetter married Rosalia Huber. As a young man, he loved to ride his motorcycle and was the natural leader of a gang whose members were arrested in 1934 for brawling. For three years he worked in the mines in another city and then returned to St. Radegund, where he became a farmer, married Franziska and lived his faith with quiet but intense conviction.

In 1938, he publicly opposed the German Anschluss, annexation, of Austria. The next year, he was drafted into the Austrian army, trained for seven months and then received a deferment. In 1940, Franz was called up again but allowed to return home at the request of the town’s mayor. He was in active service between October 1940 and April 1941, but was again deferred. His pastor, other priests, and the bishop of Linz urged him not to refuse to serve if drafted.

In February 1943, Franz was called up again and reported to army officials in Enns, Austria. When he refused to take the oath of loyalty to Hitler, he was imprisoned in Linz. Later he volunteered to serve in the medical corps but was not assigned there.

During Holy Week Franz wrote to his wife: “Easter is coming and, if it should be God’s will that we can never again in this world celebrate Easter together in our intimate family circle, we can still look ahead in the happy confidence that, when the eternal Easter morning dawns, no one in our family circle shall be missing—so we can then be permitted to rejoice together forever.” He was transferred in May to a prison in Berlin.

Challenged by his attorney that other Catholics were serving in the army, Franz responded, “I can only act on my own conscience. I do not judge anyone. I can only judge myself.” He continued, “I have considered my family. I have prayed and put myself and my family in God’s hands. I know that, if I do what I think God wants me to do, he will take care of my family.”

On August 8, 1943, Franz wrote to Fransizka: “Dear wife and mother, I thank you once more from my heart for everything that you have done for me in my lifetime, for all the sacrifices that you have borne for me. I beg you to forgive me if I have hurt or offended you, just as I have forgiven everything…My heartfelt greetings for my dear children. I will surely beg the dear God, if I am permitted to enter heaven soon, that he will set aside a little place in heaven for all of you.”

Franz was beheaded and cremated the following day. In 1946, his ashes were reburied in St. Radegund near a memorial inscribed with his name and the names of almost 60 village men who died during their military service. He was beatified in Linz on October 26, 2007. His “spiritual testament” is now in Rome’s St. Bartholomew Church as part of a shrine to 20th-century martyrs for their faith.

www.franciscanmedia.org/blessed-franz-jagerstatter/

LECTIO DIVINA: MARK 12:28B-34

Lectio Divina: 

 Thursday, June 7, 2018

Ordinary Time

1) OPENING PRAYER

Father,
Your love never fails.
Hear our call.
Keep us from danger
and provide for all our needs.
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 - MARK 12:28B-34

One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, "Which is the first of all the commandments?" Jesus replied, "The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these." The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher. You are right in saying, He is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

3) REFLECTION

• The Gospel today presents a beautiful conversation between Jesus and a doctor of the Law. The doctor wants to know from Jesus which is the first of all the commandments. Today, many people want to know what is most important in religion. Some say: to be baptized. Others, to pray. Others say: to go to Mass or to participate in worship on Sunday. Others say: to love your neighbor! Others are worried about the appearance or the changes or tasks in the Church.
• Mark 12:28: The question of the doctor of the Law. A doctor of the Law, who had seen the debate of Jesus with the Sadducees (Mk 12:23-27), was pleased with Jesus’ response, and he perceives in Him a great intelligence and wants to take advantage of this occasion to ask Him a question: “Which is the first one of all the commandments?” At that time the Jews had an enormous number of norms which regulated, in practice, the observance of the Ten Commandments of the Law of God. Some said: “All these norms have the same value, because they all come from God. It does not belong to us to introduce distinctions in the things of God”. Others would say, “Some Laws are more important than others, that is why they oblige more!” The doctor wanted to know Jesus’ opinion.
• Mark 12:29-31: Jesus’ response. Jesus responds by quoting a passage of the Bible to say that the first commandment is “to love God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength!” (Dt 6:4-5). At the time of Jesus, the pious Jews made of this text of Deuteronomy a prayer which they recited three times a day: in the morning, at noon and in the evening. It was also one of the four verses written in the phylacteries (tefillin) that men (mostly) wore. Among them it was known as today we know the Our Father. And Jesus adds, quoting the Bible again, “the second one is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other more important commandment than this one”. (Lev 19:18). A brief and profound response! It is the summary of all that Jesus has taught about God and about life (Mt 7:12).
• Mark 12:32-33: The answer of the doctor of the Law. The doctor agrees with Jesus and draws this conclusion: “To love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself; this is far more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.” In other words, the commandment of love is more important than the commandments related to worship and sacrifice in the Temple. This affirmation was already used by the prophets of the Old Testament (Hos 6:6; Ps 40:6-8; Ps 51:16-17). Today, we would say that the practice of love is more important than novenas, promises, Masses, prayers, and processions.
• Mark 12:34: The summary of the Kingdom. Jesus confirms the conclusion reached by the doctor and says, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God!” In fact, the Kingdom of God consists in recognizing that love toward God is equal to the love of neighbor. Because if God is Father, we all are sisters and brothers and should show this in practice, living in community. "On these two commandments depend the Law and the prophets” (Mt 22:4). The disciples must keep in mind, fix in their memory, in their intelligence, in the heart, in their hands and feet this important law of love: God is only attained through the total gift of self to our neighbor!
• The first and most important commandment. The most important and first commandment was and will always be: “to love God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mk 12:30). In the measure in which the people of God, throughout the centuries, have deepened the meaning and the importance of the love of God, it has become aware that God’s love is true and real only in the measure in which it is made concrete in the love to neighbor. And thus, the second commandment which asks for the love for neighbor, is similar to the first commandment of God’s love (Mt 22:39; Mk 12:31). “Anyone who says I love God, and hates his brother, is a liar” (1 Jn 4:20). “On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Mt 22:40).

4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS

• There are different kinds of love, some incomplete. There is love that is possessive: “I love my spouse, you can’t have him/her”. There is the love that wants to share the one/thing loved: “I love these candies! Have some!” There is love that begets obligation: “I have to take care of my cat”. And there is the love that brings total service, as one does to a new baby: no one questions why the baby is upset, or advises the baby to eat less, but only responds with complete service at the moment.

Which form of love do I give to God, really and truly, and which form of love would my friends, neighbors, or community say I give?
• Of these types of love, which do I have for the people around me? Is it different for the people I see but don’t know personally? What should it be, and am I honest in my self-evaluation?

• I am on my way to the last Sunday Mass today. Someone approaches and needs my help. Do I miss Mass and help, or avoid the person so I can make it to Mass? How does your answer fit with these commandments from Jesus?

5) CONCLUDING PRAYER

Direct me in Your ways, Yahweh,
and teach me Your paths.
Encourage me to walk in Your truth and teach me
since You are the God who saves me. (Ps 25:4-5)

www.ocarm.org