JUNE 23, 2018 : SATURDAY OF THE ELEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Saturday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 370

Reading 12 CHR 24:17-25

After the death of Jehoiada,
the princes of Judah came and paid homage to King Joash,
and the king then listened to them.
They forsook the temple of the LORD, the God of their fathers,
and began to serve the sacred poles and the idols;
and because of this crime of theirs,
wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem.
Although prophets were sent to them to convert them to the LORD,
the people would not listen to their warnings.
Then the Spirit of God possessed Zechariah,
son of Jehoiada the priest.
He took his stand above the people and said to them:
"God says, 'Why are you transgressing the LORD's commands,
so that you cannot prosper?
Because you have abandoned the LORD, he has abandoned you.'"
But they conspired against him,
and at the king's order they stoned him to death
in the court of the LORD's temple.
Thus King Joash was unmindful of the devotion shown him
by Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, and slew his son.
And as Zechariah was dying, he said, "May the LORD see and avenge."

At the turn of the year a force of Arameans came up against Joash.
They invaded Judah and Jerusalem,
did away with all the princes of the people,
and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus.
Though the Aramean force came with few men,
the LORD surrendered a very large force into their power,
because Judah had abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers.
So punishment was meted out to Joash.
After the Arameans had departed from him,
leaving him in grievous suffering,
his servants conspired against him
because of the murder of the son of Jehoiada the priest.
He was buried in the City of David,
but not in the tombs of the kings.

Responsorial PsalmPS 89:4-5, 29-30, 31-32, 33-34

R. (29a) For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations."
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.
I will make his posterity endure forever
and his throne as the days of heaven."
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"If his sons forsake my law
and walk not according to my ordinances,
If they violate my statutes
and keep not my commands."
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"I will punish their crime with a rod
and their guilt with stripes.
Yet my mercy I will not take from him,
nor will I belie my faithfulness."
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.

Alleluia2 COR 8:9

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelMT 6:24-34

Jesus said to his disciples:
"No one can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve God and mammon.

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life,
what you will eat or drink,
or about your body, what you will wear.
Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds in the sky;
they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns,
yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are not you more important than they?
Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span?
Why are you anxious about clothes?
Learn from the way the wild flowers grow.
They do not work or spin.
But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor
was clothed like one of them.
If God so clothes the grass of the field,
which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow,
will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith?
So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?'
or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?'
All these things the pagans seek.
Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness,
and all these things will be given you besides.
Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself.
Sufficient for a day is its own evil."

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "Why are you anxious - seek first his kingdom"

What does the expression "serving two masters" and "being anxious" have in common? They both have the same root problem - being divided within oneself. The root word for "anxiety" literally means "being of two minds." An anxious person is often "tossed to and fro" and paralyzed by fear, indecision, and insecurity. Fear of some bad outcome cripples those afflicted with anxiety. It's also the case with someone who wants to live in two opposing kingdoms - God's kingdom of light, truth, and goodness or Satan's kingdom of darkness, sin, and deception - following God's standards and way of happiness or following the world's standards of success and happiness.

Who is the master of your life?
Who is the master in charge of your life? Our "master" is whatever governs our thought-life, shapes our ideals, and controls the desires of our heart and the values we choose to live by. We can be ruled by many different things - the love of money and possessions, the power of position and prestige, the glamor of wealth and fame, and the driving force of unruly passions, harmful desires, and addictive cravings. Ultimately the choice of who is our master boils down to two: God or "mammon". What is mammon? "Mammon" stands for "material wealth" or "possessions" or whatever tends to control our appetites and desires.

The antidote to fear, pride, and greed
There is one master alone who has the power to set us free from slavery to sin, fear, pride, and greed, and a host of other hurtful desires. That master is the Lord Jesus Christ who alone can save us from all that would keep us bound up in fear and anxiety. Jesus used an illustration from nature - the birds and the flowers - to show how God provides for his creatures in the natural order of his creation. God provides ample food, water, light, and heat to sustain all that lives and breathes. How much more can we, who are created in the very image and likeness of God, expect our heavenly Father and creator to sustain not only our physical bodies, but our mind, heart, and soul as well? God our Father is utterly reliable because it is his nature to love, heal, forgive, and make whole again.

Jesus - our daily bread
Jesus taught his disciples to pray with confidence to their heavenly Father: Give us this day our daily bread. What is bread, but the very staple of life and symbol of all that we need to live and grow. Anxiety is neither helpful nor necessary. It robs us of faith and confidence in God’s help and it saps our energy for doing good. Jesus admonishes his followers to put away anxiety and preoccupation with material things and instead to seek first the things of God - his kingdom and righteousness. Anxiety robs the heart of trust in the mercy and goodness of God and in his loving care for us. God knows our needs even before we ask and he gives generously to those who trust in him. Who is your master - God or mammon?

"Lord Jesus, free me from needless worries and help me to put my trust in you. May my first and only concern be for your glory and your kingdom of peace and righteousness. Help me to live each day and moment with trust and gratitude for your providential care for me."

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The value of life, by John Chrysostom, 547-407 A.D.

"Note the acceleration of images: just when the lilies are decked out, he no longer calls them lilies but 'grass of the field' (Matthew 6:30 ). He then points further to their vulnerable condition by saying 'which are here today.' Then he does not merely say 'and not tomorrow' but rather more callously 'cast into the oven.' These creatures are not merely 'clothed but 'so clothed' in this way as to be later brought to nothing. Do you see how Jesus everywhere abounds in amplifications and intensifications? And he does so in order to press his points home. So then he adds, 'Will he not much more clothe you?' The force of the emphasis is on 'you' to indicate covertly how great is the value set upon your personal existence and the concern God shows for you in particular. It is as though he were saying, 'You, to whom he gave a soul, for whom he fashioned a body, for whose sake he made everything in creation, for whose sake he sent prophets, and gave the law, and wrought those innumerable good works, and for whose sake he gave up his only begotten Son.'" (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 22.1)

www.dailyscripture.net

SATURDAY, JUNE 23, MATTHEW 6:24-34
Weekday
(2 Chronicles 24:17-25; Psalm 89)
KEY VERSE: "Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (v. 33).
TO KNOW: When facing the evil one in the wilderness, Jesus declared his intention to serve God alone by resisting the enticement to obtain power and wealth (Mt 4:1-11). Jesus taught his disciples that it is impossible to serve two masters. They must make a choice. Would they be willing servants of the God of Heaven, or slaves of the earth's material goods? (Aramaic: mammon) Jesus told his disciples not to be overly concerned about their physical needs. They should take a lesson from the way God provided for the short-lived birds and field flowers. Did his disciples have confidence that the Father would supply their needs as well? By earnestly seeking to do God's will, all else would fall into place.
TO LOVE: Do I work for God's reign or for earthly riches?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to trust you with all my concerns

OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Chapter V of the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, issued by the Holy See in December 2001, describes the Church's traditional dedication of Saturday to the Virgin Mary. "Saturdays stand out among those days dedicated to the Virgin Mary. These are designated as memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary" (218). The chapter also describes the importance of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in Catholic devotional life, in the Liturgy, and reflections on popular devotions to Mary, her feast days, and the Rosary. 

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Saturday 23 June 2018

Sts John Fisher and Thomas More.

2 Chronicles 24:17-25. Psalm 88(89):4-5, 29-34. Matthew 6:24-34.

For ever I will keep my love for him—Psalm 88(89):4-5, 29-34.

 ‘They had abandoned the Lord, God of their ancestors.’

In the Old Testament, when the people turned away from God by rejecting the covenant, God sent prophets to call them back to live with him in a peaceful union. Today’s Gospel gives us a wonderful example of God’s loving care of his people and his great desire to draw us close.

The invitation is to not waste our time being anxious about what we eat, drink or wear, but put our inner lives into God’s care, knowing that ‘all these things will be added’. We are to respond as fully as we can to Jesus’ call to ‘lay up our treasures in heaven’, for that is where our hearts will be also.

www.pray.com.au

Saint John Fisher

Saint of the Day for June 23

(1469 – June 22, 1535)

 

from a book entitled The Life and Death of Cardinal Wolsey | Authors: George Cavendish, Hans Holbein, and Bruce Rogers

Saint John Fisher’s Story

John Fisher is usually associated with Erasmus, Thomas More, and other Renaissance humanists. His life therefore, did not have the external simplicity found in the lives of some saints. Rather, he was a man of learning, associated with the intellectuals and political leaders of his day. He was interested in the contemporary culture and eventually became chancellor at Cambridge. He had been made a bishop at 35, and one of his interests was raising the standard of preaching in England. Fisher himself was an accomplished preacher and writer. His sermons on the penitential psalms were reprinted seven times before his death. With the coming of Lutheranism, he was drawn into controversy. His eight books against heresy gave him a leading position among European theologians.

In 1521, Fisher was asked to study the question of King Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, his brother’s widow. He incurred Henry’s anger by defending the validity of the king’s marriage with Catherine, and later by rejecting Henry’s claim to be the supreme head of the Church of England.

In an attempt to be rid of him, Henry first had Fisher accused of not reporting all the “revelations” of the nun of Kent, Elizabeth Barton. In feeble health, Fisher was summoned to take the oath to the new Act of Succession. He and Thomas More refused to do so because the Act presumed the legality of Henry’s divorce and his claim to be head of the English Church. They were sent to the Tower of London, where Fisher remained 14 months without trial. Finally both men were sentenced to life imprisonment and loss of goods.

When the two were called to further interrogations, they remained silent. On the supposition that he was speaking privately as a priest, Fisher was tricked into declaring again that the king was not supreme head of the church in England. The king, further angered that the pope had made John Fisher a cardinal, had him brought to trial on the charge of high treason. He was condemned and executed, his body left to lie all day on the scaffold and his head hung on London Bridge. More was executed two weeks later. His Liturgical Feast Day is June 22.

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Reflection

Today many questions are raised about Christians’ and priests’ active involvement in social issues. John Fisher remained faithful to his calling as a priest and bishop. He strongly upheld the teachings of the Church; the very cause of his martyrdom was his loyalty to Rome. He was involved in the cultural enrichment circles as well as in the political struggles of his time. This involvement caused him to question the moral conduct of the leadership of his country.

“The Church has the right, indeed the duty, to proclaim justice on the social, national and international level, and to denounce instances of injustice, when the fundamental rights of man and his very salvation demand it” (Justice in the World, 1971 Synod of Bishops).

www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-john-fisher/

LECTIO DIVINA: MATTHEW 6:24-34

Lectio Divina: 

 Saturday, June 23, 2018

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.

2) GOSPEL READING - MATTHEW 6:24-34

Jesus said to his disciples: "No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil."

3) REFLECTION

• Today’s Gospel helps us to review our relationship with material goods and presents two themes of diverse importance: our relationship with money (Mt 6:24) and our relationship with Divine Providence (Mt 6:25-34). The advice given by Jesus gave rise to several difficult questions. For example, how can we understand the affirmation: “You cannot serve God and money” (Mt 6:24)? How can we understand the recommendation not to worry about food, about drink, and about dress (Mt 6:25)?

• Matthew 6:24: You cannot serve God and money. Jesus is very clear in His affirmation: “No one can serve two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot serve God and money… Each one has to make his/her own choice. They should ask themselves: “To what do I give the first place in my life: God or money?” This choice will depend on understanding the advice which follows about Divine Providence (Mt 6:25-34). It is not a question about a choice made only in one’s head, but rather a very concrete choice of life that has to do with attitudes.

• Matthew 6:25: Jesus criticizes excessive worry about eating and drinking. This criticism of Jesus, even in our day, causes great fear in people because the great worry of all parents is how to get food and clothing for their children. The reason for the criticism is that life is worth more than food and the body more than the clothes. In order to clarify or explain his criticism Jesus presents two parables: the birds of the air and the flowers.

• Matthew 6:26-27: The parable of the birds of the air: life is worth more than food. Jesus orders them to look at the birds. They do not sow, or reap or gather into barns, but they always have something to eat because the Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are?” Jesus criticizes the fact that the worry about food occupies the whole horizon of the life of people, without leaving space to experience and relish gratuity and fraternity and the sense of belonging to the Father. This is why materialism is wrong, because it obliges the great majority of people to live 24 hours a day, worried about food and clothing, and produces in a rich minority, quite a limited one, the anguish of buying and consuming up to the point of not leaving space for anything else. Jesus says that life is worth more than the goods to be consumed! Materialist prevents living the Kingdom.

• Matthew 6:28-30: the parable of the lilies in the fields: the body is worth more than clothing. Jesus asks us to look at the flowers, the lilies of the fields. How elegant and beautiful God dresses them! “Now if that is how God clothes the wild flowers growing in the field which are there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will He not much more look after you, you who have so little faith?” Jesus says to look at the things of nature, because seeing the flowers of the field, people will remember the mission which we have: to struggle for the Kingdom and to create a new life, living together, which can guarantee the food and clothing for everybody.

• Matthew 6:31-32: Do not be like the Gentiles. Jesus once again criticizes the excessive worry over food, drink, and clothing. He concludes: “The gentiles are concerned about these things!” There should be a difference in the life of those who have faith in Jesus and those who do not have faith in Jesus. Those who have faith in Jesus share with Him the experience of the gratuity of God the Father, Abba. This experience of paternity should revolutionize life together. It should generate a community life which is fraternal, and the seed of a new society.

• Matthew 6:33-34: Set your hearts on the Kingdom first. Jesus indicates two criteria: “To seek first the kingdom of God” and not to worry about tomorrow. To seek first the Kingdom and its justice is a means to seek to do God’s will and allow God to reign in our life. The search for God is concretely expressed in the search for a fraternal and just life together. From this concern for the Kingdom springs a community life in which all live as brothers and sisters and nobody is lacking anything. Here there will be no worry for tomorrow, that is, there will be no worry about storing up things.

• Seek first of all the kingdom of God and its justice. The kingdom of God should be at the center of all of our concerns. The Kingdom demands a life together, where there is no storing up of things, but sharing in such a way that all have what is necessary to live. The Kingdom is the new fraternal life together, in which each person feels responsible for others. This way of seeing the Kingdom helps us to better understand the parables of the birds and the flowers, because for Jesus, Divine Providence passes through the community. To be concerned about the kingdom of God and its justice is the same as to be concerned about accepting God, the Father, and of being brother and sister with others. Before the growing impoverishment caused by economic consumerism, the concrete form which the Gospel presents to us gives us an alternative so that the poor will be able to live via the solidarity of the organization.

• A sharp knife in the hands of a child can be a mortal weapon. A sharp knife in the hand of a person hanging on a cord can save. The words of God on Divine Providence are like this. It would not be evangelical to say to a jobless father, who is poor, who has eight children and a sick wife: “Do not worry about food or drink! Why worry about health and clothes?” (Mt 6:25-28). We can say this only when we ourselves imitate Jesus, organize ourselves to share, guaranteeing in this way to the brother the possibility of surviving. Otherwise, we are like the three friends of Job, that in order to defend God they told lies (Job 13:7). It would be like “abandoning an orphan and betraying a friend”. In the mouth of the rich, these words can be a mortal arm against the poor. In the mouth of the poor they can be a real and concrete outlet for a better life together, more just and more fraternal.

4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS

• What do I understand by Divine Providence? Do I trust in Divine Providence? How do I express it in real life? Can it be better expressed now that I look at it and myself?

• In helping others we participate in Divine Providence, which is to participate in the Kingdom as well. What are the opportunities I had today to help and participate in God’s plan to help sustain others that I missed or avoided or shrunk away from?

• When I pass someone on the street asking for money, do I just toss them a coin or do I spend time to find out what they need and who they are? Is there more that I can do? Even talking to them and treating them as a friend is a form of welcoming them into the community and respect for a brother or sister – something they likely do not feel.

5) CONCLUDING PRAYER

I observe Your instructions,
I love them dearly.
I observe Your precepts, Your judgments,
for all my ways are before You. (Ps 119:166-167)

www.ocarm.org