Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of
the Church
Lectionary: 422
Reading 1
Thus says the LORD:
I will prove the holiness of my great name,
profaned among the nations,
in whose midst you have profaned it.
Thus the nations shall know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD,
when in their sight I prove my holiness through you.
For I will take you away from among the nations,
gather you from all the foreign lands,
and bring you back to your own land.
I will sprinkle clean water upon you
to cleanse you from all your impurities,
and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes,
careful to observe my decrees.
You shall live in the land I gave your ancestors;
you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (Ezekiel 36:25) I will pour clean water on you
and wash away all your sins.
A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners shall return to you.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
For you are not pleased with sacrifices;
should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
R. I will pour clean water on you and wash away all your sins.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders
of the people in parables saying,
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king
who gave a wedding feast for his son.
He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast,
but they refused to come.
A second time he sent other servants, saying,
‘Tell those invited: “Behold, I have prepared my banquet,
my calves and fattened cattle are killed,
and everything is ready; come to the feast.”’
Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business.
The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them.
The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.
Then the king said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready,
but those who were invited were not worthy to come.
Go out, therefore, into the main roads
and invite to the feast whomever you find.’
The servants went out into the streets
and gathered all they found, bad and good alike,
and the hall was filled with guests.
But when the king came in to meet the guests
he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment.
He said to him, ‘My friend, how is it
that you came in here without a wedding garment?’
But he was reduced to silence.
Then the king said to his attendants, ‘Bind his hands and feet,
and cast him into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’
Many are invited, but few are chosen.”
For the readings of the Memorial of Saint Bernard, please go here.
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082020.cfm
Meditation: They
Would Not Come to the Feast!
What can a royal wedding party tell us about God's kingdom? One
of the most beautiful images used in the Scriptures to depict what heaven is
like is the wedding celebration and royal feast given by the King for his
newly-wed son and bride. Whatever grand feast we can imagine on earth, heaven
is the feast of all feasts because the Lord of heaven and earth invites us to
the most important banquet of all - not simply as bystanders or guests - but as
members of Christ's own body, his bride the church! The last book in the Bible
ends with an invitation to the wedding feast of the Lamb - the Lord Jesus who
offered his life as an atoning sacrifice for our sins and who now reigns as
King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Spirit and the Bride say, Come! (Revelations
22:17). The Lord Jesus invites us to be united with himself in his heavenly
kingdom of peace and righteousness.
Whose interests come first - God or mine?
Why does Jesus' parable of the marriage feast seem to focus on an angry king
who ends up punishing those who refused his invitation and who mistreated his
servants? Jesus' parable contains two stories. The first has to do with the
original guests invited to the marriage feast. The king had sent out
invitations well in advance to his subjects, so they would have plenty of time
to prepare for coming to the feast. How insulting for the invited guests to
then refuse when the time for celebrating came! They made light of the King's
request because they put their own interests above his. They not only insulted
the King but the heir to the throne as well. The king's anger is justified
because they openly refused to give the king the honor he was due. Jesus
directed this warning to the Jews of his day, both to convey how much God
wanted them to share in the joy of his kingdom, but also to give a warning
about the consequences of refusing his Son, their Messiah and Savior.
An invitation we cannot refuse!
The second part of the story focuses on those who had no claim on the king and
who would never have considered getting such an invitation. The "good and
the bad" along the highways certainly referred to the Gentiles (non-Jews)
and to sinners. This is certainly an invitation of grace - undeserved,
unmerited favor and kindness! But this invitation also contains a warning for
those who refuse it or who approach the wedding feast unworthily. God's grace
is a free gift, but it is also an awesome responsibility.
Cheap grace or costly grace?
Dieterich
Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian in Germany who died for
his faith under Hitler's Nazi rule, contrasted "cheap grace" and
"costly grace".
"Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves... the
preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance... grace without
discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and
incarnate... Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again,
the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such
grace is costly because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly
because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the
only true life."
God invites each of us as his friends to his heavenly banquet
that we may celebrate with him and share in his joy. Are you ready to feast at
the Lord's banquet table?
Lord Jesus, may I always know the joy of living in your presence
and grow in the hope of seeing you face to face in your everlasting kingdom.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: A
guest with no wedding garment, by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD)
"But since you have already come into the house of the
marriage feast, our holy church, as a result of God's generosity, be careful,
my friends, lest when the King enters he find fault with some aspect of your
heart's clothing. We must consider what comes next with great fear in our
hearts. But the king came in to look at the guests and saw there a person not
clothed in a wedding garment. What do we think is meant by the wedding garment,
dearly beloved? For if we say it is baptism or faith, is there anyone who has
entered this marriage feast without them? A person is outside because he has
not yet come to believe. What then must we understand by the wedding garment
but love? That person enters the marriage feast, but without wearing a wedding
garment, who is present in the holy church. He may have faith, but he does not
have love. We are correct when we say that love is the wedding garment because
this is what our Creator himself possessed when he came to the marriage feast
to join the church to himself. Only God's love brought it about that his only
begotten Son united the hearts of his chosen to himself. John says that 'God so
loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son for us' (John
3:16)." (excerpt from FORTY GOSPEL HOMILIES 38.9)
https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2020&date=aug20
THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, MATTHEW 22:1-14
Memorial of Saint Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church
(Ezekiel 36:23-28; Psalm 51)
KEY VERSE: "Many are invited but few are chosen" (v. 14)
TO KNOW: Jesus told a parable that served as an allegory of those who rejected God's reign. A king (God) sent his servants (the prophets) to summon the guests (God's chosen people) to the wedding banquet of his son (Jesus). When the invitation was ignored, the servants were sent a second time. This time they were mistreated and killed. Angered, the king sent his army to burn the city (Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE). Because the privileged guests proved unworthy, the invitation was sent to others (the Gentiles). The guest who came without a "wedding garment" (v. 12; "virtuous deeds," or a baptismal garment, see Rv.19:8) represented those who refused to repent, a necessary condition for entering God's kingdom. Whoever rejected God's offer of divine grace, would find themselves excluded from the reign of God.
TO LOVE: Have I failed to heed God's call in my life?
TO SERVE: Lord, Jesus, help me to prepare myself for your heavenly banquet.
Memorial of Saint Bernard, abbot and doctor of the Church
In the year 1111, at the age of 20, Bernard left his home to join the monastic community of Citeaux. His five brothers, two uncles and some 30 young friends followed him into the monastery. A Benedictine, Bernard founded and led the monastery at Clairvaux, as abbot. His ability as arbitrator and counselor became widely known, and the valley was soon renamed Clairvaux, the valley of light. Bernard attended the Second Lateran Council, fought the heresy Albigensianism, and helped end the schism of the Anti-Pope Anacletus II. Rome prevailed on Bernard to preach the Second Crusade throughout Europe. The success of the crusade seemed assured, but the project ended as a complete military and moral disaster. Bernard felt responsible in some way for the degenerative effects of the crusade. This heavy burden possibly hastened his death, which came August 20, 1153. He was the first Cistercian monk placed on the calendar of saints. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius VIII.
NOTE: Albigensianism was a Christian heresy prevalent in Western Europe, particularly in southern France and northern Italy, during the 12th and 13th centuries. The Albigenses followed the Manichaean sect, which sought purification from bodily and material things in its attempt to solve the problem of evil. They asserted the co-existence of two ultimate principles, a good deity (the God of the New Testament) who created Spirit and Light, and a bad deity (the God of the Old Testament) who created Matter and Darkness. Accordingly, they condemned marriage and the procreation of children as demoniac. Yet concubinage was tolerated as less permanent than matrimony; and desertion of husband or wife was called praiseworthy.
http://www.togetherwithgodsword.com/commentaries-on-the-daily-gospel-of-the-mass.html
Thursday 20 August 2020
St Bernard
Ezekiel 36:23-28. I will pour clean water on you and wash away
all your sins – Psalm 50(51):12-15, 18-19. Matthew 22:1-14.
Invite everyone you can to the wedding
The parable of the King’s Son’s wedding tells an unusual story.
All those who received an invitation not only refused to attend but abused the
messengers.
The King was angry but did not give up and so sent out more
invitations. The guests who did accept, are of all types, the good and bad alike.
Yet, every one of them came appropriately dressed except for the one who
appears to have no respect for either the King or himself. What separates the
first invited guests from the second? Both groups were the recipients of the
King’s favour, as was the guest not wearing a wedding garment! Lord, you are
always looking out for us and inviting us to fill the place that you have set
for us. Let us pray and work for the good of others so that there may be no
gaps at your wedding banquet, and that we too may be there.
https://www.pray.com.au/gospel_reflection/thursday-20-august-2020/
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
Saint of the Day for August 20
(1090 – August 20, 1153)
Stained glass representing St. Bernard of Clairvaux | photo by Jastrow (2006)
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux’s Story
Man of the century! Woman of the century! You see such terms
applied to so many today—“golfer of the century,” “composer of the century,”
“right tackle of the century”—that the line no longer has any punch. But
Western Europe’s “man of the twelfth century,” without doubt or controversy,
had to be Bernard of Clairvaux. Adviser of popes, preacher of the Second
Crusade, defender of the faith, healer of a schism, reformer of a monastic
Order, Scripture scholar, theologian, and eloquent preacher: any one of these
titles would distinguish an ordinary man. Yet Bernard was all of these—and he
still retained a burning desire to return to the hidden monastic life of his
younger days.
In the year 1111, at the age of 20, Bernard left his home to
join the monastic community of Citeaux. His five brothers, two uncles, and some
30 young friends followed him into the monastery. Within four years, a dying
community had recovered enough vitality to establish a new house in the nearby
valley of Wormwoods, with Bernard as abbot. The zealous young man was quite
demanding, though more on himself than others. A slight breakdown of health
taught him to be more patient and understanding. The valley was soon renamed
Clairvaux, the valley of light.
His ability as arbitrator and counselor became widely known.
More and more he was lured away from the monastery to settle long-standing
disputes. On several of these occasions, he apparently stepped on some
sensitive toes in Rome. Bernard was completely dedicated to the primacy of the
Roman See. But to a letter of warning from Rome, he replied that the good
fathers in Rome had enough to do to keep the Church in one piece. If any
matters arose that warranted their interest, he would be the first to let them
know.
Shortly thereafter it was Bernard who intervened in a full-blown
schism and settled it in favor of the Roman pontiff against the antipope.
The Holy See prevailed on Bernard to preach the Second Crusade
throughout Europe. His eloquence was so overwhelming that a great army was
assembled and the success of the crusade seemed assured. The ideals of the men
and their leaders, however, were not those of Abbot Bernard, and the project
ended as a complete military and moral disaster.
Bernard felt responsible in some way for the degenerative
effects of the crusade. This heavy burden possibly hastened his death, which
came August 20, 1153.
Reflection
Bernard’s life in the Church was more active than we can imagine
possible today. His efforts produced far-reaching results. But he knew that
they would have availed little without the many hours of prayer and
contemplation that brought him strength and heavenly direction. His life was
characterized by a deep devotion to the Blessed Mother. His sermons and books
about Mary are still the standard of Marian theology.
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-bernard-of-clairvaux/
Lectio Divina: Matthew 22:1-14
Lectio Divina
Thursday, August 20, 2020
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
may we love You in all things and above all things
and reach the joy You have prepared for us
beyond all our imagining.
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 22:1-14
Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and the elders
of the people in parables saying, "The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to
a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to
summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time
he sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those invited: "Behold, I have
prepared my banquet, my calves and fattened cattle are killed, and everything
is ready; come to the feast."' Some ignored the invitation and went away,
one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants,
mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops,
destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then the king said to his
servants, 'The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to
come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever
you find.' The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found,
bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. But when the king came
in to meet the guests he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. He
said to him, 'My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding
garment?' But he was reduced to silence. Then the king said to his attendants,
'Bind his hands and feet, and cast him into the darkness outside, where there
will be wailing and grinding of teeth.' Many are invited, but few are
chosen."
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel presents the parable of the banquet which we
also find in the Gospel of Matthew and of Luke, but with significant
differences which stem from each evangelist’s point of view. The background
which leads both evangelists to repeat this parable is the same. In the
communities of the first Christians, both those of Matthew and those of Luke,
the problem of living together between the converted Jews and the converted
pagans continued in full force. The Jews had ancient norms which prevented them
from eating together with pagans. Even entering into the Christian communities,
many Jews kept the ancient custom of not sitting at the same table with pagans.
Thus, Peter had conflicts in the communities of Jerusalem because he had
entered the house of Cornelius, a pagan, and had eaten with him (Acts 11:3).
This same problem existed, though in a different way, in Matthew’s and
Luke’s communities. In Luke’s community, in spite of the differences in
race, class and gender, they had a great ideal of sharing and of
communion (Acts 2:42; 4:32; 5:12). For this reason, in Luke’s Gospel (Lk
14:15-24), the parable insists on the invitation addressed to all. The master
of the feast, angry and upset because the first guests, who were invited, did
not arrive, sends his servants to call the poor, the crippled, the blind, and
invites them to participate in the banquet. But there is still place. Then, the
master of the feast orders that all be invited, until his house is full. In
Matthew’s Gospel, the first part of the parable, (Mt 22:1-10) has the same
objective as that of Luke’s Gospel. It says that the master of the feast orders
the servants to let the “good and the bad” enter (Mt 22:10). But it the end, he
adds another parable (Mt 22:11-14) concerning the wedding garment, which
focuses on something specific to the Jews, the need of purity in order to be
able to present oneself before God.
• Matthew 22:1-2: The invitation addressed to all. Some manuscripts say that
the parable was told for the chief priests and for the elders of the People.
This hypothesis can serve as a key for the reading, because it helps one to
understand some strange points which appear in the story. The parable begins
like this: “The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who gave a feast
for his son’s wedding.” This initial statement recalls the most profound hope:
the desire of the people to be with God always. Several times the Gospel refers
to this hope, suggesting that Jesus, the Son of the King, is the bridegroom who
comes to prepare the wedding (Mk 2:19; Rev 21:2, 19:9).
• Matthew 22:3-6: The invited guests do not want to come. The king invites in a
more insistent way, but the guests do not want to come. “But they were not
interested: one went off to his farm, another to his business; and the rest
seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.” In Luke, what prevents
them from accepting the invitation are the duties of daily life. The first one
says, "I have bought a piece of land and must go to see it;" the
second one, "I have bought five yoke of oxen and am on my way to try them
out;” the third one, "I have just got married and so am unable to come!"
(cf. Lk 14:18-20). According to the norms and customs of the time, those people
had the right and even the duty not to accept the invitation they had received
(cf. Deut 20:5-7).
• Matthew 22:7: An incomprehensible war! The reaction of the king in the face
of the refusal is surprising. “Then the king was furious and he dispatched his
troops, destroyed those murderers and burnt their town.” How is such a violent
reaction to be interpreted? The parable was told for the chief priests and for
the elders of the people (Mt 22:1), for those responsible for the nations.
Jesus had often spoken to them about the need for conversion. He even shed
tears over the city of Jerusalem and said, “If you too had only recognized on
that day the way to peace! But in fact it is hidden from your eyes. Yes, a time
is coming when your enemies will raise fortifications all around you, when they
will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will dash you and the
children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone
standing on another within you, because you did not recognize the moment of
your visitation.” (Lk 19:41-44). The violent reaction of the king in the
parable probably refers to the fact of Jesus’ foresight. Forty years
later, Jerusalem was destroyed (Lk 19:41-44; 21: 6).
• Matthew 22:8-10: The banquet is not canceled. For the third time, the king
invites the people. He tells his servants, “The wedding banquet is ready, but
those invited were unworthy; go to the main crossroads and invite everyone you
can find to come to the wedding.”
Going out on the streets, those servants gathered together everyone they could
find, bad and good alike; and the wedding hall was filled with guests. The bad,
who were excluded from participation in worship with the Jews because they were
deemed impure, are now invited specifically by the king to participate in the
feast. In the context of that time, the bad were the pagans. They also are
invited to participate in the wedding feast.
• Matthew 22:11-14: The wedding garment. These verses tell us that the king
went into the wedding hall and saw someone who was not wearing a wedding
garment. And the king asked, “How did you get in here, my friend, without a
wedding garment?” And he was silent. The story says that the man was bound
hands and feet and thrown into the darkness outside. Then the story concludes:
“Many are invited but not all are chosen.” Some scholars think that it is a
second parable which was added to lessen the impression which one has after the
first parable, which speaks about “the good and the bad” who enter into the
feast (Mt 22:10). Even if one admits that it is not the observance of the Law
which gives us salvation, but rather faith in the gratuitous love of God, that
in no way diminishes the need for purity of heart as a prerequisite to be able
to appear before God.
4) Personal questions
• Who are the persons who are normally invited to our feasts?
Why? Who are the people who are not invited to our feasts? Why?
• What are the reasons which today prevent many people from participation in
society and in the Church? What are some of the excuses that people offer to
exclude themselves from the duty to participate in the community? Are those
excuses valid?
5) Concluding Prayer
Do not thrust me away from Your presence,
do not take away from me Your spirit of holiness.
Give me back the joy of Your salvation,
sustain in me a generous spirit. (Ps 51:11-12)
https://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-divina-matthew-221-14
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét