Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 124
Reading 1
You duped me, O LORD, and I let myself be duped;
you were too strong for me, and you triumphed.
All the day I am an object of laughter;
everyone mocks me.
Whenever I speak, I must cry out,
violence and outrage is my message;
the word of the LORD has brought me
derision and reproach all the day.
I say to myself, I will not mention him,
I will speak in his name no more.
But then it becomes like fire burning in my heart,
imprisoned in my bones;
I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (2b) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
O God, you are my God whom I seek;
for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts
like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary
to see your power and your glory,
For your kindness is a greater good than life;
my lips shall glorify you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Thus will I bless you while I live;
lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.
As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,
and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
You are my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.
My soul clings fast to you;
your right hand upholds me.
R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.
Reading 2
I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God,
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.
Do not conform yourselves to this age
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and pleasing and perfect.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
enlighten the eyes of our hearts,
that we may know what is the hope
that belongs to our call.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly
from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.
Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him,
“God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
He turned and said to Peter,
“Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me.
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."
Then Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay all according to his conduct.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/083020.cfm
Meditation: Take up Your Cross Daily and Follow Jesus
Christ
What
is the way to glory and victory in the kingdom of God? Jesus told his disciples
that he must first suffer rejection, be crucified, and then rise again on the
third day. In so many words he explained that there could be no victory and no
glory without the cross. Jesus' prediction of his suffering and death on the
cross caused his disciples great dismay and disbelief. Peter, who was often the
first to react to whatever Jesus had to say, wanted to protect Jesus from any
threat or harm. That is why he rebuked the very thought of Jesus having to face
rejection, condemnation, and crucifixion.
"My way or God's way"
Why did Jesus use the word "Satan" when he addressed Peter? When
Jesus went out into the wilderness to prepare for his public ministry, Satan
came to tempt him to follow a different path than the one chosen by the Father
in heaven. Now Jesus recognizes in Peter's response another temptation to seek
a different and less costly path for accomplishing his mission than the way of
the cross. The word "Satan" literally means "adversary" -
one who stands in opposition. Jesus reminds Peter that his role is not to be
an adversary but a disciple - one who
gets behind his Master to follow with trust and obedience.
Victory and glory through the cross
Jesus knew that the cross was the only way he could ransom us from slavery to
sin with the price of his blood which was shed for our freedom. Through his
sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus defeated Satan who held us in bondage to
sin and condemnation. And Jesus defeated the power of death and overcame the
grave through his resurrection. Through his obedience to his heavenly Father's
will, Jesus reversed the curse of Adam's disobedience. His death on the cross
won pardon for the guilty, freedom for the oppressed, healing for the
afflicted, and new life for those condemned to death. His death makes possible
our freedom to live as the adopted sons and daughters of the merciful Father in
heaven.
The paradox of God's economy
Jesus told his disciples that they, too, must be willing to lay down their
lives in order to gain new everlasting life with the Father in his kingdom.
There's a certain paradox in God's economy. We lose what we gain, and we gain
what we lose. When we try to run our life our own way, we end up losing it to
futility. Only God can free us from our ignorant and sinful ways. When we
surrender our lives to God, he gives us new life in his Spirit and the pledge
of eternal life. God wants us to be spiritually fit and ready to do his will at
all times. When the human body is very weak or ill, we make every effort to
nurse it back to health. How much more effort and attention should we give to
the spiritual health of our hearts and minds!
The great exchange
What will you give to God in exchange for freedom and eternal life? Are you
ready to part with anything that might keep you from following the Lord Jesus
and his perfect plan for your life? Jesus poses these questions to challenge
our assumptions about what is most profitable and worthwhile in life. In every
decision of life we are making ourselves a certain kind of person. It is
possible that some can gain all the things they have set their heart on, only
to wake up suddenly and discover that they missed the most important thing of
all. Of what value are material things if they don't help you gain what truly
lasts for eternity. Neither money nor possessions can buy heaven, mend a broken
heart, or cheer a lonely person.
Losing all to gain all with Jesus Christ
A true disciple gladly gives up all that he or she has in exchange for an
unending life of joy and happiness with God. God gives without measure. The joy
he offers no sadness or loss can diminish. The cross of Jesus Christ leads to
victory and freedom from sin and death. What is the cross which Jesus Christ
commands me to take up each day? When my will crosses
with his will, then his will must be done. Are you ready to
lose all for Jesus Christ in order to gain all with Jesus Christ?
Take,
Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and all my will,
all that I have and possess. You have given them to me; to you, O Lord, I
restore them; all things are yours, dispose of them according to your will.
Give me your love and your grace, for this is enough for me. (Prayer of
Ignatius of Loyola, 1491-1556)
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: This
shall never happen to you, by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD)
"Peter was examining the issue by human and earthly
reasoning. He thought it disgraceful to Jesus as something unworthy of him.
Jesus responded sharply, in effect saying, 'My suffering is not an unseemly
matter. You are making this judgment with a carnal mind. If you had listened to
my teachings in a godly way, tearing yourself away from carnal understanding,
you would know that this of all things most becomes me. You seem to suppose
that to suffer is unworthy of me. But I say to you that for me not to suffer is
of the devil's mind.' So he repressed Peter's alarm by contrary arguments.
Remember that John, accounting it unworthy of Christ to be baptized by him, was
persuaded by Christ to baptize him, saying, 'Let it be so now' (Matthew 3:15).
So we find Peter as well, forbidding Christ to wash his feet. He is met by the
words, 'If I do not wash you, you have no part in me.' Here too Jesus
restrained him by the mention of the opposite, and by the severity of the
reproof he repressed his fear of suffering." (excerpt from the THE
GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 54.6)
https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2020&date=aug30
TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
SUNDAY, AUGUST 30, MATTHEW 16:21-27
(Jeremiah 20:7-9; Psalm 63; Romans 12:1-2)
KEY VERSE: "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me (v. 24).
TO KNOW: When Peter acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah of God (Matt 16:16), Jesus strictly commanded his followers to secrecy. The explanation for this messianic secret is found in the popular understanding of the messiah in Jesus’ time. The messiah (Hebrew mashiyach, the "anointed one") was expected to be a mighty ruler like David, a warrior king who would sweep the Romans from Israel and restore them to power. Jesus’ disciples had to learn the true meaning of the messiah before they could preach. Jesus explained that it was necessary for him go to Jerusalem where he would suffer and die, but that he would be raised up on the third day. Peter recoiled at the idea of a suffering messiah and blurts out, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” (v: 22). Peter the "rock" (v. 18) allowed himself to become a "stumbling block" enabling Satan to impede God's will. Peter was urging Jesus to do the very things that the tempter tried to make him do ̶ to seek power without sacrifice (Mt 4:1-11). If Jesus’ disciples wanted to follow him, they must get "behind" him, walking in his footsteps to Calvary. Those who lived contrary to his teachings would lose the very life they sought. Whoever heard and obeyed his words, even at the cost of their earthly lives, would experience the fullness of life everlasting.
TO LOVE: Am I willing to speak out against injustice no matter what it might cost?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus help me to understand the meaning of the cross in my life.
http://www.togetherwithgodsword.com/commentaries-on-the-daily-gospel-of-the-mass.html
Sunday 30 August 2020
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 20:7-9. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God –
Psalm 62(63):2-6, 8-9. Romans 12:1-2. Matthew 16:21-27.
Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice
Those who wish to come after me must deny themselves. A line in
T. S. Eliot’s The Dry Salvages reads: ‘We had the experience
but missed the meaning’. It might be applied to Jesus’ contemporaries,
including his apostles, who were slow to understand his teaching and the nature
of his saving mission.
Peter could not accept that Jesus would die ‘at the hands of the
elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law’.
Jesus chided Peter because he did not have in mind the concerns
of God but merely human concerns. The same was true of the proud and ambitious
Francis Xavier before he saw and embraced the truth of Ignatius’ oft-repeated
reminder: ‘What profits us if we gain the whole world and lose our soul?’
Lord Jesus, may I always follow in your steps.
http://www.pray.com.au/gospel_reflection/sunday-30-august-2020/
Saint Jeanne Jugan
Saint of the Day for August 30
(October 25, 1792 – August 29, 1879)
Statue of Saint Jeanne Jugan at the Sisters of the Poor in Valladolid | photo by Rodelar
Saint Jeanne Jugan’s Story
Born in northern France during the French Revolution—a time when
congregations of women and men religious were being suppressed by the national
government, Jeanne would eventually be highly praised in the French academy for
her community’s compassionate care of elderly poor people.
When Jeanne was three and a half years old, her father, a
fisherman, was lost at sea. Her widowed mother was hard pressed to raise her
eight children alone; four died young. At the age of 15 or 16, Jeanne became a
kitchen maid for a family that not only cared for its own members, but also
served poor, elderly people nearby. Ten years later, Jeanne became a nurse at
the hospital in Le Rosais. Soon thereafter, she joined a third order group
founded by Saint John Eudes.
After six years she became a servant and friend of a woman she
met through the third order. They prayed, visited the poor, and taught
catechism to children. After her friend’s death, Jeanne and two other women
continued a similar life in the city of Saint-Sevran. In 1839, they brought in
their first permanent guest. They began an association, received more members,
and more guests. Mère Marie of the Cross, as Jeanne was now known, founded six
more houses for the elderly by the end of 1849, all staffed by members of her
association—the Little Sisters of the Poor. By 1853, the association numbered
500 and had houses as far away as England.
Abbé Le Pailleur, a chaplain, had prevented Jeanne’s reelection
as superior in 1843; nine years later, he had her assigned to duties within the
congregation, but would not allow her to be recognized as its founder. In 1890,
the Holy See removed him from office.
By the time Pope Leo XIII gave her final approval to the
community’s constitutions in 1879, there were 2,400 Little Sisters of the Poor.
Jeanne died later that same year, on August 30. Her cause was introduced in
Rome in 1970. She was beatified in 1982, and canonized in 2009.
Reflection
Jeanne Jugan saw Christ in what Saint Teresa of Calcutta would
describe as his “distressing disguises.” With great confidence in God’s
providence and the intercession of Saint Joseph, she begged willingly for the
many homes that she opened, relying on the good example of the Sisters and the
generosity of benefactors who knew the good that the Sisters were doing. They
now work in 30 countries. “With the eye of faith, we must see Jesus in our old
people—for they are God’s mouthpiece,” Jeanne once said. No matter what the
difficulties, she was always able to praise God and move ahead.
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-jeanne-jugan/
Lectio Divina: 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Lectio Divina
Sunday, August 30, 2020
First prophecy of the passion
The scandal of the cross
Matthew 16:21-27
1. Opening prayer
Spirit of truth, sent by Jesus to guide us to the whole truth,
enlighten our minds so that we may understand the Scriptures. You, who
overshadowed Mary and made her fruitful ground where the Word of God could
germinate, purify our hearts from all obstacles to the Word. Help us to learn
like her to listen with good and pure hearts to the Word that God speaks to us
in life and in Scripture, so that we may observe the Word and produce good
fruit through our perseverance.
2. Reading
a) The context:
Mt 16:21-27 is after Peter’s profession of faith (16:13-20) and
before the Transfiguration (17:1-8) and is strongly connected with these two
events. Jesus asks the twelve to tell Him who people say He is and then wants
to know who the twelve say He is. Peter replies, "You are the Christ, the
Son of the living God" (16:16). Jesus not only accepts this profession of
faith, but also explicitly says that it is God who has revealed His true identity
to Peter. Yet He insists that the disciples must not tell anyone that He is the
messiah. Jesus knows well that this title can be misunderstood and He does not
want to run the risk. "From that time" (16:21) He gradually begins to
explain to the twelve what it means to be the messiah. He is the suffering
messiah who will enter into His glory through the cross.
The text we are considering is divided into to parts. In the first part (vv.
21-23), Jesus foretells His death and resurrection and shows that He is
completely determined to follow God’s plan for Him in spite of Peter’s
protestations. In the second part (vv. 24-27), Jesus shows the consequences of
recognizing Him as the suffering messiah for His disciples. No one can be His
disciple unless he/she walks the same road.
But Jesus knows well that it is difficult for the twelve to accept His and
their cross, and, to reassure them, He gives them a foretaste of His
resurrection in His transfiguration (17:1-8).
b) The text:
21-23: From then onwards Jesus began to make it clear to His
disciples that He was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the
hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death and to
be raised up on the third day. Then, taking Him aside, Peter started to rebuke
Him. 'Heaven preserve You, Lord,' he said, 'this must not happen to You.' But
He turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan! You are an obstacle in My
path, because you are thinking not as God thinks but as human beings do.'
24-27: Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone wants to be a
follower of Mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
Anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life
for My sake will find it. What, then, will anyone gain by winning the whole
world and forfeiting his life? Or what can anyone offer in exchange for his
life? 'For the Son of man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His
angels, and then He will reward each one according to his behavior.
3. A moment of prayerful silence
so that the Word of God may enter into us and enlighten our
life.
4. Some questions
to help us in our personal reflection.
a) Why does Peter try to deter Jesus from facing the Passion?
b) Why does Jesus call Peter Satan?
c) How do you confront life, with the logic of God and of Jesus or with human
logic and that of Peter?
d) In your concrete everyday life, what does it mean to lose one’ls life for
the sake of Jesus?
e) What are your crosses and who are your Peters?
5. A key to the reading
for those who wish to go deeper into the text.
"Destined to go to Jerusalem…"
The four verbs "go", "suffer", "be put to death"
and "be raised" (v. 21) are governed by the word "destined"
or "had to". This is a verb which, in the New Testament, has a
precise theological meaning. It denotes that it is the will of God that
something happens because it is part of God’s plan of salvation.
The death of Jesus may be seen as the consequence of the "logic" of
the attitude He took towards the institutions of His people. Like every
uncomfortable prophet He was removed. But the New Testament insists that His
death (and resurrection) are part of God’s plan, which Jesus accepted freely.
"You are an obstacle in my path"
Obstacle means hold-up or trap. To be an obstacle means to confront someone
with impediments that would divert that person from the way to follow. Peter is
an obstacle for Jesus because he tries to swerve Him from the way of obedience
to the will of the Father in order to go an easier way. That is why Jesus
compares him to Satan, who at the beginning of His ministry had sought to
divert Jesus from the path of His mission, proposing an easy messianic mission
(see Mt 4:1-11).
"Anyone who loses his life… will find it"
Anyone who understands well the mystery of Jesus and the nature of His mission
also understands what it means to be His disciple. The two things are
intimately linked.
Jesus Himself lays down three conditions for those who wish to be His
disciples: renunciation of self, the taking up of one’s cross and following Him
(v.24). To renounce oneself means not to focus one’s life on one’s self but on
God and on the plan of His Reign. This implies an acceptance of adversity and
putting up with difficulties. Jesus Himself left us His example of how to deal
with such circumstances. It suffices to imitate Him. He does not compromise His
fidelity to the Father and to His Reign, and He remains faithful even to the
point of giving His life. It was precisely thus that He came to the fullness of
life in the resurrection.
6. Psalm 40
The invocation for help of one who has remained faithful to God
I waited patiently for the Lord;
He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false gods!
Thou hast multiplied, O Lord my God,
Thy wondrous deeds and Thy thoughts toward us;
none can compare with Thee!
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be numbered.
Sacrifice and offering Thou dost not desire;
but Thou hast given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering Thou hast not required.
Then I said, "Lo, I come;
in the roll of the book it is written of me;
I delight to do Thy will,
O my God; Thy law is within my heart."
I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great
congregation;
lo, I have not restrained my lips,
as Thou knowest, O Lord.
I have not hid Thy saving help within my heart,
I have spoken of Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation;
I have not concealed Thy steadfast love
and Thy faithfulness from the great congregation.
Do not Thou, O Lord,
withhold Thy mercy from me;
let Thy steadfast love
and Thy faithfulness ever preserve me!
For evils have encompassed me without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
till I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
Let them be put to shame and confusion altogether
who seek to snatch away my life;
let them be turned back and brought to dishonor
who desire my hurt!
Let them be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, "Aha, Aha!"
But may all who seek Thee rejoice and be glad in Thee;
may those who love Thy salvation say continually,
"Great is the Lord!"
As for me, I am poor and needy;
but the Lord takes thought for me.
Thou art my help and my deliverer;
do not tarry, O my God!
7. Closing prayer
O God, your ways are not our ways and your thoughts are not our
thoughts. In your plan of salvation there is also room for the cross. Your Son,
Jesus, did not retreat before the cross, but "endured the cross and
disregarded the shamefulness of it" (Heb 12:2). The hostility of His
enemies could not distract Him from His firm intent to fulfill Your will and
proclaim the Reign, cost what it may.
Strengthen us, Father, with the gift of Your Spirit. May the Spirit enable us
to follow Jesus resolutely and faithfully. May He make us His imitators in deed
and make Your Reign the center of our lives. May He give us strength to bear
adversity and difficulties so that true life may blossom in us and in all
humankind.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
https://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-divina-22nd-sunday-ordinary-time
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