Saturday
of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 436
Reading 1
Brothers and sisters:
Learn from myself and Apollos not to go beyond what is written,
so that none of you will be inflated with pride
in favor of one person over against another.
Who confers distinction upon you?
What do you possess that you have not received?
But if you have received it,
why are you boasting as if you did not receive it?
You are already satisfied; you have already grown rich;
you have become kings without us!
Indeed, I wish that you had become kings,
so that we also might become kings with you.
For as I see it, God has exhibited us Apostles as the last of
all,
like people sentenced to death,
since we have become a spectacle to the world,
to angels and men alike.
We are fools on Christ’s account, but you are wise in Christ;
we are weak, but you are strong;
you are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty,
we are poorly clad and roughly treated,
we wander about homeless and we toil, working with our own hands.
When ridiculed, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;
when slandered, we respond gently.
We have become like the world’s rubbish, the scum of all,
to this very moment.
I am writing you this not to shame you,
but to admonish you as my beloved children.
Even if you should have countless guides to Christ,
yet you do not have many fathers,
for I became your father in Christ Jesus through the Gospel.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (18) The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
The LORD is just in all his ways
and holy in all his works.
The LORD is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him,
he hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD keeps all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
May my mouth speak the praise of the LORD,
and may all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath,
his disciples were picking the heads of grain,
rubbing them in their hands, and eating them.
Some Pharisees said,
“Why are you doing what is unlawful on the sabbath?”
Jesus said to them in reply,
“Have you not read what David did
when he and those who were with him were hungry?
How he went into the house of God, took the bread of offering,
which only the priests could lawfully eat,
ate of it, and shared it with his companions?”
Then he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090520.cfm
Meditation: The
Son of Man Is Lord of the Sabbath
What
does the commandment "keep holy the Sabbath" require of us? Or better
yet, what is the primary intention behind this command? The religious leaders
confronted Jesus on this issue. The "Sabbath rest" was meant to be a
time to remember and celebrate God's goodness and the goodness of his work,
both in creation and redemption. It was a day set apart for the praise of God,
his work of creation, and his saving actions on our behalf. It was intended to
bring everyday work to a halt and to provide needed rest and refreshment.
The Lord of the Sabbath feeds and nourishes us
Jesus' disciples are scolded by the scribes and Pharisees, not for plucking and
eating corn from the fields, but for doing so on the Sabbath. In defending his
disciples, Jesus argues from the Scriptures that human need has precedence over
ritual custom. In their hunger, David and his men ate of the holy bread offered
in the Temple (1 Samuel 21:2-7). On every Sabbath morning twelves loaves were
laid before God on a golden table in the Holy Place. Each loaf represented one
of the twelve tribes of Israel. No one was allowed to eat this bread except the
priests because it represented the very presence of God. David understood that
human need took precedence over rules and ritual regulations.
Seek the Lord's rest and refreshment
Why didn't the Pharisees recognize the claims of mercy over rules and
regulations? Their zeal for ritual observance blinded them from the demands of
charity. Jesus' reference to the bread of the Presence alludes
to the true bread from heaven which he offers to all who
believe in him. Jesus, the Son of David, and the Son of Man, a
title for the Messiah, declares that he is "Lord of the
Sabbath." Jesus healed on the Sabbath and he showed mercy to those in
need. All who are burdened can find true rest and refreshment in him. Do you
seek rest and refreshment in the Lord and in the celebration of the Lord's Day?
Lord
Jesus, you refresh us with your presence and you sustain us with your
life-giving word. Show me how to lift the burden of others, especially those
who lack the basic necessities of life, and to refresh them with humble care
and service.
Daily
Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Withered hands - withered minds, by
Athanasius of Alexandria (295-373 AD)
"In
the synagogue of the Jews was a man who had a withered hand. If he was withered
in his hand, the ones who stood by were withered in their minds. And they were
not looking at the crippled man nor were they expecting the miraculous deed of
the one who was about to work. But before doing the work, the Savior ploughed
up their minds with words. For knowing the evil of the mind and its bitter
depth, he first softened them up in advance with words so as to tame the
wildness of their understanding, asking: 'Is it permitted to do good on the
sabbath or to do evil; to save a life or to destroy one?' For if he had said to
them, 'Is it permitted to work?' immediately they would have said, 'You are
speaking contrary to the law.'
"Then he told them what was intended by the law, for he spoke as the One
who established the laws concerning the sabbath, adding, 'except this: that
which will be done for the sake of a life.' Again if a person falls into a hole
on a sabbath, Jews are permitted to pull the person out (Matthew 12:11). This
not only applies to a person, but also an ox or a donkey. In this way the law
agrees that things relating to preservation may be done, hence Jews prepare
meals on the sabbath. Then he asked them about a point on which they could
hardly disagree: 'Is it permitted to do good? (Matthew 3:4, Luke 6:9) But they
did not even so much as say, 'Yes,' because by then they were not in a good
temper." (excerpt from HOMILIES 28)
https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2020&date=sep5
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, LUKE 6:1-5
Weekday
(1 Corinthians 4:6b-15; Psalm 145)
KEY VERSE: "The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath" (v. 5).
TO KNOW: The first story told in Luke's gospel of Jesus’ conflict with the Pharisees regarded the violation of picking grain on the Sabbath. Luke showed how this controversy led to a final break with the religious leaders, and ultimately to Jesus' death. When Jesus' disciples picked and ate grain on the Sabbath, the Pharisees accused them of violating the Sabbath law, which prohibited harvesting (Ex 34:21). Jesus defended his disciples by reminding them of a precedence in scripture. The great King David fed his hungry men with the bread of offering, which was reserved for priests (1 Sm 21:1-7). Jesus said that charity must prevail over religious laws. Jesus, the "Son of Man," showed solidarity with the needs of his people and displayed his supreme authority over the law.
TO LOVE: Am I unduly bound by scrupulosity?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to avoid legalism and act with compassion and justice.
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.
http://www.togetherwithgodsword.com/commentaries-on-the-daily-gospel-of-the-mass.html
Saturday 5 September 2020
1 Corinthians 4:6-15. The Lord is near to all who call him –
Psalm 144(145):17-21. Luke 6:1-5.
What do you have that was not given to you?
Have you ever had the experience of getting a little ahead of
yourself spiritually, through excitement of discovery, feeling the experience
of an epiphany or simply feeling puffed up about your own goodness? Then Paul’s
message is for you and me.
Paul’s reprimand or reminder to the Corinthians hit them between
the eyes, because Paul spoke the truth. And hearing the truth about ourselves
is often uncomfortable, never easy, and usually is experienced with an urge to
defend. Humility as a follower of Christ is one of the more beautiful virtues
we can have, and one of the most attractive to those curious about us
Christians. I thank God for the hard road the Apostles trod for us.
Lord, help me to remember that whatever gifts I may have, come
from your generosity, not of my doing and may we follow Paul’s example in this.
http://www.pray.com.au/gospel_reflection/saturday-5-september-2020/
Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Saint of the Day for September 5
(August 26, 1910 – September 5, 1997)
Saint Teresa of Calcutta’s Story
Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the tiny woman recognized throughout
the world for her work among the poorest of the poor, was beatified October 19,
2003. Among those present were hundreds of Missionaries of Charity, the order
she founded in 1950, as a diocesan religious community. Today the congregation
also includes contemplative sisters and brothers and an order of priests.
Born to Albanian parents in what is now Skopje, Macedonia,
Gonxha (Agnes) Bojaxhiu was the youngest of the three children who survived. For
a time, the family lived comfortably, and her father’s construction business
thrived. But life changed overnight following his unexpected death.
During her years in public school, Agnes participated in a
Catholic sodality and showed a strong interest in the foreign missions. At age
18, she entered the Loreto Sisters of Dublin. It was 1928 when she said goodbye
to her mother for the final time and made her way to a new land and a new life.
The following year she was sent to the Loreto novitiate in Darjeeling, India.
There she chose the name Teresa and prepared for a life of service. She was
assigned to a high school for girls in Calcutta, where she taught history and
geography to the daughters of the wealthy. But she could not escape the
realities around her—the poverty, the suffering, the overwhelming numbers of
destitute people.
In 1946, while riding a train to Darjeeling to make a retreat,
Sister Teresa heard what she later explained as “a call within a call. The
message was clear. I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living
among them.” She also heard a call to give up her life with the Sisters of
Loreto and instead, to “follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the
poorest of the poor.”
After receiving permission to leave Loreto, establish a new
religious community, and undertake her new work, Sister Teresa took a nursing
course for several months. She returned to Calcutta, where she lived in the
slums and opened a school for poor children. Dressed in a white sari and
sandals–the ordinary dress of an Indian woman–she soon began getting to know
her neighbors—especially the poor and sick—and getting to know their needs
through visits.
The work was exhausting, but she was not alone for long.
Volunteers who came to join her in the work, some of them former students,
became the core of the Missionaries of Charity. Others helped by donating food,
clothing, supplies, and the use of buildings. In 1952, the city of Calcutta
gave Mother Teresa a former hostel, which became a home for the dying and the
destitute. As the order expanded, services were also offered to orphans,
abandoned children, alcoholics, the aging, and street people.
For the next four decades, Mother Teresa worked tirelessly on
behalf of the poor. Her love knew no bounds. Nor did her energy, as she crisscrossed
the globe pleading for support and inviting others to see the face of Jesus in
the poorest of the poor. In 1979, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On
September 5, 1997, God called her home. Blessed Teresa was canonized by Pope
Francis on September 4, 2016.
Reflection
Mother Teresa’s beatification, just over six years after her
death, was part of an expedited process put into effect by Pope John Paul II.
Like so many others around the world, he found her love for the Eucharist, for
prayer, and for the poor a model for all to emulate.
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-teresa-of-calcutta/
Lectio Divina: Luke 6:1-5
Lectio Divina
Saturday, September 5, 2020
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty God,
every good thing comes from You.
Fill our hearts with love for You,
increase our faith,
and by Your constant care
protect the good You have given us.
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 - Luke 6:1-5
While Jesus was going through a field of grain on a sabbath, his
disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and
eating them. Some Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is unlawful on the
sabbath?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Have you not read what David did when
he and those who were with him were hungry? How he went into the house of God,
took the bread of offering, which only the priests could lawfully eat, ate of
it, and shared it with his companions?” Then he said to them, “The Son of Man
is lord of the sabbath.”
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today speaks about the conflict concerning the
observance of the Sabbath – Saturday. The observance of the Sabbath was a
central law, one of the Ten Commandments. This was a very ancient Law, the
value of which was stressed after the Exile. During the Exile, the people had
to work seven days a week from morning until evening, without any provisions to
meet and meditate on the Word of God, to pray together and to share faith,
their problems and their hopes. Therefore, there was an urgent need to stop at
least one day a week to get together and encourage one another during the very
difficult time of the exile. Otherwise they would have lost their faith. It was
then that faith was reborn and the observance of Saturday was re-established.
• Luke 6:1-2: The cause of the conflict. On Saturday the disciples were walking
across the cornfields and they were picking ears of corn. Matthew 12:1 says
that they were hungry (Mt 12:1). The Pharisees invoke the bible to say it was a
transgression of the law of the Sabbath: Why do you do what is not permitted on
the Sabbath?” (cf. Ex 20:8-11).
• Luke 6:3-4: Jesus’ response. Immediately Jesus responds recalling that David
himself also did things which were prohibited, because he took the sacred bread
from the temple and gave it to the soldiers to eat because they were hungry (I
Sam 21:2-7). Jesus knew the bible and referred to it to show that the arguments
of others had no foundation. In Matthew, Jesus’ response is more complete. He
not only recalls the story of David, but also quotes the legislation which
permits the priests to work on Saturday, and He quotes the prophet Hosea:
“Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice”. He quotes a biblical text or a
historical text, a legislative text, and a prophetic text (cf. Mt 12:1-18). At
that time there was no printed bible as we have today. In each community there
was only one bible, hand written, which remained in the synagogue. If Jesus
knew the bible so well, it means that in the 30 years of his life in Nazareth
He participated intensely in the life of the community, where every Saturday
the scriptures were read. We still lack the same familiarity with the bible and
the same participation in community that other had then.
• Luke 6:5: The conclusion for all of us. Jesus ends with the following
statement: The Son of Man is master of the Sabbath! The Lord of Saturday!
Jesus, Son of Man, who lives in intimacy with God, discovers the meaning of the
bible not from outside, but from inside. He discovers the meaning
starting at the roots, beginning with His intimacy with the author of the
bible, who is God Himself. Because of this, He calls Himself Master of the
Sabbath . In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus revitalizes the law of Saturday, saying,
“Saturday was instituted for man and not man for Saturday”.
4) Personal questions
• How do you spend Sunday, which is our “Sabbath”? Do you go to
Mass because it is an obligation in order to avoid sin, or to be with God?
• Jesus knew the bible almost by heart. What does the bible represent for
me?
5) Concluding Prayer
My mouth shall always praise Yahweh,
let every creature bless His holy name
for ever and ever. (Ps 145:21)
https://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-divina-luke-61-5
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