Memorial of
Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs
Lectionary: 445
Reading 1
Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.
If I speak in human and angelic tongues
but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy
and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
and if I hand my body over so that I may boast
but do not have love, I gain nothing.Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, love is not pompous,
it is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;
when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (12) Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his
own.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.
Sing to him a new song;
pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
For upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life,
you have the words of everlasting life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to the crowds:
“To what shall I compare the people of this generation?
What are they like?
They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,
‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’
For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine,
and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’
The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said,
‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,
a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’
But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091620.cfm
Meditation: How Shall I Compare This Generation?
What do childrens' games have to do with the kingdom of God?
Games are the favorite pastime of children who play until their energy is
spent. The more interaction the merrier the game. The children in Jesus' parable
react with disappointment because they cannot convince others to join in their
musical play. They complain that when they make merry music such as played at
weddings, no one dances or sings along - and when they play mournful tunes for
sad occasions such as funerals, it is the same dead response. This refrain
echoes the words of Ecclesiastes 3:4, there is a time to weep and a
time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance. Both joyful and sad
occasions - such as the birth of a child and the homecoming of a hero or the
loss of a loved one or the destruction of a community or nation - demand a
response. To show indifference, lack of support, or disdain is unfitting and
unkind.
Spiritual indifference and deaf ears can block God's word for us
Jesus' message of the kingdom of God is a proclamation of good news that
produces great joy and hope for those who will listen - but it is also a
warning of disaster for those who refuse to accept God's gracious offer. Why
did the message of John the Baptist and the message of Jesus meet with
resistance and deaf ears? It was out of jealously and spiritual blindness that
the scribes and Pharisees attributed John the Baptist's austerities to the
devil and they attributed Jesus' table fellowship as evidence for pretending to
be the Messiah. They succeeded in frustrating God's plan for their lives
because they had closed their hearts to the message of John the Baptist and now
they close their ears to Jesus, God's anointed Son sent to redeem us from
bondage to sin and death.
Those who hunger for God will be satisfied
What can make us spiritually dull and slow to hear God's voice? Like the
generation of Jesus' time, our age is marked by indifference and contempt,
especially in regards to the message of God's kingdom. Indifference dulls our
ears to God's voice and to the good news of the Gospel. Only the humble of
heart who are hungry for God can find true joy and happiness. Do you listen to
God's word with expectant faith and the willingness to trust and obey?
Lord Jesus, open my ears to hear the good news of your kingdom
and set my heart free to love and serve you joyfully. May nothing keep me from
following you with all my heart, mind, and strength.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The
song and dances of the prophets, by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.
"'Therefore, wisdom is justified by all her children.' He
fittingly says 'by all,' because justice is preserved around all. In order that
an acceptance of the faithful may happen, a rejection of the unbelieving must
occur. Very many Greeks say this, "Wisdom is justified by all her
works," because the duty of justice is to preserve the measure around the
merit of each. It aptly says, "We have piped to you, and you have not
danced." Moses sang a song when he stopped the flow in the Red Sea for the
crossing of the Jews (Exodus 15:1-18), and the same waves encircled the horses
of the Egyptians and, falling back, drowned their riders. Isaiah sang a song of
his beloved's vineyard (Isaiah 5:1-7), signifying that the people who before
had been fruitful with abundant virtues would be desolate through shameful
acts. The Hebrews sang a song when the soles of their feet grew moist at the
touch of the bedewing flame, and while all burned within and without, the
harmless fire caressed them alone and did not scorch (Daniel 3:19-25). Habakkuk
also learned to assuage universal grief with a song and prophesied that the
sweet passion of the Lord would happen for the faithful (Habakkuk 3:13). The
prophets sang songs with spiritual measures, resounding with prophecies of
universal salvation. The prophets wept, softening the hard hearts of the Jews
with sorrowful lamentations" (Isaiah 46:12). (excerpt from EXPOSITION
OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 6.6-7)
https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2020&date=sep16
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, LUKE 7:31-35
Memorial of Saints Cornelius, pope, and Cyprian, bishop, martyrs
(1 Corinthians 12:31--13:13; Psalm 33)
KEY VERSE: "But wisdom is vindicated by all her children" (v. 35).
TO KNOW: Jesus praised John the Baptist who Herod had imprisoned because of his faithful witness to the gospel (Lk 7:24-28). Those who benefited from John's ministry gave praise to God, but the religious leaders stubbornly refused to accept John’s baptism, and were closed to God’s action in Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah. Jesus compared them to obstinate children who were never satisfied. They despised John because of his ascetic life-style and austere message of repentance. At the same time, they believed that Jesus was a glutton and a drunkard because he associated with outcasts and sinners. In the end, those who embraced Jesus as God's messenger of salvation would be justified by Divine Wisdom.
TO LOVE: Do I behave like a spoiled child when things go contrary to my plans?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, give me the wisdom to understand the truth that you reveal.
Memorial of Saint Cornelius, pope and martyr
Cornelius was the Twenty-First pope, elected during a period of persecutions when papal ascension was often a death sentence. Cornelius worked to maintain unity in a time of schism and apostasy. He fought Novatianism, a heresy that held that lapsed Christians might not be received again into communion with the Church, and second marriages were unlawful. Cornelius was exiled by Roman authorities to punish Christians who were said to have sent the plague against Rome. A document from Cornelius shows the size of the Church of Rome in his papacy: 46 priests, 7 deacons, 7 sub-deacons, approximately 50,000 Christians. He died a martyr in 253 and is buried at the cemetery of Saint Callistus, Rome.
Memorial of Saint Cyprian, bishop and martyr
Cyprian was born in the early third century to a rich pagan family in North Africa. Soon after converting to Christianity, he was ordained a priest and in 249 was made Bishop of Carthage. He was exiled during the persecutions of Valerian, which was especially severe at Carthage. Many Christians fell away, and were thereafter referred to as "lapsi" (the fallen). Cyprian was involved in the argument over whether apostates should be readmitted to the Church. Cyprian believed they should, but under stringent conditions. It was their reinstatement that helped the Church progress in its understanding of the Sacrament of Penance. A martyr, Cyprian was beheaded September 258. He is a Latin Father of the Church. “You cannot have God for your Father if you do not have the Church for your mother.” (Saint Cyprian, "The Unity of the Catholic Church").
http://www.togetherwithgodsword.com/commentaries-on-the-daily-gospel-of-the-mass.html
Wednesday 16 September 2020
Ss Cornelius & Cyprian
1 Corinthians 12:31 – 13:13. Happy the people the Lord has
chosen to be his own – Psalm 32(33):2-5, 12, 22. Luke 7:31-35.
They are like children sitting in the market place
Arabella: I see what you mean, Jesus. Your critics
just looked for excuses to condemn John the Baptist and yourself. Nothing you
did would ever have pleased them. The children’s song called them out. People
of our generation hate hypocrisy, and we would have done the same as you, I am
sure. We don’t like wowsers who preach against good food and drink.
Jesus: Thanks for your support, Arabella. But don’t you think my
teaching might have offended the people of your generation, too, even those who
boast of being Christian? Would you approve of your children abandoning their
jobs and following me? Or encourage them to go out with prostitutes and
extortioners? Or to call out the authorities for their injustice? Or urged them
to go resolutely to gaol and death for believing in me, even when being offered
a way out?
Arabella: There’s no need to be offensive, Jesus.
Do you really expect all that of us?
http://www.pray.com.au/gospel_reflection/wednesday-16-september-2020/
Saint Cornelius
Saint of the Day for September 16
(d. 253)
Stained glass window in Catholic Church of Saint-Corneille | photo by GFreihalter
Saint Cornelius’ Story
There was no pope for 14 months after the martyrdom of Saint Fabian because
of the intensity of the persecution of the Church. During the interval, the
Church was governed by a college of priests. Saint Cyprian, a friend of
Cornelius, writes that Cornelius was elected pope “by the judgment of God and
of Christ, by the testimony of most of the clergy, by the vote of the people, with
the consent of aged priests and of good men.”
The greatest problem of Cornelius’s two-year term as pope had to
do with the Sacrament of Penance and centered on the readmission of Christians
who had denied their faith during the time of persecution. Two extremes were
finally both condemned. Cyprian, primate of North Africa, appealed to the pope
to confirm his stand that the relapsed could be reconciled only by the decision
of the bishop.
In Rome, however, Cornelius met with the opposite view. After
his election, a priest named Novatian (one of those who had governed the
Church) had himself consecrated a rival bishop of Rome—one of the first
antipopes. He denied that the Church had any power to reconcile not only the
apostates, but also those guilty of murder, adultery, fornication, or second
marriage! Cornelius had the support of most of the Church (especially of
Cyprian of Africa) in condemning Novatianism, though the sect persisted for
several centuries. Cornelius held a synod at Rome in 251 and ordered the
“relapsed” to be restored to the Church with the usual “medicines of
repentance.”
The friendship of Cornelius and Cyprian was strained for a time
when one of Cyprian’s rivals made accusations about him. But the problem was
cleared up.
A document from Cornelius shows the extent of organization in
the Church of Rome in the mid-third century: 46 priests, seven deacons, seven
subdeacons. It is estimated that the number of Christians totaled about 50,000.
He died as a result of the hardships of his exile in what is now Civitavecchia.
Reflection
It seems fairly true to say that almost every possible false
doctrine has been proposed at some time or other in the history of the Church.
The third century saw the resolution of a problem we scarcely consider—the
penance to be done before reconciliation with the Church after mortal sin. Men
like Cornelius and Cyprian were God’s instruments in helping the Church find a
prudent path between extremes of rigorism and laxity. They are part of the
Church’s ever-living stream of tradition, ensuring the continuance of what was
begun by Christ, and evaluating new experiences through the wisdom and
experience of those who have gone before.
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-cornelius/
Lectio Divina: Luke 7:31-35
Lectio Divina
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
1) Opening prayer
Almighty God,
our creator and guide,
may we serve You with all our hearts
and know Your forgiveness in our lives.
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 7:31-35
Jesus said to the crowds: “To what shall I compare the people of
this generation? What are they like? They are like children who sit in the
marketplace and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did
not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist came
neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, ‘He is possessed by a
demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, ‘Look, he is a
glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is
vindicated by all her children.”
3) Reflection
• In today’s Gospel we see the originality of the Good News
which opens the way for people who are attached to ancient forms of faith who
feel lost and do not understand anything more of God’s action. In order to hide
their lack of openness and of understanding they defend and seek childish
pretexts to justify their attitude of lack of acceptance. Jesus reacts with a
parable to denounce the confusion of His enemies: “You are similar to children
who do not know what they want”.
• Luke 7:31: To whom, then, shall I compare you? Jesus is struck
by the reaction of the people and say: “What comparison, then, can I find for
the people of this generation? What are they like?” When something is evident
and the persons, out of ignorance or because of bad will, do not perceive
things and do not want to perceive them, it is good to find an evident
comparison which will reveal their incoherence and the ill will. And Jesus is a
Master in finding comparisons which speak for themselves.
• Luke 7:32: Like children without judgment. The comparison
which Jesus finds is this one. You are like “those children, shouting to one
another while they sit in the market place: we played the pipes for you, and
you would not dance; we sang dirges and you would not cry!” Spoiled children,
all over the world, have the same reaction. They complain when others do not do
and act as they say. The reason for Jesus’ complaint is the arbitrary way with
which people in the past reacted before John the Baptist and how they react now
before Jesus.
• Luke 7:33-34: Their opinion on John and on Jesus. “For John
the Baptist has come, not eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say: he is
possessed. The Son of man has come eating and drinking, and you say: look, a
glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners”. Jesus was a
disciple of John the Baptist; He believed in him and was baptized by him. On
the occasion of this Baptism in the Jordan, He had the revelation of the Father
regarding His mission as Messiah-Servant (Mk 1:10). At the same time, Jesus
stressed the difference between Him and John. John was more severe, more
ascetical, did not eat nor drink. He remained in the desert and threatened the
people with the punishment of the Last Judgment (Lk 3:7-9). Because of this,
people said that he was possessed. Jesus was more welcoming; He ate and drank
like everybody else. He went through the towns and entered the houses of the
people; He accepted the tax collectors and the prostitutes. This is why they
said that He was a glutton and a drunkard. Even considering His words regarding
“the men of this generation” (Lk 7:31), in a general way, probably, Jesus had
in mind the opinion of the religious authority who did not believe in Jesus (Mk
11:29-33).
• Luke 7:35: The obvious conclusion to which Jesus arrives. And
Jesus ends drawing this conclusion: “Yet, wisdom is justified by all her
children”. The lack of seriousness and of coherence is clearly seen in the
opinion given on Jesus and on John. The bad will is so evident that it needs no
proof. That recalls the response of Job to his friends who believe that they
are wise: “Will no one teach you to be quiet! - the only wisdom that becomes
you!” (Job 13:5).
4) Personal questions
• When I express my opinion on others, am I like the
Pharisees and the scribes who gave their opinion on Jesus and John? They
expressed only their preconceptions and said nothing on the persons whom they
judged.
• Do you know any groups in the Church who would merit the parable of
Jesus?
5) Concluding Prayer
How blessed the nation whose God is Yahweh,
the people He has chosen as His heritage.
From heaven Yahweh looks down,
He sees all the children of Adam. (Ps 33,12-13)
https://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-divina-luke-731-35
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