DAILY READING and REFLECTIONS For Wednesday, July 09, 2014 14th Week in Ordinary Time - Psalter 2 (Green/Red) Optional Memorial of Saint Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest and Companions, Martyrs Readings: Hos 10:1-12; Ps 105:1-7; Matt 10:1-7 Response: Seek always the face of the Lord. Rosary: Glorious Mysteries Key Verse: Proclaim that the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand. SAINT OF THE DAY: Saint Veronica Giulani Birth: 1660 - Death: 1727 Capuchin mystic who had many spiritual gifis. A native of Binasco, near Milan, Italy, born in 1660, she entered the Capuchins atCitttidi Castello, Umbria, in 1677. She remained there for the rest of her life and served as novice mistress for thirty-four years. A mystic, she was the recipient of a stigmata in 1697 and visions, the accounts of which are quite detailed. She impressed her fellow nuns by remaining remarkably practical despite her numerous ecstatic experiences. Veronica was named abbess of the convent in 1716, remaining in that role until her death. She is called one of the most extraordinary mystics of her era. TODAYS READING FROM THE NEW AMERICAN BIBLE: READING 1: Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12 1 Israel was a luxuriant vine yielding plenty of fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; the richer his land became, the richer he made the sacred pillars. 2 Theirs is a divided heart; now they will have to pay for it. He himself will hack down their altars and wreck their sacred pillars. 3 Then they will say, We have no king because we have not feared Yahweh, but what could the king do for us? 7 Samaria has had her day. Her king is like a straw drifting on the water. 8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed; thorns and thistles will grow over their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, Cover us! and to the hills, Fall on us! 12 Sow saving justice for yourselves, reap a harvest of faithful love; break up your fallow ground: it is time to seek out Yahweh until he comes to rain saving justice down on you. RESPONSORIAL PSALM, Psalms 105:2-3, 4-5, 6-7 2 Sing to him, make music for him, recount all his wonders! 3 Glory in his holy name, let the hearts that seek Yahweh rejoice! 4 Seek Yahweh and his strength, tirelessly seek his presence! 5 Remember the marvels he has done, his wonders, the judgements he has spoken. 6 Stock of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob whom he chose! 7 He is Yahweh our God, his judgements touch the whole world. GOSPEL, Matthew 10:1-7 1 He summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to drive them out and to cure all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness. 2 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who was also his betrayer. 5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: Do not make your way to gentile territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; 6 go instead to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. 7 And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand. REFLECTIONS: Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God) OPENING PRAYER: Father, through the obedience of Jesus, your servant and your Son, you raised a fallen world. Free us from sin and bring us the joy that lasts for ever. 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. ON READING 1: Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12 (Israels idolatry and Israel Reproached for its Pride) Verses 1-2 summarize the underlying point in the passage: the wealthier Israel becomes, the more corrupt she is. The verbs to increase (v. 1) and to bear guilt (v. 2) are in direct contrast to one another. The We have no king (v. 3) and the kings being like a chip on the face of the waters (v. 7) refer to the instability of the monarchy in the Northern kingdom: the period between 747 (when Jeroboam II died) to 721 (when Samaria fell to the Assyrians) saw a succession of six kings, who were puppets of Assyria or were assassinated by usurpers. Hosea is quite right when he says they had no king to rule them. The results of this anarchy are mentioned in vv. 4-8 -- lots of empty talk, contracts with no substance to them, unjust legal decisions; and the result of it all will be that ssyria will destroy Israels altars, the monarchy will perish, and the people will despair. Verses 9-10 probably hark back to the war when all the tribes turned on the tribe of Benjamin to avenge the crime committed at Gibe-ah ( cf. Judg 19:1-20:48 ). Hosea must have regarded that crime and the war it led to (in which the tribe of Benjamin was almost wiped out) as an archetype of the infamy and cruelty that became so prevalent in later years. Verse 8 is quoted by our Lord when He meets the women of Jerusalem on his way to Calvary (cf. Lk 23:20), and also in Revelation 6:16, in the scene where the sixth seal is opened. The whole passage is a reminder that material progress can also have negative consequences: Holy Scripture teaches the human family what the experience of the ages confirms -- that while human progress is a great advantage to man, it brings with it a strong temptation. For when the order of values is jumbled, and bad is mixed with the good, individuals and groups pay heed solely to their own interests, and not to those of others (Vatican II, Gaudium et spes, 37). The second stanza comprises a parable (vv.11-13) which recalls the first days of Israel, the years in the wilderness, as being a golden age the stanza continues (vv. 13-15) with a passage that reveals how disappointed God feels; there are references here to recent events -- the siege of Beth-arbel by Shalman, a Moabite king (v. 14) and unlawful cults at Bethel (v. 15; note w). The underlying theme is that of the whole book: the people put their trust in their own resources (cf. v. 13), neglecting to seek the Lord (cf. v. 12). ON THE GOSPEL: Matthew 10:1-7 (The Calling and First Mission of the Apostles) The second great Discourse: The Discourse of the Mission begins in chaPter 10 of the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew organizes his Gospel as a new edition of the Law of God or like a new “Pentateuch” with its five books. For this reason his Gospel presents five great discourses or teachings of Jesus followed by a narrative part, in which he describes the way in which Jesus puts into practice what he had taught in the discourses. The following is the outline: Introduction: the birth and preparation of the Messiah (Mt 1 to 4) a) Sermon on the Mountain: the entrance door into the Kingdom (Mt 5 to 7) Narrative Mt 8 and 9 b) Discourse of the Mission: how to announce and diffuse the Kingdom (Mt 10) Narrative Mt 11 and 12 c) Discourse of the Parables: The mystery of the Kingdom present in life (Mt 13) Narrative Mt 14 to 17 d) Discourse of the Community: the new way of living together in the Kingdom (Mt 18) Narrative 19 to 23 e) Discourse of the future coming of the Kingdom: the utopia which sustains hope (Mt 24 and 25) Conclusion: Passion, death and Resurrection (Mt 26 to 28) Today’s Gospel presents to us the beginning of the Discourse of the Mission, in which the accent is placed on three aspects: (a) the call of the disciples (Mt 10, 1); (b) the list of the names of the twelve Apostles who will be the recipients of the Discourse on the Mission (Mt 10, 2-4); (c) the sending out of the twelve (Mt 10, 5-7). In this chapter St. Matthew describes how Jesus, with a view to the spreading of the Kingdom of God which He inaugurates, decides to establish a Church, which He does by giving special powers and training to these twelve men who are its seed. Matthew 10, 1: The call of the twelve disciples. Matthew had already spoken about the call of the disciples (Mt 4, 18-22; 9, 9). Here, at the beginning of the Discourse of the Mission, he presents a summary: “He summoned his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to drive them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and all kinds of illness”. The task or the mission of the disciple is to follow Jesus, the Master, forming community with him and carrying out the same mission of Jesus: to drive out the unclean spirits, to cure all sorts of diseases and all orts of illness. In Mark’s Gospel they receive the same two-fold mission, formulated with other words: Jesus constituted the group of Twelve, to remain with him and to send them out to preach and cast out devils” (Mc 3, 14-15). 1) To be with him, that is to form a community, in which Jesus is the center. 2)To preach and to be able to cast out the devils, that is, to announce the Good News and to conquer the force of evil which destroys the life of the people and alienates persons. Luke says that Jesus prayed the whole night, and the following day he called the disciples. He prayed to God so as to know whom to choose (Lk 6, 12-13). Jesus calls His twelve Apostles after recommending to them to pray to the Lord to send laborers into His harvest (cf. Matthew 9:38). Christians apostolic action should always, then, be preceded and accompanied by a life of constant prayer: apostolate is a divine affair, not a merely human one. Our Lord starts His Church by calling twelve men to be, as it were, twelve patriarchs of the new people of God, the Church. This new people is established not by physical but by spiritual generation. The names of those Apostles are specifically mentioned here. They were not scholarly, powerful or important people: they were average, ordinary people who responded faithfully to the grace of their calling--all of them, that is, except Judas Iscariot. Even before His death and resurrection Jesus confers on them the power to cast out unclean spirits and cure illnesses--as an earnest of and as training for the saving mission which He will entrust to them. The Church reveres these first Christians in a very special way and is proud to carry on their supernatural mission, and to be faithful to the witness they bore to the teaching of Christ. The true Church is absent unless there is uninterrupted apostolic succession and identification with the spirit which the Apostles made their own. Apostle: this word means sent; Jesus sent them out to preach His Kingdom and pass on His teaching. The Second Vatican Council, in line with Vatican I, confesses and declares that the Church has a hierarchical structure: The Lord Jesus, having prayed at length to the Father, called to Himself those whom He willed and appointed twelve to be with Him, whom He might send to preach the Kingdom of God (cf. Mark 3:13-19: Matthew 10:1-10). These Apostles (cf. Luke 6:13) He constituted in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which He placed Peter, chosen from among them (cf. John 21:15-17). He sent them first of all to the children of Israel and then to all peoples (cf. Romans 1:16), so that, sharing in His power, they might make all peoples His disciples and sanctify and govern them (cf. Matthew 28 : 16-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:45-48 ; John 20:21-23) and thus spread the Church and, administering it under the guidance of the Lord, shepherd it all days until the end of the world (cf. Matthew 28:28) (Lumen Gentium, 19). Matthew 10, 2-4: The list of the names of the Twelve Apostles. A good number of these names come from the Old Testament. For example, Simon is the name of one of the sons of the Patriarch Jacob (Gn 29, 33). James is the same as Giacomo (Gn 25, 26). Judas is the name of the other son of Jacob (Gn 35, 23). Matthew also had the name of Levi (Mk 2, 14), who was the other son of Jacob (Gn 35, 23). Of the Twelve Apostles seven have a name which comes from the time of the Patriarchs. Two are called Simon; two are called James; two are called Judas, one Levi! Only one has a Greek name: Philip. This reveals the desire of people to start again the history from the beginning! Perhaps it is good to think in the names which are given today to the children when they are born. Because each one of us is called by God by his/her name. Matthew 10, 5-7: The sending out or the mission of the twelve apostles toward the lost sheep of Israel. After having given the list of the names of the twelve, Jesus sends them out with the following recommendation: “Do not make your way to gentile territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town, go instead to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand”. In this one phrase there is a three-fold insistence in showing that the preference of the mission is for the House of Israel: (1) Do not go among the gentiles, (2) do not enter into the towns of the Samaritans, (3) rather go to the lost sheep of Israel. Here appears a response to the doubt of the first Christians concerning opening up to pagans. Paul, who strongly affirmed the openness to the gentiles, agrees in saying that the Good News of Jesus should first be announced to the Jews and, then to the gentiles (Rm 9, 1 a 11, 36; cf. At 1, 8; 11, 3; 13, 46; 15,1. 5.23-29). But then, in the same Gospel of Matthew, in the conversation of Jesus with the Canaanite woman, the openness to the gentiles will take place (Mt 15, 21-29). In His plan of salvation God gave certain promises (to Abraham and the patriarchs), a Covenant and a Law (the Law of Moses), and sent the prophets. The Messiah would be born into this chosen people, which explains why the Messiah and the Kingdom of God were to be preached to the house of Israel before being preached to the Gentiles. Therefore, in their early apprenticeship, Jesus restricts the Apostles area of activity to the Jews, without this taking from the world-wide scope of the Churchs mission. As we will see, much later on He charges them to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19); Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:16). The Apostles also, in the early days of the spread of the Church, usually sought out the Jewish community in any new city they entered, and preached first to them (cf. Acts 13:46). After revealing His intention to found the Church by choosing the Twelve (verses 1-4), in the present passage He shows that He intends to start training these first Apostles. In other words, from early on in His public ministry He began to lay the foundations of His Church. Everyone needs doctrinal and apostolic training to follow his Christian calling. The Church has a duty to teach, and the faithful have a parallel duty to make that teaching their own. Therefore, every Christian should avail of the facilities for training which the Church offers him--which will vary according to each persons circumstances. • The sending out of the Apostles toward all peoples. After the Resurrection of Jesus, there are several episodes on the sending out of the Apostles not only toward the Jews, but toward all peoples. In Matthew: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe everything which I have commanded. And I will be with you until the end of time” (Mt 28, 19-20). In Mark: “Go to the entire world, proclaim the Good News to all creatures. Those who will believe and will be baptized will be saved; those who will not believe will be condemned” (Mk 15-16). In Luke: So it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this (Lk 24, 46-48; Ac 1, 8) John summarizes all in one phrase: “As the Father has sent me, so I also send you!” (Jn 20, 21). FINAL PRAYERS: Seek Yahweh and his strength, tirelessly seek his presence! Remember the marvels he has done, his wonders, the judgements he has spoken. (Ps 105,4-5) Lord, when I need your solace the most, I too often seek comfort elsewhere. Sometimes I feel too weary, too overwhelmed, too anxiety-ridden too short on time to rest in you. And all you want is to bear my pain and lift me up. I must remember this. I must fill up my spirit by permitting you to be my God: “I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Amen. Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ. -- St. Jerome The Father uttered one Word; that Word is His Son, and He utters Him forever in everlasting silence; and in silence the soul has to hear it. -- St. John of the Cross
Posted on: Tue, 08 Jul 2014 22:41:51 +0000
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