Lord, open my lips. – And my mouth will proclaim your praise. God, come to my assistance. – Lord, make haste to help me. From the first book of Samuel 28:3-25 Saul consults the witch of Endor Samuel had died and, after being mourned by all Israel, was buried in his city, Ramah. Meanwhile Saul had driven mediums and fortune-tellers out of the land. The Philistine levies advanced to Shunem and encamped. Saul, too, mustered all Israel; they camped on Gilboa. When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was dismayed and lost heart completely. He therefore consulted the Lord; but the Lord gave no answer, whether in dreams or by the Urim or through prophets. Then Saul said to his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, to whom I can go to seek counsel through her.” His servants answered him, “There is a woman in Endor who is a medium.” So he disguised himself, putting on other clothes, and set out with two companions. They came to the woman by night, and Saul said to her, “Tell my fortune through a ghost; conjure up for me the one I ask you to.” But the woman answered him, “You are surely aware of what Saul has done, in driving the mediums and fortune-tellers out of the land. Why, then, are you laying snares for my life, to have me killed?” But Saul swore to her by the Lord, “As the Lord lives, you shall incur no blame for this.” Then the woman asked him, “Whom do you want me to conjure up?” and he answered, “Samuel.” When the woman saw Samuel, she shrieked at the top of her voice and said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!” But the king said to her, “Have no fear. What do you see?” The woman answered Saul, “I see a preternatural being rising from the earth.” “What does he look like?” asked Saul. And she replied, “It is an old man who is rising, clothed in a mantle.” Saul knew that it was Samuel, and so he bowed face to the ground in homage. Samuel then said to Saul, “Why do you disturb me by conjuring me up?” Saul replied: “I am in great straits, for the Philistines are waging war against me and God has abandoned me. Since he no longer answers me through prophets or in dreams, I have called you to tell me what I should do.” To this Samuel said: “But why do you ask me, if the Lord has abandoned you and is with your neighbor? The Lord has done to you what he foretold through me: he has torn the kingdom from your grasp and has given it to your neighbor David. “Because you disobeyed the Lord’s directive and would not carry out his fierce anger against Amalek, the Lord has done this to you today. Moreover, the Lord will deliver Israel, and you as well, into the clutches of the Philistines. By tomorrow you and your sons will be with me, and the Lord will have delivered the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.” Immediately Saul fell full length on the ground, for he was badly shaken by Samuel’s message. Moreover, he had no bodily strength left, since he had eaten nothing all that day and night. Then the woman came to Saul, and seeing that he was quite terror-stricken, said to him: “Remember, your maidservant obeyed you: I took my life in my hands and fulfilled the request you made of me. Now you, in turn, please listen to your maidservant. Let me set something before you to eat, so that you may have strength when you go on your way.” But he refused, saying, “I will not eat.” However, when his servants joined the woman in urging him, he listened to their entreaties, got up from the ground, and sat on a couch. The woman had a stall-fed calf in the house, which she now quickly slaughtered. Then taking flour, she kneaded it and baked unleavened bread. She set the meal before Saul and his servants, and they ate. Then they stood up and left the same night. RESPONSORY See 1 Chronicles 10:13, 14 Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord’s command. – God transferred his kingdom to David. Saul had not trusted in the Lord, but had turned to a medium for guidance. – God transferred his kingdom to David. From a homily by Pope Paul VI We proclaim Christ to the whole world Not to preach the Gospel would be my undoing, for Christ himself sent me as his apostle and witness. The more remote, the more difficult the assignment, the more my love of God spurs me on. I am bound to proclaim that Jesus is Christ, the Son of the living God. Because of him we come to know the God we cannot see. He is the firstborn of all creation; in him all things find their being. Man’s teacher and redeemer, he was born for us, died for us, and for us he rose from the dead. All things, all history converges in Christ. A man of sorrow and hope, he knows us and loves us. As our friend he stays by us throughout our lives; at the end of time he will come to be our judge; but we also know that he will be the complete fulfillment of our lives and our great happiness for all eternity. I can never cease to speak of Christ for he is our truth and our light; he is the way, the truth and the life. He is our bread, our source of living water who allays our hunger and satisfies our thirst. He is our shepherd, our leader, our ideal, our comforter and our brother. He is like us but more perfectly human, simple, poor, humble, and yet, while burdened with work, he is more patient. He spoke on our behalf; he worked miracles; and he founded a new kingdom: in it the poor are happy; peace is the foundation of a life in common; where the pure of heart and those who mourn are uplifted and comforted; the hungry find justice; sinners are forgiven; and all discover that they are brothers. The image I present to you is the image of Jesus Christ. As Christians you share his name; he has already made most of you his own. So once again I repeat his name to you Christians and I proclaim to all men: Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, Lord of the new universe, the great hidden key to human history and the part we play in it. He is the mediator — the bridge, if you will — between heaven and earth. Above all he is the Son of man, more perfect than any man, being also the Son of God, eternal and infinite. He is the son of Mary his mother on earth, more blessed than any woman. She is also our mother in the spiritual communion of the mystical body. Remember: |it| is Jesus Christ I preach day in and day out. His name I would see echo and re-echo for all time even to the ends of the earth. RESPONSORY 2 Timothy 1:10; John 1:16; Colossians 1:16-17 Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death, and through the Gospel he has proclaimed life and immortality. – And of his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. All things were created through him and for him; he was before all that is, and all things are held in being in him. – And of his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. CONCLUDING PRAYER O God, who through the grace of adoption chose us to be children of light, grant, we pray, that we may not be wrapped in the darkness of error but always be seen to stand in the bright light of truth. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. – Amen. Let us praise the Lord. – And give him thanks.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 16:35:15 +0000
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