The Daily Mass Readings of the Catholic Church June 15, 2013/ Saturday 1st Reading 2 COR 5:14-21 Brothers and sisters: The love of Christ impels us, once we have come to the conviction that one died for all; therefore, all have died. He indeed died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. Consequently, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh; even if we once knew Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him so no longer. So whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come. And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and given us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Responsorial Psalm PS 103:1-2, 3-4, 9-10, 11-12 R. (8a) The Lord is kind and merciful. Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all my being, bless his holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. R. The Lord is kind and merciful. He pardons all your iniquities, he heals all your ills. He redeems your life from destruction, he crowns you with kindness and compassion. R. The Lord is kind and merciful. He will not always chide, nor does he keep his wrath forever. Not according to our sins does he deal with us, nor does he requite us according to our crimes. R. The Lord is kind and merciful. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us. R. The Lord is kind and merciful. Gospel MT 5:33-37 Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the Evil One.” Reflection: Let your “Yes” mean “Yes.” Jesus wants his followers to be truthful, so that there will no need for oaths. Unfortunately, in our world people are not that truthful, and so oaths remain necessary. In that sense, the necessity of oaths is from the evil one, the result of the lack of truthfulness, the proliferation of lies. (Let us remember that the devil is the father of lies.) Lying has become endemic in our society. People lie in small and big things. Children lie to their parents; men lie to their wives; witnesses lie even when under oath; people lie when they file their income taxes or statements of assets, liabilities, and net worth; subordinates lie to cover up for their bosses. Jesus expects his followers to stem this tide by being true to their word. Let us, followers of Christ, be people of the truth, not people of the lie. God bless you all!
Posted on: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 06:39:23 +0000
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