A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday & Weekday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 13, n. 31)
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time and Weekday 13: June 28 – July 4, 2015 ***
(N.B. The pastoral tool BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year B from three perspectives. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 1. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 4. For reflections based on the Second Reading, open Series 7. Please go to Series 10 - Series 13 for the back issues of the Weekday Lectio. For the Lectio Divina on the liturgy of the past week: June 20-27, 2015, please go to ARCHIVES Series 13 and click on “Week 12”.
(Below is a LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY - WEEKDAY LITURGY: June 28 – July 4, 2015.)
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June 28, 2015: THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Gives Life”
BIBLICAL READINGS
Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24 // II Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15 // Mk 4:21-43
II. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
The series on “Mysterious Healings” that is found in Guideposts magazine is very inspiring. In her article, “8:04 A.M.” (cf. p. 67-70 of the May 2006 issue), Jan LaRosa shares a tremendous experience of personal healing. At 8:04 A.M. on an autumn day in October, while herding her kids off to school, she received an urgent call from her doctor informing her that an MRI test showed an aneurysm at the base of her skull. An aneurysm is a weak spot in the artery. The artery wall stretches like a balloon until it bursts, and the patient bleeds to death internally. Her neurosurgeon scheduled a head and neck angiogram to get a better view. Jan was devastated and wept bitterly, feeling abandoned by God. Her 75-year old mother herself died of an aneurysm that burst during surgery. She lost gallons of blood before dying. While taking a bubble bath the next day, Jan’s eye was caught by a single bubble rising through the air. She thought, Is that maybe how God wants us to live? Yes, God was the same at 8:03, before the doctor called. He was the same at 8:04, when I got the news. And he was the same at 8:05. The aneurysm didn’t surprise him, just me. Trust him, Jan. He’s the same even now. See yourself in that bubble. Let go. A few days after the angiogram, the neurologist called: “I’ve been doing this for more than thirty years and I’ve never seen this happen. Jan, you had an aneurysm. Now, you don’t. I have no medical explanation. I can only tell you the word I wrote in your chart and circled: Miracle.”
Jan’s healing story acquires greater perspective against the backdrop of today’s Gospel reading (Mk 5:21-43). It focuses on the healing acts of Jesus Christ, who accomplishes the Father’s benevolent plan to bring us to the fullness of life. The biblical scholar Eugene Maly comments: “Every day is special, a time in which unique gifts from God are always being celebrated. One of these gifts is life. While this includes our physical life, expressed in our breathing and moving about, it is also something more than that. It is a sharing in God’s own divine life. It is a symbiosis, a living with God … It is a full life, joy-filled and God-entrusted. And that kind of life is what God’s action among us is all about … Obviously not all men and women have this life. They have either a deficiency in their physical life because of some sickness or malady, and this is terminated with physical death. Or they lack God’s life; they have deliberately rejected his grace. This is a death more terrifying than the others. God’s will is for life, which was abundantly manifested in his Son’s coming that we might have it to the full … The Gospel reading is a glorious celebration of life. It tells of the restoration of the fullness of life to a hemorrhaging woman and to a young dying girl. To both, Jesus brings life and brings it gladly.”
The woman healed of her bleeding and the little girl whom Jesus raised from the dead would die again. But because of Jesus’ benevolent actions on their behalf, their chances for eternal and unending life were hopefully and happily enhanced. Their contact with Jesus was transforming and radically life-giving. In the same way, we are being challenged today to improve and enhance the quality of our own life and of that of everyone. The Lord Jesus wants to give life and build a new world through us.
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Today’s Old Testament Reading (Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24) resounds the reassuring truth that God wills life not death. Death is not his invention, nor does God rejoice in the destruction of the living. According to the Book of Wisdom, when God created us, he did not intend for us to die for he made us like himself. But it was the Devil’s jealousy that brought death into the world. Death therefore is a consequence of sin. Physical death, which is an end to earthly life, resulted from the greater “death” that issued when humankind negated God’s love. Spiritual death, which is doubly unfortunate, ruptured our intimate and filial relationship with God.
We give thanks to God who in his kindness willed to save us. He offered us the unmerited gift of eternal salvation through his beloved Son Jesus Christ. The human situation of sin and our grim experience of weakness and “death” are thus radically undone by the paschal mystery of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection. Through God’s justice, embodied in the person of Jesus, the Servant-Son of God, the fullness of life and filial communion with God are forever restored as kindly gifts to us. Indeed, it is God’s gracious will to lead us to life!
The following healing story helps us delve into the reality that God is Lord of life (cf. “Historic First: Church to Canonize Married Couple in Joint Ceremony” in Alive! April 2015, p. 5).
For the first time in her 2,000 year history the Catholic Church is to declare a husband and wife together to be saints. (…)
The miraculous healing of a baby in Valencia, Spain, in October 2008, opened the way for the joyful event. The tiny baby girl, Carmen, was born prematurely and with multiple life-threatening complications. She suffered a major brain hemorrhage, which could have caused irreversible damage. The doctors could do nothing for her, and her parents were told to prepare for the worst.
Her father and mother, “seeing the danger of death, immediately turned to God and, thanks to the local Discalced Carmelite nuns, the family and their friends started a novena to the Martin couple”, said Carmelite priest Fr. Antonio Sangalli.
Immediately the little girl began to improve and is now a healthy 6-year-old. The doctors could find no natural explanation for the cure. (…)
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Today’s Second Reading (II Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15), in which Paul appeals to the Corinthians’ generosity, can be understood better if we consider his reference to the inspiring example of the church in Macedonia (II Cor 8:1-5). Paul presents the hospitable Macedonians as an example of extreme generosity. They give not only out of their abundance but out of their generosity. Their faith is expressed in astonishing liberality. After setting the Macedonians up as an example of generosity, Saint Paul explains that the spiritual motivation for almsgiving is deeply centered on Christ’s gracious act.
Saint Paul then exhorts the church members in Corinth to help those who are in need, specifically, the community of believers in Jerusalem who are suffering from persecution and poverty. The biblical scholar Mary Ann Getty comments: “One of the real effects of the gospel is that faith makes believers responsible to one another. If the gospel is really preached and really believed, it has practical effects for the betterment of all. The same faith that eliminated the spiritual barriers between Jew and Gentile now acts as an equalizer, expressing itself in acts of justice and mercy toward the poor.”
Here are modern day example of people who give not out of abundance, but out of kindness and generosity (cf. Frank Greve, “Neediest People Are Most Generous” in Fresno Bee, May 14, 2009, p. A1 & A14).
When Jody Richards saw a homeless man begging outside a downtown McDonald’s recently, he bought the man a cheeseburger. There’s nothing unusual about that, except that Richards is homeless, too, and the 99-cent cheeseburger was an outsized chunk of the $9.50 he had earned that day from panhandling.
The generosity of poor people isn’t so much rare as rarely noticed, however. In fact, America’s poor donate more, in percentage terms, than higher-income groups do, surveys of charitable giving show. What’s more, their generosity declines less in hard times than the generosity of richer givers does. “The lowest-income fifth of the population always give at more than their capacity”, says Virginia Hodgkinson, former vice-president for research at Independent Sector, a Washington-based association of major nonprofit agencies. “The next two-fifths give at capacity, and those above that are capable of giving two or three times more than they give.” (…)
“As a rule, people who have money don’t know people in need”, said Tanya Davis, 40, a laid-off security guard and single mother. Certainly, better-off people aren’t hit up by friends and kin as often as Davis said she was, having earned a reputation for generosity while she was working. Now getting by on $110 a week in unemployment insurance and $314 a month in welfare, Davis still fields two or three appeals a week, she said, and lays out $5 or $10 weekly. To explain her giving, Davis offered the two reasons most commonly heard in three days of conversations with low-income donors: “I believe that the more I give, the more I receive, and that God loves a cheerful giver”, Davis said. “Plus, I’ve been in their position, and someday I might be again.”
Herbert Smith, 31, a Seventh-day Adventist who said he tithed his $1,010 monthly disability check – giving away 10% of it – thought that poor people give more because, in some ways, they worry less about their money. “We’re not scared of poverty the way rich people are”, he said. “We know how to get lights back on when we can’t pay the electric bill.” (…)
Women are more generous than men, studies have shown. Older people give more than younger donors with equal incomes. The working poor, disproportionate numbers of whom are recent immigrants, are America’s most generous group, according to Arthur Brooks, the author of the book, “Who Really Cares”, an analysis of U.S. generosity. Faith probably matters most, Brooks – president of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative Washington policy-research organization – said in an interview. That’s partly because above-average numbers of poor people go to church, and those who attend church give more money to secular and religious charities than non-attenders, Brooks found.
Less-religious givers such as Emel Sweeney, 73, a retired book-keeper, say that giving lights up their lives. “Have you ever looked into the face of someone you’re being generous to?” Sweeney asked with the trace of Jamaican lilt. That brought to mind her encounter with a young woman who was struggling to manage four small, tired children on a bus. They staggered and straggled at a transfer stop, along with Sweeney, who urged the mother to take a nearby cab the rest of the way. When the mother said she had no money, Sweeney gave her $20, she said. The mother, as she piled her brood into the cab, waved and mouthed a thank-you. “Those words just rested on my chest”, Sweeney said, “and as I rode home I was so happy.”
Pastor Coletta Jones, who ministers to a largely low-income tithing congregation in southeast Washington, The Rock Christian Church, thinks that poor people give more because they ask less for themselves. “When you have just a little, you’re thankful for what you have”, Jones said, “but with every step you take up the ladder of success, the money clouds your mind and gets you into a state of never being satisfied.” Brooks offered this statistic as supportive evidence: Fifty-eight percent of non-contributors with above-median incomes say they don’t have enough money to give any away.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. How do the following affirmations from the Book of Wisdom impact us personally and effectively: God did not make death; he does not rejoice in the destruction of the living; he formed us to be imperishable; he made us in his own image; etc.?
2. How do we respond to the miracles of healing and Jesus’ absolute stance for life that we hear in this Sunday’s Gospel reading? Are we ready to join Jesus in his ministry against death-dealing forces, in his defense and promotion of life-giving forces, and in his great celebration of life that is God’s gift to us?
3. Do we commit ourselves to God, the giver of life? Do we allow ourselves to be possessed by God who wants to give us the fullness of life? How do we imitate Christ in his healing ministry and care for life? Do we let the life of Christ take total hold of us?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Father,
you are the author of life.
You fashioned all things in your great love
and made the creatures of the world good and wholesome.
You formed us to be imperishable
for you have made us in your image and likeness.
By “the envy of the devil”,
sin and death entered into the world
and we experience the fragility and brokenness
of a human existence alienated from you.
But it is your will to save.
You want to give us the gift of true life.
In your Son Jesus Christ is the healing power
that overcomes the power of sin and death.
In the healing of the bleeding woman
and in the raising to life of the twelve-year old child,
we acknowledge the life-giving strength of Jesus
that is greater than the death-dealing forces of a broken world.
In Jesus, you vanquish the effects of sin.
In him, we celebrate the power of life
for he lives and reigns, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Be cured of your affliction … I say to you, arise!” (Mk 5:34, 40)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for the sick and all those who are suffering the painful effects of death-dealing forces in today’s world. Pray for doctors and all those who care for the sick. Alleviate the suffering of the sick and endeavor to share the healing love of Christ to them and to all those who need it most. Participate in laudable efforts that seek to preserve and promote the gift of life.
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June 29, 2015: MONDAY – SAINTS PETER AND PAUL, APOSTLES
“JESUS SAVIOR: Peter and Paul Are Pillars of His Church”
BIBLE READINGS
Acts 12:1-11 // II Tm 4:6-8, 17-18 // Mt 16:13-19
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
We celebrate today the solemn feast of Saints Peter and Paul, the two great pillars of the Church. These two great apostles remind us that the cost of Christian discipleship is dear. By their pastoral ministry and self-sacrificing service to the Gospel, they have witnessed to the nations that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God and the Savior of the world.
Today’s bible readings underline their intimate participation in Christ’s paschal mystery and his saving power. The Acts of the Apostles (12:1-11) narrates that King Herod Agrippa has Peter arrested and put into prison in Jerusalem so that he may be tried before the people after the Passover. Peter is under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. On the very night before Herod is to bring him to trial, Peter, secured by double chains and sleeping between two soldiers, is rescued by an angel from imminent death. This miraculous divine intervention on behalf of Peter evokes God’s marvelous works on the night of the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and at the Passover event of Jesus Christ from death to life. The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 7, remark: “This was during the week of the Passover … The deliverance of Peter, whom God frees from prison at night, and precisely at this period of the year, assumes the value of a parable. For the Church, it is still the time of Exodus. During the night of this world, it prays with confidence, remembering the Pasch of Christ and giving thanks for the marvels God has accomplished, including thanksgiving ahead of time for the crowning marvel: when Christ himself, and no longer an angel, will come back to snatch her finally forever from the hands of her enemies.”
In the Second Reading (II Tim 4:6-8, 17-18), we hear about the apostle Paul who is also a prisoner for Christ and an intimate participant in his paschal mystery. Undergoing the humiliating conditions of a captive in Rome, he entertains no illusions as to the outcome of his trial. Knowing that he would be condemned to death, he does not allow the specter of death to daunt him. Confronted by the certainty of martyrdom, he avows God’s benevolent protection and recognizes the divine saving plan at work in his life. Trusting fully in the Lord Jesus and knowing that he had done all he could to proclaim the Gospel, Paul compares his life to a spiritual sacrifice and speaks of his upcoming death as a “passage” – a Passover toward the divine kingdom. Knowing that he has competed well in his endeavor for Christ and that he has kept the faith in him, he is sure of the “crown of righteousness” that the Lord Jesus has prepared for him and all those who long for Christ’s coming.
Today’s Gospel reading (Mt 16:13-19) speaks of Peter’s confession of faith that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and the subsequent investiture of Peter at Caesarea Philippi with the “keys” of the Kingdom of heaven. The “keys” symbolize the authority and governance entrusted to the apostle Peter to lead the young church after Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus declares that Peter is the “rock” upon which he would build his Church. Peter will take on a role of primacy and a service of authority on behalf of the entire spiritual edifice, the Church, whose cornerstone and ultimate foundation is Jesus Christ himself. As willed by Jesus Christ, Peter’s ministry as a “rock” foundation of the Church and his service of authority as a recipient of the “keys” will live on through time and space.
In our celebration of the God-given gift to the Church of its great apostolic pillars, Sts. Peter and Paul, we are invited to consider anew our vocation and mission as Church and to pray for the Pope and all those who have received the special mission as stewards of the mysteries of salvation. The authors of the Days of the Lord, vol. 7, conclude: “Peter and Paul, with their contrasting charisms put at the service of one and the same gospel, illustrate the nature of the Church of Christ and of the ministry entrusted to those whom the Lord chooses. Through the faith of which the apostles are witnesses and guides, the community of believers is solidly founded on Christ, the cornerstone that nothing can dislodge. Whatever may happen, despite all the trials, God delivers his friends as he freed his Christ from the power of death. Like their Master and Lord, those who exercise their responsibilities in the Christian community have only one ambition, to stay the course, to remain faithful to their mission as stewards of the mysteries of salvation, and to make themselves, without counting the cost, the servants of the servants of God, the messengers of his love.”
As we celebrate the solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, I thank the Lord for the opportunity he gave me to spend several years of my apostolic life in Rome, under the shadows of Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican City and Saint Paul’s Basilica on Via Ostiense. I was enrolled at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute, but it was a great joy for me to help our Sisters at the souvenir shops in Saint Peter’s Basilica during my free time. I had a chance to meet pilgrims from five continents of the world and savor the “universality of the Church”. The Sisters take daily turns for Eucharistic Adoration at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel in Saint Peter’s Basilica and offer special prayers for the Church and the Pope. One Wednesday afternoon, after our work at the Cupola’s souvenir shop and while walking in the courtyard to board our van, we were asked by the Vatican police to stay put. From the other part of the courtyard, there was a tremendous activity as the Pope’s entourage arrived. When we saw Pope John Paul II, we cried out, “Viva il Papa!” Pope John Paul II, who was boarding the Pope-Mobile for his Wednesday audience with the pilgrims, turned and waved to us like a loving father. Now he is a canonized saint.
I likewise remember when I would go to the SSP Provincial House at Via Alessandro Severo, near the Basilica of St. Paul, to pray at the tomb of our Founder, Blessed James Alberione, and the first Pauline priest, Blessed Timothy Giaccardo, who were both beatified by Pope John Paul II. These two great pillars of the Pauline Family were deeply influenced by Saint Paul. The first foundation of the Pauline Family in Rome, at Via Alessandro Severo, received vital assistance from the kind Benedictines at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. In my prayer, especially in this year as we are celebrating the Pauline Centenary, I thank the Lord for the gift of the Pauline Family and our father Saint Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. What insights does the celebration of the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul give us about the nature and the ministry of the Church?
2. How did Saint Peter and Saint Paul participate intimately in Christ’s Paschal Mystery?
3. For the members of the Pauline Family: what will you do to make the celebration of the Pauline Centenary meaningful and transforming?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
O gracious Father,
you fill our hearts with joy
as we honor your great apostles:
Peter, our leader in the faith,
and Paul, the fearless preacher.
Peter raised up the Church from the faithful flock of Israel.
Paul brought your call to the nations,
and became the teacher of the world.
Each in his chosen way
gathered into unity the one family of Christ.
Both shared the martyr’s death
and are praised throughout the world.
Grant us the grace to imitate
Saint Peter’s pastoral ministry to the Church
and Saint Paul’s zeal to proclaim the Gospel to the nations.
We give you glory and praise
and we pledge to love and serve you, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Upon this rock I will build my church.” (Mt 16:18)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Meditate on the marvels God has accomplished in the Church through the life witness and ministry of Saints Peter and Paul. Make an effort to read and reflect on the Pauline letters and be inspired by St. Paul’s teachings. In any way you can, enable the people of today to experience the pastoral and evangelizing ministry of Sts. Peter and Paul.
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June 30, 2015: TUESDAY – WEEKDAY (13); THE FIRST MARTYRS OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH
N.B. In the Pauline Family, SOLEMN FEAST
OF ST.PAUL THE APOSTLE
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Masters the Raging Sea”
BIBLE READINGS
Gn 19:15-29 // Mt 8:23-27
One warm, beautiful morning, my Sisters accompanied me to the pier in Manila where I boarded a ship to Cebu Island. After putting my things in the cabin, I went to the upper deck and had a great time watching the activity on the pier as the crew prepared for sailing. When the ship began to move, there was the soothing sound of parting waters. I also felt the cooling sensation of the sea breeze. And then I heard something fascinating – the amplified voice of a crew in devout prayer to the Lord God who masters the storms and the raging seas, asking for blessing and protection for all of us sea travelers. I felt so peaceful and secure in that sea voyage knowing that everything had been entrusted to God who has dominion over all – even violent storms and turbulent seas.
God, the Creator of the sea and its boundaries, is the Almighty One who directs the course of each individual’s life. Everything that happens in the universe is under the power of God’s dominion and control. God has sovereign mastery over the elements, particularly over the sea, which seems difficult to control. He also manifests his power, not only over nature, but above all, over the raging inner storms in our lives.
The Gospel picture of Jesus who sleeps through a raging storm (Mk 8:23-27) is perplexing and challenging. At times we panic when we are buffeted by the storms of life, and Jesus seems asleep and unaware. At times we despair because Jesus seems to pay no heed. But the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, is in control. He is fully concerned and involved in our fear and distress. As the Omnipotent One, he can pacify the tumults and “storms” of our daily life.
Harold Buetow comments: “Life presents all kinds of storms: disease, natural disasters, epidemics, and famines; and human anger, hatred, prejudice, injustice, betrayal, and selfishness. For Christians, acceptance of Jesus is not a guarantee that we will sail on trouble-free waters. To the contrary, Jesus invites us to travel on uncharted waters and to make for unfamiliar shores – and all this as darkness falls. The risk of faith demands a radical trust that, whatever our particular storm, Jesus is present; being conscious of his presence will give us a calm peace in all the storms of our life.”
The following personal account gives insight into what trust in the Lord and a miracle of faith mean (cf. Pam Kidd in Daily Guideposts 2010, p. 72).
We are on a bus driving through an off-road thicket, deep in a moonless landscape. There is no electricity for miles, and I can see nothing as I stare out the window into the darkness. The bus rumbles to a halt, and my husband David and I and our fellow passengers stumble toward a pontoon boat. Within minutes we’re anchored in the middle of a forbidding bay. “This is the strangest tourist attraction I’ve ever seen”, I whisper nervously to David.
Earlier, after we’d arrived on the Lake of Vieques for a special holiday, our taxi driver had said, “Put the Bioluminiscent Bay at the top of your agenda.” So here we are, listening to the pilot of the boat say, “To experience the miracle of the bay, you must jump into the water.”
No one moves.
This is ridiculous. The water is black as the night. We all wait.
Suddenly David stands up and jumps into the unknown. In the pool of darkness, his body takes on a bright glow. His every movement radiates a flowing blue-green light. Mesmerized, I jump in, and others follow. I wave my arms and make angel wings and then twirl and swirl in a trail of fairy dust. By now, everyone is laughing and splashing as our every move turns the night magical. The moment seems part fantasy, part science fiction as the energy of our bodies sets trillions of microorganisms aglow.
Later, back on the boat heading for the shore, I think of the fear that wrapped around us. There in a dark bay, magic was waiting – waiting for someone who believed enough to take a chance and jump in.
Father, take away my toe-first inclinations and fill me with a leaping faith.
***
Today’s Old Testament reading (Gn 19:15-29) is about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot welcomes into his home the two angels sent by God to investigate the outcry against the two cities. All the men of Sodom, both young and old, surround Lot’s house demanding him to bring out his guests for they want to have sex with them. The actions of the people and their perversity more than confirm the charges that God has heard against them. The angels strike the perverse men with blindness and help Lot and his family escape from the doomed city. The Lord rains burning sulfur on Sodom and Gomorrah and destroys them and the whole valley. Lot’s wife looks back and is turned into a pillar of salt. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah manifests not only God’s judgment upon sin but also the presence of divine mercy. Mindful of Abraham, God’s choice means blessing and protection not only for the patriarch, but for everyone associated with him. Thus God spares Lot and his family because of Abraham.
The Israelite tradition has always seen the sin of Sodom as total injustice and depravity towards God’s law. Unfortunately the situation of today’s society seems to “out-Sodom” Sodom itself. The following article gives an insight into this (cf. “Price for Choice Is Far Too High” in Alive! June 2013, p. 4).
Journalist Jillian Keenan, in Slate Magazine, made what she called the feminist case for polygamy, that it “shows women the respect we deserve. Here’s the thing: as women, we really can make our own choices” (see page 5). Her argument for polygamy, or any form of adulterous arrangement, boils down to one point: choice.
Choice has, in fact, become the dominant “liberal” argument in issue after issue in today’s society. No-fault divorce, for example, is based on the right of a spouse to walk out of marriage and family if he or she chooses. Indeed, virtually anything in the area of sexuality, from fornication to “gender identity”, from pornography to “gay marriage”, is now subject only to choice. Choice extends to the use of recreational drugs, how we dress going out, the school we send our children to, and so on.
The case for euthanasia argues that a person has a right to choose to end his or her own life. Given this background, the “pro-choice” argument for abortion carries great cultural power, even to the point where we can blind ourselves to the fact that it involves the killing of unborn children
Regard for choice now requires that we be spared, as far as possible, the harmful consequences of our behavior. And it includes a refusal on our part to “judge” what other people do. “It’s his/her choice” is enough to end almost any moral debate. (…)
Looking at it more closely, however, we see that choice is simply “my preference, what I want”. Pushed to the full expression, it is the ruthless self-assertion of the more or less disconnected individual. But putting it so bluntly exposes the fact that society is becoming less a community and more an arena where people compete fiercely to get what they want. This soon leads to rule by the powerful, involving emotional blackmail, bullying, various forms of manipulation, lying (now the rule in Irish politics?), even violence.
Uneasy at such a development we desperately resort to notions like right, equality, tolerance, pluralism, “compassion”. These give the impression of reason-based morality but are, to a large extent, ethical fictions with no substance, fig leaves to hide the crudity of our self-will. “It’s my right!” still sounds more acceptable to us than “I want it”, even if we know they amount to the same thing.
The only way out of this situation is a return to true objective morality, the recognition of good and evil ultimately grounded in the notion of divine creation. However, we may not want a “way out”. Being able to devote ourselves to our own desires, with the approval of society, is certainly attractive in the short term. That it leads to immense misery in broken homes, for example, and is paid for by the lives of countless unborn children, is unfortunate. But that’s just the price to be paid for choice. It remains to be seen, however, how long it will take us to realize that this price is far too high.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we feel abandoned and neglected by Jesus when the life-storms are violent and he seems to be “sleeping”? Do we panic? Or rather, do we believe in faith that God is in control? Do we place our trust in Jesus whom even wind and sea obey?
2. What lesson do we derive from the Bible account of Sodom and Gomorrah? How is divine mercy present in this situation? How is the story of Sodom and Gomorrah relevant for the people of today?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving God,
your Son Jesus Christ slept through the raging sea.
When life-threatening storms buffet us,
help us to call on Jesus our Savior.
He is the powerful Lord who masters the winds and the raging seas.
May our faith be steadfast and strong.
May we hold on to you and to Jesus
as we journey through the turbulence and the violence of this world.
You live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.
***
God our Father,
we praise and bless you for your loving mercy and forbearance.
Forgive us our sins and perversion,
our injustice and depravity,
and our false “idols” and selfish choices.
Save us from the punishment that our sins merit.
Teach us to offer reparation for our wickedness.
Lead us, loving Father, on the right path,
on the narrow way that leads to life.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Jesus rebuked the wind and the sea, and there was a great calm.” (Mt 8:26b) //“He was mindful of Abraham.” (Gn 19:29)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Offer comfort and assistance to those whose faith is wavering and whose lives are deeply upset by trials and difficulties. // As civil authorities continue to legislate laws that are contrary to nature and the common good and negate God’s benevolent plan, pray that the Christian disciples today may live with integrity and follow the dictates of their moral conscience and that they may be willing to undergo the sacrifice and persecution that Christian commitment entails.
*** *** ***
July 1, 2015: WEDNESDAY – WEEKDAY (13); BLESSED JUNIPERO SERRA. Priest (USA)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Calls Us to Fight the Spiritual Warfare”
BIBLE READINGS
Gn 21:5; 8-20a // Mt 8:28-34
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
(Gospel Reflection by Phil McCarty, St. Christopher Parish, San Jose, CA-USA)
In today’s Gospel (Mt 8:28-34) we read of Jesus casting out demons - demons so savage that no one dared to approach the demoniacs. I am struck by the fact that the demons immediately recognized Jesus as the Son of God, and they were threatened by Him. In the constant struggle of good versus evil, do we recognize that goodness is a threat to evil? Evil seeks to intimidate goodness, for evil cannot flourish when encountered by goodness.
We all encounter evil in one form or another in our daily lives, whether in news reports of violent acts carried out in our community and around the world, or on a more personal level as we are tempted and sin. As faithful Christians we are strengthened by our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We are called to be a force for good in the face of evil. When we encounter an unjust act, do we stand up for justice? Do we pray that those who choose a path of evil will turn to the Lord, repent, and be saved? Do we seek the sacrament of reconciliation to cast the demons of sin from our own lives?
***
The following excerpt from “Deliverance and Healing Ministry: Battle Between Good and Evil”, an article by Fr. Mike Lastiri (cf. Central California Catholic Life, February 2015, p. 11) gives deeper insight into the meaning of today’s Gospel episode (Mt 8:28-34).
Demonic possessions of human persons have long been a part of tradition in the Jewish, Christian and Islamic religions. These, the largest and greatest of the world’s religions, have long held that demons have the power to overtake the will of a person, provided they are open and willing. Exorcisms are ritual actions used by the different religious tradition to exorcise demons from a person. The Gospels have many stories, i.e. Gerasene Demoniac (Mark 5:1-20; Matthew 8:28-34; Luke 8:26-39). Jesus has command over the demons, which causes fear in them, and even fear among those not possessed. In our Catholic tradition, the Rite of Exorcism has been utilized for centuries to expel demons. Bishops have authorized special priests that were especially trained to do exorcisms.
Recently, the Vatican’s Sacred Congregation of Divine Worship revised the Rite of Exorcism for use in the modern day. While the rite itself has changed little since the earlier rite used before Vatican II, the rite allows the bishops to choose diocesan priests to celebrate the exorcisms. The rite demands before anyone is considered possessed by a demon, that a full psychological evaluation is completed, and that medical professionals have rendered that they can do nothing more. The bishop is to be fully aware of every step of the process before the actual exorcism is ever authorized. As the Chief Shepherd of the local Church, representing Christ the High Priest, the role of the diocesan bishop is paramount in these matters. (…)
Should we live in fear? No. Most of us, if living a good life, regularly receiving the Sacraments, having a deep love of Jesus, and being people of prayer and charity, have nothing to fear. Demons are terrified of faithful Christians, Jews and Muslims. If one ever wonders about such things, remember that power of the name of Jesus! He is the ultimate enemy of Satan and his armies. His name is feared and cannot be touched. The name of Mary, our Blessed Mother, is also feared by the evil one.
***
Today’s Old Testament reading (Gn 21:5, 8-20a) is about the birth of Isaac, the son born to Sarah in her old age in fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham, and the poignant departure of Hagar and Ishmael, the son Abraham fathered through the slave girl Hagar. This story underlines Abraham’s obedience to God who directs the course of salvation history by showing his favor and compassion both to the “child of promise” and the child of Hagar. Sarah’s jealous concern for her son Isaac leads to the demand that Abraham expel Hagar and Ishmael. The distraught Abraham gives in to her demands only when God tells him to do so and when God assures him that Ishmael would also be a great nation being also Abraham’s offspring. Responding to their cry of distress in the barren wilderness, God saves Hagar and Ishmael from death by sending his messenger of salvation. God is with Ishmael as he grows up. Ishmael marries an Egyptian woman and becomes the father of camel nomads (Ishmaelites) dwelling in the wilderness between Palestine and Egypt. However, God’s promise of a covenant people comes down through the line of Isaac.
The Jews, the Christians and the Muslims are all descendants of Abraham, our father in faith. Led by Pope Francis and together with the Israeli and Palestinian Presidents, the encounter of prayer for peace on June 8, 2014 at the Vatican Gardens was an important interreligious dialogue and a significant step on the path of unity and peace (cf. L’Osservatore Romano, June 13, 2014, p. 7-9).
From the Address by Shimon Peres, Israeli President: “On this moving occasion, brimming with hope and full of faith, let us all raise with you, Your Holiness, a call for peace between religions, between nations, between communities, and between fellow men and women. Let true peace become our legacy soon and swiftly.”
From the Address by Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President: “O Lord, bring comprehensive and just peace to our country and regions so that our people and the peoples of Middle East and the whole world would enjoy the fruit of peace, stability and coexistence. We want peace for us and for our neighbors. We seek prosperity and peace of mind for ourselves and for others alike. O Lord, answer our prayers and make successful our endeavors for you are most just, most merciful, Lord of the Worlds.”
From the Address of Pope Francis: “Lord, God of Abraham, God of the Prophets, God of Love, you created us and you call us to live as brothers and sisters. Give us the strength daily to be instruments of peace; enable us to see everyone who crosses our path as our brother or sister. Make us sensitive to the plea of our citizens who entreat us to turn our weapons of war into implements of peace, our trepidation into confident trust, and our quarreling into forgiveness.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Are we aware of the constant struggle of good versus evil? Do we recognize that goodness is a threat to evil? In the spiritual warfare, which side are we on?
2. Do we mirror God’s compassionate stance for all? Do we promote interreligious dialogue and peace among nations?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(By Phil McCarty, St. Christopher Parish, San Jose, CA-USA)
Lord Jesus,
grant us the wisdom and courage
to face the evil we encounter,
whether great or small,
so that the goodness that comes from you
will prevail.
You live and reign,
forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“The whole town came out to meet Jesus.” (Mt 8:34) // “God hears the boy’s cry.” (Gn 21:17).
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Let us resolve to fight the evils and injustices in today’s society. By our life and example, let us promote interreligious dialogue and peace among nations.
*** *** ***
July 2, 2015: THURSDAY – WEEKDAY (13)
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Has Power to Heal”
BIBLE READINGS
Gn 22:1b-19 // Mt 9:1-8
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
(By Mario Domino, St. Christopher Parish, San Jose, CA-USA)
Matthew’s description of the healing of the paralytic is not as elaborate as Mark’s (2:1-12). Matthew was more intent on proving Jesus’ messianic fulfillment: the establishment of a new kingdom. In order to do that, Jesus proves that he has power and authority.
Matthew shows that Jesus cures not only physical ills but, most significantly, spiritual ills. First, he tells the paralytic that his sins are forgiven him. Then, showing he can discern people’s thoughts, he rebukes the scribes by telling the paralytic to take up his stretcher and walk.
In a very convincing manner, he shows us that just as he has the authority to forgive sins, he also has the power to cure physical ills.
From this reading, we should take solace in the restorative powers of Jesus. He can indeed alleviate our physical ills but, more importantly, he does forgive our sins
***
Jesus Christ is the “holistic healer” par excellence. In imitation of Christ, his disciples endeavor to heal broken lives through “holistic” ways as illustrated in the following account (cf. Gladys Gonzales, M.M., “Healing Broken Lives” in Maryknoll, July/August 2014, p. 24-28).
Much of Tanzania’s landscape is surrounded by large boulders, which entrepreneurs are removing to construct buildings. The process is leaving huge holes, like craters, rendering the land unusable, causing massive erosion, and pushing out wildlife, flora and fauna. Added to that is the plight of the women who labor to break the stones to construct the buildings. (…)
Many of the women have lung problems. Many are completely blind or have impaired vision caused by the stone chips, particles and dust covering not only their faces but their whole bodies as they work day after day under a blazing sun. They have no hope of ever leaving this work until their bodies completely give out. I am working to help them holistically, that is, restoring their whole being, body and spirit, to health.
During my 18 years as a missioner in Tanzania I have discovered the importance of holistic healing working not only with women’s groups but also youth groups and children with HIV … I came to understand that the whole person is involved in any activity. That is what is meant by holistic. So I moved from formal teaching to informal teaching and the art of holistic healing. I believe that through nurturing, listening and responding to the deeper wisdom of our whole being, we can heal ourselves and the world. (…)
As a Maryknoll Sister, I am committed to carry on our charism: “to be an active participant in the mission of God: a mission of peace, healing, wholeness and love.”
***
Today’s Old Testament reading (Gn 22:1b-19) is about the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith. In the Bible, testing proves the faith of God’s people. In today’s episode, God puts Abraham to the test by asking him to sacrifice Isaac, “his only son, whom he loves”. Isaac, the reward of Abraham’s inchoative faith, becomes the test of the same faith. What is demanded of Abraham is the surrender of that faith’s only basis: Isaac – his one thin line of hope on the divine promise. God’s “test” demands the complete surrender of his “beloved son”. Abraham’s obedient response does not withhold anything. He offers not only the sacrifice of his “beloved son”, but above all the sacrifice of his will. Abraham learns and relearns that only faith in God is the way to prosperity and posterity. Abraham passes the test with flying colors. God confirms anew the covenant promise of numerous descendants and his abundant blessings upon them. Abraham’s “sacrifice” prefigures the heavenly Father’s own perfect sacrifice of his only begotten Son Jesus Christ on the altar of the cross.
Abraham’s obedient faith response challenges us to trust God fully and to surrender totally to his mysterious but benevolent will. The following story illustrates what it means to surrender to the divine will in a spirit of sacrifice (cf. Teresa Anne Arries, “Place of Sacrifice” in Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul, ed. Jack Canfield, et. al, Deerfield Beach: Health Communications, Inc. 1997, p. 200-204)
(…) In the examining room, I had looked at Kim’s sweet face, distorted with pain. Her anguish wrung my heart. Holding my crying baby, I turned and faced the doctor. “If, if! That’s all I’ve been hearing for 16 months. Kim has had these painful shots every two weeks since she was born. You can see how she screams and cries. And all you can tell me is, ‘if’?”
Understanding the stress and fear behind my outburst, the doctor had not taken offense. “Her white blood cell count is the lowest it has ever been”, he said gently, holding the lab report in his hand. “The gamma globulin shots have helped her to survive her bout of illness, but her own body is not producing white blood cells in large enough quantities. I can’t give you a miracle. Kim will either start producing enough white cells or she won’t.” (…)
Tired and numb, I had returned home. Hearing Kim stir in her crib, I tiptoed in to check on her. In a deep sleep, she sobbed softly as she painfully moved her legs. The shots would bother her for several days. (…)
I went to the kitchen and began washing the breakfast dishes. The warm water felt wonderful on my cold hands as I twirled the soap suds, my mind beginning to wander. I was remembering when Kim became ill. “I wasn’t afraid, at first, I thought, as I spoke quietly in my mind to God. I knew you could heal. There is nothing you can’t do. If my baby was ill, you would heal her. Nothing more simple, right? Nothing more simple. I reached for the pan on the stove and started fiercely scrubbing it. Okay God, so what’s the deal? I know I believe and have faith in you. I have prayed. Our church has prayed. The elders have laid hands on Kim. We’ve studied your word, appropriated your promises and awaited your timing. What do you want? Why won’t you heal my baby? No answer came.
The dishes done, I dried my hands. In utter despondency, I went back to the living room. If my silent God had deserted me, where else was I to turn? My eyes fell on my Bible on the coffee table. A verse from Genesis 22 slipped into my mind, stunning me with its impact. I quickly opened my Bible to make sure that I had remembered it correctly. I had. The verse read, And he said, “Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.”
I knew then, with absolute certainty that God was asking for Kim. My mind was suddenly clear as never before, and I realized that I had been placing my love for my little girl above my love for God. I had been asking for my will. My will. Not God’s. Not his sovereign choice. A clay pot had been railing at its maker, not falling in submission at his holy feet.
Realizing that I’d been manipulating God, I saw that I’d been doing all the “right things” so he would be required to answer my pleadings. I had never really considered the possibility that he might ask for Kimmie. Surely, sweet Jesus, you’re not asking this of me? Not my baby’s life. How easy for you to heal her. Just a touch. Oh, my Lord and my God, not this!
Even as I spoke, though, I knew the answer. Only total submission to God’s sovereign will would do. In my breaking heart I built an altar. Upon this altar I placed my only, beloved child as truly and sacrificially as Abraham had ever placed Isaac on the altar of Moriah. Oh, my Lord, I place my trust in thee. If you are going to take my baby, take her. I can’t fight you any longer. Forgive me, Lord, for my lack of trust and obedience. I don’t understand why you are asking for my little girl, but I do love and trust you. Help me in the time ahead.
A profound peace filled me. The battle was over. The victory won. I let go of all the anger and fear that I’d been living with for so many months. I would rest in the perfect will of God for my life.
Six weeks later, Kim and I were at Dr. Rubinstein’s office again. Kim had not been ill during all that time. She sat up bright and alert in my arms, radiant with health. “I’ve never seen anything like this”, said Dr. Rubinstein with a puzzled look in his face. “Kim’s white blood cell count is absolutely normal. This is impossible. It couldn’t have changed so quickly.”
But it had. And in my heart I knew why. As Isaac had been returned to Abraham, so had my little girl been given back to me. My Lord was the Great Physician and a Father to be trusted.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we turn to Jesus Lord and seek healing? Do we help our sick brothers and sisters to come to Jesus and be healed? Do we care for their spiritual-physical needs?
2. Are we willing to make the Abraham-like sacrifice in our life? Do we trust the loving God enough to surrender our will to him?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Loving Jesus,
we turn to you and seek total healing.
Forgive us our sins
and heal our weary soul and broken spirit.
Let our ailing bodies be restored to health,
according to the Father’s compassionate will.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
***
(Cf. Prayer after the Second Reading – Easter Vigil)
God and Father of all who believe in you,
you promised Abraham
that he would become the father of all nations,
and through the death and resurrection of Christ
you fulfill that promise:
everywhere throughout the world
you increase your chosen people.
May we respond to your call
by joyfully accepting your invitation to the new life of grace.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Your sins are forgiven … Rise and walk.” (Mt 9:5) //“Because you acted as you did in not withholding from me your beloved son, I will bless you abundantly.” (Gn 22:16)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Pray for a sick person and, if possible, assist that person to have access to the sacraments of reconciliation and the anointing of the sick. // Pray to God for the grace to be able to submit to his saving will. To help you in developing this obedient stance of faith, dedicate some precious moments of the day to meditative prayer.
***
July 3, 2015: FRIDAY – SAINT THOMAS, APOSTLE
“JESUS SAVIOR: His Church Is Built Upon the Foundation of Apostles and Prophets”
BIBLE READINGS
Eph 2:19-22// Jn 20:24-29
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
(Gospel Reflection by Sr. Mary Gemma Victorino, PDDM)
St. Thomas put conditions to the apostles before he would profess his faith in the Risen Lord. He wanted to touch and see the marks of Jesus' crucifixion and cause of death. And the Risen Lord gave in to his conditions. A week after the first apparition to the apostles, Jesus came again and invited Thomas: "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." He who wanted to touch Jesus was in turn touched by him and exclaimed: "My Lord and my God!"
There is a “doubting Thomas” in each of us. It is but normal that in our life of faith we oftentimes seek confirmation from the Lord, even through our bodily faculties. We like to see, hear, touch, even taste and smell the presence and the goodness of the Lord especially in our “down moments”. Otherwise, we fluctuate and falter in our following of the Master.
Our Lord, in his goodness, gives in to these 'faith tests' now and then. I had one such experience lately. May 31 was the opening of our new PDDM Apostolic Center in Davao City, Southern Philippines. I came all the way from Manila to participate in this joyful event but, in the rush of preparations, I had a freak accident and suffered a second degree ankle sprain which left me immobile at the moment of the blessing of the center. As I was languishing in my pain and wondering how I could proceed to the new Center and join in the celebration, lo and behold, a poor parishioner who came around in his wheelchair saw me at that very moment. He offered his "special seat" just so I could be where my heart and body wanted to be. I was so touched by the gesture that I couldn't help thinking it was Jesus himself who came to console me.
The “doubting” Thomas became a loving, committed apostle of the Lord. In John 11:16, he professed his commitment by boldly saying: "Let us also go to die with him." Indeed he followed the Lord and witnessed to his love for him to the farthest bounds of the earth. In the middle of the VI century, an Egyptian merchant wrote how in southern India he unexpectedly met a group of Christians who informed him that they had been evangelized by the Apostle St. Thomas.
***
Today’s First Reading (Eph 2:19-22) underlines the familial and harmonious character of the Church as members of the family of God and as fellow citizens with God’s people. The Church is a community of “flesh and blood” believers, that is, the dwelling place of God in the Spirit. The construction of the Church depends on Christ, first and foremost, but it also requires the apostolic witnessing and the ministry of the prophets for viability and growth. Jesus Christ is the Church’s capstone, its crowning glory. The service of the apostles and prophets make known God’s wisdom and the saving Gospel to the ends of the earth.
Today as we celebrate the feast of Saint Thomas, we are filled with thanksgiving for the marvels God has done to build up the Church through the instrumentality of this apostle. In the following profile presented on the Internet by Wikipedia, we contemplate the growth and expansion of the Church through the evangelizing work and martyrdom of Saint Thomas the Apostle.
Saint Thomas the Apostle, also called “Doubting Thomas” or Didymus (meaning “Twin”) was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. He is best known for questioning Jesus’ resurrection after death when first told of it, followed by his confession of faith as both “My Lord and my God” on seeing and touching Jesus’ tangible and physical wounded body in the Gospel of Saint John (20:28). Traditionally he is said to have traveled outside the Roman Empire to preach the Gospel, traveling as far as India. He is often regarded as the Patron Saint of India. (…)
An early third century Syriac work known as the Acts of Thomas connects the apostle’s Indian ministry with two kings, one in the north and the other in the south. According to one of the legends in the Acts, Thomas was at first reluctant to accept the mission, but the Lord appeared to him in a night vision and said, “Fear not, Thomas. Go away to India and proclaim the Word. My grace shall be with you.” But the Apostle sill demurred, so the Lord overruled the stubborn disciple by ordering circumstances so compelling that he was forced to accompany an “Indian” merchant, Abbanes, as a slave to his native place in northwest “India”, where he found himself in the service of the Indo-Parthian king, Gondophares. According to the Acts of Thomas, the apostle’s ministry resulted in many conversions throughout the kingdom, including the king and his brother.
Remains of his buildings, influenced by Greek architecture, indicate that he was a great builder. According to the legend, Thomas was a skilled carpenter and was bidden to build a palace for the king. However, the Apostle decided to teach the king a lesson by devoting the royal grant to acts of charity and thereby laying up treasure for the heavenly abode. (…)
The Acts of Thomas identifies his second mission in India with a kingdom ruled by King Mahadwa, one of the rulers of a first-century dynasty in southern India. It is most significant that, aside from a small remnant of the Church of the East in Kurdistan, the only other church to maintain a distinctive identity is the Saint Thomas Christian congregation along the Malabar Coast of Kerala State in southwest India. According to the most ancient tradition of this church, Thomas evangelized this area and then crossed to the Coromandel Coast of southeast India, where, after carrying out a second mission, he died near Madras (= Chennai). (…)
He reputedly preached to all classes of people and had about 17,000 converts, including members of the four principal castes. Later, stone crosses were erected at the places where churches were founded, and they became pilgrimage centers. In accordance with apostolic custom, Thomas ordained teachers and leaders or elders, who were reported to be the earliest ministers of the Malabar church. (…)
Saint Thomas was killed in India in 72 A.D., attaining martyrdom at Saint Thomas Mount near Mylapore (part of Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu). He was buried on the site of Chennai’s Saint Thomas Basilica in the Diocese of Saint Thomas of Mylapore … The tradition is that Thomas, having aroused the hostility of the local priests by making converts, fled to Saint Thomas’ Mount four miles (6 km) southwest of Mylapore. He was supposedly followed by his persecutors, who transfixed him with a lance as he prayed kneeling on a stone. His body was brought to Mylapore and buried inside the church he had built. The present Basilica is on this spot. It was first built in the 16th century and rebuilt in the 19th.
Few relics are still kept in the church at Mylapore, Tamil Nadu, India. According to tradition, in 232 A.D., the greater part of relics of the Apostle Thomas are said to have been sent by an Indian king and brought from India to the city of Edessa (Mesopotamia) on which occasion the Syriac Acts of Thomas were written. On 27 September 2006, Pope Benedict recalled that “an ancient tradition claims that Thomas first evangelized Syria and Persia, then went on to Western India, from where also he finally reached southern India.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do we act like “doubting Thomas” in low points of our life, and challenge the Lord God to give us a reason for belief in him? Do we surrender ourselves more deeply in faith to God and thus merit the beatitude: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed”?
2. What role did Saint Thomas the Apostle play in the building up and growth of the Church? What is your personal contribution in the building up and growth of the Church?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
(Cf. Opening Prayer – Mass of the Feast of Saint Thomas)
Almighty Father,
as we honor Thomas the apostle,
let us always experience the help of his prayers.
May we have eternal life by believing in Jesus,
whom Thomas acknowledged as Lord,
for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“He said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (Jn 20:28) // “In him you are also being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (Eph 2:19-22)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Let us renew our faith in the Risen Lord, especially in the “down moments” of our life and say to him, “My Lord and my God!” Pray for the Church in India, especially the Syro-Malabar Church whose foundation is attributed to the apostolic works of Saint Thomas. Let every kind word and deed that you do be a part of the Church’s action of building together a “dwelling place of God in the Spirit”.
***
July 4, 2015: SATURDAY – WEEKDAY (13); BVM ON SATURDAY
“JESUS SAVIOR: He Is the New Wine and Bridegroom”
BIBLE READINGS
Gn 27:1-5, 15-29 // Mt 9:14-17
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
In the reading (Mt 9:14-17), John the Baptist’s disciples, probably prompted by the Pharisees, ask Jesus why they and the Pharisees fast, but his disciples do not. Jesus retorts with a rhetorical question: “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?” In today’s Gospel, Jesus underlines a deeper truth that goes beyond the question of fasting. In the Bible, the marriage feast is a symbol of the kingdom of God. Jesus - the Bridegroom – invites us into the fullness of the kingdom, depicted as a marriage feast. As the Bridegroom of the Church, he brings in the radical newness of the reign of God. The radical newness is depicted in the image of “new wine” in fresh wineskins and of a “piece of unshrunken cloth” that will tear an old cloth if patched into it. Elements of Judaism that were either a temporary dispensation (e.g. the animal sacrifice) or a mere preparation for something better are surpassed by the Bridegroom Jesus Christ. He blesses us in a new way that shatters old categories and conventions. In his public ministry, Jesus did not require his disciples to fast the way the Pharisees and the disciples of John did. In the post-resurrection Church, “fasting”, with its many expressions, is still appropriate as long as it looks forward to the culmination of the kingdom. Fasting is done in the spirit of the Church-Bride waiting for Christ-Bridegroom’s return at the end time.
The radical newness of the kingdom and the “fasting” it entails can be perceived in the life of Mother Teresa of Calcutta (cf. Mother Teresa: Her Essential Wisdom, ed. Carol Kelly-Gangi, New York: Barnes and Noble, 2006, p. 97, 69, 64).
My sister and I used to read the same books. One day my sister read a book and passed it to me. As soon as I read two pages, I felt it would be a sin to read that book. Later I asked my sister whether she had read the book. She replied that she had and had found nothing wrong in it. There was no sin in my sister reading the book, but in conscience I could not read it. (…)
By our vow of chastity we renounce God’s natural gift to women to become mothers – for the greater gift – that of being virgins for Christ, of entering into a much more beautiful motherhood. (…)
I can’t bear being photographed but I make use of everything for the glory of God. When I allow a person to take a photograph, I tell Jesus to take one soul to heaven out of Purgatory.
***
We hear in today’s Old Testament reading (Gn 27:1-5, 15-29) about Isaiah’s blessing of Jacob. In the ancient world, deathbed blessings are believed to be particularly effective. A blessing or a curse, once spoken, has a life of its own and could not be recalled. The blessing that the old and blind Isaac gives to Jacob is irrevocable. The blessing, however, has been obtained through a scheme instigated by Rebekah to deprive Esau of his birthright. But the God who entered into a covenant relationship with Abraham is able to write salvation history even on crooked lines. Indeed, the Lord God cannot be bound by the conventional arrangement that gives preference to the firstborn. Jacob, despite his unworthiness and the odds against him, becomes the object of divine choice to perpetuate the saving plan. Indeed, the God of Abraham is the Lord of history.
Nonetheless, the effect of Jacob’s deceit is painful and shattering. The aggrieved older brother Esau bears a murderous grudge against Jacob. Rebekah is compelled to send away Jacob for his own safety to her brother Laban in Haran (North Mesopotamia). Esau, however, is not a totally innocent victim. Esau has brought this on himself by irresponsibly selling his birthright to his younger brother Jacob for a bowl of lentil soup and by his wanton intermarriage with Canaanites. Esau married the Hittite girls, Judith and Basemath, who made life miserable for Isaac and Rebecca. No wonder, Rebekah wants to secure Isaac’s blessing for Jacob and not for his twin Esau!
Today’s account helps us to consider the existence of family discord and squabbles that need healing, forgiveness and reconciliation. Each member needs to invest oneself in promoting the joy and goodness of the family spirit. The following story, circulate on the Internet, gives us an insight into this.
“Loving Family”
I ran into a stranger as he passed by.
“Oh, excuse me please”, was my reply.
He said, “Please excuse me too.
I just wasn’t watching for you.”
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way, and we said good-bye.
But at home, a different story is told,
how we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
my son stood beside me, very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
“Move out of the way”, I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn’t realize how harshly I’d spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God’s still small voice came to me and said,
“While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor.
You’ll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise.
You never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.”
By this time, I felt very small.
And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed.
“Wake up, little one, wake up”, I said.
“Are these the flowers you picked for me?”
He smiled, “I found ‘em, out by the tree.
I picked ‘em because they’re pretty like you.
I knew you’d like ‘em, especially the blue.”
I said, “Son, I’m sorry for the way I acted today.
I shouldn’t have yelled at you that way.”
He said, “Mom, that’s okay.
I love you anyway.”
I said, “Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.”
***
Today, 4th of July, the American people celebrate Independence Day. This civic observance is an occasion for the Americans to commit themselves to God and to the works of justice and freedom for all. Like the various prophets in salvation history, the words of the various statesmen and founding fathers of the U.S.A. remind us that God is at the root of the nation’s existence and destiny. The following statements they made are insightful (cf. “In God We Trust” in Fresno Bee, July 4, 2013, p. A19).
George Washington: Commander-in-Chief in the American Revolution; Signer of the Constitution; First President of the Unites States: “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.”
John Adams: Signer of the Declaration of Independence; One of Two Signers of the Bill of Rights; Second President of the United States: “We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.”
James Madison; Signer of the Constitution; Fourth President of the United States: “Before any man can be considered as a member of civil society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the universe.”
Thomas Jefferson: Signer and the Principal Author of the Declaration of Independence; Third President of the United States: “And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever?”
John Quincy Adams: Diplomat; Sixth President of the United States: “Is it not in the chain of human events, the birthday of the nation is indissolubly linked with the birthday of the Savior? – that it forms a leading event in the progress of the Gospel dispensation? Is it not that the Declaration of Independence first organized the social compact on the foundation of the Redeemer’s mission upon earth? – That it laid the cornerstone of human government upon the first precepts of Christianity?” (…)
Benjamin Franklin: Signer of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution: “I’ve lived, sir, a long time, and the longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth: That God governs in the affairs of men. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? We’ve been assured in the sacred writings that unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. I firmly believe this, and I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel.”
John Jay: Co-Author of the Federalist Papers; First Chief-Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court: “The Bible is the best of all books, for it is the word of God and teaches us the way to be happy in this world and in the next. Continue therefore to read it and to regulate your life by its precepts.” // “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers, and it is the duty, as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation, to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
1. Do I realize the radical newness of the kingdom of God that Jesus brings? How do I live out the radical newness of the kingdom?
2. Have we ever committed abuse, deceit, injustice and hurt to the people whom we love … to the people close to us? How do we feel about it? Do we try to rectify the harm we have done?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Jesus Lord,
you are the Bridegroom of the Church.
You call us to share in the feast of your kingdom.
You offer us to savor the “new wine” in fresh wineskins.
Teach us to practice true “fasting” on behalf of your kingdom.
Help us to express in our life
the beauty of the Gospel
and the radical newness that your life brings.
You live and reign, forever and ever.
Amen.
***
Loving Father,
you are kind and forgiving.
We are deeply sorry for the hurt and injustice
we have caused our family members
and the people close to us.
Grant us the gift of healing and reconciliation.
Lead us on the right path
and into the peace and joy of your kingdom.
We bless and praise you
for you are our gracious God, now and forever.
Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the day. Please memorize it.
“Pour new wine into fresh new wineskins.” (Mt 9:17)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
Examine the actions and choices in your life that are not “new wine” in new wineskins and ask the Lord for the grace to overcome them. With the strength of the Holy Spirit, carry out the “fasting” (e.g. from excessive use of digital media, etc.) that will benefit you spiritually and promote the kingdom of God. // Resolve to be more kind, gentle, patient and thoughtful to your family members and the people close to you.
***
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US