Tag: mercy

“Something greater than Solomon here.” | Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 11:29-32)

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.”

As today’s Gospel picks up where the Gospel reading for Saturday left off, the crowd continues to surround Jesus. As he speaks to the people, he refers to two great prophets and his fulfillment of them as the Messiah. The crowd would have known about Solomon and Jonah and shared stories about them for generations. Jesus says of Solomon’s wisdom: “there is something greater than Solomon here.” Similarly, he refers to Jonah among the Ninevites in his call for repentance: “and there is something greater than Jonah here.” Just as Jonah’s experience was a sign to the people of Nineveh, Jesus’ death and resurrection would become a sign to the people of his generation, both a sign and the signified. He is present today in his living word and present body and blood, soul and divinity, in the Eucharist.

Father in heaven, help me fully appreciate the significance of Jesus your Son. While the prophets pointed to you, they lived and died as signs of your mercy and your coming kingdom. Jesus pointed to you and continues to point to you; even more, he is the living sign, the Word incarnate, present to me in this moment through his death and resurrection. Give me the grace to distinguish between human wisdom and divine guidance. As far as human wisdom can ascend, in the life of the Trinity there is something greater than Solomon. As Saint Paul says, help me remember my call and my end in the person of Christ: “Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles, among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.”

From the responsorial psalm: “The LORD has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. The Lord has made known his salvation.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaVQ82g2C4

“The feast is ready.” | Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 22:1-14)

Jesus again in reply spoke to the chief priests and elders of the people in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. He dispatched his servants to summon the invited guests to the feast, but they refused to come. A second time he sent other servants. . . . Some ignored the invitation and went away, one to his farm, another to his business. The rest laid hold of his servants, mistreated them, and killed them. The king was enraged and sent his troops, destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The feast is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy to come. Go out, therefore, into the main roads and invite to the feast whomever you find.’ The servants went out into the streets and gathered all they found, bad and good alike, and the hall was filled with guests. . . . Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus speaks to the chief priest and elders, the Jewish spiritual leaders. The wedding feast he describes is the kingdom of heaven. In the parable, the king goes to extremes to fill his hall with guests. The ones invited are not worthy to come. Why is that? One went away to attend to his farm, another to his business. Others beat and killed the servants who invited them. In comparing the unworthy who were invited to the banquet to the chief priests and elders, Jesus then goes on to say in the parable that the invitations would go out to those on the street, to the good and the bad alike. As in the wedding banquet, the invitation to the kingdom of heaven goes out to the good and bad alike. Some accept that invitation, and some don’t. God goes to extremes in his invitation to feast at the banquet of his mercy. What in the world is there that would keep us from accepting it?

Father in heaven, you invite me to hear and accept your invitation to come into your kingdom. Throughout the course of the day, let me stop to ponder what that means. You, the creator of heaven and earth, say to me as you say to many, “Come to the banquet.” How am I to respond to that in thanksgiving, in my words and actions, and in how I treat others? Give me the grace, Lord, always to say yes to your invitation.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Monday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 10:25-37)

There was a scholar of the law who stood up to test Jesus and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Today’s Gospel makes clear that the language God uses to speak to his people is mercy. In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus illustrates for the scholar what it means to be a neighbor. First a priest and then a Levite approach a victim lying in the road, but they see the man and pass him on the opposite side. As models caretakers of worship and the Temple, they would be expected also to be model neighbors. Instead, a Samaritan helps the victim. In other passages in the Gospel, as when Jesus tries to pass through a Samaritan village to reach Jerusalem, the Samaritans are anything but welcoming, and Jesus finds another way to reach the city. In the same way, God’s mercy—if not expressed through his chosen people, the Israelites—finds another way through the love and care the Samaritan provides for the victim. What does cooperation with God’s grace do for our relationships with neighbors?

Father in heaven, eternal life seems far off, and here it is sometimes hard to love. Within the turmoil of this life, I forget to be loving or choose not to love. Yet, in this state of exile, you hear my prayer just as you heard the prayers of Jonah: “From the belly of the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD, his God.” And from the responsorial psalm, I hear: “Out of my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me; From the midst of the nether world I cried for help, and you heard my voice.” Hear me, Lord, as I encounter my neighbor many times over today and have the opportunity to show compassion in return as you have been compassionate to me. Where I tend to accuse, show me how to forgive; when I am tempted to wound with words, teach me to heal; and when I am inclined to deny who my neighbor is, help me instead be welcoming and merciful.

From the Gospel acclamation: “I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” Lord, be merciful; help me show mercy in return.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 9:9-13)

“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” [Jesus] heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

Jesus calls Matthew as he sits at the customs post, and Matthew follows him immediately. At Matthew’s house, the Pharisees criticize Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners. From the point of view of the Pharisees, Jesus chooses the wrong crowd—the outcasts, the ones to be avoided, the unrighteous. But Jesus’ thought-provoking response is an invitation to his mercy not only for tax collectors and sinners but also for the self-righteous who fail to see error in their strict judgment of others. Through his presence among sinners, Jesus shows us where mercy is to be placed, and he speaks that place into existence when he says, “Follow me.”

Father in heaven, you sent Jesus to call every person to yourself away from brokenness and sin. Help me understand, Lord, and take to heart these two realities: you recognize that every person sins—even the righteous—and you desire to heal us with your mercy and compassion. God, help me recognize my constant need for healing through the presence of Christ your Son in the sacraments and in your word. Divine Physician, have mercy on us!

From the Gospel acclamation: “We praise you, O God, we acclaim you as Lord;
the glorious company of Apostles praise you.” Saint Matthew, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaVQ82g2C4

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 18:21-35)

“Now when his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were deeply disturbed, and went to their master and reported the whole affair. His master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.”

“Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the LORD? Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself, can he seek pardon for his own sins? If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath, who will forgive his sins?” These words of Sirach from the first reading introduce the mortal cost of unforgiveness, which Jesus examines in response to Peter’s question about how often one is to forgive. Jesus tells Peter, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. In the parable about the king settling accounts with his servants, the master hands over to torturers the unforgiving servant until he should pay back the whole debt. “Wrath and anger are hateful things,” says Sirach, “yet the sinner hugs them tight.” In that image of the wrathful servant, Jesus gives each of us the consequence of refusing to forgive. “Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant,” the master asks the servant, “as I had pity on you?”

Father in heaven, help me understand what I often fail to understand and fall into: inability to forgive and its tortures are of my own making. Give me the grace to follow your commandment to love one another and to experience your freedom through the sacrament of reconciliation. That’s the way out; that’s the means of dismantling the ramshackle hut where hurt and unforgiveness dwell. What is the cost of unforgiveness? Let me hear and obey Jesus as he says to me what he says to Peter, that anger and unforgiveness go on thriving “unless each of you forgives your brother from your heart.” Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner, and through Christ your Son help me forgive past injuries and rise up to live in the light of your love.

From the responsorial psalm: “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. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“Whoever loves me will keep my word.” | Memorial of Saints Cornelius and Cyprian, Martyrs | 9.16.23

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 6:43-49)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”

In today’s Gospel according to Luke, Jesus compares the types of fruit a tree produces, rotten or good, and teaches his disciples the importance of obedience. He says to them, “The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart.” To bring things out of the good treasure of the heart means that one has a store of it to share. As Jesus says elsewhere in the Gospel, “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” What is the source of that goodness but to come into the presence of God, to listen to his Word, and then to act on it?

Father in heaven, help me today to come to you, not in vain, saying, “Lord, Lord,” inattentive to your will. “I will show you what someone is like,” Jesus says, “who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them.” Things overwhelm, the day can be enough. Floods come breaking into life, rivers burst and tear at old, established foundations. Despite that, through all that, let me listen out for you and do your will. Give me the grace to dig deeply to find you in the events of the day and choose to store up your good gifts in the treasure of my heart. And for whose sake do I do this? You alone, Lord. As Saint Paul says, “To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God, honor and glory forever and ever.”

From the responsorial psalm: “Who is like the LORD, our God, and looks upon the heavens and the earth below? He raises up the lowly from the dust; from the dunghill he lifts up the poor.” Saints Cornelius and Cyprian, martyrs, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“Behold, your mother.” | Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows | 9.15.23

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 2:33-35)

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

From the cross, Jesus entrusts to Mary the maternal care of John, the disciple whom Jesus loved. By doing this, Jesus extends this gift from the cross to all people who believe and follow him. At the same time, he says to John: “Behold, your mother.” As Jesus entrusts his mother to the care of the beloved disciple, and by extension, to the care of the Church and all believers, he directs our gaze to divine love. The twofold charge to behold Mary Our Mother and to be beheld by her refers to a relationship like that between God the Father and Jesus his Son. John’s response exemplifies what our response should be to Jesus’ loving invitation: “And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.”

Father in heaven, thank you for sending your Son into the world—into the midst of evil, sin, and death—to save us from the darkness of sin and to destroy death through the death and resurrection of your Son. Thank you, Jesus, for the profound words you spoke as you were dying on the cross. You entrusted your mother to the disciple John and to all disciples, making her the spiritual mother of all Christians. Mary, Lady of Sorrows, you entered into the Passion of your Son, united with him at the foot of the cross. Pray for us sinners; teach me to love your Son as you love him. Mother of mercy, hear our prayers!

From the Gospel acclamation: “Blessed are you, O Virgin Mary; without dying you won the martyr’s crown beneath the Cross of the Lord.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaVQ82g2C4

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 3:13-17)

Jesus said to Nicodemus: “No one has gone up to heaven except the one who has come down from heaven, the Son of Man. And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus responds to Nicodemus, who asks him in an earlier passage how one can be born again after growing old. Jesus tells him that one must be born from above and that no one except the Son of Man, Jesus himself, has gone up to heaven and come down from it. Jesus also tells Nicodemus: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” In perfect union with the Father yet fully human—true God and true man—Jesus explains to Nicodemus the purpose of his incarnation: “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”

Father in heaven, help me hear and trust in the words of Jesus. Just as you and your Son are one, you desire that we become one with you in eternal life. In the person of Christ is the inseparable union of divine and human natures. Your desire that we might not perish but have eternal life lies hidden in the mystery of your being; it is love itself. Lord, help me comprehend that eternal love for all who would believe, came at the cost of lifting up your Son on the cross for the sake of our salvation. Let his Passion be strength to me. In dying, he destroys death; in rising, he restores life. Give me the desire to be in union with you and through your grace be unafraid to take up my own cross.

From the Gospel acclamation: “We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you, because by your Cross you have redeemed the world.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaVQ82g2C4

“Woe to you when all speak well of you.” | Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 6:20-26)

Jesus said to his disciples: “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

In speaking to the great crowd of disciples who came to hear him, Jesus begins his Sermon on the Plain first with the beatitudes and then with the woes. As he begins speaking, Luke tells us that he raises his eyes toward his disciples. This image of Jesus, who appears first to reflect before speaking, echoes his retreat to the mountain to pray before choosing the Twelve Apostles. As he looks among the crowd, it’s not difficult to imagine that he looks up to see before him many men, women, and children who live in poverty. His first words, “Blessed are you who are poor,” are supportive and compassionate. He goes on to speak to the hungry, the sorrowful, the outcasts, and he says as he looks at them: “Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.” In addressing the woes of humanity—the conditions of wealth, satisfaction, unbridled pleasure—Jesus reverses the goals or values of this world in order to draw people to God’s kingdom.

Father in heaven, I want to understand today’s readings as they relate to my life. Who is Jesus addressing when he looks up to speak to the disciples? He looked at them with love and spoke his sermon long ago, but the risen Christ continues to speak today to everyone who would hear him. I have many blessings—more than I can count. Does that mean I will someday grieve and weep and lack honor in the eyes of others? That could be and might someday be the case. And what then? Jesus will speak to me still: “Blessed are you.” And then I take in the words of Saint Paul, who says, “Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly.” I think either way, Jesus says, “Come to me in the Eucharist. Hunger for me; thirst for me; strive to make me your joy.”

“From the responsorial psalm: “Rejoice and leap for joy! Your reward will be great in heaven.” Hear me in your mercy, Lord; let me hunger for your Word. Saint John Chrysostom, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaVQ82g2C4

Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 6:12-19)

And [Jesus] came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.

After spending the night in prayer, Jesus chooses the Twelve Apostles, including Judas Iscariot, who would betray him. After choosing them, Luke tells us that the apostles come down the mountain with Jesus, where he stands on a stretch of level ground. There he meets a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of people. From the mountaintop where Jesus prays, he carries with him and transmits to the people on level ground the divine love between the Father and the Son. They came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases and unclean spirits. The miracles Jesus performs come from communication with his Father and is immediately passed on to the people, as Luke says, “because power came forth from him and healed them all.”

Father in heaven, please help me understand the trust that Jesus placed in you as he prayed to you on the mountain. The choosing of the Twelve came through your Son’s discernment through communication with you in the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the same Holy Spirit, help me share in the love between you and the Son, placing my trust in his divinity. As Saint Paul says of Jesus in the first reading: “For in him dwells the whole fullness of the deity bodily, and you share in this fullness in him, who is the head of every principality and power.” Give me the grace to listen out for your Word with the same ardor with which the crowds sought out Jesus to hear him, be healed by him, and follow him.

From the responsorial psalm: “I will extol you, O my God and King, and I will bless your name forever and ever. Every day will I bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever.” Through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, Lord hear my prayer.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.