Tag: bible

“For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” | Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “You, O LORD, abide forever, and your name through all generations. You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for it is time to pity her. For her stones are dear to your servants, and her dust moves them to pity. From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 11:28-30)

Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

Today’s Gospel follows immediately after yesterday’s reading, where Jesus praises the Father for revealing to little ones the mysteries of the God’s kingdom, which the wise and the learned fail to comprehend. His invitation to take rest in him is extended to all, yet the connection between the two readings suggests that those who hold childlike trust in the Lord would readily find rest in welcoming his presence throughout the ups and downs of each day. The yoke that Jesus offers is not abandonment of one’s responsibilities but his constant willingness to share in our burdens as he remains beside us.

God, as I see the day ahead give me the grace to put aside my cares about every little detail. Help me be attentive to the ways you guide me in, aware that you are with me. In the first reading, Isaiah recognizes the limitations of human effort, what we can and cannot achieve. “Salvation we have not achieved for the earth,” Isaiah says, “the inhabitants of the world cannot bring it forth. But your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise; awake and sing, you who lie in the dust.” Strengthen my confidence, Lord; you know what I need. It is you I long for even when I am not aware of it; help me today call to mind the invitation of Jesus to take his yoke upon me.

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.

“No one knows the Son except the Father.” | Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “For the LORD will not cast off his people, nor abandon his inheritance; But judgment shall again be with justice, and all the upright of heart shall follow it. The Lord will not abandon his people.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 11:25-27)

At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Spoken through Isaiah, the words of the LORD describe the cunning of the Assyrian kings: “By my own power I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I am shrewd.” Jesus turns that on its head by revealing his relationship to the Father. Wisdom does not lie in worldly cleverness or self-proclaimed genius but in childlike reliance on God. And Jesus exclaims this joyfully, recognizing that behind this is the Father’s love: “Yes, Father, such as been your gracious will.” In full knowledge of the divinity they share as distinct persons of the trinity, God the Father and the Son have a relationship unlike any human bond of father and son. Yet, that boundless love and its mystery—greater even than the love a child receives from father and mother—is opened up to all of us, to “anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

God, help me trust that the love with which you love me is all-knowing and unending. Entire lifetimes fail to reveal full knowledge of others, the depth and breadth of their soul, no matter how close they are to us. Yet, you know me completely as you and your Son know each other completely. In awe as I look up at this mystery, I can admit only childlike understanding. Along with that, give me the grace to see the joy that comes along with not knowing and simply trusting, just as I trusted my parents to care for me when I was a child. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,” says the Gospel acclamation, “you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.”

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.

“They would long ago have repented.” | Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

From the Gospel acclamation: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 11:20-24)

Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.”

Jesus compares towns he visited to the pagan cities of Tyre and Sidon, known in his time for their wickedness. Seeing the miracles Jesus performed in these cities, its people remain unrepentant, failing to turn to the Lord. The Gospel acclamation expresses it in this way: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Unlike the people of Tyre and Sidon, who did not see the mighty deeds Jesus performed, the people of and Bethsaida did. Because of that, they are accountable for having witnessed God present among them and yet remaining hard of heart. We hear Jesus firmly say to them—and to all who fail to acknowledge and follow Jesus as the Son of God: “Woe to you!”

God, the pronouncement of these words of Jesus echoes throughout time to all who would hear them. Having called the people of his day to repentance and faith, he does the same today. Give me the grace to see how you work in the lives of your people throughout any given day. In the celebration of the Eucharist, there is no less the presence of Jesus than in the days when he walked the earth. He is present body and blood, soul and divinity, at the altar in the consecrated bread and wine. In this timeless moment when heaven is brought down to earth, strengthen my faith and call me to turn to you more and more. “Great is the LORD and wholly to be praised,” the psalmist sings, “in the city of our God.” Our Lady of Mount Carmel, 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.

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.” | Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

From the Gospel acclamation: “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 10:34-11:1)

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Picking up from where Saturday’s Gospel left off, today’s reading shows Jesus giving further instructions to the Apostles. The key to understanding the seemingly harsh words from today perhaps lie in what he says beforehand and in where he indicates true life lies: “Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.” To acknowledge Jesus Christ as the way and the truth and the life cannot be anything but divisive because he himself is truth, whose name is I Am and not “it is.” Commitment to the person of Christ calls for radical detachment from what we love best in this life, including family, for the sake of greater gain. But in following him, what we gain back even stronger through him is grounded in his truth. “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

God, help me call to mind throughout the day what I know is right. As I have hesitation to go a certain way, make clear to me to know whether it is your will and give me the fortitude to carry it out. Jesus said, “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” Setting love for you above all else, Christ in his graciousness models the way he relates to you as his Father. Let that be paramount as I relate to others today. How is it and in what ways will you show me the opportunity through others to receive you? Holy Spirit, help me see in that moment how to care for others’ needs. Saint Bonaventure, 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.

“So they went off and preached repentance.” | Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

From the Gospel acclamation: “May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 6:7-13)

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick—no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

In today’s Gospel, we hear Mark’s account of the commissioning of the Twelve Apostles. As he prepares them for his mission, Jesus tells them not to provide for themselves but to trust in God’s providence in the welcoming people they would encounter. In accordance with the Father’s will, Jesus guides them toward stripping away all that is not of God so that they may bring witness to others for the praise of his glory. Emphasizing this facet of sharing the Good News, and including not only the apostles but all the faithful, Saint Paul says in the second reading: “In him we were also chosen, destined in accord with the purpose of the One who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will, so that we might exist for the praise of his glory, we who first hoped in Christ.”

God, guide me in the way of success, not in the ways of the world but in your ways. The measure of success is fidelity to you and not results. As the world has it, there is always more to gain in a restless pursuit to the end, and I find frustration in that time after time. But you call me to something else entirely, to what Saint Paul referred to as “every spiritual blessing in the heavens . . . to be holy and without blemish.” As Mother Teresa said, “God does not require that we be successful only that we be faithful.” Help me, Lord, know the hope that you call me to, and give me the courage to respond to you faithfully in accordance with your will.

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.

“Even all the hairs of your head are counted.” | Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “And he has made the world firm, not to be moved. Your throne stands firm from of old; from everlasting you are, O LORD. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 10:24-33)

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Jesus continues to instruct the apostles he sends out on a mission to proclaim the kingdom of God. The Gospel begins today as Jesus reminds them that if the world has hated him, they can expect to be treated similarly. Do not be afraid of them, Jesus says, but proclaim the kingdom of God boldly. Yet, Jesus goes even further—beyond bodily fear—to emphasize the eternal care of the Father—his Father, the apostles’, and ours. With tender love, Jesus teaches the apostles about the intimate love of his Father, for them and their immeasurable worth: “So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

God, I hardly know what to say on hearing this. Out of love, Jesus shares this message with the apostles, and by extension, with all who acknowledge him as your Son. Count me in, Lord; give me the grace to see that my true worth is not in how others regard me or in how I regard myself but in how you look at me and know me better than I know myself. Through this, especially in the challenges and trials of the day, help me give courageous witness to you and the love and mercy you extend to who call on your holy name. Protect me, Father; guide me today!

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.

“Do not worry about how you are to speak.” | Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. My mouth will declare your praise.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 10:16-23)

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans.”

As Jesus sends out the apostles, he is explicit about the persecutions they will experience as they face leaders and authorities of his day. Witnesses of the Gospel to pagans, they will be led before courts, synagogues, governors, and kings. After saying all of this, Jesus tells them not to worry about how they are to speak or what they are to say but that the Spirit of the Father will speak through them. The persecution they will face is not merely in the public sphere but among family members—brother against brother, father against child, and children against parents. But Jesus tells them, “whoever endures to the end will be saved.” Although counterintuitive, the worst-case scenario Jesus presents to the apostles is the means of their salvation and participation in the life to come through his death and resurrection. Jesus takes great care in ensuring the apostles that despite the hardship and persecution, he is with them.

God, help me see in today’s Gospel what is within reach and relevant to me. The people I face today are not persecuting governors or courts or kings but those who are closest to me, those I face at work and at places close to home. I ask, Lord, to know how to give witness to the Gospel—to give conscious attention to you and your ways throughout the day and to the world’s ways use only what is necessary. That is where life is and where I want to give witness to my trust in you; left to myself and without your initiative, I quickly turn for fulfillment to things. Help me recall during the day the words you spoke through Hosea: “Straight are the paths of the LORD, in them the just walk, but sinners stumble in them.”

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.

“As you enter a house, wish it peace.” | Memorial of Saint Benedict, abbot

From the responsorial psalm: “Once again, O LORD of hosts, look down from heaven, and see: Take care of this vine, and protect what your right hand has planted, the son of man whom you yourself made strong. Let us see your face, Lord, and we shall be saved.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 10:7-15)

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words—go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.”

Jesus sends out the apostles with explicit instructions as they proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Relying on God’s providence for all of their needs, including food and shelter, he tells them: “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.” While his instructions to the apostles on healing seem beyond ordinary human ability, they also apply to our everyday lives. Wish the peace of Christ upon those you encounter, and let your peace return to you if it is not received. Shake off rejection and leave the judgment of others to God.

God, as I make my journey through this day, enough of a distance that I can’t see very far ahead, help me listen to the words of your Son. “Without cost you have received,” Jesus says, “without cost you are to give.” In obedience to him, let me trust in giving the gifts you have first given me—time, talent, and treasure—without worrying about the expense of them. The source of mercy, you will provide; the peace of Christ I wish to others is not lost but returns to me to be given again. As I enter the lives of others today through my words and actions, give me the gifts of wisdom and help me call to mind that you are with me, as you speak through Hosea in the first reading: “For I am God and not man, the Holy One present among you; I will not let the flames consume you.” Saint Benedict, 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.

“The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” | Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “Look to the LORD in his strength; seek to serve him constantly. Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought, his portents, and the judgments he has uttered. Seek always the face of the Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 10:1-7)

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

As he summons the Twelve disciples to carry out his mission, Jesus gives them “authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness.” Entrusting to the disciples the preaching of the Gospel, Jesus instructs them in his mission to bring the kingdom of God to the lost sheep of the house of Israel and to all people. As Saint John Paul II said in his encyclical Redemptoris Missio, “The kingdom of God is not a concept, a doctrine, or a program subject to free interpretation, but it is before all else a person with the face and name of Jesus of Nazareth, the image of the invisible God.” As Jesus accomplished the mission of his Father on earth, so he sends out the disciples to call people to seek repentance, faith, and the will of God.

God, help me understand your kingdom as its mystery unfolds in the past, present, and future of salvation history. The kingdom that is here and now today is fulfilled in the risen Christ and the hope of those who believe in his second coming and the resurrection to eternal life. Give me the grace today to see this profound mystery—the mystery of Christ’s presence—as it breaks through to present reality, through the events of the day, and through the opportunity for me to bring your kingdom to all people as a welcoming and faithful disciple of Christ.

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.

“His heart was moved with pity for them.” | Tuesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time

From the Gospel acclamation: “I am the good shepherd, says the Lord; I know my sheep, and mine know me.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 9:32-38)

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

Jesus meets opposition from the Pharisees as he journeys through towns and villages, teaching, proclaiming the Gospel, and curing diseases and illnesses. As the crowds are amazed as Jesus drives out demons and performs miracles, the Pharisees say, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.” Their fear is that Jesus blasphemes God and that he will overthrow the religious leadership of Israel. Yet, as he proclaims the Gospel, Jesus meets the individual needs of every person he encounters and prays for more workers to help extend his ministry of healing and restoration. As the Son of God, Jesus does the Father’s will by bringing the kingdom of God into the presence of the people. As the psalmist prays, “Our God is in heaven; whatever he wills, he does.”

God, give me the grace to understand the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel. “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few.” Let Christ’s compassion for the crowd prompt me to take action in caring for the needs of others. “So ask the master of the harvest.” You alone are the Lord; receive our prayer. “To send out laborers for his harvest.” Christ calls us to participate by going out to where the harvest is abundant, to the place of greatest need. Whatever this means for me today, help me know and act on your will in a loving, compassionate way.

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.