Tag: Old Testament

Let your “Yes” mean “Yes,” and your “No” mean “No.” | Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “I bless the LORD who counsels me; even in the night my heart exhorts me. I set the LORD ever before me; with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. You are my inheritance, O Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 5:33-37)

Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God’s throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the Evil One.”

Jesus continues instructing the disciples in the ways of God and not man. The teachings extend and transcend Old Testament laws. The law that refers to making a false oath then says “but make good to the Lord all that you vow.” All that we would swear by, whether heaven or earth, is God’s and God’s alone. Jesus suggests that the words of God are as far apart from human words as heaven is from earth. While we are able to talk of heads and the black or white hair on top of them, our words do nothing to change that. While we are able to say the word heaven, it is God’s throne and not ours to swear by. By letting our yes mean yes and our no mean no, we follow Jesus’ teachings as responsible people who recognize our limits and place our intentions parallel to God’s will, grounding them in his truth.

God, with you at the center I have no need of any other vow to support my intentions; there is only your will to be recognized and accomplished. Free from obstructive conditions I am able to follow your Son, free from sin and safe from all distress I am able to participate fully in the sacraments of the Church. Committed to your will, give me the grace to live without fear of how things will turn out. Grant me the fortitude to say yes or no courageously and desire to have you at my right hand. Mary said it first: “Let it be done to me according to your word.” Blessed Virgin Mary, 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.

“There am I in the midst of them.” | Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 18:15-20)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

In today’s Gospel as in the first reading from Ezekiel, God shows his desire to bring all people to him in unity. Jesus tells the disciples to admonish and resolve any wrong done to them among their brothers and sisters, emphasizing forgiveness and mercy. “If your brother sins against you,” Jesus says, “go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.” Jesus continues to speak of fraternal correction and guides the disciples toward reconciliation through the witness of mediators and before the Church. Through Christ’s presence and the action of the Holy Spirit, the process of reconciliation and decision-making among members of the Church is oriented toward God. Jesus promises that where two or three are gathered in his name, he is present among them.

Father in heaven, be my help today in orienting my words and actions toward you. Give me the opportunity to realize it is reconciliation to you and with others that you always offer because you are love itself. Let me take sin for what it is, an obstacle in receiving and expressing love. If necessary, help me do as you ask Ezekiel to do: “dissuade the wicked from his way.” So when sin divides, and it will, guide me to address offenses with the aim of reconciliation and resolution. As the psalmist says, you are our God and we are the people you shepherd, the flock you guide. I ask you for the grace to seek unity and reconciliation with others as you do with your people. “Love does no evil to the neighbor,” says Saint Paul, “hence, love is the fulfillment of the law.”

From the Gospel acclamation: “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”

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.