Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Optional Memorial for Our Lady of Mount Carmel)
 
Proper for the Memorial of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
 
Additional Information about Our Lady of Mount Carmel
 
Or
 
(Optional Memorial for the Blessed Virgin Mary)
 
On Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there is no obligatory memorial, an optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is allowed. [1] Mass texts may be taken from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from a Votive Mass, or from the special collection of Masses for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Suggested for this date: #22 Holy Mary, Handmaid of the Lord.

“The Prophet Micah”
by Gustave Doré (1832-1883)

 
Readings for Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Micah 2:1-5
 
Woe to those who plan iniquity,
and work out evil on their couches;
In the morning light they accomplish it
when it lies within their power.
They covet fields, and seize them;
houses, and they take them;
They cheat an owner of his house,
a man of his inheritance.
Therefore thus says the Lord:
Behold, I am planning against this race an evil
from which you shall not withdraw your necks;
Nor shall you walk with head high,
for it will be a time of evil.
 
On that day a satire shall be sung over you,
and there shall be a plaintive chant:
“Our ruin is complete,
our fields are portioned out among our captors,
The fields of my people are measured out,
and no one can get them back!”
Thus you shall have no one
to mark out boundaries by lot
in the assembly of the Lord.
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Commentary on Mi 2:1-5
 
The second chapter of the book of the prophet Micah opens with a denouncement of the evil rich who seek to steal the land of the poor. The practice, also mentioned in Isaiah, was prevalent in Judah. A person’s inherited land was, under Mosaic Law, supposed to be exempt from these schemes (1 Kings 21:1-4). However, the greedy were violating this precept.
 
The punishment the prophet mentions relates to the initial division of property among the Israelites when they came into the land, led by Joshua. Boundaries were established for each person and tribe (see Joshua 13-21). Those who are found guilty of stealing land will have no place in the final reckoning (e.g. the Kingdom of Heaven).
 
CCC: Mi 2:2 2534
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 10:1-2, 3-4, 7-8, 14
 
R. (12b) Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
 
Why, O Lord, do you stand aloof?
Why hide in times of distress?
Proudly the wicked harass the afflicted,
who are caught in the devices the wicked have contrived.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
 
For the wicked man glories in his greed,
and the covetous blasphemes, sets the LORD at nought.
The wicked man boasts, “He will not avenge it”;
“There is no God,” sums up his thoughts.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
 
His mouth is full of cursing, guile and deceit;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
He lurks in ambush near the villages;
in hiding he murders the innocent;
his eyes spy upon the unfortunate.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
 
You do see, for you behold misery and sorrow,
taking them in your hands.
On you the unfortunate man depends;
of the fatherless you are the helper.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
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Commentary on Ps 10:1-2, 3-4, 7-8, 14
 
Psalm 10 (generally linked with Psalm 9) is considered a thanksgiving hymn. The strophes used in this selection, however, reflect a lament against the wicked that prey upon the poor and faithful. By their actions, the wicked reject God and consider him unable or unwilling to stop their actions. The concluding strophe reflects the hope of the faithful, because of God’s mercy his salvation will vindicate them.
 
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Gospel: Matthew 12:14-21
 
The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus
to put him to death.
 
When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place.
Many people followed him, and he cured them all,
but he warned them not to make him known.
This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
 
Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in whom I delight;
I shall place my Spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
He will not contend or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory.
And in his name the Gentiles will hope.
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Commentary on Mt 12:14-21
 
After the Lord challenged Pharisaic law and declared the “Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” (Matthew 12:8), the Pharisees see Jesus as a threat to their hold over the people. Jesus backs away from their intended violence.  In doing so, he fulfills the “Suffering Servant” role in the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4). This passage reemphasizes his meekness (see Matthew 11:28-30), and extends his mission to the G­entiles.
 
“The need to "take counsel" together in secret, to make a laborious effort to harmonize a variety of minds and wills (συµβούλιον) who are united only by a common hatred, plainly manifests the complexities of the darkness in its frenzy to snuff out the simplicity of the light. How straightforwardly easy and direct, by comparison, Jesus' healing of the man! No, God does not have to "take counsel" in order to do good! God simply follows the innermost law of his own nature:
 
Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as his counselor has instructed him?
Whom did he consult for his enlightenment, and who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? (Isaiah 40:13-14)” [5]
 
"Matthew next shows how Jesus' withdrawal is not a setback, but a part of God's Plan as foretold in the Old Testament prophecy.  Matthew uses the formulaic statement, 'what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet,' in order to set up his longest fulfillment quotation from the Old Testament: a passage from the Servant Song of Isaiah 42:1-4.
 
"The opening line of this prophecy  ̶  'Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight'  ̶  was already alluded to by the heavenly voice at Jesus' baptism (Matthew 3:17) and will be repeated at the transfiguration (Matthew 17:5)." [6]
 
CCC: Mt 12:18-21 713
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Reflection:
 
One might think (and there are many extreme liberal thinkers that do) that because a person has accumulated wealth, they are viewed as the oppressor, or the enemy of the poor.  If we read the passage from Micah and then interpret the Pharisaic class in the Gospel as being of that same privileged class, the thought might even be supported.  However, we must always remember that just because a person has wealth or power, it does not automatically brand that person as evil, or even as an enemy.
 
Let’s try a little example to illustrate the point:
 
There are two very wealthy men in a town.  They have both become so by hard work and wise decisions regarding their respective businesses.  One man’s objective or goal is to accumulate wealth to pass on to his heirs and to live comfortably in the process.  He has made shrewd dealings with his employees to maximize their productivity.  Realizing if he paid a bit more in wages he could get more capable people, he increased his pay to the employees.  His motive was profit, not their well-being.  Similarly he sought ways to decrease the cost of his product so it would be bought by more people and increase his wealth.  He cared nothing for his customers, only their money.
 
The other man was quite different.  His objective was to make a product that would benefit people and to provide jobs to people in his community.  He kept his profits at a bare minimum to insure more people could afford his product and be enriched by it.  As a consequence, he didn’t have the money to pay his employees as much as his competitor (the other man).  As time went on, he was not able to make any profit.  His product, although superior in many ways to competing products, was more expensive and he could not reduce the price and still keep paying his employees.  Eventually he went bankrupt and all of his employees lost their jobs.
 
Of these two men, who was the more moral person?  It was the second man,  the one who cared for his employees, the customer, and the good his product did.  But, looking at the good that came out of the situation, it was the profit-focused man who (albeit inadvertently) accomplished the goals of the other man.  His employees had jobs and a living wage.  His products were affordable and enriched the customer.  The second man, for all his good intentions, created unemployment and his products never again reached people.
 
The moral here is that it is not wealth in itself that is bad, but rather the attitudes and principles of those who wield it.  God can accomplish good even when man’s intent is ignoble.  And bad outcomes may come from the best intentions.  Our call is to use all of our gifts to God’s greater glory. We are constantly amazed that God can use even our most ardent detractors to accomplish his will.
 
Pax
 

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[1] General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous Notes no. 5: “Outside Advent, Christmas Time, Lent, and Easter Time, on Saturdays which have no commemoration having the rank of Obligatory Memorial or higher, a Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary may be celebrated. This is indicated in the calendar by “BVM.” The readings and prayers may be selected from the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”
[2] The picture used today is “The Prophet Micah” by Gustave Doré (1832-1883).
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume II, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 2003 p. 79.
[6] The Gospel of Matthew, © 2010 Curtis Mitch and Edward Sri, Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, MI, p. 167.