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“Christ Carrying the Cross” (detail)
by Lorenzo Lotto,1526 |
Readings for Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
Readings and Commentary: [3]
Reading 1: Nahum 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7
See, upon the mountains there advances
the bearer of good news,
announcing peace!
Celebrate your feasts, O Judah,
fulfill your vows!
For nevermore shall you be invaded
by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed.
The Lord will restore the vine of Jacob,
the pride of Israel,
Though ravagers have ravaged them
and ruined the tendrils.
Woe to the bloody city, all lies,
full of plunder, whose looting never stops!
The crack of the whip, the rumbling sounds of wheels;
horses a-gallop, chariots bounding,
Cavalry charging, the flame of the sword, the flash of the spear,
the many slain, the heaping corpses,
the endless bodies to stumble upon!
I will cast filth upon you,
disgrace you and put you to shame;
Till everyone who sees you runs from you, saying,
“Nineveh is destroyed; who can pity her?
Where can one find any to console her?”
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Commentary on Na 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7
This passage takes excerpts from the two sections of the short book of the prophet Nahum. He was a contemporary of Jeremiah, writing in about 612 BC. The focus of this selection is on the significance of the fall of Nineveh. His oracle envisions the restoration of Judah and Israel as well as God’s just retribution against the Assyrians, whose ruthlessness was legendary.
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Responsorial Psalm: Deuteronomy 32:35cd-36ab, 39abcd, 41
R. (39c) It is I who deal death and give life.
Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the Lord shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
“Learn then that I, I alone, am God,
and there is no god besides me.
It is I who bring both death and life,
I who inflict wounds and heal them.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
I will sharpen my flashing sword,
and my hand shall lay hold of my quiver,
“With vengeance I will repay my foes
and requite those who hate me.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
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Commentary on Dt 32:35cd-36ab, 39abcd, 41
In this selection from Deuteronomy, Moses begins to describe the unique participation of the Hebrew people, the Chosen People, in God’s covenant. Moses actually presents a homily on the election of Israel, how God has shown his omnipotence through the salvific acts and signs (e.g. plagues in Egypt, saving miracles that facilitated the exodus).
These proofs, Moses explains, are the reason they must be faithful to God, and instruct their children to do the same. In doing so they receive the reward for their fidelity: “that you and your children after you may prosper." This section acts as a prologue to the introduction to the Law.
CCC: Dt 4:37 218
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Gospel: Matthew 16:24-28
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay each according to his conduct.
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”
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Commentary on Mt 16:24-28
This is the second time, within the Gospel of St. Matthew, the Lord instructs the disciples that if they wish to follow him, they must take up the cross (the first time is in Matthew 10:38).
"Jesus' paradox at 16:25 ('whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it') is fulfilled first of all in Jesus himself, in the way his life's loss on the Cross flowers in the Resurrection and the birth of the Church." [4]
This passage focuses the followers of Christ on the idea that serving the Lord must come before any other purposes in life, since it is through following Jesus that eternal life is gained. It is also explicit that bringing the Word of God, the message of the Kingdom of God, to the world will lead to persecution, and even the possibility of death.
CCC: Mt 16:24-26 736; Mt 16:24 226, 618, 2029; Mt 16:25-26 363; Mt 16:25 2232; Mt 16:26 1021
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Reflection:
The message that resonates with us today is the Lord calling us to “deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.” That call is different for each one of us. Denying oneself we interpret to mean putting aside our personal desires and goals when they conflict with what we perceive God is calling us to. This phrase, taken to extremes, has led many of our saintly predecessors in the faith to excesses of physical hardship, even to the point of death in some cases. Each of us must look into our own heart and find there that reflexive relationship between what it means to deny our human ambitions, and answer Christ’s call to follow him.
The “following Christ” part of our call may dictate what necessarily needs to be denied. For example, there is an individual in our parish who feels called to take Holy Communion to the sick and elderly, to bring them the sacramental grace and hope in eternal life that flows from that sacrament. Each Sunday after Mass he goes to the houses of a number of the elderly or homebound on that holy errand. He has done this for over ten years. In following Christ this way he has reflexively given up his leisure pursuits on that day. In placing the mission of Christ before his own personal comfort, he has denied himself and followed Christ.
There is another example of a husband and wife who are actively involved in ministry to migrant workers who come to the region each summer to work in the fields. In addition to going to the camps to minister to them, this family has spent thousands of dollars of their own funds to put together a special day for these people, the poor and burdened, that included bringing in speakers, putting on a meal (for three hundred, for which they paid) and having a Spanish-speaking bishop preside at a special Mass for them. They denied themselves, gave up time and resources, in order to follow Christ’s call to serve the poor.
There is one other example that should be shared. There is an elderly parishioner who is afflicted with osteoporosis; she can barely walk because of the pain. Each day she comes to Mass and prays for people who have written down prayer requests in the book of intentions. She prays for others! She has given of her time and her own comfort to take up her cross and follow the Lord.
It is up to us to examine our own call to follow Christ. What has he given us that can be used to proclaim his love to the world through our efforts? What are we called to offer to him? It is a question that needs to be considered constantly and we are called to do that once more today.
Pax
[1] The picture is “Christ Carrying the Cross” (detail) by Lorenzo Lotto,1526.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio[3] 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.
[4] Fire of Mercy Heart of the Word Volume II, Erasmo Leiva-Merikakis, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, CA, © 2003 p. 543.
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