Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

Optional Memorial for Saint Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Cyril of Alexandria
 
Biographical information about St. Cyril of Alexandria
 
(Optional Memorial of 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. Recommended for this date: #44 The Blessed Virgin Mary, Health of the Sick.

“Faith”
by Giuseppe Angeli, c. 1754

Readings for Saturday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary:[4]
 
Reading 1: Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19
 
The Lord has consumed without pity
all the dwellings of Jacob;
He has torn down in his angerac
the fortresses of daughter Judah;
He has brought to the ground in dishonor
her king and her princes.
 
On the ground in silence sit
the old men of daughter Zion;
They strew dust on their heads
and gird themselves with sackcloth;
The maidens of Jerusalem
bow their heads to the ground.
 
Worn out from weeping are my eyes,
within me all is in ferment;
My gall is poured out on the ground
because of the downfall of the daughter of my people,
As child and infant faint away
in the open spaces of the town.
 
In vain they ask their mothers,
“Where is the grain?”
As they faint away like the wounded
in the streets of the city,
And breathe their last
in their mothers’ arms.
 
To what can I liken or compare you,
O daughter Jerusalem?
What example can I show you for your comfort,
virgin daughter Zion?
For great as the sea is your downfall;
who can heal you?
 
Your prophets had for you
false and specious visions;
They did not lay bare your guilt,
to avert your fate;
They beheld for you in vision
false and misleading portents.
 
Cry out to the Lord;
moan, O daughter Zion!
Let your tears flow like a torrent
day and night;
Let there be no respite for you,
no repose for your eyes.
 
Rise up, shrill in the night,
at the beginning of every watch;
Pour out your heart like water
in the presence of the Lord;
Lift up your hands to him
for the lives of your little ones
Who faint from hunger
at the corner of every street.
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Commentary on Lam 2:2, 10-14, 18-19
 
The reading from Lamentations begins with the author’s sorrow at the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (587 BC). The prophets who promised prosperity were wrong (“Your prophets had for you false and specious visions”). The sorrow and humble repentance of the faithful are expressed, as is the plight of the people who remain. They are afflicted with famine and drought. But hope remains as they continue to reach out to the Lord who has not completely forsaken them.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 74:1b-2, 3-5, 6-7, 20-21
 
R. (19b) Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
 
Why, O God, have you cast us off forever?
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
Remember your flock which you built up of old,
the tribe you redeemed as your inheritance,
Mount Zion, where you took up your abode.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
 
Turn your steps toward the utter ruins;
toward all the damage the enemy has done in the sanctuary.
Your foes roar triumphantly in your shrine;
they have set up their tokens of victory.
They are like men coming up with axes to a clump of trees.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
 
With chisel and hammer they hack at all the
paneling of the sanctuary.
They set your sanctuary on fire;
the place where your name abides they have razed and profaned.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
 
Look to your covenant,
for the hiding places in the land and the plains are full of violence.
May the humble not retire in confusion;
may the afflicted and the poor praise your name.
R. Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones.
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Commentary on Ps 74:1b-2, 3-5, 6-7, 20-21
 
“A communal lament sung when the enemy invaded the temple; it would be especially appropriate at the destruction of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. Israel's God is urged to look upon the ruined sanctuary and remember the congregation who worshiped there.” [5]
 
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Gospel: Matthew 8:5-17
 
When Jesus entered Capernaum,
a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying,
“Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully.”
He said to him, “I will come and cure him.”
The centurion said in reply,
“Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof;
only say the word and my servant will be healed.
For I too am a man subject to authority,
with soldiers subject to me.
And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes;
and to another, ‘Come here,’ and he comes;
and to my slave, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him,
“Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith.
I say to you, many will come from the east and the west,
and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven,
but the children of the Kingdom
will be driven out into the outer darkness,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”
And Jesus said to the centurion,
“You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you.”
And at that very hour his servant was healed.
 
Jesus entered the house of Peter,
and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.
He touched her hand, the fever left her,
and she rose and waited on him.
 
When it was evening, they brought him many
who were possessed by demons,
and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick,
to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet:
 
He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.
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Commentary on Mt 8:5-17
 
This selection describes the second and third healing episodes (out of nine) found in St. Matthew’s Gospel. Once again, these encounters serve as proofs of the Lord’s identity as the Messiah. Clear evidence is given of this purpose with the use of the quote: “He took away our infirmities and bore our disease,” taken from the "suffering servant" oracle in Isaiah 53:4.
 
This didactic passage also contains the centurion's humble profession of faith used in the liturgy of the Mass: "'Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant [soul] will be healed.'"
 
"Centurion": an officer of the Roman army in control of one hundred men. This man's faith is still an example to us. At the solemn moment when a Christian is about to receive Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the Church's liturgy places on his lips and in his heart these words of the centurion, to enliven his faith: Lord, I am not worthy." [6]
 
CCC: Mt 8:8 1386; Mt 8:10 2610; Mt 8:11 543; Mt 8:17 517, 1505
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Reflection:
 
The lament of the first reading may be seen as a metaphor for all of those who suffer from war, hunger, disease, and poverty. The people of Judah and Israel, at the time the author recorded this poem, were facing all of these things; the tone of their pain comes through in the words, and is echoed by the earth’s populations today who face hopelessness (ironically not far from modern-day Israel).
 
“The centurion and Jesus [in the Gospel today] have much in common: a current of recognition passes between them. Not only are they each men of power and authority at their respective levels; they are also men of compassion. The way the centurion describes his servant’s suffering reveals his caring heart. He approaches Jesus and asks him for nothing for himself: someone else’s misery is uppermost in his mind, and the mere presence of Jesus makes him bare the most urgent concerns of his heart. How moved Jesus is, not only by the centurion’s unquestioning trust in who he is and what he can do, but first of all by this officer’s sorrow over another’s suffering.” [7]
 
Into this time of testing and pain comes Jesus who takes away our infirmities and accepts all of our suffering. He comes, as the Prophet Isaiah foretold, bringing hope to the hopeless and comfort to those in pain.
 
What then, we ask, prevents those burdened with the pain of the world from rejoicing in God’s salvation, personified in his Son? It is a lack of knowledge or of belief. They are like the miner trapped in a cave who does not know if a rescue party is coming. It is like the story of Romeo and Juliet. When they thought each other dead, they despaired and followed their partner in death. Hope is only kindled when there is faith that salvation will come, when there is a light in the terrible darkness of despair.
 
The Gospel becomes a tool and a remedy. It is to be used by those of us who have seen and have faith. We carry the light, as St. Luke says, “to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.” The healing presence of Christ is proclaimed once more, and we are given this torch to carry forward. Let us pledge to be instruments of Christ’s healing this day.
 
 
Pax

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[1] 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 is “Faith” by Giuseppe Angeli, c. 1754.
[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] NAB footnote for Psalm 74.
[6] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 101.
[7] Leiva-Merikakis, Erasmo. Fire of Mercy, Heart of the Word, Vol 1 (Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition), 407.

Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

“Jesus Heals the Leper”
by Jean-Marie Melchior Doze, 1864

Readings for Friday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: 2 Kings 25:1-12
 
In the tenth month of the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign,
on the tenth day of the month,
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and his whole army
advanced against Jerusalem, encamped around it,
and built siege walls on every side.
The siege of the city continued until the eleventh year of Zedekiah.
On the ninth day of the fourth month,
when famine had gripped the city,
and the people had no more bread,
the city walls were breached.
Then the king and all the soldiers left the city by night
through the gate between the two walls
that was near the king’s garden.
Since the Chaldeans had the city surrounded,
they went in the direction of the Arabah.
But the Chaldean army pursued the king
and overtook him in the desert near Jericho,
abandoned by his whole army.
 
The king was therefore arrested and brought to Riblah
to the king of Babylon, who pronounced sentence on him.
He had Zedekiah’s sons slain before his eyes.
Then he blinded Zedekiah, bound him with fetters,
and had him brought to Babylon.
 
On the seventh day of the fifth month
(this was in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon),
Nebuzaradan, captain of the bodyguard,
came to Jerusalem as the representative
of the king of Babylon.
He burned the house of the Lord,
the palace of the king, and all the houses of Jerusalem;
every large building was destroyed by fire.
Then the Chaldean troops who were with the captain of the guard
tore down the walls that surrounded Jerusalem.
 
Then Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard,
led into exile the last of the people
remaining in the city,
and those who had deserted to the king of Babylon,
and the last of the artisans.
But some of the country’s poor, Nebuzaradan,
captain of the guard,
left behind as vinedressers and farmers.
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Commentary on 2 Kgs 25:1-12
 
This reading from 2 Kings details the final destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 587 B.C. by the Babylonians. The actual event occurred after the city had been besieged and invested (meaning blockade or siege) for three years. All of the major buildings in the city were destroyed, its walls torn down, and the people killed or taken into captivity. Much of what is documented here is predicted by the Prophet Jeremiah (see Jeremiah 38:2-3ff). There is also a more detailed description of the event in  Ezekiel 17:11-21.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
 
R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
 
By the streams of Babylon
we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
On the aspens of that land
we hung up our harps.
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
 
Though there our captors asked of us
the lyrics of our songs,
And our despoilers urged us to be joyous:
“Sing for us the songs of Zion!”
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
 
How could we sing a song of the Lord in a foreign land?
If I forget you, Jerusalem,
may my right hand be forgotten!
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
 
May my tongue cleave to my palate
if I remember you not,
If I place not Jerusalem
ahead of my joy.
R. Let my tongue be silenced, if I ever forget you!
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Commentary on Ps 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
 
The sadness that drove Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild is reflected in this communal lament. The people of God, dispersed throughout the region, recall the joys of being in God’s presence in Zion (Jerusalem). We feel in this hymn our own anticipation of being together in God’s presence as a community of faith.
 
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Gospel: Matthew 8:1-4
 
When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him.
And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said,
“Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”
He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said,
“I will do it. Be made clean.”
 
His leprosy was cleansed immediately.
Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one,
but go show yourself to the priest,
and offer the gift that Moses prescribed;
that will be proof for them.”
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Commentary on Mt 8:1-4
 
Following the first great discourse from St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus has attracted a large crowd. In the following chapters, we see ten miracles. The cure of the leper is the first of these. This action on the part of Jesus is proof of his identity as the Messiah; hence the usual formula “Your faith has cured you” is missing (Mark 10:52; Luke 7:50). The language and demeanor of the leper demonstrates his absolute certainty of Jesus' identity and authority over his condition. 
 
The final instruction by Jesus to the cured leper is in accordance with Mosaic Law (see Leviticus 14:2-9) His instruction to tell no one about this was probably to insure that the priest who had to examine him would not reject the cure and the man.
 
CCC: Mt 8:2 448; Mt 8:4 586
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Reflection:
 
The story of the cure of the leper in St. Matthew’s Gospel reminds us that Jesus did not come just to heal that one person of faith who said “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”  He came because of God’s great love for us and the recognition that every person, born of woman, needs to be made clean.  Without Christ’s sacrifice, without Jesus seeing the cross and saying: “I will do it. Be made clean,” there would be no help for us, no path to the Father’s Heavenly Kingdom, no peace for us on earth.
 
While we can never fully understand God’s intense love for us nor can we completely understand his purpose, we can imagine the internal debate that must have taken place before Jesus chose incarnation.  We can imagine God who sees, not as we see, but feels internally all of the hopes, fears, loves and thoughts of all his creation at once.  Since they were created, humankind had been his favorites, created in his own image and likeness.  He had tried repeatedly to guide his children.  He had done signs to insure they knew of his existence.  He had inspired members of their communities to speak of the wonders of the Father who had adopted them.  He gave them prophets and kings to try to show them a path to happiness, but they would not grasp that this was done out of love for them.  They insisted on seeing only the hand that punished, never the hand that embraced.
 
A great decision was made in Heaven.  God would make himself present to the human race in the form of a man; a man like them begotten of woman, but in the essence of this man was God himself.  And this man who was God would walk among them and show them the hand that embraced, the love of God.  He would show them that if they would do what this Only Begotten Son of God would do, to love each person completely, they could share in the joy of the Heavenly Kingdom.
 
Of course, God knew.  He knew before he sent his Son.  He knew from before time because time does not exist for the one who was, is, and will be.  He knew his Son would be rejected by those who love earthly things.  His Son would only have a short time, literally milliseconds of historical time, to show God’s children what they must embrace, the love that they must share. 
 
So Jesus said: “I will do it. Be made clean.”  He exposed the loving hand of God, not just for this one person, but so we would see and know that it was God’s love, not vengeance, not punishment (which is what the people thought leprosy was, a punishment from God) that was his will.
 
With his will, Jesus has opened the way to the Heavenly Father.  He has done it through his will which is God’s will.  Our choice is before us.  Do we accept the healing hand of Christ?  Or do we cling to death?  Stated so clearly, it seems to be an easy choice; but so many do not see it.  Therein lies our mission, we are asked to share that choice with others.  Our prayer today is that the Holy Spirit gives us the grace and strength to make that offer through our actions and words.
 
Pax
 

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[1] The picture is “Jesus Heals the Leper” by Jean-Marie Melchior Doze, 1864.
[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.

Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

“The House Upon the Rock
and The House Upon the Sand”
by William James Webb, c. 1860

Readings for Thursday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: 2 Kings 24:8-17
 
Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign,
and he reigned three months in Jerusalem.
His mother’s name was Nehushta,
daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.
He did evil in the sight of the Lord,
just as his forebears had done.
 
At that time the officials of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
attacked Jerusalem, and the city came under siege.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,
himself arrived at the city
while his servants were besieging it.
Then Jehoiachin, king of Judah, together with his mother,
his ministers, officers, and functionaries,
surrendered to the king of Babylon, who,
in the eighth year of his reign, took him captive.
And he carried off all the treasures
of the temple of the Lord and those of the palace,
and broke up all the gold utensils that Solomon, king of Israel,
had provided in the temple of the Lord, as the Lord had foretold.
He deported all Jerusalem:
all the officers and men of the army, ten thousand in number,
and all the craftsmen and smiths.
None were left among the people of the land except the poor.
He deported Jehoiachin to Babylon,
and also led captive from Jerusalem to Babylon
the king’s mother and wives,
his functionaries, and the chief men of the land.
The king of Babylon also led captive to Babylon all seven thousand men of the army,
and a thousand craftsmen and smiths,
all of them trained soldiers.
In place of Jehoiachin,
the king of Babylon appointed his uncle Mattaniah king,
and changed his name to Zedekiah.
-------------------------------------------
Commentary on 2 Kgs 24:8-17
 
Following his father’s death, the young king, Jehoiachin, reigns for a very short period in Jerusalem. King Nebuchadnezzar of Neo-Babylon has already been attacking Judah for some time and reaches Jerusalem just three months after the new king ascends the throne (history records that the wall around Jerusalem was breached on March 16, 587 B.C.). Following its capture, we hear of the great Diaspora, and sack of the temple, as all of the leadership and soldiery are sent into exile.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 79:1b-2, 3-5, 8, 9
 
R. (9) For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
 
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
They have given the corpses of your servants
as food to the birds of heaven,
the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
 
They have poured out their blood like water
round about Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury them.
We have become the reproach of our neighbors,
the scorn and derision of those around us.
O Lord, how long? Will you be angry forever?
Will your jealousy burn like fire?
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
 
Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
 
Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name’s sake.
R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.
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Commentary on Ps 79:1b-2, 3-5, 8, 9
 
Psalm 79 provides a penitential note similar to what is found in Baruch 1:15. It is a communal lament in which the assembly reflects upon the punishment endured because they have sinned against God and disregarded his law. This lament is thought to reflect upon the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonian army in 587 BC. The singer asks God how long his anger at them will last and pleads for pardon and deliverance. Following this admission, there is a plea for mercy and a promise of atonement.
 
CCC: Ps 79:9  431
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Gospel: Matthew 7:21-29
 
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the Kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’
 
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
 
When Jesus finished these words,
the crowds were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority,
and not as their scribes.
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Commentary on Mt 7:21-29
 
This is the final section of the first of five great discourses of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. In it, he broadens his attack on false prophets to include those who perform acts in his name but lead lives of sin. He uses the analogy of the house built upon sand and the house built upon rock to indicate that those who have a deep faith and act out of that faith have a strong foundation and can stand against adversity, while those who give the faith lip service for others to see, but do not have that deep faith, will fall. He will not even recognize them when they come before him in final judgment.
 
The Lord also makes a distinction between saying and doing. The metaphor of the “house built on rock” refers to those who hear the word of the Lord from an authentic source and act upon it. The house built on sand is a metaphor for those who either are not taught authentically (by false prophets) or who do not act upon what they have been given.
 
CCC: Mt 7:21-27 1970; Mt 7:21 443, 1821, 2611, 2826; Mt 7:28-29 581
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Reflection:
 
We are reminded of a story about the young Dutch boy who wished to hold back the sea so he could build a home by a wave-swept shore. Each day he would go to the very edge of the shore at low tide, and erect a wall as quickly as he could in hopes that it would prevent the water from washing over the place where he wanted to build when the tide came back in. Each day, no matter how fast and how sturdily he built, the water would rush back, come around the sides of his wall, knock it down, and wash over it.
 
The boy was becoming very sad and disheartened. He went to his father and told him about his struggle. His father explained to him that, while he might be the best in the world at building dikes to hold back the water, he could not do what needed to be done by himself. He must enlist the aid of his friends and family that, together, they might create a structure that could hold back the sea for a day.
 
It was a week later that the boy, this time accompanied by his friends and family, came to the shore. When the tide had gone out, they worked furiously together and made an enclosure. When the tide came back in, the weak places were able to be reinforced and the dike stood throughout high tide. As the water receded, more dikes were added and in a matter of weeks enough ground was reclaimed from the sea to build several houses.
 
The young man thanked those who had helped, and then together they thanked God, because the Lord had given them strength to build. The Lord had created the material with which they built, and had given them good weather, without which all they had done would have been impossible.
 
We thought of this story, first, because of the parable of the wise man who built his house upon a solid foundation, a rock. But, when we think about that foundation, we realized that it was not simply one rock that is the foundation for us, but many. One man, though he was also God, came into the world and established the cornerstone of faith, and upon that rock countless other people of great faith added their own effort, and in many cases their blood, so that the great monument to the Father, the Church, might be built.
 
We each must become like the rock that Jesus called in the person of St. Peter. We must strengthen ourselves with what is good through prayer and discernment so we, like the friends and family of the Dutch boy in the story, might stand together against the storm of the world, remaining firm in the faith to God’s glory. We must reject what comes from the evil one and test each notion against the measure of the love of God and his Son.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture today is “The House Upon the Rock and The House Upon the Sand” by William James Webb, c. 1860.
[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.

Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Mass During the Day
 
Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist - AT THE VIGIL [1]

“St John the Baptist as a Boy”
by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, c. 1665

Readings for the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Isaiah 49:1-6
 
Hear me, O coastlands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother's womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
 
Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
that Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
and I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
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Commentary on Is 49:1-6
 
In this passage, the beginning of the second of the four “Servant of the Lord” oracles, the prophet Isaiah speaks of his own call of service to God. It presents him as “another Jeremiah”:  He is called from his mother’s womb (see Jeremiah 1:5). The prophet has a vocation to the Gentiles (Jeremiah 1:10; Jeremiah 25:15ff) to bring a message of both doom and happiness (Jeremiah 16:19-21).[5]  We note that God sets his servants on their course from before their birth (see also Luke 1:15 [St. John the Baptist], Luke 1:31 [Jesus) and Galatians 1:15 (St. Paul the apostle]).
 
The servant learns that, even at times when his effort seems to have failed (“Though I thought I had toiled in vain”), it is God’s strength and plan that succeeds (“my recompense is with my God”) (see also 1 Corinthians 4:1-5). The prophet’s role is expanded at the end of the passage to “reach to the ends of the earth,” a revelation further elaborated in Genesis 12:3; Luke 2:31-32; and Acts 13:47.
 
CCC: Is 49:1-6 713; Is 49:5-6 64
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15
 
R. (14) I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
 
O LORD, you have probed me, you know me:
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. I praise you for I am wonderfully made.
 
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother's womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
 
My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.
R. I praise you, for I am wonderfully made.
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Commentary on Ps 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15
 
This song/prayer asks for guidance from the Holy Spirit. It recognizes that God’s spirit is in all his creation and its knowledge is omnipresent. The idea of being called from the womb – set aside for God – is a common theme of the prophetic tradition in both the Old Testament and New Testament.
 
CCC: Ps 139:15 2270
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Reading II: Acts 13:22-26
 
In those days, Paul said:
"God raised up David as king;
of him God testified,                                                                                      
I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart;
he will carry out my every wish.
From this man's descendants God, according to his promise,
has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus.
John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance
to all the people of Israel;
and as John was completing his course, he would say,
'What do you suppose that I am? I am not he.
Behold, one is coming after me;
I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.'
 
"My brothers, sons of the family of Abraham,
and those others among you who are God-fearing,
to us this word of salvation has been sent."
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Commentary on Acts 13:22-26
 
This is the first of several instances recorded in Acts that St. Paul uses his scholarly knowledge of the Hebrew tradition to build up a logical rationale for Jesus as Savior and Messiah. In this passage, that development ends as he recounts the history of God’s covenant with the Jewish people from their exodus from Egypt under Moses to the appearance of John the Baptist (in this discourse there are quotes from several sources: Psalm 89:21; 1 Samuel 13:14; and Isaiah 44:28). St. John was a contemporary figure about whom these people would have been aware, and he quotes Luke 3:16. He concludes by appealing to the Jewish audience (“sons of the family of Abraham”) to hear the prophetic call fulfilled.
 
CCC: Acts 13:24 523
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Gospel: Luke 1:57-66, 80
 
When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child
she gave birth to a son.
Her neighbors and relatives heard
that the Lord had shown his great mercy toward her,
and they rejoiced with her.
When they came on the eighth day to circumcise the child,
they were going to call him Zechariah after his father,
but his mother said in reply,
"No. He will be called John."
But they answered her,
"There is no one among your relatives who has this name."
So they made signs, asking his father what he wished him to be called.
He asked for a tablet and wrote, "John is his name,"
and all were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened, his tongue freed,
and he spoke blessing God.
Then fear came upon all their neighbors,
and all these matters were discussed
throughout the hill country of Judea.
All who heard these things took them to heart, saying,
"What, then, will this child be?"
For surely the hand of the Lord was with him.
The child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the desert until the day
of his manifestation to Israel.
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Commentary on Luke 1:57-66, 80
 
We hear the angel’s announcement to Zechariah (Luke 1:13ff) fulfilled in St. Luke’s account of the birth of St. John the Baptist. The naming of the child “John” broke tradition (according to the tradition of the day, the child should have been named after his father, Zechariah) and by acceding to the archangel Gabriel’s announcement, we see the child set on a course directed by God and dedicated to him. Based upon the closing statement (v.80), it is possible the boy, John, was entrusted to the "covenanters at Qumran." [6]
 
"The brief account of the birth echoes the OT account of (barren) Rebekah’s delivery (Gen 25:24); Lot’s experience of God’s mercy (Gen 19:19) is the pattern after which Elizabeth’s is described in v 58; the rejoicing with Elizabeth reflects (barren) Sarah’s expectation, should she miraculously give birth to a child (Gen 21:6 LXX). For Elizabeth, miraculous pregnancy is culminated by the mercy of a safe delivery." [7]
 
CCC: Lk 1:68 422, 717
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Reflection:
 
The feast we celebrate today, the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, is raised to the level of a solemnity, the highest, most important rank that is given to celebrations in the Church.  We point this out to invite the question, “Why would the birth of St. John the Baptist be placed on the same level as the feasts of the Transfiguration, Christmas, or Easter?”  These other solemnities mark major events in the life of Christ.  While he was Jesus’ cousin, and his birth, like the Lord’s, was miraculous (although not anywhere close to the virginal birth of the Lord), St. John passed from sight early in the saga of Jesus.  Why then does the Church so honor the day of his birth?
 
We ask the question rhetorically of course.  Without the birth of St. John, Jesus’ mission could not have happened.  It was St. John who came as the “Elijah figure,” returning as prophesied to herald the coming of the Messiah.  It was St. John who announced and prefigured the Lord in life and death.  St. John was the perfect key that opened the way for the Savior who in turn used that key to defeat death and open wide the gates of salvation for all mankind.
 
When we recall St. John’s beginning, Scripture presents us with a clear picture of his importance in God’s plan.  Like the great prophets of old, St. John was called to his role from his mother’s womb.  Indeed, his first meeting with Jesus was from the womb as his mother, Elizabeth, met her cousin, the Blessed Virgin Mary, when she was newly with child.  St. John, while still in Elizabeth’s womb, leapt for joy at the sound of Mary’s voice.  His path was already set, his mission already accepted. (Luke 1:40-41)
 
Like the Lord himself, little is known of St. John’s early years.  We may only speculate that, growing up, he must have spent some time with Jesus.  Clearly, he knew that it was he, the Lord, whose path he made straight.  His response to those who asked him later if he was the Messiah makes clear that he was humble in his role and awed by the call he had accepted.  The Acts of the Apostles recalled his words to us: “I am not he.” When asked if he was the one expected, he said: “Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.”
 
In his witness, St. John not only announced the Lord’s coming, but provided for us an example of how we should accept the Lord’s future coming.  Like St. John, we should be filled with awe and wonder at what God has done for us.  We should be filled with expectation at what the Heavenly Father has prepared for us.  We should be joyful as we anticipate our Lord’s coming in glory.
 
As we recall St. John’s nativity on this his feast day, let us all pray that we may conform our attitudes to his being filled with the Holy Spirit, rejoicing in the Lord who came as he promised and will come again.
 
Pax
 
In other years on this date: Wednesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

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[1] Note, when this solemnity falls on a Monday, the vigil may be celebrated before or after Evening Prayer on the Sunday preceding.
[2] The picture is “St John the Baptist as a Boy” by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, c. 1665.
[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] Jerome Biblical Commentary (Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968), 22:35, 376.
[6] Id. 44:39, 124.
[7] John Nolland, Luke 1:1–9:20, Word Biblical Commentary vol. 35A (Dallas: Word, Incorporated, 1989), 81.

Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time

“Narrow and Wide Gates”
by Johann Christoph Weigel, 1695

Readings for Tuesday of the Twelfth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary: [3]
 
Reading 1: 2 Kings 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36
 
Sennacherib, king of Assyria, sent envoys to Hezekiah
with this message:
“Thus shall you say to Hezekiah, king of Judah:
‘Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you
by saying that Jerusalem will not be handed over
to the king of Assyria.
You have heard what the kings of Assyria have done
to all other countries: they doomed them!
Will you, then, be saved?’”
 
Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it;
then he went up to the temple of the LORD,
and spreading it out before him,
he prayed in the LORD’s presence:
“O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned upon the cherubim!
You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth.
You have made the heavens and the earth.
Incline your ear, O LORD, and listen!
Open your eyes, O LORD, and see!
 
Hear the words of Sennacherib which he sent to taunt the living God.
Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations
and their lands, and cast their gods into the fire;
they destroyed them because they were not gods,
but the work of human hands, wood and stone.
Therefore, O LORD, our God, save us from the power of this man,
that all the kingdoms of the earth may know
that you alone, O LORD, are God.”
 
Then Isaiah, son of Amoz, sent this message to Hezekiah:
“Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
in answer to your prayer for help against Sennacherib, king of Assyria:
I have listened!
This is the word the LORD has spoken concerning him:
 
“‘She despises you, laughs you to scorn,
the virgin daughter Zion!
Behind you she wags her head,
daughter Jerusalem.
 
“‘For out of Jerusalem shall come a remnant,
and from Mount Zion, survivors.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.’
 
“Therefore, thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria:
‘He shall not reach this city, nor shoot an arrow at it,
nor come before it with a shield,
nor cast up siege-works against it.
He shall return by the same way he came,
without entering the city, says the LORD.
I will shield and save this city for my own sake,
and for the sake of my servant David.’”
 
That night the angel of the LORD went forth and struck down
one hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp.
So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, broke camp,
and went back home to Nineveh.
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Commentary on 2 Kgs 19:9b-11, 14-21, 31-35a, 36
 
Following the annals of the kings of Israel, we come to King Hezekiah’s reign. Earlier in the account of his reign (715-687 BC), he implemented great reforms (see 2 Chronicles 29-31), throwing out many pagan influences which gained popularity during the reign of his predecessor, King Ahaz (735-715). The spiritual strength gained from the return to faith allowed Hezekiah to turn to the Lord for aid in facing the vastly superior Assyrians, who held sway over the entire region. This was accomplished with God’s aid, striking down a large number of the Assyrian army by what appears to be a plague.
 
Reference to the thwarting of the invasion by Sennacherib is dated to 701 BC. While the Assyrians did lay siege to Jerusalem, they did not capture it. This debacle led to the assassination of Sennacherib by one of his sons.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 48:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 10-11
 
R. (9d) God upholds his city for ever.
 
Great is the LORD and wholly to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain, fairest of heights,
is the joy of all the earth.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
 
Mount Zion, “the recesses of the North,”
is the city of the great King.
God is with her castles;
renowned is he as a stronghold.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
 
O God, we ponder your mercy
within your temple.
As your name, O God, so also your praise
reaches to the ends of the earth.
Of justice your right hand is full.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
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Commentary on Ps 48:2-3ab, 3cd-4, 10-11
 
Psalm 48 is a song of praise to God, exhorting the community to praise the Lord for his gift of salvation. The psalm sings of the glory of the heavenly kingdom, the new Jerusalem, and the Lord’s mercy and justice.
 
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Gospel: Matthew 7:6, 12-14
 
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine,
lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces.
 
“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.
This is the Law and the Prophets.
 
“Enter through the narrow gate;
for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction,
and those who enter through it are many.
How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.”
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Commentary on Mt 7:6, 12-14
 
This selection contains three popular sayings of the Lord, contained within the body of the Sermon on the Mount. The “pearls before swine” saying has been somewhat problematic for scholars. It probably refers to proclaiming the Gospel to those who reject it most strenuously, the scribes and Pharisees. This is followed by a shortened passage expounding the “Golden Rule.” The passage concludes with the analogy of the “narrow gate.” The foundation for this saying is found in Deuteronomy 30:15-20. After the Jews' long sojourn in the desert and having the law imparted to them, Moses sums up the function of God’s law, saying, “See, I have today set before you life and good, death and evil.” Jesus draws a similar comparison. The narrow gate refers here to following the precepts of the Lord and keeping the discipline of the faith. These precepts form a boundary for actions: “How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.”
 
CCC: Mt 7:12-13 2821; Mt 7:12 1789, 1970; Mt 7:13-14 1036, 1970, 2609; Mt 7:13 1696
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Reflection:
 
“How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life.” Whenever this passage is proclaimed we think of road construction at rush hour. In most major cities it seems that those in authority pick the most heavily traveled stretches of highway to repair just as traffic is at its heaviest. This always causes huge backups and tempers flare.
 
When people rush to get to the same destination there are always those who think there might be an easier way, a quicker way, one not requiring the patience needed to follow the constricted route. These individuals violate laws and place themselves (and others) in danger, because of their failure to follow the laws.
 
The same thing is true of our journey toward the heavenly kingdom. The path is constricted by the commandments set down for us to follow. Those who find them too difficult, just as those confronted with a traffic backup, will try to find an easier way, a more comfortable route. Those who choose this path are the ones Jesus laments in the passage from St. Matthew’s Gospel.
 
There was an article recently published by an apologist that addressed this very point. When confronted by a young man who was a professed atheist, he began to explore the reasons this once-Catholic individual had turned so adamantly away from the Church. After hearing the young man go through all of the usual popular objections about the failings of the Church and the people of faith, the apologist asked just one question: “You’re sleeping with your girlfriend, aren’t you?”
 
So often those we meet who reject the narrow path do not reject it because they do not believe it is the right path, but rather because it is either too difficult, or not as much “fun” as the alternative. The person who fails at some endeavor in life does not embrace that failure because it is the right thing to do, but rather because succeeding generally requires more work, discipline, and effort.
 
For those who struggle along the narrow way, we pray that they continue to have the strength to persevere, ignoring the short-term struggle and seeing the eternal benefit. We pray also for those who have found the narrow way too difficult and have turned back. We pray and encourage them that they might know that it is never too late to make the attempt once more. For all of us, we pray that, in spite of the times we fail, falling off that narrow way, that we have the strength of faith to dust ourselves off and climb back on. Life is worth the effort.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture used is “Narrow and Wide Gates” by Johann Christoph Weigel, 1695.
[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.