Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Memorial Bench for Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Readings for Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Exodus 3:13-20
Moses, hearing the voice of the LORD from the burning bush, said to him,
"When I go to the children of Israel and say to them,
'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,'
if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?"
God replied, "I am who am."
Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel:
I AM sent me to you."
God spoke further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the children of Israel:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,
has sent me to you.
"This is my name forever;
this my title for all generations.
"Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and tell them:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
has appeared to me and said:
I am concerned about you
and about the way you are being treated in Egypt;
so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt
into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites,
Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,
a land flowing with milk and honey.
"Thus they will heed your message.
Then you and the elders of Israel
shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him:
"The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word.
Permit us, then, to go a three-days' journey in the desert,
that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God.
"Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go
unless he is forced.
I will stretch out my hand, therefore,
and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there.
After that he will send you away."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ex 3:13-20
This reading from Exodus continues Moses interview with God at the burning bush on Mount Horeb. Moses first tries to get God to give a name that he can use to tell the leaders of the people of Israel who it is that sent him. God’s response is a non-response, “I am who am.” Existing without a proper name, God is beyond control of mankind.
He continues his instruction telling Moses that the king of Egypt (Pharaoh) will not simply allow the people of Israel to leave. He promises to smite Egypt and in response the people will be sent away.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 105:1 and 5, 8-9, 24-25, 26-27
R. (8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He greatly increased his people
and made them stronger than their foes,
Whose hearts he changed, so that they hated his people,
and dealt deceitfully with his servants.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He sent Moses his servant;
Aaron, whom he had chosen.
They wrought his signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 105:1 and 5, 8-9, 24-25, 26-27
Psalm 105 is a hymn of thanksgiving. In this passage we find linkage to the first reading as in the first strophe we see a call to invoke the name of God, first given above. The song continues to remember the story of Moses’ call to go to Egypt.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 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."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 11:28-30
In this passage, unique to St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus invites those burdened by the yoke of Pharisaic Law to believe in Him. Obedience to the word of Christ is much easier than the complex rules of the Law under scribal interpretation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
How easy is the yoke of the Lord? How light is his burden? Anyone who has faith and has fallen into particularly difficult times knows the answers to these questions. When we are strong and capable, the Lord asks us to be like him – strong and capable in the faith, following his example, helping those less fortunate, reaching out to those in need. At those times some might argue that the Lord’s burden is not light, his yoke not easy.
But when we fall; when we cannot fend for ourselves – when we are ill, when we are unemployed or destitute, when we have been beaten down by the world, that is when we suddenly realize that the burden of the Lord is light and his yoke easy. It is because that yoke is Christ’s love for us and the burden is mercy.
When we laid low by life we look to Christ and find there the warming glow of consolation. We may feel utterly alone and betrayed but Christ is there – not demanding anything of us. He is there if we can open our hearts in prayer, but even if we are in what St. Ignatius of Loyola calls “the dark night of the soul” and cannot even find words to pray, we can fell the Lord there – he is simply with us; not demanding but holding us up so we are not overcome by despair.
How easy is the yoke of the Lord; how light his burden? It is only what we can bear and when we can bear nothing – he bears us up.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “Burden” by Honoré Daumier, 1850-53
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
Memorial Bench for Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Readings for Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Exodus 3:13-20
Moses, hearing the voice of the LORD from the burning bush, said to him,
"When I go to the children of Israel and say to them,
'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,'
if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?"
God replied, "I am who am."
Then he added, "This is what you shall tell the children of Israel:
I AM sent me to you."
God spoke further to Moses, "Thus shall you say to the children of Israel:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,
has sent me to you.
"This is my name forever;
this my title for all generations.
"Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and tell them:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
has appeared to me and said:
I am concerned about you
and about the way you are being treated in Egypt;
so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt
into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites,
Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,
a land flowing with milk and honey.
"Thus they will heed your message.
Then you and the elders of Israel
shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him:
"The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word.
Permit us, then, to go a three-days' journey in the desert,
that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God.
"Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go
unless he is forced.
I will stretch out my hand, therefore,
and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there.
After that he will send you away."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ex 3:13-20
This reading from Exodus continues Moses interview with God at the burning bush on Mount Horeb. Moses first tries to get God to give a name that he can use to tell the leaders of the people of Israel who it is that sent him. God’s response is a non-response, “I am who am.” Existing without a proper name, God is beyond control of mankind.
He continues his instruction telling Moses that the king of Egypt (Pharaoh) will not simply allow the people of Israel to leave. He promises to smite Egypt and in response the people will be sent away.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 105:1 and 5, 8-9, 24-25, 26-27
R. (8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He greatly increased his people
and made them stronger than their foes,
Whose hearts he changed, so that they hated his people,
and dealt deceitfully with his servants.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He sent Moses his servant;
Aaron, whom he had chosen.
They wrought his signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 105:1 and 5, 8-9, 24-25, 26-27
Psalm 105 is a hymn of thanksgiving. In this passage we find linkage to the first reading as in the first strophe we see a call to invoke the name of God, first given above. The song continues to remember the story of Moses’ call to go to Egypt.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 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."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 11:28-30
In this passage, unique to St. Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus invites those burdened by the yoke of Pharisaic Law to believe in Him. Obedience to the word of Christ is much easier than the complex rules of the Law under scribal interpretation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
How easy is the yoke of the Lord? How light is his burden? Anyone who has faith and has fallen into particularly difficult times knows the answers to these questions. When we are strong and capable, the Lord asks us to be like him – strong and capable in the faith, following his example, helping those less fortunate, reaching out to those in need. At those times some might argue that the Lord’s burden is not light, his yoke not easy.
But when we fall; when we cannot fend for ourselves – when we are ill, when we are unemployed or destitute, when we have been beaten down by the world, that is when we suddenly realize that the burden of the Lord is light and his yoke easy. It is because that yoke is Christ’s love for us and the burden is mercy.
When we laid low by life we look to Christ and find there the warming glow of consolation. We may feel utterly alone and betrayed but Christ is there – not demanding anything of us. He is there if we can open our hearts in prayer, but even if we are in what St. Ignatius of Loyola calls “the dark night of the soul” and cannot even find words to pray, we can fell the Lord there – he is simply with us; not demanding but holding us up so we are not overcome by despair.
How easy is the yoke of the Lord; how light his burden? It is only what we can bear and when we can bear nothing – he bears us up.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture is “Burden” by Honoré Daumier, 1850-53
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal © 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved.
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