(Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary)
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| “Faith” by Giuseppe Angeli, c. 1754 |
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.
Commentary:
Reading 1: Lamentations 2:2, 10-14, 18-19
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.
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
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]
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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).
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 in 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
[1] General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, Miscellaneous Notes no. 5
[2] The picture is “Faith” by Giuseppe Angeli, c. 1754
[5] See NAB footnote for Psalm 74
[6] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, pp 101
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