(Saturday Following the Second Sunday After Pentecost)
Note: On this feast, the Gospel from the proper of the saint is proper. The first reading and psalm are taken from the readings of the day.
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| “The Immaculate Heart of Mary” Artist and Date are Unknown |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: 2 Chronicles 24:17-25
After the death of Jehoiada,
the princes of Judah came and paid homage to King Joash,
and the king then listened to them.
They forsook the temple of the Lord, the God of their fathers,
and began to serve the sacred poles and the idols;
and because of this crime of theirs,
wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem.
Although prophets were sent to them to convert them to the Lord,
the people would not listen to their warnings.
Then the Spirit of God possessed Zechariah,
son of Jehoiada the priest.
He took his stand above the people and said to them:
“God says, ‘Why are you transgressing the Lord’s commands,
so that you cannot prosper?
Because you have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you.’”
But they conspired against him,
and at the king’s order they stoned him to death
in the court of the Lord’s temple.
Thus King Joash was unmindful of the devotion shown him
by Jehoiada, Zechariah’s father, and slew his son.
And as Zechariah was dying, he said, “May the Lord see and avenge.”
At the turn of the year a force of Arameans came up against Joash.
They invaded Judah and Jerusalem,
did away with all the princes of the people,
and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus.
Though the Aramean force came with few men,
the Lord surrendered a very large force into their power,
because Judah had abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers.
So punishment was meted out to Joash.
After the Arameans had departed from him,
leaving him in grievous suffering,
his servants conspired against him
because of the murder of the son of Jehoiada the priest.
He was buried in the City of David,
but not in the tombs of the kings.
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Commentary on 2 Chr 24:17-25
King Joash does not direct the people to worship God, but embraces idol worship, and disregards the prophets sent to him. Then Zechariah arises and challenges King Joash and the people, telling them that unless they turn back to God, they will be punished. The king, even though he owed his own life to Zechariah’s father, Jehoiada (see 2 Kings 11:4-17), had Zechariah murdered. (This event is referenced by Jesus, speaking about the Jews ignoring and killing prophets in Luke 11:51, although there is some confusion over this because of Matthew 23:35, where Zechariah is identified as “son of Barachiah” the minor prophet. See Zechariah 1:1.)
The actions of the king and the people are seen to be avenged by God through the Arameans. The chronicler records that a small force later attacks Judah, and inexplicably defeats the much larger army of Judah. They then proceed to kill the king and his court, not according him the honor of his kingship.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 89:4-5, 29-30, 31-32, 33-34
R. (29a) For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant:
Forever will I confirm your posterity
and establish your throne for all generations.”
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“Forever I will maintain my kindness toward him,
and my covenant with him stands firm.
I will make his posterity endure forever
and his throne as the days of heaven.”
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“If his sons forsake my law
and walk not according to my ordinances,
If they violate my statutes
and keep not my commands.”
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
“I will punish their crime with a rod
and their guilt with stripes.
Yet my mercy I will not take from him,
nor will I belie my faithfulness.”
R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
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Commentary on Ps 89:4-5, 29-30, 31-32, 33-34
Psalm 89 is a communal lament sung after the defeat of the Davidic king. Because defeat calls into question God’s promise, made in the strophes cited here wherein God promised David’s throne to stand forever, the community asks God to remember his promise.
CCC: Ps 89 709
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Gospel: Luke 2:41-51
Each year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
When his parents saw him,
they were astonished,
and his mother said to him,
"Son, why have you done this to us?
Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety."
And he said to them,
"Why were you looking for me?
Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?"
But they did not understand what he said to them.
He went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them;
and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
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Commentary on Lk 2:41-51
This passage begins St. Luke's account of the presentation of Jesus in the temple by his parents, in accordance with Jewish law. It is significant from a number of perspectives. First the story breaks the scriptural silence regarding the “lost years” of Jesus’ growth from infancy to adulthood. This story says Jesus is twelve. That would be the time when he would have celebrated his bar miswah, after which he would have been considered a man.
St. Luke's description is at odds with the apocryphal gospels (such as the Gospel of St. Thomas) that attributed to Jesus many miracles during his early years. This account paints his childhood as fairly normal. The implication, based on Joseph's and Mary’s reaction, is that, at this point, they do not completely understand their son’s mission.
CCC: Lk 2:41-52 534; Lk 2:41 583; Lk 2:46-49 583; Lk 2:48-49 503; Lk 2:49 2599; Lk 2:51-52 531; Lk 2:51 517, 2196, 2599
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Reflection:
Heavenly Father, we humbly pray that those suffering from the coronavirus be returned quickly to full health by the power of your Son’s healing presence, and those in fear be calmed through the Holy Spirit.
In Christ’s name we pray. – Amen.
Yesterday’s celebration of the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus is joined appropriately with today’s Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Yesterday we rejoiced in the love our Savior has for us. Today, Jesus’ mother, our mother Mary, reminds us that he expects to be loved by us in return. Even as we know that we can never earn the love of Christ, that we can never receive it on our own merits, we know that our love of Jesus must be made clear to the world.
Today we reflect, not just in prayer but in a very pragmatic way, about how we can accede to Mother Mary’s fervent hope and example. She demonstrated for us how love of the Lord could be shown. She was the first to believe in him. Her actions most closely echoed his command to love one another. She clearly loved the Lord with such intensity and passion that her heart was pierced at his death, as Simeon had predicted (Luke 2:25-35).
We cannot hope to rival the love of the Theotokos, the Mother of God, in her love for her Son. We may have difficulty finding the intense emotional attachment to the Lord she showed us so naturally. But we can demonstrate our love for him through our actions. We can hope that at the end of our lives we can say, as St. Paul says to St. Timothy: “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.”
Think for a moment about how others know we love our parents, our siblings, or even our close friends. We do things for them that please them. We spend time with them, and we behave in ways that make them happy, sharing our joy and our sorrow.
Using that simple model is how we show our love for Jesus. That is the beckoning call of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. We do things that please the Lord, we praise the Heavenly Father , and we act in ways that tell others: “Oh, they must be Christians.” We serve others, because the Lord’s life and his mother’s life were dedicated to serving others. And we spend time with the Lord, as much time as possible. We talk with him in prayer, not just to ask for things like a spoiled child or an ungrateful friend, but talking to him about the things we have been able to accomplish with his help, and about our joys and sorrows. Finally we spend time with him physically, receiving his gift of the Eucharist, and at eucharistic adoration. Is this not the way we act with those we love?
Scripture tells us that Mary, Most Holy, loved the Lord like no one else could, and in her Immaculate Heart we see that example, clear for us to follow. Let us today be revitalized by that plea and embrace the Lord with our actions.
In this strange year where many of us will not be able to receive the Blessed Sacrament or celebrate as a community in our houses of worship, we must be prepared to receive spiritual communion in prayer:
My Jesus,
I believe that You
are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment
receive You sacramentally,
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You.
Amen.
Pax
[1] The picture is “The Immaculate Heart of Mary” Artist and Date are Unknown.
[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.
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