(Note: the optional memorial for Saint Camillus De Lellis, Priest, is perpetually transferred to July 18th in the United States.)
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| “Saint Kateri Tekakwitha” artist and date are unknown |
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1: Isaiah 7:1-9
In the days of Ahaz, king of Judah, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah,
Rezin, king of Aram,
and Pekah, king of Israel, son of Remaliah,
went up to attack Jerusalem,
but they were not able to conquer it.
When word came to the house of David that Aram
was encamped in Ephraim,
the heart of the king and the heart of the people trembled,
as the trees of the forest tremble in the wind.
Then the Lord said to Isaiah: Go out to meet Ahaz,
you and your son Shear-jashub,
at the end of the conduit of the upper pool,
on the highway of the fuller’s field, and say to him:
Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear;
let not your courage fail
before these two stumps of smoldering brands
the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans,
and of the son Remaliah,
because of the mischief that
Aram, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah,
plots against you, saying,
“Let us go up and tear Judah asunder, make it our own by force,
and appoint the son of Tabeel king there.”
Thus says the Lord:
This shall not stand, it shall not be!
Damascus is the capital of Aram,
and Rezin is the head of Damascus;
Samaria is the capital of Ephraim,
and Remaliah’s son the head of Samaria.
But within sixty years and five,
Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation.
Unless your faith is firm
you shall not be firm!
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Commentary on Is 7:1-9
God’s message to King Ahaz through Isaiah’s oracle is to remain calm; it is only through complete faith in God that salvation can occur. (“This shall not stand, it shall not be!”) The final instruction, to stand firm placing absolute faith in God’s saving power, is problematic because the dates are probably not translated accurately. Scholars agree that the passage: “But within sixty years and five” was more likely intended to be “Yet six, nay five more years,” [4] a time frame which would have given Ahaz comfort. This summons is believed to be a pointed reminder of the oracle of Nathan in 2 Samuel 7: 12-17.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 48:2-3a, 3b-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. (see 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.
For lo! the kings assemble,
they come on together;
They also see, and at once are stunned,
terrified, routed.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
Quaking seizes them there;
anguish, like a woman’s in labor,
As though a wind from the east
were shattering ships of Tarshish.
R. God upholds his city for ever.
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Commentary on Ps 48:2-3a, 3b-4, 5-6, 7-8
Psalm 48 is a Zion hymn, praising the holy city as the invincible dwelling place of God. Unconquerable, Mount Zion is an apt symbol of God who has defeated all enemies. The psalm describes the victory by the Divine warrior over hostile kings.
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Gospel: Matthew 11:20-24
Jesus began to reproach the towns
where most of his mighty deeds had been done,
since they had not repented.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum:
Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the nether world.
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”
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Commentary on Mt 11:20-24
In this passage he goes further, chastising the towns in which he has performed great signs. As in the parable that preceded it, this selection speaks of the punishment reserved for those who refuse to hear the word he has spoken. In addition to ignoring the Lord’s revelation, they also continue to ignore the law and prophets. Their fate, he tells them, will be worse than that of Sodom.
CCC: Mt 11:20-24 678
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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.
St. Matthew’s Gospel shows us a very frustrated Jesus who, heralded by St. John the Baptist, his “Elijah,” performed great works, and yet the people continue as if it had been simply a circus coming to town. The signs and wonders were seen as entertaining, but beyond that there was no lasting impact. It is certainly clear that the lasting effects of repentance had not occurred.
As happens so many times in the truth of scripture, this situation occurs all the time. Even with the most devout Christian, conversion must take place every day. What greater sign can be performed than the sacrifice of the Mass? Yet we walk out of Mass forgetting the promises we made, ignoring the lingering grace dispensed with the sacrament, and continue as if nothing had changed.
Each day we are called to repentance. Each day we are called to place our complete faith in God. It is something we must never forget. Practicing our faith means we engage in a daily struggle to overcome our natural tendencies to think of our own personal comfort, our secular goals. We must constantly weigh those goals against what must be our first and overriding concern, our faith in the Lord and the achievement of his desires for us.
From the beginning of God’s relationship with mankind, prophets and teachers have called us to repentance, to change our lives and to live as God intended. We hear that message once more today, and ask for God’s grace and strength that will allow us to respond.
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 “Saint Kateri Tekakwitha” 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.
[4] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 16:18, p. 270.
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