Saturday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Optional Memorial for Saints Sixtus II, Pope, and his Companions, Martyrs)

Proper readings for the Memorial of Sts. Sixtus II and his Companions
 
Biographical Information about St. Sixtus II
 
Or:
 
(Optional Memorial for Saint Cajetan, Priest)

 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Cajetan
 
Biographical Information about St. Cajetan 
 
Or:
 
(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. (Suggested: 35. The Blessed Virgin Mary, Pillar of Faith)

“Christ Heals the Lunatic”
by Gustave Doré, 1865

Readings for Saturday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Deuteronomy 6:4-13
 
Moses said to the people:
“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone!
 Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God,
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your strength.
Take to heart these words which I enjoin on you today.
Drill them into your children.
Speak of them at home and abroad, whether you are busy or at rest.
Bind them at your wrist as a sign
and let them be as a pendant on your forehead.
Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.
 
“When the LORD, your God, brings you into the land which he swore
to your fathers: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,
that he would give you,
a land with fine, large cities that you did not build,
with houses full of goods of all sorts that you did not garner,
with cisterns that you did not dig,
with vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant;
and when, therefore, you eat your fill,
take care not to forget the LORD,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
The LORD, your God, shall you fear;
him shall you serve, and by his name shall you swear.”
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Commentary on Dt 6:4-13
 
The tale of Moses leading the children of Israel (Jacob) presents an important event. In this passage, Moses begins giving the tribes the Shema Yisrael, arguably the most important of all Jewish prayers. It embodies the whole of Mosaic Law and is quoted by Christ as “the greatest and the first commandment,” summarizing the whole law of God.
 
He reminds the people that the land they will inherit is already prepared for habitation and that God expects to be remembered for the salvation he has brought them.
 
CCC: Dt 6:4-5 201, 459, 2093; Dt 6:4 228, 2083; Dt 6:5 368, 2055, 2133; Dt 6:13-14 2084; Dt 6:13 2096, 2150
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 47 and 51
 
R. (2) I love you, Lord, my strength.
 
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
 
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim!
And I am safe from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
 
The LORD live!  And blessed be my Rock!
Extolled be God my savior!
You who gave great victories to your king,
and showed kindness to your anointed,
to David and his posterity forever.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
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Commentary on Ps 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 47 and 51
 
Psalm 18 is a song of thanksgiving for a military victory.  The psalmist, in these strophes, rejoices in God’s saving power.  The theme of the “rock” is a reference to the solid nature of the faith foundation. The strophes in this selection sound like a love song to God as David thanks the Lord for his inheritance.
 
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Gospel: Matthew 17:14-20
 
A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said,
“Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely;
often he falls into fire, and often into water.
I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him.”
Jesus said in reply,
“O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you?
How long will I endure you?
Bring the boy here to me.”
Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him,
and from that hour the boy was cured.
Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said,
“Why could we not drive it out?”
He said to them, “Because of your little faith.
Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain,
‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you.”
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Commentary on Mt 17:14-20
 
"This episode of the curing of the boy shows both Christ's omnipotence and the power of prayer full of faith. Because of his deep union with Christ, a Christian shares, through faith, in God's own omnipotence, to such an extent that Jesus actually says on another occasion, "he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father" (John 14:12)." [5]

The story of the possessed boy is a shortened version of the story from St. Mark’s Gospel (Mark 9:17-27). Here there is little background given and the focus instead is on lack of faith. Jesus' comments, directed to the disciples, indicate their faith was insufficient to drive out the demon, and the speech envisions a time when they may be able to “move mountains” with stronger faith.
 
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Reflection:
 
Nothing can be accomplished of an enduring and positive nature without God’s support and will.  This message is echoed in both the first reading from Deuteronomy and the Gospel of St. Matthew.  In Deuteronomy, Moses begins his address to the people with the words:
 
“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone!
Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
and with all your soul,
and with all your strength”.
 
These words speak to an attitude of love of God.  Moses tells the people to bind that attitude in the minds and hands ("Bind them at your wrist as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead").  It is through their actions that they will be known as children of God.  It is only though him that their works take on meaning.  Moses concludes by reminding them that God has been the source of their salvation and that must be constantly before them.
 
The Lord is more pragmatic in the Gospel of Matthew.  We hear of the cure of the boy possessed by a demon and, while it is not stated in the story from Matthew, it is implied that the disciples had tried unsuccessfully to expel it from the boy.  Jesus, clearly frustrated (probably as much at the evil one for continuing to test him as at the disciples who did not yet possess the faith to accomplish the task at hand), drives the demon out almost it seems without effort.  He then tells the disciples in no uncertain terms that if they have (absolute) faith in God, a faith the size of a mustard seed, they could move mountains.
 
If we question this radical seeming statement (“Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”), we see the truth of it later as the Apostles prove their power showing us what is possible with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
 
Today we are given another example of how God, if allowed to act through us, can move mountains as we meditate upon the works of the saints.  Their actions show us the truth with which this reflection began: “Nothing can be accomplished of an enduring and positive nature without God’s support and will.”  The inverse is also true, with God anything is possible.
 
Pax 

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[1] General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous Notes no. 5: “Outside Advent, Christmas Time, Lent, and Easter Time, on Saturdays which have no commemoration having the rank of 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 “Christ Heals the Lunatic” by Gustave Doré, 1865.
[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] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 152.