Saturday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

(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. (USCCB recommends: # 20. Holy Mary, the New Eve.)

“Virgin and Child Surrounded by Flowers and Fruit”
by Jan the Elder Brueghel, c. 1600’s

 
Readings for Saturday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time  [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible  [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: 1 Corinthians 10:14-22
 
My beloved ones, avoid idolatry.
I am speaking as to sensible people;
judge for yourselves what I am saying.
The cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ?
The bread that we break,
is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?
Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though many, are one Body,
for we all partake of the one loaf.
 
Look at Israel according to the flesh;
are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar?
So what am I saying?
That meat sacrificed to idols is anything?
Or that an idol is anything?
No, I mean that what they sacrifice,
they sacrifice to demons, not to God,
and I do not want you to become participants with demons.
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and also the cup of demons.
You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons.
Or are we provoking the Lord to jealous anger?
Are we stronger than him?
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Commentary on 1 Cor 10:14-22
 
St. Paul ties together his theme on the unity of the Church with an eloquent description of the Eucharistic meal. He goes on to describe how taking part in the Eucharistic meal, for the Christian, is a participation in Christ’s sacrifice and mission.  He contrasts this holy meal with the Jewish and pagan practice of eating foods sacrificed to idols. Drawing upon the concept that the power behind pagan idols is demonic put forward in Deuteronomy 32:7, the Apostle calls the community to stand faithfully with Christ – no compromise is possible.
 
CCC: 1 Cor 10:16-17 1329, 1331, 1396; 1 Cor 10:16 1334; 1 Cor 10:17 1621
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 116:12-13, 17-18
 
R. (17) To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
 
How shall I make a return to the Lord
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the Lord.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
 
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the Lord.
My vows to the Lord I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
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Commentary on Ps 116:12-13, 17-18
 
This selection from Psalm 116 recalls the Passover ritual referring to the “cup of salvation.” The psalm rejoices in God’s saving works in releasing the people from their bondage. This psalm of thanksgiving gives us the image of the “cup of blessing.” It is this cup that the Lord first blessed at the Last Supper and used as our communion cup.
 
CCC: Ps 116:12 224; Ps 116:13 1330; Ps 116:17 1330
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Gospel: Luke 6:43-49

Jesus said to his disciples:
“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,
but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;
for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command?
I will show you what someone is like who comes to me,
listens to my words, and acts on them.
That one is like a man building a house,
who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock;
when the flood came, the river burst against that house
but could not shake it because it had been well built.
But the one who listens and does not act
is like a person who built a house on the ground
without a foundation.
When the river burst against it,
it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”
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Commentary on Lk 6:43-49

St. Luke’s Gospel brings us the conclusion of Jesus’ discourse on judgment of others, using the analogy of the fruits borne by a tree, good and bad. The intent of this allegory was to expose false prophets, hypocrites who say one thing but do another. "What matters is not whether or not we wear a religious habit, it is whether we try to practice the virtues, surrender our will to God, and order our lives as His Majesty ordains, and not want to do our will but His." (St Teresa of Avila, "Interior Castle", II, 6). [5]

The second section of this reading is the conclusion of Jesus’ long discourse. He uses the analogy of the house built upon sand and the house built upon rock to indicate that those who have a deep faith and act out of that faith have a strong foundation and can stand against adversity, while those who give the faith lip service for others to see, but do not have that deep faith, will fall.

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Reflection:
 
The cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ?
The bread that we break,
is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?
Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though many, are one Body,
for we all partake of the one loaf.
 
This powerful statement is actually a criticism of idolatry, comparing the Christian Eucharistic celebration with pagan sacrifices. As we have noted earlier, Corinth was not a nice place, and the Christian community was under a lot of pressure to “fit in” (sounds familiar) with the large Greek population which was sacrificing and worshiping multiple gods and idols. Paul calls to them to be faithful to the Gospel, and to understand that anything that leads them away from Christ is from the evil one.
 
Turning from Paul’s practical instruction to the Gospel of St. Luke, Jesus focuses us on what we, as individual members of the Body of Christ, must be. He calls us to be the fruit of the vine, the vine that is Jesus himself. He tells us that if we hear his word but do not act on his commandments, we are weak and will be destroyed like the house built upon sand that is washed away by the sea.
 
It is likely that this Scripture has been used to blame parents for the actions of their children, giving birth to such clichés as “The acorn does not fall far from the tree,” and other axioms. But if we look at the context in which the Lord is speaking, we see that it is not offspring that he refers to when he says, “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,” he is referring to a person’s actions, the fruits of that person’s labors.
 
He tells us that if we truly believe in him and hear his word, our actions will become “good fruit,” and the implication is that we have become, in him, a good creation in God’s garden.
 
Today we are given two linked messages. First Paul reminds us that we are one in Christ, and that our treasure is there, not with those who prize idols (material things) above the spiritual gifts given by the Lord. This unifying theme is brought home to us as Jesus reminds us that, for us to bear good fruit, we must follow his commandments.
 
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 today is “Virgin and Child Surrounded by Flowers and Fruit” by Jan the Elder Brueghel, c. 1600’s.
[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. 396.