Biographical information about St. Kateri Tekakwitha
In the United States, this memorial is perpetually transferred to July 18th.
“Saint Kateri Tekakwitha” artist and date are unknown |
Readings for Friday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
When he arrived at Beer-sheba,
he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
There God, speaking to Israel in a vision by night, called,
"Jacob! Jacob!"
He answered, "Here I am."
Then he said: "I am God, the God of your father.
Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt,
for there I will make you a great nation.
Not only will I go down to Egypt with you;
I will also bring you back here, after Joseph has closed your eyes."
and the sons of Israel
put their father and their wives and children
on the wagons that Pharaoh had sent for his transport.
They took with them their livestock
and the possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan.
Thus Jacob and all his descendants migrated to Egypt.
His sons and his grandsons, his daughters and his granddaughters
all his descendants—he took with him to Egypt.
so that he might meet him in Goshen.
On his arrival in the region of Goshen,
Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot
and rode to meet his father Israel in Goshen.
As soon as Joseph saw him, he flung himself on his neck
and wept a long time in his arms.
And Israel said to Joseph, "At last I can die,
now that I have seen for myself that Joseph is still alive."
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Commentary on Gn 46:1-7, 28-30
"Jacob goes down to Egypt forced by the famine which is ravaging the land of Canaan (cf. Genesis 47:4). The Lord has prepared the way for him by means of a series of painful events and a series of tests whose meaning is now plain to see." [4]
“Jacob's status is not reduced by his going into Egypt; on the contrary, it is enhanced and underlined: 'For, what does he need if God goes with him? [...] Who is as powerful in his homeland as Jacob was in a strange country? Who had such abundance of wealth, as he had in a time of famine? Who was as strong in his youth, as this man was in his old age? [...] Who was as rich in his kingdom, as this man on his pilgrimage? He even blessed kings [...], and who will call him poor whom the world was not worthy to know? for his company was in heaven, (St. Ambrose, ‘De Iacob Et Vita Beata', 2, 9. 38)." [5]
After being told years earlier that his son Joseph had been killed and been shown the bloodied coat he had given Joseph (Genesis 37:20-36), Jacob (Israel) and his son are reunited and the promise of God is fulfilled. Jacob travels to Egypt on God’s reassurance that he will not only be returned to the land he had been given, but that Joseph would “close his eyes,” a burial ritual.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40
that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will grant you your heart’s requests.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
their inheritance lasts forever.
They are not put to shame in an evil time;
in days of famine they have plenty.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
that you may abide forever;
For the LORD loves what is right,
and forsakes not his faithful ones.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 37:3-4, 18-19, 27-28, 39-40
Gospel: Matthew 10:16-23
"Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves;
so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves.
But beware of men,
for they will hand you over to courts
and scourge you in their synagogues,
and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake
as a witness before them and the pagans.
When they hand you over,
do not worry about how you are to speak
or what you are to say.
You will be given at that moment what you are to say.
For it will not be you who speak
but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
Brother will hand over brother to death,
and the father his child;
children will rise up against parents and have them put to death.
but whoever endures to the end will be saved.
When they persecute you in one town, flee to another.
Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel
before the Son of Man comes."
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Commentary on Mt 10:16-23
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Reflection:
[1] The picture is “Saint Kateri Tekakwitha” artist and date are unknown.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[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] The Navarre Bible: “Pentateuch”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 212.
[5] Ibid. pp. 213-14.
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