Saturday of the Sixteenth 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. Suggested for this date: #23 The Blessed Virgin Mary, Temple of the Lord.
 

“The Harvest of the World”
by Jacobello Alberegno,1360-90

Readings for Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Jeremiah 7:1-11
 
The following message came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
Stand at the gate of the house of the Lord,
and there proclaim this message:
Hear the word of the Lord, all you of Judah
who enter these gates to worship the Lord!
Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:
Reform your ways and your deeds,
so that I may remain with you in this place.
Put not your trust in the deceitful words:
“This is the temple of the Lord!
The temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord!”
Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds;
if each of you deals justly with his neighbor;
if you no longer oppress the resident alien,
the orphan, and the widow;
if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place,
or follow strange gods to your own harm,
will I remain with you in this place,
in the land I gave your fathers long ago and forever.
 
But here you are, putting your trust in deceitful words to your own loss!
Are you to steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury,
burn incense to Baal,
go after strange gods that you know not,
and yet come to stand before me
in this house which bears my name, and say:
“We are safe; we can commit all these abominations again”?
Has this house which bears my name
become in your eyes a den of thieves?
I too see what is being done, says the Lord.
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Commentary on Jer 7:1-11
 
In this passage, the prophet Jeremiah, once more speaking with God’s voice, issues a call and a warning to the people who come to the temple. He tells them that they must reform – repent – turn away from the evil, blasphemy, and callousness many have fallen into (“if each of you deals justly with his neighbor; if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow strange gods to your own harm”). It is only if they do this that God will continue to remain with them. “The temple of the Lord will not serve as a place of refuge for the Jews against their enemies if they fail to reform their evil ways.”[5]
 
CCC: Jer 7:9 2056
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a, 11
 
R. (2) How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
 
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the Lord.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
 
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young—
Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
 
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
Blessed the men whose strength you are!
They go from strength to strength.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
 
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
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Commentary on Ps 84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a, 11
 
Psalm 84 gives thanks for the courts of the temple in Jerusalem. It supports the story of the establishment of the “meeting tent” (Exodus 40:16-21, 34-38). The praise given to the temple may also be applied to the less permanent symbol of God’s guiding presence. It also recalls Jeremiah’s oracle that the temple would not be a refuge for the wicked, and that the great gift of his presence in the temple was for the faithful.
 
Those who find a home in God's temple are blessed. They find strength flowing from the Lord, sustaining them. The timelessness of heaven is reflected in the service of God's house, his dwelling place.
 
CCC: Ps 84:3 1770
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Gospel: Matthew 13:24-30
 
Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man
who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
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Commentary on Mt 13:24-30
 
Jesus tells another parable, about the harvest this time. Here we see his reference to the “good seed” and “bad seed.” The good seed here, as an analogy to the kingdom of God, represents those who remain faithful to God’s laws and precepts. The fact that the householder does not permit his slaves to tear out the weeds, for fear of killing the wheat as well, is a warning to the disciples not to judge or attempt to alienate themselves from those with whom they have contact who reject the word. The “bad seed” represents those converted by God’s enemy, who choke off the good seed and, in the eschaton, will be condemned to hell.
 
"This weed--cockle--looks very like wheat and can easily be mistaken for it until the ears appear. If it gets ground up with wheat it contaminates the flour and any bread made from that flour causes severe nausea when eaten. In the East personal vengeance sometimes took the form of sowing cockle among an enemy's wheat. Roman law prescribed penalties for this crime.
 
"When the careless servants ask the Lord why weeds have grown in his field, the explanation is obvious: 'inimicus homo hoc fecit: an enemy has done this.' (St. J. Escriva, 'Christ Is Passing By', 123)." [6]
 
CCC: Mt 13:24-30 827
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Reflection:

As painful as it is, we must examine the failings of our Church in not dealing openly with the historical abuses of our clergy.  While not precisely analogous, the Penn State University scandal a couple of years ago certainly exemplifies how an institution may be harmed by one individual's inability to restrain their worst impulses.  Most people who have followed these stories believe that the individuals involved are the worst kinds of hypocrites, preying on those they have pledged to serve.
 
Jeremiah’s words most directly apply to people like these, and any others who try to shield themselves from public ridicule by hiding themselves in a community of faith. Hypocrisy is one of the favorite targets of the God of Justice, and his Son for that matter. It is one of the great gifts of the Church that we are allowed to be repentant, and it is clear, even from the time of Jeremiah, that those who had transgressed God’s law were allowed to make amends and return to his favor. When Jesus came, he provided two forms of grace for those who wish to follow him. First, the initial cleansing in baptism, whereby all previous sins are washed clean and a new beginning is made. Once that initial adoption is made, our recourse is to the sacrament of reconciliation, where our repentance is accepted, and God’s love is expressed.
 
Does that mean that the Church is not an inviting refuge for those who are enthralled with sin outside her walls? No, on the contrary, the safety of God’s love is viewed by predators, the bad seed in Christ’s parable, as being our weakness. Those who care nothing for human dignity find it amusing that we gullible Christians would show them Christ’s love, when they would take everything, we have if they could. To those who have had evil sown in their hearts, the fires of the harvest chaff are waiting.
 
Our challenge is first to constantly turn away from sin, and through sacramental grace, realign ourselves with Christ. Second, we recognize that, as wheat, we grow up among the seed sown by the evil one. But even that can be turned to good. So, we must never stop trying to invite those around us, in spite of the risk of disappointment, to come back to the Lord with all their hearts.
 
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 “The Harvest of the World” by Jacobello Alberegno,1360-90.
[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] NAB footnote on Jeremiah 7:1-15.
[6] The Navarre Bible, “Gospels and Acts,” Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2002, p. 134.