Fr. Ed Broom, OMV

Catholic Ignatian Marian Spirituality

MASS READINGS AND COMMENTARY | JUNE 13, 2020

June 13, 2020

Memorial of Saint Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Reading 1  1 KGS 19:19-21 

Elijah set out, and came upon Elisha, son of Shaphat,
as he was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen;
he was following the twelfth.
Elijah went over to him and threw his cloak over him.
Elisha left the oxen, ran after Elijah, and said,
“Please, let me kiss my father and mother goodbye,
and I will follow you.”
Elijah answered, “Go back!
Have I done anything to you?”
Elisha left him and, taking the yoke of oxen, slaughtered them;
he used the plowing equipment for fuel to boil their flesh,
and gave it to his people to eat.
Then he left and followed Elijah as his attendant.

Responsorial Psalm PSALM 16: 1B-2A, AND 5, 7-8, 9-10 

R. (see 5a) You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”
O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.

R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
I bless the LORD who counsels me;
even in the night my heart exhorts me.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices,
my body, too, abides in confidence;
Because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,
nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption.

R. You are my inheritance, O Lord.

Alleluia PS 119: 36A, 29B 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees;
and favor me with your law.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 5:33-37

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
Do not take a false oath,
but make good to the Lord all that you vow.
But I say to you, do not swear at all;
not by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
nor by the earth, for it is his footstool;
nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
Do not swear by your head,
for you cannot make a single hair white or black.
Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’
Anything more is from the Evil One.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church

8 Periods of renewal in the Church are also intense moments of catechesis. In the great era of the Fathers of the Church, saintly bishops devoted an important part of their ministry to catechesis. St. Cyril of Jerusalem and St. John Chrysostom, St. Ambrose and St. Augustine, and many other Fathers wrote catechetical works that remain models for us.

“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)

SATURDAY, JUNE 13TH   Mt: 5: 33-37   “Jesus said to his disciples… ‘Let your Yes mean Yes, and your No mean No. Anything more is from the evil one.’”

  • In the pursuit of holiness, obedience is the sine qua non, meaning without which nothing. Without obedience there is no holiness! Holiness is obedience to God; sin is disobedience to God. We are here on this earth to say Yes to God and No to sin. This life is short, but our life hereafter is forever and ever and ever!
  • CCC 397-398: Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command. This is what man’s first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in His goodness. In that sin man preferred himself to God and by that very act scorned Him. He chose himself over and against God, against the requirements of his creaturely status, and therefore against his own good. Constituted in a state of holiness, man was destined to be fully “divinized” by God in glory. Seduced by the devil, he wanted to “be like God”, but “without God, before God, and not in accordance with God.”
  • Jesus came as Savior to repair for the Original Sin of Adam and Eve, and for our sins. “For just as through the disobedience of the one man, the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man, the many will be made righteous.” (Rom 5:19)
  • At the Last Supper, Jesus gave His last discourse to the apostles: “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching.” (Jn 14: 15-16, 23-24)
  • Jesus is the Son of God made man. He is one Person – the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity – with two natures, a Divine nature and a human nature. In His human nature, Jesus recoiled from the cross – in mortal agony He sweat blood in the Garden of Gethsemane! Yet He still obeyed! “Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, ‘My Father, if it is possible, let this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.’” (Mt 26:39)
  • Could it be any clearer? Those who love Christ, strive to obey His teachings in Scripture and in His Holy Church. But it doesn’t stop there. Like Jesus in His agony in the Garden, we are to obey and say Yes to all that God in His Divine Providence and wisdom permits to happen every day and every moment in our lives. God wills good, but He permits evil to bring a greater good out of it. When we say “Jesus, I trust in you” we are saying Jesus, I trust in all you permit to happen in my life in this moment, this day, this year, and all my years.

Holy Obedience… by Father John Tauler, O.P.

The least little work done in holy obedience is nobler in God’s eyes and more worthy of reward than many great works performed by one’s own will. I declare to you in all truth that no lovelier offering can be made to the Almighty God than a truly humble and obedient heart. In a single instant a man can, by means of obedience and giving up of his own will to God, be made so humble that he will be led directly to God – more directly than if he spent ten years in practicing high devotions.

Obedience is that very noble virtue which is more pleasing to God than any of the others, even when we obey in matters which are in themselves of little moment. The eternal Son of God was, for our sake, made obedient to His heavenly Father – in His coming down from the Godhead to our poor human nature, in the embracing of His holy cross, and finally in His cruel and bitter death. Therefore, we must one and all be obedient to God in all divine things and human things, interiorly and exteriorly, without murmuring or contradiction – if God is to do His work of love unhindered and continuously within our souls.

End Father John Tauler, O.P. (+1361 – Rhineland mystic, priest and theologian)

Living Holy Obedience in daily life… by Venerable Madeleine Delbrel

We, the ordinary people of the streets, know very well that as long as our own will is alive, we will not be able to love Christ definitively. We know that only obedience can root us in His death. We would envy our Religious Brothers and Sisters if we too could not “die to ourselves” a little more each day.

However, for us the tiny circumstances of life are faithful “superiors.” They do not leave us alone for a moment; and the “yeses” we have to say to them follow continuously, one after the other. When we surrender to them without resistance, we find ourselves wonderfully liberated from ourselves. We float in Providence like a cork on the ocean waters.

From the moment we wake up these circumstances take hold of us. It is the telephone that rings; it is the key that won’t work, the bus that doesn’t arrive or arrives full, or doesn’t wait for us. It is the person sitting next to us who takes up the whole seat; or the vibration of the loose window pane that drives us crazy.

It’s the daily routine, one chore that leads to another, some job we wouldn’t have chosen. It’s the weather and its changes – which is exquisite precisely because it is completely untainted by human doing. It’s being cold, or being hot; it’s the headache or the toothache. It’s the people we meet and the conversations they choose to start. It’s the rude man who nearly knocks us off the sidewalk. It’s the people who need to kill some time, and so they corner us. When we live with others, obedience also means we set aside our own tastes and leave things in the place others have put them.

In this way, life becomes an epic film in slow motion. It does not make our head spin. It does not take our breath away. Little by little, thread by thread, it eats away at the old man’s frame, which cannot be mended and must be made new from the ground up. When we thus become accustomed to giving up our will to so many tiny things, we will no longer find it hard, when the occasion presents itself, to do the will of our boss, our husband, or our parents. And our hope is that death, too, will be easy.

End Venerable Madeleine Delbrel (+1964 – French Catholic writer and mystic)

 

 

 

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MASS READINGS AND COMMENTARY | JUNE 12, 2020

June 12, 2020

Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 1 KGS 19:9A, 11-16

At the mountain of God, Horeb,
Elijah came to a cave, where he took shelter.
But the word of the LORD came to him,
“Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD;
the LORD will be passing by.”
A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains
and crushing rocks before the LORD—
but the LORD was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake—
but the LORD was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake there was fire—
but the LORD was not in the fire.
After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
When he heard this,
Elijah hid his face in his cloak
and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.
A voice said to him, “Elijah, why are you here?”
He replied, “I have been most zealous for the LORD,
the God of hosts.
But the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant,
torn down your altars,
and put your prophets to the sword.
I alone am left, and they seek to take my life.”
The LORD said to him,
“Go, take the road back to the desert near Damascus.
When you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael as king of Aram.
Then you shall anoint Jehu, son of Nimshi, as king of Israel,
and Elisha, son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah,
as prophet to succeed you.”

Responsorial Psalm 27:7-8A, 8B-9ABC, 13-14 

R. (8b) I long to see your face, O Lord.
Hear, O LORD, the sound of my call;
have pity on me, and answer me.
Of you my heart speaks; you my glance seeks.

R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
Your presence, O LORD, I seek.
Hide not your face from me;
do not in anger repel your servant.
You are my helper: cast me not off.

R. I long to see your face, O Lord.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.

R. I long to see your face, O Lord.

Alleluia PHIL 2:15D, 16A

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Shine like lights in the world,
as you hold on to the word of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 5:27-32

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you,
everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.

“It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful)
causes her to commit adultery,
and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.”


Catechism of the Catholic Church

7 “Catechesis is intimately bound up with the whole of the Church’s life. Not only her geographical extension and numerical increase, but even more her inner growth and correspondence with God’s plan depend essentially on catechesis.”


“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)

FRIDAY, JUNE 15TH    Mt. 5: 27-32   “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut if off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.”

  • St. Padre Pio had the gift of prophecy. A blind man once asked Padre Pio to restore his sight. Padre Pio said he could do that, but if the man’s sight was restored, he would be lost for all eternity! In other words, his eyes would lead him to sin mortally and to die in mortal sin. The man chose to remain blind.
  • Better to lose your eye, lose your hand – than to commit a mortal sin, since we know not the hour or the day when we will die. Better to suffer here, than suffer for all eternity!
  • In this life no one is exempt from suffering. When we suffer, we can shake our fist at God and ask “why me” or we can offer our suffering to God for our salvation and the salvation of many others, beginning with those in our own family. Suffering of itself has no merit. But suffering joined to the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross has infinite merit and value!
  • Suffering will either make us better or bitter. Blessed Henry Suso, a renowned Dominican preacher of the 14th Century, helps us to see how suffering can make us better.

 Suffering is a gift… by Blessed Henry Suso (+1366)

He who evaluates suffering at its true worth must accept it from God as a precious gift. Ah, there is many a man, formerly a child of eternal death and slumbering in sin, who has been revived and roused to a holy life by suffering.

Suffering guards men against grave falls; it gives a man self-knowledge, makes him firm toward himself and compassionate toward his neighbor.

Suffering preserves the soul in humility, teaches patience, guards purity, and brings the crown of eternal salvation.

It is practically impossible that suffering does not benefit a man in some way, whether he is yet in the state of sin, is just converted, making progress, or already arrived at perfection, because it scours the iron, purifies the gold, and embellishes the precious stones.

Suffering takes away sin, shortens purgatory, drives away temptations, quenches carnal desires, and renews the spirit. It brings true confidence, a pure conscience, and unwavering courage.

Be convinced that it is a wholesome drink and the most beneficial herb of all paradise. It mortifies the body, which is destined to rot anyway, but nourishes the precious soul, which is to endure eternally.

Suffering gives a man wisdom and experience. A man who has not suffered, what does he know?   End of Reflection.

  • Some people are called to the apostolate of suffering for the salvation of souls; they
  • are called victim souls. St. Padre Pio was a victim soul, suffering the stigmata – the wounds of Christ in His hands, feet, and side – for 50 years.
  • When St. Jacinta Marto was beatified by St. Pope John Paul II, he called her “a little victim soul.” In 1917, Our Lady of Fatima appeared six times to three young shepherd children – Lucia age 10, and her two cousins, Francisco age 9 and Jacinta age 7. Our Lady asked them to pray the Rosary and to make sacrifices daily, offering them for the conversion of poor sinners so as to save them from hell. All three did so willingly.
  • Our Lady predicted that Francisco and Jacinta would die soon and go to heaven. But Lucia would have to stay a little while longer. Both Francisco and Jacinta died within 2 ½ years, victims of the 1918 influenza epidemic that swept through Europe. Lucia died in 2005 at age 97. God’s time is different than our time!
  • Jacinta especially wanted to suffer to save souls from hell. At one point, Our Lady appeared to Jacinta and asked her if she was willing to suffer a little more to save souls. Her response was a resounding yes!
  • Jacinta suffered a complication of the influenza which was this, she developed purulent pleurisy and endured an operation in which two of her ribs were removed. Because of the condition of her heart, she could not be fully anesthetized, and suffered terrible pain, which she said would help to convert many sinners.
  • Jacinta died alone in a hospital in Lisbon, far from her home, family and friends. But was she really alone? We don’t that this happened, but we can imagine Jacinta being held in the arms of Mother Mary as she took her last breath, and opening her eyes to the glory of Heaven – with the Father and the Holy Spirt, Jesus and all the angels and saints rejoicing to welcome her, especially her brother, Francisco!
  • Not all are called to be victim souls like St. Padre Pio and St. Jacinta Marto! It is enough that we accept the sufferings that God in His infinite goodness and wisdom permits to visit us for our salvation and the salvation of others, especially our family. And not just put up with these sufferings, but accept them gratefully!
  • A man sick and suffering from some disease, gladly takes the remedy guaranteed to cure him! So it is with suffering! We will come to know the Hand that so lovingly administers this medicine for our soul, and so arrive at the peace that passes understanding, and the joy that no one can take from us, here and forever in heaven!
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MASS READINGS AND COMMENTARY | JUNE 11, 2020

Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle

Reading 1 ACTS 11:21B-26; 13:1-3

In those days a great number who believed turned to the Lord.
The news about them reached the ears of the Church in Jerusalem,
and they sent Barnabas to go to Antioch.
When he arrived and saw the grace of God,
he rejoiced and encouraged them all
to remain faithful to the Lord in firmness of heart,
for he was a good man, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith.
And a large number of people was added to the Lord.
Then he went to Tarsus to look for Saul,
and when he had found him he brought him to Antioch.
For a whole year they met with the Church
and taught a large number of people,
and it was in Antioch that the disciples
were first called Christians.

Now there were in the Church at Antioch prophets and teachers:
Barnabas, Symeon who was called Niger,
Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen who was a close friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,
“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul
for the work to which I have called them.”
Then, completing their fasting and prayer,
they laid hands on them and sent them off.

Responsorial Psalm 98: 1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4, 5-6

R. (see 2b)  The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.

R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.
Sing praise to the LORD with the harp,
with the harp and melodious song.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
sing joyfully before the King, the LORD.

R. The Lord has revealed to the nations his saving power.

Alleluia JN 13:34

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 5:20-26 

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that
of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors,
You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother
will be liable to judgment,
and whoever says to his brother, Raqa,
will be answerable to the Sanhedrin,
and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar,
and there recall that your brother
has anything against you,
leave your gift there at the altar,
go first and be reconciled with your brother,
and then come and offer your gift.
Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him.
Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge,
and the judge will hand you over to the guard,
and you will be thrown into prison.
Amen, I say to you,
you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church

6 While not being formally identified with them, catechesis is built on a certain number of elements of the Church’s pastoral mission which have a catechetical aspect, that prepare for catechesis, or spring from it. They are: the initial proclamation of the Gospel or missionary preaching to arouse faith; examination of the reasons for belief; experience of Christian living; celebration of the sacraments; integration into the ecclesial community; and apostolic and missionary witness.

THURSDAY, JUNE 11TH Mt. 5: 20-26 “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.

  • Do you want to go to Heaven? Or do you want to go to Hell? No one ever says they want to go to hell! And in today’s secular world where immorality seems to be the norm, where it’s institutionalized in law, likely no one thinks they’re going to hell, if they even believe in it!
  • Jesus makes it clear that unless our righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees, we will not enter the Kingdom of heaven – and there is only one other place to go! In point of fact, Jesus talks more about the fires of Gehenna (hell) than about heaven in the Scriptures. Why? He wants us to believe hell exists and He doesn’t want us to go there!
  • The choice is ours. God doesn’t send anyone to hell, we send ourselves! We choose one or the other by how we live our life on earth. Either a place of indescribable beauty, peace, love, and joy for all eternity OR a place of eternal fire, indescribable suffering, hatred, and blasphemies, tormented by demons and convicted by our own conscience!
  • This is Our Lord’s message in the Gospel today. Those who forgive others and reconcile will have bliss… those who refuse to forgive and reconcile will have blisters! If it is not possible or not safe to forgive and reconcile with someone in person, we must forgive and reconcile with them sincerely in our heart; the Lord who can read our most hidden desires and intentions will know.
  • For men this is impossible… for God all things are possible! Jesus came to earth as Savior! Even the Apostles questioned Jesus. Peter asked Him, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, ‘”I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (Mt. 18:21-22) Bible scholars agree, what Jesus meant by seventy-seven times is limitless times, in other words, always!! How can we hope to do this in our human weakness?
  • The Lord floods our soul with grace in Baptism and sustains us on our journey to heaven through the Sacraments, the teachings of His holy Church under the guidance of our Holy Father and good priests, our Blessed Mother Mary, our guardian angel, and all the angels and saints in Heaven!
  • Indeed, St. Paul points out that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses! “Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”  (Heb. 12:1-3)
  • The Sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist, in particular, speed us on our way to heaven if we receive them frequently and fervently! In Confession, Jesus forgives our sins, even our failure to forgive! But it is not enough simply to confess our lack of forgiveness, we still have to forgive and reconcile with that person! This is called making reparation for our sins. If we break a neighbor’s window we have to apologize, but we also have to replace the window!
  • The good news is that this great Sacrament also confers the grace to forgive and reconcile with our brother and sister – that is to say, with everyone, for God is Creator and Father of all! Jesus shows us mercy first by lavishing His mercy on us in the Sacrament of Confession, restoring and deepening our friendship with Him!
  • Holy Communion is an extension of Jesus’ Mercy. He gives us His own Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist to nourish and strengthen us on the journey to our heavenly home. However, even more important, by partaking of Holy Communion we are sharing in the Divine life and love of the Blessed Trinity! When we receive Holy Communion worthily we receive a spiritual heart transplant – we receive the Heart of Christ! We also put on the mind of Christ! Saint Paul says, “We have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor 2:16) We become one with the Blessed Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
  • Finally, it is important to remember that no one can say or do anything to us that the Lord has not ordained from all eternity for our salvation, our purification, and our perfection! All is within His Divine Providence. We have only to submit to His will in holy obedience each day and in every circumstance, to stay on the course that leads us straight to the Heart of Jesus and heaven!
  • It is His will that we be saved! It is His will that we spend all eternity with Him in the peace and joy of the Holy Trinity, our Blessed Mother, and all the Angels and Saints! All we have to do is will it – He’ll do the rest!
  • Every day and in every circumstance, I have a choice. His stairway to Heaven or my highway to hell? Which will it be? My way? Or His way?
  • “God’s heart calls to our hearts, inviting us to come out of ourselves, to forsake our human certainties, to trust in Him and, by following His example, to make ourselves a gift of unbounded love.”  (Pope Benedict XVI)  

CALL TO HOLINESS   By St. Louis de Montfort

Chosen soul, living image of God and redeemed by the precious Blood of Jesus Christ, God wants you to become holy like Him in this life, and glorious like Him in the next. 

It is certain that growth in the holiness of God is your vocation. All your thoughts, words, actions, everything you suffer or undertake must lead you toward that end.  Otherwise you are resisting God in not doing the work for which He created you and for which He is even now keeping you in being. 

What a marvelous transformation is possible! Dust into light, uncleanness into purity, sinfulness into holiness, creature being taken up into Creator! A marvelous work, I repeat, so difficult in itself, and even impossible for a mere creature to bring about, for only God can accomplish it by giving His grace abundantly and in an extraordinary manner. The very creation of the universe is not as great an achievement as this.

Chosen soul, how will you bring this about? What steps will you take to reach the high level to which God is calling you? The means of holiness and salvation are known to everybody, since they are found in the Gospel; the masters of the spiritual life have explained them; the Saints have practiced them and shown how essential they are for those who wish to be saved and attain perfection. These means are: sincere humility, unceasing prayer, complete self-denial, abandonment to Divine Providence, and obedience to the will of God.

 

 

 

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MASS READINGS AND COMMENTARY | JUNE 10, 2020

Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 1 KGS 18:20-39 

Ahab sent to all the children of Israel
and had the prophets assemble on Mount Carmel.

Elijah appealed to all the people and said,
“How long will you straddle the issue?
If the LORD is God, follow him; if Baal, follow him.”
The people, however, did not answer him.
So Elijah said to the people,
“I am the only surviving prophet of the LORD,
and there are four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal.
Give us two young bulls.
Let them choose one, cut it into pieces, and place it on the wood,
but start no fire.
I shall prepare the other and place it on the wood,
but shall start no fire.
You shall call on your gods, and I will call on the LORD.
The God who answers with fire is God.”
All the people answered, “Agreed!”

Elijah then said to the prophets of Baal,
“Choose one young bull and prepare it first,
for there are more of you.
Call upon your gods, but do not start the fire.”
Taking the young bull that was turned over to them, they prepared it
and called on Baal from morning to noon, saying,
“Answer us, Baal!”
But there was no sound, and no one answering.
And they hopped around the altar they had prepared.
When it was noon, Elijah taunted them:
“Call louder, for he is a god and may be meditating,
or may have retired, or may be on a journey.
Perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”
They called out louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears,
as was their custom, until blood gushed over them.
Noon passed and they remained in a prophetic state
until the time for offering sacrifice.
But there was not a sound;
no one answered, and no one was listening.

Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.”
When the people had done so, he repaired the altar of the LORD
that had been destroyed.
He took twelve stones, for the number of tribes of the sons of Jacob,
to whom the LORD had said, “Your name shall be Israel.”
He built an altar in honor of the LORD with the stones,
and made a trench around the altar
large enough for two measures of grain.
When he had arranged the wood,
he cut up the young bull and laid it on the wood.
“Fill four jars with water,” he said,
“and pour it over the burnt offering and over the wood.”
“Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.
“Do it a third time,” he said,
and they did it a third time.
The water flowed around the altar,
and the trench was filled with the water.

At the time for offering sacrifice,
the prophet Elijah came forward and said,
“LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel,
let it be known this day that you are God in Israel
and that I am your servant
and have done all these things by your command.
Answer me, LORD!
Answer me, that this people may know that you, LORD, are God
and that you have brought them back to their senses.”
The LORD’s fire came down
and consumed the burnt offering, wood, stones, and dust,
and it lapped up the water in the trench.
Seeing this, all the people fell prostrate and said,
“The LORD is God! The LORD is God!”

Responsorial Psalm 16:1B-2AB, 4, 5AB AND 8, 11 

R. (1b) Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;
I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”

R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
They multiply their sorrows
who court other gods.
Blood libations to them I will not pour out,
nor will I take their names upon my lips.

R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
O LORD, my allotted portion and cup,
you it is who hold fast my lot.
I set the LORD ever before me;
with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.
You will show me the path to life,
fullness of joys in your presence,
the delights at your right hand forever.

R. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.

Alleluia PS 25:4B, 5A

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Teach me your paths, my God,
and guide me in your truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 5: 17-19 

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.”

5 “Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people and adults which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life.”

 

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10TH      Mt. 5: 17-19   “Do you think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets. I have come not to abolish, but to fulfill. Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter will pass from the law.”

1. The Old Testament’s moral precepts – the law promulgated by Moses and upheld by the prophets – are based on the natural law and are to be obeyed Jesus says “until heaven and earth pass away!” Jesus not only upholds these commandments but gives greater weight and deeper meaning to them! He implements a new level of covenant righteousness that stretches beyond the boundaries of the Old Covenant in two ways.

2. Outwardly, the New Covenant stretches beyond the nation of Israel to all nations in the kingdom of His Church on earth. Inwardly, it penetrates to the heart, it reaches within to govern our interior life according to an elevated standard of holiness. The Old Covenant formed virtuous citizens in Israel. The New Covenant generates saints – the universal call to holiness in the one, true Church established by Jesus Christ.

3. This New Covenant call to holiness is the theme of Matthew Chapter 5 that we have been praying with this week – Christ’s call to live the Beatitudes, to become the light of the world, and today, to strive for deeper purification and conversion of heart!

4. “You have heard it said…  You shall not kill. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment!”  

Everyone gets angry at times. The question is what do we do with our anger? Do we nurse anger and resentment in our heart and thoughts until we finally lash out in our words and actions? Or do we resist and act against the anger – Ignatian agere contra. The key is self-awareness. Recognize the signs. Act instead of react. As soon as you feel agitated, as soon as you feel your temper rising, walk away from the person or situation without saying anything. Then act intensely against the anger by taking an opposite action. Some helpful suggestions. Let’s call them the eight beatitudes of mercy.

  • Pray a fervent Act of Contrition, calling to mind your many sins and how often God has forgiven you. Beg for the grace to forgive others.
  • Recall and pray the first words Jesus spoke as He hung on the cross: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” (Lk. 23:34)
  • Pray the Our Father slowly, thinking about the words, especially these words, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”
  • Pray fervent Hail Marys, even Rosaries for this person and beg for Mary’s intercession – there are two hearts that need to be changed.
  • Walk in the steps of the saints; when you feel antagonism towards a person, act against your feelings by performing acts of kindness for them. This is not hypocrisy, this is heroic virtue! If you continue in this way, your feelings will follow your actions and you will begin to have compassion for this person.
  • If you are still struggling, go to Mother Mary with this heartfelt prayer: “Mother, you must give me your Heart to love them with, for my heart is too small.” I have never known this prayer to fail.
  • Remember, we can never know another person’s heart – what life experiences have formed them – what wounds they bear, what terrors and demons they are fighting inside – what troubles they are experiencing in their life right now.
  • Consider that God may have brought this person into your life because they need prayers and He knows you are a person of prayer! Adopt them as your spiritual child and pray every day for their conversion and eternal salvation. You may be the only person praying for them. They will never know or thank you here, but they will be eternally grateful when you both reach heaven, for to save another is to save yourself as well.

5. “You have heard it said…  You shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart!” 

Our heart belongs to the One who created us. Are we serious about guarding our heart? Is our heart pure and chaste? We are to be chaste even in marriage. The marital act is to be unitive and fruitful for one purpose – the spouses helping each other and their children to get to heaven. Jesus speaks of this truth, “At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.”(Mt. 22:33) Are we chaste in our thoughts? In our desires? In what we see and hear? In our words and actions? In the way we dress and comport ourselves? The surest way to preserve a pure and chaste heart is to ask Jesus and Mary to walk on either side of us, St. Joseph to walk in front of us, our guardian angel to walk behind us, at all times

6. “You have heard it said…  Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce. But I say to you, whoever divorces his wife causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery!” 

An Examen for married couples. Do you view the Sacrament of Marriage as sacred and indissoluble? Do you value and protect your marriage? Do you pray for your spouse and your marriage daily? Do you frequent the Sacrament of Confession and offer your Mass and Holy Communion for your marriage and family? Do you encourage the daily family Rosary? Do you support and encourage your spouse? Do you refrain from complaining about your spouse? Do you regularly sit down as a couple and discuss what is going on in your marriage and family life? Do you ask for forgiveness and freely give forgiveness? Do you seek counsel from our priests to help resolve marriage and family difficulties? And if necessary, seek marriage counseling to preserve your marriage? In other words, are you willing to fight for your marriage? When you have done all you can, leave the rest in God’s hands, and you will find peace

7. “You have heard it said…  An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well.”

It takes deep prayer and many acts of penance to bear all things silently for the love of Christ crucified! May we beg for the grace! Then join all we suffer to the Passion and death of Christ on the cross in reparation for our sins and the sins of others, and the salvation of many souls!

8, “You have heard it said…  You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you that you may be children of your heavenly Father!”  

Holiness is not as far away as we may think. We have all had moments when we looked on our enemy, on the one who hated us, the one who hurt us, and by the grace of God forgave them and prayed for them with a sincere and pure heart. In that moment, we were children of our heavenly Father, we were perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect! That can be every moment in our lives, if we beg for the grace and will it!

JMJ

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MASS READINGS AND COMMENTARY | JUNE 9, 2020

 

Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1 1 KGS 17:7-16

The brook near where Elijah was hiding ran dry,
because no rain had fallen in the land.
So the LORD said to Elijah: 
“Move on to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there.
I have designated a widow there to provide for you.”
He left and went to Zarephath.
As he arrived at the entrance of the city,
a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her,
“Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink.”
She left to get it, and he called out after her,
“Please bring along a bit of bread.”
She answered, “As the LORD, your God, lives, 
I have nothing baked;
there is only a handful of flour in my jar
and a little oil in my jug.
Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks,
to go in and prepare something for myself and my son;
when we have eaten it, we shall die.”
Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid. 
Go and do as you propose.
But first make me a little cake and bring it to me.
Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son.
For the LORD, the God of Israel, says,
‘The jar of flour shall not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry,
until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’”
She left and did as Elijah had said.
She was able to eat for a year, and Elijah and her son as well;
the jar of flour did not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry,
as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.

Responsorial Psalm PS 4:2-3, 4-5,7B-8   

R. (7a) Lord, let your face shine on us.
When I call, answer me, O my just God,
you who relieve me when I am in distress;
Have pity on me, and hear my prayer!
Men of rank, how long will you be dull of heart?
Why do you love what is vain and seek after falsehood?
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
Know that the LORD does wonders for his faithful one;
the LORD will hear me when I call upon him.
Tremble, and sin not;
reflect, upon your beds, in silence. 
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.
O LORD, let the light of your countenance shine upon us!
You put gladness into my heart,
more than when grain and wine abound.
R. Lord, let your face shine on us.

Alleluia MT 5:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Let your light shine before others
That they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 5:13-16  

Jesus said to his disciples:
“You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.
Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket;
it is set on a lampstand,
where it gives light to all in the house.
Just so, your light must shine before others,
that they may see your good deeds
and glorify your heavenly Father.”
II. Handing on the Faith: Catechesis

4 Quite early on, the name catechesis was given to the totality of the Church’s efforts to make disciples, to help men believe that Jesus is the Son of God so that believing they might have life in his name, and to educate and instruct them in this life, thus building up the body of Christ.

 

TUESDAY, JUNE 9TH Mt. 5: 13-16 “You are the light of the world. Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.”

  • Light – what a lovely thing light is. There is no shining light in all creation lovelier than the Blessed Virgin Mary! She alone is the Immaculate Conception, preserved from original sin at the moment of her conception in the womb of Saint Anne and preserved from the stain of sin her whole life! In Mary’s pure light, we see clearly the darkness in ourselves. Thus the poet Wordsworth called Mary “our tainted nature’s solitary boast!”
  • The Angel Gabriel greeted her, “Hail Mary, full of grace!” (Lk. 1:28) She was the first light of dawn dispelling the darkness, giving way to the refulgence of the Light of the Son of God! As the moon reflects the light of the sun, Mary is the perfect reflection of the Son of God. Her presence gives warmth to hearts grown cold, healing to hearts that are wounded, valor to the faint-hearted, and the Christ Light to souls darkened by sin.
  • The Light of Christ first shone forth from the womb of Mary. Through Mary, the Star proclaiming Christ’s birth first penetrated the womb of Elizabeth, causing the baby within her to leap for joy! The light guiding us through the tempests and storms of life is Mary, Star of the Sea! The light in the window welcoming us home is the light of Mary’s motherly love for each one of us, shining from our true home in her Immaculate Heart where she forms her children in the image and likeness of her Divine Son, Jesus.
  • The Light of Christ that enlightens our minds first illumined the mind of Mary. When the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, Jesus communicated His inscrutable wisdom and truth to Mary, which she imparts to those who fervently ask for it, freeing them from the darkness of ignorance and error, the lies and deceits of the enemy. (As revealed in The Three Hail Marys devotion given to Saint Mechtilde by the Blessed Virgin Mary.)
  • Mary, the Mother of Sorrows, stood at the foot of the cross and willingly suffered all the agonies of her Son’s Passion and death for love of us and for our salvation. St. Louis de Montfort says that Mary is a Martyr because all that Jesus suffered in His Passion and death on the cross, Mary suffered in her Immaculate Heart.
  • Mary wants to comfort and console us. She wants us to bring our fears and anxieties to her. She wants us to find rest in her Immaculate Heart and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. She assures us of the eternal value of every tear we shed for our salvation and the salvation of many others. And that even now, our Good God is working everything for our good and the good of those we love.
  • The saints say that in heaven our only regret will be that we didn’t suffer more, so that even more souls could be saved. “When it is all over you will not regret having suffered; rather you will regret having suffered so little, and suffered that little so badly.” (St. Sebastian Valfre)
  • The Light begins with Jesus and Mary. They shed their light upon us – we shed the light of Jesus and Mary upon others – who then shed the light upon still others! Thus the circle of light keeps expanding until someday the whole world will bask in the Light and Love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

Mary, Star of the Sea… From a homily of St. Bernard of Clairvaux  

If squalls of temptations arise, or you fall upon the rocks of tribulation, look to the star, call upon Mary. If you are tossed by the waves of pride or ambition, detraction or envy, look to the star, call upon Mary. If anger or avarice, or the desires of the flesh, dash against the ship of your soul, turn your eyes towards Mary. If troubled by the enormity of your crimes, ashamed of your guilty conscience, terrified by dread of the judgment, and you begin to sink into the gulf of sadness or the abyss of despair, think of Mary. In dangers, in anguish, in doubt, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let her be ever on your lips, ever in your heart; and the better to obtain the help of her prayers, imitate the example of her life.

Following her, you will not stray. Invoking her, you will not despair. Thinking of her, you will not wander. Upheld by her, you will not fall. Shielded by her, you will not fear. Guided by her, you will not grow weary. Favored by her, you will reach the goal. And thus you will experience in yourself how good is that saying: And the Virgin’s name was Mary!

 

 

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