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The Word today, W17B

  • Writer: Admin
    Admin
  • Jul 26, 2024
  • 3 min read

Updated: Sep 27, 2024



July 29 - August 03, 2024


Sts Martha, Mary and Lazarus


Jeremiah 13:1-11 From time to time the prophets use an illustration—a prophetic gesture—to get their message across. Today’s is quite dramatic!!


John 11:19-27 John’s symbolic narratives offer real human emotions, easy to connect to. The context here is loss and bereavement, known to us all. At the heart of the story is one of the seven great I AM sentences in John’s Gospel: challenging faith and offering consolation.


St Peter Chrysologus, bishop and doctor


Jeremiah 14:17-22 In the face of tragedy, today we hear a heart felt prayer, true at almost any time in human history. The person praying shows tremendous faith in God: O our God, you are our hope, since it is you who do all this.


Matthew 13:36-43 The parable of the darnel teaches patience and a certain non-interfering tolerance. In case this might lead to complacency (not much of risk these days!), the community developed this rather threatening interpretation.


St Ignatius Loyola, religious and priest


Jeremiah 15:10, 16-21 Jeremiah really did suffer for his calling as prophet. Not only had he difficult things to proclaim but he was personally treated very badly. In this passage, he brings his pain before the Lord.


Matthew 13:44-46 These two simply and direct parabolic sayings teach something we all know but lose sight of from time to time: discipleship “costs not less than everything.”


St Alphonsus Mary de' Liguori, bishop, doctor


Jeremiah 18:1-6 Again, we have a prophetic gesture with a very clear message: Yes, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so you are in mine, House of Israel.


Matthew 13:47-53 The gospel of Matthew can be uncomfortable and today he does teach that there will be a judgment and a sorting at the end. It is, of course, not a literal description but an invitation not to lose the potential of the present moment.


St Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop


Jeremiah 26:1-9 The Lord entrusts a message to the people, to be proclaimed in the holiest place the Temple. Will people pay attention? The reaction is forthright.


Matthew 13:54-58 As we say, familiarity breeds contempt. Because they think they are utterly familiar with this neighbour of theirs, their minds are blinded. This can happen to us too in our piety—we may think we know this Jesus, but do we really?



Jeremiah 26:11-16, 24 Continuing from yesterday, we hear the divided reaction to Jeremiah’s proclamation. Fortunately for him, he has a supporter and a protector.


Matthew 14:1-12 The death of John the Baptist is a sad, even absurd ending to a fiery career. It is reported Mark and Matthew, both of whom use it a warning about the cost of discipleship. It is omitted in Luke and John, probably to avoid any comparisons with the unique death of Jesus. We know a little more about it from Josephus, who writes: “Accordingly John was sent as a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Machaerus, the castle I already mentioned, and was put to death. Now the Jews thought that the destruction of his army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God’s displeasure with him.” (Jewish Antiquities 18).


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024bf, July 28). Seventeenth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072824.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/


 
 
 

The Word today, W16B

  • Writer: Admin
    Admin
  • Jul 20, 2024
  • 3 min read

Updated: Sep 27, 2024



July 22 - July 27, 2024


St Mary Magdalene


Song of Songs 3:1-4 The Song of Songs unfolds as a series of love poems, serious and playful. These include what we may call quest stories or reflections on seeking the beloved. Our reading, beautiful in itself, makes for a great introduction to today’s Gospel.


John 20:1-2, 11-18 The Fourth Gospel has many “quest” stories, none more powerful than the quest of Mary Magdalen for the risen Lord. The words used mark a significant shift in this Gospel. The opening question of Jesus in this Gospel—“What are you looking for?” (John 1:38)—becomes “Whom are you looking for?” (John 20:15) We proclaim a person and not simply a doctrine.


St Bridget of Sweden, patroness of Europe


Galatians 2:19-20 The reading is chosen for feast of St Brigid, who had mystical experiences. A more accurate translation of the reading would be as follows: For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal 2:19–20)


John 15:1-8 The discourse of the vine invites us all to recognized ourselves as the branches, all recipients of the grace of Christ.


St Charbel Makhlouf, priest; St Declan, bishop


Jeremiah 1:1, 4-10 Today, we hear the well remembered story of the call of Jeremiah. Clearly, it was an overwhelming experience, which made him feel unworthy. He went on to become a truly great prophet, proclaiming God’s word before and during the Exile.


Matthew 13:1-9 The parable of the sower is heard in two version, the original parable and a later church interpretation. It might be helpful to set consciously aside the later reading and just hear it today for its own sake. Like all the original parables it is about the kingdom, a kingdom of humble beginnings leading to astonishing growth.


St James, apostle


2 Corinthians 4:7-15 The reading is special for the feast. The Corinthians blew cold and hot when it came to St Paul. Once more, in this reading he defends himself, and reveals something of the inner motivation, the inner person, his sense of apostleship.


Matthew 20:20-28 Again especially chosen for the feast, this reading tells a familiar and instructive tale with one interesting difference. In Mark, it is James and John who make the blunder. In Matthew, to spare the blushes of the emerging leadership, this “role” is assigned to their mother! In any case, the message is untouched: leadership in the faith community is costly service, modelled on Jesus’ own service.


Sts Joachim and Anne, parents of the BVM


Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13 Our reading is full of pathos. God himself tells the story of his choice of Israel, in very poetic language. At the same time, God’s expresses his consternation at the ways things have turned out. It is all expressed in a very human way, but a deep truth stands at the heart of it all.


Matthew 13:10-17 Our reading is a challenge to us to listen and to see, so that we may grasp fully the message of Jesus.



Jeremiah 7:1-11 A tough speech from Jeremiah, calling on people not to delude themselves with false assurances of piety. And yet…God will stay with them.


Matthew 13:24-30 The parable may well be directed to Matthew’s church at the time of writing. In a community commanded to perfection, the temptation to expel the less than perfect may have been strong. The message here is that it is none your business…who knows how people may change and grow?


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024bd, July 21). Sixteenth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/072124.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/


 
 
 

The Word today, W15B

  • Writer: Admin
    Admin
  • Jul 12, 2024
  • 2 min read

Updated: Sep 27, 2024



July 15 - July 20, 2024


St Bonaventure, bishop and doctor


Isaiah 1:10-17 Like many another prophet, Isaiah notices the gap between worship and living, between what we say and what we do. God’s assessment is graphically described and the responsorial Psalm is absolutely perfect.


Matthew 10:34-11:1 This passage can surprise and even offend. The sword, however, is not the sword of judgment but the sword of decision, as the following verses show.


Our Lady of Mt Carmel


Isaiah 7:1-9 A terrifying moment of threat is described: the hearts of the people shuddered as the trees of the forest shudder in front of the wind. It calls for a word of God and that word is strong: God is and will be faithful if you remain faithful.


Matthew 11:20-24 Again, a difficult passage. It portrays Jesus the prophet, encountering rejection. Yet, like the prophets of old he continues to announce his offer, even if in blistering terms.



Isaiah 10:5-7,13-16 The Assyrian assault was interpreted as God’s reaction to injustice and idolatry. In our reading a merely political or military reading is excluded. Instead, God made use of foreigners and even invasion to call Israel back to fidelity.


Matthew 11:25-27 Jesus exclaims a powerful prayer to God. To understand it well, we need to remember that the learned and the clever are powerful while children are powerless. Thus Jesus’ message is for the oppressed.



Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19 Today we hear a marvellous cry from the heart. Both the human condition and grace of God come to poetic expression. It would be good to take this passage home and read it quietly to yourself.


Matthew 11:28-30 In Jewish tradition, the Torah or the Law was regarded as a (very) welcome yoke, that is, guidance which you help the faithful plough a straight furrow in life. Jesus’ yoke or burden is, in addition, easy and light.



Isaiah 38:1-6,21-22,7-8 A king is seriously ill and bargains with God. We would probably all accept the deal he gets!


Matthew 12:1-8 At a surface level, this passage contrasts in a familiar way legalism and sensible flexibility. At a deeper level, it takes to to the identity of Jesus himself, “something greater than the Temple.”


St Apollinaris, bishop and martyr


Micah 2:1-5 Like Isaiah and many of the prophets, Micah is very much against injustice, exploitation and oppression. He does not mince his words!


Matthew 12:14-21 The historical Jesus did, of course, encounter opposition. (He could hardly have said what he said and done what he did and escape severe criticism.) The historical Jesus may very well have grasped his destiny of suffering in the light of the prophets, and in particular in the light of the Suffering Servant from Isaiah, as in our reading.


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024e, July 14). Fifteenth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071424.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/


 
 
 
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