The Word today, W18B

August 05 - August 10, 2024

Monday 05 August

Dedication of St Mary Major, Rome

Jeremiah 28:1-17 In critical times, there can be prophets who tell us what we want to hear. This was true in the past, as we hear in this gripping story of contrasting “words of the Lord.” Jeremiah is steadfast as usual.

Matthew 14:13-21 The multiplications in the desert has direct echoes of Moses and the manna. Our question might be “what happened?” “Matthew wants us to go a bit deeper: who is Jesus, our new Moses, who guides and nourishes us today?”

Tuesday 06 August

The Transfiguration of the Lord

Daniel 7:9-10,13-14 Our reading takes us to the heavenly court. It uses a key phrase: one like a son of man, used by J e s u s a b o u t himself. The ending of the reading is very like the ending of Matthew’s Gospel: All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. (Matthew 28:18)

2 Peter 1:16-19 Is the Christian proclamation just stories or “clever myths”? Emphatically not, according to this reading. Jesus was a real historical person about whom believers hold well-grounded beliefs. The last sentence in the reading is very uplifting: take [prophecy] as a lamp for lighting a way through the dark until the dawn comes and the morning star rises in your minds.

Mark 9:2-10 What kind of experience was the Transfiguration for Jesus and for those present? It Mark’s version it was a spiritual experience in which the true identity of Jesus was disclosed and the right responses to him indicated: Listen, to him. This echoes again our human condition: we are hearers of the Word, as Rahner put it.

Wednesday 07 August

Sts Sixtus II, bishop of Rome and his companions, martyrs

Jeremiah 30:1-2,12-15,18-22 A double message marks this passage from Jeremiah, weal and woe or rather the other way around, woe and weal! Yes, the disaster of the Exile brought about tremendous destruction. No, God’s love has never been taken away.

Matthew 14:22-36 The Gospels as a whole were written in the light of Easter and to proclaim the resurrection. This is true of the walking on the water. In this case, we are to understand that the risen, living Lord is with his church always, no matter what storms and tempests we face.

Thursday 08 August

St Dominic, priest and religious

Jeremiah 31:1-7 The second part of Jeremiah is full of surprising and abundant consolation. Nowhere is this more evident is these lines today, “I have loved you with an everlasting love, so I am constant in my affection for you.” It was good news for the exiles; it is good new for us today.

Matthew 15:21-28 The story of the Canaanite woman is remarkable on several counts. First of all, a woman teaches Jesus. Secondly, Matthew underlines that Jesus came “only for the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” This exception anticipates the Gentile mission, found at the close of this Gospel.

Friday 09 August

St Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, (Edith Stein) virgin and martyr

Hosea 2:16, 17, 21-22 The lectionary offers a powerful reading for the feast of Edith Stein, underlining the loving intimacy of God’s call.

Matthew 25:1-13 Our reading—quite traditional for the feast of virgins—reminds us that there are some things others cannot do for us: making journey inward to the heart of God.

Saturday 10 August

St Laurence, deacon and martyr

2 Corinthians 9:6-10 Originally, this reading was about the collection for the Judean Christians, who were poor and under pressure. Paul’s reflection on generosity in giving in general, however, is always up to date.

John 12:24-26 This short reading, also special for the feast, takes up an image from the parables of Jesus and applies it directly to the cost of discipleship then and now.

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024bh, August 4). Eighteenth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/080424.cfm

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

The Word today, W17B

July 29 - August 03, 2024

Monday 29 July

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.

Tuesday 30 July

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.

Wednesday 31 July

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.”

Thursday 01 August

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.

Friday 02 August

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?

Saturday 03 August

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

July 22 - July 27, 2024

Monday 22 July

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.

Tuesday 23 July

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.

Wednesday 24 July

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.

Thursday 25 July

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.

Friday 26 July

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.

Saturday 27 July

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/