Catholic Patriots

Thursday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 464 Reading 1  GAL 3:1-5 O stupid Galatians! Who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? I want to learn only this from you: did you receive the Spirit from works of the law, or from faith in what you heard? Are you so stupid? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh? Did you experience so many things in vain?– if indeed it was in vain. Does, then, the one who supplies the Spirit to you and works mighty deeds among you do so from works of the law or from faith in what you heard? Responsorial Psalm  LK 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75  R. (68) Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people. He has raised up for us a mighty savior, born of the house of his servant David. R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people. Through his holy prophets he promised of old that he would save us from our enemies, from the hands of all who hate us. R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people. He promised to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant. R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people. This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hands of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life. R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; He has come to his people.     Alleluia  ACTS 16:14B R. Alleluia, alleluia. Open our hearts, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  LK 11:5-13  Jesus said to his disciples: “Suppose one of you has a friend to whom he goes at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey and I have nothing to offer him,’ and he says in reply from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked and my children and I are already in bed. I cannot get up to give you anything.’ I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves because of their friendship, he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. “And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. What father  among you would hand his son a snake when he asks for a fish? Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  LUKE 11:5–13  Friends, our Gospel today is about prayer and the power of prayer. This excerpt from Luke is filled with wisdom in regard to the proper attitude of prayer. What is prayer, and how should we pray? Prayer is intimate communion and conversation with God. Judging from Jesus’ own life, prayer is something that we ought to do often, especially at key moments of our lives. Well, how should we pray? What does it look like? You have to pray with faith. Have you noticed how Jesus says before working a miracle, "Do you believe I can do this?" Can you hear the simple faith in this astonishing line of Jesus: "I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours."  And today he says, "Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

Wednesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 463 Reading 1  Gal 2:1-2, 7-14 Brothers and sisters: After fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. I went up in accord with a revelation, and I presented to them the Gospel that I preach to the Gentiles– but privately to those of repute– so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain. On the contrary,  when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter to the circumcised, for the one who worked in Peter for an apostolate to the circumcised worked also in me for the Gentiles, and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, we were to be mindful of the poor, which is the very thing I was eager to do. And when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong. For, until some people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself, because he was afraid of the circumcised. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not on the right road in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas in front of all, "If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?" Responsorial Psalm  Ps 117:1bc, 2 R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News. Praise the LORD, all you nations, glorify him, all you peoples! R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News. For steadfast is his kindness toward us, and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever. R. Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News. Alleluia  Rom 8:15bc R. Alleluia, alleluia. You have received a spirit of adoption as sons through which we cry: Abba! Father! R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  Lk 11:1-4 Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples." He said to them, "When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name, your Kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us, and do not subject us to the final test."   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, our Gospel for today gives us an opportunity to reflect on the great prayer that Jesus taught us. Think how this prayer links us to all of the great figures in Christian history, from Peter and Paul to Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Francis of Assisi, John Henry Newman, G.K. Chesterton, John Paul II, and right up to the present day. A desire to pray is planted deep within us. This just means the desire to speak to God and to listen to him. Keep in mind that prayer is not designed to change God’s mind or to tell God something he doesn’t know. God isn’t like a big city boss or a reluctant pasha whom we have to persuade. He is rather the one who wants nothing other than to give us good things—though they might not always be what we want. Can you see how this prayer rightly orders us? We must put God’s holy name first; we must strive to do his will in all things and at all times; we must be strengthened by spiritual food or we will fall; we must be agents of forgiveness; we must be able to withstand the dark powers.

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 141 Reading 1  Hab 1:2-3; 2:2-4 How long, O LORD?  I cry for help  but you do not listen!  I cry out to you, "Violence!"  but you do not intervene.  Why do you let me see ruin;  why must I look at misery?  Destruction and violence are before me;  there is strife, and clamorous discord.  Then the LORD answered me and said:  Write down the vision clearly upon the tablets,  so that one can read it readily.  For the vision still has its time,  presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;  if it delays, wait for it,  it will surely come, it will not be late.  The rash one has no integrity;  but the just one, because of his faith, shall live. Responsorial Psalm  Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9 R. (8) If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Come, let us sing joyfully to the LORD;  let us acclaim the Rock of our salvation. Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;  let us joyfully sing psalms to him. R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Come, let us bow down in worship;  let us kneel before the LORD who made us. For he is our God,  and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides. R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Oh, that today you would hear his voice:  "Harden not your hearts as at Meribah,  as in the day of Massah in the desert, Where your fathers tempted me;  they tested me though they had seen my works." R. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Reading 2  2 Tm 1:6-8, 13-14 Beloved: I remind you, to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.  For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control.  So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God. Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  Guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us. Alleluia  1 Pt 1:25 R. Alleluia, alleluia. The word of the Lord remains forever. This is the word that has been proclaimed to you. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  Lk 17:5-10 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."  The Lord replied, "If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. "Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, 'Come here immediately and take your place at table'?  Would he not rather say to him, 'Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished'?  Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?  So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.'"   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, in our Gospel, Jesus tells us that if we had faith the size of a mustard seed, we could uproot a mulberry tree and plant it in the sea. What is being communicated here is something simple: faith is power. When our lives are aligned to God we become conduits of enormous power. Attachments block us and break this flow. An attachment is anything that you convince yourself you cannot live without. This idea is central to the spirituality of St. Ignatius of Loyola. What are the attachments that block the divine power from flowing through us? Wealth, pleasure, honor, power. Look at the one that we hold up as the model of power. Notice please how comfortable he looks; notice how many "nice things" he has around him. And remark how popular he is, how everyone is singing his praises. And notice how successful he is, what a brilliant career he’s had! Love what Jesus loved on the cross, and despise what he despised, said Thomas Aquinas. That is the key to a spiritually successful life and to the unleashing of divine power.

Memorial of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church Lectionary: 460 Reading 1  JB 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17 Job answered the LORD and said: I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know. I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes. Thus the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones. For he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. And he had seven sons and three daughters, of whom he called the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Kerenhappuch. In all the land no other women were as beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; and he saw his children, his grandchildren, and even his great-grandchildren. Then Job died, old and full of years.   Responsorial Psalm  PS 119:66, 71, 75, 91, 125, 130  R. (135) Lord, let your face shine on me. Teach me wisdom and knowledge, for in your commands I trust. R. Lord, let your face shine on me. It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes. R. Lord, let your face shine on me. I know, O LORD, that your ordinances are just, and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me. R. Lord, let your face shine on me. According to your ordinances they still stand firm: all things serve you. R. Lord, let your face shine on me. I am your servant; give me discernment that I may know your decrees. R. Lord, let your face shine on me. The revelation of your words sheds light, giving understanding to the simple. R. Lord, let your face shine on me.     Alleluia  See MT 11:25  R. Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  LK 10:17-24  The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven. ”At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus says to the Father: "Although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike." Elsewhere, Jesus proposes that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like children. Why? For starters, children don’t know how to dissemble, how to be one way and act another. In this, they are like stars or flowers or animals, things that are what they are, unambiguously, uncomplicatedly. They are in accord with God’s deepest intentions for them. Mind you, this childlikeness has nothing to do with being unsophisticated, unaccomplished, or childish. Thomas Aquinas was one of the most accomplished men to ever live, the greatest intellectual in the history of the Church, and one of the subtlest minds in the history of the West. Yet the terms that were used over and over to describe him were "childlike" and "innocent." Childlikeness has to do with that rootedness in what God wants us to be. Thomas was born to be a theologian and a writer, and nothing would get him off of that beam: neither the critiques of his enemies, nor the blandishments of his religious superiors, nor the temptations to become a bishop. He was and remained who God wanted him to be, and thus he was like a great mountain or a flower or, indeed, a child.

Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church Lectionary: 459 Reading 1  Jb 38:1, 12-21; 40:3-5 The LORD addressed Job out of the storm and said: Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and shown the dawn its place For taking hold of the ends of the earth, till the wicked are shaken from its surface? The earth is changed as is clay by the seal, and dyed as though it were a garment; But from the wicked the light is withheld, and the arm of pride is shattered. Have you entered into the sources of the sea, or walked about in the depths of the abyss? Have the gates of death been shown to you, or have you seen the gates of darkness? Have you comprehended the breadth of the earth? Tell me, if you know all: Which is the way to the dwelling place of light, and where is the abode of darkness, That you may take them to their boundaries and set them on their homeward paths? You know, because you were born before them, and the number of your years is great! Then Job answered the LORD and said: Behold, I am of little account; what can I answer you? I put my hand over my mouth. Though I have spoken once, I will not do so again; though twice, I will do so no more. Responsorial Psalm  Ps 139:1-3, 7-8, 9-10, 13-14ab R. (24b) Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way. O LORD, you have probed me and you know me; you know when I sit and when I stand; you understand my thoughts from afar. My journeys and my rest you scrutinize, with all my ways you are familiar. R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way. Where can I go from your spirit? From your presence where can I flee? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I sink to the nether world, you are present there. R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way. If I take the wings of the dawn, if I settle at the farthest limits of the sea, Even there your hand shall guide me, and your right hand hold me fast. R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way. Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;  wonderful are your works. R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way. Alleluia  Ps 95:8 R. Alleluia, alleluia. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  Lk 10:13-16 Jesus said to them, "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum, 'Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the netherworld.' Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me.  And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus passes judgment on towns who have failed to believe in him and his signs: “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.”  This Gospel and the verses leading up to it also contain a word for us. What is the first thing that the minister should do upon entering a city? “Cure the sick there.” Christ is Soter, healer of both body and spirit. So many of the saints were healers; so many of the apparitions of the Blessed Mother lead to healing. Another great task of the Church is to proclaim, “The kingdom of God is at hand.” The Church is an announcing, proclaiming, evangelizing organism. What we proclaim is that, in Jesus Christ, a whole new way of ordering things has appeared, that God, in Christ, is drawing all things to himself. The great ordering principles of the world—money, fame, power, sex, pleasure—are overthrown. A new King has come, a new way of organizing life. Love, inclusion, compassion, nonviolence, forgiveness, especially of enemies—this is now the way sanctioned by God.

Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels Lectionary: 647 Reading I Dn 7:9-10, 13-14 As I watched:     Thrones were set up         and the Ancient One took his throne.     His clothing was bright as snow,         and the hair on his head as white as wool;     His throne was flames of fire,         with wheels of burning fire.     A surging stream of fire         flowed out from where he sat;     Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,         and myriads upon myriads attended him. The court was convened, and the books were opened. As the visions during the night continued, I saw     One like a son of man coming,         on the clouds of heaven;     When he reached the Ancient One         and was presented before him,     He received dominion, glory, and kingship;         nations and peoples of every language serve him.     His dominion is an everlasting dominion         that shall not be taken away,         his kingship shall not be destroyed. OR:  Rv 12:7-12ab War broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and its angels fought back, but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed. For the accuser of our brothers is cast out, who accuses them before our God day and night. They conquered him by the Blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; love for life did not deter them from death. Therefore, rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them.” Responsorial Psalm 138:1-2ab, 2cde-3, 4-5 R.    (1)  In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord. I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,     for you have heard the words of my mouth;     in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise; I will worship at your holy temple     and give thanks to your name. R.    In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord. Because of your kindness and your truth;     for you have made great above all things     your name and your promise. When I called, you answered me;     you built up strength within me. R.    In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord. All the kings of the earth shall give thanks to you, O LORD     when they hear the words of your mouth; And they shall sing of the ways of the LORD     “Great is the glory of the LORD R.    In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord. Alleluia Ps 103:21 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Bless the LORD, all you angels, you ministers, who do his will. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Jn 1:47-51 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Here is a true child of Israel. There is no duplicity in him.” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than this.” And he said to him, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, today we celebrate the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. When the existence of God is widely doubted, it just seems unscientific to believe in spiritual beings. And yet, they are prominently mentioned in the Bible; they are amply discussed by the Church Fathers; and the Catechism of the Catholic Church boldly reaffirms the existence and activity of angels. Do you remember how, a few years ago, there was an enormous interest in the culture in angels? One of my favorite stories had to do with a man who was flying a single-engine plane during a severe storm. At one point, his communication system failed, and he found himself without a means to make it to the airport.  Just as he was about to give up hope, a strong voice came through the radio. It gave directions to an airport the pilot knew nothing about. The voice guided him to the runway of a small airport. When he landed, he realized that the airport was abandoned. No personnel were on the ground or in the tower.  An accident? Or a sign that “there are more things in heaven and on earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy, Horatio”?

Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest Lectionary: 456 Reading 1  Jb 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23 Job opened his mouth and cursed his day. Job spoke out and said: Perish the day on which I was born, the night when they said, “The child is a boy!” Why did I not perish at birth, come forth from the womb and expire? Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth, like babes that have never seen the light? Wherefore did the knees receive me? or why did I suck at the breasts? For then I should have lain down and been tranquil; had I slept, I should then have been at rest With kings and counselors of the earth who built where now there are ruins Or with princes who had gold and filled their houses with silver. There the wicked cease from troubling, there the weary are at rest. Why is light given to the toilers, and life to the bitter in spirit? They wait for death and it comes not; they search for it rather than for hidden treasures, Rejoice in it exultingly, and are glad when they reach the grave: Those whose path is hidden from them, and whom God has hemmed in! Responsorial Psalm  Ps 88:2-3, 4-5, 6, 7-8 R. (3) Let my prayer come before you, Lord. O LORD, my God, by day I cry out; at night I clamor in your presence. Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my call for help. R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord. For my soul is surfeited with troubles and my life draws near to the nether world. I am numbered with those who go down into the pit; I am a man without strength. R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord. My couch is among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom you remember no longer and who are cut off from your care. R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord. You have plunged me into the bottom of the pit, into the dark abyss. Upon me your wrath lies heavy, and with all your billows you overwhelm me. R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord. Alleluia  Mk 10:45 R. Alleluia, alleluia. The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  Lk 9:51-56 When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem, and he sent messengers ahead of him. On the way they entered a Samaritan village to prepare for his reception there, but they would not welcome him because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village.   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus rebukes James and John for their desire for vengeance. We are walking with Jesus and his disciples as they make their way to Jerusalem. As they pass through Samaria, they are refused hospitality, for their destination is Jerusalem and this annoys the Samaritans. Bothersome? Stupid? Racist? Sure, all of those things. As a result, James and John (the sons of thunder) cry out: “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Can you hear echoes of this cry up and down the ages? Whenever people have been unjustly treated, excluded, looked down upon, they experience, naturally enough, feelings of hatred and a desire to get back. Correctly enough, they will say that their family or their race or their country was offended, and so they, with justification, react.  But Jesus turns only to rebuke them. Why? Because following him and his way of nonviolence is more important than race or country or ethnic group. Our feelings for him have to go beyond even our justified feelings for these good things.

Saturday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 454 Reading 1  ECCL 11:9—12:8  Rejoice, O young man, while you are young  and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart, the vision of your eyes; Yet understand that as regards all this God will bring you to judgment. Ward off grief from your heart and put away trouble from your presence, though the dawn of youth is fleeting. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come And the years approach of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them; Before the sun is darkened, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, while the clouds return after the rain; When the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, And the grinders are idle because they are few, and they who look through the windows grow blind; When the doors to the street are shut, and the sound of the mill is low; When one waits for the chirp of a bird, but all the daughters of song are suppressed; And one fears heights, and perils in the street; When the almond tree blooms, and the locust grows sluggish and the caper berry is without effect, Because man goes to his lasting home, and mourners go about the streets; Before the silver cord is snapped and the golden bowl is broken, And the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the broken pulley falls into the well, And the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, all things are vanity! Responsorial Psalm  PS 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 AND 17  R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge. You turn man back to dust, saying, “Return, O children of men.” For a thousand years in your sight  are as yesterday, now that it is past, or as a watch of the night. R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge. You make an end of them in their sleep; the next morning they are like the changing grass, Which at dawn springs up anew, but by evening wilts and fades. R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge. Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge. Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days. And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours; prosper the work of our hands for us! Prosper the work of our hands! R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.     Alleluia  2 TIMOTHY 1:10  R. Alleluia, alleluia. Our Savior Christ Jesus destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  LK 9:43B-45 While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, “Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”  But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus predicts his being handed over to men—that is, his crucifixion. Here is the point I want to make: we are meant to see on that cross our own ugliness. What brings Jesus to the cross? Stupidity, anger, mistrust, institutional injustice, betrayal, denial, unspeakable cruelty, fear. St. Peter puts it with disquieting laconicism: the Author of life came and you killed him. In the light of the cross, all of the vermin are revealed. This is why we speak of the cross as God’s judgment on the world. So far, so awful. But we can’t stop telling the story at this point. Dante and every other spiritual master know that the only way up is down. When we live unaware of our sins, we will never make spiritual progress. So we need the light, however painful it is. Then we can begin to rise. Once Dante makes it all the way to the center of hell, he suddenly finds himself climbing out. On the cross of Jesus, we meet our own sin. But we also meet the divine mercy, which has taken that sin upon himself in order to swallow it up.

Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest Lectionary: 453 Reading 1  ECCL 3:1-11  There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every thing under the heavens. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant. A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them; a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces. A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away. A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak. A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. What advantage has the worker from his toil? I have considered the task that God has appointed for the sons of men to be busied about. He has made everything appropriate to its time, and has put the timeless into their hearts, without man’s ever discovering, from beginning to end, the work which God has done. Responsorial Psalm  PS 144:1B AND 2ABC, 3-4  R. (1) Blessed be the Lord, my Rock! Blessed be the LORD, my rock, my mercy and my fortress, my stronghold, my deliverer, My shield, in whom I trust. R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock! LORD, what is man, that you notice him; the son of man, that you take thought of him? Man is like a breath; his days, like a passing shadow. R. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!     Alleluia  MK 10:45 R. Alleluia, alleluia. The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  LK 9:18-22  Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.” He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone. He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, the Gospel for today is incomparably rich and mysterious. First, we notice that peculiar question, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” No other religious figure or founder would ask such a question. This is the primordial and peculiar question of the Christian faith. It has to do with Jesus and who he is.  The first group that “responds” is the general public: “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.” A range of opinions—and all of them wrong. Then that devastating question: “But who do you say that I am?” You who are closest to me, you whom I have chosen. But the disciples don’t speak. Are they afraid? Perhaps. Are they ignorant? Probably. Finally, Simon Peter speaks: “The Christ of God.” You are the Messiah, the anointed, the long-awaited Savior; but more to it, you are the Son of God, not just a human hero. This is the mystical faith that stands at the heart of Christianity. This is the standing or falling point. To hold this Petrine faith is to be a Christian; to deny it is not to be a Christian.

Thursday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 452 Reading 1  ECCL 1:2-11  Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth, vanity of vanities!  All things are vanity! What profit has man from all the labor which he toils at under the sun? One generation passes and another comes, but the world forever stays. The sun rises and the sun goes down; then it presses on to the place where it rises. Blowing now toward the south, then toward the north, the wind turns again and again, resuming its rounds. All rivers go to the sea, yet never does the sea become full. To the place where they go, the rivers keep on going. All speech is labored; there is nothing one can say. The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor is the ear satisfied with hearing. What has been, that will be; what has been done, that will be done. Nothing is new under the sun. Even the thing of which we say, “See, this is new!” has already existed in the ages that preceded us. There is no remembrance of the men of old; nor of those to come will there be any remembrance among those who come after them.   Responsorial Psalm  PS 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 AND 17BC  R. (1)  In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge. You turn man back to dust, saying, “Return, O children of men.” For a thousand years in your sight are as yesterday, now that it is past, or as a watch of the night. R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge. You make an end of them in their sleep; the next morning they are like the changing grass, Which at dawn springs up anew, but by evening wilts and fades. R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge. Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart. Return, O LORD!  How long? Have pity on your servants! R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge. Fill us at daybreak with your kindness, that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days. Prosper the work of our hands for us! Prosper the work of our hands! R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.     Alleluia  JN 14:6 R. Alleluia, alleluia. I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  LK 9:7-9 Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed because some were saying, “John has been raised from the dead”; others were saying, “Elijah has appeared”; still others, “One of the ancient prophets has arisen.” But Herod said, “John I beheaded. Who then is this about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see him.   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, in today’s Gospel, we see Herod interested in and perplexed by Jesus. Political rulers don’t come across well in the New Testament. In Luke’s Christmas account, Caesar Augustus is compared very unfavorably to the Christ child. And in Matthew’s account that child is hunted down by the desperate Herod. Later, Herod’s son persecutes John the Baptist and Jesus himself. More to it, the Jewish authorities are seen in all of the Gospels as corrupt. And Pontius Pilate is a typical Roman governor: efficient, concerned for order, brutal. Like the other rulers of the time, he perceives Jesus, quite correctly, as a threat. “So you are a king?” Pilate asks. Jesus says, “My kingdom does not belong to this world.”  This does not mean that Jesus is unconcerned for the realities of politics, with the very “this-worldly” concerns of justice, peace, and right order. When he speaks of his kingdom not belonging to the “world,” he shades the negative side of that term. The “world” is the realm of sin, selfishness, hatred, violence. What he is saying is that his way of ordering things is not typical of worldly powers like Pilate, Caesar, and Herod.

Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist Lectionary: 643 Reading I Eph 4:1-7, 11-13 Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace: one Body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.  And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ.  Responsorial Psalm 19:2-3, 4-5 R.    (5)  Their message goes out through all the earth. The heavens declare the glory of God;     and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day pours out the word to day,     and night to night imparts knowledge. R.    Their message goes out through all the earth. Not a word nor a discourse     whose voice is not heard; Through all the earth their voice resounds,     and to the ends of the world, their message. R.    Their message goes out through all the earth. Alleluia See Te Deum  R. Alleluia, alleluia. We praise you, O God, we acclaim you as Lord; the glorious company of Apostles praise you. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 9:9-13 As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words,     I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, today we celebrate the feast of St. Matthew, and our Gospel tells of his conversion. Matthew’s laconic account details what the transition from spiritual death to spiritual life is like. First, we notice the look of Jesus. If there is one theme clearly stated in the New Testament it is that of the primacy of grace.  Why? We don’t know. We just know that we will not lift ourselves to spiritual wholeness. A gaze has to come upon us from the outside—not so much finding God as allowing ourselves to be found. Jesus says to him, “Follow me.” There is nothing simpler or more basic in the Christian life than this. This is what we disciples do: we follow, we walk after him, we apprentice to him. “He got up and followed him.” The symbolism here is marvelous. Getting up, rising up—anastasis, the same word used to designate the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Conversion (turning around) is also elevation, rising up. To come to Christ is to come to a higher, richer, broader form of life. Now life is not simply the pleasures and goods of the body; now life is lived in and through God.

Monday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 449 Reading 1  Prv 3:27-34 Refuse no one the good on which he has a claim when it is in your power to do it for him. Say not to your neighbor, “Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give,” when you can give at once. Plot no evil against your neighbor, against one who lives at peace with you. Quarrel not with a man without cause, with one who has done you no harm. Envy not the lawless man and choose none of his ways: To the LORD the perverse one is an abomination, but with the upright is his friendship. The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but the dwelling of the just he blesses; When dealing with the arrogant, he is stern, but to the humble he shows kindness. Responsorial Psalm  ps 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5 R. (1) The just one shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord. He who walks blamelessly and does justice; who thinks the truth in his heart and slanders not with his tongue. R. The just one shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord. Who harms not his fellow man, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor; By whom the reprobate is despised, while he honors those who fear the LORD. R. The just one shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord. Who lends not his money at usury and accepts no bribe against the innocent. He who does these things shall never be disturbed. R. The just one shall live on your holy mountain, O Lord. 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  Lk 8:16-18 Jesus said to the crowd: "No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not become visible, and nothing secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care, then, how you hear. To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away." /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, today’s Gospel is the parable of the lamp that, placed on a lampstand, gives light to all. Light obviously isn’t for itself; rather, we see things by it. It illuminates things upon which it shines.  We are light by which people around us come to see what is worth seeing. By the very quality and integrity of our lives, we shed light, illumining what is beautiful and revealing what is ugly. The clear implication is that without vibrant Christians the world is a much worse place. Let me illustrate this principle with an example. One of the most painful truths of the last century is that the weakness of Christian witness allows some of the worst elements in society to flourish. Think of the rise of the evil powers that created World War II. Christianity had become so weak, so uncompelling, so attenuated that great evil was allowed to flourish. Yes, indeed there were a handful of powerful Christian resisters, but let’s face it: the overwhelmingly vast majority of Christians either supported Hitler or remained in silence, out of either fear or indifference.

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 135 Reading 1  Am 8:4-7 Hear this, you who trample upon the needy  and destroy the poor of the land!  "When will the new moon be over," you ask,  "that we may sell our grain,  and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat?  We will diminish the ephah,  add to the shekel,  and fix our scales for cheating!  We will buy the lowly for silver,  and the poor for a pair of sandals;  even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!"  The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob:  Never will I forget a thing they have done! Responsorial Psalm  Ps 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8 R. (cf. 1a, 7b) Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor. or: R. Alleluia. Praise, you servants of the LORD,  praise the name of the LORD. Blessed be the name of the LORD  both now and forever. R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor. or: R. Alleluia. High above all nations is the LORD;  above the heavens is his glory. Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high  and looks upon the heavens and the earth below? R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor. or: R. Alleluia. He raises up the lowly from the dust;  from the dunghill he lifts up the poor to seat them with princes,  with the princes of his own people. R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor. or: R. Alleluia. Reading 2  1 Tm 2:1-8 Beloved: First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all devotion and dignity.  This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. For there is one God. There is also one mediator between God and men,      the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as ransom for all. This was the testimony at the proper time.  For this I was appointed preacher and apostle — I am speaking the truth, I am not lying —, teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument. Alleluia  Cf. 2 Cor 8:9 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Though our Lord Jesus Christ was rich, he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  Lk 16:1-13  Jesus said to his disciples, "A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property.  He summoned him and said, 'What is this I hear about you?  Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.' The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?  I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.  I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.' He called in his master's debtors one by one.  To the first he said, 'How much do you owe my master?' He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.' He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note.  Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.' Then to another the steward said, 'And you, how much do you owe?' He replied, 'One hundred kors of wheat.' The steward said to him, 'Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.' And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. "For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.  I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.  If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?  If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?  No servant can serve two masters.  He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and mammon." Or  Lk 16:10-13 Jesus said to his disciples: "The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.  If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth?  If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours?  No servant can serve two masters.  He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and mammon."   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, today’s Gospel focuses on prudence. Luke gives us the parable of the dishonest steward, who seeks the favor of his master’s debtors by reducing what they owed him. And the master even “commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.” In the Middle Ages, prudence was called “the queen of the virtues” because it was the virtue that enabled one to do the right thing in a particular situation. Prudence is a feel for the moral situation, something like the feel a quarterback has for the playing field, or a politician for the voters in his district. Courage, justice, and temperance are wonderful virtues, but without prudence, they are blind and finally useless. For a person can be as courageous as possible, but if he doesn’t know when, where, and how to play out his courage, that virtue is useless.

Saturday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 448 Reading 1  1 COR 15:35-37, 42-49 Brothers and sisters: Someone may say, “How are the dead raised?  With what kind of body will they come back?”You fool! What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one. So, too, it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being,” the last Adam a life-giving spirit. But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one. Responsorial Psalm  PS 56:10C-12, 13-14 R. (14) I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living. Now I know that God is with me. In God, in whose promise I glory, in God I trust without fear; what can flesh do against me? R. I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living. I am bound, O God, by vows to you; your thank offerings I will fulfill. For you have rescued me from death, my feet, too, from stumbling; that I may walk before God in the light of the living. R. I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.     Alleluia  LK 8:15 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  LK 8:4-15 When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable.  “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand. “This is the meaning of the parable.  The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation. As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life,  and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus explains the purpose of the parables: "Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand." The use of the word "para" in the New Testament signals the failures to see at various levels. The great metaphor here is the blindness of the Jews, a blindness which is identified with disobedience. The parables of Christ are meant to highlight and point out this blindness, this willful refusal to see. They themselves, in their peculiar form, are judgments on those who cannot see in them signs of salvation. A parable does its work by turning our ordinary conception of the spiritual world upside-down. And we would be greatly remiss if we did not attend to the instruction that emerges from those startling, funny, off-putting, and strangely enlightening stories that Jesus loved to tell. 

Memorial of Saints Cornelius, Pope, and Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs Lectionary: 447 Reading 1  1 COR 15:12-20 Brothers and sisters: If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching; empty, too, your faith. Then we are also false witnesses to God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.   Responsorial Psalm  PS 17:1BCD, 6-7, 8B AND 15  R. (15b) Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full. Hear, O LORD, a just suit; attend to my outcry; hearken to my prayer from lips without deceit.  R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full. I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;  incline your ear to me; hear my word. Show your wondrous mercies, O savior of those who flee  from their foes to refuge at your right hand. R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full. Hide me in the shadow of your wings, But I in justice shall behold your face; on waking, I shall be content in your presence. R. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full.     Alleluia  MT 11:25  R. Alleluia, alleluia. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  LK 8:1-3  Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources.   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, our Gospel today celebrates the female disciples of Jesus. One of the principal marks of Jesus’ teaching is the overturning of social conventions. In service of what he calls the kingdom of God, God’s way of ordering the world, he says and does all sorts of outrageous things.  And one of the most striking and surprising of Jesus’ moves is a radical inclusion of women. He allows women into his inner circle (practically unheard of for a rabbi). He speaks publicly to the woman at the well. He engages with the Syro-Phoenician woman. He forgives the woman caught in adultery. And the first witnesses of the Resurrection are women. Luke, who told this story, was a companion of Paul, and his Gospel reflects many of Paul’s themes. Paul famously says, “In Christ, there is no slave or free, no Jew or Greek, no male or female.” This was very radical stuff in those times, for these were some of the most basic social divisions of the ancient world. Free men were a lot better off than slaves, Jews had huge advantages over Greeks, and males were seen as superior to females. But not anymore—not in light of the kingdom of God that Jesus announces.

First known mention of the Catholic Church    yeat 110 AC 

Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church Lectionary: 444 Reading 1  1 Cor 12:12-14, 27-31a Brothers and sisters: As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one Body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit. Now the body is not a single part, but many. Now you are Christ's Body, and individually parts of it. Some people God has designated in the Church to be, first, Apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; then, mighty deeds; then gifts of healing, assistance, administration, and varieties of tongues. Are all Apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. Responsorial Psalm  Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5 R. (3) We are his people: the sheep of his flock. Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; serve the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful song. R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock. Know that the LORD is God; he made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends. R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise; Give thanks to him; bless his name. R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock. For he is good, the LORD,  whose kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations.  R. We are his people: the sheep of his flock. Alleluia  Lk 7:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia. A great prophet has arisen in our midst and God has visited his people. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  Lk 7:11-17 Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him. As he drew near to the gate of the city, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. A large crowd from the city was with her. When the Lord saw her, he was moved with pity for her and said to her, "Do not weep." He stepped forward and touched the coffin; at this the bearers halted, and he said, "Young man, I tell you, arise!" The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming, "A great prophet has arisen in our midst," and "God has visited his people." This report about him spread through the whole of Judea and in all the surrounding region.   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, our Gospel today gives us Jesus’ raising of the son of the widow of Nain. This is a prime exemplification of the key Gospel truth that everything Jesus said and did, in one way or another, is an anticipation of his Resurrection. The God of Israel, the God of Jesus Christ, is a God of life, a God of the living. He hates death and the ways of death. The death in today’s Gospel goes beyond the tragic loss of a loved one, as awful as that is. In the context of Jesus’ time and place, this is a disaster for the widow. There is no social safety net, no insurance, no guaranteed income. Unless she finds kindly neighbors who will support her, she is lost without her husband and, importantly, her "only son." This is why the heart of Jesus is especially moved with pity. Notice please that the reaction of the bystanders is fear. This is the fear that comes from the turning upside down of a world. This is also the reaction of the women at the tomb on Easter Sunday morning. An evangelization that isn’t a little scary is an inadequate evangelization.

Monday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 443 Reading 1  1 Cor 11:17-26, 33 Brothers and sisters: In giving this instruction, I do not praise the fact that your meetings are doing more harm than good. First of all, I hear that when you meet as a Church there are divisions among you, and to a degree I believe it; there have to be factions among you in order that also those who are approved among you may become known. When you meet in one place, then, it is not to eat the Lord's supper, for in eating, each one goes ahead with his own supper, and one goes hungry while another gets drunk. Do you not have houses in which you can eat and drink? Or do you show contempt for the Church of God and make those who have nothing feel ashamed? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this matter I do not praise you. For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my Body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my Blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, when you come together to eat, wait for one another. Responsorial Psalm  Ps 40:7-8a, 8b-9, 10, 17 R. (1 Cor 11:26b) Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again. Sacrifice or oblation you wished not, but ears open to obedience you gave me. Burnt offerings or sin offerings you sought not; then said I, "Behold I come." R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again. "In the written scroll it is prescribed for me, To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart!" R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again. I announced your justice in the vast assembly; I did not restrain my lips, as you, O LORD, know. R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again. May all who seek you exult and be glad in you And may those who love your salvation say ever, "The LORD be glorified." R. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again. Alleluia  Jn 3:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia. God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  Lk 7:1-10 When Jesus had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave. They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, "He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us." And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, "Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus is amazed at a Roman centurion’s faith: "I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith." How often the Bible compels us to meditate on the meaning of faith! We might say that the Scriptures rest upon faith, remain inspired at every turn by the spirit of faith. Faith is an attitude of trust in the presence of God. Faith is openness to what God will reveal, do, and invite. It should be obvious that, in dealing with the infinite, all-powerful God, we are never in control.  One of the most fundamental statements of faith is this: your life is not about you. You’re not in control. This is not your project. Rather, you are part of God’s great design. To believe this in your bones and act accordingly is to have faith. When we operate out of this transformed vision, amazing things can happen, for we have surrendered to "a power already at work in us that can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine." Even a tiny bit of faith makes an extraordinary difference.

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 132 Reading 1  Ex 32:7-11, 13-14 The LORD said to Moses, "Go down at once to your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved.  They have soon turned aside from the way I pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it, sacrificing to it and crying out, 'This is your God, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt!' "I see how stiff-necked this people is, " continued the LORD to Moses. Let me alone, then, that my wrath may blaze up against them to consume them.  Then I will make of you a great nation." But Moses implored the LORD, his God, saying, "Why, O LORD, should your wrath blaze up against your own people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with such great power and with so strong a hand?  Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self, saying, 'I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky; and all this land that I promised, I will give your descendants as their perpetual heritage.'"  So the LORD relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people. Responsorial Psalm  Ps 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19 R. (Lk 15:18)  I will rise and go to my father. Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. R. I will rise and go to my father. A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. Cast me not out from your presence, and your Holy Spirit take not from me. R. I will rise and go to my father. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. R. I will rise and go to my father. Reading 2  1 Tm 1:12-17 Beloved: I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me trustworthy in appointing me to the ministry.  I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and arrogant, but I have been mercifully treated because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.  Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.  This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.  Of these I am the foremost.  But for that reason I was mercifully treated, so that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.  To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God, honor and glory forever and ever.  Amen. Alleluia  2 Cor 5:19 R. Alleluia, alleluia. God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  Lk 15:1-32  Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”  So to them he addressed this parable. “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance. “Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Then he said,  “A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father, ‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’ So the father divided the property between them.  After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings and set off to a distant country where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.  When he had freely spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he found himself in dire need.  So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.  And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed, but nobody gave him any. Coming to his senses he thought, ‘How many of my father’s hired workers have more than enough food to eat, but here am I, dying from hunger.  I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I no longer deserve to be called your son; treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’ So he got up and went back to his father.  While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled with compassion.  He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed him.  His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called your son.’ But his father ordered his servants, ‘Quickly bring the finest robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Take the fattened calf and slaughter it.  Then let us celebrate with a feast, because this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.’ Then the celebration began.  Now the older son had been out in the field and, on his way back, as he neared the house, he heard the sound of music and dancing.  He called one of the servants and asked what this might mean.  The servant said to him, ‘Your brother has returned and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ He became angry, and when he refused to enter the house, his father came out and pleaded with him.  He said to his father in reply, ‘Look, all these years I served you and not once did I disobey your orders; yet you never gave me even a young goat to feast on with my friends. But when your son returns, who swallowed up your property with prostitutes, for him you slaughter the fattened calf.’ He said to him, ‘My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours.  But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’” Or Lk 15:1-10 Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”  So to them he addressed this parable. “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance. “Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, today’s Gospel passage recounts the story of the shepherd finding his lost sheep. Let’s look at that lost sheep. A sheep is something more than a lost coin—which is to say, it has mobility, sense, appetites, and so on. Many years ago, when I was on retreat at the Abbey of Tamie in the Alps, I heard the desperate bleating of a sheep who had fallen into a pit. All night he cried, knowing that he was in trouble and hoping that someone would come to save him. There are souls who are like the lost sheep. Spiritually compromised, fundamentally unable to help themselves, they are at least aware that they are in a mess. They are like people who commence the AA process by admitting that they have hit bottom and are out of control. They bleat, they cry for help. And God finds them—and when he finds them, he carries them back, for they are unable to move on their own.

Saturday of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 442 Reading 1 1 Cor 10:14-22 My beloved ones, avoid idolatry. I am speaking as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I am saying. The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the Body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one Body, for we all partake of the one loaf. Look at Israel according to the flesh; are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar? So what am I saying? That meat sacrificed to idols is anything? Or that an idol is anything? No, I mean that what they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to become participants with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and also the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and of the table of demons. Or are we provoking the Lord to jealous anger? Are we stronger than him? Responsorial Psalm Ps 116:12-13, 17-18 R.        (17) To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise. How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the LORD. R.        To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise. To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving, and I will call upon the name of the LORD. My vows to the LORD I will pay in the presence of all his people. R.        To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise. Alleluia JN 14:23 R. Alleluia, alleluia. Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel LK 6:43-49 Jesus said to his disciples: “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks. “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but not do what I command? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built. But the one who listens and does not act is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, today’s Gospel is Luke’s conclusion to the Sermon on the Plain. Someone who comes to me, Jesus says, who “listens to my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when the flood came, the river burst against that house but could not shake it because it had been well built.” This is the heart of it: If you are rooted in God, then you can withstand anything, precisely because you are linked to that power that is creating the cosmos. You will be blessed at that deepest place, and nothing can finally touch you. But the one who does not take Jesus’ words to heart “is like a person who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed.”  When the inevitable trials come, the life built on pleasure, money, power, or fame will give way. So the question is a simple one: Where do you stand? How goes it with your heart? On what, precisely, is the whole of your life built?

Memorial of Saint Peter Claver, Priest  Lectionary: 441 Reading 1  1 COR 9:16-19, 22B-27 Brothers and sisters: If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast, for an obligation has been imposed on me, and woe to me if I do not preach it! If I do so willingly, I have a recompense, but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship. What then is my recompense? That, when I preach, I offer the Gospel free of charge so as not to make full use of my right in the Gospel. Although I am free in regard to all, I have made myself a slave to all so as to win over as many as possible. I have become all things to all, to save at least some. All this I do for the sake of the Gospel, so that I too may have a share in it. Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. Thus I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. No, I drive my body and train it, for fear that, after having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified. Responsorial Psalm  PS 84:3, 4, 5-6, 12 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! their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage. R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God! For a sun and a shield is the LORD God; grace and glory he bestows; The LORD withholds no good thing from those who walk in sincerity.  R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!     Alleluia  JN 17:17B, 17A  R. Alleluia, alleluia. Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth. R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel  LK 6:39-42  Jesus told his disciples a parable: “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite!  Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”   /// Commentary by Bishop Robert Barron:  Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus commands us to stop judging others. He asks, “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?” We are exceptionally good at seeing the fault in others, but we are exceptionally adept at ignoring it in ourselves. There was a very popular book that came out when I was a teenager. It was called I’m Okay and You’re Okay. It represented the culture of exculpation and feel-good-about-yourself. Not many years ago, Christina Aguilera crooned, “I am beautiful in every single way, and words can’t bring me down.” Look at so many of the debates today; the attitude that is winning is one of self-invention and self-assertion. “Who are you to tell me how to behave?” In all of this, we are fundamentally looking away from our guilt, our fault, our darkness. We are effectively drugging ourselves, dulling the pain of real self-consciousness. In the process, we turn ourselves into God, pretending to be absolute, flawless, and impervious to criticism. So “remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye.”