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Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)
Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Gospel Matthew 9:36-10:8 (English Standard Version Anglicised, India)
When Jesus saw the crowds, he had
compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep
without a shepherd. Then he said to
his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the
labourers are few; therefore pray earnestly to
the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.”
And he called to him his twelve
disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and
to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who
is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee,
and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew;
Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and
Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, who
betrayed him.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly . . . God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6, 8; Second Reading).
At breakfast on Friday, the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, I overheard one of my brother priests quoting someone pointing out that our faith is not one of sin but of God's love for us. The Second Reading at the Mass of the Sacred Heart included theses words of St John that we need 'drummed' into us constantly: In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:10-11).
Loving and serving others comes from the reality that God has shown his love for us as sinners to the extent that the Second Person of the Trinity became one of us and died for us on the Cross. In the Second Reading at this Sunday's Mass St Paul tell us: For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation (Romans 5:10-11). In the Jerusalem Bible translation that last verse reads: We are filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.
The First Reading tells us what we are called to be: and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6).
The Responsorial Psalm reinforces this: Know that he, the Lord, is God. He made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the sheep of his flock (Psalm 99 [100]: 3).
The opening words of the Gospel show us how God sees us when we are in need, when we sin and turn away from him: When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. That is why he died for us.
That is why the Church has made June the Month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The Church invites us to reflect constantly on St Paul's words to us today: God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
In recent decades, most notably in the Western world, the month of June has been hijacked by a powerful international lobby that takes 'Pride' in and promotes sinful ways of behaving and living that deny the reality that God has made us male and female. God teaches us this through nature itself. The more extreme wing of this movement demands that children and adolescents be allowed to change their sex, something that is impossible. They use nonsensical, unscientific terms such as 'the gender assigned at birth'. This is corrupt language that corrupts culture, society and individuals, that cuts us off from God our loving Creator. We're not assigned anything at birth. We are either male or female human beings made in the image of God from the moment of conception.
This extreme lobby promotes the genital mutilation of minors; it promotes cheating in women's sports by allowing men to participate in them; it promotes disrespect for women and girls by allowing men who say that they are women into the private spaces of women and girls. All of this is a form of abuse.
Fr Paul D. Scalia of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, USA, has an article in The Catholic Thing, Pride and Prejudice, that shows how pervasive this false ideology has become, especially in the United States. This article concludes with words of hope for all, reflective of the readings in this Sunday's Mass.
Humility! is not quite as effective a battle cry as Pride! Humility is hard to embrace because it always carries the stinging reminder of our created and fallen nature – that we neither create nor save ourselves. Pride presumes the power to define ourselves and to brush off the creaturely limits of male and female. In so doing, it closes itself off from – it becomes intolerant of – a Savior.
Humility opens us to the Savior who has opened his Heart to us. 'Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart' (Matthew 11:29). The feast of the Sacred Heart bids us open our hearts in humility to the One who has opened his Heart in humility to us. It is a fitting feast to turn away from the pride that divides and toward the humility that saves. Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto thine!
Jesus said,
'Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do' (Luke 23:34).
Traditional Latin Mass
Third Sunday After Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 06-18-2023 if necessary).
Epistle: 1 Peter 5:6-11. Gospel: Luke 15:1-10.
1 comment:
Thank you Father Seán, the truth sets us free . On this Father's Sunday I'm thinking every male baby may be a paternal Father or an ordained Father ,both in accordance with the Father's Will. How many children today are being denied this beautiful gift of wholeness. - what disturbing future lies ahead . The opposite is true for girls in the image of our Holy Mother .
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