'He had compassion on them.' Sunday Reflections, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

 

Prophet Jeremiah and Christ

Master of the Aix Annunciation [Web Gallery of Art]

I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord (Jeremiah 23:4; First Reading).

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland)

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Gospel Mark 6:30-34 (English Standard Version, Anglicised: India)

The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

Léachtaí i nGaeilge

Bible of Borso d'Este: Opening of Book of Jeremiah

Italian Miniaturist [Web Gallery of Art]

In 2018 I attended a meeting of a Catholic movement I have been involved in for many years in a country in western mainland Europe. The local bishop came to visit us and spoke at one of our sessions. His talk utterly disgusted me. He was boasting about the fact that the diocese employed people in pastoral work and administration who were living in situations that were objectively gravely sinful: adulterous relationships, same-sex relationships - I don't mean normal and healthy friendships - and so on. He spoke of how 'welcoming' the diocese was to everyone. To me he showed no concern whatever of someone who wanted the people God had called him to serve to know Jesus Christ and to follow him according to the Gospel, to take up their cross and to be with him for ever in heaven.

There was no mention of the true welcome that the Church of Jesus Christ gives to sinners, especially through the sacrament of confession, no mention of the first words of Jesus in St Mark's Gospel, the first gospel to be written, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand;repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15).

I have friends who lived in that same diocese with whom I stayed for a couple of days before the meeting. They told me that they were planning to emigrate to North America because of their concern that they were not getting any spiritual nourishment from the Church and were not getting the teaching of the Church in their local parish. They were particularly anxious that their teenage daughter get the Catholic formation at home, in school and in the parish that she ought to have. The family have since left that country.

Esztergom, Hungary

[Wikipedia; photo by Thaler Tamas]

Our meeting took place in the white building in the centre. This is part of the complex that includes the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Adalbert. Across the River Danube is Slovakia.

Later in the year our movement met in Esztergom, Hungary, where we had a talk from Bishop László Bíró of the Military Ordinariate of Hungary. He was not in great health but spoke the gospel of Jesus Christ as given to the Church so clearly and so hopefully that it lifted my heart. He grew up in a country that had been ruled by the Communist party for decades after World War II and where the Church experienced persecution. The way our movement was initially introduced secretly to Hungary during Communist times was truly inspirational and an expression of Christian courage, hope and faith. It flourishes there now.

Cathedral Basilica of Esztergom

[Wikipedia; photo by Kriccs]

I cannot but see Bishop Bíró in the context of part of today's First Reading from the Prophet Jeremiah: I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord [Jeremiah 23:4].

These words, and the harsh words of Jeremiah at the beginning of the First Reading, challenge every one of us who has the responsibility of forming others in the Christian faith and in informing others about Jesus Christ, bishops, priests, catechists, teachers and parents in particular

Last week I quoted the words of Frank Duff, founder of the Legion of Mary, in 1948: an inert laity is only two generations removed from non-practice. Non-practice is only two generations away from non-belief. That is what has happened in the first country above. And in so many parts of the Western world it is not only an inert laity. The Lord speaks scathingly to religious leaders through Jeremiah in the First Reading: You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them [Jeremiah 23:2].

About two years ago I saw last Sunday's gospel, when Jesus called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and this Sunday's gospel, when the apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught, being fulfilled in my presence. It was at a conference organised by the Legion of Mary at the Legion's headquarters in Dublin. There were maybe 30 or 40 Legionaries present and at one stage they were sent out two by two to a nearby plaza to approach people there and tell them about Jesus Christ and Mary. This is a work that the Legion has been doing for years in many parts of the world. After 45 minutes or an hour the Legionaries came back to report all that they had done and taught. 

Miraculous Medal

[Wikipedia; photo by Xienne]

They had met some who had lapsed from the Church or from the Christian faith altogether and others who had no connection with the faith. But most were happy to be approached and to accept a Miraculous Medal. The Legionaries were gently reminding all those they met that God loved them and that God had sent his Son Jesus Christ, God and Man, into the world through Mary. They were also taking seriously the mission Jesus Christ gave to the whole Church: Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation (Mark 16:15).

This is what the first part of the Prologue to the Catechism of the Catholic Church  says: All Christ's faithful are called to hand it on from generation to generation, by professing the faith, by living it in fraternal sharing, and by celebrating it in liturgy and prayer. The last line of today's Responsorial Psalm (Ps 22 [23]) below sums up our hope in this: In the Lord's own house shall I dwell for ever and ever.

Those Legionaries were living out that and were focusing on the reality that the purpose of our life is to know, love and serve God here on earth and to be with him for ever in heaven. They were sharing in what Jesus does in today's gospel: When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.

El Señor es mi Pastor

The Lord is my Shepherd (Psalm 22 [23])

This Spanish version of The Lord is my Shepherd was produced by Kerigma de Amor in Iquitos, Peru. The Greek word Kerygma, as it is spelled in English, means 'The proclamation of the Gospel'.

Fr Peter J. Cronin

(28 February 1930 - 10 July 2021)

Please pray for the repose of the soul of Columban Fr Peter Cronin who died peacefully on 10 July. He was ordained in 1954 and went to Korea in 1955 where he spent eight years. For the rest of his life he worked in the USA where he was Regional Director froom 1983 to 1987.

You will find a brief obituary of Father Peter here. 

Solas na bhFlaitheas ar a anam uasal - The Light of Heaven on his noble soul.

Extraordinary Form of the Mass

Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) 

Eighth Sunday after Pentecost 

The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 7-18-2021 if necessary).

Epistle: Romans 8:12-17.  Gospel: Luke 16:1-9.

 

Authentic Beauty

Authentic beauty, however, unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know, to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond.

The Blue Danube

Composed by Johann Strauss II

Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Conducted by Daniel Barenboim