July 11, 2019 Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot

2019년 7월 11일  연중 제14주간 목요일 

오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp 

제1독서

창세기. 44,18-21.23ㄴ-29; 45,1-5
그 무렵 18 유다가 요셉에게 나아가 말하였다. “나리, 이 종이 감히 나리께 한 말씀 아뢰겠습니다. 나리께서는 파라오와 같으신 분이시니, 이 종에게 노여워하지 마십시오.
19 나리께서 이 종들에게 ‘아버지나 아우가 있느냐?’ 물으시기에, 20 저희가 나리께 대답하였습니다. ‘저희에게 늙은 아버지가 있고, 그가 늘그막에 얻은 막내가 있습니다. 그 애 형은 죽고 그의 어머니 아들로는 그 애밖에 남지 않아, 아버지가 그 애를 사랑합니다.’
21 그러자 나리께서는 이 종들에게 말씀하셨습니다. ‘그 아이를 나에게 데리고 내려오너라. 내 눈으로 그를 보아야겠다. 23 너희 막내아우가 함께 내려오지 않으면, 너희는 다시 내 얼굴을 볼 수 없다.’
24 그래서 저희가 나리의 종인 저희 아버지에게 올라갔을 때, 나리의 말씀을 아버지에게 전하였습니다.
25 그 뒤에 저희 아버지가 ‘다시 가서 양식을 좀 사 오너라.’ 하였지만, 26 저희는 이렇게 대답하였습니다. ‘저희는 내려갈 수 없습니다. 막내아우가 함께 가야 저희가 내려갈 수 있습니다. 막내아우가 저희와 함께 가지 않으면, 저희는 그 어른의 얼굴을 뵐 수 없습니다.’
27 그랬더니 나리의 종인 저희 아버지가 저희에게 이렇게 말하였습니다. ‘내 아내가 나에게 아들 둘을 낳아 주었다는 것을 너희도 알지 않느냐? 28 그런데 한 아이는 나를 떠났다. 나는 그 애가 찢겨 죽은 것이 틀림없다고 말하였고, 사실 나는 지금까지도 그 아이를 다시 보지 못하였다. 29 그런데 너희가 이 아이마저 나에게서 데려갔다가 무슨 변이라도 당하게 되면, 너희는 이렇게 백발이 성성한 나를, 비통해하며 저승으로 내려가게 하고야 말 것이다.’”
45,1 요셉은 자기 곁에 서 있는 모든 이들 앞에서 더 이상 자신을 억제하지 못하고, “모두들 물러가게 하여라.” 하고 외쳤다. 그래서 요셉이 형제들에게 자신을 밝힐 때, 그 곁에는 아무도 없었다. 2 요셉이 목 놓아 울자, 그 소리가 이집트 사람들에게 들리고 파라오의 궁궐에도 들렸다.
3 요셉이 형제들에게 말하였다. “내가 요셉입니다! 아버지께서는 아직 살아 계십니까?” 그러나 형제들은 요셉 앞에서 너무나 놀라, 그에게 대답할 수가 없었다. 4 그래서 요셉은 형제들에게 “나에게 가까이 오십시오.” 하고서는, 그들이 가까이 오자 다시 말하였다.
“내 가 형님들의 아우 요셉입니다. 형님들이 이집트로 팔아넘긴 그 아우입니다. 5 그러나 이제는 저를 이곳으로 팔아넘겼다고 해서 괴로워하지도, 자신에게 화를 내지도 마십시오. 우리 목숨을 살리시려고 하느님께서는 나를 여러분보다 앞서 보내신 것입니다.”

복음

마태오. 10,7-15
그때에 예수님께서 사도들에게 말씀하셨다.
7 “가서 ‘하늘 나라가 가까이 왔다.’ 하고 선포하여라. 8 앓는 이들을 고쳐 주고 죽은 이들을 일으켜 주어라. 나병 환자들을 깨끗하게 해 주고 마귀들을 쫓아내어라. 너희가 거저 받았으니 거저 주어라.
9 전대에 금도 은도 구리 돈도 지니지 마라. 10 여행 보따리도 여벌 옷도 신발도 지팡이도 지니지 마라. 일꾼이 자기 먹을 것을 받는 것은 당연하다.
11 어떤 고을이나 마을에 들어가거든, 그곳에서 마땅한 사람을 찾아내어 떠날 때까지 거기에 머물러라.
12 집에 들어가면 그 집에 평화를 빈다고 인사하여라. 13 그 집이 평화를 누리기에 마땅하면 너희의 평화가 그 집에 내리고, 마땅하지 않으면 그 평화가 너희에게 돌아올 것이다.
14 누구든지 너희를 받아들이지 않고 너희 말도 듣지 않거든, 그 집이나 그 고을을 떠날 때에 너희 발의 먼지를 털어 버려라. 15 내가 진실로 너희에게 말한다. 심판 날에는 소돔과 고모라 땅이 그 고을보다 견디기 쉬울 것이다.” 

July 11, 2019

Memorial of Saint Benedict, Abbot

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/ 

Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass 

Reading 1

Gn 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5
Judah approached Joseph and said: “I beg you, my lord,
let your servant speak earnestly to my lord,
and do not become angry with your servant,
for you are the equal of Pharaoh.
My lord asked your servants, ‘Have you a father, or another brother?’
So we said to my lord, ‘We have an aged father,
and a young brother, the child of his old age.
This one’s full brother is dead,
and since he is the only one by that mother who is left,
his father dotes on him.’
Then you told your servants,
‘Bring him down to me that my eyes may look on him.
Unless your youngest brother comes back with you,
you shall not come into my presence again.’
When we returned to your servant our father,
we reported to him the words of my lord.

“Later, our father told us to come back and buy some food for the family.
So we reminded him, ‘We cannot go down there;
only if our youngest brother is with us can we go,
for we may not see the man if our youngest brother is not with us.’
Then your servant our father said to us,
‘As you know, my wife bore me two sons.
One of them, however, disappeared, and I had to conclude
that he must have been torn to pieces by wild beasts;
I have not seen him since.
If you now take this one away from me, too,
and some disaster befalls him,
you will send my white head down to the nether world in grief.’“

Joseph could no longer control himself
in the presence of all his attendants,
so he cried out, “Have everyone withdraw from me!”
Thus no one else was about when he made himself known to his brothers.
But his sobs were so loud that the Egyptians heard him,
and so the news reached Pharaoh’s palace.
“I am Joseph,” he said to his brothers.
“Is my father still in good health?”
But his brothers could give him no answer,
so dumbfounded were they at him.

“Come closer to me,” he told his brothers. 
When they had done so, he said:
“I am your brother Joseph, whom you once sold into Egypt.
But now do not be distressed,
and do not reproach yourselves for having sold me here.
It was really for the sake of saving lives
that God sent me here ahead of you.”

Responsorial Psalm

105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21

R. (5a) Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
or:
R. Alleluia.
When the LORD called down a famine on the land
and ruined the crop that sustained them,
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, sold as a slave.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
or:
R. Alleluia.
They had weighed him down with fetters,
and he was bound with chains,
Till his prediction came to pass
and the word of the LORD proved him true.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
or:
R. Alleluia.
The king sent and released him,
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
He made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions.
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel

Mt 10:7-15

Jesus said to his Apostles:
“As you go, make this proclamation:
‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.
Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts;
no sack for the journey, or a second tunic,
or sandals, or walking stick.
The laborer deserves his keep.
Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it,
and stay there until you leave.
As you enter a house, wish it peace.
If the house is worthy,
let your peace come upon it;
if not, let your peace return to you.
Whoever will not receive you or listen to your wordsC
go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet.
Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment
than for that town.”

http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow

 «Go and proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near»

Fr. Antonio BORDAS i Belmonte
(L’Ametlla de Mar, Tarragona, Spain)

Today, the Gospel invites us to evangelize, it says: “Preach” (Mt 10:7). The announcement is Jesus’ good news, trying to tell us about the kingdom of God, that He is our savior, sent by the Father to the world and for this reason, the only one who can renew us from within and change the society in which we live.

Jesus proclaimed that "the Kingdom of Heaven is near" (Mt 10:7). He was the herald of the Kingdom of God that was present among men and women to the extent that good would advance and evil would retreat.

Jesus wants the whole man’s salvation, in body and in spirit; more so, by the enigma that concerns humanity, which is death, Jesus proposes the resurrection. When someone lives dead for a sin, and recovers the grace, he will experience a new life. This is a great mystery that we begin to experience from our baptism; Christians are called to the resurrection!

A sample of how Pope Francis seeks the good of man: “This "culture of discarding" also has made us insensitive to squandering and food waste. At one time our grandparents took great care not to throw any leftovers. The food that is discarded is like stealing from the poor’s table, from which he’s hungry!”

Jesus tells us to always be bearers of peace. When the priests brings the Communion to a sick person he says, 'Lord’s Peace to this house! ". And the peace of Christ remains there, if there are people worthy of it. To receive the gifts of God's kingdom one needs a good inner will. on the other hand, we also see many people making excuses for not receiving the Gospel.

We have a great task among men, and we cannot fail to preach the Gospel after having believed, because we live it and we want others to live it also.

«Do not carry a traveler's bag, or an extra shirt...»

Fr. David COMPTE i Verdaguer
(Manlleu, Barcelona, Spain)

Today, we want to foresee even the unforeseeable. Today is the age of home servicing and deliveries. And, if today we talk so much about peace, perhaps it is because we need it so badly. Today's Gospel fully deals with these three other “todays”. Let us go step by step.

We want to foresee even the unforeseeable: soon, we shall buy insurance to foresee the possibility our insurer may fail us. Or, perhaps, to foresee our buying a pair of trousers, and the sales clerk giving us a stained or discolored pair! Today's Gospel, with its invitation to travel without any luggage («Do not carry any gold, silver or copper in your purses»), is inciting us to confidence, to availability. But, look out! this does not mean carelessness! Not even improvisation. Living this reality is only possible through a life deeply rooted in what is truly fundamental: in the person of Christ. His Holiness John Paul II says: «We must respect an essential principle of the Christian vision of our life: the supremacy of Grace. We should not forget that without Christ, ‘we can do nothing’ (cf. Jn 15:5)».

It is also true that home servicing is proliferating: no more catering!, now you can have your Spanish omelet made for you in your own home. This should be the icon of a society where we people have a tendency to do things our own way, to organize our own life by doing without others. Today, Jesus tells us «go»; go out. In other words, do bear in mind, those you have beside you. Let us, therefore, keep them in our mind, open to their needs.

Holidays, a peaceful countryside... are they synonymous of peace? It seems we may have some strong motives to doubt it. Maybe many holidays are nothing but the lethargy of some intimate concern or worry, that, later on, is about to arise again. We Christians do know we are the bearers of peace; even more, we know this peace soaks up all our being —also when we find nothing but an hostile surrounding around us— as far as we closely follow Jesus.

Let, therefore, the force of Christ's Today soak us up! And... «who has truly found Christ cannot keep Him only for himself, he has to announce Him» (John Paul II).

http:/onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

 

The message in Genesis that I keep thinking about is forgiveness and in Matthew trust. Forgiveness and trust bring you closer to God if you lean in and let God guide you. Both scriptures are powerful messages.  I find myself becoming very quiet, turning off the white noise so I can sit quietly and think about forgiveness and trust.  I find myself asking “Where am I in my life with forgiveness and trust?” “Who do I need to forgive?” “Who do I need to ask for forgiveness?”  The list begins to form.  

To augment my contemplation I begin searching for stories about forgiveness and trust. I find a beautifully written narrative on the Ignatian Spirituality site, titled "What Forgiveness Means," by Maureen Waldron. She writes “forgiveness is incredibly difficult” and then shares a beautiful story from Jane Knuth author of Thrift Store Saints about a women who had forgiven her father based on the insight “If you can’t forgive it eats you up inside” and what Jesus death on the cross meant in relation to forgiveness. 

I continue my search and read and found a deeply meaningful story about a New York policemen who was shot and paralyzed from the neck down at the young age of 29. He had recently been married and his wife was 3 months pregnant. Within hours and days of the incident he reached out to a priest and stated he wanted to forgive the young man who shot him. The police officer, paralyzed from the neck down lived a full, loving life and watched his son become a police officer carrying the tradition to 4 generations.  The ability to live this full life centered on his act of forgiveness. 

Finally, I search the Center for Contemplation and Action and found written works from Richard Rohr . He devotes an entire week writing on forgiveness and shares a beautiful story.  A wife and mother close to dying describes a feeling of having “a mesh surrounding her, one she cannot get out of’ until her daughter encourages her to forgive her husband and to ask her husband for forgiveness. Following the act of forgiveness the women describes a feeling of the ‘mesh’ being lifted. “Forgiveness is the only way to free ourselves from the entrapment of the past” (Rohr, 2017). 

On the same site Rohr writes,

“Forgiveness reveals three goodnesses simultaneously. When we forgive, we choose the goodness of the other over their faults, we experience God’s goodness flowing through ourselves, and we also experience our own capacity for goodness in a way that almost surprises us. We are finally in touch with a much Higher Power, and we slowly learn how to draw upon this Infinite Source.” 

So my thoughts continue to marinate on how forgiveness and trust are gifts from God, gifts that bring me closer to God, encourage me to lean in and trust my Higher Power, and allows my heart to heal so I in turn can continue giving, through forgiveness.   Hmmmmm…..more to think about.  

 http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp

THE POSSIBLE DREAM

God "sent a man before them, Joseph, sold as a slave." �Psalm 105:17

Everyone loves a Cinderella story. The lowly servant girl becomes the princess. The teenage nerd becomes the handsome, rugged man. The team that loses for years becomes the champion. We take heart in victory after years of suffering. How sweet it is! This is the essence of hope and of our life in Christ. With the cross comes certain resurrection. We may be downtrodden worms now (Is 41:14), but Jesus will change us into sharp, new instruments of His kingdom (Is 41:15). We may be in the pit now (Gn 37:24), but the Lord will sovereignly transform that pit into power in His time (Ps 105:21). A relationship in absolute shambles can be gloriously transformed into a shining "new creation" (2 Cor 5:17). God does this kind of thing all the time. He makes a way where we see no possible way. "For God all things are possible" (Mt 19:26). The only way for us to miss out on this glorious deliverance is to quit in despair and abandon our position. We can freely decide that the current sufferings are too much for us. Cinderella skips the ball to avoid humiliation. The nerd gives in to despair. The losing team disbands in frustration. Never forget the power of the Lord. "Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing. Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown, they shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves" (Ps 126:5-6). The Lord changes mourning into dancing (Ps 30:12), gives freedom to those in bondage (Is 61:1), and redeems our lives from destruction (Ps 103:4). How sweet He is!

Prayer: Father, "I consider the sufferings of the present to be as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed in us" (Rm 8:18).

Promise: "The gift you have received, give as a gift." —Mt 10:8

Praise: St. Benedict started a whole new way of life, the Christian monastic vocation

 http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/

 "Freely have you received - freely give"

Do you believe that the Gospel has power to change your life and the lives of others? Jesus gave his disciples a two-fold commission to speak in his name and to act with his power. The core of the Gospel message is quite simple: the kingdom (or reign) of God is imminent! What is the kingdom of God? It is that society of men and women who freely submit to God and who honor him as their Lord and King. In the Lord's prayer we pray for God to reign in our lives and in our world: May your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Doing the works which Jesus did
Jesus also commissioned his disciples to carry on the works which he did - bringing the healing power and mercy of God to the weary and oppressed. The Gospel has power to set people free from sin, sickness, fear, and oppression. The Lord Jesus will free us from anything that keeps us from loving him and our neighbor with joy and confidence.

Sharing generously what God has given to each one of us
Jesus said to his disciples: Freely you have received, freely give. What they have received from Jesus they must now pass on to others without expecting a favor in return, whether it be in the form of a gift or payment. They must show by their attitude that their first interest is in serving God, not receiving material gain. They must serve without guile, full of charity and peace, and simplicity. They must give their full attention to the proclamation of God's kingdom and not be diverted by other lesser things. They must  travel light - only take what was essential and leave behind whatever would distract them - in order to concentrate on the task of speaking the word of God. They must do their work, not for what they can get out of it, but for what they can give freely to others, without expecting special privileges or reward. "Poverty of spirit" frees us from greed and preoccupation with possessions and makes ample room for God’s provision. The Lord wants his disciples to be dependent on him and not on themselves.

Support the work of the Gospel with your resources
Secondly, Jesus said: the worker deserves his sustenance. Here we see a double-truth: the worker of God must not be overly-concerned with material things, but the people of God must never fail in their duty to give the worker of God what he or she needs to sustain themselves in the Lord's service. Do you pray for the work of the Gospel and do you support it with your material and financial resources?

Jesus ends his instructions with a warning: If people reject God's invitation and refuse his word, then they bring judgment and condemnation on themselves. When God gives us his word there comes with it the great responsibility to respond. Indifference will not do. We are either for or against God in how we respond to his word. God gives us his word that we may have life - abundant life in him. He wills to work in and through each of us for his glory. God shares his word with us and he commissions us to speak it boldly and simply to others. Do you witness the truth and joy of the Gospel by word and example to those around you?

“Lord Jesus, may the joy and truth of the Gospel transform my life that I may witness it to those around me. Grant that I may spread your truth and your light wherever I go.”

Psalm 80:1-3, 15-17

1 Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock!  You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth
2 before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh! Stir up your might, and come to save us!
3 Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!
15 the stock which your right hand planted.
16 They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance!
17 But let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The gift of power to reign with the Lord, by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD)

"All the power possessed by the Lord is bestowed upon the apostles! Those who were prefigured in the image and likeness of God in Adam have now received the perfect image and likeness of Christ. They have been given powers in no way different from those of the Lord. Those once earthbound now become heaven-centered. They will proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, that the image and likeness of God are now appropriated in the company of truth, so that all the holy ones who have been made heirs of heaven may reign with the Lord. Let them cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers and cast out devils. Whatever impairment Adam's body had incurred from being goaded on by Satan, let the apostles wipe away through their sharing in the Lord's power. And that they may fully obtain the likeness of God according to the prophecy in Genesis, they are ordered to give freely what they freely have received (Matthew 10:8). Thus a gift freely bestowed should be freely dispensed." (excerpt from commentary ON MATTHEW 10.4)

  

More Homilies

 July 13, 2017 Thursday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time