August 1, 2019 Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

2019년 8월 1일 연중 제17주간 목요일 

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

제1독서

탈출기. 40,16-21.34-38
그 무렵 16 모세는 주님께서 명령하신 대로 다 하였다. 17 마침내 둘째 해 첫째 달 초하룻날에 성막이 세워졌다. 18 모세는 성막을 세우는데, 먼저 밑받침을 놓은 다음 널빤지를 맞추고 가로다지를 끼운 뒤, 기둥을 세웠다. 19 또 성막 위로 천막을 치고 천막 덮개를 그 위에 씌웠다. 이는 주님께서 모세에게 명령하신 대로였다.
20 그런 다음 증언판을 가져다 궤 안에 놓았다. 그 궤에 채를 끼우고 궤 위에 속죄판을 덮었다. 21 또 궤를 성막 안에 들여놓고 칸막이 휘장을 쳐서 증언 궤를 가렸다. 이는 주님께서 모세에게 명령하신 대로였다.
34 그때에 구름이 만남의 천막을 덮고 주님의 영광이 성막에 가득 찼다. 35 모세는 만남의 천막 안으로 들어갈 수 없었다. 구름이 그 천막 위에 자리 잡고 주님의 영광이 성막에 가득 차 있었기 때문이다.
36 이스라엘 자손들은 그 모든 여정 중에, 구름이 성막에서 올라갈 때마다 길을 떠났다. 37 그러나 구름이 올라가지 않으면, 그 구름이 올라가는 날까지 떠나지 않았다.
38 그 모든 여정 중에 이스라엘의 온 집안이 보는 앞에서, 낮에는 주님의 구름이 성막 위에 있고, 밤에는 불이 그 구름 가운데에 자리를 잡았다.

복음

마태오. 13,47-53
그때에 예수님께서 군중에게 말씀하셨다.
47 “하늘 나라는 바다에 던져 온갖 종류의 고기를 모아들인 그물과 같다. 48 그물이 가득 차자 사람들이 그것을 물가로 끌어 올려 놓고 앉아서, 좋은 것들은 그릇에 담고 나쁜 것들은 밖으로 던져 버렸다.
49 세상 종말에도 그렇게 될 것이다. 천사들이 나가 의인들 가운데에서 악한 자들을 가려내어, 50 불구덩이에 던져 버릴 것이다. 그러면 그들은 거기에서 울며 이를 갈 것이다.
51 너희는 이것들을 다 깨달았느냐?” 제자들이 “예!” 하고 대답하자, 52 예수님께서 그들에게 이르셨다.
“그러므로 하늘 나라의 제자가 된 모든 율법 학자는, 자기 곳간에서 새것도 꺼내고 옛것도 꺼내는 집주인과 같다.”
53 예수님께서는 이 비유들을 다 말씀하시고 나서 그곳을 떠나셨다. 

 

August 1, 2019

Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/ 

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

Reading 1

Ex 40:16-21, 34-38
Moses did exactly as the LORD had commanded him.
On the first day of the first month of the second year
the Dwelling was erected.
It was Moses who erected the Dwelling.
He placed its pedestals, set up its boards, put in its bars,
and set up its columns.
He spread the tent over the Dwelling
and put the covering on top of the tent,
as the LORD had commanded him.
He took the commandments and put them in the ark;
he placed poles alongside the ark and set the propitiatory upon it.
He brought the ark into the Dwelling and hung the curtain veil,
thus screening off the ark of the commandments,
as the LORD had commanded him.

Then the cloud covered the meeting tent,
and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling.
Moses could not enter the meeting tent,
because the cloud settled down upon it
and the glory of the LORD filled the Dwelling.
Whenever the cloud rose from the Dwelling,
the children of Israel would set out on their journey.
But if the cloud did not lift, they would not go forward;
only when it lifted did they go forward.
In the daytime the cloud of the LORD was seen over the Dwelling;
whereas at night, fire was seen in the cloud
by the whole house of Israel
in all the stages of their journey.

Responsorial Psalm

84:3, 4, 5-6a and 8a, 11

R. (2) How lovely is your dwelling place, O 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, O 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, O Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
Blessed the men whose strength you are!
They go from strength to strength.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord, mighty God!

Gospel

Mt 13:47-53

Jesus said to the disciples:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

“Do you understand all these things?”
They answered, “Yes.”
And he replied,
“Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom
both the new and the old.”
When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow

 «They gather the good fish in buckets, but throw the worthless ones away»

Fr. Ferran JARABO i Carbonell
(Agullana, Girona, Spain)

Today, the Gospel is a vital call to conversion. Jesus does not spare us the hard reality: «The angels will go out to separate the wicked from the just and throw them into the blazing furnace» (Mt 13:49-50). The warning is quite clear. We just cannot take it easy and go to asleep!

Now, it is our turn to freely choose: we either seek God and make goodness a part of our life, or we prefer to stand on the precipice of death. Or with Christ or against him. To convert ourselves means, in this case, to freely opt to become one of the upright ones and live a life worthy of his sons. However, within us we have the experience of sin: we realize the good we should do but we do the evil, instead; what do we do to provide our lives with a sense of true unity? We, alone, cannot do much. only if we place ourselves in God's hands shall we be able to attain the goodness and be counted amongst the upright ones.

«Because we know not when our Judge shall appear, so we should live every day as if it were our last» (St. Jerome). These words are a call to live with intensity and responsibility our Christianity. It is not a matter of being afraid, but of living in the hope this is a time of grace, praise and glory.

Christ shows us the only way to our own glorification. Christ is the only way to heaven; therefore, our salvation, our happiness and whatever we can imagine happens through Him. And if we have everything in Christ, we can hardly refrain from loving the Church, that shows him to us and is its mystic body. Against purely human visions of this reality we have to recuperate the divine-spiritual vision: nothing bigger than Christ and the fulfillment of his will!

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

 

While I was reflecting on today’s first reading, I couldn’t help but think about the little wooden box I keep under my bed; I usually refer to it as my treasure box. In that box, I keep a random collection of bits and pieces, trinkets, medals and letters that remind me of special moments. In a way, that little treasure box is the dwelling place for the physical representations of my special memories. This, in turn, made me think of other dwelling places….my apartment, my mind, my heart, my soul, and the kingdom of God. These are dwelling places that are no doubt sacred spaces. Have I cared for them as I should? What are our sacred spaces built with? Who or what dwells in our sacred spaces? Who guards it? Is there room for God in our dwelling place or in what we call our sacred spaces? It is as if the instructions given to Moses are also for us today and God is saying, child of mine, build a dwelling place for the living word, build it sturdy and secure so that it is not corrupted, but ensure that day or night, light or dark, its presence and tangibility can be felt throughout your life journey.

Speaking of dwelling places and sacred spaces, in today’s Gospel, Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven as a dwelling place for the good…...for the righteous. In the kingdom of heaven, that which we consider old, and that which we consider new, shall be gathered together as the same; and what is necessary will be kept, while what is not necessary for the vitality of the soul shall be thrown away. The kingdom of heaven is here; let us be conscious of the cloud we unknowingly allow to settle down upon it, because when clouds take up space, we are unable to move forward in our life journey; it is difficult to see; it is treacherous for movement. This is the case with any dwelling place, we must clear out the clutter, remove the cloud, sort what is needed from what is wanted, take stock of the content, and make it sacred space where the glory of God can be experienced. We are living temples, a dwelling place for God; let us clear out the clutter and make room for love, for peace, and for God. 

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

THE FUNNIES

"The reign of God is also like a dragnet." �Matthew 13:47

Some years ago, it was popular to ask the question: "Are we having fun yet?" Those living for God's kingdom would respond: "No, I'm not having fun and I don't expect to." This is not to say that kingdom-living is a "drag," although it is like a dragnet. Being in a dragnet containing old shoes, tires, tin cans, seaweed, or whatever garbage they had in Biblical times is not a pleasant trip (see Mt 13:48). Therefore, if you're struggling in your Christian life, that's to be expected. "It comes with the territory." To use the examples of Isaiah (see Is 64:7) and Jeremiah (see Jer 18:6), we are like clay which is being pounded, drenched, swirled, cut, molded, and fired. This is not something we feel like doing every day. Kingdom-living does not come under the category of fun. It's beyond that. Kingdom-living is better than fun; it is "inexpressible joy" (1 Pt 1:8). Kingdom-joy is not the absence of suffering, but is proportionate to the sufferings we endure for Jesus (1 Pt 4:13). Human beings eventually get sick of having fun. Having fun becomes a drag. Look at some of our young people near the end of summer vacation. We eventually want more than fun, diversion, and trivialities. Deep down, we want life to the full (Jn 10:10). We want to seek first God's kingdom (Mt 6:33), even if it is like a dragnet. The question is not: "Are you having fun yet?" but "Are you living in the kingdom yet?"

Prayer: Father, may Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven (see Mt 6:10).

Promise: "The cloud covered the meeting tent, and the glory of the Lord filled the Dwelling." —Ex 40:34

Praise: St. Alphonsus Liguori was declared patron of moral theologians by Pope Pius XII in 1950.

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

 Trained for the kingdom of heaven

What can a story of a dragnet and a great catch of fish tell us about God's kingdom? The two most common ways of fishing in Jesus' time was with a casting-net (or hand-net) which was thrown from the shore and the drag-net or trawl which was let down or cast into the waters from a boat. As the boat moved through the waters the dragnet was drawn into the shape of a great cone which indiscriminately took in all kinds of fish and flotsam and jetsam swept in its path. It usually took several men to haul such a net to shore.

Reward and judgment at the end of the age
What is Jesus' point here? Just as a drag-net catches every kind of fish in the sea, so the church acts as God's instrument for gathering in all who will come. Just as the drag-net does not or cannot discriminate, so the church does not discriminate between the good and the bad, the useless and the useful. God's kingdom is open to all who will accept and believe. But there will come a time of separation, at the close of the age when the Lord Jesus returns again and sends out his angels who will separate the good and the bad and then send them to their respective destinations. Our duty in this present age is to gather in all who want to become citizens of God's kingdom here on earth as well as in heaven above.

The Lord Jesus, when he comes again at the end of this age, will give to those who believed in him and his way of truth and righteousness a glorified resurrected body and a home in his everlasting kingdom. But for those who refused to follow the Lord Jesus and his merciful word of truth and righteousness, their destiny will be total separation and loss of joy and happiness with God and his community of redeemed men and women. The Lord Jesus freely offers the treasure of abundant life and everlasting joy to all who believe in him and accept him as their Lord and Savior. Do you yearn for total peace, joy, and union with God in his everlasting kingdom?

Trained for the kingdom of heaven
What is the point of Jesus' parable about a "scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 13:52)? Jewish scribes were specially devoted to the study and practice of the Word of God entrusted to Moses (the first five books of the Bible) and in instructing others in how to live according to God's commandments and way of holiness. In the Old Testament Ezra was called "the ready scribe of the law of the God of heaven" (Book of Ezra 7:6,21). He received this title because he "had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments" (Ezra 7:10). Ezra's heart was set on the kingdom of heaven because he revered God's word and he taught others through example and instruction to love and obey God's word.

The old and new treasure of God's word
Why does Jesus compare a "trained scribe" with a "householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old" (Matthew 13:52)? Some people love to store up old prized possessions along with their newly acquired prizes. Others are eager to get rid of the old to make room for the new. So why does Jesus seem to emphasize keeping the old along with the new? Why not replace the old, especially if the new seems to be better or more useful? Wouldn't a person want to throw away an old pair of shoes and replace them with a new pair - especially if the old pair became well-worn or torn beyond repair? But, who in his right mind would throw away an old precious jewel or some old gold coins simply because they were ancient and maybe tarnished a bit? Precious gems and gold do not lose their value with age! Like choice vintage wine they increase in value.

Jesus' parable of the "old" and the "new" certainly points to the "older covenants" which God made with his covenanted people of the Old Testament, beginning with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and with Moses on Mount Sinai, and with King David - the precursor of the Messiah (Psalm 89:3 and Psalm 110:1). Jesus' parable also points to the "new covenant" which he came to establish through the shedding of his blood on the cross and the anointing of his Holy Spirit who seals the new covenant on the day of Pentecost. Jesus did not come to abolish the Old Covenant but to fulfill it. The Lord calls us to treasure all of his word - all of his commandments, promises, precepts, and teaching (Psalm 119:14,72,127,162). Do you promise to keep all of God's commands? The Lord gives strength, blessing, and joy to those who treasure all of his word.

We would be impoverished today if we only possessed the treasures of the word of God in the "Old Testament" Scriptures or if we only knew the treasures of the "New Testament" Scriptures. Both the Old and New Testament Scriptures are given by the same eternal Father, inspired by the same eternal Holy Spirit, and fulfilled by the same eternal Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, who was with the Father from the beginning and who was sent from heaven to take on human flesh for our salvation (John 1:1-3,14).

Unity of the Old and New Testaments
There is a profound unity between the Old and New Testaments. Both are divinely inspired by one and the same Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16). The Old Testament prepares for the New and the New Testament fulfills the Old - the two shed light on each other. The Old Testament prepared the way for the coming of Jesus Christ as the redeemer of all who would be saved through his sacrifice on the cross. The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New. That is why Jesus interpreted the Old Testament Scriptures for his disciples and explained how he came to fulfill what was promised and foreshadowed in the Old (Luke 24:27). That is why we read the Old Testament in the light of Christ’s saving death and resurrection. Do you revere the word of God in the Scriptures - both old and new - and see their fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ?

"Lord Jesus, may your word take deep root in my heart and transform my way of thinking, discerning, and acting. May your Spirit open my ears to hear and understand the word of God in the Scriptures that I may revere and treasure both the Old and the New Testaments which God has prepared for all who desire to enter his kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy. Help me to be a diligent student and faithful disciple of your word."

Psalm 84:1-5,10

1 How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD;  my heart and flesh sing for joy  to the living God.
3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! [Selah]
5 Blessed are the men whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.  I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: A scribe who is trained for the kingdom of heaven, by Cyril of Alexandria (375-444 AD)

"A scribe is one who, through continual reading of the Old and New Testaments, has laid up for himself a storehouse of knowledge. Thus Christ blesses those who have gathered in themselves the education both of the law and of the gospel, so as to 'bring forth from their treasure things both new and old.' And Christ compares such people with a scribe, just as in another place he says, 'I will send you wise men and scribes' (Matthew 23:34) (excerpt from Fragment 172)

  

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