August 11, 2020 Memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin

2020년 8월 11일  연중 제19주간 화요일

 

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

제1독서

에제키엘 예언서. 2,8─3,4
주님께서 이렇게 말씀하신다.
8 “너 사람의 아들아, 내가 너에게 하는 말을 들어라.
저 반항의 집안처럼 반항하는 자가 되지 마라.
그리고 입을 벌려 내가 너에게 주는 것을 받아먹어라.”
9 그래서 내가 바라보니, 손 하나가 나에게 뻗쳐 있는데,
거기에는 두루마리 하나가 놓여 있었다.
10 그분께서 그것을 내 앞에 펴 보이시는데, 앞뒤로 글이 적혀 있었다.
거기에는 비탄과 탄식과 한숨이 적혀 있었다.
3,1 그분께서 또 나에게 말씀하셨다.
“사람의 아들아, 네가 보는 것을 받아먹어라.
이 두루마리를 먹고, 가서 이스라엘 집안에게 말하여라.”
2 그래서 내가 입을 벌리자 그분께서 그 두루마리를 입에 넣어 주시며,
3 나에게 말씀하셨다. “사람의 아들아,
내가 너에게 주는 이 두루마리로 배를 불리고 속을 채워라.”
그리하여 내가 그것을 먹으니 꿀처럼 입에 달았다.
4 그분께서 다시 나에게 말씀하셨다.
“사람의 아들아, 이스라엘 집안에게 가서 그들에게 내 말을 전하여라.”

 

 

복음

마태오. 18,1-5.10.12-14
1 그때에 제자들이 예수님께 다가와,
“하늘 나라에서는 누가 가장 큰 사람입니까?” 하고 물었다.
2 그러자 예수님께서 어린이 하나를 불러 그들 가운데에 세우시고 3 이르셨다.
“내가 진실로 너희에게 말한다.
너희가 회개하여 어린이처럼 되지 않으면, 결코 하늘 나라에 들어가지 못한다.
4 그러므로 누구든지 이 어린이처럼 자신을 낮추는 이가
하늘 나라에서 가장 큰 사람이다.
5 또 누구든지 이런 어린이 하나를 내 이름으로 받아들이면
나를 받아들이는 것이다.
10 너희는 이 작은 이들 가운데 하나라도 업신여기지 않도록 주의하여라.
내가 너희에게 말한다.
하늘에서 그들의 천사들이 하늘에 계신 내 아버지의 얼굴을 늘 보고 있다.
12 너희는 어떻게 생각하느냐?
어떤 사람에게 양 백 마리가 있는데 그 가운데 한 마리가 길을 잃으면,
아흔아홉 마리를 산에 남겨 둔 채 길 잃은 양을 찾아 나서지 않느냐?
13 그가 양을 찾게 되면, 내가 진실로 너희에게 말하는데,
길을 잃지 않은 아흔아홉 마리보다 그 한 마리를 두고 더 기뻐한다.
14 이와 같이 이 작은 이들 가운데 하나라도 잃어버리는 것은
하늘에 계신 너희 아버지의 뜻이 아니다.”

August 11, 2020

Memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin

 

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/ 

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

 

Reading 1
Ez 2:8—3:4
The Lord GOD said to me:
As for you, son of man, obey me when I speak to you:
be not rebellious like this house of rebellion,
but open your mouth and eat what I shall give you.

It was then I saw a hand stretched out to me,
in which was a written scroll which he unrolled before me.
It was covered with writing front and back,
and written on it was: 
Lamentation and wailing and woe!

He said to me: Son of man, eat what is before you;
eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.
So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat.
Son of man, he then said to me,
feed your belly and fill your stomach
with this scroll I am giving you.
I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth.
He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel,
and speak my words to them.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131
R. (103a) How sweet to my taste is your promise!
In the way of your decrees I rejoice,
as much as in all riches.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
How sweet to my palate are your promises,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Your decrees are my inheritance forever;
the joy of my heart they are.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
I gasp with open mouth,
in my yearning for your commands.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise! 

Gospel
Mt 18:1-5, 10, 12-14
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?”
He called a child over, placed it in their midst, and said,
“Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven.
Whoever becomes humble like this child
is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven.
And whoever receives one child such as this in my name receives me.

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones,
for I say to you that their angels in heaven
always look upon the face of my heavenly Father.
What is your opinion?
If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray,
will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills
and go in search of the stray?
And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it
than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. 
In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father
that one of these little ones be lost.”

 

http://evangeli.net/gospel/tomorrow

 

 

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

 

How well do we eat and digest the Word of God? Unlike Ezekiel in our first reading, we don’t exactly eat a scroll or the pages of a book. But every day we are given passages from Scripture to nurture us and become part of our lives. Do these words satisfy our hunger for God? Do these words, quench our thirst for what we ask of God?

Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Clare of Assisi. (1193-1253) At the age of 18 her heart was filled in hearing God’s Word presented to her through the preaching of St. Francis of Assisi.

Hearing God’s Word fulfilled her desire to follow and embrace the poor Christ.  It would be a new way of life that she would define in her Rule for the “poor ladies” as “the privilege of poverty.”

This was a radical move from the norm for women who lived in monasteries with financial support from families, a dowry, and the Church. Clare, like Francis, lived day to day relying on the providence of God. She defended her Rule of Life for the Poor Sisters to the day before she died when finally, Pope Innocent IV approved it. It was the first approved Rule written by a woman.

For both Clare and Francis, the WORD MADE FLESH, God, Jesus, who was born in a stable and died on a cross, was their “mirror” for their new ways of life as Clare would describe.  As God who through and with Jesus embraced humanity, they recognized God within the human experience. They came to know this God more intimately through contemplation, caring for the poor and seeing creation through the eyes of God. The Incarnation was real as they gazed upon the crucified Christ and realized their lives transformed.

Saint Clare in her Third Letter to Agnes of Prague wrote:

Place your mind before the mirror of eternity,
Place your soul in the brilliance of glory!
Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance!
And transform your entire being into the image
Of the Godhead Itself through contemplation.

I imagine St. Clare spent time with our Gospel for today.  She lived her vocation being the Word of God for the Gospel was her way of life. St. Clare was a strong woman who through her commitment to poverty, and in true humility, emptied herself of all possessions, was in service to the poor, and as a servant leader ministered to the women who joined her. Together with these women they fed the poor and cared for the sick and lame. They met Jesus in in the Eucharist and in those they tended contemplating Christ for the nourishment they needed to be the WORD MADE FLESH, in their world. The Eucharist was central to their lives.

Jesus answers the question of the disciples regarding who the greatest might be in the Kingdom of Heaven by saying, “Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest…whoever received one child such as this is my name receives me.  This sense of God’s own humility is poured forth in God emptying Godself out of love for a relationship with the world, in Jesus, even to emptying himself on the cross. I think, to set a child before us as an example is to remind us that we, once a child, have a lifetime to live up to the expectation of emptying ourselves in the care and service for others. It is an invitation to look at our lives and ask if we live in loving relationship with our world. Can we embrace our world as we would a child? Do we humbly recognize our dependence on God? Do we see with God’s eyes? Is the Incarnation real?

“As we become one with Jesus, we are called to imitate him.. In the Incarnation, Jesus taught us that there are no limits to God’s love for us. Contemplation calls us to that same love. As we are transformed into the image of our God, we learn to love others as Jesus does. Such self-sacrificing love could really change our world.” –Illio Delio, Clare of Assisi, p.ix

Today we are all challenged to love our world in all its brokenness. To embrace and hold it as a child may be held so tenderly. So many people have given their lives in caring for the sick, and in service for a heathy and better world. Like Jesus, and St. Clare, so many have put others before themselves.  Some have died. I heard health care professionals say after long days and hours, “I feel so empty.” They have given their all.

Blessing of St. Clare
Live without fear;
Your creator has made you holy,
has always protected you
and loves you like a mother….
May Almighty God Bless you
May He look upon you with the eyes
of His Mercy and give you His peace…

 

 

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

SPIRITUAL ANOREXIA

“Open your mouth and eat what I shall give you.” —Ezekiel 2:8

The Lord commanded Ezekiel to eat a scroll covered with messages of “lamentation and wailing and woe” (Ez 2:10). This hardly sounds like a tasty treat, but Ezekiel found it “as sweet as honey” in his mouth (Ez 3:3).
“How sweet to my palate are Your promises, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Ps 119:103) God’s Word, including even the most difficult of His words, is sweet, nourishing, and fulfilling. God’s Word is not only like honey but also like bread, milk, and meat (Mt 4:4; Heb 5:12; 1 Cor 3:2). We should be as eager to eat God’s Word as infants are for their mothers’ milk. God’s Word is the pure milk of the Spirit to make us grow unto salvation, now that we “have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Pt 2:2-3).
Although God’s Word is as sweet as honey, as necessary as bread, as nourishing as milk, and as filling as meat, many Christians rarely read the Word. We have become spiritually anorexic and have lost our appetite for the things of God. We have so stuffed ourselves with worldly concerns that we have ruined our appetite “for food that remains unto life eternal” (Jn 6:27).
Therefore, we must dramatically simplify our lifestyle. Then our spiritual appetite for God’s Word will return. We will devour God’s Word (Jer 15:16) and have the strength to be everything the Lord wants us to be.

Prayer:  Father, may they know I’m a Christian by my lifestyle.

Promise:  “It is no part of your heavenly Father’s plan that a single one of these little ones shall ever come to grief.” —Mt 18:14

Praise:  Have you ever heard of an enraged father storming a Benedictine convent? This is precisely what happened when St. Clare abandoned her wealth for a life of poverty. Our Father was victorious over her father.

 

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

 

 Are you surprised to see the disciples discussing with Jesus who is the greatest? Don't we do the same thing? The appetite for glory and greatness seems to be inbred in us. Who doesn't cherish the ambition to be "somebody" whom others admire rather than a "nobody"? Even the Psalms speak about the glory God has destined for us. You have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor (Psalm 8:5).

Whose glory do you seek?
Jesus made a dramatic gesture by placing a child next to himself to show his disciples who really is the greatest in the kingdom of God. What can a little child possibly teach us about greatness? Children in the ancient world had no rights, position, or privileges of their own. They were socially at the "bottom of the rung" and at the service of their parents, much like the household staff and domestic servants. What is the significance of Jesus' gesture? Jesus elevated a little child in the presence of his disciples by placing the child in a privileged position of honor at his right side. It is customary, even today, to seat the guest of honor at the right side of the host.

The lowly of heart empty themselves of pride
Who is the greatest in God's kingdom? The one who is humble and lowly of heart - who instead of asserting their rights willingly empty themselves of pride and self-seeking glory by taking the lowly position of a servant and child before God. The simple of heart know that they belong to God - he is their father, teacher, and provider - the one who shows them the way of peace, joy, and life everlasting. They are content to recognize their total dependence on God who is the source of all goodness and every good gift.

Jesus restores us to the people he has made holy
What does Jesus' story about a lost sheep tell us about God and his kingdom? Shepherds normally counted their sheep at the end of the day to make sure all were accounted for. Since sheep by their very nature are very social, an isolated sheep can quickly become bewildered and even neurotic. The shepherd's grief and anxiety is turned to joy when he finds the lost sheep and restores it to the fold. What was new in Jesus' teaching was the insistence that sinners must be sought out and not merely mourned for. God does not rejoice in the loss of anyone, but desires that all be saved and restored to fellowship with him. That is why the whole community of heaven rejoices when one sinner is found and restored to fellowship with God (Luke 15:7). Seekers of the lost are much needed today. Do you pray and seek after those you know who have lost their way to God?

Lord Jesus, teach me your way of humility and simplicity of heart that I may find perfect joy in you. May your light shine through me that others may see your truth and love and find hope and peace in you.

Psalm 119:14,24,72,103,111,131

14. In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches.
24. Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.
72. The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
103. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!.
111. Your testimonies are my heritage forever; yes, they are the joy of my heart.
131. With open mouth I pant, because I long for your commandments.

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: What it means to become a child a God, by Epiphanius the Latin (late 5th century)

"Here the Lord not only repressed the apostles' thoughts but also checked the ambition of believers throughout the whole world, so that he might be great who wanted to be least. For with this purpose Jesus used the example of the child, that what he had been through his nature, we through our holy living might become - innocent, like children innocent of every sin. For a child does not know how to hold resentment or to grow angry. He does not know how to repay evil for evil. He does not think base thoughts. He does not commit adultery or arson or murder. He is utterly ignorant of theft or brawling or all the things that will draw him to sin. He does not know how to disparage, how to blaspheme, how to hurt, how to lie. He believes what he hears. What he is ordered he does not analyze. He loves his parents with full affection. Therefore what children are in their simplicity, let us become through a holy way of life, as children innocent of sin. And quite rightly, one who has become a child innocent of sin in this way is greater in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives such a person will receive Christ." (excerpt from INTERPRETATION OF THE GOSPELS 27)

  

 

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