July 28, 2021 Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

2021년 7월 28일 연중 17주간 수요일  

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

제1독서

<모세의 빛나는 얼굴을 보고 그들은 그에게 가까이 가기를 두려워하였다.>

탈출기. 34,29-35
 산에서 내려올 때 모세의 손에는 증언판 두 개가 들려 있었다.

모세는 주님과 함께 말씀을 나누어
자기 얼굴의 살갗이 빛나게 되었으나, 그것을 알지 못하였다.
30 아론과 이스라엘의 모든 자손이 모세를 보니,
그 얼굴의 살갗이 빛나고 있었다.
그래서 그들은 그에게 가까이 가기를 두려워하였다.
31 모세가 그들을 불렀다.
아론과 공동체의 모든 수장들이 그에게 나아오자,
모세가 그들에게 이야기하였다.
32 그런 다음에야 이스라엘의 모든 자손이 그에게 가까이 왔다.
모세는 주님께서 시나이 산에서
자기에게 말씀하신 모든 것을 그들에게 명령하였다.
33 모세는 그들과 이야기를 다 하고
자기 얼굴을 너울로 가렸다.
34 모세는 주님과 함께 이야기하러
그분 앞으로 들어갈 때는 너울을 벗고, 나올 때까지 쓰지 않았다.
나와서는, 주님께서 명령하신 것을 이스라엘 자손들에게 전하였다.
35 이스라엘 자손들이 자기 얼굴의 살갗이 빛나는 것을 보게 되므로,
모세는 주님과 함께 이야기하러 들어갈 때까지는,
자기 얼굴을 다시 너울로 가리곤 하였다.

복음

<가진 것을 다 팔아 그 밭을 산다.>

마태오. 13,44-46
 그때에 예수님께서 군중에게 말씀하셨다.

44 “하늘 나라는 밭에 숨겨진 보물과 같다.
그 보물을 발견한 사람은 그것을 다시 숨겨 두고서는
기뻐하며 돌아가서 가진 것을 다 팔아 그 밭을 산다.
45 또 하늘 나라는 좋은 진주를 찾는 상인과 같다.
46 그는 값진 진주를 하나 발견하자, 가서 가진 것을 모두 처분하여 그것을 샀다.”

July 28, 2021

 Wednesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/ 

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

Reading 1

Ex 34:29-35
As Moses came down from Mount Sinai
with the two tablets of the commandments in his hands,
he did not know that the skin of his face had become radiant
while he conversed with the LORD.
When Aaron, then, and the other children of Israel saw Moses
and noticed how radiant the skin of his face had become,
they were afraid to come near him.
Only after Moses called to them did Aaron
and all the rulers of the community come back to him.
Moses then spoke to them.
Later on, all the children of Israel came up to him,
and he enjoined on them all that the LORD
had told him on Mount Sinai.
When he finished speaking with them,
he put a veil over his face.
Whenever Moses entered the presence of the LORD to converse with him,
he removed the veil until he came out again.
On coming out, he would tell the children of Israel
all that had been commanded.
Then the children of Israel would see
that the skin of Moses’ face was radiant;
so he would again put the veil over his face
until he went in to converse with the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm

99:5, 6, 7, 9

R. (see 9c) Holy is the Lord our God.
Extol the LORD, our God,
and worship at his footstool;fa
holy is he!
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
and Samuel, among those who called upon his name;
they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
From the pillar of cloud he spoke to them;
they heard his decrees and the law he gave them.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
Extol the LORD, our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for holy is the LORD, our God.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.

Gospel

Mt 13:44-46

Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price, 

he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

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

 “The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

- Matthew

Reflecting on a saint who “out of joy” sold all he had and bought “that field” which is like the kingdom of heaven, with thanks to James Martin S.J.'s “My Life With the Saints.”

I was walking past the Temple of Minerva in central Assisi when I saw my friend Francisco standing stark naked in front of the bishop and his family. He was arguing loudly with his father, a wealthy cloth merchant.

I’d heard that Francisco had undergone a radical conversion but I hadn’t seen him since he mortified his parents by dressing in rags, begging for food and publicly kissing a leper.

Another friend filled me in on what was happening.

Now Francisco’s father had accused him of stealing something from his storehouse to rebuild a church and wanted the bishop to intervene. When the bishop told Francisco to return what he had taken, Francisco tore his clothes off since they too had come from his father. 

I watched the bishop wrapping Francisco in his cope, ending the public spectacle. But Francisco became a wandering preacher and never returned to his family. 
Was this the spoiled rich party boy I had grown up with? The young man who had become a knight in armor?

Although some people thought he was crazy, legends spread about his love for people, animals and the earth itself. He attracted followers who joined him in abandoning what they had to pursue the Kingdom of heaven. Eventually the pope allowed Francisco to form a religious order.

When Francisco returned to Assisi towards the end of his life, he lived in poverty and prayed constantly. Now our town is building a magnificent church in his honor that he probably would have disdained.

Meanwhile my memories of the mature Francisco haunt me.  Although he had given up everything, he was so much more joyful than when we were carousing through Assisi. What can we ordinary people learn from him?

I’ll never give up my comfortable life but I’m happiest when I’m sharing my good fortune with others. I’ll leave my possessions behind when I die anyhow so why not start now? Sometimes I give money to a beggar who will likely waste my gift on cheap wine. But I feel Francisco smiling at my seemingly foolish gesture.  I try to be kind to others even when I don’t feel like it.

I think Francisco sold his life for a whole field of buried treasure while mine is a small garden plot. But it’s better than nothing.

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

 

HALO

“Then the Israelites would see that the skin of Moses’ face was radiant; so he would again put the veil over his face until he went in to converse with the Lord.” —Exodus 34:35

Moses had a halo after talking to God. People had to wear sunglasses when they looked at him. You could get a tan just sitting in the same room with Moses. The man was a human lightning bug.

When we talk to God, do we light up like Moses did? Does communion with the Lord have a visible effect on us? We may not glow, but do we at least smile? Does the Son-light affect us more than the sun-light?

Jesus is the Light of the world; in Him there is no darkness (Jn 8:12; 1 Jn 1:5). When we walk in His light, we not only are in the light but we “are light in the Lord” (Eph 5:8). As followers of Jesus, we too are “the light of the world” (Mt 5:14). Light naturally shines so as to give “light to all in the house. In the same way, your light must shine before men so that they may see goodness in your acts and give praise to your heavenly Father” (Mt 5:15-16).

It’s natural for you to have a halo because you are light; Jesus the Light dwells in you, and you are walking in His light. Rise and shine!

Prayer:  Jesus, because of You may I smile even amid bad circumstances.

Promise:  “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant’s search for fine pearls. When he found one really valuable pearl, he went back and put up for sale all that he had and bought it.” —Mt 13:45-46

Praise:  Gloria’s smile, even as a young widow and mother, radiates the love of Jesus and brightens the lives of many others.

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

 What do you treasure above all else and how do you keep it secure? In a peasant community the best safe was often the earth. The man in the parable "went in his joy" to sell everything he had (Matthew 13:44). Why? Because he found a hidden treasure worth possessing above everything else he had. He did not, however, have enough to buy the treasure. Fortunately, he only needed enough money to buy the field. In a similar fashion, God offers his kingdom as incomparable treasure at a price we can afford! We can't pay the full price for the rich and abundant life which God offers us - but when we willingly exchange our life for the life which God offers, we receive a treasure beyond compare.

Searching for the greatest treasure of all
The pearl of great price also tells us a similar lesson (Matthew 13:45). Pearls in the ancient world came to represent the supremely valuable. Why would a merchant sell everything for a single pearl of peerless value? No doubt because he was attracted to what he thought was the greatest treasure he could possess for himself. On another occasion Jesus told his disciples, "do not throw your pearls before swine" (Matthew 7:6). Beautiful unblemished pearls were intended to enhance the beauty and value of those who wore them. Do you recognize and value the hidden treasure of God's kingdom and the peerless pearl which the Lord Jesus offers to all who believe in him?

Discovering heavenly treasure
Discovering God's kingdom is like stumbling across a hidden treasure or finding the one pearl of great price. When we discover the kingdom of God we receive the greatest possible treasure - the Lord himself. Selling all that we have to obtain this incomparable treasure could mean many things - our friends, possessions, job, our "style of life", what we do with our free time. Treasure has a special connection to the heart, the place of desire and longing, the place of will and focus. The thing we most set our heart on is our highest treasure.

In this parable what does the treasure of the kingdom of heaven refer to? It certainly refers to the kingdom of God in all its aspects (a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit - Romans 14:17). But in a special way, the Lord himself is the treasure we seek. "If the Almighty is your gold and your precious silver, then you will delight yourself in the Almighty" (Job 22:22-23). Is the Lord the treasure and delight of your heart?

Lord Jesus, reveal to me the true riches of your kingdom. Help me to set my heart on you alone as the treasure beyond compare with any other. Free my heart of any inordinate desires or attachment to other things that I may freely give to you all that I have in joy and gratitude for all that you have given to me. May I always find joy and delight in your presence.

Psalm 99:5-7,9

5 Extol the LORD our God; worship at his footstool! Holy is he!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests, Samuel also was among those who called on his name. They cried to the LORD, and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud; they kept his testimonies, and the statutes that he gave them.
9 Extol the LORD our God, and worship at his holy mountain; for the LORD our God is holy!

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Finding the pearl of great price, by Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)

"Now among the words of all kinds that profess to announce truth, and among those who report them, he seeks pearls. Think of the prophets as, so to speak, the pearls that receive the dew of heaven and become pregnant with the word of truth from heaven. They are goodly pearls that, according to the phrase here set forth, the merchant seeks. And the chief of the pearls, on the finding of which the rest are found with it, is the very costly pearl, the Christ of God, the Word that is superior to the precious letters and thoughts in the law and the prophets. When one finds this pearl all the rest are easily released. Suppose, then, that one is not a disciple of Christ. He possesses no pearls at all, much less the very costly pearl, as distinguished from those that are cloudy or darkened." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 18.8)

 

 

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