August 5, 2022Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

 2022년 8월 5일 연중 제18주간 금요일  

 

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

제1독서

 나훔 예언서. 2,1.3; 3,1-3.6-7
1 보라, 기쁜 소식을 전하는 이, 평화를 알리는 이의 발이 산을 넘어온다.
유다야, 축일을 지내고 서원을 지켜라.
불한당이 다시는 너를 넘나들지 못할 것이다. 그는 완전히 망하였다.
3 약탈자들이 그들을 약탈하고 그들의 포도나무 가지들을 망쳐 버렸지만
정녕 주님께서는 이스라엘의 영예처럼 야곱의 영예를 되돌려 주시리라.
3,1 불행하여라, 피의 성읍!
온통 거짓뿐이고 노획물로 가득한데 노략질을 그치지 않는다.
2 채찍 소리, 요란하게 굴러가는 바퀴 소리, 달려오는 말, 튀어 오르는 병거,
3 돌격하는 기병, 번뜩이는 칼, 번쩍이는 창, 수없이 살해된 자들, 시체 더미,
끝이 없는 주검. 사람들이 주검에 걸려 비틀거린다.
6 나는 너에게 오물을 던지고 너를 욕보이며 구경거리가 되게 하리라.
7 너를 보는 자마다 너에게서 달아나며
“니네베가 망하였다! 누가 그를 가엾이 여기겠느냐?” 하고 말하리니
내가 어디서 너를 위로해 줄 자들을 찾으랴?

 

복음

 마태오. 16,24-28
24 그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
“누구든지 내 뒤를 따라오려면,
자신을 버리고 제 십자가를 지고 나를 따라야 한다.
25 정녕 자기 목숨을 구하려는 사람은 목숨을 잃을 것이고,
나 때문에 자기 목숨을 잃는 사람은 목숨을 얻을 것이다.
26 사람이 온 세상을 얻고도 제 목숨을 잃으면 무슨 소용이 있겠느냐?
사람이 제 목숨을 무엇과 바꿀 수 있겠느냐?
27 사람의 아들이 아버지의 영광에 싸여 천사들과 함께 올 터인데,
그때에 각자에게 그 행실대로 갚을 것이다.
28 내가 진실로 너희에게 말한다. 여기에 서 있는 이들 가운데에는
죽기 전에 사람의 아들이 자기 나라에 오는 것을 볼 사람들이 더러 있다.”

 

 

August 5, 2022

Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Daily Readings — Audio 

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

Daily Mass :  https://www.youtube.com/c/EWTNcatholictv                 : https://www.youtube.com/c/DailyTVMass

Reading 1
Na 2:1, 3; 3:1-3, 6-7
See, upon the mountains there advances
the bearer of good news, 
announcing peace!
Celebrate your feasts, O Judah,
fulfill your vows!
For nevermore shall you be invaded
by the scoundrel; he is completely destroyed.
The LORD will restore the vine of Jacob,
the pride of Israel,
Though ravagers have ravaged them 
and ruined the tendrils.

Woe to the bloody city, all lies,
full of plunder, whose looting never stops!
The crack of the whip, the rumbling sounds of wheels;
horses a-gallop, chariots bounding, 
Cavalry charging, the flame of the sword, the flash of the spear,
the many slain, the heaping corpses,
the endless bodies to stumble upon!
I will cast filth upon you,
disgrace you and put you to shame;
Till everyone who sees you runs from you, saying,
“Nineveh is destroyed; who can pity her?
Where can one find any to console her?”

Responsorial Psalm
Deuteronomy 32:35cd-36ab, 39abcd, 41
R. (39c) It is I who deal death and give life.
Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
“Learn then that I, I alone, am God,
and there is no god besides me.
It is I who bring both death and life,
I who inflict wounds and heal them.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
I will sharpen my flashing sword,
and my hand shall lay hold of my quiver,
“With vengeance I will repay my foes
and requite those who hate me.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
 

Gospel
Mt 16:24-28
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay each according to his conduct.
Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here
who will not taste death
until they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom.”

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

 

Today's first reading and responsorial Psalm set my heart and mind down a difficult path, and I worried that any words I might write in response to the death and destruction noted there would be far from generous and uplifting! Our world has long struggled with humanity at odds with one another; today is no different, with people across the globe displaced, persecuted, hungry, their faith tested, their spirits broken. I for one am more than a little saddened and angry about it. Frustrated. Powerless. I hold back and become paralyzed by the enormity of it all. 

Ahhh. Then Jesus speaks to us in the Gospel Lesson to remind us that we are NOT powerless. His words (and a treasured friend's perspective) turned my heart and mind; I was reminded of the concrete steps that Jesus asks us to take, if we want to follow him. The notion of 'losing' ourselves to 'save' our lives, is a paradox that invites us to act, every day, in his name. Love our neighbor. Welcome the stranger. Feed the hungry. Serve.

Holding back, in frustration, serves no one - not others who need our gifts, and certainly not ourselves. Rather, giving of ourselves, in love to others, provides us the blessed opportunity to experience the fullest expression of ourselves. In that way, we live in Christ, and He in us. With this idea on my heart today, I simply offered my arm to an elderly woman shuffling into the Ace Hardware store that I was departing. She was surprised but pleased by the offer, then let me know I was a blessing to her. "Oh no, Ma'am: you are a blessing to me!" And she truly was. For just a brief moment, she gave me the opportunity to lose myself in Christ today, and I was grateful for it. Let's not let death win! Let's answer Christ's call, to 'lose' our lives for his sake. Amen.  

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

YOU REAP WHAT YOU SOW (GAL 6:7)

“He will repay each man according to his conduct.” —Matthew 16:27

The prophet Nahum foretold the downfall of Nineveh, “the bloody city,” the capital city of Assyria (Na 3:1). The nation of Assyria brutalized and destroyed many cities and nations for several centuries, including wiping out the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. As Nahum prophesied, Nineveh was defeated (Na 3:2ff). As Jesus prophesied, Nineveh was repaid by the Lord “according to [its] conduct” (Mt 16:27).

Our conduct is extremely important for our eternal future. We are to conduct ourselves as “a member of God’s household” (1 Tm 3:15). The New Testament is filled with teaching on the conduct required of a disciple of Jesus: holiness (Rm 12:1-2), self-emptying love (Jn 15:12-13; 1 Cor 13:1-8), obeying God (Lk 22:42), crucifying our flesh and living by the Spirit’s lead (Gal 5:16, 25; 6:14), and “a life of faith” in Jesus (Gal 2:20). We must deny ourselves, take up our daily cross, and follow Jesus unreservedly (Lk 9:23). God will then “repay [us] according to [our] conduct” (Mt 16:27).

Is your conduct befitting a member of God’s household? (1 Tm 3:15) If not, repent! “Now is the acceptable time” to make your conduct all that the Lord commands (2 Cor 6:2).  Offer your body to God as a living sacrifice (Rm 12:1).

Prayer:  Father, may I give generously to You, not for my own reward, but to give You as much fruit as possible.

Promise:  “Whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” —Mt 16:25

Praise:  Following the declaration of Mary as Theotokos (“God-bearer”) at the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD, Pope St. Sixtus III oversaw the renovation of the basilica that was renamed St. Mary Major.

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

 

 What is the most important investment you can make with your life? Jesus poses some probing questions to challenge our assumptions about what is most profitable and worthwhile. In every decision of life we are making ourselves a certain kind of person. The kind of person we are, our character, determines to a large extent the kind of future we will face and live. It is possible that some can gain all the things they set their heart on, only to wake up suddenly and discover that they missed the most important things of all. Of what value are material things if they don't help you gain what truly lasts in eternity. Neither money nor possessions can buy heaven, mend a broken heart, or cheer a lonely person.

The great exchange - my life for His Life
Jesus asks the question: What will a person give in exchange for his or her life? Everything we have is an out-right gift from God. We owe him everything, including our very lives. It's possible to give God our money, but not ourselves, or to give him lip-service, but not our hearts. A true disciple gladly gives up all that he or she has in exchange for an unending life of joy and happiness with God. God gives without measure. The joy he offers no sadness or loss can diminish.

True freedom and gain
The cross of Christ leads to victory and freedom from sin, despair, and death. What is the cross which Jesus Christ commands me to take up each day? When my will crosses with his will, then his will must be done. Are you ready to lose all for Jesus Christ in order to gain all with Jesus Christ?

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and all my will, all that I have and possess. You have given them to me; to you, O Lord, I restore them; all things are yours, dispose of them according to your will. Give me your love and your grace, for this is enough for me." (Prayer of Ignatius of Loyola, 1491-1556)

Psalm 77:11-15,20

11 I will call to mind the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will meditate on all your works, and muse on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders, who has manifested your might among the peoples.
15 You did with your arm redeem your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. [Selah]
20 You led thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Walk as Christ has walked, by Caesarius of Arles (470-543 AD) 

"When the Lord tells us in the Gospel that anyone who wants to be his follower must renounce himself, the injunction seems harsh; we think he is imposing a burden on us. But an order is no burden when it is given by one who helps in carrying it out. To what place are we to follow Christ if not where he has already gone? We know that he has risen and ascended into heaven; there, then, we must follow him. There is no cause for despair - by ourselves we can do nothing, but we have Christ's promise... One who claims to abide in Christ ought to walk as he walked. Would you follow Christ? Then be humble as he was humble. Do not scorn his lowliness if you want to reach his exaltation. Human sin made the road rough. Christ's resurrection leveled it. By passing over it himself, he transformed the narrowest of tracks into a royal highway. Two feet are needed to run along this highway; they are humility and charity. Everyone wants to get to the top - well, the first step to take is humility. Why take strides that are too big for you - do you want to fall instead of going up? Begin with the first step, humility, and you will already be climbing." (excerpt from SERMONS 159, 1.4-6)

  

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August 7, 2020 Friday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time