June 15, 2021 Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
2021년 6월 15일 연중 제11주간 화요일
오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp
제1독서
<그리스도께서는 여러분을 위하여 가난하게 되셨습니다.>
코린토 2서 . 8,1-9
1 형제 여러분, 우리는 하느님께서 마케도니아의 여러 교회에 베푸신 은총을
여러분에게 알리고 싶습니다.
2 환난의 큰 시련 속에서도 그들은 기쁨이 충만하여,
극심한 가난을 겪으면서도 아주 후한 인심을 베풀었습니다.
3 나는 증언할 수 있습니다.
그들은 힘이 닿는 대로, 아니 그 이상으로 기꺼이 내놓았습니다.
4 그러면서 성도들을 위한 구제 활동에 참여하는 특전을 달라고
우리에게 간곡히 청하였습니다.
5 그들은 우리가 그렇게까지 기대하지는 않았는데도, 먼저 주님께 자신을 바치고,
또 하느님의 뜻에 따라 우리에게도 자신을 바쳤습니다.
6 그래서 우리는 티토에게, 여러분에게서 이미 시작한 이 은혜로운 일을
마저 끝내라고 권하였습니다.
7 이제 여러분은 모든 면에서 곧 믿음과 말과 지식과 온갖 열성에서,
또 우리의 사랑을 받는 일에서도 뛰어나므로,
이 은혜로운 일에서도 뛰어나기를 바랍니다.
8 나는 이 말을 명령으로 하는 것이 아닙니다.
다른 이들의 열성에 견주어 여러분의 사랑이 얼마나 진실한지
확인하고 싶을 따름입니다.
9 여러분은 우리 주 예수 그리스도의 은총을 알고 있습니다.
그분께서는 부유하시면서도 여러분을 위하여 가난하게 되시어,
여러분이 그 가난으로 부유하게 되도록 하셨습니다.
복음
<너희는 원수를 사랑하여라.>
마태오. 5,43-48
그때에 예수님께서 제자들에게 말씀하셨다.
43 “‘네 이웃을 사랑해야 한다.
그리고 네 원수는 미워해야 한다.’고 이르신 말씀을 너희는 들었다.
44 그러나 나는 너희에게 말한다. 너희는 원수를 사랑하여라.
그리고 너희를 박해하는 자들을 위하여 기도하여라.
45 그래야 너희가 하늘에 계신 너희 아버지의 자녀가 될 수 있다.
그분께서는 악인에게나 선인에게나 당신의 해가 떠오르게 하시고,
의로운 이에게나 불의한 이에게나 비를 내려 주신다.
46 사실 너희가 자기를 사랑하는 이들만 사랑한다면 무슨 상을 받겠느냐?
그것은 세리들도 하지 않느냐?
47 그리고 너희가 자기 형제들에게만 인사한다면,
너희가 남보다 잘하는 것이 무엇이겠느냐?
그런 것은 다른 민족 사람들도 하지 않느냐?
48 그러므로 하늘의 너희 아버지께서 완전하신 것처럼
너희도 완전한 사람이 되어야 한다.”
June 15, 2021
Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass
Reading 1
2 Cor 8:1-9
We want you to know, brothers and sisters, of the grace of God
that has been given to the churches of Macedonia,
for in a severe test of affliction,
the abundance of their joy and their profound poverty
overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
For according to their means, I can testify,
and beyond their means, spontaneously,
they begged us insistently for the favor of taking part
in the service to the holy ones,
and this, not as we expected,
but they gave themselves first to the Lord
and to us through the will of God,
so that we urged Titus that, as he had already begun,
he should also complete for you this gracious act also.
Now as you excel in every respect,
in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness,
and in the love we have for you,
may you excel in this gracious act also.
I say this not by way of command,
but to test the genuineness of your love
by your concern for others.
For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that for your sake he became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, my soul!
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
When my children were teenagers, I used to send them each year on a mission trip to Mexico. A group from the church took all of the supplies necessary to build a house for a family that did not have one. Each year my children came back changed. The people there are so poor. They have nothing. Why, then, are they so happy? We have everything and we aren’t filled with joy like they are. They concluded that those poor people in that town had something they didn’t have and they wanted it. They also concluded that, although the people lived lives of profound poverty, they were some of the most generous people they had ever known.
St. Paul discovered the same thing with the churches he founded. There was a great famine in Judea and he set out to raise money to help them out. He had established a number of churches in Macedonia, so he began there. Those churches were like the folks in Mexico. They were poor. However, they had something that caused them to give even beyond their means to assist their brothers and sisters in Judea. They had joy in abundance. Although giving like they did would amount to a “severe test of affliction,” they gave themselves to the Lord and his ministers and gave beyond St. Paul’s expectations. And they didn’t give because they were commanded to do so. Their response was spontaneous.
He tells us about them in his second letter to the Corinthians where he is encouraging them to be like the Macedonians. The Corinthians excel in everything: respect, faith, discourse, knowledge, and earnestness. St. Paul expresses his love for them and asks them to excel in the gracious act of making a contribution for Judea. Again, he doesn’t make any demands on them. He presents this as a test of the genuineness of their love. Do what you can, he says, but remember the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ who, although rich, became poor, so that by his poverty the Corinthians might become rich. St. Paul’s challenge is to be like the Macedonians but, on a deeper level, it is to be like Jesus. Sacrifice didn’t begin with us. We have the Lord Jesus as our example.
The psalmist declares that he will praise the Lord, that his hope is in God. Why? The Lord made everything, keeps faith, secures justice for the oppressed, gives food to the hungry, sets captives free, gives sight to the blind, raises up those who are bowed down, loves the just, and protects strangers. The Gospel verse before the Gospel quotes Jesus who said, “I give you a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.” The psalmist tells us how much God loves us. Jesus tells us to be like that. The Macedonians had gotten the message.
Jesus assures us that this love of God is not just for those who love us but even for our enemies. We are to love them even as God does. God doesn’t get up in the morning and decide that he will let the sun come out for Joe but not Sally. He doesn’t cut the rain off at the end of my neighbor’s property because he is just and I am unjust. No, he pours out his gifts on all, even those who hate him. Jesus says that the most notorious sinners act like that. God does not and he challenges us to be like God - praying for those who persecute us, greeting those who hate us, and treating people right, no matter how they treat us. This, he says, is to be perfect, just as our heavenly Father is perfect.
Why are they so happy, my children asked? There is a joy that fills our lives whether we have a lot or a little. For believers, it is the Spirit of a God who humbled himself, didn’t cling to his lofty position and privilege, and became poor for our sakes.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp
THE GREATEST LOVE
“My command to you is: love your enemies.” —Matthew 5:44 Loving our enemies means to treat them as well as or better than we treat our friends (see Mt 5:45; Lk 15:29).
Loving enemies means praying for them (Mt 5:44) to be blessed by the Lord and then answering our own prayer by bountifully giving to them (see 2 Cor 8:4-5; see also Lk 15:22ff).
Loving enemies means showing affection for them in a way they can receive it (Lk 15:20).
Loving enemies means honoring them in exceptional ways (Lk 15:22-24).
Loving enemies is obviously impossible. It is pure grace. It shows we are children of our heavenly Father (Mt 5:45) and perfected as He is perfect (Mt 5:48).
Loving enemies is shocking, prophetic, and evangelistic. When we truly love our enemies, Jesus’ death on the cross becomes luminous. When we love our enemies, countless knees bend and tongues proclaim: “Jesus Christ is Lord!” (Phil 2:10-11) By God’s grace, love your enemies!
Prayer: Father, I accept Your grace to do the impossible. I love my enemies.
Promise: “You are well acquainted with the favor shown you by our Lord Jesus Christ: how for your sake He made Himself poor though He was rich, so that you might become rich by His poverty.” —2 Cor 8:9
Praise: When someone asks Julie about her faith, she always prays, “Come, Holy Spirit,” and then she is often surprised at the beautiful words that come to her as she speaks.
http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/
What makes the disciples of Jesus different from others and what makes Christianity distinct from any other religion? It is grace - treating others, not as they deserve, but as God wishes them to be treated - with loving-kindness, forbearance, and mercy. God is good to the unjust as well as the just. His love embraces saint and sinner alike. God seeks our highest good and teaches us to seek the greatest good of others, even those who hate and abuse us.
Overcome evil with good
Our love for others, even those who are ungrateful and selfish towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and mercy which God has shown to us. It is easier to show kindness and mercy when we can expect to benefit from doing so. How much harder when we can expect nothing in return. Our prayer for those who do us ill both breaks the power of revenge and releases the power of love to do good in the face of evil.
Christ's redeeming love and mercy frees us from all hatred and malice towards others
How can we possibly love those who cause us harm or ill-will? With God all things are possible. He gives power and grace to those who believe and accept the gift of the Holy Spirit. His love conquers all, even our hurts, fears, prejudices and griefs. Only the cross of Jesus Christ can free us from the tyranny of malice, hatred, revenge, and resentment and gives us the courage to return evil with good. Such love and grace has power to heal and to save from destruction. Do you know the power of Christ's redeeming love and mercy?
Allow the Holy Spirit to change and transform the way you think, judge, and treat others
Was Jesus exaggerating when he said we must be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect? The original meaning of "perfect" in Aramaic is "completeness" or "wholeness - not lacking in what is essential." God gives us every good gift in Jesus Christ so that we may not lack anything we need to do his will and to live as his sons and daughters (2 Peter 1:3). He knows our weakness and sinfulness better than we do. And he assures us of his love, mercy, and grace to follow in his ways. Do you want to grow in your love for God and for your neighbor? Ask the Holy Spirit to change and transform you in the image of the Father that you may walk in the joy and freedom of the Gospel.
Lord Jesus, your love brings freedom and pardon. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and set my heart ablaze with your love that nothing may make me lose my temper, ruffle my peace, take away my joy, nor make me bitter towards anyone.
Psalm 146:1-2, 5-10
1 Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD, O my soul!
2 I will praise the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have being.
5 Happy is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God,
6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith for ever;
7 who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the prisoners free;
8 the LORD opens the eyes of the blind. The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous.
9 The LORD watches over the sojourners, he upholds the widow and the fatherless; but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 The LORD will reign for ever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the LORD!
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: Pray for those who persecute you, by John Chrysostom, 347-407 A.D.
"For neither did Christ simply command to love but to pray. Do you see how many steps he has ascended and how he has set us on the very summit of virtue? Mark it, numbering from the beginning. A first step is not to begin with injustice. A second, after one has begun, is not to vindicate oneself by retaliating in kind. A third, to refuse to respond in kind to the one who is injuring us but to remain tranquil. A fourth, even to offer up one's self to suffer wrongfully. A fifth, to give up even more than the wrongdoer wishes to take. A sixth, to refuse to hate one who has wronged us. A seventh, even to love such a one. An eighth, even to do good to that one. A ninth, to entreat God himself on our enemy's behalf. Do you perceive how elevated is a Christian disposition? Hence its reward is also glorious. (excerpt from THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 18.4)
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