Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 06-26-15, OM, St. Josemaría Escrivá, Priest

When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said: “I am God the Almighty. Walk in my presence and be blameless.”

God also said to Abraham: “On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised.”

God further said to Abraham: “As for your wife Sarai, do not call her Sarai; her name shall be Sarah. I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. Him also will I bless; he shall give rise to nations, and rulers of peoples shall issue from him.” Abraham prostrated himself and laughed as he said to himself, “Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Or can Sarah give birth at ninety?”

Then Abraham said to God, “Let but Ishmael live on by your favor!” God replied: “Nevertheless, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son, and you shall call him Isaac. I will maintain my covenant with him as an everlasting pact, to be his God and the God of his descendants after him. As for Ishmael, I am heeding you: I hereby bless him. I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall become the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation.

But my covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next year.” When he had finished speaking with him, God departed from Abraham.

Blessed are you who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways! For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork; blessed shall you be, and favored.

Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine in the recesses of your home; Your children like olive plants around your table.

Behold, thus is the man blessed who fears the LORD. The LORD bless you from Zion: may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.

When Jesus came down from the mountain, great crowds followed him. And then a leper approached, did him homage, and said, “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.”

He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately.

Then Jesus said to him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses prescribed; that will be proof for them.”

From: Genesis 17:1, 9-10, 15-22

The Renewal of the Covenant: Abram’s Name is Changed

[1] When Abram was ninety-nine years old the LORD appeared to Abram, and
said to him, “I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless.

[9] And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you
and your descendants after you throughout their generations. [10] This is my co-
venant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your descendants after
you: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

Abahram Will Have a Son by Sarah

[15] And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her
name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. [16] I will bless her, and moreover I
will give you a son by her; I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations;
kings of peoples shall come from her.” [17] Then Abraham fell on his face and
laughed, and said to himself, “Shall a child be born to a man who is a hundred
years old? Shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” [18] And Abra-
ham said to God, “O that Ishmael might live in thy sight!” [19] God said, “No,
but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I
will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descen-
dants after him. [20] As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I will bless him
and make him fruitful and multiply him exceedingly; he shall be the father of
twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. [21] But I will establish my
covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this season next year.”
[22] When he had finished taking with him, God went up from Abraham.

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Commentary:

17:1-27. If previously, in chapter 15, the text stressed the way the promise was
linked to God’s covenant with Abraham, it now shows the duties it placed on the
patriarchs and their descendants — to be holy, to acknowledge the one true God
and to practise the rite of circumcision. The covenant, as we have seen, had its
origin in an initiative on God’s part, but it also commits man. In Abraham’s case
this commitment involves in accepting circumcision as a commandment from
God to himself and his descendants.

17:1. “El-Shaddai” is the name the patriarchs often gave to God (cf 28:3; 35:11;
43:14; 48:3; 49:25), because the name “Yahweh” had not yet been revealed (cf.
Ex 3:13-14). Following the earliest Greek version (the Septuagint) it is usually
translated as “God Almighty” (which is the RSV practice), although it could also
mean ‘‘God of the mountains’’ or “God of abundance”. By recording the names
the patriarchs used when referring to God or invoking him, the Bible is, on the
one hand, identifying the God the patriarchs worshipped with Yahweh, the God
of the Sinai Covenant; and on the other hand, it is showing the way God reveals
himself gradually over the course of time.

God asks Abraham to live in his presence and to be perfect. The two things are
closely connected: “This is the only way to avoid falling.’’ Clement of Alexandria
points out: “being conscious that God is always at our side” (”Paedagogus,” 3,
33, 3). This is the first time in the Bible that God tells a human being to be per-
fect, “blameless”. This call, here addressed to Abraham, will be extended by
Jesus to all mankind (cf. Mt 5:48).

17:5. Abraham is the first person in biblical history to have his name changed by
God. By doing this God is conferring a new personality and a new mission, as
can be seen from the meaning of his new name, ‘‘father of a multitude of nations’’.

This name, therefore, is linked to the promise attached to the Covenant; from
now on, the entire personality of the patriarch stems from the Covenant and is
subservient to it. Abraham is the “father of the Covenant”; in the light of New Tes-
tament revelation St Paul will interpret this new name of Abraham as having a
connexion with Gentiles converted to Christianity (cf. Rom 4:17). This name,
“father of a multitude of nations” becomes, therefore, a prophetic announcement
of the fact that the non-Jewish world will in due course become part of the people
of the New Covenant, the Church.

17:10-14. Circumcision, which consists in a circular cutting of part of the foreskin,
may originally have been a sexual and marriage initiation rite of a type widespread
in the ancient Near East. Reasons of hygiene may have played a part in its use.
The people of Israel regarded it as a divine commandment involved in the Cove-
nant, and as a distinguishing mark to show membership of the people of God. It
is easy to see why Christian tradition regards circumcision as prefiguring Bap-
tism. “Jesus ‘circumcision’, on the eighth day after his birth (cf. Lk 2:21), is the
sign of his incorporation into Abraham’s descendants, into the people of the co-
venant. It is the sign of his submission to the Law (cf. Gal 4:4) and his deputa-
tion to Israel’s worship, in which he will participate throughout his life. This sign
prefigures that ‘circumcision of Christ’ which is Baptism (Col 2:11-13)” “(Cate-
chism of the Catholic Church, 527)”. In the new economy of salvation that sign
would no longer serve any purpose: ‘For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision
nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love” (Gal 5:6).

17:15-22. The carrying into effect of God’s plan (cf. the promise in chap. 15) is
going to exceed Abraham’s expectations. True, he already does have a son, lsh-
mael, by the slave-girl Hagar according to the customs of the time, that is, in ac-
cord with human laws and recourses. But it is not through this son that God is
going to keep his promise, but through a son to be born of Sarah, and whose
birth will clearly reveal the power of God.

Sarah, Abraham’s wife, is also going to have a direct involvement in the way the
promise is fulfilled. And so she too is going to be given a new name, to show the
new personality she acquires by sharing directly in God’s designs through her
motherhood. This is what Abraham is now told.

Abraham ‘s laugh (as also Sarah’s in the next chapter: cf. 18:12-14) conveys the
astonishment the announcement causes (it seems unbelievable); it is also con-
nected with the name of the child who will he born — Isaac (cf. the note on 21: 1-
7). However, Abraham keeps on thinking in terms of the son he already has, lsh-
mael. He too will be the recipient of divine blessings: he will become the father of
a great nation, the lshmaelites, or Arabs. But the patriarch is now asked for a
new act of faith in God despite the fact that they are both old, to expect Sarah to
give birth to a son, who will be the protagonist in the Covenant, just like his father.
God’s actions, in effect, surpass man’s expectations.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Matthew 8:1-4

The Curing of a Leper

[1] When He (Jesus) came down from the mountain, great crowds followed Him;
[2] and behold, a leper came to Him and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You
will, You can make me clean.” [3] And He stretched out His hand and touched
him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. [4]
And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show your-
self to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to the
people.

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Commentary:

Chapters 8 and 9 of St. Matthew deal with a series of miracles worked by our
Lord. The first Christians had vivid experience of the fact that the glorified Jesus
was still present in His Church, confirming its teaching by signs, by miracles
(Mark 16:20; Acts 14:3).

And so, St. Matthew, after giving the nucleus of Jesus’ public teaching in the Ser-
mon on the Mount (Chapters 5-7), goes on now to gather a number of miracles to
support our Lord’s words. Some commentators call this section—Chapters 8 and
9—”the works of the Messiah”, paralleling what they called “the words of the Mes-
siah” (the Discourse on the Mount). In Chapters 5-7 we see Jesus as the su-
preme lawgiver and master who teaches with divine authority, a unique authority
superior to that held by Moses and the prophets. Now, in Chapters 8 and 9, He
is shown as endowed with divine authority over disease, death, the elements and
evil spirits. These miracles worked by Jesus Christ accredit the divine authority
of His teaching.

1. The Gospel draws attention, for the third time, to the huge crowds that flocked
to Jesus: literally, “many multitudes followed Him”. This shows the popularity
He had achieved: He was so popular that the Sanhedrin (the great council of the
Jewish nation) dared not arrest Him for fear of what the people would do (cf. Mat-
thew 21:46; 26:5; Mark 14:2). Later on, they would accuse Him before Pilate of
stirring up the whole country from Judea to Galilee. And we will see Herod Anti-
pas’ eagerness to meet Jesus, of whom he has heard so much (cf. Matthew
14:1). In contrast to this huge popularity, we find the elders opposing Him and
deceiving the people into calling for Jesus’ execution (cf. Matthew 27:20-22).

2. The Fathers have taken the following meaning from this cure: leprosy is a vivid
image of sin: it is ugly, disgusting, very contagious and difficult to cure. We are
all sinners and we are all in need of God’s forgiveness and grace (cf. Romans 3:
23-24). The leper in the Gospel knelt down before Jesus, in all humility and
trust, begging to be made clean. If we have recourse to our Savior with that kind
of faith, we can be sure than He will cure the wretchedness of our souls. We
should often address Christ with this short prayer, borrowed from the leper: “Lord,
if You will, You can make me clean.”

4. According to the Law of Moses (Leviticus 14), if a leper is cured of his disease,
he should present himself to a priest, who will register the cure and give him a cer-
tificate which he needs to be reintegrated into the civil and religious life of Israel.
Leviticus also prescribes the purifications and sacrifice he should offer. Jesus’
instruction to the leper is, then, in keeping with the normal way of fulfilling what
the laws laid down.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Readings at Mass

First reading

Genesis 17:1,9-10,15-22 ©

When Abram was ninety-nine years old the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘I am El Shaddai. Bear yourself blameless in my presence, and I will make a Covenant between myself and you. You on your part shall maintain my Covenant, yourself and your descendants after you, generation after generation. Now this is my Covenant which you are to maintain between myself and you, and your descendants after you: all your males must be circumcised.’

God said to Abraham, ‘As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her Sarai, but Sarah. I will bless her and moreover give you a son by her. I will bless her and nations shall come out of her; kings of peoples shall descend from her.’ Abraham bowed to the ground, and he laughed, thinking to himself, ‘Is a child to be born to a man one hundred years old, and will Sarah have a child at the age of ninety?’ Abraham said to God, ‘Oh, let Ishmael live in your presence!’ But God replied, ‘No, but your wife Sarah shall bear you a son whom you are to name Isaac. With him I will establish my Covenant, a Covenant in perpetuity, to be his God and the God of his descendants after him. For Ishmael too I grant you your request: I bless him and I will make him fruitful and greatly increased in numbers. He shall be the father of twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation. But my Covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear you at this time next year.’ When he had finished speaking to Abraham God went up from him.

Psalm

Psalm 127:1-5 ©

Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord

and walk in his ways!

By the labour of your hands you shall eat.

You will be happy and prosper.

Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

in the heart of your house;

your children like shoots of the olive,

around your table.

Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.

Indeed thus shall be blessed

the man who fears the Lord.

May the Lord bless you from Zion

all the days of your life!

Indeed the man shall be blessed, the man who fears the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

Ps144:13

Alleluia, alleluia!

The Lord is faithful in all his words

and loving in all his deeds.

Alleluia!

Mt8:17

Alleluia, alleluia!

He took our sicknesses away,

and carried our diseases for us.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 8:1-4 ©

After Jesus had come down from the mountain large crowds followed him. A leper now came up and bowed low in front of him. ‘Sir,’ he said ‘if you want to, you can cure me.’ Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him and said, ‘Of course I want to! Be cured!’ And his leprosy was cured at once. Then Jesus said to him, ‘Mind you do not tell anyone, but go and show yourself to the priest and make the offering prescribed by Moses, as evidence for them.’

Jesus, High Priest

We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry. Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.

Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.

Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.

Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.

Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.

O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.

Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests

This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.

The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.

The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.

Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.

St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)

5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

6. Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.

Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.

End with the Hail Holy Queen:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!

O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Final step -- The Sign of the Cross

The Mysteries of the Rosary By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary. The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.

The Sorrowful Mysteries

(Tuesdays and Fridays)

1. The Agony in the Garden (Matthew 26:36-46, Luke 22:39-46) [Spiritual fruit - God's will be done]
2. The Scourging at the Pillar (Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15, John 19:1) [Spiritual fruit - Mortification of the senses]
3. The Crowning with Thorns (Matthew 27:27-30, Mark 15:16-20, John 19:2) [Spiritual fruit - Reign of Christ in our heart]
4. The Carrying of the Cross (Matthew 27:31-32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26-32, John 19:17) [Spiritual fruit - Patient bearing of trials]
5. The Crucifixion (Matthew 27:33-56, Mark 15:22-39, Luke 23:33-49, John 19:17-37) [Spiritual fruit - Pardoning of Injuries]

http://dailygospel.org/main.php?language=AM&module=commentary&localdate=20150626

Friday of the Twelfth week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the day

Benedict XVI, pope from 2005 to 2013

Like action, suffering [in all its forms] is a part of our human existence. Suffering stems partly from our finitude, and partly from the mass of sin which has accumulated over the course of history, and continues to grow unabated today.

Certainly we must do whatever we can to reduce suffering: to avoid as far as possible the suffering of the innocent; to soothe pain; to give assistance in overcoming mental suffering. These are obligations both in justice and in love, and they are included among the fundamental requirements of the Christian life and every truly human life. Great progress has been made in the battle against physical pain; yet the sufferings of the innocent and mental suffering have, if anything, increased in recent decades.

Indeed, we must do all we can to overcome suffering, but to banish it from the world altogether is not in our power. This is simply because we are unable to shake off our finitude and because none of us is capable of eliminating the power of evil, of sin which, as we plainly see, is a constant source of suffering. Only God is able to do this: only a God who personally enters history by making himself man and suffering within history. We know that this God exists, and hence that this power to “take away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29) is present in the world.

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