DAILY GOSPEL: 24/07/2010
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68
Saturday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time
Book of Jeremiah 7:1-11.
The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Stand at the gate of the house of the LORD, and there proclaim this message: Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LORD!
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Reform your ways and your deeds, so that I may remain with you in this place.
Put not your trust in the deceitful words: "This is the temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD!"
Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds; if each of you deals justly with his neighbor;
if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place, or follow strange gods to your own harm,
will I remain with you in this place, in the land which I gave your fathers long ago and forever.
But here you are, putting your trust in deceitful words to your own loss!
Are you to steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, go after strange gods that you know not,
and yet come to stand before me in this house which bears my name, and say: "We are safe; we can commit all these abominations again"?
Has this house which bears my name become in your eyes a den of thieves? I too see what is being done, says the LORD.
Psalms 84:3.4.5-6.8.11.
My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the LORD. My heart and flesh cry out for the living God.
As the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest to settle her young, My home is by your altars, LORD of hosts, my king and my God!
Happy are those who dwell in your house! They never cease to praise you. Selah
Happy are those who find refuge in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrim roads.
They pass through outer and inner wall and see the God of gods on Zion.
Better one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. Better the threshold of the house of my God than a home in the tents of the wicked.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 13:24-30.
He proposed another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?'
He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Stand at the gate of the house of the LORD, and there proclaim this message: Hear the word of the LORD, all you of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LORD!
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Reform your ways and your deeds, so that I may remain with you in this place.
Put not your trust in the deceitful words: "This is the temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD! The temple of the LORD!"
Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds; if each of you deals justly with his neighbor;
if you no longer oppress the resident alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place, or follow strange gods to your own harm,
will I remain with you in this place, in the land which I gave your fathers long ago and forever.
But here you are, putting your trust in deceitful words to your own loss!
Are you to steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, go after strange gods that you know not,
and yet come to stand before me in this house which bears my name, and say: "We are safe; we can commit all these abominations again"?
Has this house which bears my name become in your eyes a den of thieves? I too see what is being done, says the LORD.
Psalms 84:3.4.5-6.8.11.
My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the LORD. My heart and flesh cry out for the living God.
As the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest to settle her young, My home is by your altars, LORD of hosts, my king and my God!
Happy are those who dwell in your house! They never cease to praise you. Selah
Happy are those who find refuge in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrim roads.
They pass through outer and inner wall and see the God of gods on Zion.
Better one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. Better the threshold of the house of my God than a home in the tents of the wicked.
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 13:24-30.
He proposed another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?'
He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
Mt 13,24-30
Saint John Chrysostom (c.345-407), priest at Antioch then Bishop of Constantinople, Doctor of the Church
Homilies on the Gospel of Saint Mathieu, 46, 1-2
The parable of the weeds
It is always the devil's way to mix the truth with errors draped in the outward appearance and hues of truth, in such a way as more easily to lead astray those who permit themselves to be deceived. That is why Our Lord only speaks of weeds since these are plants that look like wheat. He then describes how he goes about deceiving «while people are sleeping». From this we see the serious danger run by leaders, especially those to whom has been entrusted the care of the field. Moreover, this danger does not only threaten leaders but their subordinates too. And this also shows us how error follows truth... Christ tells us this to teach us not to fall asleep..., from which there arises the need of vigilant watching. Which is why he said: «Whoever stands firm to the end will be saved» (Mt 10,22)...
Now consider the servants' zeal: they want to collect the weeds at once. Even if they fall short in reflexion this does at least prove their care for the harvest. They are only concerned about one thing: not to avenge themselves on the one who had sown the weeds but to save the harvest – hence they attempt to get rid of the evil altogether... What does the Lord say then?... He stops them for two reasons: first, from fear of harming the wheat; second, the conviction that punishment will inevitably strike down those afflicted by this mortal sickness. If we want them to be punished without the harvest suffering from it, let us wait for the proper moment... Moreover, perhaps some portion of those weeds will be turned into wheat? So if you pull them up now you will damage the future harvest by pulling up the ones that may change to something better.
Now consider the servants' zeal: they want to collect the weeds at once. Even if they fall short in reflexion this does at least prove their care for the harvest. They are only concerned about one thing: not to avenge themselves on the one who had sown the weeds but to save the harvest – hence they attempt to get rid of the evil altogether... What does the Lord say then?... He stops them for two reasons: first, from fear of harming the wheat; second, the conviction that punishment will inevitably strike down those afflicted by this mortal sickness. If we want them to be punished without the harvest suffering from it, let us wait for the proper moment... Moreover, perhaps some portion of those weeds will be turned into wheat? So if you pull them up now you will damage the future harvest by pulling up the ones that may change to something better.
 Saint Christina, Virgin and Martyr († c. 300)SAINT CHRISTINA Virgin and Martyr († c. 300) St. Christina was the daughter of a rich and powerful magistrate named Urbain. Her father, who was deep in the practices of heathenism, had a number of golden idols, which our Saint destroyed, and distributed the pieces among the poor. Infuriated by this act, Urbain became the persecutor of his daughter; he had her whipped with rods and then thrown into a dungeon. Christina remained unshaken in her faith. Her tormentor then had her body torn by iron hooks, and fastened her to a rack beneath which a fire was kindled. But God watched over his servant and turned the flames upon the lookers-on. Christina was next seized, a heavy stone tied about her neck, and she was thrown into the lake of Bolsena, but she was saved by an angel, and outlived her father, who died of spite. Later, this martyr suffered the most inhuman torments under the judge who succeeded her father, and finally was thrown into a burning furnace, where she remained, unhurt, for five days. By the power of Christ she overcame the serpents among which she was thrown; then her tongue was cut out, and afterwards, being pierced with arrows, she gained the martyr's crown at Tyro, a city which formerly stood on an island in the lake of Bolsena in Italy, but was long since swallowed up by the waters. Her relics are now at Palermo in Sicily. | |
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