Friday - June 16, 2017
When anyone reposes all his confidence in God, God continually exercises a special protection over him, and in this state of things he can be assured that no evil will happen to him.
-- St. Vincent de Paul
TODAY'S READINGS
June 16, 2017
Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 363
Reading 12 COR 4:7-15
Brothers and sisters:We hold this treasure in earthen vessels,
that the surpassing power may be of God and not from us.
We are afflicted in every way, but not constrained;
perplexed, but not driven to despair;
persecuted, but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed;
always carrying about in the Body the dying of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body.
For we who live are constantly being given up to death
for the sake of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Since, then, we have the same spirit of faith,
according to what is written, "I believed, therefore I spoke,"
we too believe and therefore speak,
knowing that the one who raised the Lord Jesus
will raise us also with Jesus
and place us with you in his presence.
Everything indeed is for you,
so that the grace bestowed in abundance on more and more people
may cause the thanksgiving to overflow for the glory of God.
Responsorial PsalmPS 116:10-11, 15-16, 17-18
R. (17a) To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.or:
R. Alleluia.
I believed, even when I said,
"I am greatly afflicted";
I said in my alarm,
"No man is dependable."
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
in the presence of all his people.
R. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise.
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaPHIL 2:15D, 16A
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Shine like lights in the world,
as you hold on to the word of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 5:27-32
Jesus said to his disciples:"You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.
But I say to you,
everyone who looks at a woman with lust
has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
If your right eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna.
And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to lose one of your members
than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
"It was also said,
Whoever divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
But I say to you,
whoever divorces his wife (unless the marriage is unlawful)
causes her to commit adultery,
and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery."
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Why does Jesus speak so strongly about adultery?
Attached to this message, like a top priority and a bottom line, is a warning about adultery. If we even just look at someone with lust, we commit adultery. If we have a valid marriage but divorce and remarry, we commit adultery (which is why the Church requires people to first prove that previous marriages were not true marriages before accepting another wedding).
Whatever contributes to adultery should be cut off, tossed away, ended, stopped, with no room for excuses and rationalizations.
Why is adultery so hugely significant as a sin? Why does Jesus speak so strongly about it? Why does he attach it to this particular teaching? Because relationships are the most important part of life. We can't get to heaven without them!
The Father wants to -- really, really, longingly wants to -- spend eternity in wonderful relationships with his children. Jesus cared to the point of enduring a painful death to secure our future in heaven. The Holy Spirit works to make sure we have a good relationship with him here and now and forever more. And Jesus made it clear that the road to heaven is paved with love for one another.
Lust destroys relationships. When people are in lust (instead of in love), their relationship with God is ignored or -- worse -- broken. When one person inflicts his/her lust upon another, a wounded victim emerges.
We still remember all too well the scandal of representatives of Christ violating children with their lust, and we rightfully mourn because Christ himself has been violated by such terrible representation. But no less adulterous is lust toward an adult. We live in a world where lust between consenting adults despite marital status and gender is considered a healthy expression of love and the fulfillment of an important physical need. No one's a victim, it seems, and therefore, why take a stand against it?
And yet, there is a victim. Lust is a violation of the image of Christ. It destroys the message of God's fidelity. Lust in any form toward anyone is anti-evangelization.
We're earthen vessels, as it says in today's first reading, vulnerable to sin, belonging too much to the world, easily cracked. Nonetheless, we hold an important treasure within: God. With the help of God's Holy Spirit, we can conquer our sinful desires and develop a pure love for God and empower a faithful, holy witness of love for others that helps more people embrace the pure love of Christ.
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God Bless You.....
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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