Wednesday - June 14, 2017
Courage, my sons, Don't you see that we are leaving on a mission? They pay our fare in the bargain. What a piece of good luck! The thing to do now is to pray well in order to win as many souls as possible. Let us, then, tell the Blessed Virgin that we are content, and that she can do with us anything she wishes.
-- St. Maximilian Kolbe
TODAY'S READINGS
June 14, 2017
Wednesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 361
Reading 12 COR 3:4-11
Brothers and sisters:Such confidence we have through Christ toward God.
Not that of ourselves we are qualified to take credit
for anything as coming from us;
rather, our qualification comes from God,
who has indeed qualified us as ministers of a new covenant,
not of letter but of spirit;
for the letter brings death, but the Spirit gives life.
Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, was so glorious
that the children of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses
because of its glory that was going to fade,
how much more will the ministry of the Spirit be glorious?
For if the ministry of condemnation was glorious,
the ministry of righteousness will abound much more in glory.
Indeed, what was endowed with glory
has come to have no glory in this respect
because of the glory that surpasses it.
For if what was going to fade was glorious,
how much more will what endures be glorious.
Responsorial PsalmPS 99:5, 6, 7, 8, 9
R. (see 9c) Holy is the Lord our God.Extol the LORD, our God,
and worship at his footstool;
holy is he!
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,
and Samuel, among those who called upon his name;
they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
From the pillar of cloud he spoke to them;
they heard his decrees and the law he gave them.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
O LORD, our God, you answered them;
a forgiving God you were to them,
though requiting their misdeeds.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
Extol the LORD, our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for holy is the LORD, our God.
R. Holy is the Lord our God.
AlleluiaPS 25:4B, 5A
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Teach me your paths, my God,
and guide me in your truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 5:17-19
Jesus said to his disciples:"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the Kingdom of heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these commandments
will be called greatest in the Kingdom of heaven."
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Trading up to a Higher Glory
Jesus says in today's Gospel that he came to fulfill the law, which he accomplished through his total obedience. By never sinning and always doing the Father's will, even when he wanted to resist it (remember his struggle in the Garden of Gethsemane), he could establish a new covenant. This covenant brings out the true intentions of the law -- the spirit of the law, the "ministry of the Spirit" -- which calls us to higher standards than the old covenant did.
Sometimes we confuse these higher standards with perfectionism, as if we can get to heaven by obeying Church laws and rules and liturgical norms. We focus on obedience to the letter of the law while forgetting the Spirit of the law. The new covenant is life in the Holy Spirit, which has us imitating Christ in everything we do, which brings us into full obedience to God.
The difference between an old covenant and new covenant relationship with God is love. If we serve God because we love him, we also love everyone whom he loves (which is EVERYone). This love is evidenced in how willingly we serve them. Although we might grow tired or feel hurt or face unpleasant tasks, we always want to do more for him. We're not satisfied with being mediocre, because Jesus wasn't mediocre, and so we do our best to excel.
If we serve God only out of obedience, we're attempting to get to heaven by the old covenant. This is evidenced in how much we're motivated by guilt instead of love. For example: "I'm doing this because the pastor asked me. If I say no, he won't like me, or maybe God won't like me and a bolt of lightning will soon zap me." Any glory of being in ministry for God fades. Our enthusiasm wanes. We grumble about the work. We take short-cuts to get the job done.
One of the greatest glories a person can have is to give Jesus to others. However, whether as a priest who consecrates the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ or as a deacon or lay person who distributes the Eucharist, although we do this because we love Jesus who's present in the Eucharist, if we do not also love each person who comes to us to receive Jesus -- in Mass and in everyday life -- we're not really loving Jesus either.
The Spirit of the law is love. Jesus fulfilled the old covenant on our behalf so that he could raise us up into a ministry of love that's lived every moment of every day.
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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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