Friday - August 03, 2018
The family is the most ancient institution which God founded in Paradise, when He called the first pair of human beings into existence. The first blessing which God gave was for the well being of the family. With family life, the history of the world commences.
-- St. John Vianney
August 3, 2018
Friday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 405
Reading 1JER 26:1-9
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim,
son of Josiah, king of Judah,
this message came from the LORD:
Thus says the LORD:
Stand in the court of the house of the LORD
and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah
who come to worship in the house of the LORD;
whatever I command you, tell them, and omit nothing.
Perhaps they will listen and turn back,
each from his evil way,
so that I may repent of the evil I have planned to inflict upon them
for their evil deeds.
Say to them: Thus says the LORD:
If you disobey me,
not living according to the law I placed before you
and not listening to the words of my servants the prophets,
whom I send you constantly though you do not obey them,
I will treat this house like Shiloh,
and make this the city to which all the nations of the earth
shall refer when cursing another.
Now the priests, the prophets, and all the people
heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the LORD.
When Jeremiah finished speaking
all that the LORD bade him speak to all the people,
the priests and prophets laid hold of him, crying,
"You must be put to death!
Why do you prophesy in the name of the LORD:
'This house shall be like Shiloh,' and
'This city shall be desolate and deserted'?"
And all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
son of Josiah, king of Judah,
this message came from the LORD:
Thus says the LORD:
Stand in the court of the house of the LORD
and speak to the people of all the cities of Judah
who come to worship in the house of the LORD;
whatever I command you, tell them, and omit nothing.
Perhaps they will listen and turn back,
each from his evil way,
so that I may repent of the evil I have planned to inflict upon them
for their evil deeds.
Say to them: Thus says the LORD:
If you disobey me,
not living according to the law I placed before you
and not listening to the words of my servants the prophets,
whom I send you constantly though you do not obey them,
I will treat this house like Shiloh,
and make this the city to which all the nations of the earth
shall refer when cursing another.
Now the priests, the prophets, and all the people
heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the LORD.
When Jeremiah finished speaking
all that the LORD bade him speak to all the people,
the priests and prophets laid hold of him, crying,
"You must be put to death!
Why do you prophesy in the name of the LORD:
'This house shall be like Shiloh,' and
'This city shall be desolate and deserted'?"
And all the people gathered about Jeremiah in the house of the LORD.
Responsorial PsalmPS 69:5, 8-10, 14
R. (14c) Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Those outnumber the hairs of my head
who hate me without cause.
Too many for my strength
are they who wrongfully are my enemies.
Must I restore what I did not steal?
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Since for your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my mother’s sons,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
But I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Those outnumber the hairs of my head
who hate me without cause.
Too many for my strength
are they who wrongfully are my enemies.
Must I restore what I did not steal?
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Since for your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my mother’s sons,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
But I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.
Alleluia1 PT 1:25
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of the Lord remains forever;
this is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of the Lord remains forever;
this is the word that has been proclaimed to you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 13:54-58
Jesus came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.
They were astonished and said,
“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter’s son?
Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us?
Where did this man get all this?”
And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house.”
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.
They were astonished and said,
“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
Is he not the carpenter’s son?
Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us?
Where did this man get all this?”
And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house.”
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.
******************************
THE BLESSING OF BEING REJECTED
Do you feel opposed? Treated unjustly? Are there friends who wrongfully reject what you've said, as if you're an enemy trying to hurt them or mislead them? Are you bearing insults because of your faith? Do your own family members outcast you because of your zeal for the house of God? If so, Psalm 69 is your song!
The prophet Jeremiah felt the same way. As we see in today's first reading, he delivered the message that God had commissioned him to speak, and the people hated him for it. Whenever we stand up for the truth, there are always those who resent us. But if we've spoken with compassion, without an attitude of superiority, and with genuine concern for others, the only reason we get rejected is that they prefer to live in darkness.
Jesus understands how you feel. In today's Gospel reading, he was disbelieved simply because he was too familiar to the people of his home town. They remembered him as Joseph's kid or maybe as a baby conceived illegitimately. Their memories of his youthfulness distracted them from seeing his true identity as the Savior of the world. Similarly, you and I are rejected by those who know us too well.
Rather than get upset about this, we should use it to deepen our own humility. Being accepted by God should be our primary goal; it's only his opinion of us that really matters. As long as God approves of us, the fact that others accept us or reject us is a moot point.
As a matter of fact, being rejected by the very people who should praise us is beneficial to our spiritual growth! St. Teresa of Avila said: "God deliver us from people who wish to serve him yet who are mindful of their own honor" (from "The Way of Perfection", chapter 12). When we want to be accepted because it feels good, we're caught in the trap of self-centeredness. St. Teresa called it the temptation of "vainglory" (vanity); to do God's will and then expect others to praise us for it is a "poison" that is "fatal to perfection" (it destroys the love and holiness within us).
We should want nothing but to please God and we should expect no reward but his happiness.
It's difficult to remain humble while being accepted and praised. It's harder still when, after being rejected, we become focused on "I'm right! They're wrong!" When we exercise humility, we mourn the darkness in the other person's soul more than we cry about being rejected. In humility, we pray: "Lord, replace my anger and my self-pity with tears of concern."
Thus we become united to the healing wounds of Jesus, and the rejection no longer stings as a personal attack.
Forgive me Lord, because my pride so often controls me. Make me humble to be aware of my poverty and to place my strength in You only, and to serve my brothers and sisters. Amen.
God Bless You.....
Rosary Family
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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