Saturday - August 11, 2018
Some say it is unreasonable to be courteous and gentle with a reckless person who insults you for no reason at all.
I have made a pact with my tongue;
not to speak when my heart is disturbed.
-- St. Francis de Sales
August 11, 2018
Memorial of Saint Clare, virgin
Lectionary: 412
Reading 1HAB 1:12—2:4
Are you not from eternity, O LORD,
my holy God, immortal?
O LORD, you have marked him for judgment,
O Rock, you have readied him punishment!
Too pure are your eyes to look upon evil,
and the sight of misery you cannot endure.
Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence
while the wicked man devours
one more just than himself?
You have made man like the fish of the sea,
like creeping things without a ruler.
He brings them all up with his hook,
he hauls them away with his net,
He gathers them in his seine;
and so he rejoices and exults.
Therefore he sacrifices to his net,
and burns incense to his seine;
for thanks to them his portion is generous,
and his repast sumptuous.
Shall he, then, keep on brandishing his sword
to slay peoples without mercy?
I will stand at my guard post,
and station myself upon the rampart,
And keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what answer he will give to my complaint.
Then the LORD answered me and said:
Write down the vision
Clearly upon the tablets,
so that one can read it readily.
For the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
If it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late.
The rash man has no integrity;
but the just man, because of his faith, shall live.
my holy God, immortal?
O LORD, you have marked him for judgment,
O Rock, you have readied him punishment!
Too pure are your eyes to look upon evil,
and the sight of misery you cannot endure.
Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence
while the wicked man devours
one more just than himself?
You have made man like the fish of the sea,
like creeping things without a ruler.
He brings them all up with his hook,
he hauls them away with his net,
He gathers them in his seine;
and so he rejoices and exults.
Therefore he sacrifices to his net,
and burns incense to his seine;
for thanks to them his portion is generous,
and his repast sumptuous.
Shall he, then, keep on brandishing his sword
to slay peoples without mercy?
I will stand at my guard post,
and station myself upon the rampart,
And keep watch to see what he will say to me,
and what answer he will give to my complaint.
Then the LORD answered me and said:
Write down the vision
Clearly upon the tablets,
so that one can read it readily.
For the vision still has its time,
presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;
If it delays, wait for it,
it will surely come, it will not be late.
The rash man has no integrity;
but the just man, because of his faith, shall live.
Responsorial PsalmPS 9:8-9, 10-11, 12-13
R. (11b) You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.
The LORD sits enthroned forever;
he has set up his throne for judgment.
He judges the world with justice;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.
The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of distress.
They trust in you who cherish your name,
for you forsake not those who seek you, O LORD.
R. You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.
Sing praise to the LORD enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations his deeds;
For the avenger of blood has remembered;
he has not forgotten the cry of the poor.
R. You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.
The LORD sits enthroned forever;
he has set up his throne for judgment.
He judges the world with justice;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.
The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of distress.
They trust in you who cherish your name,
for you forsake not those who seek you, O LORD.
R. You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.
Sing praise to the LORD enthroned in Zion;
proclaim among the nations his deeds;
For the avenger of blood has remembered;
he has not forgotten the cry of the poor.
R. You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.
AlleluiaSEE 2 TM 1:10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 17:14-20
A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said,
"Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely;
often he falls into fire, and often into water.
I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him."
Jesus said in reply,
"O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you?
How long will I endure you?
Bring the boy here to me."
Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him,
and from that hour the boy was cured.
Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said,
"Why could we not drive it out?"
He said to them, "Because of your little faith.
Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there,' and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you."
"Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely;
often he falls into fire, and often into water.
I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him."
Jesus said in reply,
"O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you?
How long will I endure you?
Bring the boy here to me."
Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him,
and from that hour the boy was cured.
Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said,
"Why could we not drive it out?"
He said to them, "Because of your little faith.
Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain,
'Move from here to there,' and it will move.
Nothing will be impossible for you."
******************************
HE SENT US TO HEAL
This Saturday's Gospel reading begins like this: "... when they came to the crowd ..." Where was Jesus coming from? Where had he been?
It is important to remember that Jesus, Peter, James and John had just come down from Mount Tabor where the Transfiguration of Jesus had occurred, and they heard the Father's voice saying: "This is my beloved son, listen to him." The three apostles, after such a strong experience, were probably shaken as they headed down the mount.
Something similar happens to us when we go to a retreat and "taste" God's presence. We feel like we're "walking on the clouds". Everything around us seems changed. We perceive the peace that only Jesus can give, and we ourselves feel transformed. Of course, after finishing the retreat, we do not feel like leaving; we would like to stay there for the rest of our lives. As Peter said: "Let us make three tents ..." (Mark 9:5).
But that is not what God has planned for his followers. There will be time to spend eternity with him. Now we are urged by other priorities.
Note that as soon as they arrive where the people were, they bring to Jesus a young man who suffered frequent attacks that threatened to kill him. Some translations say that he was an "epileptic", others a "lunatic" and others a "demoniac". The important thing is that a simple man, a family man, anguished and suffering for his sick son, was not ashamed to kneel before a man (at that time Jesus was thought to be only a prophet, a teacher) and pray for the health of his little child. Such was his despair.
So the taste of Mount Tabor can wait. The three tents to enjoy staying in can wait, because these little ones are desperately waiting for us.
Of course we need a mountaintop experience like the Tabor; we do need to remain for a while in the "tents" because, if it were not for that "face to face" encounter with Jesus, we would not have the strength to face what is awaiting us in the plains, among the crowds.
The followers of Christ are called to "expel" the demons who try to kill those who have not yet discovered Jesus. We are called to heal so many people who are attacked, from different places, by always the same enemy, the one who only wants to steal, kill and destroy.
But, as happened to the disciples of Jesus, sometimes our strength fails. Sometimes we feel that there is very little we can do, and then we lower our arms and say: "It's all lost."
"No!" Jesus shouts at us. He has put all of his riches and resources at our disposal to bring an end to the devastation the enemy wants to make. There is only one requirement that the Lord asks of us: to have faith.
Of course we all received the gift of faith in our Baptisms, the so-called "Theological Faith". But there is another faith, so to say, the one that "moves mountains".
St. Paul says in the 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, verse 9: "Another receives the gift of faith, in which the Spirit acts." This is the faith we must ask for. This is the faith that, "though as small as a mustard seed", has the power to achieve that which is beyond human forces.
Do you think you are worthy of this faith? Of course you are! You, me and all of us who call ourselves followers of Christ must ask for it! Only with this faith, alive and active in us, will we be able to expel these demons that are killing our children, young people and aged ones.
But, just as Peter, James and John needed a "Tabor-like-experience", so do we. It is in intimacy with Jesus and his Love, Mercy and Forgiveness.
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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