GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Friday - June 23, 2023

  

Friday - June 23, 2023

The school of Christ is the school of charity. 

On the last day, when the general examination takes place, there will be no question at all on the text of Aristotle, the aphorisms of Hippocrates, or the paragraphs of Justinian. Charity will be the whole syllabus.

~~St. Robert Bellermine

June 23, 2023

Friday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 369

 

Reading I     

                                                                                                2 Cor 11:18, 21-30

 

Brothers and sisters:

Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast.

To my shame I say that we were too weak!

 

But what anyone dares to boast of

(I am speaking in foolishness)

I also dare.

Are they Hebrews? So am I.

Are they children of Israel? So am I.

Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

Are they ministers of Christ?

(I am talking like an insane person).

I am still more, with far greater labors,

far more imprisonments, far worse beatings,

and numerous brushes with death.

Five times at the hands of the Jews

I received forty lashes minus one.

Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned,

three times I was shipwrecked,

I passed a night and a day on the deep;

on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers,

dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race,

dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city,

dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea,

dangers among false brothers;

in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights,

through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings,

through cold and exposure.

And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me

of my anxiety for all the churches.

Who is weak, and I am not weak?

Who is led to sin, and I am not indignant?

 

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                                          PS 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

 

R. (see 18b) From all their distress God rescues the just.

 

I will bless the LORD at all times;

his praise shall be ever in my mouth.

Let my soul glory in the LORD;

the lowly will hear me and be glad.

R. From all their distress God rescues the just.

Glorify the LORD with me,

let us together extol his name.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

R. From all their distress God rescues the just.

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,

and your faces may not blush with shame.

When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,

and from all his distress he saved him.

R. From all their distress God rescues the just.

 

Alleluia         

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are the poor in spirit;

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           Mt 6:19-23

 

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth,

where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal.

But store up treasures in heaven,

where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

 

“The lamp of the body is the eye.

If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light;

but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.

And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.”

 

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Identifying your real treasures

If we cannot see or envision what our real treasures are, then we’re blind, says Jesus in today’s Gospel reading. If we consider as valuable anything that can decay or could be stolen from us, we’re living in the darkness of a world-view that is bleak, cynical, and discouraging.

 

Look at our first reading to see how much St. Paul suffered in his passion for serving the kingdom of God. And yet, he wasn’t feeling bleak, cynical, or discouraged. He wasn’t complaining. Why not? Because he knew that his work was valuable. He understood that eternal treasures come from pressing on through hardships and sacrifices and boldly facing danger for the sake of the salvation of others.

 

Take a close look — in the Light of Christ — at your treasures, your real treasures. What talents do you have? They are gifts from God. What pearls of wisdom or gems of unconditional love or diamonds of trust have you gained from hardship? They will last forever and eternally benefit others if you use them well.

 

How do your weaknesses become treasures that produce hope and glorify God? If you learn from mistakes, or if you overcome a sinful tendency, or if you crumble in trials but return to your daily pressures with strength from the Holy Spirit, you’re collecting treasures beyond measure. The value of these treasures is in the good that they do for others.

 

God doesn’t withhold anything good from us. We, however, walk around rotting in hopelessness, feeling empty, unless we open ourselves to receive the treasures of heaven. This requires recognizing their true value in regards to other people. If we value earthly treasures, toiling to collect them only for our own sake, we will have nothing to take with us to heaven, nor do we have anything now that will give us long-lasting joy on earth.

 

Many people have learned this the hard way: losing jobs, unable to find new employment, being foreclosed out of their homes, forced to reprioritize their spending habits. There is great value in learning from economic hardships. As a society and as individuals, we need to trust God and become more charitable, more freely sharing with others whatever wealth we have, even if we don’t think it’s wealth at all.

 

Earthly goods are to be used for the kingdom of God. If we’re willing to share our possessions with others, it’s not a sin to have an abundance of them. God wants to be generous with us so that we become distributors of his goodness. Affluence is not bad, but it’s also not the real treasure. What we do with affluence produces the true treasures — or else it decays our souls.

 

Our souls are enlivened and enriched when our motive for having what we have and for getting what we dream of getting is to aid that which is eternal in others. Do we want to use our possessions in the service of God’s kingdom? Or are they serving only earthly, temporary, selfish purposes?

 

Only by spreading the love of God do we accumulate treasures that we’ll be able to enjoy for all of eternity. And if we have to endure hardships and make sacrifices to get it done, then the treasures are precious indeed!

 

Prayer

 

Lord, free me from attachments and from an earthly focus that’s burdened with worries. May my eyes be fixed on You, always seeking what is good and true, to lead me to You and to my brothers and sisters. Amen.

 

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”