GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Friday - July 07, 2023

 

Friday - July 07, 2023

He loves, He hopes, He waits. Our Lord prefers to wait Himself for the sinner for years rather than keep us waiting an instant.

~~St. Maria Goretti

July 7, 2023

Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 381

 

Reading I     

                                                                                                Gn 23:1-4, 19; 24:1-8, 62-67

 

The span of Sarah's life was one hundred and twenty-seven years.

She died in Kiriatharba (that is, Hebron)

in the land of Canaan,

and Abraham performed the customary mourning rites for her.

Then he left the side of his dead one and addressed the Hittites:

"Although I am a resident alien among you,

sell me from your holdings a piece of property for a burial ground,

that I may bury my dead wife."

 

After the transaction, Abraham buried his wife Sarah

in the cave of the field of Machpelah,

facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

 

Abraham had now reached a ripe old age,

and the LORD had blessed him in every way.

Abraham said to the senior servant of his household,

who had charge of all his possessions:

"Put your hand under my thigh,

and I will make you swear by the LORD,

the God of heaven and the God of earth,

that you will not procure a wife for my son

from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live,

but that you will go to my own land and to my kindred

to get a wife for my son Isaac."

The servant asked him:

"What if the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land?

Should I then take your son back to the land from which you migrated?"

"Never take my son back there for any reason," Abraham told him.

"The LORD, the God of heaven,

who took me from my father's house and the land of my kin,

and who confirmed by oath the promise he then made to me,

'I will give this land to your descendants'–

he will send his messenger before you,

and you will obtain a wife for my son there.

If the woman is unwilling to follow you,

you will be released from this oath.

But never take my son back there!"

 

A long time later, Isaac went to live in the region of the Negeb.

One day toward evening he went out . . . in the field,

and as he looked around, he noticed that camels were approaching.

Rebekah, too, was looking about, and when she saw him,

she alighted from her camel and asked the servant,

"Who is the man out there, walking through the fields toward us?"

"That is my master," replied the servant.

Then she covered herself with her veil.

 

The servant recounted to Isaac all the things he had done.

Then Isaac took Rebekah into his tent;

he married her, and thus she became his wife.

In his love for her, Isaac found solace

after the death of his mother Sarah.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                                          Ps 106:1b-2, 3-4a, 4b-5

 

R. (1b) Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

 

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,

for his mercy endures forever.

Who can tell the mighty deeds of the LORD,

or proclaim all his praises?

R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

 

Blessed are they who observe what is right,

who do always what is just.

Remember us, O LORD, as you favor your people.

R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

 

Visit me with your saving help,

That I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,

rejoice in the joy of your people,

and glory with your inheritance.

R. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

 

Alleluia         

 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                                       Mt 9:9-13

 

As Jesus passed by,

he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.

He said to him, ""Follow me.""

And he got up and followed him.

While he was at table in his house,

many tax collectors and sinners came

and sat with Jesus and his disciples.

The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,

""Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?""

He heard this and said,

""Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.

Go and learn the meaning of the words,

I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.""

 

**********************************

 The conversion power of mercy

What kind of sacrifice does God not want? In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus quotes from Hosea 6:6 (“It is mercy I desire and not sacrifice”) in order to emphasize that mercy is superior to the rules and rituals that were being legalistically enforced by the Pharisees. They believed that breaking any rule was a sin and needed to be atoned for in temple sacrifices. According to their understanding, Jesus was making himself impure by hanging out with sinners. What was Jesus going to sacrifice for this?

 

Regardless of what the Pharisees thought, it was the mercy of Jesus that motivated him to dine with sinners. It was his mercy that evangelized them and purified them — much more than any temple sacrifice. In contrast, the Pharisees’ hard stand about the rules had failed to prevent Matthew from cheating and stealing.

 

Rules without compassion do nothing but push people away from repentance. Threats of punishment and chastisements do nothing more than lead people to temporary repentance. How did you develop a close relationship with God? What made his love so real and desirable that it motivated you to grow in holiness? Not the rules and rituals of the Church. These help us grow stronger in our holiness, but they do nothing — permanently — to give us such a strong love for God that we want to repent of our sins.

 

First comes the love, then the rules and rituals become more meaningful. Legalistically insisting that others obey all rules and rituals perfectly is what pushes people away from God. Mercy is what turns them toward God, and once turned, they can finally understand the benefits of the rules and rituals.

 

So, how do we help those who break rules or neglect important rituals? If we care about them, we reach out to them like Jesus did with tax collectors. We enter into personal relationships with them and learn why they think it’s necessary to break the rules. We identify the need that their disobedience attempts to fill, and we share with them how God can fill that need better. This merciful approach can awaken new understanding and the desire to grow in holiness.

 

Mercy is love that’s undeserved. Mercy is what gets into the heart when love is blocked. God is the Lord of second chances. And third chances. And. … a gazillion million chances to finally get it right. He does not hit anyone with a bolt of lightning for breaking any law, not even the highest laws, the moral laws. Even the worst evil-doers in this world are receiving God’s mercy. Their only hope for changing is to recognize this mercy. Will you show it to the wrong-doers in your life?

 

Prayer

 

Lord, give me a merciful heart, able to look beyond rules and laws but not forgetting them, always seeking the good and salvation of 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!”