THE GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Monday - July 17, 2023

 

Monday - July 17, 2023

In her voyage across the ocean of this world,  the Church is like a great ship being pounded by the waves of life's different stresses. Our duty is not to abandon the ship but to keep her on her course.

 

- - Saint Boniface

July 17, 2023

Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 389

 

Reading I                                                                              Ex 1:8-14, 22

 

A new king, who knew nothing of Joseph, came to power in Egypt.

He said to his subjects, "Look how numerous and powerful

the people of the children of Israel are growing, more so than we ourselves!

Come, let us deal shrewdly with them to stop their increase;

otherwise, in time of war they too may join our enemies

to fight against us, and so leave our country."

 

Accordingly, taskmasters were set over the children of Israel

to oppress them with forced labor.

Thus they had to build for Pharaoh

the supply cities of Pithom and Raamses.

Yet the more they were oppressed,

the more they multiplied and spread.

The Egyptians, then, dreaded the children of Israel

and reduced them to cruel slavery,

making life bitter for them with hard work in mortar and brick

and all kinds of field work—the whole cruel fate of slaves.

 

Pharaoh then commanded all his subjects,

"Throw into the river every boy that is born to the Hebrews,

but you may let all the girls live."

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              Ps 124:1b-3, 4-6, 7-8

 

R. (8a) Our help is in the name of the Lord.

 

Had not the LORD been with us–

let Israel say, had not the LORD been with us–

When men rose up against us,

then would they have swallowed us alive,

When their fury was inflamed against us.

R. Our help is in the name of the Lord.

Then would the waters have overwhelmed us;

The torrent would have swept over us;

over us then would have swept

the raging waters.

Blessed be the LORD, who did not leave us

a prey to their teeth.

R. Our help is in the name of the Lord.

We were rescued like a bird

from the fowlers' snare;

Broken was the snare,

and we were freed.

Our help is in the name of the LORD,

who made heaven and earth.

R. Our help is in the name of the Lord.

 

Alleluia                                                                                            

 

Alleluia Alleluia

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                                       Mt 10:34—11:1

 

Jesus said to his Apostles:

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.

I have come to bring not peace but the sword.

For I have come to set

a man against his father,

a daughter against her mother,

and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;

and one's enemies will be those of his household.

 

"Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,

and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

and whoever does not take up his cross

and follow after me is not worthy of me.

Whoever finds his life will lose it,

and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

 

"Whoever receives you receives me,

and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.

Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet

will receive a prophet's reward,

and whoever receives a righteous man

because he is righteous

will receive a righteous man's reward.

And whoever gives only a cup of cold water

to one of these little ones to drink

because he is a disciple–

amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward."

 

When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,

he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.

 

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

Division for the love of Christ

God is a God of reconciliation. He provides it as a sacrament so that we can receive directly from Jesus the healing that reunites us to his Divinity and to his Body, which on earth is now the Church.

 

In Confession, we acknowledge that we have divided ourselves from God and from others. In Confession, the priest sits in for Christ and for the whole Church and accepts our repentance. Through this communal confession and absolution of our sins, we are then reconciled with everyone. We might still have to apologize to specific individuals, but in this sacrament, Christ wipes away the division that was caused by our sins.

 

Isn’t it odd, then, that in our Gospel reading today Jesus says he came not to bring peace between people, but division — especially within families.

 

Think about it: If we have a parent who disagrees with our Christian decisions and behaviors, do we really honor them if we give up the virtue that divides us? When spouses interfere with our spiritual growth, do we really honor the love that unites us if we allow them to control our faith? When relatives want us to approve of abortions or homosexual activities or couples living together outside the holy graces of sacramental marriage, do we really honor the truths that we share in common with them if we look like we also agree with the falsehoods they believe?

 

In situations like these, maintaining unity in the family has a high cost: It reinforces immoral behavior and gives the impression that behaving unlike Christ is good and that disobeying God’s commandments is not destructive.

 

Standing firm on what divides us shows that we care more about what Jesus taught than what the relatives say or think about us. The cost of this division is the cross, because those who should be loving us will surely reject us. They will nail us to the cross with our Lord. But remember what comes after Good Friday!

 

Maintaining unity can be spiritually deadly. Division can produce new life.

 

How willing are we to be persecuted by our families and by friends who are like family to us? It hurts more when we’re nailed by the people who should love us more. Is it good to protect ourselves by compromising our values for the sake of an easier life? Or should we argue and insist that they believe what we tell them about the truth? Neither option is Christ-like.

 

Jesus spoke in parables for those who weren’t ready for the whole truth. Our lives are his modern parables. We must live in such a way that it’s clear where we stand on the issues that divide us. At the same time, we must also make known that we do not condemn anyone for disagreeing with us, for we cannot judge their hearts and we will always love them, oh so deeply.

 

Prayer

 

My Lord, Strengthen my heart and my faith when, after receiving You in my life, I receive the rejection of the people I love most. Give me courage to surrender to You fearlessly and wisdom to understand that You are the true source of the love that unites people. 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!”