THE GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Friday - August 04, 2023

 

Friday - August 04, 2023

What has a person to fear 

who lives in the arms and 

bosom of God? 

- St. Paul of the Cross

August 4, 2023

Memorial of Saint John Vianney, Priest

Lectionary: 404

 

Reading I     

                                                                                                                        Lv 23:1, 4-11, 15-16, 27, 34b-37

 

The LORD said to Moses,

"These are the festivals of the LORD which you shall celebrate

at their proper time with a sacred assembly.

The Passover of the LORD falls on the fourteenth day of the first month,

at the evening twilight.

The fifteenth day of this month is the LORD's feast of Unleavened Bread.

For seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.

On the first of these days you shall hold a sacred assembly

and do no sort of work.

On each of the seven days you shall offer an oblation to the LORD.

Then on the seventh day you shall again hold a sacred assembly

and do no sort of work."

 

The LORD said to Moses, "Speak to the children of Israel and tell them:

When you come into the land which I am giving you,

and reap your harvest,

you shall bring a sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest

to the priest, who shall wave the sheaf before the LORD

that it may be acceptable for you.

On the day after the sabbath the priest shall do this.

 

"Beginning with the day after the sabbath,

the day on which you bring the wave-offering sheaf,

you shall count seven full weeks,

and then on the day after the seventh week, the fiftieth day,

you shall present the new cereal offering to the LORD.

 

"The tenth of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement,

when you shall hold a sacred assembly and mortify yourselves

and offer an oblation to the LORD.

 

"The fifteenth day of this seventh month is the LORD's feast of Booths,

which shall continue for seven days.

On the first day there shall be a sacred assembly,

and you shall do no sort of work.

For seven days you shall offer an oblation to the LORD,

and on the eighth day you shall again hold a sacred assembly

and offer an oblation to the LORD.

On that solemn closing you shall do no sort of work.

 

"These, therefore, are the festivals of the LORD

on which you shall proclaim a sacred assembly,

and offer as an oblation to the LORD burnt offerings and cereal offerings,

sacrifices and libations, as prescribed for each day."

 

Responsorial Psalm                                                                                  Ps 81:3-4, 5-6, 10-11ab

 

R. (2a) Sing with joy to God our help.

 

Take up a melody, and sound the timbrel,

the pleasant harp and the lyre.

Blow the trumpet at the new moon,

at the full moon, on our solemn feast.

R. Sing with joy to God our help.

For it is a statute in Israel,

an ordinance of the God of Jacob,

Who made it a decree for Joseph

when he came forth from the land of Egypt.

R. Sing with joy to God our help.

There shall be no strange god among you

nor shall you worship any alien god.

I, the LORD, am your God

who led you forth from the land of Egypt.

R. Sing with joy to God our help.

 

Alleluia         

 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The word of the Lord remains forever;

this is the word that has been proclaimed to you.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                                                               Mt 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.

 

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

The prayer tears of rejection

How do you handle the times when your desire to serve God with your gifts and skills is met with a closed door? Or when you’re rejected for speaking the truth or for using your talents for the glory of God instead of some worldly purpose? What do you do when you know a problem can be resolved through the power of God — you know how and you know why — but your advice is ignored?

 

How did Jesus feel in today’s Gospel reading when he saw the need for his miraculous healing touch, but the people chose to suffer because they would not trust him? How do you think he feels when this happens today?

 

Sometimes all we can do is weep: Weep for the ignorance and the stubbornness of those who shut their ears and their hearts. Weep while praying for them. Each tear is a drop of prayer, precious to Jesus.

 

Personally, I don’t like to cry. My eyes get puffy, and I don’t want to draw attention to myself. Lord God, take away this ministry of tears! Yet, I have seen Jesus cry. The first time I saw this was when I visited a college professor-friend who was dying of cancer. He asked me if I, as a Christian, could heal him. I told him I could not, only Jesus could. My friend replied that he wanted no part in such fantasy. I just stood there and blinked. Jesus cried.

 

Rejected prophets must leave those who refuse to believe and seek out those who will listen. Jesus didn’t stay in Nazareth after his neighbors rejected his ministry. And he later told his disciples that instead of trying to nag and cajole others into believing, we’re to wipe the dirt from our shoes and walk away.

 

But even though we depart, we must continue to love and pray for those who’ve refused our ministry of love. It’s holy to feel the pain of their refusal — it’s the pain in their soul that we’re feeling, a pain created by the hole that’s eating away at their soul like an ulcer. Feeling their pain gives us tears for prayer.

 

When we give to Jesus our prayer-tears for others, we’re joining ourselves to his ministry. And by following him, we will arrive at a place where we will make a difference.

 

On a different topic, I’d like to explain that in verses 55 & 56, “brothers” and “sisters” means relatives, because I’m usually asked about it when this scripture comes up. Research this by going to Matthew 27:55-56, where it’s clear that the mother of James is not the mother of Jesus; James is not literally Jesus’ brother.

 

Perhaps he was a half-brother. Many early Christians believed so. In the “Protoevangelium of James,” an apocryphal Gospel written around A.D. 150, Joseph is named as the father of James by a deceased first wife. According to this book, by the time he became betrothed to Mary, he already had a family and thus was willing to become the guardian of a virgin who was consecrated to God. The Catholic Church teaches that Joseph remained chaste throughout his marriage to Mary.

 

However, the “Protoevangelium of James” was not accepted into the Canon of Scripture (the Bible) and it is considered an apocryphal Gospel. Some early Christians took it seriously. This is where we get the names of Mary’s parents, Joachim and Anna.

 

It’s more likely that the words “brothers” and “sisters” refer to extended family, including cousins. And many believe, (myself included) that Joseph was an unmarried young man when he became betrothed to Mary. The idea that Joseph could not or would not remain a virgin throughout his life comes from the secular culture that makes sex seem more important than it really is.

 

Prayer

 

Lord, open my eyes to discover Your works through the people around me. Give me strength, too, to continue proclaiming Your Word, even when I’m not understood by those people who share my everyday life. 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!”