June 23, 2013 Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

[이안드레아]

2013년 6월 23일 연중 제12주일

제1독서

 즈카르야 예언서.12,10-11; 13,1
주님께서 이렇게 말씀하신다.
10 “나는 다윗 집안과 예루살렘 주민들 위에 은총과 자비를 구하는 영을 부어 주겠다. 그리하여 그들은 나를, 곧 자기들이 찌른 이를 바라보며, 외아들을 잃고 곡하듯이 그를 위하여 곡하고, 맏아들을 잃고 슬피 울듯이 그를 위하여 슬피 울 것이다. 11 그날에 므기또 벌판에서 하닷 림몬을 위하여 곡하는 것처럼, 예루살렘에서도 곡소리가 크게 울릴 것이다. 13,1 그날에 다윗 집안과 예루살렘 주민들의 죄와 부정을 씻어 줄 샘이 터질 것이다.”

복음

루카. 9,18-24
18 예수님께서 혼자 기도하실 때에 제자들도 함께 있었는데, 그분께서 “군중이 나를 누구라고 하느냐?” 하고 물으셨다. 19 제자들이 대답하였다. “세례자 요한이라고 합니다. 그러나 어떤 이들은 엘리야라 하고, 또 어떤 이들은 옛 예언자 한 분이 다시 살아나셨다고 합니다.” 20 예수님께서 다시, “그러면 너희는 나를 누구라고 하느냐?” 하시자, 베드로가 “하느님의 그리스도이십니다.” 하고 대답하였다. 21 그러자 예수님께서는 제자들에게, 그것을 아무에게도 말하지 말라고 엄중하게 분부하셨다.
22 예수님께서는 이어서, “사람의 아들은 반드시 많은 고난을 겪고, 원로들과 수석 사제들과 율법 학자들에게 배척을 받아 죽임을 당하였다가 사흘 만에 되살아나야 한다.” 하고 이르셨다.
23 예수님께서 모든 사람에게 말씀하셨다. “누구든지 내 뒤를 따라오려면, 자신을 버리고 날마다 제 십자가를 지고 나를 따라야 한다. 24 정녕 자기 목숨을 구하려는 사람은 목숨을 잃을 것이고, 나 때문에 자기 목숨을 잃는 그 사람은 목숨을 구할 것이다.”

갈라티아서.3,26-29
형 제 여러분, 26 여러분은 모두 그리스도 예수님 안에서 믿음으로 하느님의 자녀가 되었습니다. 27 그리스도와 하나 되는 세례를 받은 여러분은 다 그리스도를 입었습니다. 28 그래서 유다인도 그리스인도 없고, 종도 자유인도 없으며, 남자도 여자도 없습니다. 여러분은 모두 그리스도 예수님 안에서 하나입니다. 29 여러분이 그리스도께 속한다면, 여러분이야말로 아브라함의 후손이며, 약속에 따른 상속자입니다.

제2독서

Sunday, June 23, 2013 Daily Mass Readings

June 23, 2013
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Reading 1

Zec 12:10-11; 13:1

Thus says the LORD:

I will pour out on the house of David

and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem

a spirit of grace and petition;

and they shall look on him whom they have pierced,

and they shall mourn for him as one mourns for an only son,

and they shall grieve over him as one grieves over a firstborn.

On that day the mourning in Jerusalem shall be as great

as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.

On that day there shall be open to the house of David

and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

a fountain to purify from sin and uncleanness.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 63:2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

R.     (2b) My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

O God, you are my God whom I seek;

for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts

like the earth, parched, lifeless and without water.

R.     My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary

to see your power and your glory,

For your kindness is a greater good than life;

my lips shall glorify you.

R.     My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Thus will I bless you while I live;

lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.

As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,

and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.

R.     My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

You are my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.

My soul clings fast to you;

your right hand upholds me.

R.     My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Reading 2

Gal 3:26-29

Brothers and sisters:

Through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus.

For all of you who were baptized into Christ

have clothed yourselves with Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek,

there is neither slave nor free person,

there is not male and female;

for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

And if you belong to Christ,

then you are Abraham’s descendant,

heirs according to the promise.

Gospel

Lk 9:18-24

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude,

and the disciples were with him,

he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?”

They said in reply, “John the Baptist;

others, Elijah;

still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”

Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”

Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”

He rebuked them

and directed them not to tell this to anyone.

He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly

and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,

and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

Then he said to all,

“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself

and take up his cross daily and follow me.

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,

but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”

http://www.evangeli.net/gospel/gospel.html

Who then do you say I am?

Today, Jesus, in the Gospel, places us before a key and fundamental question. And, our own life will depend from our answer: «Who then do you say I am?» (Lk 9:20). Peter answers on behalf of all of them: «The Messiah of God». What our response will be? Do we know Jesus enough to be able to answer that question? Prayer, Gospel reading, Sacramental Life and the Church are inseparable sources of information that can help us to know him and to live for him. Until, along with Peter, we are not able to answer with all our heart and the same simplicity... it will surely mean that we have not yet allowed him to transform us. To be able to satisfactorily answer Jesus' question we must get to the point of achieving Peter's enthusiasm, and harbor the same feelings as the Church does!

But today's Gospel ends up by exhorting us to follow Jesus in humility, in the negation of ourselves, by taking up our Cross and following him, for only in this way can we receive eternal Salvation and freedom. «What happens with pure gold happens with the Church, too; that is, that, when fire-exposed, gold is not harmed; on the contrary, his splendor is enhanced» (St. Ambrose). Obstacles and persecutions because of the Kingdom should not scare us; on the contrary, they should rather be a motive of hope and joy. To give our life for Christ is not to lose it, but to receive it for eternity. Jesus asks us to deny ourselves totally in faithfulness to the Gospel, and He wants us to freely give him all our existence. It is worth our while to give our life for the Kingdom!

To follow, to imitate, to live the life of grace, in short, to remain in God, is the aim of our Christian life: «God made man in order that by imitating the example of man, which is possible, we can reach God, which, before, was impossible» (St. Augustine). Let us hope that, with the strength of the Holy Spirit, God help us reaching him! 

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

PRE-PRAYERING

Recently I attended a conference where speakers did their best to inform as well as delight us. At the conclusion of each presentation there would occur the custom of applauding. The beginning of the clapping seems quite spontaneous. I became aware of just when we began not clapping. I wondered if I were the center and decider, so it seemed that when I stopped, everybody else did too. Ah, what an ego! I found myself wondering who decides when enough is enough of showing our approval. Strange how my mind ponders such things.

God makes great speeches and delightful presentations. Just sometimes we applaud when one thing or person or event catches our eye or heart and we smile, or even nod our heads; we seldom clap for joy at them. I do know that we can stop clapping or smiling quite quickly though. A new worry or need, or distraction of some kind gets me looking for new ways that God must inform or delight me. I stop clapping for God easily and I am not sure I even decide to do that. My hands stop smacking each other and I find them extended outward to get more - new - helpfully assisting my journey. If I see it and delight in it, well then the clapping begins again.

As we live the Eucharistic mission, having extended our hands to receive the Real Presentation of Jesus, we might prayerfully check if we are enjoying the mission or merely waiting for the next big delight to attract us for a while.

REFLECTION

Our First Reading for this liturgy is an oracle or prophetic poem using images for easy remembering. The whole chapter is a promise from God to restore and protect Jerusalem and the Davidic dynasty. Other people will try to attack and destroy Jerusalem, but God promises that they will fail.

What we hear is that God will pour out upon Jerusalem a spirit of attentiveness to the presence of God and God’s protective care.

The center of this Reading is a familiar picture of grieving and mourning over someone who has been pierced and who has died. This image is picked up in John’s Gospel referring to the condition of Jesus at his Passion. It is obviously convenient to assume that these verses were prophetically aimed at Jesus and the manner of his death.

The spirit poured out on Jerusalem will bring an awareness that by their national or cultic sins they have offended or “pierced” the image of the loving God. They will be moved to grief as one does when viewing the death of a little child. They will be able to mourn over how they have violated God’s laws and love. On that day the spirit that God will send upon them will bring them to their religious senses and they will again know who God is and who they are, that is, protected and cared for. The “fountain” of that love will allow them to be purified and cleansed for a fruitful and long-lasting future.

The Gospel for today has a tone of the present leading to the future. Jesus is pictured as praying with his disciples. They have been accompanying him for a while and so he asks them a “leading question.” Peter seems to have come up with the correct answer when Jesus asks him directly: who do people say that Jesus is. Peter, who often has his foot in his mouth, this time, says quite clearly, words of definition and recognition. Jesus is the Christ, or Messiah, or Anointed of God. The definition is that Jesus prophetically announces that he will suffer at the hands of the religious authorities in Jerusalem, be killed and on the third day, rise. As if this were not enough for the disciples to begin packing up and leaving Jesus, he tells the disciples and others, that if they wish to follow him, it will be more than a walk in the park.

The concluding verses continue the theme of losing and finding. Picking up one’s cross every day is not only personal, physical suffering, but more. The cross was a symbol of shame. There will be a shame in following Jesus. He knows that the religious leaders regard him as a shameful interruption of what holiness and relationship with God consists. His ways, words and provocations reveal him to be a disgrace to the people. Those who will follow Jesus will live those same ways and words and by doing so will be regarded as a disgrace and be rejected.

The context is that those who follow Jesus will lose their honor and experience shame, but will follow him into true honor in glory. Luke will follow this losing-honor, gaining-honor passage with the Transfiguration which is the picture of the glory to come for those who live their belief in him. Those who choose honor now by their conformity to the ways of the Pharisees and elders will receive the loss of that honor in the after-time.  

In so many large and small ways, we are invited to insult, provoke, challenge the ways of the popular ways of seeking and grabbing life. “Honor is flashed off exploit” as G. M. Hopkins wrote and the exploits of Jesus did not ride on the rails of wide acceptance and personal celebration or establishment. In no way is it easy to follow the ways and life of Jesus. Every day there is something in us that wants recognition, celebration, acceptance and just a little slice of honor. We are attracted to gaining ourselves. The fountain of grace is available to us as well to detoxify ourselves and bathe in the freedom of revealing him by how we choose to do the exploits of the living, revealing God.

“The eyes of all look to You, Lord, and You give them their food in due season.” Ps. 145, 15

 http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/

  "Who do you say that I am?"

Who is Jesus for you – and what difference does he make in your life? Many in Israel recognized Jesus as a mighty man of God, even comparing him with the greatest of the prophets. Peter, always quick to respond whenever Jesus spoke, professed that Jesus was truly the "Christ of God". No mortal being could have revealed this to Peter, but only God. Through the "eyes of faith" Peter discovered who Jesus truly was. Peter recognized that Jesus was much more than a great teacher, prophet, and miracle worker. Peter was the first apostle to publicly declare that Jesus was the Anointed One consecrated by the Father and sent into the world to redeem a fallen human race enslaved to sin and cut off from eternal life with God (Luke 9:20, Acts 2:14-36). The word for "Christ" in Greek is a translation of the Hebrew word for "Messiah" – both words literally mean the Anointed One.

Why did Jesus command his disciples to be silent about his identity as the anointed Son of God? They were, afterall, appointed to proclaim the good news to everyone. Jesus knew that they did not yet fully understand his mission and how he would accomplish it. Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD), an early chuch father, explains the reason for this silence:  

There were things yet unfulfilled which must also be included in their preaching about him. They must also proclaim the cross, the passion, and the death in the flesh. They must preach the resurrection of the dead, that great and truly glorious sign by which testimony is borne him that the Emmanuel is truly God and by nature the Son of God the Father. He utterly abolished death and wiped out destruction. He robbed hell, and overthrew the tyranny of the enemy. He took away the sin of the world, opened the gates above to the dwellers upon earth, and united earth to heaven. These things proved him to be, as I said, in truth God. He commanded them, therefore, to guard the mystery by a seasonable silence until the whole plan of the dispensation should arrive at a suitable conclusion. (Commentary on Luke, Homily 49)
 

Jesus told his disciples that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and die in order that God's work of redemption might be accomplished. How startled the disciples were when they heard this word. How different are God's thoughts and ways from our thoughts and ways (Isaiah 55:8). Through humiliation, suffering, and death on the cross Jesus broke the powers of sin and death and won for us eternal life and freedom from the slavery of sin and from the oppression of our enemy, Satan, the father of lies and the deceiver of humankind.

If we want to share in the victory of the Lord Jesus, then we must also take up our cross and follow where he leads us. What is the "cross" that you and I must take up each day? When my will crosses with God's will, then his will must be done. To know Jesus Christ is to know the power of his victory on the cross where he defeated sin and conquered death through his resurrection. The Holy Spirit gives each of us the gifts and strenth we need to live as sons and daughters of God. The Holy Spirit gives us faith to know the Lord Jesus personally as our Redeemer, and the power to live the gospel faithfully, and the courage to witness to others the joy, truth, and freedom of the gospel. Who do you say that Jesus is?

"Lord Jesus, I believe and I profess that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Take my life, my will, and all that I have, that I may be wholly yours now and forever."

Psalm 63:1-8

1 O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where no water is.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless youe as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5 My soul is feasted as with marrow and fat, and my mouth praises youe with joyful lips,
6 when I think of you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of tyour wings I sing for joy.
8 My soul clings toyou; your right hand upholds me.

 http://www.daily-meditations.org/index2.html

 No one likes to face bad news. During Sunday Masses, we may be tempted to "turn off" the Gospel when we hear Jesus tell us, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Yet, Jesus insists on this qualification for being His follower. As experience of living teaches us over and over, "biting the bullet" and facing the hard things that come our way has rich rewards. Enduring pain from illness, accident, or loss can transform us to a richer level of living.

In the first reading, Zechariah tells the people of Israel that God will give them a "spirit of grace and petition," especially when they repent of past sin and infidelity, and turn their hearts to God. Pope Francis is currently urging us to revise our economic and social structures for justice to the poor, the hungry and toward our stewardship of God's world. Will the world listen and reform?

As parents and friends urged graduates last week to believe in themselves and to put into practice now what they have been taught, we also pray that they will listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and follow the discipline of His law. Now, isn't it a good time for us to ask ourselves how well we have done that in our lives?

The Gospel shouts out this message of total acceptance of Christ's teaching. How we all long for prosperity and peace! The suffering involved with discipleship and repentance will lead to God restoring those blessings to individuals and nations.

How can we possibly measure up to this kind of living? We know the answer very well. It's our decision (inspired by prayer and God's grace) to love Him more and more. Of course, that means we must love our neighbor more and more as well. Seeking justice must overcome the lust for money and power. Often, that in itself qualifies as "suffering."

We all really want to be followers of Jesus, but many refuse to pay the price of discipleship. There is no consolation at all in being a half-hearted disciple. There is no freedom in that. Even though we all desire a pain- and trouble-free existence, we will never grow by running away from God's purifying action. "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me," Jesus tells us today.

 http://goodnews.ie/calendar.php

Unlike Luke, who refers only to “a certain place,” Matthew and Mark name the scene of this conversation: it took place in Caesarea Philippi, a region about twenty-five miles north east of the Lake of Galilee.  The inhabitants were mostly non-Jewish, and the area was scattered with temples of the ancient Syrian worship of Baal.  Nearby was the reputed birthplace of the great god Pan, the god of nature.  The English word ‘panic’ comes from Pan, who was reputed to be expert at causing it.  There was also in Caesarea Philippi a newer variety of paganism: the ruins of a white marble temple to the godhead of Caesar. 

It was against this pagan background that Jesus asks the question, “Who do people say I am?”  And then the much more difficult question, “Who do you say I am?”  That was Peter’s moment.  His profession of faith echoes down the centuries, all the more loudly for the pagan background of its first utterance, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 

Faith is not a hothouse plant.  For some, in whom it is very weak, it may need a short spell in a hothouse, but it thrives better outdoors.  The Christian faith was born in a hostile environment, and has proved itself capable of thriving in any situation.  Strangely, many Christians think of it instead as a delicate plant that has to be protected from all other life-forms around it.  This attitude expresses a profound lack of faith, far from the ancient wisdom that said, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.”  Jesus used images of seed, yeast, salt: realities that are nothing if kept in a jar, and become useful only when scattered into the great mass.  The Flemish theologian, Edward Schillebeeckx (1914 – 2009) stressed that the ‘deposit of faith’ can remain true to itself only by relating to contemporary transformations of culture and history.  Thus it can never become a mere ideology.  Many of our contemporaries see it as nothing but a fading ideology.  The efforts of some Christians to revitalise it take the form of a rejection of the present world and a nostalgic retreat into the past.  D.H. Lawrence captured this to perfection in one of his novels, where he described the faith of an old man, Gerald Crich’s father: “The beautiful candles of belief that would not do to light the world any more…they would still burn sweetly and sufficiently in the inner room of his soul and in the silence of his retirement.”   

Like the Word, faith has to become flesh and live among us.  We are historical beings, said Schillebeeckx, and our faith has to ‘subsist in history’ (by which he meant the events of our present world), not in a museum.  If it is not at work in a practical context, it begins to fade from the picture. 

  http://www.presentationministries.com/

PRAYING FOR RENEWAL

"I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and petition." 뾝echariah 12:10

In renewing a parish, family, or ministry, the Lord often raises the level of prayer. Several parishioners, family members, or ministry workers pray for a few months as they've never prayed before or as they've never prayed for years. The Lord makes this prayer a leaven for renewing great numbers of people.

The Church was born after a nine-day gestation period of intensified prayer (see Acts 1:14). After this experience, the first Christians devoted themselves to prayer (Acts 2:42). The apostles concentrated "on prayer and the ministry of the word" (Acts 6:4). On one occasion, "the place where they were gathered shook as they prayed" (Acts 4:31).

Paul tried to renew the church of Ephesus by raising the level of prayer. The Lord inspired him to exhort Timothy and the Ephesians: "First of all, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for all" (1 Tm 2:1). "The fervent petition of a holy man is powerful indeed" (Jas 5:16).

A praying church is on the threshold of renewal. If we can get several more people to turn off their TVs and computers, simplify their lives, and thereby free themselves to pray for a few hours a day, we can open the door for the Lord to renew His Church.

Prayer: Father, may I have "great, intense, and growing prayer" (see Pope John Paul II, Redeemer of Man, 22).

Promise: "Whoever wishes to be My follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day, and follow in My steps." 뾎k 9:23

Praise: Alleluia! By faith in Jesus risen, we will live forever in the perfect happiness of heaven!

Homily from Father James Gilhooley
12 Ordinary Time

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle C
Luke 9, 18-24

Jesus' question "Who do the crowds say I am?" had as much relevancy down the centuries as it did when it was first asked in the northeast corner of Palestine. Many have attempted to answer that question. In fact, each Christian of every age must give an answer. We must decide, as someone has suggested, whether we are His disciples or just His fans.

Eugene Boylan called Him this tremendous lover.

Francis Thompson declared Him the hound of heaven.

Someone said that no matter where one hides, He pursues.

Teilhard de Chardin named Him the omega point.

William O'Malley says He is the sacrament of the sacraments.

To paraphrase Seamus Heaney, He is the lure let down to tempt the soul to rise.

Roger Garaudy writes, "His whole life conveys one message. Anyone at any moment can start a new future."

Dostoyevsky declared, "If anyone proved to me He was outside the truth...then I would prefer to remain with Him than the truth."

Mark Van Doren teaches that He was the most ruthless of men. He declares that He was not like priests who try to be one of the crowd.

Bach said He was the joy of man's desiring.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer declared prophetically that when He calls someone, He calls that person to die.

Harry Emerson Fosdick stated He calls not for the acceptance of a theory but the assumption of a task. He says that He was a Man of His own time speaking to His own generation but He has proved to be a Man of all time speaking to all generations. He remains not primarily an object of speculation but an eternal doer.

Newsweek magazine charged that for believers He is the hinge of history, the point at which eternity intersects with time.

One unknown says He will remain discontent until all people are fed, housed, and clothed.
Manson claimed His aim was not to make God an article of faith but an object of faith.
To paraphrase James Barter, He remains forever the sharp stone bruising the soles of our feet.
One pilgrim has responded that He is God spelled out in language that people can understand.
Charles Peguy pronounces that He does not want much of us - only our hearts.
Frederick Buechner asserts that He is the way. The way out. The only way that matters.
Pope John Paul II calls Him a mirror in which we can see who we are. He shows us our human possibilities and potentials.

To paraphrase R. Inman, He never strove to explain His vision. He simply invited people to stand by Him and see for themselves.

Soren Kierkegaard charges that He objects to our taking the strong wine of the Gospel and turning it into lemonade. He called Him the contemporary eternal.

Michael Warnke speaks, "Some people ask me, `Don't you think He is just a crutch?' Well, mabye so. But when you're crippled, that ain't bad."

A writer declared He possessed the ability of changing a room by just showing up.

Boris Pasternak exulted, "He came...and at that moment gods and nations ceased to be and MAN CAME INTO BEING."

One worthy has pronounced that He remains forever the grain of sand that upsets the world's machinery.

Thomas Geoghegan said His treatment of women was more of a miracle than the loaves and fishes.

Another writes that though He preached to thousands, His attention remained on the one - one sheep, one penny, one widow's son, one little girl, one sparrow, you, me.

An unknown has written that were He to come back today, we would destroy Him.

C.S. Lewis says, "You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God or else a madman or something worse.

Down through the centuries, He has been the target of countless assassinations. Though killed a score of times, He never dies.  He never wrote His memoirs. He never asked anyone to write about Him. Yet, His life has prompted more biographies than any other person in history.  In this third millennium, nearly one third of the world's population claim to be His followers.  To borrow Winston Churchill's language, He remains forever a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.

---

Homily from Father Joseph Pellegrino
http://www.st.ignatius.net/pastor.html
12 Ordinary Time

Twelfth Sunday: Our Father Will Never Leave Us     

Although last week was Father’s Day, I want to tell you a story about a Father that really fits today’s readings.  I believe Scott Hahn tells this story, but I am not sure it is uniquely his.

The story takes place on December 7, 1988 in Spitak,  Armenia.  A horrible  earthquake had just struck, and a frenzied businessman ran from his office to his little boy’s school.  His son was a kindergartner.  He had dropped him off at school about four hours earlier and had said to him, as he said to him every day, “You be a good boy, and remember, you father loves you and will always care for you.”  And now an earthquake had hit.  The initial reports were that there was destruction in the area of his son’s school.    When the man reached the school, it was a pile of debris.  Parents were standing around the rubble wailing.  The man was in a panic, but he was not in shock.  He would find his son.  He tried to figure the outline of the school and where his son’s class would have  been.  Then he started digging, digging with his bare hands. Some people came to help him.  He dug for two hours and was soaked with sweat, tears, grime and his own blood from glass shards.  He took off his shirt, and kept digging.  The people with him gave up.  The man kept digging, digging.  Four hours, six hours, digging, digging, hearing nothing, finding nothing.  Some more people came by to help him, but thy gave up after only twenty minutes.  They tried to convince him that his effort was useless.  He needed to let go of his son.  He must have other children who would need him at home.  But he wouldn’t stop.  Ten hours, twelve hours.  People began to ignore him.  “He is mad with grief,” they said.  “It will run its course.  He’ll give up.”  But he didn’t give up.  Fourteen hours, sixteen hours.  Then the man moved a large piece of plaster and heard the quiet call of a weak child.  He yelled for help, “I’ve found someone,” and people came and removed another layer of debris.  And there was his son, huddled together with two of his classmates, a little boy and a little girl. They pulled the children from the rubble and gave them oxygen and water.  As they were about to take them to the hospital, the little boy said to his friends, “I told you my father would never leave me.”

Our Father, God our Father, will never leave us.  He pulls us out of the rubble of life.  He fights the forces of death, and He  conquers them.  He sacrifices His Son for us.  And we look on Him who has been pierced.  And different from the people of the first reading, instead of mourning we say, “I told you my Father would be here for me.”

And then we listen.  We listen to the Lord telling us in the Gospel reading, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.”  And we realize, what that father in Armenia did for his son, never giving up on saving his child, was a reflection of what we are called to do for the Kingdom of God.  For just as our Heavenly Father God will never give up on us, we cannot give up on serving Him.  We cannot give up on fighting for His Kingdom, even if that means our personal suffering.   And this might take tears, and sweat, and even blood.  It certainly will demand sacrificing our popularity with the in crowd.  It certainly will demand our being a social outcast, the only one who is saving himself or herself for marriage, the only one who doesn’t smoke pot, the only one who has never been drunk, the only one who would rather worship than party.  But it is all worth it.  The pain is all minor in comparison to the greater joy of serving God.

And when we make this sacrifice, when we commit to the Life of Jesus Christ, we will free others from the devastation of sin, from the rubble of human frailty.  For the life of the committed Christian is one of following our Savior in sacrificing ourselves for the Kingdom of God.  The life of the committed Christian is one of following our Savior to joy.  We receive a portion of this joy now as we live our lives with meaning and purpose, committed to Christ.  We receive the fullness of this joy in the next life as we join the angels and saints in the Eternal Swirl of the Love of God.

“I told you my father will never leave me.”  He will never leave us.  We pray today that we might never leave Him.

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Homily from Father Phil Bloom
http://stmaryvalleybloom.org/
* available in Spanish - see Spanish homilies
12 Ordinary Time

Look On Him They Pierced
(June 23, 2013)

Message: Today we see who Jesus is: The one pierced for our sins.

Last Sunday we heard Jesus say to the woman, "Your sins are forgiven." The people asked, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

We might misunderstand the question. We might think that the people represent judgment and condemnation, while Jesus represents mercy and compassion. But what's at stake here is not just that we should avoid judgment and strive for compassion. That's good, but there's something deeper at stake. Namely: Who forgives sins? And how does he do it?

Let's talk first about who forgives sins. Imagine this scenario: A burglar robs a series of house on Columbia Street. He not only takes electronic equipment, cell phones and computers, but even family keepsakes. Before he leaves, he trashes the homes. We have a neighborhood meeting and I announce, "Don't worry, people. I forgive the robber!"

My neighbors are likely to say to me, "Who are you to forgive him? He robbed our homes, not yours." The people reacted similarly to Jesus: That woman wrecked my family. She corrupted my son. Who are you to forgive her?

Now here is where we see the true difference between Jesus and me. I have no business forgiving offenses made against other people.* It's up to them, not me. But in Jesus cases' the offense - on the deepest level - is against him. You and I - if we receive God's grace - can forgive people who offend us. Jesus, on the other hand, presents himself as someone who forgives offenses. Period.

So, who is Jesus to forgive sins? Well, he existed before the world began. He brought it all into being. He stands behind the image of God in every human. Every offense is against him. We get a glimpse of that in the first reading. Zechariah says, "They shall look on him who they have pierced." This mysterious prophecy applies to Jesus. Our sins pierce his heart.

That verse gives an indication of how Jesus forgives. He does it, as we see today, by the cross. They shall look upon him who they pierced. We do that when we focus on the crucifix. We do that at Mass. When the priest holds up the host, we look on the one we pierced by our sins.

Today Jesus speaks about the crucifixion. Then he states what we must do to follow him. Take up the cross. The cross at its deepest level means forgiveness. To take up ones cross means to accept forgiveness and to ask help to forgive others.

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. That's easier said than done, especially today. Someone has said that we live in a culture that tolerates everything and forgives nothing. Let me say that again: A culture that tolerates everything and forgives nothing. Think about it. How often do we hear people say, "I am a very forgiving person, but what he did is unforgivable"?

We can fool ourselves. We tolerate - even celebrate - things that our grandparents would have barely mentioned. That doesn't make us more forgiving. When someone genuinely offends us, we have as hard a time, maybe a harder time, forgiving. We certainly have a harder time holding relationships together - in our families and in our parishes.

And our social media can be a two-edged sword. They enable us to communicate rapidly, but they also give occasions to offend quickly and at a distance. The prayer Jesus taught us is more relevant today than ever: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against.

Forgiveness means to lose ones life. I'll be honest. I don't want to lose my life. I want to save face, I want to show that other person I was in the right. I dream about the day I can say that perfect zinger. I sometime have difficulty meditating on the Scriptures for twenty minutes, but I can spend an hour meditating on that offense and imagining my moment of vindication.** Jesus, however, says, "whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it."

Today we see who Jesus is: The one pierced for our sins. He asks us to look on him, his cross. Yes, people have also pierced us. The one who wishes to come after Jesus, he tells us, must take up his own cross -daily - and follow him. Amen.

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*Except of course in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, but that I do on Jesus' authority. (John 20:23)

**For a clear (and humorous) response to those who say they cannot meditate, read the opening chapter of Mother Angelica's Private and Pithy Lessons from the Scriptures.

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Homily from Father Andrew M. Greeley
http://www.agreeley.com/homilies.html
12 Ordinary Time

June 23rd 2013 A.D.
Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary time
Luke 9:18-24

"Who do you say that I am?"

Background:
Jesus loved surprises. His Father in heaven was the God of surprises, so it would naturally follow that Jesus reveled in surprising people with good things. In the Gospel today he surprises a woman who has been plagued by a physical problem, and the parents of a little girl thought to be dead. Both woman and the parents desperately hoped for a surprise. They were not sure there would be one, but they were at least open to the possibility. Jesus liked people who had the openness of spirit and mind to be ready for  surprises. Those who in the core of their personalities believed in a God of surprises.

That’s just what The Father in heaven wants of all of us.

Jesus would have had a much harder time helping the cynical, the sardonic, the bitter, the conniving who might want to purchase miracles from him. So the simple faith of these simple people occasioned the grace that Jesus had within him.

Story:
Once upon a time, a certain pastor, worn out from phone calls and summons to the office was slipping off to the land of Nod when a call came from the teenager who manned the office in the evening. Father, there’s a kind of cute elderly man down who wants to talk to you. “Kind of cute” meant that the young woman did not deem him dangerous. The man was well-dressed, handsome, genial, Yes, kind of cute.

Probably a nut said the pastor to himself. He wants to complain about the sermons last Sunday or the Bishop or the Pope. Yes, he said, not particularly happy to have been disturbed so late on a cold winter evening. You don’t remember me, do you, father? I’ve seen a lot of faces in the last forty years in a rectory. No reason to remember me. I was hitchhiking home from college because we didn’t have much money in those days and I borrow fifty dollars from you. I promised to pay you back and I never did. You were from Notre dame? That’s right, Father. What my kids call a Domer. I figured I’d better pay you back. What kind of interest do you charge?

The priest remembered that he had like the young man because of his grace and charm. No, interest he said. That wouldn’t be fair. The man took out his checkbook. How about two hundred percent, he said as the grinned and wrote a check. Could I bring in my kids and introduce them. Megan, he said to the teenager, who he knew had been listening at the door, could you make us a pot of tea?

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Homily from Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe,Pa
http://www.saintvincentarchabbey.org/sunday_homily
12 Ordinary Time

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Luke 9:18-24

Gospel Summary
Jesus asks his disciples what the crowds were saying about him. Then he asked his disciples, "But who do you say I am?' Peter replies, "The Christ of God." Thereupon, Jesus says, "The Son of Man must suffer greatly...be killed and on the third day be raised." Then Jesus says that anyone who wishes to follow him as a disciple must also be ready to give up his life for his sake.

Life Implications
In this gospel passage, Jesus defines what the mission of the Christ (Messiah) and subsequently of Christian disciples will be. Contrary to popular expectations, Jesus the Messiah will not be the conquering hero who will fix everything that has gone wrong in the world because of human deceit and violence. Certainly Jesus recognizes human suffering, and responds to it with compassion. He provides food for the hungry, he cures the sick, he drives out demons. However, his mission as Messiah is to address the human dilemma on a deeper level. He will address the inauthentic human condition that is the source of the world's injustice and suffering. Jesus will do so as the Son of Man.

To understand what Jesus means by identifying himself as the Son of Man (the Son of Adam or the Human) we have to see it in the context of the entire biblical narrative about the reality of the human condition. In the beginning God creates humans in his image: children of God, not part of God, but like God. Sadly, we do not get a chance to see what authentic human existence looks like. What we do see is inauthentic human existence soon after the beginning. The first humans reject their truth as creatures. Their children continue to kill and to deceive each other until the human is barely recognizable as being and acting like God. "In the eyes of God the earth was corrupt and full of lawlessness" (Gn 6:11).

Born into a corrupt and lawless world, humans do not have much chance of knowing, much less of living an authentic existence as God's image. Through revelations and covenants with the Hebrew people, we first hear the good news that God does not abandon his estranged children, but will liberate them from their state of inauthentic existence. This dramatic, divine liberation came to be identified with the appearance of an enigmatic figure called Son of Man (Dan 7:13-14).

Jesus identifies himself as the Son of Man. Jesus is the Human created in the divine image as the beginning of a New Genesis. In the gospel narratives we now are able to see in Jesus what authentic human existence looks like. Jesus faithfully lives in a relation of covenant love as Son with his Heavenly Father. He overcomes every temptation. He acts in complete union with the Father's love for all of the human family, estranged in exile.

The expectation of the crowds then and now is that Jesus as Messiah would do a quick-fix of the mess that we humans have made for ourselves. This expectation is similar to that of an avaricious, deceitful person who has hurt people and has also gotten himself in debt, and now hopes that the hurt and his debt will be taken care of by some messiah figure. It did not take Jesus long to realize that unless inauthentic human existence is created anew in the divine image, humans will continue to make a mess of things. The avaricious, deceitful person, unless transformed inwardly with a new heart, would soon be repeating his destructive actions.

Jesus the Son of Man fulfills his mission as Messiah by authentically living his human existence as Son of God. The Church now proclaims the good news that the Risen Son of Man and Messiah is present among us to create us anew in his own image. In that renewed image of God, we too are enabled to live an authentic human existence as God intended in the creation of the first humans. We learn what that means in the unique circumstances of our lives through the life and teaching of Jesus. By doing so, we will be able to help fix the corruption and lawlessness that fills the earth, rather than adding to it.
Campion P. Gavaler, OSB

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Homily from Father Cusick
http://www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/lowhome.html Meeting Christ in the Liturgy
12 Ordinary Time

TWELFTH Sunday
Zechariah 12. 10-11;13:1; Psalm 63: 2-6,8-9; Galatians 3:26-29; St. Luke 9: 18-24

If any man would come after me, let him deny himself.
By Father Kevin M. Cusick

Our way as Christians is to follow the Lord Jesus, to follow his invitation to ?follow me.? He makes clear that if we would follow Him, we must deny ourselves.

And he said to all, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (LkIf any man would come after me, let him deny himself. (9:23)

Denying ourselves entails denying what we want so that we can desire instead what God wants. This is always true in the case of wanting something incompatible with God?s will. It can also be true, however, in areas where God?s plan is indifferent as to what we choose, in order that our hearts might become enlarged for God as we learn to love and regard self less. Self denial is part of the advancement of the kingdom of Christ in the world around us which begins within each one of us.

By virtue of their kingly mission, lay people have the power to uproot the rule of sin within themselves and in the world, by their self-denial and holiness of life (cf. LG 36).? (CCC 943)

Through the priesthood of the baptized we have been given the grace and call to sanctify the world beginning with our own sanctification through self-denial, one of the ways in which we exercise this priesthood shared by all of the baptized.

It is here that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way "by the reception of the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity." Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and "a school for human enrichment." Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous - even repeated - forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one's life? (CCC 1657)

Whether they are full-time or part-time educators of their children, all parents are called to school their children in the self-mastery that makes self-denial possible.

Parents have the first responsibility for the education of their children. They bear witness to this responsibility first by creating a home where tenderness, forgiveness, respect, fidelity, and disinterested service are the rule. The home is well suited for education in the virtues. This requires an apprenticeship in self-denial, sound judgment, and self-mastery - the preconditions of all true freedom. Parents should teach their children to subordinate the "material and instinctual dimensions to interior and spiritual ones." Parents have a grave responsibility to give good example to their children. By knowing how to acknowledge their own failings to their children, parents will be better able to guide and correct them:

He who loves his son will not spare the rod. . . . He who disciplines his son will profit by him.

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. ?
(CCC 2223)

Our opportunities in the life of the Church for the practices of penance, which aid in the virtue of self denial, are ample.

The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church's penitential practice. These times are particularly appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works).? (CCC 1438)

All self-denial is to lead to conversion of heart, that we might learn ever more to love God entirely, with heart, mind, soul and strength. ?Conversion is accomplished in daily life by gestures of reconciliation, concern for the poor, the exercise and defense of justice and right, (Cf. Am 5:24; Isa 1:17.) by the admission of faults to one's brethren, fraternal correction, revision of life, examination of conscience, spiritual direction, acceptance of suffering, endurance of persecution for the sake of righteousness. Taking up one's cross each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance. (Cf. Lk 9:23.)? (CCC 1435)

Abundant are our opportunities daily of taking up the Lord?s cross in our own life that His life might be ours forever.

(See also nos. 1434, 1436, 1437, 1439, 2600 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.)

For more visit http://www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/

Let's pray for each other until, together next week, we "meet Christ in the liturgy", Father Cusick
(See also nos. 1434, 1436, 1437, 1438, 1439, 2600 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.)
(Publish with permission.) http://www.christusrex.org/www1/mcitl/

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Homily from Father Alex McAllister SDS
http://www.catholicwealdstone.org
12 Ordinary Time

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Don’t be deceived by the shortness of the scripture readings today. They may be very brief but there is a great deal of depth to them.

In the first reading the Prophet Zechariah predicts the coming of the Messiah. The phrase, “They will look on the one whom they have pierced” is a direct prediction of Christ’s passion on the Cross of Calvary.

What is interesting and what provides us with a link to the Gospel text is the final phrase: “When that day comes, a fountain will be opened for the House of David and the citizens of Jerusalem, for sin and impurity.”

These words indicate that the salvation Christ will win on the Cross of Calvary will not be a one-off event; no, it will reverberate down through history. The Church he founds will be a fountain of salvation for the rest of eternity.

The second reading takes us in a slightly different direction. St Paul reminds his readers in Galatia that we are all essentially equal. Once we accept the Gospel all merely human distinctions between people fall away. We are equal because we are all equally redeemed; the same sacrifice has been paid for us all and so there can be no distinctions among us.

This is Good News indeed because most conflicts in our world are precisely because of perceived differences between people. It is easy to wage war against people you regard as somehow less than yourself. It is easy to think of yourself as privileged, as a cut above others when actually we are all the same regardless of race, religion or any other difference.

In the Gospel we are presented with a very important text; it is Peter’s profession of faith which is immediately followed by Christ’s prediction of his passion and death.

The question Jesus puts to the Apostles that day is a vital one, it is a question that each one of us must answer for ourselves: Who do you say that I am? We must be clear about this above everything else; we must, each of us, be certain of the identity of Jesus. Otherwise how can we place any trust or faith in him.

Peter answers the question straightforwardly: “You are the Christ of God.” In other words you are the Messiah, the Saviour of the World.

It is insufficient to regard Jesus merely as a holy and insightful man or even as a miracle worker. He is much more than this. He is the Son of God come into the world to achieve our salvation.

The identity of Christ is absolutely vital for our faith for it is the very basis on which it is built. Over the first few centuries the Church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, worked out that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. It realised that it could only be in this way that Christ could achieve our salvation.

Anything less than fully divine and he doesn’t have the power to redeem us, anything less than fully human and it is not us that he is redeeming.

It is vital that we understand these things; it is essential that we know who Christ is and what he came to do. This is the very bedrock of our faith; the foundation on which everything else is built.

In the Gospel text today Christ does not comment on Peter’s affirmation of faith. St Luke only gives us the barest bones of the incident. Jesus does not say that Peter is right or compliment him in any way or say, as the other Evangelists do, that this is a revelation from the Father.

According to Luke, Jesus simply tells the Apostles not to say anything to anyone else about it. Presumably this is because Jesus feels that the ordinary people are not yet ready to hear such things; and that if they started talking about it this might precipitate his execution before he is finally ready.

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