Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 07-01-05, Opt. Blsd. Junipero Serra

July 1, 2005
Friday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Psalm: Friday 29

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.

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."

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

Abraham Buys the Cave of Mach-pelah

[1] Sarah lived a hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of
the life of Sarah. [2] And Sarah died at Kiriatharba (that is, Hebron) in
the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for
her. [3] And Abraham rose up from before his dead, and said to the Hittites,
"I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me property among you for a
burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight."

[19] After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of
Mach-pelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

The Marriage of Isaac

[1] Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years; and the Lord had blessed
Abraham in all things. [2] And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of
his house, who had charge of all that he had, "Put your hand under my thigh,
[3] and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and of the
earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the
Canaanites, among whom I dwell, [4] but will go to my country and to my
kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac." [5] The servant said to him,
"Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land; must I then
take your son back to the land from which you came?" [6] Abraham said to
him, "See to it that you do not take my son back there. [7] The Lord, the
God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my
birth, and who spoke to me and swore to me, 'To your descendants I will give
this land,' he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for
my son from there. [8] But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then
you will be free form this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back
there."

The Meeting between Rebekah and Isaac (Continuation)

[62] Now Isaac had come from Beer-Iahai-roi, and was dwelling in the Negeb.
[63] And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the
evening; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there were camels
coming. [64] And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when
she saw Isaac, she alighted from the camel, [65] and said to the servant,
"Who is the man yonder, walking in the field to meet us?"
The servant said, "It is my master." So she took her veil and covered
herself. [66] And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done.
[67] Then Isaac brought her into the tent, and took Rebekah, and she became
his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

Commentary:

23:1-20. The story of Abraham ends, strictly speaking, with the episode,
which shows the initial fulfillment of God's promise of the land to Abraham.
By acquiring a sepulchre and a small plot, he ceases to be a mere resident
alien and acquires rights over this country.

The style of the account and the courtesy conventions used, as well as the
contract of sale, indicate, by their similarity to Hittite customs, the
antiquity of this event. The Hittites, or sons of Heth, carved out a huge
empire in Asia Minor in the second millennium BC. It is not easy to explain
their presence in Canaan in Abraham's time, unless it was that small
isolated groups of Hittites lived there. Or it could be that all non-Semites
living in the country were loosely referred to as "Hittites". In any event,
what the passage does show is that even during Abraham's lifetime the
promise begins to be fulfilled, though by purchase and scarcely more than in
a symbolic way. This is very much in contrast with God's later outright gift
of the entire land to Abraham's descendants.

23:19. In this same spot were buried Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, Leah and
Jacob, so it became as it were a symbol to the Israelites of the fact that
this was their land, even during their time in Egypt. A mosque today stands
on the spot which tradition assigns to the tomb of the patriarchs, venerated
by Jews, Christians and Moslems.

24:1-67. Isaac's marriage is narrated before Abraham's death to underline
the continuity between the story of Abraham and that of Isaac. The next
stage of the history of the patriarchs will focus on the sons of
Rebekah--Esau and Jacob (cf. 25:19ff). Apparently Isaac and Abraham are no
longer based at Mamre (cf. 23:19), but more to the south, in the Negeb
desert (cf. 24:62).

This account is very much in line with the context and customs of the
patriarchal period, but its style is more artistic and it has a particularly
discreet way of describing God's intervention. The story is told in five
scenes and five dialogues, interleaved with short narrative notes. In the
first scene Abraham and his servant appear (vv. 1-9); in the second, the
servant and Rebekah (vv. 10-28); in the third, in Rebekah's house, the
servant and Laban (vv. 29-53); in the fourth, at the moment of parting,
Rebekah and her family (54-61); and in the fifth, Rebekah, the servant and
Isaac (vv. 62-67). The narrator seems to savor these vignettes and
dialogues. As regards God's intervention, it should be noted that, although
it is never obvious, he is still really the protagonist, because he is
providentially steering the course of events.

24:1-9. The tone of this passage suggests that Abraham feels he is nearing
his end and he can see that God's promise with regard to his descendants and
the land is being kept. Therefore the patriarch is concerned to find a wife
for his son from among his own family, in line with the customs of
semi-nomadic peoples of that time. However, Abraham is clearly adamant that
Isaac shall not give up living where he is. The form of oath, with the hand
under the thigh (cf. 47:29), which Abraham makes his servant take, an
exceptionally strong one: it obliges the servant, whose faithfulness is
evident, to do exactly what he swears to do. Here, once again, Abraham's
faith copes with all the difficulties his servant foresees. He is fully
confident that God in his providence will sweep away all these obstacles,
which is what happens, as one can gather from the end of the account.

Abraham's decision about the wife Isaac should take points to the importance
a wife has in sustaining her husband's faith and that of her family. St
Ambrose comments that "often a woman's seduction deceives even the strongest
of husbands and causes them to give up religion. [...] For the first thing
that should be sought in conjugal life is religion. [...] Learn, therefore,
what to seek in a woman: Abraham sought not gold or silver or property, but
the gift of a good heart" ("De Abraham", 1, 9, 84-85).

24:66-67. In the beautiful conclusion to the story ("He loved her and so was
comforted after his mother's death") we see borne out the words of Genesis
2:24 about the creation of Eve: "A man leaves his father and his mother and
cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh." Jewish and Christian
tradition see the marriage of Isaac and Rebekah as a model of conjugal love.

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

From: Matthew 9:9-13

The Call of Matthew

[9] As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting
at the tax office; and He said to him, "Follow Me." And he rose and
followed Him.

[10] And as He sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors
and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and His disciples. [11] And
when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why does your
Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" [12] But when He heard
it, He said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those
who are sick. [13] Go and learn what this means, `I desire mercy, and
not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

Commentary:

9. "Tax office": a public place for the payment of taxes. On
"following Jesus", see the note on Matthew 8:18-22.

The Matthew whom Jesus calls here is the Apostle of the same name and
the human author of the first Gospel. In Mark 2:14 and Luke 5:27 he is
called Levi the son of Alphaeus or simply Levi.

In addition to Baptism, through which God calls all Christians (cf.
note on Matthew 8:18-22), the Lord can also extend, to whomever He
chooses, a further calling to engage in some specific mission in the
Church. This second calling is a special grace (cf. Matthew 4:19-21;
Mark 1:17-20; John 1:30; etc.) additional to the earlier calling
through Baptism. In other words, it is not man who takes the
initiative; it is Jesus who calls, and man who responds to this call by
his free personal decision: "You did not choose Me, but I chose you"
(John 15:16).

Matthew's promptitude in "following" Jesus' call is to be noted. When
God speaks, soul may be tempted to reply, "Tomorrow; I'm not ready
yet." In the last analysis this excuse, and other excuses, are nothing
but a sign of selfishness and fear (different from that fear which can
be an additional symptom of vocation: cf. John 1). "Tomorrow" runs the
risk of being too late.

As in the case of the other Apostles, St. Matthew is called in the
midst of the ordinary circumstances of his life: "What amazes you seems
natural to me: that God has sought you out in the practice of your
profession! That is how He sought the first, Peter and Andrew, James
and John, beside their nets, and Matthew, sitting in the custom-house.
And--wonder of wonders!--Paul, in his eagerness to destroy the seed of
the Christians" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 799).

10-11. The attitude of these Pharisees, who are so prone to judge
others and classify them as just men or sinners, is at odds with the
attitude and teaching of Jesus. Earlier on, He said, "Judge not, that
you be not judged" (Matthew 7:1), and elsewhere He added, "Let him who
is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her" (John
8:7).

The fact is that all of us are sinners; and our Lord has come to redeem
all of us. There is no basis, therefore, for Christians to be
scandalized by the sins of others, since any one of us is capable of
committing the vilest of sins unless God's grace comes to our aid.

12. There is no reason why anyone should be depressed when he realizes
he is full of failings: recognition that we are sinners is the only
correct attitude for us to have in the presence of God. He has come to
seek all men, but if a person considers himself to be righteous, by
doing so he is closing the door to God; all of us in fact are sinners.

13. Here Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6, keeping the hyperbole of the Semitic
style. A more faithful translation would be: "I desire mercy MORE THAN
sacrifice". It is not that our Lord does not want the sacrifices we
offer Him: He is stressing that every sacrifice should come from the
heart, for charity should imbue everything a Christian does--especially
his worship of God (see 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Matthew 5:23-24).

Catholic Culture

Collect:
God most high, your servant Junipero Serra brought the gospel of Christ to the peoples of Mexico and California and firmly established the Church among them. By his intercession, and through the example of his apostolic zeal, inspire us to be faithful witnesses of Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

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July 01, 2005

Optional Memorial of Blessed Junipero Serra, priest (USA)

Old Calendar: Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

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Miguel Jose Serra was born on the island of Mallorca, Spain. He took the name Junipero when he entered the Franciscan Order in 1730. Ordained in 1737, he taught philosophy and theology at the University of Padua for twelve years. At age 37, he went to Mexico City where he spent the rest of his life working for the conversion of the peoples of the New World. Largely responsible for the spread of the Church on the West Coast of the United States, Junipero founded 21 missions and converted thousands of Native Americans.

Before the reform of the General Roman Calendar today was the feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Precious Blood of our Savior, the lifegiving spring made ever open by the redeeming Cross! You wash away the stains of the whole world and in the Church, Paradise regained, you bring forth flowers of sanctity.

Bl. Junipero Serra
In 1776, when the American revolution was beginning in the east, another part of the future United States was being born in California. That year a gray-robed Franciscan founded Mission San Juan Capistrano, now famous for its annually returning swallows. San Juan was the seventh of nine missions established under the direction of this indomitable Spaniard. Born on Spain's island of Mallorca, Serra entered the Franciscan Order, taking the name of Saint Francis' childlike companion, Brother Juniper. Until he was thirty-five, he spent most of his time in the classroom-first as a student of theology and then as a professor. He also became famous for his preaching. Suddenly he gave it all up and followed the yearning that had begun years before when he heard about the missionary work of Saint Francis Solanus in South America. Junipero's desire was to convert native peoples in the New World.

Arriving by ship at Vera Cruz, Mexico, he and a companion walked the 250 miles to Mexico City. On the way Junipero's left leg became infected by an insect bite and would remain a cross, often life-threatening, the rest of his life. For eighteen years he worked in central Mexico and in the Baja Peninsula. He became president of the missions there.

Enter politics: the threat of a Russian invasion south from Alaska. Charles III of Spain ordered an expedition to beat Russia to the territory. So the last two conquistadores-one military, one spiritual-began their quest. Jose de Galvez persuaded Junipero to set out with him for present-day Monterey, California. The first mission founded after the nine-hundred-mile journey north was San Diego (1769). That year a shortage of food almost canceled the expedition. Vowing to stay with the local people, Junipero and another friar began a novena in preparation for Saint Joseph's day, March 19, the scheduled day of departure. On that day, the relief ship arrived.

Other missions followed: Monterey/Carmel (1770); San Antonio and San Gabriel (1771); San Luis Obispo (1772); San Francisco and San Juan Capistrano (1776); Santa Clara (1777); San Buenaventura (1782). Twelve more were founded after Serra's death.

Junipero made the long trip to Mexico City to settle great differences with the military commander. He arrived at the point of death. The outcome was substantially what Junipero sought: the famous "Regulation" protecting the Indians and the missions. It was the basis for the first significant legislation in California, a "Bill of Rights" for Native Americans.

Because the Native Americans were living a nonhuman life from the Spanish point of view, the friars were made their legal guardians. The Native Americans were kept at the mission after Baptism lest they be corrupted in their former haunts — a move that has brought cries of "injustice" from some moderns.

Junipero's missionary life was a long battle with cold and hunger, with unsympathetic military commanders and even with danger of death from non-Christian native peoples. Through it all his unquenchable zeal was fed by prayer each night, often from midnight until dawn. He baptized over six thousand people and confirmed five thousand. His travels would have circled the globe. He brought the Native Americans not only the gift of faith but also a decent standard of living. He won their love, as witnessed especially by their grief at his death. He is buried at Mission San Carlo Borromeo, Carmel, and was beatified in 1988.

Saint of the Day, Leonard Foley, O.F.M.

Things to Do:

Read about Bl. Junipero Serra and the California Missions here and here.
Send someone an e-card for Bl. Junipero's feast.
Purchase a copy of The Man Who Founded California: The Life of Blessed Junipero Serra from Amazon.com.

The Most Precious Blood of Jesus

July is traditionally associated with the Precious Blood of Our Lord. It may be customary to celebrate the votive Mass of the Precious Blood today.

The extraordinary importance of the saving Blood of Christ has ensured a central place for its memorial in the celebration of this cultic mystery: at the centre of the Eucharistic assembly, in which the Church raises up to God in thanksgiving "the cup of blessing" (1 Cor 10, 16; cf Ps 115-116, 13) and offers it to the faithful as a "real communion with the Blood of Christ" (1 Cor 10, 16); and throughout the Liturgical Year. The Church celebrates the saving Blood of Christ not only on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, but also on many other occasions, such that the cultic remembrance of the Blood of our redemption (cf 1 Pt 1, 18) pervades the entire Liturgical Year. Hence, at Vespers during Christmastide, the Church, addressing Christ, sings: "Nos quoque, qui sancto tuo redempti sumus sanguine, ob diem natalis tui hymnum novum concinimus." In the Paschal Triduum, the redemptive significance and efficacy of the Blood of Christ is continuously recalled in adoration. During the adoration of the Cross on Good Friday the Church sings the hymn: "Mite corpus perforatur, sanguis unde profluit; terra, pontus, astra, mundus quo lavanturflumine", and again on Easter Sunday, "Cuius corpus sanctissimum in ara crucis torridum, sed et cruorem roesum gustando, Deo vivimus." — Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy

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