Posted on 07/05/2017 9:05:45 PM PDT by Salvation
KEYWORDS: catholic; mt9; ordinarytime; prayer; saints;
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From: Genesis 22:1b-19
The Sacrifice of Isaac and the Renewal of the Promise
[9] When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an
altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on
the altar, upon the wood. [10] Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the
knife to slay his son. [11] But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven,
and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” [12] He said, “Do not
lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God,
seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me.” [13] And Abra-
ham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught
in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up
as a burnt offering instead of his son. [14] So Abraham called the name of that
place The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord
it shall be provided.”
[15] And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven,
[16] and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done
this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, [17] I will indeed bless you,
and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand
which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their
enemies, [18] and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless
themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.” [19] So Abraham returned to
his young men, and they arose and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham
dwelt at Beer-sheba.
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
22:1-19. God has been true to his promise: he has given Abraham a son by Sa-
rah. Now it is Abraham who should show his fidelity to God by being ready to sa-
crifice his son in recognition that the boy belongs to God. The divine command
seems to be senseless: Abraham has already lost Ishmael, when he and Hagar
were sent away; now he is being asked to sacrifice his remaining son. Disposing
of his son meant detaching himself even from the fulfillment of the promise which
Isaac represented. In spite of all this, Abraham obeys.
‘”As a final stage in the purification of his faith, Abraham ‘who had received the
promises’ (Heb 11:17) is asked to sacrifice the son God had given him. Abra-
ham’s faith does not weaken (’God himself will provide the lamb for a burnt offe-
ring’), for he ‘considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead’
(Heb 11:19). And so the father of believers is conformed to the likeness of the
Father who will not spare his own son but will deliver him up for us all (cf. Rom
8:32). Prayer restores man to God’s likeness and enables him to share in the
power of God’s love that saves the multitude (cf. Rom 4:16-21)” (”Catechism of
the Catholic Church”, 2572).
By undergoing the test which God set, Abraham attains perfection (cf. Jas 2:21)
and he is now in a position for God to reaffirm in a solemn way the promise he
made previously (cf. Gen 12:3).
The sacrifice of Isaac has features which make it a figure of the redemptive sacri-
fice of Christ. Thus, there is father giving up his son; the son who renders himself
to his father’s will; the tools of sacrifice such as the wood, the knife and the altar.
The account reaches its climax by showing through Abraham’s obedience and
Isaac’s non-resistance, God’s blessing will reach all the nations of the earth (cf.
v. 18). So, it is not surprising that Jewish tradition should attribute a certain re-
demptive value to Isaac’s submissiveness, and that the Fathers should see this
episode prefiguring the passion of Christ, only Son of the Father.
22:2. “The land of Moriah”: according to the Syrian version of Genesis this is
“land of the Ammorites”. We do not in fact know where this place was, although
in 2 Chronicles 3:1 it is identified the mountain on which the temple Jerusalem
was built, to stress the holiness of that site.
22:12. God is satisfied just by Abraham’s sincere intention to do what he asked
of him. It is as good as if he had actually done the deed. “The patriarch turned
sacrificer of his son for the love of God; he stained his right hand with blood in
intention and offered sacrifice. But owing to God’s loving kindness beyond telling
he received his son back safe and sound and went off with him; the patriarch was
commended for his intention and bedecked with a bright crown; he had engaged
in the ultimate struggle and at every stage given evidence of his godly attitude”
(”Homiliae in Genesim”, 48, 1).
Making an implicit comparison between Isaac and Jesus, St Paul sees in the
death of Christ the culmination of God’s love; he writes: “He who did not spare
his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with
him?” (Rom 8:32).
If staying Abraham’s hand was really a sign of God’s love, an even greater one
was really a sign of God’s love, an even greater one was the fact that he allowed
Jesus to die as an expiatory sacrifice on behalf of all mankind. In that later sacri-
fice, because “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8), “the abyss of malice which sin opens wide
has been bridged by his infinite charity. God did not abandon men. His plans fore-
saw that the sacrifices of the old law would be insufficient to repair our faults and
reestablish the unity which had been lost. A man who was God would have to of-
fer himself up” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ is Passing By”, 95).
22: 13-14. Some Fathers see this ram as a prefigurement of Jesus Christ, insofar
as, like Christ, the ram was immolated in order to save man. In this sense, St
Ambrose wrote: “Whom does the ram represent, if not him of whom it is written,
‘He has raised up a horn for his people’ (Ps 148:14)? [...] Christ: It is He whom
Abraham saw in that sacrifice; it was his passion he saw. Thus, our Lord himself
says of Abraham: ‘Your father Abraham rejoiced that he was to see my day; he
saw it and was glad’ (Jn 8:56). Therefore Scripture says: ‘Abraham called the
name of that place ‘The Lord will provide,’ so that today one can say: the Lord
appeared on the mount, that is, he appeared to Abraham revealing his future pas-
sion in his body, whereby he redeemed the world; and sharing, at the same time,
the nature of his passion when he caused him to see the ram suspended by his
horns. The thicket stands for the scaffold of the cross” (”De Abraham”, 1, 8, 77-
78).
*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
From: Matthew 9:1-8
The Curing of a Paralytic
*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:
1. “His own city”: Capernaum (cf. Matthew 4:13 and Mark 2:1).
2-6. The sick man and those who bring him to Jesus ask Him to cure the man’s
physical illness; they believe in His supernatural powers. As in other instances
of miracles, our Lord concerns Himself more with the underlying cause of illness,
that is, sin. With divine largesse He gives more than He is asked for, even though
people do not appreciate this. St. Thomas Aquinas says that Jesus Christ acts
like a good doctor: He cures the cause of the illness (cf. “Commentary on St.
Matthew”, 9, 1-6).
2. The parallel passage of St. Mark adds a detail which helps us understand this
scene better and explains why the text refers to “their faith”: in Mark 2:2-5 we
are told that there was such a crowd around Jesus that the people carrying the
bed could not get near Him. So they had the idea of going up onto the roof and
making a hole and lowering the bed down in front of Jesus. This explains His
“seeing their faith”.
Our Lord was pleased by their boldness, a boldness which resulted from their
lively faith which brooked no obstacles. This nice example of daring indicates
how we should go about putting charity into practice—as also how Jesus feels
towards people who show real concern for others: He cures the paralytic who
was so ingeniously helped by his friends and relatives; even the sick man him-
self showed daring by not being afraid of the risk involved.
St. Thomas comments on this verse as follows: “This paralytic symbolizes the
sinner lying in sin”; just as the paralytic cannot move, so the sinner cannot help
himself. The people who bring the paralytic along represent those who, by gi-
ving him good advice, lead the sinner to God” (”Commentary on St. Matthew”,
9, 2). In order to get close to Jesus the same kind of holy daring is needed, as
the Saints show us. Anyone who does not act like this will never take important
decisions in his life as a Christian.
3-7. Here “to say” obviously means “to say and mean it”, “to say producing the
result which your words imply”. Our Lord is arguing as follows: which is easier
— to cure the paralytic’s body or to forgive the sins of his soul? Undoubtedly, to
cure his body; for the soul is superior to the body and therefore diseases of the
soul are the more difficult to cure. However, a physical cure can be seen, where-
as a cure of the soul cannot. Jesus proves the hidden cure by performing a visi-
ble one.
The Jews thought that any illness was due to personal sin (cf. John 9:1-3); so
when they heard Jesus saying, “Your sins are forgiven”, they reasoned in their
minds as follows: only God can forgive sins (cf. Luke 5:21); this man says that
He has power to forgive sins; therefore, He is claiming a power which belongs
to God alone—which is blasphemy. Our Lord, however, forestalls them, using
their own arguments: by curing the paralytic by saying the word, He shows them
that since He has the power to cure the effects of sin (which is what they believe
disease to be), then He also has power to cure the cause of illness (sin); there-
fore, He has divine power.
Jesus Christ passed on to the Apostles and their successors in the priestly mini-
stry the power to forgive sins: “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive sins of any,
they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John 20:22-23).
“Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and
whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven” (Matthew 18:18). Priests
exercise this power in the Sacrament of Penance: in doing so they act not in
their own name but in Christ’s—”in persona Christi”, as instruments of the Lord.
Hence the respect, the veneration and gratitude with which we should approach
Confession: in the priest we should see Christ Himself, God Himself, and we
should receive the words of absolution firmly believing that it is Christ who is ut-
tering them through the priest. This is why the minister does not say: “Christ ab-
solves you...”, but rather “I absolve you from your sins...” He speaks in the first
person, so fully is he identified with Jesus Christ Himself (cf. “St. Pius V Cate-
chism”, II, 5, 10).
*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
Liturgical Colour: Green.
First reading | Genesis 22:1-19 © |
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The sacrifice of Isaac |
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The first psalm shown here is used in the whole world except the USA, and the second one is used in the USA because of a clerical error.
Responsorial Psalm |
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Psalm 114(116):1-6,8-9 © |
Alternative Responsorial Psalm |
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Psalm 113B(115):1-6,8-9 © |
Gospel Acclamation | Mt11:25 |
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Or | 2Co5:19 |
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Gospel | Matthew 9:1-8 © |
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Pray for Pope Francis.
We thank you, God our Father, for those who have responded to your call to priestly ministry.
Accept this prayer we offer on their behalf: Fill your priests with the sure knowledge of your love.
Open their hearts to the power and consolation of the Holy Spirit.
Lead them to new depths of union with your Son.
Increase in them profound faith in the Sacraments they celebrate as they nourish, strengthen and heal us.
Lord Jesus Christ, grant that these, your priests, may inspire us to strive for holiness by the power of their example, as men of prayer who ponder your word and follow your will.
O Mary, Mother of Christ and our mother, guard with your maternal care these chosen ones, so dear to the Heart of your Son.
Intercede for our priests, that offering the Sacrifice of your Son, they may be conformed more each day to the image of your Son, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Saint John Vianney, universal patron of priests, pray for us and our priests
This icon shows Jesus Christ, our eternal high priest.
The gold pelican over His heart represents self-sacrifice.
The border contains an altar and grapevines, representing the Mass, and icons of Melchizedek and St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney.
Melchizedek: king of righteousness (left icon) was priest and king of Jerusalem. He blessed Abraham and has been considered an ideal priest-king.
St. Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the patron saint of parish priests.
1. Sign of the Cross: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
2. The Apostles Creed: I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from there He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
3. The Lord's Prayer: OUR Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
4. (3) Hail Mary: HAIL Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and in the hour of our death. Amen. (Three times)
5. Glory Be: GLORY be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
6. Fatima Prayer: Oh, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of your mercy.
Announce each mystery, then say 1 Our Father, 10 Hail Marys, 1 Glory Be and 1 Fatima prayer. Repeat the process with each mystery.
End with the Hail Holy Queen:
Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears! Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this, our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus!
O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Final step -- The Sign of the Cross
The Mysteries of the Rosary By tradition, Catholics meditate on these Mysteries during prayers of the Rosary. The biblical references follow each of the Mysteries below.
The Luminous Mysteries or Mysteries of Light (Thursdays) see Rosarium Virginis Mariae
1. Jesus' Baptism in the Jordan (II Corinthians 5:21, Matthew 3:17 and parallels) [Spiritual fruit - Gratitude for the gift of Faith]
2. Jesus' self-manifestation at the wedding of Cana (John 2:1- 12) [Spiritual fruit - Fidelity]
3. Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom of God, with His call to conversion (Mark 1:15, Mark 2:3-13; Luke 7:47- 48, John 20:22-23) [Spiritual fruit - Desire for Holiness]
4. Jesus' Transfiguration (Luke 9:35 and parallels) [Spiritual fruit - Spiritual Courage]
5. Jesus' institution of the Eucharist, as the sacramental expression of the Paschal Mystery. (Luke 24:13-35 and parallels, 1 Corinthians 11:24-25) [Spiritual fruit - Love of our Eucharistic Lord]
St. Michael the Archangel
~ PRAYER ~
St. Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle
Be our protection against the wickedness
and snares of the devil;
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
Cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen
+
A Prayer for PriestsO my God, help those priests who are faithful to remain faithful; to those who are falling, stretch forth Your Divine Hand that they may grasp it as their support. In the great ocean of Your mercy, lift those poor unfortunate ones who have fallen, that being engulfed therein they may receive the grace to return to Your Great Loving Heart. Amen. Precious Blood of Jesus, protect them!
The Most Precious Blood of JesusJuly is traditionally associated with the Precious Blood of Our Lord. It may be customary to celebrate the votive Mass of the Precious Blood on July 1.
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 (194).
Catholic Word of the Day: LITANY OF THE PRECIOUS BLOOD, 09-25-12
ST. GASPAR: Founder of the Society of the Precious Blood
Mass in the Cathedral of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ (London, 9/18)
Devotion to the Drops of Blood Lost by our Lord Jesus Christ on His Way to Calvary (Prayer/Devotion)
Chaplet of the Most Precious Blood
Catholic Word of the Day: PRECIOUS BLOOD, 12-03-11
The Traditional Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Catholic Caucus)
Devotion to the Precious Blood
DOCTRINE OF THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,And More on the Precious Blood
Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ
NOTHING IS MORE POTENT AGAINST EVIL THAN PLEADING THE PRECIOUS BLOOD OF CHRIST
Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
Who but God alone can forgive sins?" (Mk 2:7)
The prerogative of receiving the confession of sin and the power to forgive sin are two things that belong properly to God alone. We must confess our sins to him and look to him for forgiveness. Since only he has the power to forgive sins, it is to him that we must make our confession. But when the Almighty, the Most High, wedded a bride who was weak and of low estate, he made that maid-servant a queen. He took her from her place behind him, at these feet, and enthroned her at his side. She had been born from his side, and therefore he betrothed her to himself (Gn 2:22; Jn 19:34). And as all that belongs to the Father belongs also to the Son because by nature they are one (Jn 17:20), so also the bridegroom gave all he had to the bride and he shared in all that was hers. He made her one both with himself and with the Father...
And so the bridegroom is one with the Father and one with the bride. Whatever he found in his bride alien to her own nature he took from her and nailed to his cross when he bore her sins and destroyed them on the tree. He received from her and clothed himself in what was hers by nature and gave her what belonged to him as God... Thus, sharing as he did in the bride's weakness, the bridegroom made his own her cries of distress, and gave his bride all that was his. Therefore, she too has the prerogative of receiving the confession of sin and the power to forgive sin, which is the reason for the command, Go, show yourself to the priest. (Mk 1:44)
St. Bernardine of Siena
Is This Bishop Right about the Rosary Conquering Boko Haram? [Catholic Caucus]
Why Boko Haram and ISIS Target Women
Report reveals scale of Boko Haram violence inflicted on Nigerian Catholics
Military evacuating girls, women rescued from Boko Haram
Echos of Lepanto Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Harm
After vision of Christ, Nigerian bishop says rosary will bring down Boko Haram (Catholic Caucus)
Nigerian Bishop Says Christ Showed Him How to Beat Islamic Terror Group
|
The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.
And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.
Amen. "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28) "Blessed are you among women, |
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