Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 07-01-04, Opt'l. Blessed Junipero Serra

USCCB.org/New American Bible ^ | 07-01-04 | New American Bible

[Salvation]

July 1, 2004
Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

Psalm: Thursday 29 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Gospel

Reading I
Am 7:10-17

Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam,
king of Israel:
"Amos has conspired against you here within Israel;
the country cannot endure all his words.
For this is what Amos says:
Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel shall surely be exiled from its land."

To Amos, Amaziah said:
"Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah!
There earn your bread by prophesying,
but never again prophesy in Bethel;
for it is the king's sanctuary and a royal temple."
Amos answered Amaziah, "I was no prophet,
nor have I belonged to a company of prophets;
I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.
The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me,
‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'
Now hear the word of the LORD!"

You say: prophesy not against Israel,
preach not against the house of Isaac.
Now thus says the LORD:
Your wife shall be made a harlot in the city,
and your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword;
Your land shall be divided by measuring line,
and you yourself shall die in an unclean land;
Israel shall be exiled far from its land.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11

R (10cd) The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.

Gospel
Mt 9:1-8

After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
"Courage, child, your sins are forgiven."
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
"This man is blaspheming."
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
"Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say, ‘Rise and walk'?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins"–
he then said to the paralytic,
"Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

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From: Matthew 9:1-8


The Curing of a Paralytic

---

[1] And getting into a boat He (Jesus) crossed over and came to His own
city. [2] And behold, they brought to Him a paralytic, lying on his
bed; and when Jesus saw their faith He said to the paralytic, "Take
heart, My son; your sins are forgiven." [3] And behold, some of the
scribes said to themselves, "This man is blaspheming." [4] But Jesus,
knowing their thoughts, said, "Why do you think evil in your hearts?
[5] For which is easier to say, `Your sins are forgiven', or to say,
`Rise and walk'? [6] But that you may know that the Son of Man has
authority on earth to forgive sins"--He then said to the paralytic--
"Rise, take up your bed and go home." [7] And He rose and went home.
[8] When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God,
who had given such authority to men.

---

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 himself 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 giving 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, whereas a
cure of the soul cannot. Jesus proves the hidden cure by performing a
visible 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); therefore, He has divine power.


Jesus Christ passed on to the Apostles and their successors in the
priestly ministry 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 uttering them through the priest. This is why
the minister does not say: "Christ absolves 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
Catechism", II, 5, 10).

---

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.

[Salvation]

FEAST OF THE DAY

Miguel Jose Serra was born on the island of Majorca on November
24, 1713, and at the age of 17 entered the Franciscan Order taking
the name Junipero. Jose was ordained in 1737 and taught
philosophy and theology at the University of Padua until 1749.In
1749 at the age of 37 Jose was sent to the New World to the
missionary territories of the west.

In 1768, Father Serra took over the missions, which the Jesuits had
been forced to leave, in the Mexican province of Lower California
and Upper California. A tireless worker, Serra was in large part
responsible for the foundation and spread of the Church on the West
Coast of the United States. He founded twenty-one missions and
converted thousands of Indians. The converts were taught sound
methods of agriculture, cattle raising, and arts and crafts.

Junipero was a dedicated religious and missionary. He was filled
with a penitential spirit and practiced austerity in sleep, eating, and
other activities. On August 28, 1784, Father Serra died and was
buried in Carmel, Monterey. He was beatified by Pope John Paul II
on September 25, 1988.


QUOTE OF THE DAY

The Holy Eucharist is the perfect expression of the love of Jesus
Christ for man, since It is the quintessence of all the mysteries of His
Life. -St. Peter Julian Eymard


TODAY IN HISTORY

1067 Death of Maurilius, Archbishop of Rouen
1270 St. Louis IX, King of France, leaves on the 8th Crusade


TODAY'S TIDBIT

Blessed Junipero Serra is the namesake of the Serra Club, an
international Catholic organization dedicated to the promotion of
vocations, among other things.


INTENTION FOR THE DAY

Please pray for all people discerning a call to the priesthood or religious
life.

[Salvation]

American Cathlic's Saint of the Day

July 1, 2004

Blessed Junipero Serra

(1713-1784)

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 in Spain’s island of Mallorca, Serra entered the Franciscan Order, taking the name of St. Francis’ childlike companion, Brother Juniper. Until he was 35, 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 St. 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—sometimes life-threatening—for the rest of his life. For 18 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 conquistadors—one military, one spiritual—began their quest. José de Galvez persuaded Junipero to set out with him for present-day Monterey, California. The first mission founded after the 900-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 St. 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 Luís 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 till dawn. He baptized over 6,000 people and confirmed 5,000. 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.

Comment:

The word that best describes Junipero is zeal. It was a spirit that came from his deep prayer and dauntless will. “Always forward, never back” was his motto. His work bore fruit for 50 years after his death as the rest of the missions were founded in a kind of Christian communal living by the Indians. When both Mexican and American greed caused the secularization of the missions, the Chumash people went back to what they had been—God again writing straight with crooked lines.

Quote:

During his homily at Serra’s beatification, Pope John Paul II said: “Relying on the divine power of the message he proclaimed, Father Serra led the native peoples to Christ. He was well aware of their heroic virtues—as exemplified in the life of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha—and he sought to further their authentic human development on the basis of their new-found faith as persons created and redeemed by God. He also had to admonish the powerful, in the spirit of our second reading from James, not to abuse and exploit the poor and the weak.”

[Salvation]

**The first mission founded after the 900-mile journey north was San Diego (1769).**

Bet you already knew this!

[Salvation]

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

And to think, the ACLU wants to remove the cross from the seal of Los Angeles County. Guess they havne't read up on their history!

[Salvation]

Thursday, July 1, 2004
Blessed Junipero Serra, OFM, Priest (Optional Memorial)

First Reading: Psalm: Gospel:

Amos 7:10-17 Psalm 19:8-11 Matthew 9:1-8 He who prays most receives most.  -- St. Alphonsus Liguori

[Salvation]

That song has always irked me too.

[Salvation]

thanks for that story. I have never heard it before. How wonderful to have the relics of a 'saint' right there in the mission church.

PS. At one time (when I lived in Auburn) it was a passion of mine to collect pictures of all the missions. I just realized it's still there. Any suggestions for sources?

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Thursday, July 01, 2004

Meditation
Matthew 9:1-8



Physical healing is astonishing. Wouldn’t you just gasp if you saw deformed limbs reshaped or blind eyes restored? Wouldn’t you talk about it to everyone you met? But for God, restoring us physically isn’t very difficult. After all, he made us. He knows the most intricate workings of our bodies (Psalms 94:9; 139:13-15). So, though physical healing may strike us with awe, the answer to Jesus’ question, “Which do you think is easier,” is definitely, “Rise and walk.”

As he spoke to the scribes, Jesus knew that to accomplish the spiritual healing of forgiveness, he would have to suffer horribly and die. To endure the mocking, the torture, the pain, the feeling of separation from his Father—surely this was far more demanding! And what’s amazing is that he did it willingly, freely laying down his life for us (John 10:17-18). Jesus knew that without such a sacrifice, we would remain forever separated from him by our sin—a condition far more crippling than physical paralysis.

Just think how much God loved us, that he would die for us! Think, too, how much he continues to love us. He sees our sins and weaknesses—which can loom so large in our minds—and calls out to us: “Take heart! You are forgiven! I love you!” Oh, that we would hear his cry! Then the issues we agonize over, the sin and guilt that can consume us, would appear in proper proportion: nearly insignificant compared to the magnitude of God’s love for us and his power within us.

God doesn’t love us because we love him. He loved us first, sending Jesus to be the “expiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). He sent Jesus, not simply to show us our sin but to save us from it (John 3:17). God isn’t as troubled by our spiritual “deformities” as we can be upon occasion. He has done the more difficult thing: He has made it possible for us to “rise and walk” in the dignity of sons and daughters of God.

“O Lord, you are so good! Thank you for the cross. Thank you for loving me enough to rescue me from sin!”

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

All Issues > Volume 20, Number 4

<< Thursday, July 1, 2004 >>

Bl. Junipero Serra

Amos 7:10-17

Psalm 19

Matthew 9:1-8

View Readings

CORRECTION FLUID?

“Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam, king of Israel: ‘Amos has conspired against you here within Israel; the country cannot endure all his words.’ ” —Amos 7:10

Are you defensive when corrected? If someone corrects you, do you make like a porcupine and stick out your quills? Is your first reaction to correction to justify yourself?

It is natural to react to correction in this way. However, if we have been baptized into the Holy Trinity, we can live supernaturally. By our baptismal grace, we can react to correction with thanksgiving, humility, and growth in holiness.

Being corrected can be an all-win situation. If we are corrected justly, justice is being done, and we have an opportunity to repent, love others more purely and authentically, and be holier children of God. If we are corrected unfairly, we can humbly suffer redemptively as Jesus did. To be sure, sometimes we must respond to unfair correction and “set the record straight” — not for the purpose of defending ourselves but for the well-being of others. However, to be corrected unjustly is potentially an even greater opportunity to grow in holiness than it is to be corrected justly.

Therefore, let us proceed through life not trying to protect our precarious egos but maximizing our opportunities to grow in holiness and thereby be pleasing to the Lord.

Prayer: Father, send anybody to tell me anything I need to know.

Promise: Jesus “then said to the paralyzed man —  ‘Stand up! Roll up your mat, and go home.’ The man stood up and went toward his home. At the sight, a feeling of awe came over the crowd, and they praised God for giving such authority to men.” —Mt 9:6-8

Praise: Bl. Junipero Serra established numerous mission churches in California. Millions of people have received the sacraments and come closer to the Lord because of his outreach.

[Salvation]

Homily of the Day

Title:	What Does God See When He Looks at Your Heart?
Author:	Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.
Date:	Thursday, July 1, 2004

Amos 7:10-17 / Mt 9:1-8

More than a century ago, Abraham Lincoln made the famous observation, "You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you can never fool all the people all the time." Quite so, yet a lot of our politicians keep trying!

For us, an important corollary of this is that you can't fool God - ever - not even for an instant! Yet it seems that we keep trying. In today's gospel, Jesus shows us once again His ability to read people's hearts. It was the source of one of the great and continuing sadnesses of His life: He could see the envy and hatred that so many people harbored against Him, and for no reason.

What does the Lord see when He reads our hearts? Without doubt He sees our goodness - which we ourselves so often fail to see and trust - and He sees our desire to be true and to do the deeds of love. But there's another part of us that He sees as well, our sins and failures, of course, but also those locked rooms whose doors we refuse to even open.

If the Lord sees what is in us and does not reject us, why should we fear to enter those darkened rooms and to see those parts of ourselves that we fear and shudder to face? The answer is that we shouldn't, for, as the prayer says, "Lord, there is nothing that You and I can't handle together!"

Remember that, trust Him, and open those doors now!

[annalex]

Mt 9:1-8
#	Douay-Rheims	Vulgate
1	And entering into a boat, he passed over the water and came into his own city.	et ascendens in naviculam transfretavit et venit in civitatem suam
2	And behold they brought to him one sick of the palsy lying in a bed. And Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the man sick of the palsy: Be of good heart, son, thy sins are forgiven thee.	et ecce offerebant ei paralyticum iacentem in lecto et videns Iesus fidem illorum dixit paralytico confide fili remittuntur tibi peccata tua
3	And behold some of the scribes said within themselves: He blasphemeth.	et ecce quidam de scribis dixerunt intra se hic blasphemat
4	And Jesus seeing their thoughts, said: Why do you think evil in your hearts?	et cum vidisset Iesus cogitationes eorum dixit ut quid cogitatis mala in cordibus vestris
5	Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins are forgiven thee: or to say, Arise, and walk?	quid est facilius dicere dimittuntur tibi peccata aut dicere surge et ambula
6	But that you may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then said he to the man sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go into thy house.	ut sciatis autem quoniam Filius hominis habet potestatem in terra dimittendi peccata tunc ait paralytico surge tolle lectum tuum et vade in domum tuam
7	And he arose, and went into his house.	et surrexit et abiit in domum suam
8	And the multitude seeing it, feared, and glorified God that gave such power to men.	videntes autem turbae timuerunt et glorificaverunt Deum qui dedit potestatem talem hominibus

[fatima]

Salvation,Mass bump.

[Salvation]

Please pray for my priest, Fr. Phil who is in the hospital with kidney and liver distress.

[fatima]

Tell Father I will be on the air with Father Peter West tom. and I will not forget.We will all say a pray for Father Phil .