Reading 1
Ez 2:2-5

As the LORD spoke to me, the spirit entered into me
and set me on my feet,
and I heard the one who was speaking say to me:
Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites,
rebels who have rebelled against me;
they and their ancestors have revolted against me to this very day.
Hard of face and obstinate of heart
are they to whom I am sending you.
But you shall say to them: Thus says the LORD GOD!
And whether they heed or resist—for they are a rebellious house—
they shall know that a prophet has been among them.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 123:1-2, 2, 3-4

R. (2cd) Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.
To you I lift up my eyes
who are enthroned in heaven —
As the eyes of servants
are on the hands of their masters.
R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.
As the eyes of a maid
are on the hands of her mistress,
So are our eyes on the LORD, our God,
till he have pity on us.
R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.
Have pity on us, O LORD, have pity on us,
for we are more than sated with contempt;
our souls are more than sated
with the mockery of the arrogant,
with the contempt of the proud.
R. Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.

Brothers and sisters:
That I, Paul, might not become too elated,
because of the abundance of the revelations,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness."
I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults,
hardships, persecutions, and constraints,
for the sake of Christ;
for when I am weak, then I am strong.

Gospel
Mk 6:1-6

Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples.
When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue,
and many who heard him were astonished.
They said, "Where did this man get all this?
What kind of wisdom has been given him?
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary,
and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?
And are not his sisters here with us?"
And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them,
"A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and among his own kin and in his own house."
So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there,
apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them.
He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Pray a Rosary each day for our nation.

Pray the Rosary

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. I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day He rose again. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. From thence 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 will be forever. Amen.

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 Glorious Mysteries
(Wednesdays and Sundays)
1.The Resurrection (Matthew 28:1-8, Mark 16:1-18, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-29) [Spiritual fruit - Faith]
2. The Ascension (Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53, Acts 1:6-11) [Spiritual fruit - Christian Hope]
3. The Descent of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:1-13) [Spiritual fruit - Gifts of the Holy Spirit]
4. The Assumption [Spiritual fruit - To Jesus through Mary]
5. The Coronation [Spiritual fruit - Grace of Final Perseverance]

July Devotion: The Precious Blood

July Devotion: The Precious Blood

Like the Sacred Wounds of Jesus, His Precious Blood deserves special honor because of its close relation to the Sacred Passion. That honor was given to it from the beginning by the Apostles who praised its redeeming power. (Rom. 5:9 "we are justified by His blood"; Heb. 13:12 "and so Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people by His blood, suffered outside the gate"; 1 John 1:7 "and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.")

The Church has always held devotion to the Precious Blood in high esteem. We continue to recognize and publicly acknowledge the profound indebtedness of the whole human race to Christ, Priest and Victim.

Standing at the foot of the cross, we see Jesus' head, hands, feet, and side pouring out streams of precious blood. It is precious because it:

· Redeems us and atones for our sins. Through His precious blood we are reconciled to God, made one with Him. Death ceases to be death and heaven's gates are opened to us.

· Cleanses us from all sin.

· Preserves us and keeps us safe from the grasp of evil. When the Father sees us washed in the Blood of the Lamb we are spared.

· Comforts us. It is the constant reminder that Jesus - true God and true man suffered and died to save us and to open heaven to us because He loves us.

· Sanctifies us. The same blood that justifies by taking away sin, continues to work within us. Its action gives us the grace to continue on the path toward the Kingdom of God. It assists us in achieving our new nature, leading us onward in subduing sin and in following the commands of God.

Jesus shed His precious blood seven times during His life on earth. They events were:

· Jesus shed His Blood in the Circumcision

· Jesus shed His Blood whilst praying in the Garden of Olives

· Jesus shed His Blood in the scourging

· Jesus shed His Blood in the crowning with thorns

· Jesus shed His Blood while carrying His cross

· Jesus shed His Blood in the crucifixion

· Jesus shed His Blood and water when His side was pierced

The Power of the Precious Blood

"I adore You, O Precious Blood of Jesus, flower of creation, fruit of virginity, ineffable instrument of the Holy Spirit, and I rejoice at the thought that You came from the drop of virginal blood on which eternal Love impressed its movement; You were assumed by the Word and deified in His person. I am overcome with emotion when I think of Your passing from the Blessed Virgin's heart into the heart of the Word, and, being vivified by the breath of the Divinity, becoming adorable because You became the Blood of God." (St. Albert the Great)

At their recent meeting, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops had continuous Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament for "healing and peace." They encouraged parishes and communities to have ongoing Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. In these dark months of woundedness, pain and violence we need to turn to the Precious Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist, for healing, peace, and light.

"What power we have in the Precious Blood of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist! He is there to protect us, to be our refuge and our redemption. (In Exodus 12, God told Moses to have His chosen people mark their door posts with the blood of an unblemished lamb, during the first Passover. Those who did this were spared when the Angel of the death passed by). This is why Archbishop Sheen said that we must call down the Blood of the Lamb, Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. For, he warned, when we stop calling down the Blood of the Lamb, we start calling down the blood of each other." (From our book Bread of Life)

"And the Lamb on the throne will shepherd them. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water" (Rev 7:17).

"In the tumultuous events of our time, it is important to look to the Eucharist: it must be at the heart of the life of priests and consecrated people; the light and strength of spouses in putting into practice their commitment to fidelity, chastity and the apostolate; the ideal in education and in training children, adolescents and young people; the comfort and support of those who are troubled, of the sick and all who are weeping in the Gethsemane of life." (Pope John Paul II)

Precious Blood of Jesus, save us!

"The only time our Lord asked the Apostles for anything was the night when He went into His agony. But as often in the history of the church since that time, evil was awake, but the disciples were asleep. That is why there came out of His anguished and lonely Heart a sigh: 'Could you not watch one hour with Me?'" (Mt 26:40). Not for an hour of activity did he plead, but for an hour of friendship (Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen).

St. Maria Goretti, Patroness of Youth & Children of Mary, Feast-July 6 St. Maria of Italy (1890-1902), couldn't wait to make her First Communion. She wanted to receive Jesus in the Holy Eucharist so that she could become more beautiful and pure like Him; she wanted Him to live in her, close to her heart. After she received Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament for the first time, she stayed in Church for a long time after Mass to talk to Him. Maria's family lived with and worked for a farmer. His son Alessandro kept trying to make Maria sin against purity. One day, when everyone else was working, Alessandro grabbed Maria and tried to make her sin. Maria kept crying out for him to stop, and each time she did, he stabbed her. Courageously, Maria resisted him and was stabbed fourteen times. St. Maria died the next day.

"Look at Maria Goretti.... Like her, be capable of defending your purity of heart and body. Be committed to the struggle against evil and sin. Always esteem and love, purity and virginity." (Pope John Paul II, 1990)

A Prayer for Priests

O 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!A

menHe

"Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you" (Jn 6:53).

The Eucharist is the fruit of our Lords Passion. Jesus gave up His Body on the cross so that He may give you His Body in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus poured out His very last drop of Blood on the cross so that He may fill you with His Divine Love each time that you receive Him in Holy Communion and visit Him in Eucharistic Adoration!

"The Eucharist, in the Mass and outside of the Mass, is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, and is therefore deserving of the worship that is given to the living God, and to Him alone" (Pope John Paul II, September 29, 1979, Phoenix Park, Ireland)

"The bread and wine, fruit of human hands, transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit into the body and blood of Christ, become a pledge of the 'new heaven and new earth,' announced by the Church in her daily mission." "In Christ, whom we adore present in the mystery of the Eucharist, the father uttered his final word with regard to humanity and human history." "To live the Eucharist, it is necessary, as well, to spend much time in adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament, something which I myself experience every day drawing from it strength, consolation and assistance." "How could the Church fulfill her vocation without cultivating a constant relationship with the Eucharist, without nourishing herself with this food which sanctifies, without founding her missionary activity on this indispensable support?" "To evangelize the world there is need of apostles who are 'experts' in the celebration, adoration and contemplation of the Eucharist" (Pope John Paul II, World Mission Message 2004).

The Power of the Precious Blood of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist

"The Precious Blood belongs in an especial manner to men. Much more, therefore, does God invite them to come to its heavenly baths, and receive therein, not only the cleansing of their souls, but the power of a new and amazing life. Every doctrine in theology is a call to the Precious Blood. Every ceremony in the Church tells of it . . . . Every supernatural act is a growth of it. Everything that is holy on earth is either a leaf, bud, blossom or fruit of the Blood of Jesus. To its fountains God calls the sinner, that he may be lightened of his burdens. There is no remission of him in anything else. Only there is his lost sonship to be found. The saints are no less called by God to these invigorating streams. It is out of the Precious Blood that men draw martyrdoms, vocations, celebacies, austerities, heroic charities, and all the magnificent graces of high sanctity. The secret nourishment of prayer is from those fountains" (Father Faber, The Precious Blood).

Chaplet of the Most Precious Blood
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
FORMER PENTECOSTAL RELATES MIRACLE THAT OCCURRED WITH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD
Litany of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus
St.Gaspar:Founder of the Society of the Precious Blood[AKA The Hammer of Freemasons]

Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Is Not This the Carpenter, the Son of Mary?

Biblical Reflection for 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time B

By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, JULY 1, 2009 (Zenit.org).- We know today's Gospel story well, perhaps too well! It would have been customary for Jesus to go to the synagogue each week during the Sabbath, and when his turn came, to read from the scriptures during the Sabbath service.

His hometown folks listened ever so attentively to his teaching because they had heard about the miracles he had performed in other towns. What signs would their hometown boy work on his own turf?

In today's story, Jesus startled his own people with a seeming rebuke that no prophet of God can receive honor among his own people. The people of Nazareth took offense at him and refused to listen to what he had to say. They despised his preaching because he was from the working class; a carpenter, a mere layman and they despised him because of his family. Jesus could do no mighty works in their midst because they were closed and disbelieving toward him.

If people have come together to hate and to refuse to understand, then they will see no other point of view than their own, and they will refuse to love and accept others. Does the story sound familiar to us? How many times have we found ourselves in similar situations?

Homecoming

We often think that Luke is the only evangelist who records Jesus' visit to Nazareth, "where he had been brought up" and that programmatic episode in the Nazareth synagogue (Luke 4:16). Mark and Matthew also refer to this episode, although without mentioning the name of the town, calling it simply "his hometown" or "his native place" (Mark 6:1; Matthew 13:54). There are, however, several differences between the story told by Luke and those of Mark and Matthew. In the Gospels of Mark and Matthew, people consider the humble origin of Jesus who was "the carpenter" (Mark 6:3), "the son of the carpenter" (Matthew 13:55) and use it to doubt the greatness of his mission. Luke, on the other hand, makes no mention of Jesus' humble origins.

In Mark, Jesus' visit to his hometown is found not at the beginning of his ministry, but after a long period of preaching the Gospel and healing, even after the talks on the parables (Mark 4:1-34) and the resurrection of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:21-43). In Matthew, Jesus has also already pronounced his address on mission to the "Twelve Apostles" (10:2-42).

What was the meaning of the peoples' questions about Jesus in Mark's account (6:1-6) that forms this Sunday's Gospel? "'Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?' And they took offense at him."

"Who do you think you are?" they seem to be asking him. Jesus sees that the questions about him correspond to a deeply possessive attitude: Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and therefore one of us? You belong to us and therefore you must do for us all that you are able to do. We own you!

"Prophets are not without honor except in their hometowns and among their own kin, and even in their own homes." Jesus resists the possessive attitude manifested by his people. The people of Jesus' native place were suffering from a particular form of blindness -- a blindness that sometimes affects us, too. Jesus refuses to place his extraordinary gifts at the service of his own people, putting strangers first.

Vision and heart

Today's Gospel shows how difficult it is for us to attain to a universal vision. When we are faced with someone like Jesus, someone with a generous heart, a wide vision and a great spirit, our reactions are very often filled with jealousy, selfishness, and meanness of spirit. His own people couldn't recognize the holiness of Jesus, because they had never really accepted their own. They couldn't honor his relationship with God because they had never fully explored their own sense of belonging to the Lord. They couldn't see the Messiah standing right beside them, because he looked too much like one of them. Until we see ourselves as people beloved of God, miracles will be scarce and the prophets and messengers who rise among us will struggle to be heard and accepted for whom they truly are.

In today's Gospel story, Mark tells us that Jesus was amazed at their unbelief. Listening to Jesus, his own people were initially filled with admiration in him and pride because of him. His message of liberation was marvelous. Then they recognize this young prophet as one of them and they say: "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?"

The most severe critics are often people very familiar to us, a member of our family, a relative, or neighbor we rub shoulders with on a regular basis. The people of Nazareth refused to renounce their possessive attitude toward Jesus. When possessive love is obstructed it produces a violent reaction. This sort of reaction provokes many dramas of jealousy and passion. They took offence at him in Mark's account just as "everyone in the synagogue was enraged (Luke 4:28) and they sought to kill him" (4:29) in Luke's version of the story. Refusal to open our heart can lead to such extremes.

Jesus was bitterly criticized because he demonstrated great openness of heart, particularly toward people on the fringes and borders of society. His openness caused rising opposition that led him to the cross. In the Acts of the Apostles we read more than once that the success of St. Paul's preaching to the gentiles provoked jealousy among some of the Jews, who opposed the Apostle and stirred up persecution against him (Acts 13:45; 17,5; 22,21-22). Also within the Christian community, we need only recall the situation in Corinth where similar possessive attitudes caused serious harm when many believers attached themselves jealously to one apostle or another; causing conflict and division in the community. Paul had to intervene forcefully (1 Corinthians 1:10-3:23).

Today's Gospel warns us to be on guard against certain attitudes that are incompatible with the example of Jesus: the human tendency to be possessive, and egoistic and small in mind and heart. We cannot forget that Jesus is the Savior of the world (John 4:42), and not of the village, town, city or nation!

In order to approach and imitate Jesus, who is total beauty and uniqueness, the quality of magnanimity is necessary in our hearts and minds. The opposite and enemy of magnanimity is envy. Envy is that fault in the human character that cannot recognize the beauty and uniqueness of the other, and denies the other honor. Envy can no longer see because the eyes are "nailed shut," blinded to one's own beauty and the beauty in others. Envy inevitably leads to forms of violence and destruction, of self and of others. In order to approach and imitate Jesus, who is total beauty and uniqueness, the attitude of envy must be first acknowledged and then banished.

Magnanimity lets others be free, for the other person must become great enough to be an image of God's beauty. Magnanimity arouses the desire in each of us for the other to receive the greatest possible satisfaction and happiness that rightly belongs to the other! Magnanimity is capable of looking beyond itself, it can grant the other what oneself perhaps bitterly lacks, and can perhaps even rejoice in the other's goodness, greatness and beauty.

Let us pray that Jesus not be amazed at our own unbelief, but rather rejoice in our small, daily acts of fidelity to him and our service to our sisters and brothers. May the Lord grant us magnanimous hearts so that we may look far beyond ourselves and recognize the goodness, greatness and beauty of other people, instead of being jealous of their gifts. God's power alone can save us from emptiness and poverty of spirit, from confusion and error, and from the fear of death and hopelessness. The gospel of salvation is "great news" for us today.

Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, chief executive officer of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network in Canada, is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

From: Ezekiel 2:2-5

The Prophet’s mission

[2] And when he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me upon my
feet; and I heard him speaking to me. [3] And he said to me, “Son of man, I
send you to the people of Israel, to a nation of rebels, who have rebelled against
me; they and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. [4]
The people also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them; and you shall
say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ [5] And whether they ear or refuse to
hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that there has been a pro-
phet among them.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

2:1-3:3. The vision by the river Chebar is all about the grandeur and glory of God,
who is sovereign over all things; whereas the account given of the call of Ezekiel
tells us about the prophet and about the people of Israel, for whom the message
is meant. The prophet is described as a son of man, whom the Spirit moves, a
prophet among the people; and they are a rebellious people. The account takes
the form of an address by the Lord containing a command to pass his word on
to the people (2: 1-7) and a symbolic action in which Ezekiel eats the scroll gi-
ven to him by God (2:8-3:3).

2:1. “Son of man”: this title is used repeatedly in these opening chapters. It oc-
curs later on, too, more than ninety times; but it has special significance here,
which is the first time it is used. Because Ezekiel is living in exile in a foreign
and therefore unclean country, he cannot be given grand titles. He is an ordinary
mortal, one creature among many, on an infinitely lower level than the Lord; one
more among his people, like them an exile, a person brought low, but also some-
one who has hope in his heart. St Gregory the Great explains the title like this:
“He is brought up often into heaven and his soul rejoices at great and beautiful
mysteries which remain invisible to us. But it is fitting that he be called “son of
man” while he contemplates those hidden wonders, so that he will not forget
who he is or glory in the splendour that has been revealed to him” (”Homiliae in
Ezechielem prophetam”, 1, 12, 22).

2:2. “The Spirit set me upon my feet”. In the vision of God’s glory, the word
“spirit” has three meanings. It is a natural thing — a stormy wind, breath, spirit
(1:4; cf. 13:11). From this comes the second meaning: “spirit” is an inner,
superhuman strength which guides the actions of living creatures and cherubim,
deciding when they should move and where they should go (cf. 1:12, 20, 21).
But in the account of the call of Ezekiel, “spirit” has a third meaning: it is life-
force, reminiscent of the “breath of life” that God breathed into man at the mo-
ment of creation (cf. Gen 2:7); this meaning will be seen more clearly in the vi-
sion of the bones brought back to life (cf. 37:5, 6, 8, 10). As a life-force, every
time that the spirit affects Ezekiel, it is to ‘‘set him on his feet’’ (cf. 2:1; 3:20),
to “lift him up’’ (cf. 3:12, 14, 24), so that he is better able to hear the word of
God and to see what is happening in the temple of Jerusalem cf. 8:3; 11:1; 43:
5) or in Babylon (cf. 11:24). It is therefore an inner energy that transforms the
prophet and helps him to hear or see things that he could not if left on his own,
for he is a mere “son of man”.

2:3. Israel is a “nation of rebels” or, as it is put a little further on in the text, a “re-
bellious house” (2:8). The book defines the people of Israel in this negative way
(cf. 2:5, 6, 8; 3:9) because it sums up the sinful history of their forebears and their
own hostility towards God. Their rebelliousness involves arrogance towards God,
rejection of his commandments, and refusal to listen to what he says. It makes
them stubborn: one can even see it in their faces. Time and again Ezekiel tells
them that their sin is grave, for they have freely chosen to adopt this attitude.
They “will not listen to you”, the Lord says to Ezekiel, “for they are not willing to
listen to me” (3:7). Precisely because sin requires a free act of the will, the pro-
phet puts special emphasis on personal responsibility. Each individual will be
punished for his or her sins, not for those of their forebears (cf. 18:1 32). Be-
cause the people are so rebellious, God wants the prophet to he especially do-
cile: “Do not be rebellious” (2:8). The Lord asks him to listen carefully to the
word of God and to accept it joyfully. The gesture of eating the scroll shows
what docility requires. Even though the scroll contains “words of lamentation
and mourning and woe” (2:10), the prophet will find it “sweet as honey” when he
does what he is told.

2:4. “Thus says the Lord God”: this makes it clear that the prophet is not speak-
ing on his own behalf. It is usually termed a “messenger formula” (words a mes-
senger uses to preface his message), and occurs often in other prophetical
books, particularly Isaiah and Jeremiah. However, in Ezekiel, where it appears
almost 130 times, the name of God is reinforced (“Lord God”), to signal the infinite
majesty of the Lord who speaks with full authority. The people’s stubbornness in
rejecting God’s word is an act of rebellion, and the docility shown by the prophet
is an almost obligatory act of submission. Ezekiel never resists the voice of the
Lord, never raises any personal objection or difficulty unlike Isaiah and Jeremiah.
On the contrary, knowing that he is passing on a divine message, not inventing
one of his own, he must do this bravely, and never flag, even if the people refuse
to listen (cf. 2:6-7; 3:11). “True prophets are those who say the words that God
has spoken to them; the prophet of God is the one who delivers the words of
God to men who cannot or do not deserve to understand God himself” (St Augus-
tine, “Quaestiones in Heptateuchum”, 2, 17).

2:5. “They will know that there has been a prophet among them”: a formal con-
firmation that Ezekiel is indeed a prophet. At a time when there was no king (for
he was the prisoner of Nebuchadnezzar) and no temple (for it had been profaned
and destroyed) and no social or religious institutions among the Jews, prophets
acquired increased status. The prophet was God’s only representative among
the people; he was the only one with authority to demand that they listen to his
message.

*********************************************************************************************
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: 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Visions and Revelations

[7] And to keep me [Paul] from being too elated by the abundance of revelations,
a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep
me from being too elated. [8] Three times I besought the Lord about this, that it
should leave me; [9] but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my
power is made perfect in weakness.” I will all the more gladly boast of my weak-
nesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [10] For the sake of Christ,
then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hard- ships, persecutions, and ca-
lamities; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

7-10. Displaying admirable humility, St Paul now refers to the weakness God al-
lowed him to experience to ensure his supernatural gifts did not make him proud.
It is impossible to say what exactly the “thorn in his flesh” was. Some Fathers—
St Augustine, for example—and modern commentators think that it was some
particularly painful and humiliating physical ailment, possibly the same one as
he refers to in Galatians 4:13f, where he also speaks in general terms. Others,
like St John Chrysostom, are of the view that he is referring to the pain which
continual persecution caused him. Others—from St Gregory the Great onwards
—opt for an ascetical interpretation; they say he is referring to temptations to do
with conscience; but the supporters of the two other theses argue, for example,
that it is unlikely that St Paul would have mentioned anything of that kind, be-
cause it could have given his enemies ammunition for further attacks.

St Paul asked God to take this “thorn” away, but the heavenly answer he re-
ceived is very revealing: God’s grace is enough to enable him to cope with this
difficulty—which serves to reveal God’s power. And so it is that he boasts of and
is content with his weaknesses and the persecution he suffers: in these circum-
stances he is stronger than ever, thanks to God’s supernatural help.

When commenting on this passage, St Thomas explains that God sometimes
permits certain kinds of evil in order to draw out greater good: for example, in or-
der to protect people from pride—the root of all vices — he sometimes allows his
chosen ones to be humiliated by an illness, or a defect, or even by mortal sin, in
order that “the person who is humbled in this way might recognize that he cannot
stand firm by his own efforts alone. Hence it is said in Romans 8:28, ‘We know
that in everything God works for good with those who love him’—not of course that
God seeks the sin but [the sinner’s] turning to him” (”Commentary on 2 Cor, ad
loc.”).

7. “A messenger of Satan”, an angel of Satan: this is how he describes the hu-
miliating “thorn”. This suggests that the disability could have been seen as an
obstacle to his work of evangelization—which the devil, logically, would have
been keen to frustrate (cf. 2:11; 11:14f).

8-10. Christians can learn a great deal about the ascetical struggle from these
words. They remind us, on the one hand, of the need to ask the Lord to help us
when we experience difficulties, and at the same time to be full of trust and to
abandon ourselves to God, who knows what is best for us. “The Lord is good”,
St Jerome teaches, “because he often does not give us what we desire, in order
to give us something we would prefer” (”Epist. ad Paulinum”).

The passage also shows us what attitude we should take to our own weakness:
“We have to glory”, St Alphonsus says, “in the knowledge of our own weakness
in order to acquire the strength of Jesus Christ, which is holy humility”, without
“giving in to lack of confidence, as the devil wants, and falling into more serious
sins” (”Treasury of Preaching Material”, II, 6).

At the same time this passage teaches us that awareness of our personal short-
comings should lead us to put all our trust in God: “We have to cry out cease-
lessly with a strong and humble faith, ‘Lord, put not your trust in me. But I, I put
my trust in you. ‘ Then, as we sense in our hearts the love, the compassion, the
tenderness of Christ’s gaze upon us (for he never abandons us) we shall come
to understand the full meaning of those words of St Paul, “virtus in infirmitate
perficitur” (2 Cor 12:9). If we have faith in our Lord, in spite of our failings — or
rather, with our failings—we shall be faithful to our Father, God; his divine power
will shine forth in us, sustaining us in our weakness” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends
of God”, 194).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Mark 6:1-6

No Prophet Is Honored In His Own Country

[1] He (Jesus) went away from there and came to His own country; and His
disciples followed Him. [2] And on the Sabbath He began to teach in the syna-
gogue; and many who heard Him were astonished saying, “Where did this man
get all this? What is the wisdom given to Him? What mighty works are wrought
by His hands! [3] Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James
and Joses and Judah and Simon, and are not His sisters here with us?” And
they took offense at Him. [4] And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without
honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.”
[5] And He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands upon
a few sick people and healed them. [6] And He marvelled because of their un-
belief.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1-3. Jesus is here described by His occupation and by the fact that He is the
son of Mary. Does this indicate that St. Joseph is dead already? We do not
know, but it is likely. In any event, the description is worth underlining: in the
Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Luke we are told of the virginal conception of
Jesus. St. Mark’s Gospel does not deal with our Lord’s infancy, but there may
be an allu- sion here to His virginal conception and birth, in His being described
as “the son of Mary.”

“Joseph, caring for the Child as he had been commanded, made Jesus a crafts-
man, transmitting his own professional skill to him. So the neighbors of Naza-
reth will call Jesus both “faber” and “fabri filius”: the craftsman and the son of
the craftsman” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Passing By”, 55). This message of
the Gospel reminds us that our vocation to work is not marginal to God’s plans.

“The truth that by means of work man participates in the activity of God Himself,
his Creator, was ‘given particular prominence by Jesus Christ’—the Jesus at
whom many of His first listeners in Nazareth ‘were astonished, saying, “Where
did this man get all this? What is the wisdom given to Him?... Is not this the
carpenter?’” (Mark 6:23). For Jesus not only proclaimed but first and foremost
fulfilled by His deeds the ‘Gospel’, the word of eternal Wisdom, that had been
entrusted to Him. Therefore this was also ‘the gospel of work’, be- cause ‘He
who proclaimed it was Himself a man of work’, a craftsman like Joseph of Naza-
reth (cf. Matthew 13:55). And if we do not find in His words a special command
to work—but rather on one occasion a prohibition against too much anxiety about
work and life—(Matthew 6:25-34)—at the same time the elo- quence of the life of
Christ is unequivocal: He belongs to the `working world’, He has appreciation
and respect for human work. It can indeed be said the ‘He looks with love upon
human work’ and the different forms that it takes, seeing in each one of these
forms a particular facet of man’s likeness with God, the Creator and Father”
(John Paul II, “Laborem Exercens”, 26).

St. Mark mentions by name a number of brothers of Jesus, and refers in general
to His sisters. But the word “brother” does not necessarily mean son of the
same parents. It can also indicate other degrees of relationship—cousins, ne-
phews, etc. Thus in Genesis 13:8 and 14:14 and 16 Lot is called the brother of
Abraham (translated as “kinsman” in RSV), whereas we know that he was Abra-
ham’s nephew, the son of Abraham’s brother Haran. The same is true of Laban,
who is called the brother of Jacob (Genesis 29:15) although he was his mother’s
brother (Genesis 29:15); there are other instances: cf. 1 Chronicles 23:21-22,
etc. This confusion is due to the poverty of Hebrew and Aramaic language: in the
absence of distinct terms, the same word, brother, is used to designate different
degrees of relationship.

>From other Gospel passages we know that James and Joses, who are mentioned
here, were sons of Mary of Clophas (John 19:25). We know less about Judas and
Simon: it seems that they are the Apostles Simon the Cananaean (Matthew 10:4)
and Judas the son of James (Luke 6:16), the author of the Catholic Epistle, in
which he describes himself as “brother” of James. In any event, although James,
Simon and Judas are referred to as brothers of Jesus, it is nowhere said they were
“sons of Mary”—which would have been the natural thing if they had been our Lord’s
brothers in the strict sense. Jesus always appears as an only son: to the people
of Nazareth, He is “the son of Mary” (Matthew 13:55). When He was dying Jesus
entrusted His mother to St. John (cf. John 19:26-27), which shows that Mary had
no other children. To this is added the constant belief of the Church, which regards
Mary as the ever-virgin: “a perfect virgin before, while, and forever after she gave
birth” (Paul IV, “Cum Quorumdam”).

5-6. Jesus worked no miracles here: not because He was unable to do so, but as
punishment for the unbelief of the townspeople. God wants man to use the grace
offered him, so that, by cooperating with grace, he become disposed to receive
further graces. As St. Augustine neatly puts it, “He who made you without your
own self, will not justify you without yourself” (”Sermon” 169).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

His Native Place

July 4th, 2009 by Fr. Paul Scalia

Tucked away in a little room on the ground floor of the National Gallery of Art you will find a wonderful medieval sculpture called “Holy Kinship.” It depicts Jesus, Mary and Joseph — and our Lord’s grandmother, grandfather, aunts, uncles and cousins. It shows His family to be much like any other. He has the bald uncle and the uncle with the funny beard. He has the aunts who look just like his mom (but not as pretty). He has cousins who are goofing off and ruining the family portrait.

When St. Mark tells us that our Lord “came to His native place” (Mk 6:1), he touches on this holy kinship. He identifies the town of our Lord’s youth and family, where He grew up knowing His mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, uncles, aunts, etc. No, He did not have any brothers or sisters (at least not in the literal sense of having been born of the same mother). But He did have cousins so close they were like siblings.

Our Lord grew up in a family. That was His native place. He did not come down from heaven full grown. He actually lived in a family and with all the relatives in the town. We know nothing about those 30 years of His life. We know nothing because those years are unremarkable; because He lived in the village, among His relatives, in His family — as all the others did.

This explains why they could not accept Him on His return: “[M]any who heard Him were astonished. They said, ‘Where did this man get all this? … Is He not the Carpenter, the Son of Mary?’” (Mk 6:2-3). They think it is all too much. They cannot bear to believe in Him as a great prophet, much less as God. They refuse to believe because He is so familiar. “They took offense at Him” (Mk 6:3). Their astonishment and offense provide positive witness to the ordinariness and simplicity of our Lord’s family life. They cannot believe because His family life was so ordinary.

The whole encounter calls to mind the importance of the family. Our Lord sanctified family life by living family life. By those 30 years He endorsed the family as His first community, His native place. It is indeed the world’s first community — willed by God at creation and chosen by God at the Incarnation. The family comes before every state and government — before every job, before every salary. It is there that we learn what it means to be human — to love, to pray, to work, to suffer, to forgive, to believe. Without the family, the individual, the society, the parish and the Church all suffer.

As the family in our society decays before our very eyes, the silence of our Lord’s 30 years in Nazareth becomes more and more eloquent. He placed Himself in the family; but our culture says that the family is somehow optional. Worse still, forces in our society want to redefine the family. Of course, if we change the definition of the family to suit ourselves it does not acquire new meaning — it ceases to have any meaning whatsoever.

The importance our Lord attached to the family should inspire us to defend it. We do not define this institution. God does. It is, in the end, not ours to manipulate and reconstruct to our liking. It is God’s — in the order both of creation and of redemption. It is his native place — which he has entrusted to us for our good. Indeed, for our salvation: “The history of mankind, the history of salvation, passes by way of the family” (John Paul II).

Fr. Scalia is parochial vicar of St. Rita parish in Alexandria, VA.

(This article courtesy of the Arlington Catholic Herald.)

The Work of God

Year B

- 14th Sunday in ordinary time

A prophet is despised in his own country, and in his own house, and among his own kindred.

Mark 6:1-6

1 And going out from there, he went into his own country; and his disciples followed him.
2 And when the sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were in admiration at his doctrine, saying: How came this man by all these things? and what wisdom is this that is given to him, and such mighty works as are wrought by his hands?
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and Jude, and Simon? are not also his sisters here with us? And they were scandalized in regard of him.
4 And Jesus said to them: A prophet is despised in his own country, and in his own house, and among his own kindred.
5 And he could not do any miracles there, only that he cured a few that were sick, laying his hands upon them.
6 And he wondered because of their unbelief, and he went through the villages round about teaching.

Inspiration of the Holy Spirit - From the Sacred Heart of Jesus

14th Sunday in ordinary time - A prophet is despised in his own country, and in his own house, and among his own kindred.

It was very disconcerting for me to see how many people would marvel temporarily about my miracles, about the words of wisdom they listened to and how even then they would not realize that God was doing wonders among them. All the prophets demonstrated that they were bringing a divine message and they deserved to be listened to, however they all perished because of the hypocrisy of those who heard them with doubts and contempt, they sinned by underestimating the gift of God, together with those who didn’t listen to me and don’t even listen now but reject my Word.

Who can have words like God, who can unite power to his word the way God does, who can speak perfectly without error, expressing himself directly from Wisdom, the way God does? There is only one who has been able to do that, and He is the same Word of God, He who is the Incarnate Word, the Wisdom of God that has come to the earth, Jesus, your friend, your heavenly doctor, the true way, the truth and the life.

How difficult it was for me to convince the humanity that listened to me, even demonstrating my power, so that they would see that the Holy Scriptures were being fulfilled before their eyes, many were called, but few were chosen.

Many expected the Messiah, but few recognized Him when he came, many sought Him, but few found Him, and even after finding Him and listening to His testimony, they rejected His teachings and preferred to put Him aside. For this reason, their hearts were filled with jealousy and evil, beginning with those who knew me since my childhood and could not accept what their eyes were seeing, those who studied the law of Moses and had been filled with human precepts that had nothing to do with the divine teachings. Finding something new, something unconventional, those people rejected me totally, they despised the gift that God had sent them and they closed their eyes so that they would not see the Light that descended from above.

For many souls who look for God, it is very difficult to recognize the spiritual encounter that I have with each one, many think, “I am not worthy to receive the Lord”, then, closed in their almost noble concepts, they don’t realize about my Presence, they reject the inspirations of my Holy Spirit, they despise the opportunities to do good, without knowing that I am providing them with ways to get close to Me. Eventually they become cold in the faith, they come to the point of even forgetting that I am really Present in the Church, just as I promised; doubts run through their minds, especially about my Sacramental Presence.

Many Christians ask themselves, who is this, of flesh and blood, who wears a robe, who is claiming to consecrate bread and wine and brings Jesus to the altar, how is it, that a man has the power to forgive sins and unite me to God? Well, these are doing exactly the same they did to me in my own land; they are despising me in those that I have anointed with my Divine Word, which is capable of doing anything. Those who reject my priests are rejecting Me, those who don’t open their spiritual ears because they are bound to their material world, are missing out on the gift that God is offering for the healing of all their evils.

If there was not faith before my corporal Presence here on earth, it is more difficult to believe in me now, when minds are saturating themselves daily with the rubbish of the world, this is why I have destined throughout all generations faithful instruments to my Word who are the means of reaching out to those who are about to be lost forever. Blessed are those who believe in me without seeing, those who without experiencing my miracles have faith, because they recognize the dignity of my Person and the unique value of my Word.

I have many blessings in store for those who have faith in me. My Peace and my Grace flow into their lives like rivers of Heavenly Light, their joy is continuous and secure, because they are walking firmly on my way.

Author: Joseph of Jesus and Mary

The Road to Emmaus

Fourteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

By Brian Pizzalato *

First Reading – Ez. 2:2-5Responsorial Psalm – Ps. 123:1-2, 2, 3-4

Second Reading – 2 Cor. 12:7-10

Gospel Reading – Mk. 6:1-6

The Gospel reading for this Sunday stands in stark contract from what has just taken place in the reading last week. In Mark 5:21-43 Jesus healed a woman who was hemorrhaging for twelve years, and raised a twelve year old girl from the dead. The people “were overcome with amazement” (5:42b).

Jesus now travels back to his hometown of Nazareth, a city of no more than a few hundred people. In a real sense they would have been considered family. Their reaction to his miracle, however, is quite different than those outside of his hometown. They are not “overcome with amazement.” They are astonished in a different sense. They approach Jesus with doubt and skepticism. They consider him to be a nobody. “They took offense at him” (Mark 6:3c).

Whereas the people of Mark 5:21-43 are overcome with amazement at Jesus works, Jesus, in Mark 6:1-6, is “marveled because of their unbelief.”

Jesus places himself within a long line of prophets who have been rejected. “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house” (Mark 6:4). As Mary Healy notes in her commentary, The Gospel of Mark, “By referring to himself as a prophet Jesus links himself to that of the long line of Old Testament prophets who suffered rejection or violence because of the unpopularity of their message” (p. 113, cf. 2 Chronicles 24:19; 36:16; Nehemiah 9:26, 30; Jeremiah 35:15; Daniel 9:6, 10; Hosea 9:7).

The Old Testament reading for this Sunday is taken from the prophet Ezekiel. He too was rejected.

The days of Ezekiel

Ezekiel was a prophet who lived during the seventy-year Babylonian captivity of the southern Kingdom of Judah. Ezekiel was taken away into captivity by the Babylonians during the second of three waves of deportation. At the time of the third wave of deportations, the Babylonians also destroyed Jerusalem, and most importantly, the temple.

The reading from Ezekiel 2:2-5 for this Sunday takes place before the third wave of deportations and the destruction of the temple. Ezekiel, in chapter four, will go on to warn the people that the temple will be destroyed.

The people of Ezekiel’s day were “a nation of rebels…impudent and stubborn” (2:3,4). They were idolatrous to the very heart. They would go on to reject Ezekiel, like they had all of the prophets before him, thus Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed in 587 B.C.

Back to Jesus

Jesus is a prophet much like Ezekiel. He prophesies to his own people and he is rejected. The people acknowledge his “wisdom” and “mighty works,” but as Mary Healy notes, “The people cannot bring themselves to draw the logical conclusion of their reasoning” (p. 112). What logical conclusion might that be? The logical conclusion based on Scripture is that Jesus is in fact God.

Healy says, “Wisdom and mighty deeds (dynameis) are attributes of God himself (Jer 10:12; 51:15; Dan 2:20), and Scripture often refers to the great deeds accomplished by God’s ‘hand’ (Exod 32:11; Deut 4:34; 7:19)” (p. 112).

The consequences of the people’s rejection of Jesus will be similar to those of Ezekiel’s day. In Mark 13, Jesus, as he makes his way out of the temple, foretells of its destruction, “There will not be one stone left upon another that will not be thrown down” (v. 2).

One further lesson <

One further point that might be mentioned about this Sunday’s Gospel reading is that it gives us a glimpse into the extraordinary ordinariness of Jesus’ everyday life while growing up in Nazareth. Nothing spectacular took place during those years, no mighty deeds, not signs and wonders.

During these years Jesus sanctified family life and work, through his humble participation in these activities of everyday life.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church quotes Pope Paul VI’s words during his pilgrimage to Nazareth. He says, “The home of Nazareth is the school where we begin to understand the life of Jesus - the school of the Gospel. First, then, a lesson of silence. May esteem for silence, that admirable and indispensable condition of mind, revive in us…A lesson on family life. May Nazareth teach us what family life is, its communion of love, its austere and simple beauty, and its sacred and inviolable character...A lesson of work. Nazareth, home of the ‘Carpenter's Son,’ in you I would choose to understand and proclaim the severe and redeeming law of human work…To conclude, I want to greet all the workers of the world, holding up to them their great pattern their brother who is God” (533).

Mass Readings

First reading	Ezekiel 2:2-5 ©
The spirit came into me and made me stand up, and I heard the Lord speaking to me. He said, ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebels who have turned against me. Till now they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me. The sons are defiant and obstinate; I am sending you to them, to say, “The Lord says this.” Whether they listen or not, this set of rebels shall know there is a prophet among them.’

First reading

The spirit came into me and made me stand up, and I heard the Lord speaking to me. He said, ‘Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to the rebels who have turned against me. Till now they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me. The sons are defiant and obstinate; I am sending you to them, to say, “The Lord says this.” Whether they listen or not, this set of rebels shall know there is a prophet among them.’

Psalm or canticle: Psalm 122:1-4

Second reading	2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ©
In view of the extraordinary nature of these revelations, to stop me from getting too proud I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan to beat me and stop me from getting too proud! About this thing, I have pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me, but he has said, ‘My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness.’ So I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me, and that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.

Second reading

In view of the extraordinary nature of these revelations, to stop me from getting too proud I was given a thorn in the flesh, an angel of Satan to beat me and stop me from getting too proud! About this thing, I have pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me, but he has said, ‘My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness.’ So I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me, and that is why I am quite content with my weaknesses, and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and the agonies I go through for Christ’s sake. For it is when I am weak that I am strong.

Gospel	Mark 6:1-6 ©
Jesus went to his home town and his disciples accompanied him. With the coming of the sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue and most of them were astonished when they heard him. They said, ‘Where did the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house’; and he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

Gospel

Mark 6:1-6 ©

Jesus went to his home town and his disciples accompanied him. With the coming of the sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue and most of them were astonished when they heard him. They said, ‘Where did the man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been granted him, and these miracles that are worked through him? This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon? His sisters, too, are they not here with us?’ And they would not accept him. And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is only despised in his own country, among his own relations and in his own house’; and he could work no miracle there, though he cured a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.

http://beingbob.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/sunday-bible-readings-july-5-2009-14th-week-in-ordinary-time-2/

Sunday Bible Readings July 5 2009 14th Week in Ordinary Time

Posted by Bob on July 5, 2009

July 5 2009 Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

About the sources used. The readings on this site are not official for the Mass of Roman Rite of the Catholic Church in the USA, but are from sources free from copyright. They are here to present the comparable readings alongside traditional Catholic commentary as published in the Haydock Bible for your own personal study. Readings vary depending on your local calendar.

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/070509.shtml

Ezekiel 2:2-5
Douay-Rheims Challoner

And the spirit entered into me after that he spoke to me, and he set me upon my feet: and I heard him speaking to me, And saying:

Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious people, that hath revolted from me, they, and their fathers, have transgressed my covenant even unto this day. And they to whom I send thee are children of a hard face, and of an obstinate heart: and thou shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord God: If so be they at least will hear, and if so be they will forbear, for they are a provoking house: and they shall know that there hath been a prophet in the midst of them.

Responsorial Psalm 122:1-2, 2, 3-4 (Ps 123 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

To thee have I lifted up my eyes, who dwellest in heaven.
Behold as the eyes of servants are on the hands of their masters,
As the eyes of the handmaid are on the hands of her mistress:
so are our eyes unto the Lord our God, until he have mercy on us.
Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us:
for we are greatly filled with contempt.
For our soul is greatly filled: we are a reproach to the rich,
and contempt to the proud.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10
Haydock New Testament

And lest the greatness of the revelations should puff me up, there was given me a sting of my flesh, an angel of Satan, to buffet me. For which thing I thrice besought the Lord, that it might depart from me: And he said to me: My grace is sufficient for thee: for power is made perfect in infirmity. Gladly, therefore, will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I take pleasure in my infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am powerful.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint Mark 6:1-6
Haydock New Testament

AND going out from thence, he went into his own country; and his disciples followed him. And when the sabbath was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were in admiration at his doctrine: saying:

How came this man by all these things? And what wisdom is this that is given to him, and such mighty works as are wrought by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph, and Jude and Simon? Are not also his sisters here with us?

And they were scandalized in regard of him. And Jesus said to them:

A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and in his own house, and among his own kindred.

And he could not do any miracle there, only that he healed a few that were sick, laying hands upon them; And he wondered because of their unbelief, and he went through the villages round about teaching.

Haydock Commentary Ezekiel 2:2-5
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

Ver. 2. Spirit of prophecy; (S. Jer. T.) or, I revived, and took courage.
Ver. 3. Israel. His commission was chiefly to them. C.
Ver. 5. Forbear to sin. H. — He thus insinuates free-will. S. Jer. — If they refuse to hear my prophet, they will at least perceive that hey are inexcusable. C.

Haydock Commentary 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

Ver. 7-10. A sting of my flesh,[1] an angel, or a messenger of Satan, to buffet me. The Latin word signifies any thing that pricks or stings, the Greek word a sharp stick or pale: he speaks by a metaphor, as also when he says to buffet me; that is, by causing great trouble or pain. Some understand by it a violent headache or pain, or distemper in the body. S. Aug. mentions this opinion, and does not reject it, in Ps. xcviii. tom. 4. p. 1069. in Ps. cxxx. p. 1465. S. Jer. also speaks of it in c. iv. ad Galatas, tom. 4. p. 274. Ed. Ben. But S. Chrys. by sting, and the angel of Satan, understands that opposition which S. Paul met with from his enemies, and those of the gospel; as Satan signifies an adversary. Others understand troublesome temptations of the flesh, immodest thoughts, and representations, suggested by the devil, and permitted by Almighty God for his greater good. — Thrice I besought the Lord. That is, many times, to be freed from it, but received only this answer from God, that his grace was sufficient to preserve me from consenting to sin. And that power and strength in virtue should increase, and be perfected in weakness, and by temptations, when they are resisted. S. Aug. seems to favour this exposition, in Ps. lviii. Conc. 2. p. 573. S. Jerom, in his letters to Eustochium, to Demetrias, and to Rusticus, the monk. And it is the opinion of S. Greg. l. 23. moral. tom. 1. p. 747. and of many others. Wi. — If there were any danger of pride from his revelations, the base and filthy suggestions of the enemy of souls must cause humiliations, and mke him blush. But these are to be borne with submission to the will of God, for his power is more evident in supporting man under the greatest trials, than in freeing him from the attacks. — Power is made perfect. The strength and power of God more perfectly shines forth in our weakness and infirmity; as the more weak we are of ourselves, the more illustrious is his grace in supporting us, and giving us the victory under all trials and conflicts. Ch. — When I am weak. The more I suffer for Christ, the more I perceive the effects of his all-powerful grace, which sustains, enlightens, and strengthens me: the more also the glory and power of God appeareth in me. The pagans themselves were not ignorant that calamity was the soil in which virtue usually grows to perfection. Calamitas virtutis occasio est. Seneca. — Optimos nos esse dum infirmi sumus. Plin. vii. ep. 26.

Haydock Commentary Mark 6:1-6

Ver. 1. After the miracles that Christ had performed, though he was not ignorant how much they despised him, yet that there might be no excuse for their disbelief, he condescended to return to them. Theophylactus.
Ver. 3. S. Matthew relates that they asked: Is not this the son of the carpenter? It is not improbable that both questions were asked; it was certainly very natural to take him for a carpenter, who was the son of one. S. Austin. — They were scandalized at his lowly birth and humble parentage. Hence Jesus Christ take occasion to expose the malice and envy of the Jews, in refusing him, and to shew that the Gentiles would more esteem him. See Luke iv. 25, and John i.

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