Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 6-26-02

Reading I
2 Kgs 22:8-13; 23:1-3

The high priest Hilkiah informed the scribe Shaphan,
"I have found the book of the law in the temple of the Lord."
Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it.
Then the scribe Shaphan went to the king and reported,
"Your servants have smelted down the metals available in the temple
and have consigned them to the master workmen
in the temple of the Lord."
The scribe Shaphan also informed the king
that the priest Hilkiah had given him a book,
and then read it aloud to the king.
When the king heard the contents of the book of the law,
he tore his garments and issued this command to Hilkiah the priest,
Ahikam, son of Shaphan,
Achbor, son of Micaiah, the scribe Shaphan,
and the king's servant Asaiah:
"Go, consult the Lord for me, for the people, for all Judah,
about the stipulations of this book that has been found,
for the anger of the Lord has been set furiously ablaze against us,
because our fathers did not obey the stipulations of this book,
nor fulfill our written obligations."

The king then had all the elders of Judah
and of Jerusalem summoned together before him.
The king went up to the temple of the Lord with all the men of Judah
and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem:
priests, prophets, and all the people, small and great.
He had the entire contents of the book of the covenant
that had been found in the temple of the Lord, read out to them.
Standing by the column, the king made a covenant before the Lord
that they would follow him
and observe his ordinances, statutes and decrees
with their whole hearts and souls,
thus reviving the terms of the covenant
which were written in this book.
And all the people stood as participants in the covenant.

Responsorial Psalm
119:33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40

R. (33a) Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Instruct me, O Lord, in the way of your statutes,
that I may exactly observe them.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Lead me in the path of your commands,
for in it I delight.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Incline my heart to your decrees
and not to gain.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Turn away my eyes from seeing what is vain:
by your way give me life.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your justice give me life.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.

Gospel
Mt 7:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,
and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them."

The Responsorial Psalm is so applicable today, not only for those leading a consecrated life and the hierarchy, but also the us, the people great and small in America.

Responsorial Psalm
119:33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 40

R. (33a) Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Instruct me, O Lord, in the way of your statutes,
that I may exactly observe them.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Lead me in the path of your commands,
for in it I delight.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Incline my heart to your decrees
and not to gain.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Turn away my eyes from seeing what is vain:
by your way give me life.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.
Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your justice give me life.
R. Teach me the way of your decrees, O Lord.

And beware of false prophets....................

Gospel
Mt 7:15-20

Jesus said to his disciples:
"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing,
but underneath are ravenous wolves.
By their fruits you will know them.
Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
Just so, every good tree bears good fruit,
and a rotten tree bears bad fruit.
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down
and thrown into the fire.
So by their fruits you will know them."

I just wanted to say that I greatly enjoy this Daily Mass Reading you started for the Catholic Caucus. I rarely attend Mass outside of Sunday and other Holy Days of Obligation, and know I miss a lot. Spending ten to fifteen minutes reading and contemplating the Word of God every day has been a blessing.

So, thank you and God bless!

I too rarely get to Mass outside of Sundays and Holy Days, so this is refreshing for me! Today was the first day I attended a weekday Mass in a long time. Today was the final day of the Couple to Couple League Convention (here in Shawnee OK). For those who don't know them, they promote and teach Natural Family Planning. There were almost 1,300 mothers, fathers, and children from the U.S., Canada, and elsewhere. It really boosted my spirits to share not only NFP with others, but the true Catholic faith. It especially came at a good time for me, as I am expecting our second child in about 10 weeks and am feeling overwhelmed about homeschooling, having a new baby, etc. The sentiments and truths that I heard from the speakers and attendees has really put things in perspective for me and reminded me that God will not give me anything that I cannot handle.

Sorry for the long speech, but I am feeling very spiritual today! BTW, there are pictures of the convention posted at www.ccli.org (just click on Convention 2002).

I wish I could have gone. I'm a BIG proponent of NFP and wish that the Catholic Church would do more to promote it, and condemn the use of birth control. I think if more people understood how NFP works -- and what birth control does to ones body and ones marriage -- that more Catholics would opt for NFP, if for no other reason than because they want to please God.

Spending ten to fifteen minutes reading and contemplating the Word of God every day has been a blessing.

When I started doing this I figured that if even one person was helped or moved by the readings it would be worth it. Thank you for your feedback.

BTW, I am going to be attending a Beginning Experience Convention in Nashville next week and Lady in Blue has graciously agreed to post the Daily Readings.

Your convention sounds like it was both spiritual and great to get together as a group.

We all need to realize that we as individuals, can reach out to former Catholics who are not attending Mass regularly or who are C and E Catholics, as well as the unchurched. We never know when God will put us into another person's life and we may leave having made a little bit of a difference in that one life.

Tuesday was Clergy Day at the convention, and priests from all over attended (some attended the whole convention, as did many religious brothers and sisters--it was so wonderful to see). I felt very heartened in talking with some who were very, very informed on NFP and didn't mince words on birth control. There is an archbishop (I can't remember from where, my brain just soaked up so much the last few days) that has really stuck to his guns and made NFP training mandatory in his diocese, no ifs, ands, or buts. I have noticed that our parish has become much more vocal in promoting NFP--our priest attended on Tuesday and he seemed extremely excited about the whole event. In OK, we have very few teaching couples--in fact, the one from our parish (the husband is our daughter's dr.), is the only one for quite an area.

Anyway, we had a GREAT lineup of speakers, from the Kippleys to Kimberly Hahn to Gregory Popcak to Gerry Bradley, and so many more! I can't wait to get the tapes from the convention--especially Deacon Bob McDonald, who I spoke to after his talk and found to be a very wonderful man!

Sorry for the run-on again--it was just an awesome event! They are saying that the next convention will be in Chicago in late July 2004. If my in-laws haven't left there by then, I will be there, and hopefully my husband can attend this one!

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