Tuesday 8/4/2020 Live Stream Mass at St. Monica Catholic Church

Thank you for joining the St. Monica’s Live Stream Mass for Tuesday 8/4/2020, Memorial of Saint John Vianney, Priest

Readings for Tuesday 8/4/2020

Reading 1

The following message came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel:
Write all the words I have spoken to you in a book.

For thus says the LORD:
Incurable is your wound,
grievous your bruise;
There is none to plead your cause,
no remedy for your running sore,
no healing for you.
All your lovers have forgotten you,
they do not seek you.
I struck you as an enemy would strike,
punished you cruelly;
Why cry out over your wound?
your pain is without relief.
Because of your great guilt,
your numerous sins,
I have done this to you.

Thus says the LORD:
See! I will restore the tents of Jacob,
his dwellings I will pity;
City shall be rebuilt upon hill,
and palace restored as it was.
From them will resound songs of praise,
the laughter of happy men.
I will make them not few, but many;
they will not be tiny, for I will glorify them.
His sons shall be as of old,
his assembly before me shall stand firm;
I will punish all his oppressors.
His leader shall be one of his own,
and his rulers shall come from his kin.
When I summon him, he shall approach me;
how else should one take the deadly risk
of approaching me? says the LORD.
You shall be my people,
and I will be your God.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 102:16-18, 19-21, 29 AND 22-23

R. (17) The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
When the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
When he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
R. The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
“The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
To hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die.”
R. The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.
The children of your servants shall abide,
and their posterity shall continue in your presence,
That the name of the LORD may be declared on Zion;
and his praise, in Jerusalem,
When the peoples gather together
and the kingdoms, to serve the LORD.
R. The Lord will build up Zion again, and appear in all his glory.

Alleluia

JN 1:49B

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Rabbi, you are the Son of God;
you are the King of Israel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

MT 14:22-26

Jesus made the disciples get into a boat
and precede him to the other side of the sea,
while he dismissed the crowds.
After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
When it was evening he was there alone.
Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore,
was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.
During the fourth watch of the night,
he came toward them, walking on the sea.
When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.
“It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear.
At once Jesus spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
He said, “Come.”
But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened;
and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him,
and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”
After they got into the boat, the wind died down.
Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying,
“Truly, you are the Son of God.”

After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret.
When the men of that place recognized him,
they sent word to all the surrounding country.
People brought to him all those who were sick
and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak,
and as many as touched it were healed.

or:

Mt 15:1-2, 10-14

Some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
“Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?
They do not wash their hands when they eat a meal.”
He summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand.
It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles the man;
but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.”
Then his disciples approached and said to him,
“Do you know that the Pharisees took offense
when they heard what you said?”
He said in reply, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted
will be uprooted.
Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind.
If a blind man leads a blind man,
both will fall into a pit.”

Courage, Charity & Truth

Then his disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” He said in reply, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” Matthew 15:12-14

Why were the Pharisees offended? In part because Jesus just spoke critically of them. But it was more than that. They were also offended because Jesus doesn’t even answer their question.

These Pharisees and scribes came to ask Jesus what was, in their minds, a very important question. They wanted to know why His disciples failed to follow the tradition of the elders by not washing their hands before they ate. But Jesus does something interesting. Instead of answering their question, He gathers a crowd and says, “Hear and understand. It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles the man; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one” (Mt. 15:10b-11). So they were offended by Jesus both because of what He said and because He didn’t even say it to them but spoke it to the crowds.

What’s interesting to note is that sometimes the most charitable thing one can do will result in another being offended. We ought not recklessly offend. But it seems that one of the cultural tendencies of our day and age is to avoid offending people at all costs. As a result, we dumb down morality, ignore clear teachings of faith, and make “getting along” one of the most important “virtues” we strive for.

In the passage above, it’s clear that Jesus’ disciples are concerned about the fact that the Pharisees were offended by Jesus. They worry and appear to want Jesus to fix this tense situation. But Jesus makes His position clear. “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit” (Mt. 15:14).

Charity requires the truth. And sometimes the truth will sting a person to the heart. Clearly this is exactly what the Pharisees need even though they fail to change, which is evident by the fact that they ultimately killed Jesus. But, nonetheless, these truths spoken by our Lord were acts of charity and were the truth that these scribes and Pharisees needed to hear.

Reflect, today, upon how willing you are to speak the hard truth in love when a situation requires it. Do you have the courage you need to charitably speak an “offensive” truth that needs to be spoken? Or do you tend to cower and prefer to allow people to remain in their error so that you do not agitate them? Courage, charity and truth must become deeply intertwined in our lives. Make this your prayer and mission so that you will better imitate our divine Lord.

Lord, please do give me courage, truth, wisdom and charity so that I may be a better instrument of Your love and mercy to the world. May I never allow fear to control me. Please remove any blindness from my heart so that I can see clearly the many ways You desire to use me to lead others to You. Jesus, I trust in You.

Source of content: mycatholic.life