Sunday 7 July 2019 – Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings

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Sunday 7 July 2019 – Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time Readings

Theme of the Sunday: Sent to Announce Peace. In his letter to the Romans, Paul says that one cannot believe in Christ without first having heard about him. Faith depends on preaching (Rom 10:14-17). The gospel of today begins by recalling the need for people who will announce the word of God; it goes on to show how they should carry out their mission. They are reminded not to be discouraged, that evil has already been defeated and the victory of the kingdom of God is assured. The first reading is in line with this last part of the gospel. When troubles ethnic we should not forget that the promises of God will always be realised. The lamb does not rely on its own strength but on the help of the shepherd; a child may be weak, but is safe in the arms of its mother. The second reading is also about this. Paul says that his glory is in the cross of Christ. Those who proclaim the gospel must not rely on their own strength. Our strength comes from the word that we proclaim.

FIRST READING Isaiah 66:10-14c
“Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her, all who love her; rejoice with her I joy, all you who mourn over her; that you may suck and be satisfied with her consoling breasts; that you may drink deeply with delight from the abundance of her glory.” For thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will extend prosperity to her like a river, and the wealth of the nations like an overflowing stream; and you shall suck, you shall be carried upon her hip, and fondled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you; you shall be comforted in Jerusalem. You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bones shall flourish like the grass; and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants.”
The word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 66:1-3a.4-5.6-7a. 16 and 20 (R. 1)
R. Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.

Cry out with joy to God, all the earth;
O sing to the glory of his name.
O render him glorious praise.
Say to God, “How awesome your deeds!” R.

“Before you all the earth shall bow down,
shall sin to you, sing to your name!”
Come and see the works of God:
awesome his deeds among the children of men. R

He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
Let our joy, then, be in him;
he rules forever by his might. R.

Come and hear, all who fear God;
I will tell what he did for my soul.
Blest be God, who did not reject my prayer,
nor withhold from me his merciful love. R.

SECOND READING Galatians 6: 14-18
Brethren: Far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. Peace and mercy be upon all who walk by this rule, upon the Israel of God. Henceforth let no man trouble me; for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren. Amen.
The word of the Lord.

ALLELUIA Colossians 3 : 15a.16a
Alleluia. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts; let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Alleluia.

GOSPEL Luke 10:1-12.17-20
At that time: The Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to come. And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and salute no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house! ’And if a son of peace is there, your peace shall rest upon him; but if not, it shall return to you. And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not go from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and they receive you, eat what is set before you; heal the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ‘
But whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off against you; nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on that day for Sodom than for that town.” The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
The Gospel of the Lord.

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Saturday 6 July 2019 Reflection

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Saturday 6 July 2019 Reflection

Not minding the intent of this question, Jesus shows in His response that fidelity to structures is not necessarily the sure way to salvation. There should be some correspondence between the faith we profess and the life we live. Our Christianity shouldn’t be one that ends on Sundays or in the church. It should permeate our workplaces, our businesses, our schools and all we do. It makes little or no sense when a Christian fast and prays in the church and yet is quarrelsome and troublesome at home. The challenge today is for us not to be too concerned with external religious practices against interior life.

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Saturday 6 July 2019 Readings

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Saturday 6 July 2019 Readings

FIRST READING Genesis 27:1-5.15-29
When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called Esau his older son, and said to him, “My son.” And he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me, and prepare for me savoury food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat; that I may bless you before I die.” Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. And Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it. Then Rebekah took the best garments of Esau her older son. Which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son; and the skins of the kids [which Jacob had brought to her she put upon his hands and upon the smooth part of his neck; and she gave the savoury food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son, Jacob. So he went in to his father, and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am; who are you, my son?” Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your first-born. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that you may bless me.” But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” And he did not recognise him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” Then he said, “Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son’s game and bless you.” So he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said, “See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which the Lord has blessed! May God give you of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be every one who curses you, and blessed be every one who blesses you!”
The word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 135:lb-2.3-4.5-6 (R. 3a)
R. Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.

Praise the name of the Lord;
praise him, servants of the Lord,
who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God. R.

Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.
Sing a psalm to his name, for this is our delight.
For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
and Israel as his treasured possession. R.

For I know that the Lord is great,
that our LORD is high above all gods.
The Lord does whatever he wills,
in heaven, and on earth,
in the seas, and in all the depths. R.

ALLELUIA John 10:27
Alleluia. My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; and I know them, and they follow me. Alleluia.

GOSPEL Matthew 9:14-17
At that time: The disciples of John came to Jesus, saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come, when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. And no one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an oldy garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins; if it is, the skins burst, and the wine is spilled, and the skins are destroyed; but new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
The Gospel of the Lord.

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Friday 5 July 2019 Reflection

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Friday 5 July 2019 Reflection

The call to follow Christ is strictly his choice. The condition for that choice is also His. Hence scripture says in Isaiah’s prophecy: “My ways are not your ways, and my thoughts not your thoughts.” I suppose those around must wonder why Christ calls Matthew. They also must wonder how he chooses to dine with tax collectors and sinners. This is the mystery of God. God is not so much concerned about our sins than his desire to save your from our sins. Do not let your opportunity to be called to salvation by God today be smeared by the guilt of your sin.

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Friday 5 July 2019 Readings

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Friday 5 July 2019 Readings

FIRST READING Genesis 23 : 1-4.l9; 24: 1-8.62-67
Sarah lived a hundred and twenty-seven years; these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died at Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead, and said to the Hittites, “I am a stranger and a sojourner among you; give me property among you for a burying place, that I may bury my dead out of my sight.” After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Now Abraham was old, well advanced in years; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. And Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell, but will go to my country and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” The servant said to him, “Perhaps the woman may not be willing to follow me to this land; must I then take your son back to the land from which you came?” Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your descendants I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.” When the servant returned with Rebekah, Isaac was dwelling in the Negeb. And Isaac went out to meditate in the field in the evening; and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, there were camels coming. And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and. when she saw Isaac, she alighted from the camel, and said to the servant, “Who is the man yonder, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he had done. Then Isaac brought her into the tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her. So Isaac was comforted after his mother’s death.
The word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 106:lb-2.3-4ab.4c-5 (R. lb)
R. O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
for his mercy endures forever.
Who can tell the Lord’s mighty deeds,
or recount in full his praise? R.

Blessed are they who observe what is just,
who at all times do what is right.
O Lord, remember me
with the favour you show to your people. R.

Visit me with your saving power,
that I may see the riches of your chosen ones,
and may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
boasting in the glory of your heritage. R.

ALLELUIA Matthew 11:28
Alleluia. Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, says the Lord. Alleluia.

GOSPEL Matthew 9:9-13
At that time: As Jesus passed on, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax office; and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him. And as he sat at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
The Gospel of the Lord.

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Thursday 4 July 2019 Reflection

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Thursday 4 July 2019 Reflection

When God tells Abraham to sacrifice his only beloved son Isaac, It is like taking Abraham’s life. But he obeys. This eventually grants Abraham countless generations, as many as the stars. His descendants are favoured to possess the land of their enemies. Obedience to God most certainly will cost you a lot, but the reward of such obedience is limitless. To worship God in truth we must sacrifice sinful pleasures. But no sacrifice made to God goes unnoticed. God will not be so unjust as to forget the sacrifices we make for the sake of his name (Heb 6:11).

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Thursday 4 July 2019 Readings

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Thursday 4 July 2019 Readings

FIRST READING Genesis 22: 1-19
In those days: God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only- begotten son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac; and he cut the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place afar off. Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you.” And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife. So they went both of them together. And Isaac said to his father Abraham, “My father!” And he said, “Here am I, my son.” He said, “Behold, the fire and the wood; but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” Abraham said, “God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son.” So they went both of them together. When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only-begotten son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place The Lord will provide; as it is said to this day, “On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided.” And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only-begotten son, I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.” So Abraham returned to his young men, and they arose and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba.
The word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 116: 1-2.3-4.5-6.8-9 (R. 9)
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.

I love the Lord, for he has heard
my voice, my appeal;
for he has turned his ear to me
whenever I call. R.

They surrounded me, the snares of death;
the anguish of the grave has found me;
anguish and sorrow I found.
I called on the name of the Lord:
“Deliver my soul, O Lord!” R.

How gracious is the Lord, and just;
our God has compassion.
The Lord protects the simple;
I was brought low, and he saved me. R.

He has kept my soul from death,
my eyes from tears,
and my feet from stumbling.
I will walk in the presence of the Lord
in the land of the living. R.

ALLELUIA 2 Corinthians 5: 19
Alleluia. God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Alleluia.

GOSPEL Matthew 9: 1-8
At that time: Getting into a boat Jesus crossed over and came to his own city. And behold, they brought to him a para1ytic, lying on his bed; and when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven.” And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming.” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts? For 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, take up your bed and go home.” And he rose and went home. When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.
The Gospel of the Lord.

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Wednesday July 3rd, 2019 Reflection

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Wednesday July 3rd, 2019 Reflection

Today we commemorate the feast day of one of the twelve apostles. He is remembered as the one who doubted the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, he gives us the most radical confession of the divinity of Jesus: ‘My Lord and my God.’ In the spiritual realm, the journey from doubt to belief is a long one. However, it is not impossible. Thomas made that journey. Faith leads us to wonder, and that wonder is expressed in worship. Through the gift of faith we too are moved into recognizing and believing the presence of God in our experiences. May the Lord Jesus increase our faith, especially in those moments of our lives when it is most convenient to doubt.

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Wednesday July 3rd, 2019 Readings

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Wednesday July 3rd, 2019 Readings

Collect
Grant, almighty God, that we may glory in the feast of the blessed Apostle Thomas, so that he may always be sustained by his intercession, and, believing, may have life in the name of Jesus Christ your Son, whom Thomas acknowledged as the Lord. Who lives and reigns with you…

FIRST READING Ephesians2:19-22
Brethren: You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.
The word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm117:1.2 (R.Mark16:15)
R. Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.

O praise the Lord, all you nations;
acclaim him, all you peoples! R.

For his merciful love has prevailed over us;
and the Lord’s faithfulness endures for ever. R.

ALLELUIA John 20:29
Alleluia. You believed, Thomas, because you have seen me, says the Lord; blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. Alleluia.

GOSPEL John20:24-29
Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe.” Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, “Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “You have believed because you have seen me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
The Gospel of the Lord.

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Tuesday 2, July 2019 Reflection

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Tuesday 2, July 2019 Reflection

The disciples of Jesus were afraid when they were caught up in the storm. Jesus was in the boat with them. There would always be persons, circumstances in life that are out of our control. Life can be terrifying and frustrating when things get out of our control. And like the disciples of Jesus we may react in fear. But when we look intently, we would realize that God is always with us, until the end of time. as Christians our greatest resolve should come from the ability to respond to storms in life with faith and not to react in fear.

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