I thought it would be fun for us to discuss the Sacred Readings from/for each Sunday Liturgy. We have a new young Priest and he is a gifted homilist (thanks be to God). I also attend a weekly Men’s Bible Study, which I get a lot out of, and Fr. Matthew adds even more depth come Sunday.
I think if we all share here, we can all grow as Christians in God’s Word.
This past Sunday, Jesus prays Psalm 22 while suffering on the Cross.
"And at three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?’ which is translated, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” — Mark 15:34
Fr. Matt invited us to read all of Psalm 22 this Week. I have not done it yet, but I will tonight.
I just did my Bible Study with my co-worker (who is Protestant) and the last verse mentioned in the devotional was from Hebrews 13:5, “I will never forsake you nor abandon you.”
God does not give up on us. Nor should we give up on Him.
Deuteronomy 31:6 says, “Be strong and steadfast; have no fear or dread, for it is the Lord, your God, who marches with you; he will never fail you nor forsake you.”
God’s divine promise to Joshua (Moses’s successor), if Israel totally relies on the Lord for victory is as such, “As I was with Moses, I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you” (Joshua 1:5).
Per Fr. Matthew’s challenge to read all of Psalm 22 this Week, I read it just prior to doing this devotional with my co-worker. I can see why Jesus chose this Prayer nearing the end of His Passion. It foreshadows all that Jesus had just gone through.
Some believe Jesus felt abandoned by God on the Cross, but I believe He was finding comfort and strength in the Psalm. Not only did this Psalm speak to Him, but this Psalm spoke of Him.
Jesus was fulfilling what the ancient Scriptures prophesied. And Jesus is the answer to their/our Prayer.
I’m not sure it was a Sunday reading, but recently we heard Luke 24 about the two disciples walking to Emmaus. Only a few years ago, after 60-some Easters (the first few of which I don’t remember 
), I realized that the disciples recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread only a few days after Jesus had instituted the Eucharist, and the two who were going to Emmaus hadn’t been at the Last Supper. So during the days we now call the Easter Triduum, the Apostles must have taught the other disciples about the breaking of the bread and presumably were practicing it.
This blew my mind too the first time I heard it. Since then, it has become one of my favorite moments.
This kind of ties into this Sunday’s Gospel Reading. When the disciples see Jesus, they think they are seeing a ghost.
Our risen Lord shows them His hands and His feet in the flesh. Then He eats baked fish to prove to them that He is not a ghost.
Then Jesus reveals to them how the fulfillment of Scripture has come!
How would you have reacted if you saw Jesus in bodily form after He had been dead for three days?! There would probably be a puddle under my sandals : )
Our readings on the 1962 calendar for today are the Good Sheperd passages. The homily tied in nicely with all the issues with the hierarchy these days and was a perfect continuation of the homily we heard from Cardinal Burke Thursday on the feast of St. Leo the Great. What a blessing to be at a Mass celebrated by such a holy man as Cardinal Burke.
It’s interesting that He didn’t say, “There’s no such thing as ghosts!”
Very true. Never really thought of that : )
At my Mens’ group last Thursday night, we discussed this past Sunday’s Gospel reading.
We too picked up on how our shepherds (our Bishops & Priests) must do a better job of shepherding in truth and love. Their main job is to protect us from the wolves, prowling about the world, seeking to snare, scatter, and ruin souls.
We also talked about how sometimes we, the sheep, push other sheep out of the flock. We can do a better job of being more like Christ, the Lamb.
This past Sunday’s Gospel Reading is John 15:1-8 — “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine grower…” He prunes the branches that bear fruit so that we bear more fruit.
Bishop Robert Barron made an interesting point in his Homily (Sermon) that speaks to me as a Christian Libertarian.
Christians are “theonomous” (Christ’s body) which sustains life. However, those who cut themselves off from the Vine are “autonomous” (“My body”) which leads to spiritual death.
I agree 
that government does not own our bodies, but I have never been comfortable with the idea that we own our own bodies, as some Libertarians promote.
Even in Marriage, “the two shall become one flesh; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no man separate.” — Mark 10:8-9
“The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. Do not deprive one another except with mutual consent for a time, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer; and come together again so that Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.” — 1 Corinthians 7:4-5
This idea of “self-control” is something that we cannot do apart from God’s grace working in us, which brings us back to the Vine.
“Let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace in time of need.” — Hebrews 4:16 Amen ♱
I wonder how many Priests and Bishops took the first reading to heart this past Sunday.
“Woe to the shepherds who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture, says the Lord…” (Jeremiah 23:1-6)
I was hoping our Priest (who is an awesome homilist who speaks to both the head and the heart people), but our Deacon gave the Homily. I love our Deacon. He is a man’s man and owns his own construction business, but when it comes to preaching, Fr. Matthew speaks more my language. Maybe next Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B, we will still be blessed with Fr. Matt and maybe he’ll take this one : )
Two things really stood out to me in this past Sunday’s Reading:
From St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15:1-11)
I am reminding you, brothers and sisters,
of the gospel I preached to you,
which you indeed received and in which you also stand.
Through it you are also being saved,
if you hold fast to the word I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain.
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received:
that Christ died for our sins
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he was buried;
that he was raised on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures;
that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve.
After that, Christ appeared to more
than five hundred brothers at once,
most of whom are still living,
though some have fallen asleep.
After that he appeared to James,
then to all the apostles.
Last of all, as to one born abnormally,
he appeared to me.
For I am the least of the apostles,
not fit to be called an apostle,
because I persecuted the church of God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am,
and his grace to me has not been ineffective.
Indeed, I have toiled harder than all of them;
not I, however, but the grace of God that is with me.
Therefore, whether it be I or they,
so we preach and so you believed.
And from the Gospel according to St. Luke (Luke 5:1-11)
While the crowd was pressing in on Jesus and listening
to the word of God,
he was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret.
He saw two boats there alongside the lake;
the fishermen had disembarked and were washing their nets.
Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,
he asked him to put out a short distance from the shore.
Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
After he had finished speaking, he said to Simon,
“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”
Simon said in reply,
"Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing,
but at your command I will lower the nets."
When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish
and their nets were tearing.
They signaled to their partners in the other boat
to come to help them.
They came and filled both boats
so that the boats were in danger of sinking.
When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said,
“Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
For astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him
and all those with him,
and likewise James and John, the sons of Zebedee,
who were partners of Simon.
Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid;
from now on you will be catching men."
When they brought their boats to the shore,
they left everything and followed him.
The first things that stood out to me was the humility of both St. Paul and St. Peter (our first Pope).
St. Paul admits, “For I am the least of the apostles, not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been ineffective.”
Simon Peter fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”
And God called both of these men of many weaknesses to lead His Church (by the grace of God they followed Christ Jesus).
The second thing I noticed in the Gospel reading was that the word “sinking” is made up of two words, sin and king. When we make a king of our sin, then we lose faith (trust) in God, but when we make Christ our King, then we become humbled, but made strong.
Lord, let us be more like St. Peter and St. Paul. Let us not sink into despair and fear, but rise in You. Amen ♱
Today’s Gospel reading was about the adulterous woman ( Jn. 8:1-11). This scene from Jesus’s life was shown to Maria Valtorta on March 20th, 1944, and she wrote down all that she saw and heard in the vision. You can read what took place in full in chapter 492 in The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. IV, followed by His commentary on what happened which He dictated to Maria.
On September 17th, 1946, Maria Valtorta was shown another scene that took place later that same day on the Mount of Olives (cf. Jn. 8:1-2), where Jesus and the apostles were talking about what happened earlier with the adulterous woman. Again, she wrote down all that she saw and heard in the vision. Below are excerpts:
“Adultery?! And You saved her? You shouldn’t!” exclaims Judas Iscariot. Jesus stares at him then He asks: “Why not?”
“Because… It may be detrimental to You. You know how they hate You and try to find charges against You! Certainly… To save an adulteress is to go against the Law.”
“I did not say that I wanted to save her. I only said that those who were without sin should throw the stones. And no one struck her, because no one was without sin. So I confirmed the Law that inflicts lapidation on adulterers, but I also saved the woman because not one lapidator could be found.”
“But You…”
“Did you want Me to stone her to death? It would have been justice, because I could have stoned her. But it would not have been mercy.”
“Ah! she had repented! She implored You and You…”
“No… She was not even repentant. She was only dejected and frightened.”
[…]
"Listen to Me, all of you, because many among you think that I made a mistake and that Judas is right. Peter and John are here. They heard what I said to the woman and they can repeat it to you. I was not foolish in forgiving. I did not say what I said to other souls whom I had forgiven because they were fully repentant. But I gave that soul time and possibility to arrive at repentance and holiness, if she wishes to reach them. Bear that in mind when you are the masters of souls.
It is essential to possess two things to be true masters and worthy of being masters. The first thing: an austere life for oneself, so that one may judge without the hypocrisy of condemning in other people what one forgives oneself. The second thing: patient mercy to give souls the time to recover and fortify themselves.
Not every soul recovers instantaneously from its wounds. Some do so by successive stages, which are often slow and subject to relapses. It does not befit a spiritual doctor to reject, condemn, frighten them. If you drive them away, they will bound back and throw themselves again into the arms of false friends and masters. Always open your arms and hearts to poor souls, so that they may find in you true and holy confidants, on whose knees they do not feel ashamed to weep. If you condemn them depriving them of spiritual assistance, you will make them more and more unhealthy and weak. If you cause them to be frightened of you and of God, how will they be able to raise their eyes to you and to God?
Man meets man as his first judge. Only he who lives a spiritual life knows how to meet God first. But the creature who has arrived at living spiritually, does not fall into grave sins. His human side may be still weak, but his strong spirit is vigilant and his weaknesses do not become grave faults. Whereas the man who is still subject to flesh and blood commits sin and meets man. Now, if the man who should point out God to him and instruct his spirit, frightens him, how can the guilty person yield completely to him? And how can he say: "I humble myself because I believe that God is good and forgives ", if he sees that one of his fellow-creatures is not good?
You are to be the term of comparison, the measure of what God is, just as a farthing is the part that makes one understand the value of a talent. But if you are cruel to souls, you tiny parts who are part of the Infinite and you represent Him, what will they think that God is? What intolerant harshness will they ascribe to Him?" (The Poem of the Man-God: Vol. IV)
After hearing Sunday’s Gospel reading, I recalled that one of my college professors, Richard Mitchell, wrote about this in his book The Gift of Fire. He said that Jesus challenged the Pharisees and teachers of the law to know themselves as sinners. Each of them (one by one) gained some self-knowledge and declined to stone the woman.
Our Priest, who is a great homilist, mentioned that Jesus might have writing the sins of the Pharisees with his finger in the sand, and pointed out how, unlike The Law that was written in stone, our sins can be wiped away by Jesus, who saves us from our sins, if we humble ourselves before the Lord.
He also mentioned how Scripture never tells us what Jesus wrote in the sand. Some believe Jesus was writing the words of The Law that mentions how both the male and female caught in adultery are to be held accountable and not just the woman, but I think it makes more sense that Jesus was calling out their hypocrisy by writing their sins in the dirt.