Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

“St. Margaret Mary Alacoque
Contemplating the Sacred Heart of Jesus”
by Corrado Giaquinto, 1765

Additional Information about the Solemnity of the Most Sacred Heart[1]

Readings for the Solemnity of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus[2]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:[3]

Reading 1: Deuteronomy 7:6-11

Moses said to the people:

"You are a people sacred to the Lord, your God;

he has chosen you from all the nations on the face of the earth

to be a people peculiarly his own.

It was not because you are the largest of all nations

that the Lord set his heart on you and chose you,

for you are really the smallest of all nations.

It was because the Lord loved you

and because of his fidelity to the oath he had sworn your fathers,

that he brought you out with his strong hand

from the place of slavery,

and ransomed you from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

Understand, then, that the Lord, your God, is God indeed,

the faithful God who keeps his merciful covenant

down to the thousandth generation

toward those who love him and keep his commandments,

but who repays with destruction a person who hates him;

he does not dally with such a one,

but makes them personally pay for it.

You shall therefore carefully observe the commandments,

the statutes and the decrees that I enjoin on you today."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Dt 7:6-11

This passage is taken from Moses second address to the people of Israel.  He has just explained that the people of the lands which they occupy (Canaan in this case) must be held at arms length and they must not intermingle their cultures or relationships.  The selection presented is the rationale for that injunction; the members of God’s covenant are sacred to the Lord and the precepts of that covenant are not to be threatened by people not bound by it.

The intense love of God for his people is made clear in this reading with specific mention made to the Heart of God “…the Lord set his heart on you and chose you”.  This directly supports devotion to the Sacred Heart of His only Son especially: “It was because the Lord loved you”.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 10.

R. (cf. 17) The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

Bless the Lord, O my soul;

all my being, bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul;

and forget not all his benefits.

R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

He pardons all your iniquities,

heals all your ills.

He redeems your life from destruction,

crowns you with kindness and compassion.

R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

Merciful and gracious is the Lord,

slow to anger and abounding in kindness.

Not according to our sins does he deal with us,

nor does he requite us according to our crimes.

R. The Lord's kindness is everlasting to those who fear him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 10.

Psalm 103 is a song of praise to God for his mercy. It recognizes both God’s mercy and our need, as sinners, for it.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reading II: 1 John 4:7-16

Beloved, let us love one another,

because love is of God;

everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God.

Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.

In this way the love of God was revealed to us:

God sent his only Son into the world

so that we might have life through him.

In this is love:

not that we have loved God, but that he loved us

and sent his Son as expiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us,

we also must love one another.

No one has ever seen God.

Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us,

and his love is brought to perfection in us.

This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us,

that he has given us of his Spirit.

Moreover, we have seen and testify

that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world.

Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,

God remains in him and he in God.

We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us.

God is love, and whoever remains in love

remains in God and God in him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on 1 Jn 4:7-16

Love as we share in it testifies to the nature of God and to his presence in our lives. One who loves shows that one is a child of God and knows God, for God's very being is love; one without love is without God. The revelation of the nature of God's love is found in the free gift of his Son to us, so that we may share life with God and be delivered from our sins. The love we have for one another must be of the same sort: authentic, merciful; this unique Christian love is our proof that we know God and can "see" the invisible God.[4]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gospel: Matthew 11:25-30

At that time Jesus exclaimed:

"I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,

for although you have hidden these things

from the wise and the learned

you have revealed them to little ones.

Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.

All things have been handed over to me by my Father.

No one knows the Son except the Father,

and no one knows the Father except the Son

and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.

"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,

and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am meek and humble of heart;

and you will find rest for yourselves.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Mt 11:25-30

In this chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel Jesus has been challenged by the scribes and Pharisees about the need to follow the Law of Moses scrupulously.  In response Jesus tells them that rather than being guided by those who consider themselves “learned” and “scholars of the law”, God has revealed himself most clearly to those who are innocent (“childlike”).  He then proceeds to reveal himself as God’s Son, to whom all power and authority has been given.

The passage concludes with an invitation “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” While popular interpretation perceives this as and invitation to the promise of eternal life, in the context of this monologue it was an invitation to throw off the heavy yoke of the Pharisees interpretation of the Law, coming instead to Jesus whose burden is light.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reflection:

We being our thoughts of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in an odd place, remembering our first days in college (in ancient times).  Anxious to start on our curriculum of studies in biochemistry, we went to the advisor for the department, a brilliant young doctor of chemistry.  He immediately reviewed the options for first year students and said “You don’t need freshman biology, let’s sign you up for zoology, and you certainly don’t need plain geometry and trigonometry – you should take calculus, and by all means we should skip freshman inorganic chemistry and go straight to organic chemistry.”  Not knowing any better we did as instructed and it almost killed us.  Study should be fun, not terrifying.

What does this have to do with the intense love of God expressed by our devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus?  In our Gospel reading today we are invited by the Lord to accept his yoke; “For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."  He was contrasting his simple commandment to “Love one another as I have loved you” to the complex and difficult rules the Pharisees applied to authentic worship as defined by Mosaic Law.

Here is the ironic part; Jesus the Christ; the Only Son of God, is love personified.  He comes, one might say, “hard wired” to react out of love of others in all situations.  What he does instinctively requires of us who struggle valiantly to follow him, tremendous discipline and faith.  It is like the brilliant young advisor who looked at difficult courses and thought them too easy for his new charge. 

Our comfort is this, that this day we contemplate not so much how we have failed to love as Christ loved us, but rather his unfathomable love for us.  If we think about how intensely our parents love us, and then understand that the Lord loves us even more completely, we begin to get an understating of that blessing that engulfs us.  So beyond our comprehension is this immeasurable gift that we look to the Saints to describe their God-given visions of the warmth that comes from that ultimate source.

Today we pray once more that the Lord will help us love as he does, without judgment, without reserve in perfect acceptance of all we meet.  We thank him for his example and ask for the strength for follow it, especially with those who most need to feel its warmth.

Pax

---

[1] The picture used today is “St. Margaret Mary Alacoque Contemplating the Sacred Heart of Jesus” by Corrado Giaquinto, 1765

[2] ALTRE

[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.

[4] NAB footnote on 1 John 4: 7-12

Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

“The Sacrifice of Abraham“
by Andrea Del Sarto,1527-28

The First Holy Martyrs

of The Holy Roman Church

Alternate Proper for the Memorial of the First Holy Martyrs of Rome

Readings for Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:[3]

Reading 1: Genesis 22:1b-19

God put Abraham to the test.

He called to him, "Abraham!"

"Here I am," he replied.

Then God said: "Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,

and go to the land of Moriah.

There you shall offer him up as a burnt offering

on a height that I will point out to you."

Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey,

took with him his son Isaac, and two of his servants as well,

and with the wood that he had cut for the burnt offering,

set out for the place of which God had told him.

On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.

Then he said to his servants: "Both of you stay here with the donkey,

while the boy and I go on over yonder.

We will worship and then come back to you."

Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering

and laid it on his son Isaac's shoulders,

while he himself carried the fire and the knife.

As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham:

"Father!" he said.

"Yes, son," he replied.

Isaac continued, "Here are the fire and the wood,

but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?"

"Son," Abraham answered,

"God himself will provide the sheep for the burnt offering."

Then the two continued going forward.

When they came to the place of which God had told him,

Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.

Next he tied up his son Isaac,

and put him on top of the wood on the altar.

Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.

But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven,

"Abraham, Abraham!"

"Here I am," he answered.

"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger.

"Do not do the least thing to him.

I know now how devoted you are to God,

since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."

As Abraham looked about,

he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.

So he went and took the ram

and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.

Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh;

hence people now say, "On the mountain the LORD will see."

Again the LORD's messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:

"I swear by myself, declares the LORD,

that because you acted as you did

in not withholding from me your beloved son,

I will bless you abundantly

and make your descendants as countless

as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;

your descendants shall take possession

of the gates of their enemies,

and in your descendants all the nations of the earth

shall find blessing all this because you obeyed my command."

Abraham then returned to his servants,

and they set out together for Beer-sheba,

where Abraham made his home.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Gn 22:1b-19

The saga of Abraham continues as he is tested by God.  God orders Abraham to sacrifice his only son (born of his marriage with Sarah his wife) Isaac.  The term “beloved” is used in this passage which is later also assigned to Jesus as God’s only Son.  The sacrifice is aborted once God sees that Abraham will indeed go through with his challenge, thus Abraham is found worthy of the honor God will afford him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

R. (9) I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Not to us, O LORD, not to us

but to your name give glory

because of your kindness, because of your truth.

Why should the pagans say,

"Where is their God?"

R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Our God is in heaven;

whatever he wills, he does.

Their idols are silver and gold,

the handiwork of men.

R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.

or:

R. Alleluia.

They have mouths but speak not;

they have eyes but see not;

They have ears but hear not;

they have noses but smell not.

R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.

or:

R. Alleluia.

Their makers shall be like them,

everyone who trusts in them.

The house of Israel trusts in the LORD;

he is their help and their shield.

R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.

or:

R. Alleluia.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

Psalm 115 is a hymn of praise to our God who is above all things and creator of all.  The strophes exhort the people to be faithful to God unlike the pagans. False idols are lifeless and dead, those who create and worship them will be dead as well.  The faithful have life because of their trust in the Lord.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gospel: Matthew 9:1-8

After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.

And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,

"Courage, child, your sins are forgiven."

At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,

"This man is blaspheming."

Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,

Why do you harbor evil thoughts?

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, pick up your stretcher, and go home."

He rose and went home.

When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe

and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Mt 9:1-8

Jesus continues his saving works in the healing of the paralytic.  The leaders of the synagogue hear Jesus forgive the man’s sins first which in their thinking caused the man’s affliction and could only be taken away by God.  Jesus was therefore blaspheming.  To demonstrate that he was from God and acting for God, Jesus took away not only the man’s sins but what the scribes believed were the consequences of those sins, his paralysis.  The crowds, if not the scribes immediately understood and gave thanks to God for his mercy.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reflection:

Think of what Christ did for the Paralytic.  The man was crippled and had to be carried on a stretcher and Jesus, out of his will, freed the man from his prison and gave him his life.  Once again we see this act of healing as a metaphor for Jesus’ gift to each of us; the gift of forgiveness.

In his argument with the scribes who were saying that only God could forgive sins, outwardly manifested in the paralysis, Jesus demonstrated what he would do for us.  The scribes presumed in their ignorance that paralysis was caused by God because of some hidden sin committed by either the paralytic himself or by his parents (the punishment transferred to their child). Jesus demonstrated his authority over both sin and death, the physical and metaphysical in his healing act.

Christ came for us in the same way.  God understands the debilitating effect of sin in our lives. (Just so we share a common point of reference, we will define sin as conscious failure to love.) 

When we fail to love ourselves, we do things that will harm us physically or psychologically.  We act out of hedonism seeking pleasure for the senses by crippling the mind and creating a sense of self loathing.  We offer those sins to Jesus who tells us we are precious and beloved.  He forgives us and begs us to love ourselves because of the life he gave us.

When we fail to love others and are hurtful, cruel, or forget the dignity with which our brothers and sisters should be treated, we harm ourselves as well.  That hurt and hate eat us like a cancer and cripple us spiritually.  Knowingly hurting another stains us and makes us unclean in our own eyes.  Jesus asks to carry those sins as well.  He reminds us that all people are like Isaac was to Abraham, beloved and cherished.  In accepting our sin and guilt, he frees us to love once more.

In choosing not to love ourselves or others, we ultimately sin against God our Father and his Son, Jesus.  In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, this stain is removed and we are once more placed in God’s grace and mercy.  Christ heals us and bids us; "Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."

Pax

---

[1] ALTRE

[2] The Picture is “The Sacrifice of Abraham“ by Andrea Del Sarto,1527-28

[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

“Saints Peter and Paul”
by El Greco 1605-08

Mass During the Day

Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul - Vigil

Readings for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul[1][2]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

Readings and Commentary:[3]

(Today I borrow, in part, from the commentary from Fr. Tom Welbers at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Berkley, California)

Reading 1: Acts 12:1-11

In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church to harm them.

He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword,

and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews

he proceeded to arrest Peter also.

-It was the feast of Unleavened Bread.-

He had him taken into custody and put in prison

under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each.

He intended to bring him before the people after Passover.

Peter thus was being kept in prison,

but prayer by the Church was fervently being made

to God on his behalf.

On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial,

Peter, secured by double chains,

was sleeping between two soldiers,

while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison.

Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him

and a light shone in the cell.

He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying,

"Get up quickly."

The chains fell from his wrists.

The angel said to him, "Put on your belt and your sandals."

He did so.

Then he said to him, "Put on your cloak and follow me."

So he followed him out,

not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real;

he thought he was seeing a vision.

They passed the first guard, then the second,

and came to the iron gate leading out to the city,

which opened for them by itself.

They emerged and made their way down an alley,

and suddenly the angel left him.

Then Peter recovered his senses and said,

"Now I know for certain

that the Lord sent his angel

and rescued me from the hand of Herod

and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Acts 12:1-11

The Christian Jews in Jerusalem have fallen from favor, probably due to St. Stephen’s teaching and the subsequent back lash.  The execution of St. James marks the beginning of the third persecution of the early Church in Jerusalem, this one from a more formal source.

The liberation of Peter from prison echoes many events of Jewish history (the deliverance of Joseph, Genesis 39:21-41:57; the three young men, Daniel 3; and Daniel [himself], Daniel 6) that consciously reflect the paschal liberation (Exodus 12:42). Peter now undergoes the same trial and deliverance as his Master and in his own person becomes a sign of God’s deliverance of his people.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. (5) The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

I will bless the LORD at all times;

his praise shall be ever in my mouth.

Let my soul glory in the LORD;

the lowly will hear me and be glad.

R. The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

Glorify the LORD with me,

let us together extol his name.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

R. The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,

and your faces may not blush with shame.

When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,

and from all his distress he saved him.

R. The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

The angel of the LORD encamps

around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Taste and see how good the LORD is;

blessed the man who takes refuge in him.

R. The angel of the Lord will rescue those who fear him.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

Psalm 34 is a song of thanksgiving and a favorite for celebrating the heroic virtue of the saints. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Psalm 34:5, 7), can teach the "poor," those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone. This psalm, in the words of one being unjustly persecuted, echoes hope for deliverance and freedom.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reading II: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18

I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation,

and the time of my departure is at hand.

I have competed well; I have finished the race;

I have kept the faith.

From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me,

which the Lord, the just judge,

will award to me on that day, and not only to me,

but to all who have longed for his appearance.

The Lord stood by me and gave me strength,

so that through me the proclamation might be completed

and all the Gentiles might hear it.

And I was rescued from the lion's mouth.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil threat

and will bring me safe to his heavenly Kingdom.

To him be glory forever and ever.  Amen.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on 2 Tm 4:6-8, 17-18

Paul is writing from prison at the end of his life. The only deliverance he can expect is death, and he confidently proclaims that it is the greatest deliverance of all. The death of the Christian who has lived and worked in union with the death of Christ through baptism is true release to freedom and glory. The Apostle views this deliverance as an act of worship.  At the close of his life Paul could testify to the accomplishment of what Christ himself foretold concerning him at the time of his conversion, "I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name" (Acts 9:16).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gospel: Matthew 16:13-19

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi

he asked his disciples,

"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,

still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

Simon Peter said in reply,

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

And so I say to you, you are Peter,

and upon this rock I will build my Church,

and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;

and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Commentary on Mt 16:13-19

This passage is often used as a proof text for the primacy of the Pope. It may well be that, but to stop there is to set aside rich insight into our own participation in the mission of the Church. The "power of the keys" is rightly understood as referring to the authority of Peter and his successors in the ministry of leading and unifying the Church, but it also provides us with an image of the mission of the whole Church, ourselves included. The Church is the doorway to God’s kingdom. Each of us as a member of the Church has the power to unlock that doorway — to welcome all we meet, by our spirit of love and forgiveness, into association with us in the kingdom. But we can also close the door of the kingdom to others, excluding them by our attitudes of superiority, prejudice, selfishness, or negligence. As Christians, we have the power to open or to lock the door of God’s kingdom. By our own words and actions we cannot help but exercise this power — one way or the other.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reflection:

Where would we be without St. Peter and St. Paul?  Peter was given the keys to the kingdom to pass down to us while Paul was sent to proclaim that kingdom to non-Jewish people.  Without Peter, there would be no first Pontiff, without Paul Christianity might have been a scandalous off-shoot of Judaism.

While they were both critical to God’s plan, how differently they are painted by scripture.  Peter was so very human.  He could suddenly be open to the Holy Spirit and then just as suddenly fall pray to doubt.  We saw it many times in the Gospel. 

Remember the time in the boat on the Sea of Galilee, he saw Jesus and got out of the boat and actually began walking on the water?  We are reminded of a child learning to ride a bike. The parent patiently takes the child out onto the sidewalk, tells the child to begin peddling as the parent walks next to them holding on to the back.  At some point the parent lets go and the child rides on.  Until, that is, they realize the parent is not there and then they generally loose faith (and concentration) and crash.  Peter was like that, he started walking on water and as soon as he realized that it was impossible, he started to sink.  The Lord rescued him, of course, like he always does for all of us.  And he chastised Peter for his lack of faith.

Remember that awful night in the garden when Jesus was taken?  How earlier in the evening when they were reclining at table Peter told Jesus how he would follow Jesus down any road.  Remember how the Lord told him that before that night was out he would deny the Him 3 times?  Again Peter was caught up in the spirit and said the noble thing only to fall pray to his own human weakness later.  I love him for that weakness; it gives me hope for myself.

Then we have Paul who was a melodramatic firebrand.  Paul, it seemed to me, threw himself into situations he knew would be spectacular.  It was his style.  Once there, with the predictable outcome (usually that meant he was either in jail or on the verge of being executed), he would lament his troubles (like today; I, Paul, am already being poured out like a libation).  He wanted us to see graphically that being Christian and following Christ in our lives would be difficult, should be difficult.  He had a keen intellect and enjoyed matching wits with the best philosophical minds in Rome.  Like so many of us in the Church today, Paul, as a convert, was the most fervent in his faith.

Two very different tools in the Lord’s tool box are celebrated today.  We, his modern day followers will do well if we can emulate either of them in the love of God and their dedication to the faith.  We celebrate the fact that both followed Christ in life and death and sit now in the heavenly kingdom with all the angels and saints and we ask for their intersession on our behalf.

Pax

---

[1] ALTRE

[2] The picture used is “Saints Peter and Paul” by El Greco 1605-08

[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.