(Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin
Mary)
On Saturdays in Ordinary Time
when there is no obligatory memorial, an optional memorial of the Blessed
Virgin Mary is allowed. [1] Mass texts may be taken from the Common
of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from a Votive
Mass, or from the special collection of Masses for the Blessed Virgin Mary.
 |
| “The Prophet Micah” by Gustave Doré (1832-1883) |
Reading 1: Micah 2:1-5
Woe to those who plan iniquity,
and work out evil on their couches;
In the morning light they accomplish it
when it lies within their power.
They covet fields, and seize them;
houses, and they take them;
They cheat an owner of his house,
a man of his inheritance.
Therefore thus says the Lord:
Behold, I am planning against this race an evil
from which you shall not withdraw your necks;
Nor shall you walk with head high,
for it will be a time of evil.
On that day a satire shall be sung over you,
and there shall be a plaintive chant:
“Our ruin is complete,
our fields are portioned out among our captors,
The fields of my people are measured out,
and no one can get them back!”
Thus you shall have no one
to mark out boundaries by lot
in the assembly of the Lord.
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Commentary on Mi 2:1-5
The second chapter of the book of the Prophet Micah opens with a
denouncement of the evil rich who seek to steal the land of the poor. The practice, also mentioned in Isaiah was
prevalent in Judah
The punishment the Prophet
mentions relates to the initial division of property among the Israelites when
they came into the land, lead by Joshua.
Boundaries were established for each person and tribe (see Joshua
13-21). Those who are found guilty of stealing land
will have not place in the final reckoning (e.g. the Kingdom of Heaven
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Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm 10:1-2, 3-4, 7-8, 14
R. (12b) Do not forget the poor,
O Lord!
Why, O Lord, do you stand aloof?
Why hide in times of distress?
Proudly the wicked harass the afflicted,
who are caught in the devices the wicked
have contrived.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
For the wicked man glories in his greed,
and the covetous blasphemes, sets the
LORD at nought.
The wicked man boasts, “He will not
avenge it”;
“There is no God,” sums up his thoughts.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
His mouth is full of cursing, guile and
deceit;
under his tongue are mischief and
iniquity.
He lurks in ambush near the villages;
in hiding he murders the innocent;
his eyes spy upon the unfortunate.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
You do see, for you behold misery and
sorrow,
taking them in your hands.
On you the unfortunate man depends;
of the fatherless you are the helper.
R. Do not forget the poor, O Lord!
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Commentary on Ps 10:1-2, 3-4, 7-8, 14
Psalm 10 (generally linked with Psalm 9) is considered a
thanksgiving hymn. The strophes used in
this selection, however, reflect a lament against the wicked that prey upon the
poor and faithful. By their actions they
reject God and consider him unable or unwilling to stop their actions. The concluding strophe reflects the hope of
the faithful because of God’s mercy and salvation will vindicate them.
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Gospel: Matthew 12:14-21
The Pharisees went out and took counsel against Jesus
to put him to death.
When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place.
Many people followed him, and he cured them all,
but he warned them not to make him known.
This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the
prophet:
Behold, my
servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in
whom I delight;
I shall place
my Spirit upon him,
and he will
proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
He will not
contend or cry out,
nor will anyone
hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed
he will not break,
a smoldering
wick he will not quench,
until he brings
justice to victory.
And in his name
the Gentiles will hope.
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Commentary on Mt 12:14-21
After challenging Pharisaic Law and declaring the “Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath”
(Matthew
12:8), the Pharisees now see Jesus as a threat to their
hold over the people. Jesus backs away
from this intended violence and in doing so fulfills the “Suffering Servant” role in the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4). This passage emphasizes his meekness (see Matthew 11:28-30) and
extends his mission to the gentiles.
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Reflection:
One might think (and there
are many extreme liberal thinkers that do) that because a person has
accumulated wealth, they are viewed as the oppressor or the enemy of the
poor. If we read the passage from Micah
and then interpret the Pharisaic class in the Gospel as being of that same
privileged class, the thought might even be supported. However, we must always remember that just
because a person has wealth or power, it does not automatically brand that
person as evil or even as an enemy.
Let’s try a little example to
illustrate the point:
There are two very wealthy
men in a town. They have both become so
by hard work and wise decisions regarding their respective businesses. One man’s objective or goal is to accumulate
wealth to pass on to his heirs and to live comfortably in the process. He has made shrewd dealings with his
employees to maximize their productivity.
Realizing if he paid a bit more in wages he could get more capable
people, he increased his pay to the employees.
His motive was profit, not their wellbeing. Similarly he sought ways to decrease the cost
of his product so it would be bought by more people and increase his
wealth. He cared nothing for his
customers, only their money.
The other man was quite
different. His objective was to make a
product that would benefit people and to provide jobs to people in his
community. He kept his profits at a bare
minimum to insure more people could afford his product and be enriched by
it. As a consequence, he didn’t have the
money to pay his employees as much as his competitor (the other man). As time went on, he was not able to make any
profit. His product, although superior
in many ways to competing products, was more expensive and he could not reduce
the price and still keep paying his employees.
Eventually he went bankrupt and all of his employees lost their jobs.
Of these two men, who was the
more moral person? It was the second
man. The one who cared for his employees
and the customer; the good his product did.
But looking at the good that come out of the situation, it was the
profit focused man who (albeit inadvertently) accomplished the goals of the
other man. His employees had jobs and a
living wage. His products were
affordable and enriched the customer.
The second man, for all his good intentions, created unemployment and
his products never again reached people.
The moral here is that it is
not wealth in itself that is bad, but rather the attitudes and principles of
those who wield it. God can accomplish
good even when man’s intent is ignoble.
And bad may come from the best intentions. Our call is to use all of our gifts to God’s
greater glory.
Pax
[2]
ALTRE
[3]
The picture used today is “The Prophet Micah” by Gustave Doré (1832-1883)
[4]
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.
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