(Optional Memorial for Saint Augustine
Zhao Rong, Priest, and Companions, Chinese Martyrs)
(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 Isaiah” by Raffaello Sanzio, 1511-12 |
Reading 1: Isaiah 6:1-8
In the year King Uzziah died,
I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,
with the train of his garment filling the temple.
Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings:
with two they veiled their faces,
with two they veiled their feet,
and with two they hovered aloft.
They cried one to the other,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts!
All the earth is filled with his glory!”
At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook
and the house was filled with smoke.
Then I said, “Woe is me, I am doomed!
For I am a man of unclean lips,
living among a people of unclean lips;
yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me,
holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
He touched my mouth with it and said,
“See, now that this has touched your lips,
your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.”
Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,
“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!”
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Commentary on Is 6:1-8
The Prophet Isaiah tells us the
story of his call, “In the year King Uzziah died” (742 BC). The prophet first
relates his belief that he will die, since it was the common belief that one
who had not been purified could not see the face of God and live. This
selection from Isaiah (an introduction to the “Book of Emmanuel”) describes the
prophet’s first vision of his encounter with God. It is set in the Temple in
Jerusalem, probably on a high holy day. The six winged “Seraphim” (literally
“the burning ones”) are images common in art of the ancient Near East, and
represent angelic messengers. “Each has six wings. Reverence for the divine
majesty causes them to veil their faces with two wings; modesty, to veil their
extremities in similar fashion; alacrity in God's service, to extend two wings
in preparation for flight.”[5] One of
these seraphim flew to him with a coal from the fire at the altar (there would
have been a fire for burning the holocaust – a sacrificial offering completely
burnt as opposed to simply slaughtered).
With that coal, the seraphim
touched Isaiah’s lips in symbolic cleansing, making the prophet worthy to
proclaim God’s word. The Church remembers this event with the Priest’s blessing
of himself or the Deacon with the words: “May the Lord open my (your) lips that
I (you) may worthily proclaim the Holy Gospel.”
The reference to God in the
prefix, “Holy, holy, holy,” describes the Father as perfect and
omnipotent. (Note: in ancient Hebrew, there were no words "Holier" or
"Holiest." In order to express that thought, it was necessary to
repeat the phrase three times to express the ultimate state of perfection. This
literary form is carried into the Roman Rite liturgy today.) We hear the
prophet lament that he is “doomed,” since it was believed that such an
encounter with God would be fatal (Genesis 32:31; Exodus 33:20; Judges 13:22).
This encounter with God is
important in understanding Isaiah’s entire mission and purpose. (“Then I
heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’
’Here I am,’ I said; ‘send me!’”)
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Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5
R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is
robed in majesty.
The Lord is king, in splendor robed;
robed is the Lord and girt about with
strength.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
And he has made the world firm,
not to be moved.
Your throne stands firm from of old;
from everlasting you are, O Lord.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:
holiness befits your house,
O Lord, for length of days.
R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.
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Commentary on Ps 93:1ab, 1cd-2, 5
Psalm 93 is a hymn of praise
commemorating Yahweh as king. The external revelation of God mentioned in Sirach 1:1-10 is
celebrated in this song of praise. The image of God’s throne on high, repeated
here, reinforces God’s omnipotence.
“'The Lord is king':
literally, 'the Lord reigns.' This psalm, and Psalms 47; 96-99, are sometimes
called enthronement psalms. They may have been used in a special liturgy during
which God's ascent to the throne was ritually reenacted. They have also been
interpreted eschatologically, pointing to the coming of God as king at the
end-time.”[6]
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Gospel: Matthew 10:24-33
Jesus said to his Apostles:
“No disciple is above his teacher,
no slave above his master.
It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher,
for the slave that he become like his master.
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,
how much more those of his household!
“Therefore do not be afraid of them.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill
the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s
knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father.”
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Commentary on Mt 10:24-33
Jesus concludes his instructions
to the Apostles as he sends them out. Here he tells them that they go with his
authority and his purpose, which may be hidden from others, but which they will
proclaim from “the housetops.” He tells them not to fear the persecution he has
told them they will face. This fear should be absent, because while the body
may be killed, their souls are safe with him. He concludes this passage telling
them that the Father is watching over them, and they have nothing to fear.
CCC: Mt 10:25 765; Mt
10:25 765; Mt
10:28 363, 1034; Mt
10:29-31 305; Mt
10:32-33 1816; Mt
10:32 14, 2145
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Reflection:
“Here I am,” I
said; “send me!”
This response by the Prophet Isaiah, popularized in Christian
song, is the reply each Christian hopes to make when discerning a call from
God. We all hope that we can answer in
the affirmative, and do what God asks of us. But there are a couple of issues
that confront us.
First, we need to have a clear idea of what, in our specific
lives, God is calling us to. Is it his
voice we hear, or is it our own urging us to do something to glorify ourselves
rather than God? Discovering if the call
is genuine or self-serving is frequently not an easy task but it is a question
that we all must ask before undertaking any significant task in the name of the
Lord.
The second issue facing us is preparation. Have we clearly thought out what we need to
do in answer to God’s call, and what tools we will need to accomplish that work
in his name? It sounds so basic. When we set out to do other chores, we think
ahead to what we will need. If we are
going to clean out the garage, for instance, we would gather cleaning supplies
(and in my case, rent a dumpster). Yet
when we embark on a mission for God, we frequently behave impulsively, like the
children who went on the “Children’s Crusade,” many of whom simply stopped what
they were doing and left on the quest.
Ill-prepared and under-provisioned, many died for want of simple
preparation.
Scripturally, Jesus reminds us of this need in his parable about
the two houses; one built on rock, the other on sand. When we undertake a task for the Lord (and
we’re sure it’s for the Lord), we must, first and foremost, shore up our faith
foundation with prayer. We must then ask
God for his assistance, and assemble the physical and spiritual tools we will
need. In Isaiah’s instance, we hear how
his lips were purified and his sins purged before embarking upon his prophetic
journey. We too must make sure we have
been prepared for our tasks.
Today, we hope to be able to respond to the Lord with a resounding:
“Here I am,” I said; “send me!” Let us remember to prepare ourselves,
physically and spiritually, to undertake whatever the Lord may require.
Pax
[1]
General
Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous Notes no. 5
[3]
The picture used today is “The Prophet Isaiah” by Raffaello Sanzio, 1511-12
[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.
[5]
See NAB footnote on Isaiah 6: 1-3
[6]
See NAB footnote on Psalm 93
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