June 21, 2015

12th Sun., Ordinary Time

June 21, 2015:  Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time


  • 'Sailboats' tie:  Those who sailed the sea saw the Lord's works and his wonders (psalm); they took Jesus in the boat, and other boats were with him (gospel)
  • 'Crucifix' pin:  One died for all and was raised  (2nd reading)
  • Green shirt:  Ordinary Time season

Listen

Pope Francis
Today's homily:  Today's opening prayer:  “you always help and govern those you've set upon the sure foundation of the rock of your love.”  Important aspects of God's love:  it's faithful, it recreates, and it's stable and sure:

  • Jesus embodies the faithfulness of God’s love without limits, since he's the face of God’s mercy.
  • God's love recreates and renews all things.  Recognizing our limits and weaknesses is the door to pardon that renews us.  The sure sign of our transformation by God’s love is the ability to serve and be kind to others.
  • God's love is stable and secure:  Jesus calms the storm of our lives by commanding the winds and sea.  To the person at the point of surrender he comes and offers the Rock of his love.
Don't be paralyzed by fear of the future or search for security in things or in a model of society that tends to exclude.Holy Spirit, help us be mindful of this ‘rocky’ love that makes us stable and strong in suffering....


Laudato Sí walkthrough, chap. 3:  "The human roots of the ecological crisis":  Technology has greatly improved living conditions, but it gives those with knowledge and economic resources dominance over humanity and the world.  Technocratic domination leads to destruction of nature and exploitation of people and keeps us from recognizing that by itself the market can't guarantee integral human development and social inclusion.
We've been excessively anthropocentric, not recognizing our place relative to the world.  It results in a “use and throw away” logic that justifies waste, treating people and nature as objects; it leads to exploiting children, abandoning the elderly, forcing others into slavery, over-evaluating the market's capacity to self-regulate, practicing human and organ trafficking, selling pelts of animals in danger of extinction, and throwing away unborn babies.....
Any approach to an integral ecology, which includes human beings, needs to account for the value of labor, because to stop investing in people, for short-term gain, is bad business for society.  Scientific progress is a complex environmental issue; it's brought growth and helped solve problems, but difficulties remain such as concentration of productive land in the hands of a few owners.  There needs to be broad, responsible scientific and social debate that considers available information and calls things by their name....
[Read Steven A. Armstrong's First Thoughts on Laudato Sí.]
To Knights of Labor:  Youth unemployment is a social plague.  The world of labor should welcome the young and their contributions but seems to tell them they're not needed.  Profits and production alone don't advance the common good.  The human being is at the center of development.  As long as people remain passive or marginalized, the common good hasn't been achieved.  Labor must involve people in a way that promotes interdependence, creativity, and commitment.  There's also an ethical dimension to labor.  Development must be rooted in justice and respect for law, must avoid corruption, and must care for the environment.  Justice is not merely observing the law and refraining from evil; just people act conscientiously and with concern for others' good, remembering the less fortunate and the poor.  This practice of justice is what we hope for everyone....
To Turin workers:  Work is necessary, not just for the economy, but also for human integrity, dignity, and social inclusion.  Migrants increase competition are not to be blamed; they're also victims of inequality, of ‘throwaway economy,’ and war.  Say no to an economy of waste that excludes persons who don't produce, no to corruption and the idolatry of money, and no to inequality that generates violence.  Prevent social conflict with justice.
We need an economic model that works for the common good.  We must face challenges with solidarity, broad vision, and a social and generational pact to pool resources for the common effort.  Children are the promise of the future, and grandparents are the memory of the past that traces our steps for the future. 
Read
  • Jb 38:1, 8-11  Lord to Job:  Who confined the sea and made the clouds?....
    Animate
  • Ps 107:23-26, 28-31  "Give thanks to the Lord, his love is everlasting."  Those who sailed the sea saw the Lord's works.  They cried to the Lord, he rescued them, and they rejoiced....
  • 2 Cor 5:14-17  Christ's love impels us.  He died for all, so we might live no longer for ourselves but for him, regarding no one according to the flesh.  Whoever is in Christ is a new creation:  the old has passed away, and new things have come.
  • Mk 4:35-41  They took Jesus with them in the boat.  A violent squall came up, and the boat was filling up, but Jesus was asleep.  They woke him:  “We're perishing!”  He woke up, rebuked the wind and quieted the sea, there was great calm, and he asked, “Why are you terrified?  Where's your faith?”  Awe-filled, they asked each other, “Who is this the wind and sea obey?”

Reflect
    • Creighton:  Today God humbles Job who had been complaining to him.  We can blame God for our problems; it takes humility to realize God is God.  God's love will calm us if we trust him.  In the storm, Jesus, trusting in the Father, sleeps in peace, and his untrusting disciples ask, “Don't you care we're perishing?” Jesus is inviting them to die to their fears.  He’s asking us to follow him, be bold, not live for ourselves, and make a new life as his followers.  We can let all things be new because we've died and become one with Jesus, living in freedom that lets everything be new.  May we feel God's love in the storms in our lives and not put our needs ahead of the poor's.
    • One Bread One Body:  "A stormy relationship":  The disciples were used to storms but were in one they couldn't handle.   Jesus was on the same boat in the same storm, sleeping peacefully.  He wants to give us his peace so we can trust and follow him; instead of comforting his disciples, he challenges them:  "Why are you terrified?  Where's your faith?"  We'll have storms, but they shouldn't catch us off-guard.  He'll lead us from stormy waters to still waters....
    • Passionist:  Fathers Day honors the man in the family bearing resemblance to God the Father.  Dads do  good things for us, some of which we see in today's readings.  God the Father wants his human family to be off to a good start, leaving his imprint on us by sending One in His own image.  Every father takes pride in his family, seeing traces of his image in his children.  His name certifies trustworthiness.  The family reflects his values, and it becomes evident in neighborhood, school, work, and beyond.  Family members operate with their own unique traits:  whoever is in Christ is a new creation: old ways have to pass away and be replaced by new.  Fathers help offset fears and dangers and show protective concern entertainment enjoyed.  Fatherhood embodies a pathway for coming to know God as Father....
    • DailyScripture.net:  Jesus' disciples' faith was sleeping; they were afraid though their Lord was with them; they were asleep to Jesus.  The Lord present to us too and asks, "Why are you afraid?  Where's your faith?"  May we recognize his presence, especially when we meet "storms...."
      • John Rigby:  martyr
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