July 6, 2016

Maria Goretti

July 6, 2016:  Wednesday, 14th week, Ordinary Time / St. Maria Goretti

  • 'Heart' tie bar:  Their heart is false (1st reading); rejoice, hearts that seek the Lord (psalm)
  • 'Crown' tie bar:  The king of Samaria shall disappear (1st reading)
  • 'Car' tie pin:  Jesus gave the 12 authority to 'drive' out unclean spirits... (gospel)
  • 'Doctor's office' tie:  ...and to cure every disease and every illness (gospel)
  • 'Fruit with grapes' tie, purple shirt:  Israel is a luxuriant vine whose fruit matches its growth. (1st reading)
  • Red on pin and tie:  St. Maria Goretti's martyrdom
  • 'Sheep' tie bar:  "Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." (gospel)

Listen

  • Rain down/ Cortez (sheet music sample) [I like the song except for the line "God's mercy falls on the just and the right"—what about the unjust and the wrong??] (1st reading)
Pope Francis Amoris Laetitia capsule
Jesus restores and fulfills God’s plan
The New Testament teaches everything God created is good and not to reject anything.  Marriage is a gift from the Lord.  The New Testament also emphasizes the need to safeguard the gift:  "Let everyone honor marriage, and let the marriage bed be undefiled."  “Don't refuse one another.”

Jesus reaffirmed the indissolublity of marriage:  "Moses allowed divorce because of your hardness of heart, but from the beginning it was not so."  View "What God has joined, let no one divide" as a gift, not an imposed yoke; God’s love always accompanies our journey, healing, transforming, leading us through the way of the cross.  Jesus proclaimed marriage as the fullness of revelation that restores God’s plan.

Jesus restored marriage and family to their original form; he redeemed them and restored them in the image of the Trinity, the mystery all love flows from.  The spousal covenant, originating in creation and revealed in salvation history, takes on full meaning in Christ and his Church.  Through his Church, Christ bestows on marriage and family the grace necessary to bear witness to God's love and to live in communion.  The Gospel of the family spans history, from creation to the marriage of the Lamb.  (III:61-63)
Read
  • Hos 10:1-3, 7-8, 12  Israel is a vine whose fruit matches its growth.  Their heart is false, now they pay for their guilt.  The king of Samaria shall disappear.  They shall cry out to the mountains, “Cover us!”  Sow justice, reap the fruit of piety; break up a new field, for it's time to seek the Lord, till he rain justice on you.
  • Ps 105:2-7  "Seek always the face of the Lord."  Look to the Lord; serve him constantly.  Recall the wondrous deeds he wrought.  He is our God; his judgments prevail.
  • Mt 10:1-7  Jesus gave his disciples authority over unclean spirits and to cure diseases.  Their names:  Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddeus, Simon, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.  He sent them out:  “Don't go into pagan territory or Samaritan towns but to the lost sheep of Israel.  Proclaim: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”
Reflect
    • Creighton:  What were the Twelve thinking and feeling when Jesus called them?  May we acknowledge and recognize our gifts, talk and listen to God, stay focused and disciplined, and follow Jesus....
    • One Bread, One Body:  "Self-'improvement'":  The more the Israelites prospered, the more they slipped into idolatry.  We fallen people can delude ourselves into thinking we'll eventually give our attention to God.   The more we have, the more we want, and the less time for God.  May we live in the Spirit, crucified with Christ....
      St. Maria Goretti/ Czarnecki
    • Passionist:  There were 12 patriarchs and 12 tribes of Israel.  The calling of the 12 is a reconstitution of Israel as People of God.  There was great diversity among them, from tax collector Matthew (=collaborator with the Romans occupying Israel) to Zealot Simon (wanting to overthrow the Romans); Jesus could weld these diverse men into a community of service and love.  This is the only time Matthew refers to the 12 as “apostles.”  In the Bible, being called is an invitation you can't refuse, like being drafted or receiving a court order; you're free but won’t want to refuse even if given the opportunity.  To be an apostle is to be sent.  In Matthew one is sent only after spending time with Jesus, knowing the Father’s will, ministering to the lost sheep, preaching the Word, healing the sick, and casting out demons.  Through baptism we're all called and sent.
    • DailyScripture.net:  "Jesus gives his disciples authority to heal and set free":  God's kingdom is near! Jesus taught his disciples to pray for God to reign in their daily lives and in the world.  Jesus demonstrated the power of the Gospel with signs and wonders of healing and freeing; he gave his disciples the same authority to heal and set free.  If we believe, we'll know and experience his freedom, joy, and power and be able to live and witness as his disciples.  If we know God's love and mercy, we have heaven in our hearts.  Jesus commissioned his disciples to carry on his works.  In the 12 Jesus chose ordinary people:  non-professional, without wealth, social privilege, or special learning, who did ordinary things.  When the Lord calls you, don't think you have little or nothing to offer; he can use you for greatness....
      • Maria Goretti, virgin, martyred at 11 for refusing to be raped, forgave her attacker-murderer who later repented and spent his last years in a monastery
      • Moninne founded community of hermits and convent
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