July 16, 2016: Saturday, 15th week, Ordinary Time
- 'Castle' button: They covet houses and take them (1st reading)
- 'Ruler' tie bar: "The fields of my people are measured out" (1st reading)
- 'Gun' pin: The wicked murder the innocent (psalm)
- 'Hand' tie pin: You take misery and sorrow in your hands (psalm)
- 'Penny pincher' button: The wicked glory in their greed (psalm)
- 'Eyeball' pin: His eyes spy upon the unfortunate (psalm)
- 'Doctor's office' tie: Many followed him, and he cured them all (gospel)
- Blue shirt: Our Lady of Mount Carmel memorial
- Your grace is enough/ Maher: sheet music
It's a horrendous contradiction when the family, where life is conceived and cared for, becomes a place where life is rejected and destroyed. Human life is so valuable, and an unborn child's right to life so inalienable, that no right to one’s body can justify a decision to terminate that life. The family protects life in all stages, including the last, so those who work in healthcare are reminded of the duty of conscientious objection. The Church asserts the right to a natural death, without aggressive treatment or euthanasia, and firmly rejects the death penalty.
Rearing children is a fundamental challenge families face, and today's cultural reality and media influences make it even harder. The Church supports families, starting with initiation, through welcoming communities. Education of children is a serious duty and right of parents, an essential, inalienable right they must defend. The State may support parents via educational programs, but parents enjoy the right to choose the kind of education to give their children. Schools and other participants in the process of education can only carry out their responsibilities in the parents' name, with their consent. There's a rift between family and society, between family and school; the educational alliance between society and family is in crisis.
The Church must help parents fulfill their educational mission by helping them appreciate their role and realize that their sacramental marriage makes them ministers of their children’s education. In educating them, they build up the Church and accept a God-given vocation. (III:83-85)
- Mi 2:1-5 Woe to those who plan iniquity, coveting and seizing fields and houses, or cheating. The Lord is planning against them; they'll chant, “Our ruin is complete!”
- Ps 10:1-4, 7-8, 14 "Do not forget the poor, O Lord!" The wicked harass the afflicted, glory in their greed, disregard the Lord, curse, and murder the innocent. The unfortunate depend on you.
- Mt 12:14-21 When Jesus realized the Pharisees were planning to kill him, he withdrew, curing all who followed him. This was to fulfill Isaiah's prophecy: "I shall place my Spirit upon my servant... in whom Gentiles will hope" (Is 42:1-4).
- Creighton: Jesus could have pulled his followers together and confronted the Pharisees, but he calmly walked away, went about healing people, and proclaimed God's word. When faced with a similar situation, may we remember his example...
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| Our Lady of Mount Carmel |
- One Bread, One Body: "The meetings of the minds": As people "plan iniquity and work out evil," we're also called to meet and plan under Jesus' lordship and in the Spirit's power to transform the earth. Before the first Christian Pentecost, the Lord led his disciples to a business meeting led by Peter, where he applied Scripture to the need to replace Judas. The disciples in the upper room needed to agree on how the Lord wanted his Church structured, criteria for being an apostle, and how to make the choice. After the meeting, the Spirit was poured out and the Church born. Meet in the Spirit, and receive the Spirit....
- Passionist: On a Sabbath the disciples created a stir by harvesting grain, and Jesus healed a man with a withered hand, and the Pharisees began to plot on how to get rid of Jesus. Jesus doesn't confuse courage with recklessness: he withdraws from the crowds and Pharisees, avoids confrontation, and eschews publicity. Jesus preached justice and love and gave hope to all. His message is for the poor and the oppressed, he ministers with love, compassion, and humility, fortified by prayer....
- DailyScripture.net: "Until Jesus brings justice to victory": The mounting confrontation between the Pharisees and Jesus was a decisive event and crisis in Jesus' life. He met their defiance with courage and determination to do his Father's will and teach his disciples God's way to success, the cross of suffering and humiliation. We're also called to take up our cross, to die to sin, selfishness, envy, pride,... and lay down our lives in humble service and love, as Jesus did for us. Matthew quotes Isaiah to explain the Messiah would accomplish his mission through love and sacrificial service. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would bring justice to the Gentiles. To the Greeks, justice involved giving to God and others their due, but Jesus taught his disciples to love without measure.... Jesus brings the justice of God's kingdom with mercy, understanding, compassion, hope, courage, and strength to persevere. Nothing can keep us from God's mercy, help, and grace....
- Today's saints, from Universalis
- Helier, hermit
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