Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

God our Father,

Your light of truth

guides us to the way of Christ.

May all who follow Him

reject what is contrary to the Gospel.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - 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.

3) Reflection

• The Gospel today has two parts: (a) describes the various reactions of the Pharisees and of the people who listen to the preaching of Jesus; and (b) describes what Matthew sees in these reactions: the fulfillment of the prophecy of the Servant of Yahweh, announced by Isaiah.

• Matthew 12:14: The reaction of the Pharisees: they decide to kill Jesus. This verse is the conclusion of the previous episode, in which Jesus challenges the malice of the Pharisees, by curing the man who had a withered hand (Mt 12:9-14). The reaction of the Pharisees was to hold a Council meeting against Jesus. Thus, they come to the breaking of the relationship between the religious authority and Jesus. In Mark, this episode is much more explicit and provocative (Mk 3:1-6). He says that the decision to kill Jesus was not only that of the Pharisees, but also of the Herodians (Mk 3:6). Altar and throne joined together against Jesus.

• Matthew 12:15-16: The reaction of the people: to follow Jesus. When Jesus learned the decision of the Pharisees, He went away from the place where He was. People follow Him. Even knowing that the religious authority has decided to kill Jesus, the people do not go away from Jesus, but rather they follow Him. Many followed Him and He cured them all, but warned them not to make Him known. People know how to discern. Jesus asks them  not to spread the news, not to say what He is doing. A great contrast! On the one side, the conflict of life and death, between Jesus and the religious authority, and on the other the movement of the people who were desirous of encountering Jesus! They were, above all, the marginalized and the excluded who presented themselves to Jesus with their illness and their infirmities. They, who were not accepted in society or in the religious field, were accepted by Jesus.

• Matthew 12:17: The concern of Matthew: Jesus is our Messiah. This reaction, different from that of the Pharisees and of the people, moved Matthew to see here the realization of the prophecy of the Suffering Servant. On the one hand, the Servant was persecuted by the authority which insulted Him and spat on His face, but He does not turn back. He presents His face hard as a rock, knowing that He will not be disappointed (Is 50:5-7). On the other hand, the Servant is sought and expected by the people. The crowd coming from far is waiting for His teaching (Is 42:4). This is exactly what is happening to Jesus.

• Matthew 12:18-21: Jesus fulfills the prophecy of the Servant. Matthew presents the entire first Canticle of the Servant. Read the text slowly, thinking of Jesus and the poor who today are excluded:

“Look! My Servant whom I have chosen;

My beloved in whom My soul delights,

I will send My Spirit upon Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations;

He will not brawl or cry out; His voice is not heard in the streets,

He will not break a bruised reed, or snuff the faltering wick.

Until he has made justice victorious; in him the nations will put their hope.”

4) Personal questions

• Do you know of any case in which the religious authority, in the name of religion, decided to persecute and kill people who, like Jesus, did good to people?

• In our community are we servants of God for the people? What do we lack?

5) Concluding Prayer

How precious, God, is Your faithful love.

So the children of Adam take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

They feast on the bounty of Your house,

You let them drink from Your delicious streams. (Ps 36:7-8)

Woman, this is your son!

Behold this is your mother!

1. Let us recollect ourselves in prayer - Statio

Come, Holy Spirit, fill our minds with Your light so that we can understand the true meaning of Your Word.

Come, Holy Spirit, en kindle in our hearts the fire of Your love to inflame our faith.

Come, Holy Spirit, fill our being with Your force to strengthen what is weak in us, in our service to God.

Come, Holy Spirit, with the gift of prudence to control our enthusiasm which prevents us from loving God and our neighbor. 

2. Prayerful Reading of the Word – Lectio

From the Gospel according to John 19:25-27

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved, he said to his mother, "Woman, behold, your son." Then he said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

3. Ponder the Word - Meditatio

3.1. To understand the Reading

- With your spirit go up to Calvary up to the Cross of Jesus and try to understand what is happening.

- From the passage that you have read, ask yourself what has struck you the most and why.

- What are the sentiments that this brief passage has aroused in you?

3.2. Key for the Reading

Jesus holds His own destiny in His hand

We are in the middle of chapter 19 of John’s Gospel which begins with the scourging, the crowing of Jesus with a crown of thorns, the presentation of Jesus by Pilate to the crowds: “Behold the man” (Jn 19:5), the condemnation to death on the cross, the Way of the Cross and the crucifixion. In the account of the passion according to John, Jesus has control in His hand of His life and of everything which is taking place around Him. And for this reason, for example, we find sentences such as this: “Jesus then came out wearing the crown of thorns and a purple robe” (v. 5), or the words said to Pilate: “You would have no power over Me at all if it had not been given you from above” (v. 11).

The text presented in the daily Liturgy also shows that Jesus not only has control over everything which is happening to Him but also on what is taking place around Him. What the Evangelist describes is very important: “Jesus then, seeing His mother and the disciple whom He loved, said…” (v. 26). The words of Jesus in their simplicity are words of revelation, words with which He wants to express His will: “Behold your son” (v. 26), “Behold your mother” (v. 27). These words of Jesus recall to mind the words of Pilate with which he presented the person of Jesus to the crowds: “Behold the man” (v. 5). Jesus from His throne, the Cross, with His words not only pronounces His will, but also that it is truly His love for us and the fruit of this love. He is the Lamb of God, the Shepherd who gives His life in order to gather all into one  flock, in the Church. 

Near the Cross

In this passage we also find a very important word which is repeated twice when the Evangelist speaks about the mother of Jesus and of the disciple whom He loved. The Evangelist says that the mother of Jesus was “near the Cross” (v. 25) and the disciple whom He loves was “standing near her” (v. 26). This important detail has a very deep Biblical significance. Only the fourth Evangelist says that the Mother of Jesus was near the cross. The other Evangelists do not specify this. Luke says that “All His friends stood at a distance; so also did the women who had accompanied Him from Galilee and saw all this happen” (Lk 23:49). Matthew writes, “And many women were there, watching from a distance; the same women who had followed Jesus from Galilee and looked after Him. Among them were Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.” (Mt 27:55-56). Mark says that “There were also some women, watching from a distance. Among them were Mary of Magdala, Mary who was the mother of James the younger and Joses, and Salome. They used to follow Him and look after Him when He was in Galilee. And many other women were there who had come up to Jerusalem with Him.” (Mk 15:40-41). Therefore, only John stresses that the mother of Jesus was present, not following Him from a distance, but was near the cross together with the other women. Standing up, like a strong woman who has continued to believe, to hope and to have trust in God, even in that most difficult moment. The mother of Jesus is present in the important moment in which “Everything is fulfilled” (v. 30) in Jesus’ mission. Besides, the Evangelist stresses the presence of the mother of Jesus from the beginning of His mission, in the wedding at Cana, where John uses almost the same expression: “The mother of Jesus was there”. (Jn 2:1). 

The Woman and the Disciple

In the wedding at Cana and on the Cross, Jesus shows His glory, and His mother is present in an active way. In the wedding at Cana it is made evident, in a symbolical way, what took place on the cross. During the feast of the wedding Jesus changed the water contained in six jars (Jn 2:6). Number six symbolizes imperfection. The perfect number is seven. For this reason Jesus responds to His mother: “My hour has not yet come” (Jn 2:4). The hour in which Jesus renewed everything was the hour of the cross. The Disciples asked Him: “Lord, has the time come for You to restore the kingdom of Israel?” (Acts 1:6). On the cross, with the water and blood, Jesus gives birth to the Church and at the same time the Church becomes His spouse. It is the beginning of the new time. Both at the wedding in Cana and at the foot of the cross, Jesus does not call His mother by her proper name, but calls her with the beautiful title of “Woman” (Jn 2:19, 26). On the cross He is not speaking with His mother moved only by a natural sentiment, of a son toward his mother. The title of “Woman” is a sign that in that moment Jesus was opening His mother’s heart to the spiritual maternity of His disciples, represented in the person of the disciple whom He loved who is always near Jesus, the Disciple who at the Last Supper reclined his head on Jesus’ chest (Jn 13:23-26), the Disciple who understood the mystery of Jesus and always remains faithful to his Master up to the time of His crucifixion, and later on was the first disciple to believe that Christ is risen in seeing the empty tomb and the linen cloths on the ground (Jn 20:4-8), while Mary of Magdala believed that they had taken away the body of Jesus (Jn 20:2). Then, Jesus’ beloved Disciple is the one who believes and remains faithful to His Master in all the trials of his life. The Disciple whom Jesus loved has no name, because he represents you and me, and all those who are His true disciples. The woman becomes the mother of the Disciple. The woman is never called by the Evangelist by her proper name, she is not only the Mother of Jesus, but she is also the Church. John the Evangelist likes to call the Church “woman” or “lady.” This title is found in the Second Letter of John (2 Jn 1:5) and in the Apocalypses: “Now a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman, robed with the sun, standing on the moon, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant, and in labor, crying aloud in the pangs of childbirth”. (Rev 12:1-2). Therefore, the woman is the image of the Mother Church which is in labor to generate new sons for God.

The Mother of Jesus is the perfect image of the Church, spouse of Christ who is in labor to generate new children for her spouse Jesus. 

The Disciples takes the woman to his house

If Jesus has left in the hands of the woman (His mother and the Church) His disciples,  represented in the person of the beloved Disciple, in the same way, He has left in the hands of His disciples, the woman (His mother and the Church). The Evangelist says that Jesus had just seen the disciple whom he loved next to His mother.  He told him, “Behold your mother!” (v. 27).

The Evangelist continues: “And from that hour the disciple took her into his home” (v. 27). That means that the disciple took the woman as a very dear and valuable person. This again reminds us all that John says in his letter when he calls himself the elder who loves the lady in truth (2 Jn: 1) who prays for her (2 Jn: 5) so that he takes care of her and defends her against the Antichrist, that is, all those who do not know Christ and seek to trouble the children of the Church, the disciples of Jesus (2 Jn 7:10).

The words of verse 27 “And from that hour he took her into his home” reminds us what we also find in the beginning of the Gospel of Matthew. The Evangelist opens his account telling about the vision of the angel which Joseph, the spouse of Mary, had in his dream. In this vision the angel tells Joseph, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit.” (Mt 1:20). Matthew begins his Gospel with entrusting Mary and Jesus to Joseph, while John concludes his account with Jesus entrusting His Mother and the Church into the hands of His beloved disciple!

4. Questions to orientate the meditation and the putting it into practice.

- What has struck you most in this passage and in the reflection?

- On the Cross Jesus has given us everything: His life and His mother. And you, are you ready to sacrifice something for the Lord? Are you capable of renouncing your possessions, your likes, desires, etc., to serve God and to help your neighbor?

- “From that hour the disciple took her to his home.” Do you believe that families today continue to follow the example of the disciple whom Jesus loved? What meaning do these words have for your Christian life?

5. Oratio

Canticle of the Blessed Virgin: Luke 1, 46-55

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior;

because He has looked upon the lowliness of His servant.

Yes, from now on all generations will call me blessed,

for the Almighty has done great things for me.

Holy is His name,

and His faithful love extends age after age to those who fear Him.

He has used the power of His arm,

He has routed the arrogant of heart.

He has pulled down princes from their thrones

and raised high the lowly.

He has filled the starving with good things,

sent the rich away empty.

He has come to the help of Israel His servant,

mindful of His faithful love

-according to the promise He made to our ancestors --

of His mercy to Abraham and to His descendants for ever.

6. Contemplatio

Let us adore together the goodness of God who has given us Mary, the Mother of Jesus, as our Mother, and let us repeat in silence:

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end. Amen

Ordinary Time 

1) Opening prayer

God our Father,

Your light of truth

guides us to the way of Christ.

May all who follow Him

reject what is contrary to the Gospel.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 11:25-27

At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

3) Reflection

• Context. The liturgical passage of Mt 11:25-27 represents a turning point in the Gospel of Matthew: Jesus is asked the first questions regarding the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven. The first one to ask the first questions on the identity of Jesus is John the Baptist, who through his disciples asks Him a concrete question: “Are You the one who is to come, or are we to expect someone else?” (11:3). Instead, the Pharisees, together with the scribes, address words of reproach and judgment to Jesus: “Look, Your disciples are doing something that is forbidden on the Sabbath” (12:2). Up until now in chapters 1 to 10, the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven in the person of Jesus did not seem to find any obstacles, but beginning with chapter 11, we find some concrete difficulties. Or rather many begin to take a stand with regard to Jesus: sometimes He is “the object of scandal,” of fall (11:6); “this generation,” in the sense of this human descent, does not have an attitude of acceptance regarding the Kingdom that is to arrive; the cities along the lake are not converted (11:20); concerning the behavior of Jesus a true and proper controversy springs up (chapter 12), and thus they begin to think how to put Him to death (12:14). This is the climate of mistrust and of protest into which Matthew inserts this passage.

Now the moment has arrived in which to question oneself about the activity of Jesus: how to interpret the “works of Christ” (11:2,19)? How can these thaumaturgic actions be explained (11:20,21,23)? Such questions concern the crucial question of Messiah- ship of Jesus, and judge not only “this generation” but also the cities around the lake which have not converted as the Kingdom of Heaven gets closer in the person of Jesus.

• To become small. The most efficacious way to carry out this conversion is to become “small.” Jesus communicates this strategy of “smallness” in a prayer of thanksgiving (11:27) which has a wonderful parallel in the witness rendered to the Father on the occasion of the Baptism (11:27). Experts love to call this prayer a “hymn of rejoicing, exultation.” The rhythm of the prayer of Jesus begins with a confession: “I praise You,” “I confess to You.” Such expressions of introduction render Jesus’ words quite solemn. The prayer of praise that Jesus recites presents the characteristics of an answer addressed to the reader. Jesus addresses Himself to  God with the expression “Lord of Heaven and earth,” that is, to God as creator and guardian of the world. In Judaism, instead, it was the custom to address God with the invocation “Lord of the world,” but they did not add the term “Father,” a distinctive characteristic of the prayer of Jesus. The reason for the praise and the disclosing of God: because You have hidden..., revealed. The hiding referred to the “wise and intelligent” concerns of the scribes and the Pharisees, completely closed up and hostile to the coming of the Kingdom (3:7 ff; 7:29; 9:3,11, 34). The revelation is to the little ones, the Greek term says “infants,” those who cannot speak as yet. Thus, Jesus indicates the privileged audience of the proclamation of the Kingdom of Heaven as those who are not experts of the Law and are not instructed.

What are “these things” that are hidden or revealed? The content of this revelation or hiding is Jesus, the Son of God, the one who reveals the Father. It is evident for the reader that the revelation of God is linked indissolubly to the person of Jesus, to His Word, to His Messianic actions. He is the one who allows the revelation of God and not the Law or the premonitory events of the end of time.

• The revelation of God from the Father to the Son. In the last part of the discourse Jesus makes a presentation of self as the one to whom every thing has been communicated by the Father. In the context of the coming of the Kingdom, Jesus has the role and the mission to reveal the Heavenly Father in everything. In such a  role He receives the totality of power, of knowledge and of the authority to judge. In order to confirm this role, which is so committed, Jesus appeals to the witness of the Father, the only One who possesses a real knowledge of Jesus: “Nobody knows the Son but the Father,” and vice-versa “and nobody knows the Father but the Son.” The witness of the Father is irreplaceable so that the unique dignity of Jesus as Son may be understood by His disciples. Besides, the uniqueness of Jesus is affirmed in the revelation of the Father; the Gospel of John had already affirmed this: “No one has ever seen God; it is the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made Him known” (1:18). To summarize, the Evangelist makes his readers understand that the revelation of the Father takes place through the Son. Even more: the Son reveals the Father to whom He wants.

4) Personal questions

• In your prayer do you feel the need to express all your gratitude to the Father for the gifts that He has given you in life? Does it happen to you to confess publicly, to exult in the Lord because of the wonderful works that He accomplishes in the world; in the Church, and in your life?

• In your search for God do you rely on your wisdom and intelligence or do you allow yourself to be guided by the wisdom of God? How attentive are you to your relationship with Jesus? Do you listen to His word? Do you assume His sentiments in order to discover His physiognomy of Son of the Heavenly Father?

5) Concluding Prayer

My lips shall proclaim Your saving justice,

Your saving power all day long.

God, You have taught me from boyhood,

and I am still proclaiming Your marvels. (Ps 71:15,17)

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

God our Father,

Your light of truth

guides us to the way of Christ.

May all who follow Him

reject what is contrary to the gospel.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 11:20-24

Jesus began to reproach the towns where most of his mighty deeds had been done, since they had not repented. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And as for you, Capernaum: Will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to the nether world. For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

3) Reflection

• The Discourse on the Mission occupies chapter 10.  Chapters 11 and 12 describe the mission which Jesus carried out and how He did it. The two chapters mention how the people either adhered to Him, doubted the evangelizing action of Jesus, or rejected it.    John the Baptist, who looked at Jesus with the eyes of the past, does not succeed in understanding Him (Mt 11:1-15). The people, who looked at Jesus out of interest, were not capable of understanding Him (Mt 11:16-19). The great cities around the lake, which listened to the preaching of Jesus and saw His miracles, did not want to open themselves up to His message (this is the text of today’s Gospel) (Mt 11:20-24). The wise and the doctors, who appreciated everything according to their own science, were not able to understand the preaching of Jesus (Mt 11:25). The Pharisees, who trusted only in the observance of the law, criticized Jesus (Mt 12:1-8) and decided to kill Him (Mt 12:9-14). They said that Jesus acted in the name of Beelzebul (Mt 12:22-37). They wanted a proof in order to be able to believe in Him (Mt 12:38-45). Not even His relatives supported Him (Mt 12:46-50). Only the little ones and the simple people understood and accepted the Good News of the Kingdom (Mt 11:25-30).  They followed Him (Mt 12:15-16) and saw in Him the Servant announced by Isaiah (Mt 12:17-21).

• This way of describing the missionary activity of Jesus was a clear warning for the disciples who together with Jesus and walked through Galilee.  They could not expect a reward or praise for being missionaries of Jesus. This warning is also valid for us who today read and meditate on this discourse on the mission, because the Gospels were written for all times.  They invite us to confront the attitude that we have with Jesus with the attitude of the people who appear in the Gospel and to ask ourselves if we are like John the Baptist (Mt 11:1-15), like the people who were interested (Mt 11:16-19), like the unbelieving cities (Mt 11:20-24), like the doctors who thought they knew everything and understood nothing (Mt 11:25), like the Pharisees who only knew how to criticize (Mt 12:1-45) or like the simple people who went seeking for Jesus (Mt 12:15) and who, with their wisdom, knew how to understand and accept the message of the Kingdom (Mt 11:25-30).

• Matthew 11:20: The word against the cities which did not receive Him. The space in which Jesus moved during those three years of His missionary life was small; only a few square kilometers along the Sea of Galilee around the cities of Capernaum, Bethsaida and Chorazin. Only that!  So it was in this very limited space where Jesus made the majority of His discourses and worked His miracles.  He came to save the whole of humanity, and almost did not get out of the limited space of His land.  Tragically, Jesus had to become aware that the people of those cities did not want to accept the message of the Kingdom and were not converted. The cities become more rigid in their beliefs, traditions and customs and did not accept the invitation of Jesus to change their life.  

• Matthew 11:21-24: Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum are worse than Tyre and Sidon. In the past, Tyre and Sidon, inflexible enemies of Israel, ill treated the People of God. Because of this they were cursed by the prophets. (Is 23:1; Jer 25:22; 47:4; Ezek 26:3; 27:2; 28:2; Joel 4:4; Am 1:10). And now Jesus says that these cities, symbols of all evil, would have already been converted if in them had been worked all the miracles which were worked in Chorazin and Bethsaida.  The city of Sodom, the symbol of the worst perversion, was destroyed by the anger of God (Gen 18:16 to 19:29). And now Jesus says that Sodom would exist today, because it would have been converted if it had seen the miracles that Jesus worked in Capernaum. Today we still live this same paradox.  Many of us who are Catholics since we were children, have many solid and firm convictions, so much so that we stop reaching for perfection of charity. And in some places, Christianity, instead of being a source of change and of conversion, becomes the refuge of the most reactionary forces of the politics of the country.  

4) Personal questions

• How do I place myself before the Good News of Jesus: like John the Baptist, like the interested people, like the doctors, like the Pharisees or like the simple and poor people?

• Does my city, or my country, deserve the warning of Jesus against Capernaum, Chorazin and Bethsaida?

• If someone, a Christian, already follows Jesus, how does this passage apply? What is the message for them?

5) Concluding Prayer

Great is Yahweh and most worthy of praise

in the city of our God, the holy mountain,

towering in beauty,

the joy of the whole world. (Ps 48:1-2)

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Father,

through the obedience of Jesus,

Your servant and Your Son,

You raised a fallen world.

Free us from sin

and bring us the joy that lasts for ever.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - 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.”

3) Reflection

• Today’s Gospel presents to us various instructions of Jesus on the behavior that the disciples have to adopt in the exercise of their mission.  What strikes most in these instructions are two warnings: (a) the frequency with which Jesus refers to the persecutions and suffering which they will have to bear; (b) the insistence repeated three times to the disciples not to be afraid.

• Matthew 10:24-25: Persecutions and sufferings which mark the life of the disciples.  These two verses constitute the final part of a warning of Jesus to the disciples concerning persecutions. The disciples should know that, because of  being disciples of Jesus, they will be persecuted (Mt 10:17-23). But this should not be a reason for worry, because a disciple should imitate the life of the Master and share the trials with Him. This is part of discipleship.  “A disciple is not greater than the teacher or a servant greater than his master; it is sufficient for the disciple to grow to be like his teacher and the servant like his master.” If they called Jesus Beelzebul, how much more will they insult His disciples? In other words, the disciple of Jesus should be worried if, in his life, there are no persecutions.

• Matthew 10:26-27: Do not be afraid to tell the truth.  The disciples should not be afraid to be persecuted. Those who persecute them pervert the meaning of the facts and spread calumnies which change truth into lies. But no matter how great the lie, the truth will triumph at the end and will make the lie crumble down. This is why we should not be afraid to proclaim truth, the things which Jesus has taught.  Every day, the means of communication pervert the meaning of things and the people who proclaim the truth are considered as criminals; they make our system appear as just and it perverts the meaning of human life.  

• Matthew 10:28: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body. The disciples should not be afraid of those who kill the body, who torture, who strike and cause suffering.  Those who torture can kill the body, but they cannot kill liberty and the spirit in the body.  They should be afraid, yes, that the fear of suffering may lead them to hide or to deny the truth, and that this will lead them to offend God, because anyone who draws away from God will be lost forever.

• Matthew 10:29-31: Do not be afraid, but trust in Divine Providence. The disciples should not fear anything, because they are in God’s hands. Jesus tells them to look at the birds of the air. Two sparrows are sold for a penny, but not one of them will fall to the ground without the Father knowing.  Every hair on your head has been counted.  Luke says that not one hair falls without our Father wanting it (Lk 21:18). And so many hairs fall from our heads!  Because of this “Do not be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.” This is the lesson which Jesus draws from the contemplation of nature.

• Matthew 10:32-33: Do not be afraid to be the witnesses of Jesus. At the end Jesus summarizes everything in this sentence: “If anyone declares himself for Me in the presence of human beings, I will declare Myself for him in the presence of My Father in heaven; 33: the one who instead will disown Me in the presence of human beings, I will disown him in the presence of My Father in heaven.” Knowing that we are in God’s hands and that God is with us, at every moment, we have the necessary courage and the peace to render witness and to be disciples of Jesus. 

4) Personal questions

• What are you afraid of?  Why?  

• Have you ever been persecuted  because of your commitment to announce the Good News of God which Jesus announced to us?

• Persecution is not comfortable. There can be many small persecutions throughout a day. Do you ever deny Jesus in little things to make your life more comfortable and not make trouble? How is this important?

5) Concluding Prayer

Your decrees stand firm, unshakable;

holiness is the beauty of Your house,

Yahweh, for all time to come. (Ps 93:5)

Ordinary Time 

1) Opening prayer

Father,

through the obedience of Jesus,

Your servant and Your Son,

You raised a fallen world.

Free us from sin

and bring us the joy that lasts for ever.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 10:16-23

Jesus said to his Apostles: “Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

3) Reflection

• To the community of His disciples, called and gathered together around Him and invested with His same authority as collaborators, Jesus entrusts them with directives in view of their future mission.

• Matthew 10:16-19: Danger and trust in God. Jesus introduces this part of His discourse with two metaphors: sheep in the midst of wolves; prudent as serpents, simple as doves. The first one serves to show the difficult and dangerous context to which the disciples are sent. On the one hand, the dangerous situation is made evident;  on the other, the expression “I send you” expresses protection. Also regarding the astuteness of the serpent and the simplicity of the dove Jesus seems to put together two attitudes: trust in God, and prolonged and attentive reflection on the way in which we should relate with others.

Jesus, then, following this, gives an order that seems at first sight filled with mistrust: “Beware of men...”, but, in reality, it means to be attentive to possible persecutions, hostility, and denouncement. The expression “will deliver you” does not only refer to the accusation in the tribunal, but above all, it has a theological value: the disciples who are following Jesus can experience the same experience of the Master of “being delivered into the hands of men” (17:22). The disciples must be strong and resist in order “to give witness.” The fact of being delivered to the tribunal should become a witness for the Jews and for the pagans. It bears the possibility of being able to draw them to the person and the cause of Jesus and, therefore, to the knowledge of the Gospel. This positive implication is important as a result of witnessing, characterized by credible and fascinating faith.

• Matthew 10:20: the divine help. So that all this may take place in the mission-witness of the disciples it is essential to have the help that comes from God. That is to say, we should not trust our own security and resources, but the disciples, in critical, dangerous, and aggressive situations, found help and solidarity in God for their lives.  The Spirit of the Father is also promised for their mission (v.20). He is the one who acts in them when they are committed to their mission of evangelization and of witnessing. The Spirit will speak through them.

• Matthew 10:21-22: Threat-consolation. Once again the announcement of threat is repeated in the expression “will be delivered”: Brother will betray brother, a father against his son, the sons against the parents. It is a question of a true and great disorder in social relationships, the breaking up of the family. Persons who are bound by the most intimate family relationships – such as parents, children, brothers and sisters – will fall in the misfortune of mutually hating and eliminating one another. In what sense does such a division of the family have to do with witness on behalf of Jesus? Such breaking up of the family relationships could be caused by the diverse attitudes that are taken within the family, regarding Jesus. The expression “you will be hated” seems to indicate the theme of the hostile rejection on the part of the contemporaries and of those He sent. This phrasing can also apply to the larger community, using the sense of the word “brother” as we have done earlier. The community of Israel will find one against another as those following the Good News will be persecuted and rejected by those remaining in the old law. The strong sense of  Jesus’ words find a comparison in another part of the New Testament: “Blessed are you if you are insulted for the sake of Christ’s name, because the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God, rests upon you. No one of you should suffer as a murderer or thief or evil doer or as a spy. But if one suffers as a Christian, do not blush, because of this name, rather give glory to God.” The promise of consolation follows the threat (v.3). The greatest consolation for the disciples will be that of “being saved,” of being able to live the experience of the Savior, that is to say, to participate in His victories.

4) Personal questions

• What do these pronouncements of Jesus teach us today for understanding the mission of the Christian?

• Do you know how to trust in divine help when you experience conflicts, persecutions and trials?

• In what ways have you been persecuted? Was it for standing with Jesus or was I in the wrong? Did I find strength at any of these times, or did I fold?

• Has the Spirit spoken through you to others?

For further study

In all the day-to-day interactions with others, in business, the market, in school, and in community and family, it is often difficult to discern whether persecutions that day were for His name or our own views and wants, and whether the Spirit did the talking or our own pride did. St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, wrote the Spiritual Exercises to help one discern the action of the Spirit in one’s Life. The theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar points out that the Exercises direct one to choosing God’s choice in life, a self-abandonment to God, which is ultimately what today’s Gospel says to do. There are many books on St Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises, besides his original work, which explain what and how. Take time to read one or more and perhaps practice them.

5) Concluding Prayer

Give me back the joy of Your salvation,

sustain in me a generous spirit.

Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will speak out Your praise. (Ps 51:12,15)

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Father,

through the obedience of Jesus,

Your servant and Your Son,

You raised a fallen world.

Free us from sin

and bring us the joy that lasts for ever.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 10:1-7

Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the Twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, “Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

3) Reflection

• The second great Discourse: The Discourse of the Mission begins in chapter 10 of the Gospel of Matthew.  Matthew organizes his Gospel as a new edition of the Law of God or like a new “Pentateuch” with its five books.  For this reason his Gospel presents five great discourses or teachings of Jesus followed by a narrative part, in which he describes the way in which Jesus puts into practice what He had taught in the discourses.  The following is the outline:

Introduction: the birth and preparation of the Messiah (Mt 1 to 4)

a) Sermon on the Mount: the entrance door into the Kingdom (Mt 5 to 7)

Narrative Mt 8 and 9

b) Discourse on the Mission: how to proclaim and spread the Kingdom (Mt 10)

Narrative Mt 11 and 12

c) Discourse on the Parables: The mystery of the Kingdom present in life (Mt 13)

Narrative Mt 14 to 17

d) Discourse on the Community: the new way of living together in the Kingdom (Mt  18)

Narrative 19 to 23

e) Discourse on the future coming of the Kingdom: the utopia which sustains hope (Mt 24 and 25)

Conclusion: Passion, death and Resurrection (Mt 26 to 28)

• Today’s Gospel presents to us the beginning of the Discourse on the Mission in which the accent is placed on three aspects: (a) the call of the disciples (Mt 10:1); (b) the list of the names of the twelve Apostles who will be the recipients of the Discourse on the Mission (Mt 10:2-4); (c) the sending out of the twelve (Mt 10:5-7).

• Matthew 10:1: The call of the twelve disciples. Matthew had already spoken about the call of the disciples (Mt 4:18-22; 9:9).  Here, at the beginning of the Discourse on the Mission, he presents a summary: “He summoned His twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to drive them out and to cure all kinds of diseases and all kinds of illness.” The task, or the mission, of the disciple is to follow Jesus, the Master, forming community with Him and carrying out the same mission of Jesus: to drive out unclean spirits, to cure all sorts of diseases and all sorts of illness.  In Mark’s Gospel they receive the same two-fold mission, formulated with other words: Jesus constituted the group of twelve to remain with Him and to send them out to preach and cast out devils” (Mk 3:14-15). 1) To be with Him, that is to form a community, in which Jesus is the center.  2)To preach and to be able to cast out devils, that is, to announce the Good News and to conquer the force of evil which destroys the life of the people and alienates people.  Luke says that Jesus prayed the whole night, and the following day He called the disciples.  He prayed to God so as to know whom to choose (Lk 6:12-13).

• Matthew 10:2-4: The list of the names of the Twelve Apostles. A good number of these names come from the Old Testament.  For example, Simon is the name of one of the sons of the Patriarch Jacob (Gen 29:33). James is the same as Jacob (Gen 25:26). Judas is the name of another son of Jacob (Gen 35:23). Matthew also had the name of Levi (Mk 2:14), who was another son of Jacob (Gen 35:23). Of the Twelve Apostles seven have a name which comes from the time of the Patriarchs.  Two are called Simon; two are called James; two are called Judas; one Levi!  Only one has a Greek name: Philip. This reveals the people’s desire to start history again from the beginning! Perhaps it is good to think about the names which are given today to  children when they are born, because each one of us is called by God by his/her name.  

• Matthew 10:5-7: The sending out or the mission of the twelve apostles to the lost sheep of Israel.  After having given the list of the names of the twelve, Jesus sends them out with the following command: “Do not make your way to gentile territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town. Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.”  In this one command there is a three-fold insistence on showing that the preference of the mission is for the house of Israel: (1) Do not go among the gentiles, (2) do not enter into the towns of the Samaritans, (3) rather go to the lost sheep of Israel. Here appears a response to the doubt of the first Christians concerning opening up to pagans. Paul, who strongly affirmed the openness to the gentiles, agrees in saying that the Good News of Jesus should first be announced to the Jews and then to the gentiles (Rm 9:1-11, 36; cf. Acts 1:8; 11:3; 13:46; 15:1, 5, 23-29). But then, in the same Gospel of Matthew, in the conversation of Jesus with the Canaanite woman,  openness to the gentiles will occur (Mt 15:21-29).

• The sending out of the Apostles to all peoples. After the Resurrection of Jesus, there are several episodes on the sending out of the Apostles not only to the Jews, but to all peoples. In Matthew: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to observe everything which I have commanded.  And I will be with you until the end of time” (Mt 28:19-20). In Mark: “Go to the entire world, proclaim the Good News to all creatures. Those who will believe and will be baptized will be saved; those who will not believe will be condemned” (Mk 16:15). In Luke: "So it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that in His name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this” (Lk 24:46-48; Acts 1:8) John summarizes all in one sentence: “As the Father has sent Me, so I also send you!”  (Jn 20:21).

4) Personal questions

• Have you ever thought about the meaning of your name? Have you asked your parents why they gave you the name that you have? Do you like your name?

• How has your name influenced who you have become and how your life was formed?

• Jesus calls the disciples. His call has a two-fold purpose: to form a community and to go on mission.  How do I live this two-fold purpose in my life?

5) Concluding Prayer

Seek Yahweh and His strength,

tirelessly seek His presence!

Remember the marvels He has done, His wonders,

the judgments He has spoken. (Ps 105:4-5)

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Father,

through the obedience of Jesus,

Your servant and Your Son,

You raised a fallen world.

Free us from sin

and bring us the joy that lasts for ever.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Matthew 9:32-38

A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.” Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”

3) Reflection

• Today’s Gospel presents two facts: (1) the cure of a possessed mute person (Mt 9:32-34) and (2) a summary of the activity of Jesus (Mt 9:35-38).  These two episodes end the narrative part of chapters 8 and 9 of the Gospel of Matthew, in which the Evangelist seeks to indicate how Jesus put into practice the teachings given in the Sermon on the Mount  (Mt 5 and 7).  In chapter 10, the meditation which begins in the Gospel of tomorrow, we see the second great discourse of Jesus: The Discourse of the Mission (Mt 10:1-42).

• Matthew 9:32-33a: The cure of a mute person.   In just one verse Matthew describes the arrival of the possessed person before Jesus, the expulsion of the demon and the attitude of Jesus.  The illnesses were many and social security non-existent. The illnesses were not only deficiencies of the body: deafness, blindness, paralysis, leprosy and so many other sicknesses. In fact, these illnesses were nothing else than a manifestation of a much deeper and vast evil which undermined the health of people, and that is the total abandonment and the depressing and inhumane state in which they were obliged to live. The activity and the cures of Jesus were directed not only against physical sickness, but also and above all against this greater evil of material and spiritual abandonment, in which people were obliged to live the few years of life. Then, in addition to the economic exploitation which stole half of the family stipend, the official religion of that time, instead of helping people to find strength in God, to resist and have hope, taught that sickness was a punishment from God for sin. This increased in them the sentiment of exclusion and condemnation.  Jesus did quite the contrary. The acceptance of Jesus, full of tenderness, and the cure of the sick, form part of the effort to knit together human relationships among people and to re-establish community and fraternal living in the villages of Galilee, His land.

Matthew 9:33b-34: The twofold interpretation of the cure of the mute man. Before the cure of the possessed mute man, the reaction of the people is one of admiration and of gratitude: “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”  The reaction of the Pharisee is one of mistrust and malice: “It is through the prince of devils that He drives out devils!”  They were not able to deny the facts which cause admiration in the people, the only way which the Pharisees find to neutralize the influence of Jesus before the people is to attribute the expulsion to the power of the evil one. Mark presents an extensive argument of Jesus to demonstrate the lack of coherence and the malice of the interpretation given by the Pharisees (Mk 3:22-27).  Matthew does not present any response by Jesus to the interpretation of the Pharisees, because when malice is evident, truth shines by itself. 

• Matthew 9:35: Tireless, Jesus goes through the villages. The description of the tireless activity of Jesus is beautiful in which emerges the double concern to which we referred: the acceptance full of tenderness and the cure of the sick: “Jesus went through all the towns, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom and curing all kinds of diseases and all kinds of illness.” In the previous chapters, Matthew had already referred several times to this itinerant activity of Jesus in the villages and towns of Galilee (Mt 4:23-24; 8:16).

• Matthew 9:36: The compassion of Jesus. “Seeing the crowds He felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd.” Those who should be shepherds were not shepherds; they did not take care of the flock. Jesus tries to be the shepherd (Jn 10:11-14). In this, Matthew sees the realization of the prophecy of the Servant of Yahweh, who took upon Himself our sickness, and bore our infirmities” (Mt 8:17 and Isa 53:4). As it was for Jesus, the great concern of the Servant was “to find a word of comfort for those who were discouraged.” (Isa 50:4).  Jesus shows the same compassion toward the abandoned crowd on the occasion of the multiplication of the loaves: they are like sheep without a shepherd (Mt 15:32). The Gospel of Matthew has a constant concern in revealing to the converted Jews of the communities of Galilee and of Syria that Jesus is the Messiah announced by the prophets.  For this reason, frequently, he shows that in Jesus’ activity the prophecies are fulfilled (cf. Mt 1:23; 2:5,15,17, 23; 3:3; 4:14-16, etc.).

• Matthew 9:37-38: The harvest is rich, but the laborers are few. Jesus transmits to the disciples the concern and the compassion which are within Him, and in paraphrase: “The harvest is rich, but the laborers are few! Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers for His harvest!”

4) Personal questions

• Compassion for the tired and hungry crowds. In the history of humanity, there have never been so many tired and hungry people as today. Television transmits the facts, but does not offer any response. Do we, Christians, have the same compassion of Jesus and communicate it to others? 

• The goodness of Jesus toward the poor disturbed the Pharisees. They have recourse to malice to neutralize the discomfort caused by Jesus.  Are there many good attitudes in the people who disturb me? How do I interpret them: with pleasant admiration as the crowds or with malice as the Pharisees?

5) Concluding Prayer

Sing to Him, make music for Him,

recount all His wonders!

Glory in His holy name,

let the hearts that seek Yahweh rejoice! (Ps 105:2-3)