domingo
29 de junio^th

Peter and Paul

1^st Reading: Acts 12:1-11:
In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword, and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also.–It was the feast of Unleavened Bread.–

He had him taken into custody and put in prison under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. He intended to bring him before the people after Passover. Peter thus was being kept in prison, but prayer by the Church was fervently being made to God on his behalf.

On the very night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter, secured by double chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while outside the door guards kept watch on the prison. Suddenly the angel of the Lord stood by him and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and awakened him, saying, “Get up quickly.” The chains fell from his wrists. The angel said to him, “Put on your belt and your sandals.” He did so. Then he said to him, “Put on your cloak and follow me.”

So he followed him out, not realizing that what was happening through the angel was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. They passed the first guard, then the second, and came to the iron gate leading out to the city, which opened for them by itself.

They emerged and made their way down an alley, and suddenly the angel left him. Then Peter recovered his senses and said, “Now I know for certain that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people had been expecting.”

2^nd Reading: 2 Tim 4:6-8, 17-18:
As for me, I am already poured out as a libation, and the moment of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the just judge, will reward me, on that day, and not only me, but all those who have longed for his glorious coming.

But the Lord was at my side, giving me strength, to proclaim the word fully, and let all the pagans hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will save me from all evil, bringing me to his heavenly kingdom. Glory to him forever and ever. Amen!

Evangelio: Mt 16: 13-19:
After that, Jesus came to Caesarea Philippi. He asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

They said, “For some of them, you are John the Baptist; for others Elijah, or Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”

Jesus asked them, “But you, who do you say I am?”

Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “It is well for you, Simon Barjona, for it is not flesh or blood that has revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. And now I say to you: You are Peter; and on this Rock I will build my Church; and never will the powers of death overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you unbind on earth shall be unbound in heaven.”

Reflexión:
One of the great differences between Christians and Muslims is that Islam is essentially a “religion of the book,” as it calls itself, since all its basic tenets are contained in the Koran. Some Protestants also claim that Christianity is a “religion of the book” because, according to them, it is founded only on the Bible (“Scriptura sola”).

But these Protestants forget that Jesus never wrote anything, and certainly not a book. What he did was choose disciples whom he taught for three years, imparting to them his vision of life. Then he sent them into the world to communicate this vision.

Among these disciples two stand out for their complete devotion to him and their utter dedication to the mission of spreading Jesus’ Good News—Peter and Paul, whom we celebrate today. This means that Christianity is much more a “religion of people” than a “religion of the book.”

It is people that Jesus sends forth to “make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). It is people who are imprisoned for him and die for him. And all of us are part of this human chain connecting us with the apostles and Jesus Christ. Let us be proud of our ancestors in the faith.

lunes
30 de Junio^th

Primeros mártires de la iglesia romana

1^st Reading: Gen 18:16-33:
Abraham y los hombres que lo habían visitado por el Terebinth de Mamre salieron de allí y miraron hacia Sodoma; Abraham estaba caminando con ellos, para verlos en su camino. El Señor reflexionó: “¿Debo ocultar a Abraham lo que voy a hacer, ahora que se convertirá en una nación grande y populosa, y que todas las naciones de la tierra encontrarán bendiciones en él?

Indeed, I have singled him out that he may direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord may carry into effect for Abraham the promises he made about him.”

Then the Lord said: “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great, and their sin so grave, that I must go down and see whether or not their actions fully correspond to the cry against them that comes to me. I mean to find out.”

Mientras los dos hombres caminaban más hacia Sodoma, el Señor permaneció de pie delante de Abraham. Entonces Abraham se acercó más a él y le dijo: “¿Barrerás a los inocentes con los culpables? Supongamos que había cincuenta personas inocentes en la ciudad; ¿Limpiarías el lugar en lugar de ahorrarlo por el bien de las cincuenta personas inocentes que hay en él? Lejos de ti hacer algo así, hacer que el inocente muera con el culpable, ¡para que el inocente y el culpable sean tratados de la misma manera! ¿No debería el juez de todo el mundo actuar con justicia?

The Lord replied, “If I find fifty innocent people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.”

Abraham spoke up again: “See how I am presuming to speak to my Lord, though I am but dust and ashes! What if there are five less than fifty innocent people? Will you destroy the whole city because of those five?”

He answered, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”

But Abraham persisted, saying, “What if only forty are found there?”

He replied, “I will forbear doing it for the sake of forty.”

Then Abraham said, “Let not my Lord grow impatient if I go on. What if only thirty are found there?”

He replied, “I will forbear doing it if I can find but thirty there.”

Still Abraham went on, “Since I have thus dared to speak to my Lord, what if there are no more than twenty?”

He answered, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the twenty.”

But he still persisted: “Please, let not my Lord grow angry if I speak up this last time. What if there are at least ten there?”

He replied, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.” The Lord departed as soon as he had finished speaking with Abraham, and Abraham returned home.

Evangelio: Mt 8, 18-22:
When Jesus saw the crowd pressing around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake. A teacher of the law approached him; and said, “Master, I will follow you wherever you go.”

Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

Another disciple said “Lord, let me go and bury my father first.”

But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.”

Reflexión:
Jesus’ reply to the scribe, the teacher of the law, and to the disciple brings to the fore the nature of following him. Following him is characterized by surrender, urgency and priority.

To the scribe, Jesus’ response is a challenge to give up those things that provide him comfort and security. And to the disciple, Jesus’ response is a question of priority. It would seem Jesus is insensitive and unsympathetic to the situation of the disciple.

But the point of Jesus’ response is that priority needs to be accorded to the demands of following him and that it needs to be taken as urgent. The demands of the reign of God and of Jesus’ call to follow him are definite and urgent. In the mind of Jesus they take precedence over other things we may consider important. They put us into situations where it is necessary and essential to give up something and take radical action. This giving up and taking action cannot be delayed to a future time because Jesus’ call is in the ‘now’.

martes
1 de julio^st

Junipero Serra

1^st Reading: Gen 19:15-29:
As dawn was breaking, the angels urged Lot on, saying, “On your way! Take with you your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of Sodom.”

When he hesitated, the men, by the Lord’s mercy, seized his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters and led them to safety outside the city. As soon as they had been brought outside, he was told: “Flee for your life! Don’t look back or stop anywhere on the Plain. Get off to the hills at once, or you will be swept away.”

“Oh, no, my lord!” Lot replied, “You have already thought enough of your servant to do me the great kindness of intervening to save my life. But I cannot flee to the hills to keep the disaster from overtaking me, and so I shall die. Look, this town ahead is near enough to escape to. It’s only a small place. Let me flee there–it’s a small place, is it not?–that my life may be saved.”

“Well, then,” he replied, “I will also grant you the favor you now ask. I will not overthrow the town you speak of. Hurry, escape there! I cannot do anything until you arrive there.” That is why the town is called Zoar.

El sol estaba saliendo sobre la tierra cuando Lot llegó a Zoar; al mismo tiempo, el Señor hizo llover fuego sulfuroso sobre Sodoma y Gomorra desde el Señor desde el cielo. Él derrocó esas ciudades y toda la llanura, junto con los habitantes de las ciudades y el producto del suelo. Pero la esposa de Lot miró hacia atrás, y ella se convirtió en una columna de sal.

Early the next morning Abraham went to the place where he had stood in the Lord’s presence. As he looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah and the whole region of the Plain, he saw dense smoke over the land rising like fumes from a furnace.

Thus it came to pass: when God destroyed the Cities of the Plain, he was mindful of Abraham by sending Lot away from the upheaval by which God overthrew the cities where Lot had been living.

Evangelio: Mt 8: 23-27:
Jesus got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a fierce storm burst upon the lake, with waves sweeping the boat. But Jesus was asleep. The disciples woke him up and cried, “Lord save us! We are lost!”

But Jesus answered, “Why are you so afraid, you of little faith?” Then he stood up and rebuked the wind and sea; and it became completely calm. The disciples were astonished.

They said, “What kind of man is he? Even the winds and the sea obey him.”

Reflexión:
Among other things, two things stand out in this gospel episode, namely: (1) Jesus is revealed as Lord and Savior; and, (2) the disciples forget that Jesus is with them. These are crucial in their life of faith.

What happens to the disciples on the boat sets an opportunity for the revelation of who Jesus is. It also indicates, on the one hand, that forgetfulness of the presence of Jesus brings fear, anxiety, and a perception of the uncertain; while the recognition of Jesus presence, on the other hand, is re-assuring and brings calm confidence.

The presence of Jesus is one thing they/we cannot afford to miss because Jesus presence is revelatory. It reveals primarily who he is, but it also reveals who we are before him. That is why Jesus’s presence is confronting. His presence helps them/us see and confront those things in us that are uncharitable, unkind and selfish.

Jesus presence is forgiving. And because it is so, His presence heals and comforts. Jesus’ presence is awe-inspiring. It strengthens and propels the human spirit. All these are revelations of Jesus as bringer of the kingdom of God.

miércoles
2 de julio^nd

1^st Reading: Genesis 21:5, 8-20a:
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Isaac grew, and on the day of the child’s weaning Abraham held a great feast. Sarah noticed the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham playing with her son Isaac; so she demanded of Abraham: “Drive out that slave and her son! No son of that slave is going to share the inheritance with my son Isaac!”

Abraham was greatly distressed, especially on account of his son Ishmael. But God said to Abraham: Do not be distressed about the boy or about your slave woman. Heed the demands of Sarah, no matter what she is asking of you; for it is through Isaac that descendants shall bear your name. As for the son of the slave woman, I will make a great nation of him also, since he too is your offspring.

Early the next morning Abraham got some bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar. Then, placing the child on her back, he sent her away. As she roamed aimlessly in the wilderness of Beer-sheba, the water in the skin was used up. So she put the child down under a shrub, and then went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away; for she said to herself, “Let me not watch to see the child die.”

As she sat opposite Ishmael, he began to cry. God heard the boy’s cry, and God’s messenger called to Hagar from heaven: What is the matter, Hagar? Don’t be afraid; God has heard the boy’s cry in this plight of his. Arise, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand; for I will make of him a great nation. Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and then let the boy drink. God was with the boy as he grew up.

Gospel: Mt 8:28–34:
When Jesus reached Gadara on the other side, he was met by two demoniacs who came out from the tombs. They were so fierce that no one dared to pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, “What do you want with us, you, Son of God? Have you come to torture us before the time?”

At some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding. So the demons begged him, “If you drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.” Jesus ordered them, “Go.” So they left and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and drowned.

The men in charge of them ran off to the town, where they told the whole story, also what had happened to the men possessed with the demons. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their area.

Reflexión:
“Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their area.”

It’s important to understand that when we invite Jesus into our lives, Jesus changes things. We become different so we make life different for others. Even the good we do can often be misunderstood. But like Jesus, just keep doing it.

jueves
3 de julio^rd

Thomas the Apostle

1^st Reading: Eph 2:19-22:
Hermanos y hermanas:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone. Through him the whole structure is held together and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord; in him you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

Evangelio: Jn 20: 24-29:
Thomas, the Twin, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.”

But he replied, “Until I have seen in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

Eight days later, the disciples were again inside the house and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; stretch out your hand, and put it into my side. Do not continue in your unbelief, but believe!”

Thomas said, “You are my Lord and my God.”

Jesus replied, “You believe because you see me, don’t you? Happy are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

Reflexión:
This gospel passage demonstrates an ‘unparalleled expression of faith’ that began with disbelief and doubt (Bredan Byrne). We have here another instance revealing Jesus identity.

Two things are made clear in this gospel reading: one explicitly declares that Jesus is God and the other implicitly admits that God is love. Thomas confesses that Jesus is God. But before this personal pronouncement (the use of “my”), Thomas named the conditions that might lead him to believe, namely: he wanted to see the print of the nails, and put his fingers in the marks and in Jesus’ side.

¿Es solo la vista y el toque de las marcas en las manos de Jesús, o la vista de Jesús mismo, lo que lo llevó a creer? Probablemente podría ser la realización profunda del poder y la grandeza del amor de Dios encarnado en Jesús; podría ser la experiencia de tal amor en ese mismo momento de tocar la marca de las uñas y el lado de Jesús, un amor que puede enviar a Jesús por todo el mundo y que puede aceptar y enfrentar una muerte espantosa en la cruz. . El toque en las marcas de las uñas y el lado de Jesús es una experiencia del amor puro e incondicional de Dios.

viernes
4 de julio^th

Elizabeth of Portugal

1^st Reading: Gen 23:1-4, 19; 24:1-8, 62-67:
El lapso de la vida de Sara fue de ciento veintisiete años. Ella murió en Kiriatharba (es decir, Hebrón) en la tierra de Canaán, y Abraham realizó los ritos de luto habituales para ella. Luego dejó el lado de su difunto y se dirigió a los hititas: "Aunque soy un extranjero residente entre ustedes, véndame de sus propiedades un pedazo de propiedad para un cementerio, para que pueda enterrar a mi esposa muerta".

After the transaction, Abraham buried his wife Sarah in the cave of the field of Machpelah, facing Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan. Abraham had now reached a ripe old age, and the Lord had blessed him in every way.

Abraham said to the senior servant of his household, who had charge of all his possessions: “Put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you will not procure a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live, but that you will go to my own land and to my kindred to get a wife for my son Isaac.”

The servant asked him: “What if the woman is unwilling to follow me to this land? Should I then take your son back to the land from which you migrated?”

“Never take my son back there for any reason,” Abraham told him. “The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and the land of my kin, and who confirmed by oath the promise he then made to me, ‘I will give this land to your descendants’–he will send his messenger before you, and you will obtain a wife for my son there. If the woman is unwilling to follow you, you will be released from this oath. But never take my son back there!”

A long time later, Isaac went to live in the region of the Negeb. One day toward evening he went out . . . in the field, and as he looked around, he noticed that camels were approaching. Rebekah, too, was looking about, and when she saw him, she alighted from her camel and asked the servant, “Who is the man out there, walking through the fields toward us?”

“That is my master,” replied the servant. Then she covered herself with her veil. The servant recounted to Isaac all the things he had done. Then Isaac took Rebekah into his tent; he married her, and thus she became his wife. In his love for her, Isaac found solace after the death of his mother Sarah.

Evangelio: Mt 9: 9-13:
As Jesus moved on from there, he saw a man named Matthew, at his seat in the custom-house; and he said to him, “Follow me!” And Matthew got up and followed him. Now it happened, while Jesus was at table in Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners joined Jesus and his disciples.

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why is it that your master eats with sinners and tax collectors?”

When Jesus heard this, he said, “Healthy people do not need a doctor, but sick people do. Go, and find out what this means: What I want is mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Reflexión:
The celebration at the table in Matthew’s house expresses a foretaste of the celebration that happens in the kingdom of God. The welcoming and bringing together of people, sinners or righteous, is a joyous celebration in the kingdom. And the reconciliation of individuals with their Maker is one thing to celebrate.

Even before Jesus said to Matthew “Follow me!” he already looked at him with mercy. The words “Follow me!” carry in them the merciful love of Jesus, from which forgiveness springs. It is mercy that Jesus brings and offers; it is also what He desires.

Mercy characterizes in a concrete way the ministry of Jesus. It is a mark of the reign of God that Jesus ushered in, a mark of the Church, and a mark of a Christian.

Mercy allows us to understand, forgive and welcome. That is why there is a celebration at the house of Matthew. That is why in the celebration of the Eucharist everyone may participate. This same mercy, which allowed reconciliation with God and our fellow humans, calls us to extend to others our experience of Jesus’ merciful love to others.

sábado
5 de julio^th

Anthony Zaccaria

1^st Reading: Gen 27:1-5, 15-29:
When Isaac was so old that his eyesight had failed him, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “Son!”

“Yes father!” he replied.

Isaac then said, “As you can see, I am so old that I may now die at any time. Take your gear, therefore–your quiver and bow–and go out into the country to hunt some game for me. With your catch prepare an appetizing dish for me, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may give you my special blessing before I die.”

Rebeca había estado escuchando mientras Isaac le hablaba a su hijo Esaú. Entonces, cuando Esaú salió al país para cazar un juego para su padre, Rebeca [luego] tomó la mejor ropa de su hijo mayor, Esaú.
que tenía en la casa, y se los dio a su hijo menor, Jacob, para que los usara; y con las pieles de los niños, ella cubrió sus manos y las partes sin pelo de su cuello. Luego le entregó a su hijo Jacob el apetitoso plato y el pan que ella había preparado.

Bringing them to his father, Jacob said, “Father!”

“Yes?” replied Isaac.

“Which of my sons are you?”

Jacob answered his father: “I am Esau, your first-born. I did as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game, so that you may give me your special blessing.”

But Isaac asked, “How did you succeed so quickly, son?”

He answered, “The Lord, your God, let things turn out well with me.”

Isaac then said to Jacob, “Come closer, son, that I may feel you, to learn whether you really are my son Esau or not.” So Jacob moved up closer to his father.

When Isaac felt him, he said, “Although the voice is Jacob’s, the hands are Esau’s.” (He failed to identify him because his hands were hairy, like those of his brother Esau; so in the end he gave him his blessing.) Again he asked Jacob, “Are you really my son Esau?”

“Certainly,” Jacob replied.

Then Isaac said, “Serve me your game, son, that I may eat of it and then give you my blessing.” Jacob served it to him, and Isaac ate; he brought him wine, and he drank.

Finally his father Isaac said to Jacob, “Come closer, son, and kiss me.”

As Jacob went up and kissed him, Isaac smelled the fragrance of his clothes. With that, he blessed him saying, “Ah, the fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field that the Lord has blessed! May God give to you of the dew of the heavens and of the fertility of the earth abundance of grain and wine. Let peoples serve you, and nations pay you homage; be master of your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you.”

Evangelio: Mt 9, 14-17:
Then the disciples of John came to him with the question, “How is it, that we and the Pharisees fast on many occasions, but not your disciples?”

Jesus answered them, “How can you expect wedding guests to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come, when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then, they will fast. No one patches an old coat with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for the patch will shrink and tear an even bigger hole in the coat. In the same way, you don’t put new wine into old wine skins. If you do, the wine skins will burst and the wine will be spilt. No, you put new wine into fresh skins; then both are preserved.”

Reflexión:
Al jugar en este pasaje del evangelio está la tensión entre demasiado rápido y no demasiado rápido. Sin embargo, el punto principal aquí es la identidad de Jesús. Los discípulos de Juan avanzaron el tema superficial del ayuno, pero Jesús redirigió su enfoque hacia una preocupación más profunda, es decir, su identidad como el "novio", como el Mesías. Como el que pide el arrepentimiento y concede el perdón de los pecados, Jesús celebra cuando uno se reconcilia con Dios, como en el caso de Mateo, los otros recaudadores de impuestos y los pecadores que se reunieron en su casa.

Having repented and having been forgiven and reconciled to God are a definitive reason for Jesus to celebrate. In this way, the inauguration of the kingdom of God in Jesus public ministry has brought a radically new dimension to the religious practices of John’s disciples and the other Jewish groups at that time. Fasting needs to be maintained, together with the celebration of God’s mercy that Jesus brought while awaiting his return (Brendan Byrne).

By introducing this, Jesus transformed an understanding of fasting or mourning that is now able to accommodate the celebration of God’s mercy.