8 June/Saturday/9th Week in Ordinary Time/The Immaculate Heart of Mary

            2Tim 4,1-8/Psa 71,8-9.14-15.16-17.22/Mark 12,38-44

 

First Reading  2 Timothy 4:1-8 ·

I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; it is time for me to be gone

 

Before God and before Christ Jesus who is to be judge of the living and the dead, I put this duty to you, in the name of his Appearing and of his kingdom: proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience – but do all with patience and with the intention of teaching. The time is sure to come when, far from being content with sound teaching, people will be avid for the latest novelty and collect themselves a whole series of teachers according to their own tastes; and then, instead of listening to the truth, they will turn to myths. Be careful always to choose the right course; be brave under trials; make the preaching of the Good News your life’s work, in thoroughgoing service.

 As for me, my life is already being poured away as a libation, and the time has come for me to be gone. I have fought the good fight to the end; I have run the race to the finish; I have kept the faith; all there is to come now is the crown of righteousness reserved for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that Day; and not only to me but to all those who have longed for his Appearing.

 

Responsorial Psalm    Psalm 70(71):8-9,14-17,22

 

My lips will tell of your justice, O Lord.

 

My lips are filled with your praise,

    with your glory all the day long.

Do not reject me now that I am old;

    when my strength fails do not forsake me.

 

 

But as for me, I will always hope

    and praise you more and more.

My lips will tell of your justice

    and day by day of your help

    (though I can never tell it all).

 

I will declare the Lord’s mighty deeds

    proclaiming your justice, yours alone.

O God, you have taught me from my youth

    and I proclaim your wonders still.

 

So I will give you thanks on the lyre

    for your faithful love, my God.

To you will I sing with the harp,

    to you, the Holy One of Israel.

 

Gospel Acclamation   cf. Luke 2:19

 

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed is the Virgin Mary,

who treasured the word of God

and pondered it in her heart.

Alleluia!

 

Gospel    Luke 2:41-51

Mary stored up all these things in her heart

 

Every year the parents of Jesus used to go to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up for the feast as usual. When they were on their way home after the feast, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem without his parents knowing it. They assumed he was with the caravan, and it was only after a day’s journey that they went to look for him among their relations and acquaintances. When they failed to find him they went back to Jerusalem looking for him everywhere.

Three days later, they found him in the Temple, sitting among the doctors, listening to them, and asking them questions; and all those who heard him were astounded at his intelligence and his replies. They were overcome when they saw him, and his mother said to him, ‘My child, why have you done this to us? See how worried your father and I have been, looking for you.’

‘Why were you looking for me?’ he replied. ‘Did you not know that I must be busy with my Father’s affairs?’ But they did not understand what he meant.

He then went down with them and came to Nazareth and lived under their authority. His mother stored up all these things in her heart.

 

Reflection

In the First Reading, Paul makes a solemn declaration to Timothy. He calls on God and his Christ as witnesses. This gives a lot of seriousness to what Paul tells Timothy. The exhortation is to proclaim the Good News of Jesus in all circumstances. Whether the message is welcome or not, Timothy must proclaim it. He should not be deterred from preaching the Good News when he realises that people are not ready for it. According to Paul, Timothy should preach the message all the same and he should insist on it. The word of God should be used to refute falsehood, correct error, call to obedience.

In refuting falsehood, Timothy would combat those who surround themselves with false doctrines and false teachers. In his own mind, Timothy must be clear that what he is teaching is for the sole purpose of correcting, rebuking and encouraging others. This is in line with our response to the Responsorial Psalm today when we affirm that our lips will tell of the justice of the Lord. Paul calls on Timothy to carry out this duty tirelessly so also must all who are called to bear witness to Christ.

The responsibility that Paul puts on the shoulders of Timothy is huge and challenging. It demands a lot of dedication and courage. Paul knows that Timothy is capable of taking up the task that is why he urged him to do so. Paul has nurtured Timothy in the skills of leadership and is confident that he can carry on the ministry entrusted to him. This task is not only for Timothy but all who follow Christ and more particularly all who are called to positions of leadership in the Church. A leader must lead by example. So the life of the leader must resemble that of the master, Jesus Christ. In his way of life, he lived for the truth alone and was desirous of knowing more about the Father.

The Gospel Reading portrays the great interest of Jesus in learning about the Father. This desire made him remain behind in the Temple to listen to the teachers of the law. We are called upon to defend the teaching of Christ in a world that wants to put aside Christian values. As believers, we should not be afraid of defending what Christ has taught us. We know this is what would win us eternal life so we should defend it with all our might. The fear of Christians to stick out their neck when Christian values and teachings are being undermined is not a good response to the exhortation of Paul in the First Reading today. Let us remember our response to the Psalm today and make it our one desire to always tell of the justice of the Lord. May we learn to defend the teachings of Christ in season and out of season so that the truth of the Gospel may prevail in our world.

7 June/Friday/Sacred Heart – B

            Hos 11,1.3-4.8-9/Isa 12,2-3.4.5-6/Eph 3,8-12.14-19/John 19,31-37

First Reading  Hosea 11:1,3-4,8-9 ·

I will not give rein to my fierce anger, for I am God, not man

 

Listen to the word of the Lord:

When Israel was a child I loved him,

and I called my son out of Egypt.

I myself taught Ephraim to walk,

I took them in my arms;

yet they have not understood that I was the one looking after them.

I led them with reins of kindness,

with leading-strings of love.

I was like someone who lifts an infant close against his cheek;

stooping down to him I gave him his food.

Ephraim, how could I part with you?

Israel, how could I give you up?

How could I treat you like Admah,

or deal with you like Zeboiim?

My heart recoils from it,

my whole being trembles at the thought.

I will not give rein to my fierce anger,

I will not destroy Ephraim again,

for I am God, not man:

I am the Holy One in your midst

and have no wish to destroy.

 

Responsorial Psalm :  Isaiah 12

The rejoicing of a redeemed people

 

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

 

Truly, God is my salvation,

    I trust, I shall not fear.

For the Lord is my strength, my song,

    he became my saviour.

With joy you will draw water

    from the wells of salvation.

 

Give thanks to the Lord, give praise to his name!

    Make his mighty deeds known to the peoples!

    Declare the greatness of his name.

 

Sing a psalm to the Lord

    for he has done glorious deeds;

    make them known to all the earth!

People of Zion, sing and shout for joy,

    for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.

 

Second Reading   Ephesians 3:8-12,14-19

The love of Christ is beyond all knowledge

 

I, Paul, who am less than the least of all the saints have been entrusted with this special grace, not only of proclaiming to the pagans the infinite treasure of Christ but also of explaining how the mystery is to be dispensed. Through all the ages, this has been kept hidden in God, the creator of everything. Why? So that the Sovereignties and Powers should learn only now, through the Church, how comprehensive God’s wisdom really is, exactly according to the plan which he had had from all eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord. This is why we are bold enough to approach God in complete confidence, through our faith in him.

This, then, is what I pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or natural, takes its name:

Out of his infinite glory, may he give you the power through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.

 

Gospel Acclamation:  1 John 4:10

 

Alleluia, alleluia!

This is the love I mean:

God’s love for us when he sent his Son

to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.

Alleluia!

 

Gospel     John 19:31-37

Out of his pierced side there came out blood and water

It was Preparation Day, and to prevent the bodies remaining on the cross during the Sabbath – since that Sabbath was a day of special solemnity – the Jews asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away. Consequently the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with him and then of the other. When they came to Jesus, they found he was already dead, and so instead of breaking his legs one of the soldiers pierced his side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water. This is the evidence of one who saw it – trustworthy evidence, and he knows he speaks the truth – and he gives it so that you may believe as well. Because all this happened to fulfil the words of scripture:

Not one bone of his will be broken;

and again, in another place, scripture says:

They will look on the one whom they have pierced.

 

Reflection

On the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the First Reading speaks to us about the love of God the Father. The prophet Hosea presents it with the image of the good father who loved his child right from his infancy. The text highlights the fact that God is the one who calls his child to himself and teaches him all that is for his good. This also shows that God does not love us because of something good we have done but out of his own initiative. God’s love for us is not because we merit it by our deeds but out of his own gratuity.

What Hosea emphasised in the Old Testament is lived out in the person of Jesus. His whole life was a manifestation of love. He readily gave up his life for us sinful humanity so that we may be saved. The peak of this love is shown by his death on the cross. The Gospel Reading presents the expression of God’s love in a profound and moving manner. The dramatic expression of how a soldier used a lance to pierce the side of Jesus says it all. Although he was already dead, the soldiers did not leave him in peace. They pierced him so that his blood, which he poured out already at the Last Supper, may be physically poured out on the cross.

For the evangelist John, the piercing of the side of Jesus was a sign of the fecundity of his sacrifice on behalf of all humanity. The blood that flowed from his side sealed us in the new Covenant that replaces the covenant God made with the people of Israel on Mount Sinai. In his blood, we are washed clean of our sins because it is the perfect sacrifice of all times. It is significant that water also flowed from his side as the soldier pierced him. With the flow of water, Jesus became the source of living water for all humanity. Just as the waters of the Sea of Reeds opened to lead the Israelites into freedom, so also the water from the side of Jesus leads us to the fountains of baptism. It is in this water that we are reborn into the free sons and daughters of God. The Psalmist invites us today to respond that we shall draw water from the wells of salvation. Jesus through his death on the cross and his sacred heart is our well of salvation.

The solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is therefore a celebration of the love of God for humanity. Those who experience this love in their lives are called to witness to it in their relationship with their brothers and sisters. In the Second Reading, we see how Paul is bold in bearing witness to his faith in Jesus Christ. He did this to show his love for Jesus and invite the Gentiles to the faith. May Christ’s love be the standard of our love for one another in this world.