DAILY GOSPEL "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." John 6:68 Thursday, 08 August 2013 Thursday of the Eighteenth week in Ordinary Time Feast of the Church : In Australia: solemnity of St Mary of the Cross Mackillop, Virgin - Proper readings Saint(s) of the day : St. Dominic, Priest (1170-1221), St Mary of the Cross Mackillop, Virgin See commentary below or click here Pope Francis: "Jesus began to show his disciples that he must... suffer greatly... and be killed and on the third day be raised" Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 16:13-23. Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah. From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly from the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised. Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, "God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do." Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB Commentary of the day : Pope Francis Homily of 07/04/2013, Mass for the possession of the Chair of the Bishop of Rome (trans. © copyright Libreria Editrice Vaticana) "Jesus began to show his disciples that he must... suffer greatly... and be killed and on the third day be raised" God’s patience has to call forth in us the courage to return to him, however many mistakes and sins there may be in our life. Jesus tells Thomas to put his hand in the wounds of his hands and his feet, and in his side. We too can enter into the wounds of Jesus, we can actually touch him. This happens every time that we receive the sacraments with faith. Saint Bernard, in a fine homily, says: "Through the wounds of Jesus I can suck honey from the rock and oil from the flinty rock , I can taste and see the goodness of the Lord" (cf. Dt 32:13; Ps 34[33],9). It is there, in the wounds of Jesus, that we are truly secure; there we encounter the boundless love of his heart. Thomas understood this. Saint Bernard goes on to ask: “But what can I count on? My own merits?” No, "My merit is God’s mercy. I am by no means lacking merits as long as he is rich in mercy... This is important: the courage to trust in Jesus’ mercy, to trust in his patience, to seek refuge always in the wounds of his love... Maybe someone among us here is thinking: my sin is so great, I am as far from God as the younger son in the parable, my unbelief is like that of Thomas; I don’t have the courage to go back, to believe that God can welcome me and that he is waiting for me, of all people... For God, we are not numbers, we are important, indeed we are the most important thing to him; even if we are sinners, we are what is closest to his heart.
Posted on: Thu, 08 Aug 2013 11:09:52 +0000
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