06 July. Wednesday, Week 14

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St Maria Goretti, optional memorial

1st Reading: Hosea 10:1-3, 7-8, 12

Infidelity has produced a hopeless situation, through endemic social injustice

Israel is a luxuriant vine that produces his fruit.
According to the abundance of his fruit he has multiplied his altars.
As their land has prospered, they have adorned their sacred pillars.
Their heart is divided. Now they will be found guilty.
God will demolish their altars. He will destroy their sacred pillars.
Surely now they will say, “We have no king.”
For they do not fear the Lord; and the king, what can he do for them?

Samaria and her king float away, like a twig on the water.
The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed.
The thorn and the thistle will come up on their altars.

Then they will tell the mountains,
“Cover us!” and the hills, “Fall on us!”
Sow for yourselves in righteousness, reap according to kindness.
Break up your new field; for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes and rains righteousness on you.

Gospel: Matthew 10:1-7

The apostles receive the power to heal, and are sent out to gather the lost sheep

Jesus called to himself his Twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness. Now the names of the Twelve Apostles are these. The first, Simon, who is called Peter; Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee; John, his brother; Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Jesus sent these Twelve out, and commanded them, saying, “Do not go among the Gentiles, and do not enter into any city of the Samaritans. Rather, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, preach, saying, ‘The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!’

Bible

Giving and Sharing

“Go out to the lost sheep and proclaim, “The Kingdom of heaven is near.”

In God’s ideal kingdom, the world’s produce is to be shared with everyone; and by goodwill and planning there should be plenty for all. Much later in its history, the Israelite kingdom would deny this right of sharing in resources, and social justice was neglected. Whenever the poor are wronged, prosperous folk tend to worship gods other than Yahweh. But when the wealthy selfishly let their neighbours go hungry, fearless prophets rose to voice the anger of God, who rescues his poor out of slavery.

Somehow, the way must be found to share in each other’s gifts without losing our human dignity and sense of equality. Economic measures are never enough of themselves; the solution must have a religious dimension too. Mere legal compliance allows for many loopholes and clever manipulation, and sooner or later injustice and idolatry become rampant like weeds in the once luxuriant vineyard. When we give to others, remember that it is a God-willed sharing, not a one-way giving. In this process, we are learning as much as teaching; for we are as needy as our neighbour, even if in different ways.

The chosen twelve

Jesus chose twelve from among the wider group of disciples, calling them to share in his ministry in a special way. They had privileged access to Jesus; they were given much and much was expected of them. When the gospel writers name the twelve and when they come to Judas Iscariot they always refer to him as ‘the one who was to betray him.’ They were, of course, writing from hindsight. They knew that one of this privileged group, one of the twelve, went on to betray Jesus to the religious authorities who, in turn, handed him over to the political authorities as a threat to the peace. The gospel writers don’t try to gloss over the stark reality that one of the specially chosen, betrayed Jesus. In the National Art Gallery of Dublin there is a wonderful painting by Caravaggio of the moment of Judas’s betrayal of Jesus and the resulting arrest, the ‘taking of Christ’ as it is called. The story of Judas reminds us that Jesus’ choice of us does not automatically mean our choice of him. Our baptismal calling is to keep on choosing the Lord who has chosen us. Each day we need to commit ourselves to him and to his way, as he committed himself to us forever by his life, death and resurrection. [MH]

St Maria Goretti

Maria Goretti (1890-1902) is an Italian virgin-martyr, and one of the youngest canonized saints. Her father died when she was nine, and the family had to share a house others. When Maria refused to submit to a neighbour’s sexual advances, he stabbed her multiple times. She was was beatified in 1947, and canonized in 1950. Her major shrine is in Nettuno, south of Rome.

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