26 July 2024 – Friday of Week 16
26 July 2024 – Friday of Week 16
Memorial: Ss Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin. Lect 11:1115 – See readings at bottom of this page.
1st Reading: Jeremiah 3:14-17
Israel and Judah will be united and all nations will assemble at Jerusalem
Return, O faithless children, says the Lord, for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord, they shall no longer say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind, or be remembered, or missed; nor shall another one be made.
At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no longer stubbornly follow their own evil will.
Responsorial: from Jeremiah 31
Resp./ The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock
O nations, hear the word of the Lord,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd his flock. (R./)
The Lord shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the Lord’s blessings:
The grain, the wine, and the oil,
the sheep and the oxen. (R./)
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows. (R./)
Matthew 13:18-23
A detailed explanation of the parable of the sower
Jesus said to them: “Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
The kind of leaders we need
In a hopeful spirit, Jeremiah calls for strong family bond unite people in sincerity, in God. As we read earlier from Micah, we must “do justice and love goodness, and walk humbly with your God” (Mic 6:8). Isaiah’s call is just as down to earth, “Cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim; redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow” (Isa 1:16).
Any religious system that denies common sense or requires superhuman heroism on a daily basis runs counter to a basic quality of biblical religion. Long before the Word of God became incarnate in the person of Jesus, God’s word had implanted itself in the earthly setting and human history of the people Israel. They were strongly knit together and possessed an exceptionally firm tribal loyalty. This tribal bond dictated many of the customs and practices of the people, as we find in many parts of the Torah, detailing the obligations of kinship. They hope for an eventual reunion of all Israel and Judah, under a single shepherd endowed with the human virtues of prudence and wisdom.
The prophet hopes for a new, more sincere, religious leadership for his people. In hope he foresees a reunion of Israel and Judah, also reaching out to include other nations. The parables of Jesus challenge us to be generous in sharing our possessions. There is an overall generosity about the Bible which makes Israel the centre of God’s hopes for the world.
Obstacles to the Word
Various obstacles that can hinder us from hearing the word of the Lord in a way that bears fruit in our lives. The first obstacle mentioned is lack of understanding. We do need some understanding of the word that we hear. We don’t necessarily need to do all kinds of courses, but we need some sense of who Jesus is if we are to hear his word with appreciation. The second obstacle mentioned is the lack of roots. Sometimes we do not allow the word we hear to enter into us deeply enough. We have a superficial acquaintance with the word, but we don’t ponder it sufficiently for it to take real root in us. What isn’t rooted in us can easily be abandoned when it begins to cost us something.
The third obstacle is worldly care and the lure of riches. We cannot serve God and Mammon; if we try to serve Mammon, the Lord’s word gets choked. The gospel reading suggests that hearing the Lord’s word in a way that bears fruit in our lives won’t happen automatically. There is a struggle involved; there are obstacles to be overcome. That is why Jesus taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” However, the Lord is stronger than any obstacle we might face, and if we open our hearts to his Spirit, to his grace, we will conquer the obstacles and our lives will be fruitful in the way that God desires for us.
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Readings for July 26 – Saints Joachim and Anne
1st Reading: Ecclesiasticus/Sirach 44: 1, 10-15
Their name lives on for all generations
Let us praise illustrious people,
our ancestors in their successive generations.
Here is a list of generous men
whose good works have not been forgotten.
In their descendants there remains
a rich inheritance born of them.
Their descendants stand by the covenants
and, thanks to them, so do their children’s children.
Their offspring will last for ever,
their glory will not fade.
Their bodies have been buried in peace,
and their name lives on for all generations.
The peoples will proclaim their wisdom,
the assembly will celebrate their praises.
Responsorial: Psalm 131: 11, 13-14, 17-18
R./: God will give him the throne of David, his father
The Lord swore an oath to David;
he will not go back on his word:
‘A son, the fruit of your body,
will I set upon your throne.’ (R./)
For the Lord has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling:
‘This is my resting-place for ever,
here have I chosen to live. (R./)
‘There David’s stock will flower:
I will prepare a lamp for my anointed.
I will cover his enemies with shame
but on him my crown shall shine.’ (R./)
Gospel: Matthew 13:10-17
Many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see
Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’ With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: ‘You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn — and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.
Jesus had grandparents
For a vivid 2nd-century account of the Virgin Mary’s parents and her earliest days, see the Protevangelium of James. This devotional text is worth reading on the feast. While the account is clearly legendary, formed in deliberate parallel to some biblical prototypes, and borrowing themes from the Gospel Infancy Narratives, it probably contains elements of early oral tradition, to help us form a mental picture of the kind of family life lived by Jesus’ grandparents. The childlessness and anguish of the elderly couple, Joachim and Anna, are vividly described in the opening paragraphs:
“Joachim was very grieved, and went to consult the registers of the twelve tribes of the people, saying: “I will see whether I am the only one not to have procreated in lsrael.” He searched and found that all the righteous in lsrael had raised up posterity. He called to mind about the patriarch Abraham, how at the very end God granted him a son, Isaac. And Joachim was very grieved, and did not come into his wife’s presence but he retired to the desert, and there pitched his tent, and fasted forty days and forty nights, saying to himself: “I will take neither food nor drink until the Lord my God looks upon me, and prayer will be my food and drink.”
Anna his wife mourned twice as much, and doubly lamented, saying: “I will grieve for being a widow as well as being childless.” But … though she was still very grieved, she put off her mourning garments and washed her head, and put on her finery and went down to the garden to walk. There she saw a laurel tree, under which she sat and said this prayer to the Lord, “O God of our fathers, bless me and hear my prayer, as you blessed the womb of Sarah, and gave her a son, Isaac.”
As preparation for the homily, one might browse the rest of the Protevangelium, which was read with devotion by many generations of Christians, to indicate the special circumstances surrounding Our Lady’s birth, according to pious early tradition.