Today, 11th of August, we celebrate
Saint Clare of Assisi
First Reading: Dt 10:12-22
Moses said to the people:
"And now, Israel, what does the LORD, your God, ask of you but to fear the LORD, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the LORD, your God,
with all your heart and all your soul, to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD which I enjoin on you today for your own good?
Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the LORD, your God,
as well as the earth and everything on it. Yet in his love for your fathers the LORD was so attached to them as to choose you, their descendants, in preference to all other peoples, as indeed he has now done.
Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and be no longer stiff-necked. For the LORD, your God, is the God of gods, the LORD of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome,
who has no favorites, accepts no bribes; who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and befriends the alien, feeding and clothing him.
So you too must befriend the alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. The LORD, your God, shall you fear, and him shall you serve; hold fast to him and swear by his name. He is your glory, he, your God, who has done for you those great and terrible things which your own eyes have seen. Your ancestors went down to Egypt seventy strong, and now the LORD, your God, has made you as numerous as the stars of the sky."
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
R (12a) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Glorify the LORD, O Jerusalem;
praise your God, O Zion.
For he has strengthened the bars of your gates;
he has blessed your children within you.
R Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has granted peace in your borders;
with the best of wheat he fills you.
He sends forth his command to the earth;
swiftly runs his word!
R Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
He has proclaimed his word to Jacob,
his statutes and his ordinances to Israel.
He has not done thus for any other nation;
his ordinances he has not made known to them. Alleluia.
R Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
Gospel Reading: Mt 17:22-27
While Jesus was in Galilee with the Twelve, he said to them, "The Son of Man will be delivered into human hands, and they will kill him. But he will rise on the third day." The Twelve were deeply grieved.
When they returned to Capernaum, the Temple tax collectors came to Peter and asked him, "Does your master pay the temple tax?" He answered, "Certainly."
Peter then entered the house, but immediately Jesus asked him, "What do you think, Simon? Who pay taxes or tributes to the kings of the earth: their sons or the other people?" Peter replied, "The others."
And Jesus told him, "The sons, then, are tax-free. But so as not to offend these people, go to the sea, throw in a hook and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin in it, take it and let it pay for you and for me."
Today’s Gospel text has two parts that seem very different and not connected at first.
In the first part, Jesus is walking with His disciples and, once again, tells them what is going to happen to Him soon. The Son of Man — meaning Himself — will be handed over to others and will be killed. The final mention of the resurrection might have been added later. Or, if Jesus truly said it at that time, it’s likely that the disciples didn’t understand what He meant. It was something too new, too unexpected to fit into their minds. That’s why they became very sad. Their future depended on Jesus’ future. And if Jesus was going to die, then maybe they had chosen the wrong leader, the wrong prophet.
The second part of the passage brings up a very different topic: the payment of taxes.
Today, in most countries, every citizen is required to pay taxes — even the king or the president. But it wasn’t like that in Jesus’ time. Back then, Roman citizens didn’t have to pay taxes. Only the people from conquered nations — colonized and controlled by the Romans — had to pay. That’s what Jesus refers to when He says that the kings of the world don’t collect taxes from their own children, only from strangers.
Jesus, who sees Himself as a citizen of the Kingdom and as the Son of God, understands that He should not have to pay. In the Kingdom of God, there are no taxes. Everyone is a son or daughter. In the Kingdom, there are no “strangers.” But Jesus also knows that the Kingdom is not yet fully here. It’s on the way — it’s already present, but not complete. That’s why He decides to pay.
In the end, these two parts are closely connected. Jesus is living — so to speak — in another dimension. He no longer belongs to this world. He is a citizen of the Kingdom of God. That is exactly why people will kill Him — because they do not want to accept this new reality that is the Kingdom.
And that’s why, even though there are no taxes in the Kingdom, for now they still have to be paid. But in the Kingdom, things will be different.
Of course, to reach the Kingdom, Jesus must go through the Passion and the Resurrection. Maybe then the disciples will understand what it means when He says: “He will rise on the third day.”
Fernando Torres, cmfOpening Prayer
Lord our God,
you are present among us in secret, incognito,
with the everyday appearance
of an ordinary person.
God, give us eyes of faith
to see that you are among us
in the person of Jesus your Son
in this eucharist,
in the joys and sorrows of life,
in the people we meet in the street.
Make us attentive to your presence
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
A mixed assortment of slaves had been made into a people, obtained freedom, and was on its way to a land of its own. People without hope had been given dreams of a great future. All this because there was a God "foolish" enough to attach himself to these people and to love them without any merit on their part. This love was a call, waiting for a response of life-long fidelity to God's ways.
Gospel Introduction
The gospel gives us the image of God-in-civilian Jesus, God's Son, a man who pays his taxes even when he is not obliged to. It may be a hint for us not to ask for privileges because we are Christians and to act and live as free people, who at times - or often - choose to do what we are not obliged to do, especially in the form of help.
General Intercessions
- For the Church, that it may not be ashamed of preaching the crucified Christ and of being self-effacing with him, we pray:
- For all of us, that we may never put the law above people but practice first the great commandment of loving one another, we pray:
- For our Christian communities, that we may welcome strangers and foreigners and make them our friends in the name of God who has befriended us, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
God, our Father,
you are our God of glory,
and yet you let your Son come among us
in the simple signs of bread and wine.
Stay among us
and make us also reflect your presence
in all simplicity
by making you available to people
in our goodness and compassion,
by the power of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you know how complicated we can be,
and yet, your glory is among us
in all that is simple and commonplace:
in water and oil, bread and wine,
a gesture of forgiveness and reconciliation.
God, we thank you for your goodness.
And may our hearts and gestures
be as simple as your presence,
that in a tear or a smile
we may reveal your Son in our midst,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
We are free sons and daughters of God and we cherish this freedom. Yet we do not want to be a clan separate from others or people seeking privileges. We want to be united with all and to serve them. May almighty God bless you, the Father and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
