Today, 16th of July, we celebrate
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Reading 1 is 10:5-7, 13b-16
Thus says the LORD:
Woe to Assyria! My rod in anger,
my staff in wrath.
Against an impious nation I send him,
and against a people under my wrath I order him
To seize plunder, carry off loot,
and tread them down like the mud of the streets.
But this is not what he intends,
nor does he have this in mind;
Rather, it is in his heart to destroy,
to make an end of nations not a few.
For he says:
“By my own power I have done it,
and by my wisdom, for I am shrewd.
I have moved the boundaries of peoples,
their treasures I have pillaged,
and, like a giant, I have put down the enthroned.
My hand has seized like a nest
the riches of nations;
As one takes eggs left alone,
so I took in all the earth;
No one fluttered a wing,
or opened a mouth, or chirped!”
Will the axe boast against him who hews with it?
Will the saw exalt itself above him who wields it?
As if a rod could sway him who lifts it,
or a staff him who is not wood!
Therefore the Lord, the LORD of hosts,
will send among his fat ones leanness,
And instead of his glory there will be kindling
like the kindling of fire.
Responsorial Psalm ps 94:5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 14-15
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
Your people, O LORD, they trample down,
your inheritance they afflict.
Widow and stranger they slay,
the fatherless they murder.
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
And they say, “The LORD sees not;
the God of Jacob perceives not.”
Understand, you senseless ones among the people;
and, you fools, when will you be wise?
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
Shall he who shaped the ear not hear?
or he who formed the eye not see?
Shall he who instructs nations not chastise,
he who teaches men knowledge?
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
For the LORD will not cast off his people,
nor abandon his inheritance;
But judgment shall again be with justice,
and all the upright of heart shall follow it.
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
Gospel mt 11:25-27
At that time Jesus exclaimed:
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows the Son except the Father,
and no one knows the Father except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
Being humble before the Lord
The scribes, religious scholars, and temple authorities rejected Jesus, the Word of God. However, the simple and ordinary people in villages accepted him. While the self-proclaimed intellectuals sought to find faults with him, the poor, the sick, and those living on the margins of society flocked to him for his message of comfort, acceptance, and love. In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus thanks the heavenly Father for revealing the mysteries of God to ordinary people. Jesus does not condemn wisdom and intellectual power, but what he condemns is the intellectual pride of the learned.
As the passage concludes, Jesus identifies himself as the Son of God who came to unveil the true nature of God to humanity. «No one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.» In the Gospel of John, we hear Jesus saying, «Whoever has seen me has seen the Father» (John 14:9).
It is said that ‘it is the heart, not the head, that is the home of the gospel.’ It is our pride that separates us from God’s grace and not our knowledge. Many smart people today worry that believing in God is silly. However, it’s essential to recognize that embracing the Gospel requires humility and it is not foolishness
It is a challenge for pastors and leaders of Church communities of our time to put aside our pride and ego and be humble in front of God’s people. Those who engage with things with the curiosity and receptiveness of a child are the ones to whom God’s mysteries are unveiled.Children are characterised by openness, wonder, and not being judgmental. This requires humility, which would lead us to stand in wonder before the mystery of God.
Biblie Claret Wednesday, 15th Week in Ordinary Time
REVEALED TO CHILDREN
Opening Prayer
Lord of heaven and earth
from whom all good things come,
we bless you with Jesus your Son
for revealing to us how much you love us.
Make us humble and receptive of your gifts,
that we may be open to the good news
for you show yourself to those
who are aware of their poverty.
Fill that poverty with your tenderness
and with the certainty that you care for us
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Liturgy of the Word
Introduction to the First Reading
God uses Assyria as an instrument to punish God's people for their infidelity. Isaiah scolds the king of Assyria, a mere instrument, for acting and thinking as if he were God himself; he will be punished for this presumption.
Introduction to the Gospel
To see God, to know that he is with us, to hear the message of the gospel, one must have the openness and receptivity of a child and be aware of one's poverty. Salvation is given. Those who are filled with their own wisdom cannot hear or welcome him, for they try to conform God and the gospel to their own ideas, not theirs to God's.
General Intercessions
- For the clever and the learned, that Jesus may teach them to become little and humble, so that Jesus may teach them the Father's love, we pray:
- For all of us, that God make his Son known to us deeply and lovingly, we pray:
- For those who serve the poorest, that they may not get discouraged and through their service come to know God better, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Our mighty God,
you are partial to the poor.
From your own gifts
we bring before you bread and wine.
Make us as genuine and simple
as these offerings,
that we may understand readily
the simple story of your forgiveness and love,
which you tell us through your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
we thank you in the poverty of our hearts
that you have let us eat from Jesus' table
notwithstanding our little faith
and our lukewarm love.
Keep accepting us the way we are,
help us to be and do better
and to render wholehearted service
to our brothers and sisters in need.
We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Blessing
All is grace. God's love is given gratuitously. Let us thank God for all that we owe him and for all that we owe to people. May almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
