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Extracted from the prophet Jeremiah 38:4-6,8-10: The leading men of Jerusalem spoke to the king. ‘Let this man be put to death: he is unquestionably disheartening the remaining soldiers in the city, and all the people too, by talking like this. The fellow does not have the welfare of this people at heart so much as its ruin.’ ‘He is in your hands as you know,’ King Zedekiah answered ‘for the king is powerless against you.’ So they took Jeremiah and threw him into the well of Prince Malchiah in the Court of the Guard, letting him down with ropes. There was no water in the well, only mud, and into the mud Jeremiah sank. Ebed-melech came out from the palace and spoke to the king. ‘My lord king,’ he said ‘these men have done a wicked thing by treating the prophet Jeremiah like this: they have thrown him into the well where he will die.’ At this the king gave Ebed-melech the Cushite the following order: ‘Take three men with you from here and pull the prophet Jeremiah out of the well before he dies.’ |
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Extracted from Psalm 40:2-4,18: Lord, come to my aid!
I waited, I waited for the Lord and he stooped down to me; he heard my cry.
He drew me from the deadly pit, from the miry clay. He set my feet upon a rock and made my footsteps firm.
He put a new song into my mouth, praise of our God. Many shall see and fear and shall trust in the Lord.
As for me, wretched and poor, the Lord thinks of me. You are my rescuer, my help, O God, do not delay. |
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With so many witnesses in a great cloud on every side of us, we too, then, should throw off everything that hinders us, especially the sin that clings so easily, and keep running steadily in the race we have started. Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection… Think of the way he stood such opposition from sinners and then you will not give up for want of courage. In the fight against sin, you have not yet had to keep fighting to the point of death. - The Sermon - Hebrews |
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Extracted from the Sermon- Hebrews 12:1-4: With so many witnesses in a great cloud on every side of us, we too, then, should throw off everything that hinders us, especially the sin that clings so easily, and keep running steadily in the race we have started. Let us not lose sight of Jesus, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection: for the sake of the joy which was still in the future, he endured the cross, disregarding the shamefulness of it, and from now on has taken his place at the right of God’s throne. Think of the way he stood such opposition from sinners and then you will not give up for want of courage. In the fight against sin, you have not yet had to keep fighting to the point of death. |
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Extracted from the holy Gospel according to Luke 12:49-53: Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were blazing already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my distress till it is over! ‘Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on a household of five will be divided: three against two and two against three; the father divided against the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’ Sharing: It was the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time on 18 August 2013. Here are the Readings that were read in the Eucharistic Celebrations all over the world on the same day (see above): 1st Reading: Jeremiah 38:4-6,8-10, Responsorial: Psalm 40:2-4,18, 2nd Reading: Hebrews 12:1-4 & Gospel Reading: Luke 12:49-53.
We have extracted the Homilies of Pope Benedict XVI & Pope Francis I based on the aforesaid Readings to share with you, so that you could similarly be encouraged:
BENEDICT XVI ANGELUS Papal Summer Residence, Castel Gandolfo
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In this Sunday's Gospel there is an expression of Jesus that always attracts our attention and needs to be properly understood.
While he is on his way to Jerusalem, where death on a cross awaits him, Christ asked his disciples: "Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division". And he adds: "[H]enceforth in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against her mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law" (Luke 12: 51-53).
Anyone who has even the slightest knowledge of Christ's Gospel knows that it is a message of peace par excellence; as St Paul wrote, Jesus himself "is our peace" (Ephesians 2: 14), the One who died and rose in order to pull down the wall of enmity and inaugurate the Kingdom of God which is love, joy and peace.
So how can his words be explained? To what was the Lord referring when he said he had come - according to St Luke's version - to bring "division" or - according to St Matthew's - the "sword" (Matthew 10: 34)?
Christ's words mean that the peace he came to bring us is not synonymous with the mere absence of conflicts. On the contrary, Jesus' peace is the result of a constant battle against evil. The fight that Jesus is determined to support is not against human beings or human powers, but against Satan, the enemy of God and man.
Anyone who desires to resist this enemy by remaining faithful to God and to good, must necessarily confront misunderstandings and sometimes real persecutions.
All, therefore, who intend to follow Jesus and to commit themselves without compromise to the truth, must know that they will encounter opposition and that in spite of themselves they will become a sign of division between people, even in their own families. In fact, love for one's parents is a holy commandment, but to be lived authentically it can never take precedence over love for God and love for Christ.
Thus, following in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus, in accordance with St Francis of Assisi's famous words, Christians become "instruments of peace"; not of a peace that is inconsistent and only apparent but one that is real, pursued with courage and tenacity in the daily commitment to overcome evil with good (cf. Romans 12: 21) and paying in person the price that this entails.
The Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, shared until his martyrdom her Son Jesus' fight with the Devil and continues to share in it to the end of time. Let us invoke her motherly intercession so that she may help us always to be witnesses of Christ's peace and never to sink so low as to make compromises with evil.
After the Angelus:
In these days our thoughts and prayers are constantly focused on the peoples of Peru, hit by a devastating earthquake. I pray for the Lord's peace for the numerous dead, for a prompt recovery for the injured, and assure all who are in wretched conditions: "The Church is with you, with all her spiritual and material solidarity". Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, my Secretary of State, who had for some time been planning a visit to Peru, will be delivering in person in the next few days the testimony of my sentiments and the Holy See's material assistance.
I am pleased to greet the English-speaking visitors gathered for this Angelus prayer. The Readings from today's Mass invite us to lift our eyes to Jesus, who inspires and perfects our faith. May you and your families experience the Lord's closeness during these summer holidays and respond to his love through deeper prayer and more generous acts of charity. Upon all of you I invoke Christ's Blessings of joy and peace!
I wish you all a good Sunday!
Acknowledgment: We thank the Vatican Publisher for allowing us to publish the Homily of Pope Benedict XVI, so that it could be accessed by more people all over the world; as a source of God’s encouragements to all of us.
25 August 2013 |