Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs
Lectionary: 330
Reading 1
1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30
Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD
in the presence of the whole community of Israel,
and stretching forth his hands toward heaven,
he said, “LORD, God of Israel,
there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below;
you keep your covenant of mercy with your servants
who are faithful to you with their whole heart.
“Can it indeed be that God dwells on earth?
If the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain you,
how much less this temple which I have built!
Look kindly on the prayer and petition of your servant, O LORD, my God,
and listen to the cry of supplication which I, your servant,
utter before you this day.
May your eyes watch night and day over this temple,
the place where you have decreed you shall be honored;
may you heed the prayer which I, your servant, offer in this place.
Listen to the petitions of your servant and of your people Israel
which they offer in this place.
Listen from your heavenly dwelling and grant pardon.”
Responsorial psalm
Psalm 84:3, 4, 5 and 10, 11
R. (2) How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
My soul yearns and pines
for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh
cry out for the living God.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest
in which she puts her young—
Your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God!
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Blessed they who dwell in your house!
continually they praise you.
O God, behold our shield,
and look upon the face of your anointed.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
I had rather one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I had rather lie at the threshold of the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!
Alleluia
Psalm 119:36, 29b
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Incline my heart, O God, to your decrees;
and favor me with your law.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mark 7:1-13
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
(For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds.)
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
"Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?"
He responded,
"Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites,
as it is written:
This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
In vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God's commandment but cling to human tradition."
He went on to say,
"How well you have set aside the commandment of God
in order to uphold your tradition!
For Moses said,
Honor your father and your mother,
and Whoever curses father or mother shall die.
Yet you say,
'If someone says to father or mother,
"Any support you might have had from me is qorban"'
(meaning, dedicated to God),
you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.
You nullify the word of God
in favor of your tradition that you have handed on.
And you do many such things.
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
Worship From the Heart
When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands. Mark 7:6–8
It seems quite clear that Jesus’ instant fame led these religious leaders to jealousy and envy, and they wanted to find fault with Him. As a result, they carefully observed Jesus and His disciples, and they noticed that Jesus’ disciples were not following the traditions of the elders. So the leaders began questioning Jesus about this fact. Jesus’ response was one of severe criticism of them. He quoted Isaiah the prophet who said, “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.”
Jesus strongly criticized them because their hearts were lacking true worship. The various traditions of the elders were not necessarily bad, such as the careful ceremonial washing of one’s hands before eating. But these traditions were empty if they were not motivated by a deep faith and love of God. The external following of human traditions was not truly an act of divine worship, and that’s what Jesus wanted for them. He wanted their hearts to be set ablaze with a love of God and with true divine worship.
What our Lord wants of each one of us is worship. Pure, heartfelt, sincere worship. He wants us to love God with a deep interior devotion. He wants us to pray, to listen to Him, and to serve His holy will with all the powers of our soul. And this is only possible when we engage in authentic worship.
As Catholics, our life of prayer and worship is grounded in the holy Liturgy. The Liturgy incorporates many traditions and practices that reflect our faith and become a vehicle of the grace of God. And though the Liturgy itself is far different from the mere “tradition of the elders” that Jesus was criticizing, it’s useful to remind ourselves that the many Liturgies of our Church must move from the external actions to interior worship. Going through the motions alone is pointless. We must allow God to act on us and within us as we engage in the external celebration of the Sacraments.
Reflect, today, upon the burning desire in the heart of our Lord to draw you into worship. Reflect upon how well you allow yourself to be drawn into this worship every time you attend the holy Mass. Seek to make your participation not only an exterior one but, first and foremost, an interior one. Doing so will help ensure that the rebuke of our Lord upon the scribes and Pharisees does not also fall upon you.
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
THE NEW DIMENSION OF LOVE
“You allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.” —Mark 7:12
Jesus called some religious leaders “hypocrites” (Mk 7:6) because they disregarded “God’s commandment” and clung “to what is human tradition” (Mk 7:8). The human tradition Jesus immediately referred to was called “korban” — a custom by which a person prevented his financial resources from being available to help his parents (Mk 7:11).
Before Christ, monogamy was not as firmly established as we know it. Also, divorce was even worse before Christ than in our post-Christian society (see Mt 19:9-10). This meant that families were mixed and confused, and children and step-children were often not deeply loved. They in turn did not always have much respect for their parents.
Christianity changed that. Parents were honored not only as parents but also as brothers and sisters in the Lord. Even evil parents were loved, because Christ empowers us to love enemies. This unconditional love was extended to the whole family. Families were united in a way rarely seen before Christ. Thus, St. Paul cautioned emphatically: “If anyone does not provide for his own relatives and especially for members of his immediate family, he has denied the faith; he is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Tm 5:8).
In Christ, let us love our parents and family in a miraculous way. Let us be one with them as Christ and the Father are one (Jn 17:21). Let our families be in Trinity-unity. Let us love as only those living in God can love; let us love as those in whom God lives and loves. They will know we are Christians by the miraculous uniqueness of our love for parents, families, brothers, sisters, neighbors, and enemies.
Prayer: Father, free me to enter into a new dimension of love.
Promise: “Look kindly on the prayer and petition of Your servant, O Lord, my God.” —1 Kgs 8:28
Praise: As St. Paul Miki hung on a cross in martyrdom, he said, “I hope my blood will fall on my fellow man as a fruitful rain.”
Reflection 3
The Servants of the Word
Rejecting the Commandments of God
What makes a person unclean or unfit to offer God acceptable worship? The Jews went to great pains to ensure that their worship would conform to the instructions which God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. God's call to his people was a call to holiness: "be holy, for I am holy" (Leviticus 11:44; 19:2). In their zeal for holiness many elders developed elaborate traditions which became a burden for the people to carry out in their everyday lives. The Scribes and Pharisees were upset with Jesus because he allowed his disciples to break with their ritual traditions by eating with unclean hands. They sent a delegation all the way from Jerusalem to Galilee to bring their accusation in a face-to-face confrontation with Jesus.
God's law teaches us how to love God and neighbor in holiness and truth
Jesus dealt with their accusation by going to the heart of the matter - by looking at God's intention and purpose for the commandments. Jesus gave an example of how their use of ritual tradition excused them from fulfilling the commandment to honor one's father and mother. If someone wanted to avoid the duty of financially providing for their parents in old age or sickness they could say that their money or goods were an offering "given over to God" and thus exempt from any claim of charity or duty to help others. They broke God's law to fulfill a law of their own making. Jesus explained that they void God's command because they allowed their hearts and minds to be clouded by their own notions of religion.
Allow God's word to purify your thoughts, intentions, and actions
Jesus accused them specifically of two things. First of hypocrisy. Like actors, who put on a show, they appear to obey God's word in their external practices while they inwardly harbor evil desires and intentions. Secondly, he accused them of abandoning God's word by substituting their own arguments and ingenious interpretations for what God requires. They listened to clever arguments rather than to God's word. Jesus refers them to the prophecy of Isaiah (29:31) where the prophet accuses the people of his day for honoring God with their lips while their hearts went astray because of disobedience to God's laws.
If we listen to God's word with faith and reverence, it will both enlighten our mind and purify our heart - thus enabling us to better understand how he wants us to love and obey him. The Lord invites us to draw near to him and to feast at his banquet table. Do you approach with a clean heart and mind? Ask the Lord to cleanse and renew you with the purifying fire of his Holy Spirit.
Prayers
My divine Lord, You and You alone are worthy of all worship, adoration and praise. You and You alone deserve the worship I offer You from the depths of my heart. Help me and Your entire Church to always interiorize our exterior acts of worship so as to give You the glory that is due Your holy name. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus, let the fire of your Holy Spirit cleanse my mind and my heart that I may love you purely and serve you worthily.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 37: Humility, Simplicity and Sincerity
There are three words to ponder today: humility, simplicity and sincerity. Humble souls see and know God because they do not turn to themselves in their need. They recognize that God is everything and, without Him, they are nothing. Simple souls do not get caught up in the complications of life. They are able to cut through the countless distractions and live a childlike trust in God. Sincere souls are honest souls who are pure in heart and pure in their intentions. Be honest and truthful in your Christian walk and God will overwhelm all that is not of Him in your life (See Diary #55).
Ponder these three gifts today: humility, simplicity and sincerity. How well do you live them in your life? If one stands out as the most challenging, then sit with that for a while. Let God speak to you as you open your heart to His Mercy.
Lord, I open myself to the gifts of humility, simplicity and sincerity. Help me to see each of them as a precious gift that You wish to bestow upon me. May my mind comprehend them and my will embrace them. Jesus, I trust in You.
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