Memorial of Saint Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr
Lectionary: 501
Reading 1
Revelation 10:8-11
I, John, heard a voice from heaven speak to me.
Then the voice spoke to me and said:
“Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel
who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll.
He said to me, “Take and swallow it.
It will turn your stomach sour,
but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.”
I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and swallowed it.
In my mouth it was like sweet honey,
but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.
Then someone said to me, “You must prophesy again
about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 119:14, 24, 72, 103, 111, 131
R. (103a) How sweet to my taste is your promise!
In the way of your decrees I rejoice,
as much as in all riches.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Yes, your decrees are my delight;
they are my counselors.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
How sweet to my palate are your promises,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Your decrees are my inheritance forever;
the joy of my heart they are.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
I gasp with open mouth
in my yearning for your commands.
R. How sweet to my taste is your promise!
Alleluia
John 10:27
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Luke 19:45-48
Jesus entered the temple area and proceeded to drive out
those who were selling things, saying to them,
“It is written,
My house shall be a house of prayer,
but you have made it a den of thieves.”
And every day he was teaching in the temple area.
The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile,
were seeking to put him to death,
but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose
because all the people were hanging on his words.
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
Consoled by Fervent Preaching
And every day he was teaching in the temple area. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death, but they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words. Luke 19:47–48
Jesus had just entered Jerusalem for the upcoming Feast of Passover. He arrived in that holy city and then returned again the next day and entered the Temple area. As He witnessed the corruption of those selling animals for the Temple sacrifices, Jesus responded with fervent preaching in an attempt to cleanse the Temple from this corruption. He quoted the Prophet Isaiah and cried out, “It is written, My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” Luke’s Gospel points out the reaction of the chief priests, the scribes and the leaders of the people. They were “seeking to put him to death.” However, as the Gospel further relates, “they could find no way to accomplish their purpose because all the people were hanging on his words.”
It’s important to consider this passage within its context. The words that Jesus spoke were words that sought to cleanse the Temple of corruption. With the approval of the temple priests, who benefitted from the temple tax, there were many people who were using the practice of divine worship to make a profit for selfish gain, turning the Temple into a marketplace. Jesus could see this clearly, and many of the people would have also sensed the corruption of these practices. Though they needed to purchase animals for the ritual sacrifices and Passover meal, many of them were most likely disturbed by this abuse. Therefore, as Jesus spoke with fervor and condemnation, it angered those who were responsible for the corruption but left the people with consolation. Hence, they were “hanging on his words.”
The Gospel is always consoling, and, for those who are open, it leads them to hang on every word that is spoken. It refreshes and invigorates, clarifies and motivates. Usually when we think of the Gospel, we think of words that are gentle and inviting—words of mercy to the sinner and compassion for those who are struggling. But sometimes the pure Gospel message from our Lord fiercely attacks sin and evil. And though this may be shocking to the evil doers, to those with pure faith, these words also refresh and strengthen.
Today, we need the full Gospel message. Many need to hear Jesus’ gentle invitation to conversion by which their heavy burdens are lifted. But many others need to hear His firm words of condemnation. And the Church as a whole needs both of these messages to be proclaimed if we are to fully participate in the apostolic ministry of our Lord. Only our Lord has the right to condemn, chastise, and call others to repentance. But we are all called to share in this mission of our Lord. And though we do not have the right to judge the hearts of others, when we see objective evil and disorder within our world and even within our Church, we must cry out with our Lord, “My house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.” And when we do hear the holy and inspired words of God’s messengers who boldly and courageously proclaim the truth and call others to repentance, it should inspire, invigorate and console us as we find ourselves hanging on their every word.
Reflect, today, upon the Gospel messages that need to be preached in our day and age that are both inspired by God and are also fervently directed at corruption within the world and even within our Church. Allow yourself to support such holy preaching and to be inspired by it. Hang on these holy words of God’s prophets today. As you do, God will protect them and inspire them to continue His holy mission of purification.
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
“MY SWEET LORD”
“How sweet to my palate are Your promises, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” —Psalm 119:103
From His cross, Jesus utters in agony, “I thirst” (see Jn 19:28). Elsewhere in St. John’s Gospel, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman at the well, “Give Me a drink” (Jn 4:7). Interestingly, the text of John 4 never mentions Jesus getting a drink of actual water from the woman. Yet John 4 ends with Jesus apparently no longer thirsty, because the woman receives Him; her faith provided the drink for which Jesus thirsted.
Today’s psalm response is from Psalm 119:103, the verse highlighted above: “How sweet to my taste is Your promise.” The psalmist tells the Lord that the promises of God, as written down in the law of Moses in the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch, are sweet to his taste. However, I invite you to consider today’s psalm response as coming from the mouth of the crucified Jesus. He is hanging in utter agony upon His cross, and He speaks, saying “I thirst” (see Jn 19:28). He has come to light a fire on earth, and He wishes the blaze were ignited (Lk 12:49). When we fulfill our promises to Jesus, such as renewing our baptismal promises, our promises in the sacraments, and our promise to spend our lives in His service, we are giving Him a drink (see Jn 4:7). This is what Jesus thirsts for, and this is the honey on His tongue. It is as if the crucified Jesus is saying to us: “How sweet to My taste is your promise.” Give Jesus a drink. Promise to spend your life spreading His Good News to the world.
Prayer: Jesus, I will spend my life quenching Your thirst by living out my promises to You.
Promise: “The law of Your mouth is to me more precious than thousands of gold and silver pieces.” —Ps 119:72
Praise: St. Cecilia and her converts, her husband Valerian and brother-in-law Tiburtius, were martyred for their faith in Jesus.
Reflection 3
By Fr. Martin Hogan
In the gospel reading, Jesus drives all trade out of the temple, so as to purify it for the worship of God alone. The temple was to be a place of worship and prayer but it had become something else. The buying and selling of the market place had intruded into the temple and had undermined the temple’s primary purpose as a house of prayer. The temple no longer exists but there are still houses of prayer. Our church buildings are houses of prayer. We all feel that we have a very special house of prayer in our own parish church. It is a place of worship, a space into which people can enter to pray and to worship God. Everything in the church is to serve that purpose, the art work, the lighting, the decor, the furniture. I have always felt coming into this church that it is a place where people have been praying for a very long time, as indeed they have. The bulk of the church goes back to the late 1830s. People’s prayer over the generations leaves its mark on a building and makes it easier for us to pray. Our prayerful presence here, in turn, leaves its mark on the building and makes it easier of others to enter into prayer, including those of the generations to come.
Prayers
My purifying Lord, the corruption within our world, and at times even within our Church, requires Your holy preaching and purifying action. Please send Your messengers to those in need so that all may be cleansed as You cleansed the Temple. May I share in this mission in the ways in which You call me, and may I always hang on every word spoken from Your merciful and fervent heart of love. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus, you open wide the door of your house and you bid us to enter confidently that we may worship you in spirit and truth. Help me to draw near to you with gratitude and joy for your great mercy. May I always revere your word and give you acceptable praise and worship.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 326: Waiting on the Lord
One common struggle many people have is that of impatience. We tend to want what we want when we want it. In our fast-paced society we are used to instant everything. A full meal can be reheated within minutes, text messages can be sent worldwide in seconds, news travels the moment it happens, and for many people almost anything they could ever want or need is generally only a short drive from their homes at the nearest superstore. All of this fosters a tendency to want what we want when we want it. But the Lord does not work this way. He has His own timing which is always in accord with His perfect wisdom. Very often we can experience a temptation to do what we think is in the best interest of the truth and to do it now. But sometimes God chooses to wait before He acts. When He acts, His ways become clear and convincing and His wisdom is unmistakable (See Diary #1587).
Reflect upon your desire to do great things for God or to speak the truth in one situation or another. Is your impulse from the Lord or is it your own impatience prompting you? This is an important question to reflect upon because God’s Truth can only come forth at His command, in His time. If we try to push the Hand of God we will be doing so on our own. Yes, God will use even our misguided or impatient works for His glory, but our plans done in our way will never accomplish the glorious works of God as He can only accomplish them. Reflect upon your patience with the Will of God and make an act of surrender this day. Your trust and surrender will open the doors of Mercy in accord with the perfect Will of God.
Lord, I surrender to You and Your perfect Will. Give me patience so that I may set aside my own ideas and plans, submitting only to You. May I learn to wait on You, dear Lord, and act only as You command. I love You, my God. Jesus, I trust in You.
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