 |
| “St. Paul VI” credit Catholic News Service |
Readings
and Commentary: [2]
Reading 1: 1
Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-23
Brothers
and sisters:
If
I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for
an obligation has been imposed on me,
and
woe to me if I do not preach it!
If
I do so willingly, I have a recompense,
but
if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
What
then is my recompense?
That,
when I preach,
I
offer the Gospel free of charge
so
as not to make full use of my right in the Gospel.
Although
I am free in regard to all,
I
have made myself a slave to all
so
as to win over as many as possible.
To
the weak I became weak, to win over the weak.
I
have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All
this I do for the sake of the Gospel,
so
that I too may have a share in it.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23
St.
Paul continues to exhort the church at Corinth to follow his example. He begins
this selection with a restatement of his own imperative call: to proclaim the
Gospel is a “divine compulsion.” His reward for responding to that call is that
he “too may have a share in it.” His clear message is that the Gospel he
proclaims and the work he accomplishes should bring glory to Christ, not to
himself.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 96:1-2a,
2b-3, 7-8a, 10
R. (3) Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all
the nations.
Sing to the Lord a new song;
sing to the Lord, all you lands.
Sing to the Lord; bless his name.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the
nations.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the
nations.
Give to the Lord, you families of nations,
give to the Lord glory and praise;
give to the Lord the glory due his name!
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the
nations.
Say among the nations: The Lord is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the
nations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10
“Announce his salvation, day after day.” This
song of praise to the Lord invites all humanity to participate in God’s
salvation. “This psalm has numerous verbal and thematic contacts with Isaiah Chapters 40-55, as does Psalm 98. Another version of the psalm
is 1 Chronicles 16:23-33.” [3]
CCC: Ps 96:2 2143
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew
16:13-19
When
Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi
he
asked his disciples,
"Who
do people say that the Son of Man is?"
They
replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still
others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
He
said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
Simon
Peter said in reply,
"You
are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
Jesus
said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.
For
flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.
And
so I say to you, you are Peter,
and
upon this rock I will build my Church,
and
the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.
I
will give you the keys to the Kingdom of heaven.
Whatever
you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;
and
whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 16:13-19
St.
Matthew’s story of how Jesus asked about what people were saying about him has
a profound impact on the Church. Here, when challenged by Jesus with the
question, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon answers, “You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God.” The second title is not present in St.
Mark’s version of this encounter. The title adds an understanding that Jesus is
not just the Messiah, but also the Son of God. Given this response, Jesus
confers upon Simon a new name “Kephas” which comes from the root Aramaic
word kepa or “rock.” When translated into Greek it is petros, and
from there to Peter. The name, however, becomes the foundation for the Church.
As a consequence of this exchange, Peter is given Christ’s authority, an
authority that is passed down through papal succession to the Pope who sits on
the Chair of Peter today.
CCC: Mt
16-18 1969; Mt 16:16-23 440; Mt 16:16 424, 442; Mt 16:17 153, 442; Mt 16:18-19 881; Mt 16:18 424, 442, 552, 586, 869; Mt 16:19 553, 1444
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Especially
for Catholics born in the 1960’s or later, they may look at St. Paul VI and say,
“Ah, another pope sainted for his piety and service to Mother Church. Because he was beatified on the same day as
St. John Paul, the Great, many will overlook his incredible contributions to
our life of faith entirely. We desperately
hope the faithful will take the time to appreciate his gift to us and to the
Church he loved.
All
saints of the Church are revered because of their “heroic virtue.” What virtues best express the gifts of St.
Paul VI? We would point first to his ability
to live up to the standards of love for others that his Savior and ours most
clearly exemplified. In his life as Pope
he was vilified multiple times by those he served and was the first pope to
relent from excommunicating those who challenged his leadership and were openly
hostile to his reforms. It might surprise
those who are brought up in our time to know that one of the most vicious attacks
came because of his encyclical Humanae Vitae. A work that also showed
his incredible dedication to life.
There
are many other tremendous efforts of his papacy that need to be remembered, not
the least of which was that he faithfully shepherded the Second Vatican Council
to it’s conclusion (even today those reforms reverberate and are misunderstood).
For
our part, as we celebrate his feast day, we ask for his intercession. We pray that we might as faithfully live the
values and life of Christ as he did, carrying the same keys given to St. Peter,
Apostle and our first pope. May we also
be given the strength to endure all things in union with Christ, faithful to
his teaching and loyal members of the living body of Christ, the Church.
Pax
[1] The photograph is “St. Paul VI” credit
Catholic News Service
[2] The readings are taken from the New
American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were
developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
No comments:
Post a Comment