Limitless Trust: The 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time

                                                            Limitless Trust:

The 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time

June 25, 2023

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Jeremiah 20:10-13; Psalm 69; Romans 5:12-15; Matthew 10:26-33

 

The underlying message of these readings is to place one’s total trust in God, even if adversaries are fierce. Jeremiah could hear the whispers and murmurings of man who threatened his life as he called them to live in greater fidelity to God. You can almost hear the growing voices of discontent rising as Jeremiah passes. Does he have fear? Of course. Yet, he is called to unreservedly trust God’s will because he has the long game in mind. The Gospel message has a similar theme. “Fear no one,” which doesn’t mean to act recklessly or without thought, but to have limitless trust in God’s plan. Once a person surrenders to God’s will, one can only act with courage and energy because she or he is all in. God always hears and responds to the one who prays for the coming of the reign of God.  

 

Earlier this week, we heard of a church official, the Vatican’s ambassador to the United States speaking in the way the Gospel encourages. The ambassador addressed the US bishops at their spring meeting where he continues to outline the plan and vision of Pope Francis, who is bringing about a globalized Catholicism in which there is growth and development in the Global South and a move away from the Euro-centric origins. In the speech, the ambassador encouraged the bishops to engage with the ongoing synodal process by offering three “guidelines.” The first process is to be open to encountering others and their cultural expressions of the faith. The church must discover what is already there instead of imposing what we already know. This brings about inclusiveness and unity while respecting differences. The ambassador has encountered "closed" attitudes among some bishop, and therefore he talked about invitation, encounter, inclusivity, and getting out of the buildings to discover the world around them.

 

His second point was to encourage “listening with the goal of uniting”, saying that “to overcome polarization, we must learn to listen to one another, work together, and walk together with Peter and under Peter.” Resistance among some bishops to Synodality and to the Pope’s agenda has been strong. Listening is key. Uniting is key. The culture wars, the liturgy wars have been divisive. Instead the bishops must learn to listen, to be collaborative, to realize they are not in authority or possession of the truth, and they are to think and feel with the larger church - with Pope Francis, and under Pope Francis.

 

Finally, he asked them to be servants who “live the Eucharist as mission.” He refers to the ongoing Eucharistic Revival initiatives and says that this process can only be successful if the People of God learn that the Eucharist that they consume is meant to make them missionaries – who take the presence of Christ, which is now in them, to people who do not yet know the Lord. He remarked that the plans of Eucharistic Adoration is incomplete in and of itself. The Eucharist is an action of God with the people who are transformed along with the bread and wine. The people are the Eucharistic elements. The faithful are the most sacred part of the worship, and the Eucharist is to be consumed and brought to others. The Eucharistic mission is to go to the hungry and to allow Christ, through us, to feed them. 

 

Until our teaching on the Eucharist is better understood, these words will upset some people, and these readings encourage us to teach and form a Eucharistic people in service to a hungry world. We have some work to do, and yet we trust fully that God is helping us to be faithful to the new demands of God’s reign. 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

Monday: (Genesis 12) Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father's house to a land that I will show you. "I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.

 

Tuesday: (Genesis 13) Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents, so that the land could not support them if they stayed together; their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. There were quarrels between the herdsmen of Abram's livestock and those of Lot's.

 

Wednesday: (Genesis 15) O Lord GOD, what good will your gifts be, if I keep on being childless and have as my heir the steward of my house, Eliezer?" Abram continued,
"See, you have given me no offspring, and so one of my servants will be my heir."

 

Thursday: (Matthew 16) 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.”

 

Friday (Genesis 17) God also said to Abraham: “On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised.”

 

Saturday (Genesis 18) Looking up, he saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground, he said: "Sir, if I may ask you this favor, please do not go on past your servant. Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest yourselves under the tree.

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (Matthew 7) Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye?

 

Tuesday: (Matthew 7) Do not give what is holy to dogs, or throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them underfoot, and turn and tear you to pieces. "Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the Law and the Prophets.

 

Wednesday (Matthew 7) Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

 

Thursday (Acts 12) In those days, King Herod laid hands upon some members of the Church to harm them. He had James, the brother of John, killed by the sword, and when he saw that this was pleasing to the Jews he proceeded to arrest Peter also. –It was the feast of Unleavened Bread.–

 

Friday (Matthew 8) “Lord, if you wish, you can make me clean.” He stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, “I will do it. Be made clean.” His leprosy was cleansed immediately.

 

Saturday (Matthew 8) When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully." He said to him, "I will come and cure him.

 

Saints of the Week

 

June 27: Cyril of Alexandria, bishop and doctor (376-444), presided over the Council of Ephesus that fought Nestorian the heresy. Cyril claimed, contrary to Nestorius, that since the divine and human in Jesus were so closely united that it was appropriate to refer to Mary was the mother of God. Because he condemned Nestorius, the church went through a schism that lasted until Cyril's death. Cyril's power, wealth, and theological expertise influenced many as he defended the church against opposing philosophies. 

 

June 28: Irenaeus, bishop and martyr (130-200) was sent to Lyons as a missionary to combat the persecution the church faced in Lyons. He was born in Asia Minor and became a disciple of Polycarp who was a disciple of the Apostle John. Irenaeus asserted that the creation was not sinful by nature but merely distorted by sin. As God created us, God redeemed us. Therefore, our fallen nature can only be saved by Christ who took on our form in the Incarnation. Irenaeus refutation of heresies laid the foundations of Christian theology.

 

June 29: Peter and Paul, apostles (first century) are lumped together for a feast day because of their extreme importance to the early and contemporary church. Upon Peter's faith was the church built; Paul's efforts to bring Gentiles into the faith and to lay out a moral code was important for successive generations. It is right that they are joined together as their work is one, but with two prongs. For Jesuits, this is a day that Ignatius began to recover from his illness after the wounds he sustained at Pamplona. It marked a turning point in his recovery.

 

June 30: The First Holy Martyrs of the Holy Roman Church (c. 64) were martyrs under Nero's persecution in 64. Nero reacted to the great fire in Rome by falsely accusing Christians of setting it. While no one believed Nero's assertions, Christians were humiliated and condemned to death in horrible ways. This day always follows the feast of the martyrs, Sts. Peter and Paul.

 

July 1: Junipero Serra, priest, was a Franciscan missionary who founded missions in Baja and traveled north to California starting in 1768. The Franciscans established the missions during the suppression of the Jesuits. San Diego, San Francisco, and Santa Clara are among the most famous. Serra’s statue is in the U.S. Capitol to represent California.

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• June 25, 1782. The Jesuits in White Russia were permitted by the Empress Catherine to elect a General. They chose Fr. Czerniewicz. He took the title of Vicar General, with the powers of the General. 
• June 26, 1614. By a ruse of the Calvinists, the book, "Defensio Fidei" by Francis Suarez was condemned by the French Parliament. In addition, in England James I ordered the book to be publicly burned. 
• June 27, 1978. Bernard Lisson, a mechanic, and Gregor Richert, a parish priest, were shot to death at St Rupert's Mission, Sinoia, Zimbabwe. 
• June 28, 1591. Fr. Leonard Lessius's teaching on grace and predestination caused a great deal of excitement and agitation against the Society in Louvain and Douai. The Papal Nuncio and Pope Gregory XIV both declared that his teaching was perfectly orthodox. 
• June 29, 1880. In France the law of spoliation, which was passed at the end of March, came into effect and all the Jesuit Houses and Colleges were suppressed. 
• June 30, 1829. The opening of the Twenty-first General Congregation of the order, which elected Fr. John Roothan as General. 
• July 1, 1556. The beginning of St Ignatius's last illness. He saw his three great desires fulfilled: confirmation of the Institute, papal approval of the Spiritual Exercises, and acceptance of the Constitutions by the whole Society.