Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time

June is the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart

July is the month dedicated to the Precious Blood of Our Lord

Readings for the Rule of Saint Benedict for the Week:  Ch 23 Excommunication for Faults- Ch 29 Readmission of Brothers Who Leave the Monastery

Sing praise to the Lord, you His faithful ones.

HEART OF JESUS, DELIGHT OF ALL THE SAINTS,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

BLOOD OF CHRIST, PEACE AND TENDERNESS OF HEARTS,

SAVE US.

VIRGIN MOST POWERFUL,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

God did not make death,

nor does He rejoice in the destruction of the living.

(Wisdom 1:13)

Welcome to the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary, a week that begins with the end of the month of June dedicated to the Sacred Heart and gets going on Monday with the beginning of July dedicated to the Precious Blood of Our Lord. And not only that, we commemorate Saint Thomas the Apostle to warm us up for the celebration of our country's national holiday - July 4th, Independence Day! We have plenty of saints to commemorate and will include our "wholly American" Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. My country, 'Tis of Thee ...

There are two things that come from reflection on this Sunday's readings. First, there is living; second is faith. God is not God of the dead, but of the living (Luke 20:38). Jairus, the synagogue official whose daughter was at the point of death, fell at the feet of Jesus and pleaded earnestly with Him to come and lay hands on his daughter so that she would get well and live (see Mark 5:22-23). Then there is the woman afflicted with hemorrhages for 12 years. 12 long years of bleeding and not getting any help from doctors who only made her suffering worse. It seems to me that she was fed up and instead of dying, the woman was determined to live. So, she fought the crowd and went to Jesus, the God of the living, and simply touched His clothes. Immediately the woman was healed (see Mark 5:25-29). Both Jairus and the woman had courage. They found strength in the Lord to go straight to Jesus. Yes, they believed; they had faith in the Healer. It was a simple faith, uncomplicated. Faith. Jesus is speaking to you, to me: Daughter, your faith has saved you (Mark 5:34). Do not be afraid; just have faith (Mark 5:36). The woman went in peace; the synagogue official's 12-year-old daughter arose and walked around. All of them lived. God is not God of the dead but of the living, for to Him all are alive. This may be a week to first chose living over dying. Be alive. Pray for courage and a greater faith. Go to Jesus. Straight to Jesus with your needs. And if you haven't read Fredrik Bachman's A Man Called Otto and then seen the very well-done film starring Tom Hanks, consider it. Otto too, decided to live. Enough was enough. I believe, help my unbelief.

Now with our voices for the week. They are a cascade of sorts ...

The disbelief of Thomas has done more for our faith than the faith of the other disciples. As he touches Christ and is won over to belief, every doubt is cast aside and our faith is strengthened. So the disciple who doubted, then felt Christ's wounds, becomes a witness to the reality of the resurrection ... The true believer practices what he believes. But of those who pay only lip service to faith, Paul has this to say: 'They profess to know God, but they deny him in their works.' Therefore James says: 'Faith without works is dead.'

(From a homily on the Gospels by Saint Gregory the Great, pope, in Office of Readings, July 3)

What the world is in particular need of today is the credible witness of people enlightened in mind and heart by the word of the Lord, and capable of opening the hearts and minds of many to the desire for God and true life, life without end.

(Pope Benedict XVI, Porta Fidei, 15)

Embracing the words of Pope Benedict XVI, then, we turn to the Second Letter to Timothy:

Proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient of inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.

(2 Timothy 4:2)

God does not discriminate against anyone because He loves everyone.

(Pope Francis, Angelus Address, June 30, 2024)

Happy the person who at each gift of grace returns to God in whom is the fullness of grace ... For the only thing that hinders us from advancement in the spiritual life is our ingratitude.

(Saint Bernard of Clairvaux "Doctor Mellifluous", 1090-1153)

Now with a fitting introduction to our last voice: "Let us join our praise to the praise of all creation as we rejoice in the One who is the God of the living."*

By virtue of being created, of being held in existence by the loving power of the Creator Spirit, all beings give glory to God simply by being themselves.

(Elizabeth Johnson, in Ask the Beasts: Darwin and the God of Love)

As we go forth this week, united in faith and prayer, we go with the motto of Saint Junipero Serra: siempre adelante, always go forward. And Jesus will help us as He said: Do not be afraid; just have faith. At the same time, as we reflect on living and faith this week, we turn to the woman healed from her suffering. She went in peace. May we too go in peace this week for as Saint Peter Chyrsologus preached: 

Peace is the mother of love, the bond of concord and the manifest sign of a pure soul, one which seeks to please God, which seeks to be fulfilled and has it desire rewarded ... We must keep peace before all other virtues, since God is always in peace. Love peace, and all the world will be tranquil and quiet. By doing so you store up rewards for me, and joy for yourselves, that the Church of God may be founded on the bond of peace and may cling to perfect observance in Christ.

(From a sermon attributed to Peter Chrysologus, bishop, 380-450, in Office of Readings, July 13, commemoration of Saint Elizabeth of Portugal, 1271-1336)

THE FIRST MARTYRS OF THE SEE OF ROME,

SAINT OLIVER PLUNKETT,

BLESSED NAZJU FALZON,

SAINT JUNIPERO SERRA, APOSTLE OF CALIFORNIA, THE FATHER OF CALIFORNIA MISSIONS,

SAINT OTTO, BISHOP OF BAMBERG, APOSTLE OF THE POMERANIANS, FATHER OF THE MONKS,

SAINT THOMAS, APOSTLE,

SAINT ELIZABETH ANN SETON,

SAINT ANTHONY MARY ZACCARIA,

SAINT MODWEN,

BLESSED GEORGE NICHOLS, RICHARD YAXLEY, THOMAS BELSON, HUMPHREY PRITCHARD,

SAINT ELIZABETH OF PORTUGAL,

BLESSED JOHN CORNELIUS,

BLESSED MARIA CROCIFISSA CURCIO,

BLESSED PIER GIORGIO FRASSATI,

SAINT MARIA GORETTI, VIRGIN, MARTYR,

PRAY FOR US.

*Magnificat, July 30, 2024, Intercessions, p. 418.

Today's photo: A favorite color of mine. Dew and rain, bless the Lord; praise and exalt Him above all forever. 

© Gertrude Feick 2024