The Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Isaiah 50:5-9; Psalm 114; James 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35

In the first reading we read a passage from Isaiah which we usually associate with Christ for he did offer his cheek to those who tore at his beard and he willingly accepted insult and injury for he knew that God was with him. In our gospel text from St Mark we see Jesus questioning the disciples as to who they think he is. St Peter makes his great profession of faith by saying that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus then goes on to tell them that he is to suffer and die, in fulfilment of the text we read from Isaiah, but the apostles do not fully understand what he is saying and so Peter tries to persuade him not to go to Jerusalem. Jesus rebukes him because he was, albeit through a lack of understanding, preventing Christ from carrying out his salvific mission. When we too prevent the kingdom of God from being realised on earth – even if it is simply because we do nothing – then we are no better than Satan who does not want the kingdom of God to become a reality.

In our second reading from St James the apostle reminds us that faith without good works is dead. It is not enough to say that we love God – we must let that faith be seen by the way in which we live our lives but without showing off or drawing attention to ourselves. In this way the faith of others and our own faith may be strengthened and renewed.

1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33; Psalm 39; Luke 7:1-10

In our first reading for today St Paul is admonishing the Corinthians for the manner in which they celebrate the Eucharist. They had not been doing so in a fitting manner, but, as they moved from house to house, the parties had become more lavish while the Eucharist was an almost “by the way” happening. He reminds them of the true significance of the Eucharist. This passage is also the earliest record in the New Testament of the institution of the Eucharist on Holy Thursday night. Jesus meets a centurion in our Gospel today whose faith is far stronger than many of those who follow him. He does not need Jesus to come to his house for his servant to be cured but only wants Jesus to will it or say it. This is the faith which we are all called to have – complete trust and belief in the Son of God no matter what.

Memorial of St Cornelius, Pope, & St Cyprian, Bishop, Martyrs

Cornelius was elected pope in 251 and was martyred two years later under the persecutions of Emperor Gallus. During the persecutions under the Roman emperors many Christians left the faith to save their lives eventually returning to the faith before they died or when the persecutions eased. Cornelius and Novatian clashed over this with Novatian saying they should not be re-admitted and Cornelius being more pastorally sensitive and forgiving. Part of this clash saw Novatian have himself elected as pope in opposition to Cornelius (Novatian was anti-pope from 251 to 258). Caecilius Cyprianus was born in North Africa at the start of the third century and became a lawyer before converting to Christianity and became a bishop in 249. He is remembered with Cornelius because he supported Cornelius in the struggle against Novatian and was beheaded on the 14^th of September, 258 on the instruction of Emperor Valerian. Both of these men are named in the Roman Canon of the Mass (Eucharistic Prayer I).

Feast of St Albert, Patriarch of Jerusalem & Lawgiver of Carmel

Albert Avogadro was born in the middle of the twelfth century in Castel Gualtieri, in the plains of northern Italy. He became a Canon Regular of the Holy Cross, at Mortara, and was elected their prior in 1180. He was appointed Bishop of Bobbio in 1184, Bishop of Vercelli in 1185, and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem in 1204. For nine years he was also a papal legate for Pope Clement III. Given the troubles in the Holy Land at the time of his appointment, he spent his time as Patriarch living in the northern coastal town of Acre where he was murdered by an unhappy Hospitaller on September 14, 1214. He is an important figure for the Carmelite Order because during his time as Latin Patriarch he was approached by the hermits living near the Spring of Elijah who asked him for a Rule of Life, a rule to govern their living in community. This he wrote in the form of a letter sometime between 1206 and 1214 and, in so doing, gave the formal beginnings to what is the Order of Carmelites.

Readings:

Ephesians 6:11-18; Psalm 118; Matthew 20:25-28

The first reading from the letter to the Ephesians is one which was quoted by St Albert in the Rule of Life he left for the first Carmelites. The passage reminds us that even though salvation has been won by Jesus Christ, the Christian is to remain vigilant because evil forces are still at work, trying to lead people away from God. The idea of God’s armour has its origins in the Old Testament (Isaiah 11 and 59, and Wisdom 5) and it is to be worn by the Christian if they are to be successful in the struggle. In his Rule, Albert exhorted the early hermits to be aware of the presence of the evil one and to arm themselves against him. For Albert, the devil or the evil one was no mere symbol, but a living being who works against God.

The gospel text from St Matthew reminds us that we are servants to one another, and we are not to be served. We are servants of God, servants of the Gospel, and servants of one another. This is very much found in the Carmelite Rule where the Prior is first among equals, not their lord or master, but simply their leader for a time. These readings are particularly important for us as Carmelites as they give scriptural grounding to our way of life.

1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13; Psalm 32; Luke 7:31-35

Today’s first reading is St Paul’s beautiful passage on love from his first letter to the Corinthians. The greatest force we have is love and if we act and do everything from the principle of love then the kingdom of God will be ours. If we fail to act with love then nothing we do will matter at all. Paul writes about what love is not and then tells us what love is. In the Gospel, Christ is rebuking the people because they do not listen to him because he does not act as they would have the Messiah act. John the Baptist did and they did not listen to him either. Christ has taught us to love one another following his example and that is the challenge for us today.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Psalm 117; Luke 7:36-50

The message that St Paul preaches is the true message of Christ and he reminds the Corinthians of what it is he is preaching. He preaches about Christ crucified but also Christ risen from the dead. This latter part he backs up by talking about Christ appearing to himself but also to others following the resurrection – in some cases these accounts are found nowhere else in the Bible. In the Gospel we read of Jesus forgiving a woman her many sins because of the way she treated him. The woman acknowledged her sins and bowed before Christ while the host who was giving the dinner failed to treat Jesus with such respect and reverence but continued to judge others according to his own standards and, in so doing, ignored his own sinful ways and his own need for conversion. We are called to repent of our sins, to forgive others and to love much.

1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Psalm 16; Luke 8:1-3

Today, St Paul reminds the Corinthians that Christ has in fact risen from the dead and that this is a pillar of the faith. It is also our salvation for if it did not take place then our faith would be in vain for there would be no hope and no salvation. In our Gospel, Luke speaks of some of the women who followed Jesus on his travels and who had been cured by him. These women also witnessed to the events on Calvary, were present at his burial and saw the Risen Lord.

Memorial of St Andrew Kim Taegon, Priest & Martyr, St Paul Chong, Martyr & Companions

Andrew and his Companions are known as the Korean Martyrs for they were martyred in that country. Andrew was born in 1821 and ordained in 1845, just one year before he became the first Korean priest to be put to death for the faith. In all it is thought that up to 10,000 Koreans were martyred for the faith between 1791-1867, many of whom were lay-people. Pope John Paul II canonized a representative 103 martyrs in Seoul Cathedral on May 6, 1984.

Feast of St Matthew the Apostle

Very little is known about Matthew other than the fact that he was a tax-collector and wrote one of the Synoptic Gospels, which he wrote in Hebrew. Accounts of his martyrdom are unconfirmed.

Readings

Ephesians 4:1-7; Psalm 18; Matthew 9:9-13

Our first reading today from the letter to the Ephesians speaks of the different gifts of God which have been given to the Ephesians, and how they should all be used for the building up of the Body of Christ. First among those are the apostles who gave their lives for the building of the kingdom – Matthew being today’s example. The gospel passage tells the story of the call of Matthew from being a tax-collector to being a follower of Christ.