14TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green/White)
St. Henry, king
Ps 105:16-17, 18-19, 20-21
Remember the marvels the Lord has done.
1st Reading: Gen 44:18-21, 23b-29; 45:1-5
Judah then went forward and said, “My lord, allow your servant to speak. Do not be angry with your servant, although you are equal to Pharaoh himself. The last time you questioned your servants saying: ‘Have you a father or a brother?’ We said to my lord: ‘We have an aged father who had a child in his old age. His brother is dead and he is the only one left of his mother’s children. And his father loves him.’ Then you said to us: ‘Bring him down so that I can see him for myself.’
You then told us that if our youngest brother did not come with us, we would not be admitted to your presence. All this we said to our father on returning there. So when he told us to come back and buy a little food, we said: ‘We cannot go down again unless our youngest brother is with us. We shall not be admitted to the lord’s presence unless our brother is with us.’ Then my father said: ‘You know that my wife had two children. One went away from me and has surely been torn to pieces since I have not seen him anymore. If you take this one from me and something happens to him you will bring my gray hair in sorrow to the grave.’
Now Joseph could no longer control his feelings in the presence of all those standing by and he called out, “Leave my presence, every one!” And only his brothers were with him when Joseph made himself known to them. He wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard and the news spread through Pharaoh’s house.
Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” And his brothers could not answer because they were terrified at seeing him. Joseph said, “Come closer,” and they drew nearer. “I am Joseph your brother, yes, it’s me, the one you sold to the Egyptians. Now don’t grieve and reproach yourselves for selling me, because God has sent me before you to save your lives.
Gospel: Mt 10:7-15
Go, and proclaim this message: The kingdom of heaven is near. Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, cleanse the lepers, and drive out demons. Freely have you received, freely give. Do not carry any gold or silver or money in your purses. Do not take a traveling bag, or an extra shirt, or sandals, or a walking stick: workers deserve to be compensated.
When you come to a town or a village, look for a worthy person, and stay there until you leave.
When you enter the house, wish it peace. If the people are worthy people, your peace will rest on them; if they are not worthy people, your blessing will come back to you.
And if you are not welcomed, and your words are not listened to, leave that house or that town, and shake the dust off your feet. I assure you, it will go easier for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment, than it will for the people of that town.
REFLECTION:
In today’s Gospel text, Jesus gives missionary instructions to the apostles. The Church is by nature missionary. Hence they are instructions for all Christians. In the fulfillment of this task the main focus should be the gospel message. The primary aim is to bring people to salvation through the proclamation of the Good News. We have to make sure that our energies are not diverted to anything that might compromise the message such as greed for possessions, lust for power, fame or popularity. To be effective as missionaries we are to remove anything that would weigh us down physically, psychologically or spiritually. We are not to allow opposition and rejection to bother us.
Missionary work does not always require us to go to foreign lands to proclaim the Gospel. For most of us the “mission place“ is the home, the office or the neighborhood. Usually, the most effective means of proclaiming the Gospel is the witness of a lifestyle that is rooted in the teachings of Jesus. Beyond that, we are challenged to share joyfully the gift of faith to our contemporaries with a “new fervor, new language and new methods.“
Daily Reflection
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
Readings and Reflections
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