13TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
St. Elizabeth of Portugal,
married woman, queen
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green/White)
Ps 50:7, 8-9, 10-11, 12-13, 16bc-17
To the upright I will show
the saving power of God.
1st Reading: Am 5:14-15, 21-24
Seek good and shun evil, that you may live. Then Yahweh, the God of hosts, as you have claimed, will be with you. Hate wickedness and love virtue, and let justice prevail in the courts; perhaps Yahweh, the God of hosts, will take pity on the remnant of Joseph.
“I hate, I reject your feasts, I take no pleasure when you assemble to offer me your burnt offerings. Your cereal offerings, I will not accept! Your offerings of fattened beasts, I will not look upon! Away with the noise of your chanting, away with your strumming on harps. But let justice run its course like water, and righteousness be like an ever-flowing river.
Gospel: Mt 8:28-34
When Jesus reached Gadara, on the other side, he was met by two men, possessed by devils, who came out from the tombs. They were so fierce that no one dared to pass that way. They cried out, “Son of God, leave us alone! Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
Some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding. So the demons begged him, “If you drive us out, send us into that herd of pigs.” Jesus ordered them, “Go!” So the demons left the men and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the cliff into the lake and was drowned.
The men in charge of the pigs ran off to the town, where they told the whole story; and also what had happened to the men possessed with the demons. The whole town went out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.
Reflections
let justice run its course like water, and righteousness be like an ever-flowing river
Amos is the prophet of social justice. He proclaims God’s indignation over the oppression of the weak and poor by the powerful and wealthy. He conveys God’s detestation of sacrifices and burnt offerings unaccompanied by a passion for justice. He expresses God’s rejection of our feasts and chanting detached from a concern for the poor and oppressed.
Amos invites us to integrate our sacramental life with a commitment to social justice, for sacramentality without a concern for the downtrodden leads to empty ritualism; advocacy for justice without a sacramental life can lead to moral activism.
Daily Reflection 2018
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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
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