June 10
Thursday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
7:45 AM – Mary Ann Cronin / The Pacetti Family
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
Readings
First Reading
2 Corinthians 3:15—4:1, 3-6
Brothers and sisters: To this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over the hearts of the children of Israel, but whenever a person turns to the Lord the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Therefore, since we have this ministry through the mercy shown us, we are not discouraged. And even though our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled for those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, so that they may not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus. For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to bring to light the knowledge of the glory of God on the face of Jesus Christ.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14
R. (see 10b) The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.
I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.
R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.
Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.
R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.
The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.
R. The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.
Gospel Acclamation
John 13:34
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I give you a new commandment:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Matthew 5:20-26
Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the Kingdom of heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to your ancestors, You shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, and whoever says to his brother, Raqa, will be answerable to the Sanhedrin, and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ will be liable to fiery Gehenna. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”
“The glory of the Lord will dwell in our land.”
Reflection
“Whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.” Jesus reminds us that we are all brothers and sisters to each other because we are children of God. If we are liable to judgement due to anger against each other, we are in trouble.
How do we live a life without anger? It seems impossible, and certainly, God can forgive us when we sin against a brother or sister, but it is incumbent on us as children of God to do our best to be mindful of the other person and treat them as we would treat Jesus ourselves.
Jesus gives us a great example, when he continually turns the other cheek to those who strike at him. They may have said Jesus was weak, but Jesus does live out the Beatitudes, which we read earlier this week. Let us today, try to review those Beatitudes again. We then should call to mind one brother or sister whom has offended us with their sin and remember that they are children of God and that they have value. Understanding that God loves all of us equally may make it easier for us to forgive and forget the infractions that other commit against us. In the end, the affront that angered us probably is not that important when compared to the Salvation that Christ offers us!
Peace,
Fr. John
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