September 21
Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intention
7:45 AM – Romeo Cuizon Ouano / Pio & Ebeneza Oliverio
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
Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13
Brothers and sisters: I, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace: one Body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the Body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 19:2-3, 4-5
R. (5) Their message goes out through all the earth.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
Gospel Acclamation
See Te Deum
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the glorious company of Apostles praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Matthew 9:9-13
As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” He heard this and said, “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
“Their message goes out through all the earth.”
Reflection
This morning the Church celebrates the recruitment of Matthew, the tax collector, as one of the Apostles of Jesus. His story is an interesting one, even though we don’t know a lot about him. As a tax collector, he was someone who unabashedly sided with the oppressive Roman regime. The collection of taxes from the Jews helped to feed and house the very people who were out in the streets smashing skulls and enforcing unfair laws and regulations. Even more, tax collectors were notoriously dishonest, taking money from the poorest of the poor to support their own often lavish lifestyles. Thus, having Matthew join the ranks of Jesus’ disciples was like bringing the worst person you can find into your home. The expectation was that Matthew would use his closeness to Jesus to further his evil ways. But Jesus knew the nature of human beings much better than the people who thought Matthew would run amok.
Jesus speaks to all the potential goodness of God when he responds to the Pharisees’ complaint that he eats with tax collectors and sinners. He tells the Pharisees that God is not present on earth to make the righteous more righteous, but to make sinners more sinless. His quote from Isaiah saying that God desires mercy not sacrifice is a completion of this thought. The lesson here for all of us is that we too can change our ways just as Matthew did. In fact, Jesus is telling us that we need to change our ways for the better, but even if we try and fail, the mercy of God is waiting to help us to start over again. Let us trust in God’s mercy each and every day.
Peace,
Deacon Dare
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