May 30
Sunday
Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity
1st Reading: Prov 8:22–31
Yahweh created me first, at the beginning of his works. He formed me from of old, from eternity, even before the earth. The abyss did not exist when I was born, the springs of the sea had not gushed forth, the mountains were still not set in their place nor the hills, when I was born before he made the earth or countryside, or the first grains of the world’s dust.
I was there when he made the skies and drew the earth’s compass on the abyss, when he formed the clouds above and when the springs of the ocean emerged; when he made the sea with its limits, that it might not overflow. When he laid the foundations of the earth, I was close beside him, the designer of his works, and I was his daily delight, forever playing in his presence, playing throughout the world and delighting to be with humans.
2nd Reading: Rom 5:1–5
By faith we have received true righteousness, and we are at peace with God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Through him we obtain this favor in which we remain and we even boast to expect the Glory of God.
Not only that, we also boast even in trials, knowing that trials produce patience, from patience comes merit, merit is the source of hope, and hope does not disappoint us because the Holy Spirit has been given to us, pouring into our hearts the love of God.
Gospel: Jn 16:12–15
Jesus said to his disciples, “I still have many things to tell you, but you cannot bear them now. When he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into the whole truth.
“He has nothing to say of himself but he will speak of what he hears, and he will tell you of the things to come. He will take what is mine and make it known to you; in doing this, he will glorify me. All that the Father has is mine; because of this I have just told you, that the Spirit will take what is mine and make it known to you.”
REFLECTION
“I have much more to tell you but now it would be too much for you to bear. When, however, the Spirit comes who reveals the truth about God, he will lead you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own authority but he will speak what he hears and will tell you of things to come.”
We come to know God slowly in life. We do not understand everything at once. But little by little, the Spirit leads us to the truths God wants us to know. First, of course, we have to be open to the Spirit. We must trust God at work in us–even when it seems to be outside the rules.
May 31
Monday
Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
1st Reading: Zep 3:14–18a
Cry out with joy, O daughter of Zion; rejoice, O people of Israel! Sing joyfully with all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem!
Yahweh has lifted your sentence and has driven your enemies away. Yahweh, the King of Israel is with you; do not fear any misfortune.
On that day they will say to Jerusalem: Do not be afraid nor let your hands tremble, for Yahweh your God is within you, Yahweh, saving warrior. He will jump for joy on seeing you, for he has revived his love. For you he will cry out with joy, as you do in the days of the Feast.
I will drive away the evil I warned you about, and you will no longer be shamed.
Gospel: Lk 1:39–56
Mary then set out for a town in the Hills of Judah. She entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb. Elizabeth was filled with holy spirit, and giving a loud cry, said, “You are most blessed among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb! How is it that the mother of my Lord comes to-me? The moment your greeting sounded in my ears, the baby within me suddenly leapt for joy. Blessed are you who be-lieved that the Lord’s word would come true!”
And Mary said: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit exults in God my savior! He has looked upon his servant in her lowliness, and people forever will call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, Holy is his Name! From age to age his mercy extends to those who live in his presence. He has acted with power and done wonders, and scattered the proud with their plans. He has put down the mighty from their thrones and lifted up those who are downtrodden. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. He held out his hand to Israel, his servant, for he remembered his mercy, even as he promised our fathers, Abraham and his descendants forever.”
Mary remained with Elizabeth about three months and then returned home.
REFLECTION
“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby moved within her. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and said in a loud voice, “You are the most blessed of all women and blessed is the child you will bear.”
It was a woman, Elizabeth, not a rabbi or a teacher of the Law, through whom the Holy Spirit spoke to Mary. It was a woman who recognized that God was working differently than ought to be expected in her. Clearly, the Holy Spirit was working outside the lines of authority.
June 1
Tuesday
9th Week in Ordinary Time
St. Justin
1st Reading: 2 P 3:12–15a, 17–18
As you wait for the Day of God and long for its coming, when the heavens will dissolve in fire and the elements melt away in the heat. We wait for a new heaven and a new earth in which justice reigns, according to God’s promise.
Therefore, beloved, as you wait in expectation of this, strive that God may find you rooted in peace, without blemish or fault.
And consider that God’s patience is for our salvation, as our beloved brother Paul wrote to you, with the wisdom given him.
So then, dearly beloved, as you have been warned, be careful lest those people who have gone astray deceive you in turn and drag you along, making you stumble and finally fall away. Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: to him be glory, now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
Gospel: Mk 12:13–17
Jewish leaders sent to Jesus some Pharisees with members of Herod’s party, with the purpose of trapping him in his own words. They came and said to Jesus, “Master, we know that you are true; you are not influenced by anyone, and your answers do not vary according to who is listening to you but you truly teach God’s way. Tell us, is it against the Law to pay taxes to Caesar? Should we pay them or not?” But Jesus saw through their trick and answered, “Why are you testing me? Bring me a silver coin and let me see it.” They brought him one and Jesus asked, “Whose head is this, and whose name?” They answered, “Caesar’s.” Then Jesus said, “Return to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they were greatly astonished.
REFLECTION
“Some Pharisees and some members of Herod’s party were sent to Jesus to trap him with questions.”
Authorities love authority. When they see good being done outside their control, they often get defensive. The important thing, Jesus shows us here, is to learn to speak our own truth without threatening others.
June 2
Tuesday
9th Week in Ordinary Time
St. Marcellinus
St. Peter
1st Reading: 2 Tim 1:1–3, 6–12
From Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, for the sake of his promise of eternal life in Christ Jesus, to my dear son Timothy.
May grace, mercy and peace be with you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I give thanks to God whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my ancestors did, as I remember you constantly, day and night, in my prayers.
For this reason I invite you to fan into a flame the gift of God you received through the laying on of my hands. For God did not confer on us a spirit of bashfulness, but of strength, love and good judgment. Do not be ashamed of testifying to our Lord, nor of seeing me in chains. On the contrary, do your share in laboring for the Gospel with the strength of God. He saved us and called us – a calling which proceeds from his holiness. This did not depend on our merits, but on his generosity and his own initiative. This calling given to us from all time in Christ Jesus has just been manifested with the glorious appearance of Christ Jesus, our Lord, who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light in his Gospel. Of this message I was made herald, apostle and teacher.
For its sake I now suffer this trial, but I am not ashamed, for I know in whom I have believed and I am convinced that he is capable of taking care of all I have entrusted to him until that day.
Gospel: Mk 12:18–27
The Sadducees came to Jesus. Since they claim that there is no resurrection, they questioned him in this way, “Master, in the Scriptures Moses gave us this law: ‘If anyone dies and leaves a wife but no children, his brother must take the wife and give her a child who will be considered the child of his deceased brother.’ Now, there were seven brothers. The first married a wife, but he died without leaving any children. The second took the wife and he, too, died leaving no children. The same thing happened to the third. Finally the seven died leaving no children. Last of all the woman died. Now, in the resurrection, to which of them will she be wife? For the seven had her as wife.”
Jesus replied, “Could you be wrong in this regard because you understand neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? When they rise from the dead, men and women do not marry but are like the angels in heaven.
“Now, about the resurrection of the dead, have you never reflected on the chapter of the burning bush in the book of Moses? God said to him: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now, he is the God, not of the dead but of the living. You are totally wrong.”
REFLECTION
To give my own preferences or our cultural standards the moral equivalent of the law of God we distort the very purpose of Law and we make ourselves gods. Worse than that, we weaken the very idea of God.
June 3
Thursday
9th Week in Ordinary Time
St. Charles Lwanga and Companions
1st Reading: 2 Tim 2:8–15
Remember Christ Jesus, risen from the dead, Jesus, son of David, as preached in my Gospel. For this Gospel I labor and even wear chains like an evildoer, but the word of God is not chained. And so I bear everything for the sake of the chosen people, that they, too, may obtain the salvation given to us in Christ Jesus and share eternal glory. This statement is true:
If we have died with him, we shall also live with him; If we endure with him, we shall reign with him; If we deny him, he will also deny us; If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful for he cannot deny himself.
Remind your people of these things and urge them in the presence of God not to fight over words, which does no good, but only ruins those who listen. Be for God an active and proved minister, a blameless worker correctly handling the word of truth.
Gospel: Mk 12:28–34
A teacher of the Law had been listening to this discussion and admired how Jesus answered them. So he came up and asked him, “Which commandment is the first of all?”
Jesus answered, “The first is: Hear, Israel! The Lord, our God, is One Lord; and you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. And after this comes another one: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these two.”
The teacher of the Law said to him, “Well spoken, Master; you are right when you say that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all our heart, with all our understanding and with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves is more important than any burnt offering or sacrifice.”
Jesus approved this answer and said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
REFLECTION
Jesus does not ask me to perform a checklist of behaviors as a sign of my fidelity to him. Jesus asks me to live a good life–one that makes the world itself a better place for everyone else to be.
June 4
Friday
9th Week in Ordinary Time
1st Reading: 2 Tim 3:10–17
You, instead, have closely followed my teaching, my way of life, my projects, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions and sufferings. You know what happened to me at Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. How many trials I had to bear! Yet the Lord rescued me from them all. All who want to serve God in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil persons and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
As for you, continue with what you have learned and what has been entrusted to you, knowing from whom you received it. Besides, you have known the Scriptures from childhood; they will give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, refuting error, for correcting and training in Christian life. Through Scripture the man of God is made expert and thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Gospel: Mk 12:35–37
As Jesus was teaching in the Temple, he said, “The teachers of the Law say that the Messiah is the son of David. How can that be? For David himself, inspired by the Holy Spirit declared: The Lord said to my Lord: sit at my right until I put your enemies under your feet. If David himself calls him Lord, in what way can he be his son?” Many people came to Jesus and listened to him gladly.
REFLECTION
The message of Jesus is different, the people listen to it with pleasure, today and forever. He is not a master of beautiful theories, he preaches with his life, through his example. In contrast to the rigidty of the pharisees, he proposes the freedom of his brothers, the simple one; and in contrast to their empty theology, the Law of God’s love for all. Don’t be satisfied with reading the Scripture, Make it your life!
June 5
Saturday
9th Week in Ordinary Time
St. Boniface
1st Reading: 2 Tim 4:1–8
In the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by the hope I have of his coming and his kingdom, I urge you to preach the Word, in season and out of season, reproving, rebuking or advising, always with patience and providing instruction. For the time is coming when people will no longer endure sound doctrine but following their passions they will surround themselves with teachers to please their itching ears. And they will abandon the truth to hear fables. So be prudent, do not mind your labor, give yourself to your work as an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
As for me, I am already poured out as a libation, and the moment of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness with which the Lord, the just judge, will reward me on that day; and not only me, but all those who have longed for his glorious coming.
Gospel: Mk 12:38–44
As he was teaching, he also said to them, “Beware of those teachers of the Law who enjoy walking around in long robes and being greeted in the marketplace, and who like to occupy reserved seats in the synagogues and the first places at feasts. They even devour the widow’s and the orphan’s goods while making a show of long prayers. How severe a sentence they will receive!”
Jesus sat down opposite the Temple treasury and watched the people dropping money into the treasury box; and many rich people put in large offerings. But a poor widow also came and dropped in two small coins.
Then Jesus called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who gave offerings. For all of them gave from their plenty, but she gave from her poverty and put in everything she had, her very living.”
REFLECTION
“Many rich men dropped in a lot of money; then a poor widow came along and dropped in two little copper coins, worth about a penny.”
It is not how much we give that counts, it is whether or not we give what we are able that determines whether what we do is really meant to ease the lot of others or simply to make ourselves look good. We know the difference–and so does God.
