.: 09/21/21

Tuesday, September 21, 2021

† " ...Those who are well do. . . ."

†Saint Quote
""For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy."
— St. Therese of Lisieux

† MEDITATION OF THE DAY†
"Prayer is greatly aided by fasting and watching and every kind of bodily chastisement. In this regard each of you must do what you can. Thus, the weaker will not hold back the stronger, and the stronger will not press the weaker. You owe your conscience to God. But to no one else do you owe anything more except that you love one another."
— St. Augustine, p. 143
AN EXCERPT FROM
Augustine Day by Day

†VERSE OF THE DAY
"Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, 'Why could we not cast it out?' He said to them, 'Because of your little faith. For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "Move from here to there", and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.'"
Matthew 17:20

click to read more

ST. MATTHEW

St. Matthew the Apostle (1st c.) was a Jew who also went by the name of Levi. He was from Galilee and served in Capernaum as a tax collector for Herod Antipas before becoming a disciple of Jesus. It was in the home of St. Matthew that Jesus dined with the "sinners and tax collectors." Under Jesus' influence St. Matthew was led to repentance for the evil he had done as a tax-collector, a position despised by his fellow Jews. He repaid those he cheated four-fold, sold all his possessions, and followed Christ as one of the twelve Apostles. St. Matthew preached among the Jews for fifteen years following the Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus. He is the author of the Gospel that bears his name, which he wrote to convince the Jews that Jesus Christ was the Messiah promised to Israel. According to tradition, St. Matthew the Apostle brought the Gospel to Syria, Media, Persia, Parthia, and finished his preaching in Ethiopia with a martyr's death. He is the patron of guards, bankers, accountants, security forces, and stock brokers. His feast day is September 21st.

Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist

Lectionary: 643
Reading I

Eph 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

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.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the glorious company of Apostles praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mt 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."

Daily Meditation: Matthew 9:9-13

Follow me. (Matthew 9:9)

Years of scolding from angry or self-righteous neighbors could not move Matthew out of his Roman tax office. But then with just one word from Jesus, this tax collector left it all behind.

Why such a drastic change? Because Jesus' invitation sparked hope in Matthew. Maybe he could find his way back to God after all! Other men of God had shunned Matthew because of his corrupt profession and worldly lifestyle, but this "Man of Mercy" was different. Jesus reached out to him as a physician reaches out to his patients. He wasn't intimidated by Matthew's job. On the contrary, he seemed emboldened by it.

Right away, Matthew showed signs of being an enthusiastic evangelist. He threw a great feast and invited other known sinners to join him and Jesus. As an apostle, he followed Jesus and watched as he proclaimed the kingdom of God. After Pentecost, there was no stopping him as he poured his whole life into the gospel. According to tradition, Matthew traveled both to Ethiopia and Persia to preach. Today he is known as Matthew the Evangelist because of the Gospel that bears his name.

Imagine what would have happened if Matthew had not left his tollbooth that day when Jesus called him. Imagine if he had left Jesus as others did when his message became difficult, or if he had never returned after deserting Jesus in Gethsemane. But none of this happened because Matthew didn't let human wisdom or self-preservation control him. He kept holding on to Jesus instead. And as a result, millions upon millions of lives have been changed by his words and his witness.

Take a moment now to recall some of the things Jesus has done in you and for you. What if you shared your life in Christ with the same kind of freedom that Matthew had? Imagine how many lives could be changed. You don't have to do it all at once, either. Just take a couple of small steps in faith and watch where the Lord leads you.

"Jesus, help me to reach out today to someone who is far from you."

Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13
Psalm 19:2-5

Listen to 2cents

From Saint Paul:
"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."

We pray in the Psalms:
"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.
Their message goes out through all the earth."

Our Lord speaks in Luke:
"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."_

Today is the day of St. Matthew, the sinner who got up and said yes to our Lord. And when the Pharisees saw this they asked why our Lord eats with sinners.
Why do sinners go to church? For the same reason the chicken crossed the road! LOL. To get to the other side. To cross from sinner to saint, from earth to Heaven.

Can you imagine if we lived in a world where we didn't invite sinners to dine with our Lord? Our Catholic Pews would be empty! Now, how do I really feel about this?
Our parish is small in a small town, maybe our parish has around 500 families. And you get to know most that go to church (somewhat). There are many who are not married by the church that go. There are some that are married and some are unfaithful, they got harlot's disease, sins of scarlet color. There are many youth that get confirmed and never return to church. There are many more who are at home, not coming on Sundays, for who knows how many reasons including sloth, and acedia, and some carrying worse demonics and obsessions. There are, then, yes, many sinners, and don't get me started on the hypocrisy of the "faithful" lol, because then I'd have to throw myself under the bus with them. We are a church full of sinners, not one escapes, and I have never met a soul inside or outside of church that doesn't need a prayer.
So, what happens in Church?
God calls upon the invited. The invited are then called to call upon the uninvited. And the circle repeats, and all in hopes that the invited become intimate with our Lord, and there is not a greater intimacy than the Eucharist, our Lord offering Himself completely to us.
Recently, a man came to our council at church and said "I've been away from church due to the pandemics, and health issues, and then I just got used to it, but I'm back, thanks to a man that decided to call me and ask me to come back...and here I am, and I want to start a committee that will reach out to everyone...".

Isn't it amazing what a calling can do? Jesus calls.
Do not ignore this call! It is not spam! It is not a scam! When He calls, everything changes...for the better.
I was somewhat embarrassed when that man came to the council and said that. Why? Shame. I felt a little ashamed that it was not me that called him. Why not me? Truth is, I do call on many, but not I myself cannot call everybody the same, so, well, maybe I'm off the hook? Or not?

This is where everybody comes in. All the called. You are important. I always tell people "You reach people I cannot".
This is the importance of you answering the call and remaining in Him.
Perhaps a soul will return and say "I am back, and I am never leaving again!" through one of your many calls. And now we can be truly welcoming.
Welcome Home Matthew, Welcome back Prodigal Child. You are a child of God.

Let's pray:
Lord, I desire mercy, therefore, I will be merciful.
Lord, I know I am to sacrifice, therefore, I desire You.
Lord, I thank you for mercy and sacrifice.
I owe everything to You, and I am eternally grateful.
You are amazing. You are calling me and I am making a return for all the good You have done and will forever do.
I too want to be amazing, just like You Father in Heaven!

amen

from your brother in Christ,
Adrian