Daily Readings August 20, 2012

Memorial of Saint Bernard, Abbot and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 419

St. Bernard of Clairvaux, the man whose family overtook Christ.  He set up a monastery in the Alps and brought his entire family into it.  He is an example of faith for all of us.

Reading 1
Ez 24:15-23

The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man, by a sudden blow I am taking away from you the delight of your eyes,

Ezekiel receives a message from God which will be difficult to bear.  His wife will die.

but do not mourn or weep or shed any tears.Groan in silence, make no lament for the dead,bind on your turban, put your sandals on your feet,do not cover your beard, and do not eat the customary bread.

BUT God says, I don't want to see you mourn nor cry.  Nor do I want you to follow the customs which the Jews follow when someone dies.

That evening my wife died,and the next morning I did as I had been commanded.Then the people asked me, "Will you not tell us what all these thingsthat you are doing mean for us?"

His wife died and Ezekiel followed the instruction God had given.  And the people noticed and asked, "Won't you tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?"

I therefore spoke to the people that morning, saying to them:Thus the word of the LORD came to me:Say to the house of Israel:Thus says the Lord GOD:I will now desecrate my sanctuary, the stronghold of your pride,the delight of your eyes, the desire of your soul.

Ezekiel answered them, "this is what the Lord said.  He will destroy the Temple of God which you hold dear, your pride and joy."

The sons and daughters you left behind shall fall by the sword.Ezekiel shall be a sign for you:all that he did you shall do when it happens.

And then your sons and daughters will be killed and all which Ezekiel has done will be a sign for you."

Thus you shall know that I am the LORD.

And then you will know that I am God.

You shall do as I have done,not covering your beards nor eating the customary bread.Your turbans shall remain on your heads, your sandals on your feet.You shall not mourn or weep,but you shall rot away because of your sins and groan one to another.

At this point, I think Ezekiel is speaking to Israel and says, "You will do as I have done.  You will not follow the customary prescriptions when someone dies, you won't even mourn, you will simply groan."

I think that means that the catastrophe will occur so suddenly that no one will have time to mourn their dead.

Responsorial Psalm
Dt 32:18-19, 20, 21

Response. (see 18a) You have forgotten God who gave you birth.

You were unmindful of the Rock that begot you.
You forgot the God who gave you birth.
When the LORD saw this, he was filled with loathing
and anger toward his sons and daughters.

R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.

"I will hide my face from them," he said,
"and see what will then become of them.
What a fickle race they are,
sons with no loyalty in them!"

R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.

"Since they have provoked me with their 'no-god'
and angered me with their vain idols,
I will provoke them with a 'no-people';
with a foolish nation I will anger them."

R. You have forgotten God who gave you birth.

There are so many people who pretend that God will forgive every sin.  But it isn't so.  Unless one repents from the heart, God is not fooled and God is not one to be toyed with:

Hebrews 10:31

King James Version (KJV)

³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

2 Corinthians 5:11

King James Version (KJV)

¹¹ Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

Do not let the world fool you into thinking that you can sin with impunity.  God is no man's toy.  

Hebrews 5:9

King James Version (KJV)

⁹ And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;

GospelMt 19:16-22

A young man approached Jesus and said,"Teacher, what good must I do to gain eternal life?"He answered him, "Why do you ask me about the good?There is only One who is good.

This young man came close to being Peter.  In my opinion, God gave this young man the opportunity to tell the world that Jesus was the Son of the Living God.  But he didn't do it.

If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."

This, to me, is a very basic and fundamental teaching of our faith.  Our Christian faith, our Sacramental faith, is based upon this teaching.  St. Paul put it very well when he said:

Romans 2:13

King James Version (KJV)

¹³ (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.

Folks!  Listen up!  The Commandments have not been rescinded.  This is a tale made up by the Protestants.  Listen to the Church:
2068 The Council of Trent teaches that the Ten Commandments are obligatory for Christians and that the justified man is still bound to keep them; the Second Vatican Council confirms: "The bishops, successors of the apostles, receive from the Lord . . . the mission of teaching all peoples, and of preaching the Gospel to every creature, so that all men may attain salvation through faith, Baptism and the observance of the Commandments."

If we want to share eternity with Christ, we must keep the Commandments.

He asked him, "Which ones?"
And Jesus replied, "You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
honor your father and your mother;
and you shall love your neighbor as yourself."

The young man asked, "which of the Commandments must I keep?"  Which is a strange question.  Because I'm not aware that the Jews considered any of the Commandments negotiable.  Anyway, Jesus answered, "all of them."

The young man said to him,"All of these I have observed. What do I still lack?"

The rich young man then asked, "I keep all the Commandments from my childhood, what do I still need to do?"

I have to assume that this man was being inspired by the Holy Spirit.  Because, if he considered that he kept the Commandments, all of them, from his childhood, yet he knew, in his soul, that something was lacking.

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be perfect, go,sell what you have and give to the poor,and you will have treasure in heaven.Then come, follow me."

And Jesus replied, "You have done very well, but if you wish to be perfect as God is perfect, then sell all your possessions and give the proceeds to the poor, then all will be clean for you (Luke 11:41) and your sins will be forgiven.   You will then receive indulgences which are stored in heaven for you.  Then, take up your cross and follow me (Matt 16:24).

When the young man heard this statement, he went away sad,for he had many possessions.

But the rich young man was in love with his possessions and could not let them go.

The verse following this, Jesus explains how the rich will enter heaven with much difficulty.  And I think that means that, if they are righteous, they will enter heaven only after they are purified of their attachments in Purgatory.  It does not mean that they will not enter heaven at all.

Sincerely,

De Maria