Introit
Kyrie
Gloria
Collect
O God, who in the abasement of your Son
have raised up a fallen world,
fill your faithful with holy joy,
for on those you have rescued from slavery to sin
you bestow eternal gladness.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever
First Reading Ez 2:2-5
As the LORD spoke to me, the spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard the one who was speaking say to me: Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, rebels who have rebelled against me;
they and their ancestors have revolted against me to this very day. Hard of face and obstinate of heart are they to whom I am sending you. But you shall say to them: Thus says the LORD GOD! And whether they heed or resist—for they are a rebellious house— they shall know that a prophet has been among them.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 123:1-2, 2, 3-4
R. (2cd) Our eyes are fixed on the Lord, pleading for his mercy.
To you I lift up my eyes
who are enthroned in heaven —
As the eyes of servants
are on the hands of their masters.
As the eyes of a maid
are on the hands of her mistress,
So are our eyes on the LORD, our God,
till he have pity on us.
Have pity on us, O LORD, have pity on us,
for we are more than sated with contempt;
our souls are more than sated
with the mockery of the arrogant,
with the contempt of the proud.
Second Reading 2 Cor 12:7-10
Brothers and sisters: That I, Paul, might not become too elated, because of the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Alleluia Cf. Lk 4:18
Gospel Mk 6:1-6
Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Reflection Questions
- Who are the prophets today who have risen among us?
- What are your intractable “thorns in the flesh?”
- Is there anything about Jesus at which you take offense?
Catena Nova
Many people never stop saying—I have heard them myself—“If only we had lived in the days of the apostles, and been counted worthy to gaze upon Christ as they did, we should have become holy like them.” Such people do not realize that the Christ who spoke then and the Christ who speaks now throughout the whole world is one and the same....But no doubt someone will say that merely to hear his words now and to be taught about him and his kingdom is not the same thing as to have seen him then in the body. And I answer that indeed the position now is not the same as it was then, but our situation now, in the present day, is very much better. It leads us more easily to a deeper faith and conviction than seeing and hearing him in the flesh would have done....Then even those of lowliest condition held him in contempt. They said: “Is not this the son of Mary, and of Joseph the carpenter?”Now kings and rulers worship him as Son of the true God, and himself true God, and he has glorified and continues to glorify those who worship him in spirit and in truth (St. Symeon the New Theologian).
Is it not that vexations and troubles in this world are for the most part profitable either to heal the swelling of pride, or to prove and exercise patience, for which, after such probation and discipline, a greater reward is reserved, or to punish and eradicate some sins; but we, not knowing what beneficial purpose these may serve, desire to be freed from all tribulation? To this ignorance the apostle showed that even he himself was not a stranger... when, lest he should be exalted above measure by the greatness of the revelations, there was given unto him a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him; for which thing, not knowing surely what he ought to pray for, he besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from him. At length he received the answer of God, declaring why that which so great a man prayed for was denied, and why it was expedient that it should not be done: “My grace is sufficient for thee; my strength is made perfect in weakness” (St. Jerome).
How Ezekiel has moved on! He has moved from a man of spurned love, to a man who, from within the whirlwind of that anger, has begun to see glimpses of a hard-won love, the breakthrough into his heart of the breath of Yahweh. Little by little it has been that love that has turned out to be what the breath of Yahweh was all about, until slowly, oh so slowly, there has emerged the tone of a strong but gentle voice which builds up, bringing into life, loving people, re-creating, and tending towards catholicity. Ezekiel’s journey brings into focus a number of milestones in the much huger journey that is the Yahwist revolution. His life is a magnificent example of the dislocation and recreation of being which began when Abram left behind the city of Ur, the city of his father and his idols. The point that I have wanted to drive home is that it seems fair to inscribe Ezekiel’s journey within the three stages of (1) spurned love, pierced by a vision of God which it is as yet unable fully to take on board. This is followed by (2) a long process of working through the spurned love, and beginning to glimpse what I have called hard-won love, a non-reactive love which tends to bring together. This yields finally to (3) the relaxing into a gratuitous upbuilding, creative love which empowers the imagination to project and work towards building a huge catholicity of life: the discovery of God as creator and lover of all humanity with a project of bringing people into mutual rejoicing (James Alison).
The episode of the Gospel teaches us something important. Jesus leaves us free; he proposes his gifts, he does not impose them. That day, in face of the rejection of his fellow countrymen, Jesus did not give way to threats and invectives. He did not say, indignant, as it is said the African Publius Scipio did, when leaving Rome: "Ungrateful country, you will not have my bones!" He simply went to another place. Once he was not received in a certain village. The indignant disciples suggested that fire be brought down from heaven, but Jesus turned and rebuked them (Luke 9:54). That is how he acts also today. "God is timid." He has far more respect for our freedom than we ourselves have for one another's. This creates a great responsibility. St. Augustine said: "I am afraid of Jesus passing" (Timeo Jesum transeuntem). He might, in fact, pass without my realizing it, pass without my being ready to receive him. His passing is always a passing of grace (Raniero Cantalamessa).
[For Independence Day]:
We pray, O almighty and eternal God, who through Jesus Christ has revealed thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of your name. We pray Thee, who alone are good and holy, to endow with heavenly knowledge, sincere zeal and sanctity of life, our chief bishop, the pope, the vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the government of his Church; our own bishop, all other bishops, prelates and pastors of the Church; and especially those who are appointed to exercise among us the functions of the holy ministry, and conduct your people into the ways of salvation. We pray O God of might, wisdom and justice, through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with your Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the president of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness and be eminently useful to your people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of your divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty. We pray for his excellency, the governor of this state, for the members of the assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they may be enabled, by your powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability. We recommend likewise, to your unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of your most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal. Finally, we pray to you, O Lord of mercy, to remember the souls of your servants departed, who are gone before us with the sign of faith and repose in the sleep of peace; the souls of our parents, relatives and friends; of those who, when living, were members of this congregation, and particularly of such as are lately deceased; of all benefactors who, by their donations or legacies to this Church, witnessed their zeal for the decency of divine worship and proved their claim to our grateful and charitable remembrance. To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, we beseech you, a place of refreshment, light and everlasting peace, through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen. (Archbishop John Carroll; 1791)
We pray you, O God of might, wisdom, and justice,
through whom authority is rightly administered,
laws are enacted, and judgment decreed,
assist with your Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude
the President of these United States,
that his administration may be conducted in righteousness,
and be eminently useful to your people, over whom he presides;
by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion;
by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy;
and by restraining vice and immorality.
Let the light of your divine wisdom direct
the deliberations of Congress,
and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws
framed for our rule and government,
so that they may tend to the preservation of peace,
the promotion of national happiness,
the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge;
and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty.
We pray for the governor of this state,
for the members of the assembly,
for all judges, magistrates, and other officers
who are appointed to guard our political welfare,
that they may be enabled, by your powerful protection,
to discharge the duties of their respective stations
with honesty and ability.
We recommend likewise, to your unbounded mercy,
all our fellow citizens throughout the United States,
that we may be blessed in the knowledge
and sanctified in the observance of your most holy law;
that we may be preserved in union,
and in that peace which the world cannot give;
and after enjoying the blessings of this life,
be admitted to those which are eternal.
Grant this, we beseech you, O Lord of mercy,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen.
(Archbishop John Carroll; Composed for the Inauguration of George Washington)
[For July 1, Feast of the Precious Blood]
Adam is sleeping an ecstatic sleep. God opens his side, removes a rib and forms Eve, the mother of all the living. But our view transcends this action and in spirit we behold the second, the divine Adam, Christ. He is sleeping the sleep of death. From His opened side blood and water flow, symbols of baptism and the Eucharist, symbols of the second Eve, the Church, the Mother of all the living. Through blood and water Christ willed to redeem God's many children and to lead them to an eternal home.
At Jerusalem a service in Yahweh's honor is taking place on the Day of Atonement. The high priest is making his annual entrance into the holy of holies to sprinkle the blood of bucks and bulls upon the covenant in expiation for the sins of the people. The Church shows us the higher meaning of this rite. Our divine High Priest Christ on the first Good Friday entered that Holy of Holies which is not made with hands nor sprinkled with the blood of bucks and bulls; there He effects, once and for all, with His own Blood man's eternal redemption.
A finale. Holy Church transports us to the end. The heavenly liturgy is in progress. Upon the altar is the Lamb, slain yet alive, crimsoned by His own Blood. Round about stand the countless army of the redeemed in garments washed white in the Blood of the Lamb. Hosts of the blessed are singing the new canticle of redemption: "You have redeemed us out of every tribe and tongue and nation by Your Blood."
Now from vision to present reality. How fortunate we are to have divine Blood so near to us, to offer it to the heavenly Father for the sins of the whole world! (Pius Parsch).
Homily
Playing Offense
Fulton J. Sheen. That name might bring a few images to mind for those of a certain age: like a black and white TV screen flickering on a Tuesday night with a caped prelate scribbling on a chalkboard his message, “Life is worth living.” Or perhaps you received a magazine every month from the Society for the Propagation of the Faith with Bishop Sheen’s appeal for your support. Maybe you’ve read one of his many books or listened to his tapes. You might even have heard of the unseemly court cases over who has rightful claim to his remains!
Some of you will certainly remember him as the Bishop of Rochester from 1966-1969. I recall meeting him when I was in sixth grade when he came to St. Michael’s in Newark NY for the centenary of the parish. I was expecting him to be alot taller, but I’ll never forget his piercing blue eyes and disarming manner.
But his time in Rochester, like his stature, was short-- and stormy. For in some ways, he was ahead of his times. In others, perhaps a little behind. As to the former, Bishop Sheen was a pioneer in forging relations with other Christians and with the Jewish community. He was also an early champion of what we now call “social justice”-- a local housing project is named after him that seeks “to provide safe, decent, affordable housing to very low- to moderate-income families, seniors, veterans and persons with disabilities.” But, as I said, in other ways he was more assertive, if not authoritarian, than the times called for, especially in his dealings with priests. Many of his policies, enacted without consultation, met with resistance, and after 3 years he retired. Few would deny, however, that Sheen was a great figure of the Catholic Church in this country, a priest who enriched the lives of countless people. And he now enjoys the title “Venerable” as his cause for sainthood in many eyes is a worthy one, though his halo might not have quite the sheen some would expect in a saint. His successor in Rochester even put the kibosh on his beatification – which Rome had approved – for fear some personnel decisions he made while bishop would embroil him in scandal.
Alas, he is still a “failure”in this diocese. And I doubt if anyone can say who was more to blame, whether he or we; but for him at least, Rochester was Sheen’s only experience of rejection. He could work few of his wonders among us. And if someone were to ask, he might have called us his own “thorn in the flesh.” (And still might!)
I thought of Bishop Sheen as I read today’s gospel. Just imagine Jesus’ visit to his home town, sitting down to teach in his “home parish,” the people he grew up with all around him, and giving a sermon which astounded them, a sermon that soon turned to offense.
Was it something he said or did? It’s not clear. But something went wrong. And he got those parishioners all riled up. They began to question his family background, his credentials, even his sanity. And as a result, Jesus could do no deed of power there in Nazareth. He failed in his mission. And before they knew it, he was gone from them, a prophet without honor. . . in his hometown, and among his own kin, and in his own house (cf. G).
But that’s the problem with the gospel, isn’t it? As long as it remains distant--like on a TV screen, or in the pages of a book, or locked up in church, people marvel at it. But when the gospel comes home for a visit, invading your native place--where you live, where it gets to you--well, that’s a different story. Because there--at home, on the street, in the workplace--why, that’s where the gospel can really offend you. For up close, the gospel isn’t quite what you expect. It pierces and disarms you.
It’s true. When the gospel’s preached without regard for human respect, it creates problems. No one knows that better than a preacher. It’s hard to preach whether [people] hear or refuse to hear (cf. I). And a preacher who’s not content with “playing it safe,” who isn’t out to be “liked”-- well, such a preacher can expect rejection. No one knew this better than St. Oscar Romero, martyred while saying Mass for his outspoken sermons preached against the military junta of San Salvador. Of such preaching, he writes
A church that doesn’t provoke any crisis, a gospel that doesn’t unsettle, a word of God that doesn’t get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn’t touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed — what gospel is that? Very nice, pious considerations that don’t bother anyone, that’s the way many would like preaching to be. Those preachers who avoid every thorny matter so as not to be harassed, so as not to have conflicts and difficulties, do not light up the world they live in (The Violence of Love).
Perhaps you remember the movie Mass Appeal with Jack Lemmon? He played the pastor of a rich parish who never rocked a boat in his life. And then a young deacon comes to the parish who told it like it is. Like Ezekiel, he was sent to a people impudent and stubborn, daring to say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God’ (I). And all hell broke loose. It wasn’t long before the deacon was thrown out of the seminary. And that pastor faced a crisis too, forced to face the fact he was far more content with a comfy life than with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities, for the sake of Christ (II).
Oh sure, we must always speak the truth in love, saying hard things gently, but it’s not easy to steer between the lines of what’s safe and what’s dangerous to say. A preacher’s always in danger of veering to one side or the other. For there’s a whole load of topics that’ll get you in trouble if you mention them from the pulpit too often, if at all. A whole list of things not discussed lest someone be offended: things that come a little too close to home. Where the gospel just might knock on the bedroom or the boardroom door, or the door of the state legislature, of Congress, or the White House.
Just look at the spectacle of asylum-seekers attempting to find refuge in the “land of the free.” Or Supreme Court decisions with racist overtones. Or “truthers” wanting to sweep the January 6 insurrection under the rug. Or church complicity in the abuse of Indigenous children. Plenty of closed doors, and hearts, there. Plenty of offense.
And if I went on naming these tough issues, I know I’d be labeled a fanatic by some, a hero by others; hopelessly conservative to the progressive wing, and a dangerous liberal to the traditionalists. But you can be sure of one thing: As long as the topic didn’t hit home, it’d be OK. But when it strikes a nerve, watch out!
Which makes me, and perhaps you, wonder: What’s off limits to my ears? What in the gospel comes too close for comfort? Indeed, what might amaze the Lord at my ownunbelief (cf. G)? And send him on his way without honor? Rather than welcoming him here among us in this holy communion? Who lives and reigns, forever and ever. Amen.
Creed
Intercessions (Peter Scagnelli; Prayers for Sundays and Seasons)
Let us pray to God whose voice has spoken to us and appeal to the One whose grace is always sufficient for our needs.
For God’s holy church: May we not be a rebellious house but listen well to the prophets among us.
For the world community: May our unbelief not block God’s desire to do deeds of power and peace.
For people in need of food, housing, or medical care: May those with resources to help not refuse to hear the cries of the poor.
For those discouraged by any weakness: May God’s grace be sufficient and God’s power be made perfect in them.
For those who have grown cynical or skeptical: May God give them new openness to wisdom, truth and goodness.
For those who are insulted or persecuted for the sake of conscience: May God give them strength to persevere and courage in bearing witness.
For those who work on behalf of social justice: May their prophetic voices find a willing response from our community.
For those who pray that sickness or distress may leave them: May the power of Christ dwell in them and strengthen them.
[For this eucharistic assembly: May Jesus’ teaching dispel our unbelief and his deeds of power heal us].
For those who honored Jesus by their living: May he welcome them now into heaven, their true home.
God of the prophets, in every age you send the word of truth, familiar yet new, a sign of contradiction. Let us not be counted among those who lack faith, but give us the vision to see Christ in our midst and to welcome your saving word. We ask this Christ our Lord. Amen. (ICEL; 1998)
Interlude
My grace is sufficient for thee,
for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Lord’s Prayer
Let us pray for the coming of Reign of God among us as Jesus taught....
Spiritual Communion (St. Alphonsus Liguori)
My Jesus,
I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.
I love You above all things,
and I desire to receive You into my soul.
Since I cannot at this moment 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.
Thanksgiving
Closing Hymn (Heather Alexander; Midsummer)
You gave me all that I would need,
And made my wishes true-
And every night to me you'd plead,
And I decline to you-
You'd stand there pale and acrid eyed,
Yet softly say good night,
Turn and walk once more denied,
And so would fade the light.
CHORUS:
The blue rose rare, one cannot gain
If glove or guard be worn-
'Tis only when one risks the pain
Of flesh against the thorn -
Our world was warm and full of play,
Yet I was not content-
And voices strong led me astray,
And far from you I went-
So swayed was I by other's view,
And fear it all would end-
That I forgot to think of you,
My one and only friend-
A broken promise cannot die,
In dreams it always burned-
And when I heard your anguished cry,
To you I soon returned-
But must it take your world to fall,
To find where truth may lie-
You are not the beast at all,
I fear my Lord, 'tis I-
A love this rare, one cannot gain,
If truth is not yet sworn-
It's only when we risk the pain
Of flesh against the thorn-