Edited & Revised by Father Frank X

Edited & Revised by Father Frank X. Reitzel, C.R.

He is a former teacher and Pastor; now retired and living in the residence at

ResurrectionCollege, Waterloo.

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TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIMESeptember 3, 2017

My soul thirsts for You, O Lord my God (Ps. 63)

(GATHERING TIME(10-15 minutes)

Opening Prayer:

O God, you are my God, I seek you,

My soul thirsts for You,

my flesh faints for You,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary

beholding Your power and glory.

Introduction to the Word:

Each Sunday when we attend Mass we are gifted with four selections from the Bible. There are times {it seems to me} when the Responsorial Psalm is almost hurriedly brushed aside. It is an important part of the liturgy and must be treated as such. The Liturgy of the Word is a time of teaching and should always be treated as such.

Take note of the words and images of the psalm for this Sunday [prayer above]. Imagine if everyone of us were to say that our purpose in going to Holy Mass was as stated in the opening prayer [Psalm 63] above!

When I was a young priest, I had become friends with an Anglican man; when his wife died, at the funeral he recited as the eulogy the whole of Psalm 23: “The Lord is my Shepherd”. I was deeply impressed. I am not advocating that we become “Bible thumpers” but rather persons of The Word.

The psalms were prayer-poems attributed to King David. Centuries after him they became a central part of the Hebrew worship in the Temple. They have come down to us as 150 prayers of praise and an essential part of the inspired Word of God in the Old Testament. The Psalm, at Mass, is often sung or more frequently recited antiphonally. It ought not, therefore, be neglected in our Scriptural reflection in CTW. So we can begin our reflection with the words and images of today’s psalm.

We have come together today to reflect on such images: “my soul thirsts for You, O God”. Of course, we can spend the rest of our lives with just that phrase. We may not ever have given any thought to it before, but the phrase actually says what is in our hearts even if we are not fully aware of it. The psalmist had already, under divine inspiration, recognized that the human heart (everyone), really whether we recognize it or not, is seeking, longing for the overwhelming love of God. And God offers IT [His Love] to us thirsting ones like a refreshing cup of cool water.

Now try it. Unravel a few of the images in the Psalms.

Warm up activity: Read the following questions and respond to any of your choice.

All of us from time to time have done teaching; and we were thrilled to do so.

1. Share with others of your group a moment when you “felt” almost impelled to do so
2. How did others respond to your “teaching”?
3. Did you make the distinction between teaching by instruction and teaching

byexample?

Opening prayer:

O God of might, giver of every good gift, put into our hearts the love of your name so that by deepening our sense of what is good and by your watchful care keep safe what you have nurtured.

THE TABLE OF THE WORD

As Christians we believe that the WORD of God we hear proclaimed each Sunday is a teaching Word, and that God is present in the Word. This is the Word that God wants us to hear today. The dynamic of the Small Christian Community, namely, reflecting on our life-story within the context of this Word, and sharing the insights of these reflections is such that God’s Spirit becomes present and the gifts of the Spirit are experienced as empowering and life-giving. Because The Mass time and our small group time are privileged time it is incumbent on us to be attentive to this proclamation, and open to sharing and communal interaction.

FIRST READING(Jeremiah 20.7-9)

O Lord, you have enticed me, and I was duped; you have overpowered me, and you have prevailed.I have become a laughingstock all day long; everyone mocks me.For whenever I speak, I must cry out, I must shout, “Violence and destruction!” For the word of the Lord has become for me a reproach and derision all day long. If I say, “I will not mention him, or speak any more in his name,” then within me there is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in; I cannot.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

The Psalm is #163: My soul thirsts for You, O Lord…..

SECOND READING(Romans 12.1-2)

I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

GOSPEL(Matthew 16.21-27)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew.Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and undergo great suffering at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.

And Peter took Jesus aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.”But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are thinking not as God does, but as humans do.”Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.For what will it profit anyone to gain the whole world but forfeit their life?Or what will anyone give in return for their life? “For the Son of Man is to come with his Angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each according to their work.”

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

(Allow for a brief quiet time, then allow for 5-7 minutes of reflection and sharing
on a meaningful word or phrase.)

Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

1. It’s all about “the Call”: Jeremiah; Paul; Jesus….and us. Can you see your part?
2. This is an opportunity to talk about and pray for vocations. Read Paul again…
3. In a word, everyone is “called” to teach. Agree? Question? Do some soul searching!
4. Let’s look now at these four powerful scriptural texts: “What will it profit anyone to gain…”

COMMENTARY:

I think it is fair to say that when we attend Holy Mass we will find that the celebrant frequently uses Eucharistic Prayer #2. If we listen closely we will hear the words “like the dewfall”. This signals and sums up for us the history of the Old Testament and our teaching of the Eucharist. The readings for each Sunday have been carefully selected for each year and are intended to spell out for us the life-death-resurrection of Jesus.

The Jeremiah passage is one of his famous “Confessions” which he shared with his followers. He was torn with grief; he felt and said that God had tricked him. In fact he used a very strong word: “duped;” in Hebrew the verb “dupe” can mean to deceive or to seduce. This strong word indicates how much Jeremiah was torn with grief. God’s word made the prophet a fool, a laughingstock of Jerusalem. He had recommended that they should surrender rather than defend themselves. He is tempted to abandon his prophetic office. But God seized him and the prophecy is like a raging fire in his heart. He cannot but express it.

Paul had known a similar fire and urged the Roman Christians to hold fast to their faith. Their criterion must be Christ, not a set of human regulations. In Jesus they will be capable of finding God’s plan for them.

In the Gospel we learn of a similar struggle in Jesus Himself. But when Peter, who had just recently at Caesarea Philippi declared his faith in Jesus as the Son of God, could not accept the new teaching of Jesus about His suffering and death. But Jesus also was suffering with the contemplation of His own passion. He almost screamed at Peter: “Get behind me, Satan”. Peter has become a stumbling block to Jesus. The mention of Jerusalem is significant since it had become the city of martyred prophets of earlier times; and St. Matthew’s earlier reference (v.14) to Jeremiah indicates that he recognizes that Jesus and Jeremiah have very much in common.

Peter, on the other hand, cannot accept the implications of the Son of Man that Jesus has proposed; and he flares out against the prophetic teaching of Jesus. Much later, Peter, as the rock, must communicate Jesus’ teachings as Jesus taught them and not as human plans and programs.

In Jeremiah and in Jesus we discover that losing is finding. By losing Himself for His Father He found Himself; the apparent loss became an unimaginable gain. In Jesus, as in

Jeremiah, losing always ends in finding.

Married people who are able to link the Son of Man with their Mr and Mrs also lose themselves for each other and find themselves anew.At Holy Mass, at the Eucharist, we experience the moment when Jesus totally loses Himself in the Father’s will and totally finds Himself in us. Eucharist challenges us, the community, to accept Jesus’ way and become bread and wine for others. In Eucharist we lose self and find the other. Losing is finding.

For Reflection and Discussion.

“Catholics do not wear their religion on their sleeves”. This is an anonymous expression to say we are not “emotive” people at Church. But to participate at Mass is to “celebrate”. Can we, do we, celebrate losing and finding?

One of the great thrills for a Priest is to welcome into the family of faith a convert or even better a re-vert, someone who has returned to the practise of the Faith.

1. What was Jesus saying [to you, to us] in today’s Gospel?
2. How did you react when He said to Peter “get behind me”?
3. The way to a strong and lively faith is not a matter of finding the right questions and answers, says Fr. Ron Rolheiser, but of LIVING IT each day. We must live in such a waythatwe give birth to God in our daily lives by our prayer and our caring actions.

-Does this observation speak to you? (Read the second reading again).

-Can you share with others in your group an occasion when you felt empowered, driven, by God’s grace?

CARING-PRAYING TIME:(15-20 minutes)

Word for the Week:So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary beholding your power and your glory.

Suggestion for the week:

a) What are the hungers and thirsts of your life?

b) What might we do to quench the thirst of others for Christ?

Intercessions:

Leader: Trusting in the Lord Jesus who will never abandon us we pray in the powerofthe Holy Spirit.[The response is:Lord hear our prayer.]

1. That we may always be ready to express a reason for the hope that is in us, and proclaim our faith with gentleness and respect for others, we pray….
2. That the Spirit of God may guide the followers of Jesus and all people of good will to

come to the assistance of those who have been exiled and orphaned by conflict, we pray…

1. That governments may facilitate the sharing of medical resources to foster healing of

those who are in anguish of body, mind and or spirit, we pray …

1. That prisoners of conscience and others who suffer for doing good may persevere as non-violent witnesses and even convert their captors, we pray …
2. That the Spirit of truth may convince the world of God’s unconditional love for everyone, we pray …
3. That all of us {Christians, Jews and Muslims} mindful of our one True God and of our common ancestor in faith, Abraham, may persevere in our common quest for peace and justice and find ways for mutual acceptance, forgiveness and love, we pray
4. For all our deceased family and friends that they may share in the joy of the Resurrection, we pray

And how can we help you in prayer this week?

Let us pray

You have redeemed us, O Father,

In Christ Jesus, Your Son, who was put to death

but raised alive in the Spirit. In answer to Jesus’ prayer

give us another Advocate to be with us always, the Spirit of Truth.

That all thosein our influence, may be moved and open to your Word and your Spirit,we pray:OUR FATHER…

Celebrating the Word, Resurrection Ministries of the Congregation of the ResurrectionOntario-KentuckyProvince (including the former Resurrection Centre), 265 Westmount Road North, Waterloo, Ontario, CanadaN2L 3G7. (Celebrating the Word was founded by Father Frank Ruetz, C.R., now deceased). For information or subscriptions:. Email: Website: The Scripture version used in this commentary is the New Revised Standard Version (copyrighted by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA.

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