Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 94
25 JUNE 2023 A.D.


Reading 1
Jer 20:10-13

Jeremiah said:
"I hear the whisperings of many:
'Terror on every side!
Denounce! let us denounce him!'
All those who were my friends
are on the watch for any misstep of mine.
'Perhaps he will be trapped; then we can prevail,
and take our vengeance on him.'
But the LORD is with me, like a mighty champion:
my persecutors will stumble, they will not triumph.
In their failure they will be put to utter shame,
to lasting, unforgettable confusion.
O LORD of hosts, you who test the just,
who probe mind and heart,
let me witness the vengeance you take on them,
for to you I have entrusted my cause.
Sing to the LORD,
praise the LORD,
for he has rescued the life of the poor
from the power of the wicked!"


Responsorial Psalm
Ps 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35

R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

For your sake I bear insult,
and shame covers my face.
I have become an outcast to my brothers,
a stranger to my mother's children,
Because zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

I pray to you, O LORD,
for the time of your favor, O God!
In your great kindness answer me
with your constant help.
Answer me, O LORD, for bounteous is your kindness;
in your great mercy turn toward me.
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

"See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.
Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them!''
R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.


Reading 2
Rom 5:12-15

Brothers and sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned—
for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world,
though sin is not accounted when there is no law.
But death reigned from Adam to Moses,
even over those who did not sin
after the pattern of the trespass of Adam,
who is the type of the one who was to come.

But the gift is not like the transgression.
For if by the transgression of the one the many died,
how much more did the grace of God
and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ
overflow for the many.


Alleluia
Jn 15:26b, 27a

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Spirit of truth will testify to me, says the Lord;
and you also will testify.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel
Mt 10:26-33

Jesus said to the Twelve:
"Fear no one.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father."


Overview of the Gospel:
~ We rejoin Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel this week during the first year of His public ministry. He has just
commissioned the twelve (Matthew 10:1-4) and is instructing them as they are sent out.

~ In verses 5-15, Jesus gives them very specific instructions concerning the scope and activity of this
particular mission. They are to avoid gentile and Samaritan villages and preach only to the Jews
(verses 5-6). They are to preach the same message and do the same works that Jesus himself has
been doing (verses 7-8). They are not to be loaded down with heavy provisions for their journey, but
instead rely upon the providence of God and the charity of those who will welcome them (verse 9-15).

~ He also warns them of the persecutions that are bound to come as a result of their preaching, and how
they are to respond to the opposition of those who will not hear them (verses 9-25).

~ This brings us to this Sunday’s Gospel reading where Jesus reminds his disciples that, even though
they must suffer hardship and persecution in his name, they are to have no fear of human persecutors
who can only harm the body, but cannot harm the soul (Wisdom 3: l-9). The eternal reward for those
who faithfully serve the Lord to the end far outweigh their earthly trials (Matthew 10:22; Romans 2:6-7)


"We should love and feel compassion for those who oppose us, since they harm themselves and do us good, and adorn us with crowns of everlasting glory." ~ St. Anthony Zaccaria

Thanks!

Beautiful. The images ... But more so the message...
Our Father loves us so much so that every hair is counted. Have a blessed week and thank you my brothers

Thank you.

You're very welcome, Brothers, tortilla-flats and skid2041 and Sister, angelfire!

Especially angelfire's (always) astute comment:

"Our Father loves us so much so that every hair is counted."

...At this old Catholic's point in time and space--the Blessed Lord has not only counted, but marvels at all my pure white hairs!

I keep thanking Him profusely for my pelage, as my "compatriots in my age group" have little or no hair even to count!  


(Jeremiah)