DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
JUNE 15, 2024
SATURDAY OF THE TENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
FIRST READING
1 KINGS 19:19-21
19 So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. 20 And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee? 21 And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.
The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 15(16):1-2, 5, 7-10
Response: Thou art my inheritance, O Lord.
Preserve me, O God, for in thee I take refuge.
I say to the LORD, “Thou art my LORD;
I have no good apart from thee.”
The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;
thou holdest my lot.
R. Thou art my inheritance, O Lord.
I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
I keep the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
R. Thou art my inheritance, O Lord.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also dwells secure.
For thou dost not give me up to Sheol,
or let thy godly one see the Pit.
R. Thou art my inheritance, O Lord.
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GOSPEL
Let what you say be simply Yes or No
MATTHEW 5:33-37
33 "Again you have heard that it was said to the men of old, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' 34 But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 Let what you say be simply Yes' or `No'; anything more than this comes from evil.
The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
The Light of Truth, by Chromatius (died 406 AD)
"By the grace of gospel teaching, the law given by Moses acquired an advantage. The law prescribes that one must not swear falsely; but according to the gospel one must not swear at all. The Holy Spirit had seen fit to order this through Solomon when he said, 'Do not accustom your mouth to oaths' (Sirach 23:9). And again: 'Even as a well-chastised servant is not deterred from envy, whoever swears and does business will not be purged from sin' (Sirach 23:11). Therefore it is absolutely inappropriate for us to swear. What need is there for us to swear when we are not allowed to lie at all and our words must always be true and trustworthy, so much so that they may be taken as an oath? On this, the Lord not only forbids us to swear falsely but even to swear, lest we appear to tell the truth only when we swear and lest (while we should be truthful in our every word) we think it is all right to lie when we do not take an oath. For this is the purpose of an oath: Everyone who swears, swears to the fact what he is saying is true. Therefore the Lord does not want a gap between our oath and our ordinary speech. Even as there must be no faithlessness in an oath, in our words there must be no lie. For both false swearing and lying are punished with divine judgment, as the Scripture says: 'The mouth that lies kills the soul' (Wisdom 1:11). So whoever speaks the truth swears, for it is written: 'A faithful witness will not lie' (Proverbs 14:5).
(excerpt from TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 24.2.2.4)
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Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.