DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

JUNE 25, 2022

SATURDAY - MEMORIAL OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

FIRST READING

2 The Lord has destroyed without mercy all the habitations of Jacob; in his wrath he has broken down the strongholds of the daughter of Judah; he has brought down to the ground in dishonor the kingdom and its rulers. 10 The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence; they have cast dust on their heads and put on sackcloth; the maidens of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground. 11 My eyes are spent with weeping; my soul is in tumult; my heart is poured out in grief because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, because infants and babes faint in the streets of the city. 12 They cry to their mothers, "Where is bread and wine?" as they faint like wounded men in the streets of the city, as their life is poured out on their mothers' bosom. 13 What can I say for you, to what compare you, O daughter of Jerusalem? What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For vast as the sea is your ruin; who can restore you? 14 Your prophets have seen for you false and deceptive visions; they have not exposed your iniquity to restore your fortunes, but have seen for you oracles false and misleading. 18 Cry aloud to the Lord! O daughter of Zion! Let tears stream down like a torrent day and night! Give yourself no rest, your eyes no respite! 19 Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches! Pour out your heart like water before the presence of the Lord! Lift your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint for hunger at the head of every street.

The Word of the Lord
_

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALMS 74:1-7, 20-21 OR (1 SAMUEL 2:1, 4-8)

Response: Lord, forget not the souls of thy poor ones.

O God, why dost thou cast us off for ever?
Why does thy anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture?
Remember thy congregation, which thou hast gotten of old,
which thou hast redeemed to be the tribe of thy heritage!
Remember Mount Zion, where thou hast dwelt.

R. Lord, forget not the souls of thy poor ones.

Direct thy steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
Thy foes have roared in the midst of thy holy place;
they set up their own signs for signs.
At the upper entrance they hacked
the wooden trellis with axes.

R. Lord, forget not the souls of thy poor ones.

And then all its carved wood
they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
They set thy sanctuary on fire;
to the ground they desecrated the dwelling place of thy name.

R. Lord, forget not the souls of thy poor ones.

Have regard for thy covenant;
for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
Let not the downtrodden be put to shame;
let the poor and needy praise thy name.

R. Lord, forget not the souls of thy poor ones.
_

GOSPEL

I must be in my Father's house

41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; 43 and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the company they went a day's journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; 45 and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; 47 and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously." 49 And he said to them, "How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" 50 And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them. 51 And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.

The Gospel of the Lord
_

REFLECTION

DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS

Jesus' humility shows us his divinity, by Bede the Venerable, 672-735 A.D.

"The Lord's coming every year to Jerusalem for the Passover with his parents is an indication of his human humility. It is characteristic of human beings to gather to offer God the votive offerings of spiritual sacrifices, and by plentiful prayers and tears to dispose their Maker toward them. Therefore the Lord, born a human being among human beings, did what God, by divine inspiration through his angels, prescribed for human beings to do. He himself kept the law which he gave in order to show us, who are human beings pure and simple, that whatever God orders is to be observed in everything. Let us follow the path of his human way of life. If we take delight in looking upon the glory of his divinity, if we want to dwell in his eternal home in heaven all the days of our lives (Psalm 27:4), it delights us to see the Lord's will and to be shielded by his holy temple. And lest we be forever buffeted by the wind of wickedness, let us remember to frequent the house, the church of the present time, with the requisite offerings of pure petitions."

(excerpt from HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 1.19)
_

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.