“Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom I delight;I shall place my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not contend or cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope.” (MT 12: 18-21)
Our Lord reminds us how important gentleness is in our relationships. Love can’t be understood by crying out, contending or harming. Love speaks with gentleness, respect and the gift of self. Be water instead of coca-cola.
“God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“I say to you, something greater than the temple is here. If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, you would not have condemned these innocent men. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.” (MT 12: 7-8)
We would like to see the world very well ordained, with rules for everything and everyone. But this world, even though beautifully created, with perfect order, is not a place for a secure existence, but for love and the gift of self, so more important to Our Lord is “mercy, not sacrifice,” the only way love can grow and the gift of self increase.
“My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” (MT 11: 28-30)
We have difficult moments in our lives when we are extremely tired and burdened, and we need desperately to rest. Sometimes our strategies to rest are very simple: sleep without an alarm clock, watch a movie or read a good book. Our Lord reminds us that there is another option: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.” (MT 11: 25)
More often we hear: “grow up,” stop being like a child, take responsibility for your life, etc. When Our Lord asks us to be “childlike,” He wants for us a strong relationship with His Heavenly Father, to be sure, to know how much we are loved, and that our future is with Him in Heaven.
“Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail before these two stumps of smoldering brands the blazing anger of Rezin and the Arameans, and of the son Remaliah, because of the mischief that Aram, Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, plots against you, saying, ‘Let us go up and tear Judah asunder, make it our own by force, and appoint the son of Tabeel king there.’” (IS 7: 4-6)
We have our fears, our enemies and weaknesses. The devil likes to show his power and how weak we are, but we are Our Lord’s children; we are His beloved ones, and He is always reminding us: do not be afraid and “do not fear”; my love is stronger than your enemies and your fears.
“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.” (MT 11: 1)
Our Lord’s “Twelve disciples” were very important to Him, and He spent a lot of time with them, not only “giving these commands,” but also sharing His life with them. They were first, then “he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.” The same is with us: our spouses are first, then children and after them—others.
“Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.” (EPH 1: 3-4)
It is good to remember that our final destination and the main purpose for our lives is: “to be holy and without blemish before him.” We are chosen to be God’s children “before the foundation of the world,” and He “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens” because He loves us and wants all the best for us.
“May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ enlighten the eyes of our hearts, that we may know what is the hope that belongs to our call.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Then I said, ‘Woe is me, I am doomed! For I am a man of unclean lips,
living among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!’ Then one of the seraphim flew to me, holding an ember that he had taken with tongs from the altar. He touched my mouth with it and said, ‘See, now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed, your sin purged.’” (IS 6: 5-7)
The good news for us is that instead of sending His seraphim, Our Lord himself comes to us and removes our wickedness and purges our sins. We were chosen to serve Him and to love Him, not because we are perfect or worthy to be with Him, but because we are His children, even though we are sinners.
“If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of God rests upon you.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Take with you words, and return to the LORD; say to him, “Forgive all iniquity, and receive what is good, that we may render as offerings the bullocks from our stalls. Assyria will not save us, nor shall we have horses to mount; we shall say no more, ‘Our god,’ to the work of our hands; for in you the orphan finds compassion.” (HOS 14: 2-4)
Our Lord knows our weaknesses and our sins. He is, first of all, compassionate and wants to forgive all our sins. We need to “take with our words, and return to the Lord” and ask Him for forgiveness.
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you to all truth and remind you of all I told you.” (Gospel Acclamation)
“When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the farther they went from me, sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my arms; I drew them with human cords, with bands of love; I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks; yet, though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer.” (HOS 11: 1-4)
Whatever happens in our lives is always important to Our Lord; He protects us and takes care of us because we are His children: “it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my arms; I drew them with human cords, with bands of love.” And whenever we do something wrong, He comes as our healer.
“The Kingdom of God is at hand: repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Gospel Acclamation)
