Do Not Be Afraid Of Them

JULY 09, 2022, SATURDAY

Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)

Optional Memorial of Saint Augustine Zhao Rong, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs (Red)

CYCLE C - YEAR II

Lectionary: 388

Reading 1 

IS 6:1-8

In the year King Uzziah died,

I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne,

with the train of his garment filling the temple.

Seraphim were stationed above; each of them had six wings:

with two they veiled their faces,

with two they veiled their feet,

and with two they hovered aloft.

They cried one to the other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!

All the earth is filled with his glory!”

At the sound of that cry, the frame of the door shook

and the house was filled with smoke.

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.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying,

“Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”

“Here I am,” I said; “send me!” 

Responsorial Psalm

PS 93:1AB, 1CD-2, 5

R. (1a) The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

The LORD is king, in splendor robed;

robed is the LORD and girt about with strength.

R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

And he has made the world firm, 

not to be moved.

Your throne stands firm from of old;

from everlasting you are, O LORD.

R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

Your decrees are worthy of trust indeed:

holiness befits your house,

O LORD, for length of days.

R. The Lord is king; he is robed in majesty.

Alleluia 

1 PT 4:14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you,

for the Spirit of God rests upon you.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel 

MT 10:24-33

Jesus said to his Apostles: 

“No disciple is above his teacher,

no slave above his master.

It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher,

for the slave that he become like his master.

If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,

how much more those of his household!

“Therefore do not be afraid of them.

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.”

 

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Christianity is sometimes called a religion of fear. But here we hear Jesus assure us : no tiniest bird falls to the ground without the Father’s knowledge –and “Every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows”.

Yes, he does remind us that we would not be that most precious of creatures, if we did not have in our hands the destiny of an undying soul – and that, aware of this privilege, we must not allow such a treasure to be lost. But at the same time we are to trust that the guidance of our lives is as much in the hands of a loving Father, as is the guidance – for good – of any of his creatures.

PRAYER:

Father God, you have created me in your image and likeness, every hair on my head you have counted. You know all my concerns and accompany me on all life’s journeys. Help me to recognise your supporting presence and not to be afraid for you are with me always.