DAILY GOSPEL
«Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.» John 6,68


Thursday, 23 July 2009
Thursday of the Sixteenth week in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates : St. Bridget of Sweden (1304-1373)

Book of Exodus 19:1-2.9-11.16-20.

In the third month after their departure from the land of Egypt, on its first day, the Israelites came to the desert of Sinai. After the journey from Rephidim to the desert of Sinai, they pitched camp. While Israel was encamped here in front of the mountain, The LORD also told him, "I am coming to you in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they may always have faith in you also." When Moses, then, had reported to the LORD the response of the people, the LORD added, "Go to the people and have them sanctify themselves today and tomorrow. Make them wash their garments and be ready for the third day; for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people. On the morning of the third day there were peals of thunder and lightning, and a heavy cloud over the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the people in the camp trembled. But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God, and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain. Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke, for the LORD came down upon it in fire. The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace, and the whole mountain trembled violently. The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking and God answering him with thunder. When the LORD came down to the top of Mount Sinai, he summoned Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up to him.

Dn 3:52.53.54.55.56.

"Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever; And blessed is your holy and glorious name, praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages.
Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory, praiseworthy and glorious above all forever.
Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
Blessed are you who look into the depths from your throne upon the cherubim, praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven, praiseworthy and glorious forever.


Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew 13:10-17.

The disciples approached him and said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because 'they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.' Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: 'You shall indeed hear but not understand you shall indeed look but never see. Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.' But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.


Commentary of the day :


"Blessed are your eyes, because they see"


Our Lord said: «Many a prophet and many a saint longed to see what you see but did not see it.» We must understand the prophets as being the great, subtle and reasoning minds who hold to the sublety of their natural reason and draw from it emptiness. Those eyes are not happy. We must understand the kings as being men who are naturally dominant, with strong and powerful energy, who are masters over themselves, their words, their works, their language, and who can do whatever they want when it comes to fasting, vigils and prayers. But they make a big thing of it, as if this were something extraordinary, and they despise the others. These are also not the eyes that see the things that make them happy.

All those people wanted to see and did not see. They wanted to see, and they held on to their own will. Evil resides in the will... Our own will covers our interior eyes like a membrane or a film covers the exterior eye and prevents it from seeing... So long as you stay within your own will, you will be deprived of the joy of seeing with your interior eye. For all true happiness comes from real abandonment, from being detached from our own will. All that is born in the depth of humility... The more a person is small and humble, the less does he have his own will.

When all has been calmed, the soul sees its own essence and all its faculties; it recognizes itself as the rational image of Him from whom it came. The eyes... that look this far can rightly be called blest because of what they see. What a person discovers then is the marvel of marvels, what is most pure, most sure... May we be able to follow this path and to see in such a way that our eyes might be blest. And may God help us in that!