Elija Mission

Gen 44:18-21, 23-29; 45:1-5

‘At this, Judah went up to him and said, ‘May it please my lord, let your servant have a word privately with my lord. Do not be angry with your servant, for you are like Pharaoh himself. My lord questioned his servants, “Have you father or brother? „And we said to my lord, “We have an old father, and a younger brother born of his old age. His brother is dead, so he is the only one by that mother now left, and his father loves him. “Then you said to your servants, “Bring him down to me, so that I can set eyes on him. But you said to your servants, “If your youngest brother does not come down with you, you will not be admitted to my presence again.” When we went back to your servant my father, we repeated to him what my lord had said. So when our father said, “Go back and get us a little food,” we said, “We cannot go down. We shall go only if our youngest brother is with us for, unless our youngest brother is with us, we shall not be admitted to the man’s presence.

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Mt 10:1-7

‘Jesus summoned his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits with power to drive them out and to cure all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon who is known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who was also his betrayer. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them as follows: ‘Do not make your way to gentile territory, and do not enter any Samaritan town; go instead to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. And as you go, proclaim that the kingdom of Heaven is close at hand.’

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Mt 9:32-38

They had only just left when suddenly a man was brought to him, a dumb demoniac. And when the devil was driven out, the dumb man spoke and the people were amazed and said, ‘Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.’ But the Pharisees said, ‘It is through the prince of devils that he drives out devils. ‘Jesus made a tour through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing all kinds of disease and all kinds of illness. And when he saw the crowds he felt sorry for them because they were harassed and dejected, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers to his harvest.’ Read More

Mt 9:18-26

‘While Jesus was speaking to them, suddenly one of the officials came up, who bowed low in front of him and said, ‘My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her and her life will be saved.’ Jesus rose and, with his disciples, followed him. Then suddenly from behind him came a woman, who had been suffering from a haemorrhage for twelve years, and she touched the fringe of his cloak, for she was thinking, ‘If only I can touch his cloak I shall be saved.’ Jesus turned round and saw her; and he said to her, ‘Courage, my daughter, your faith has saved you.’ And from that moment the woman was saved. When Jesus reached the official’s house and saw the flute-players, with the crowd making a commotion, he said, ‘Get out of here; the little girl is not dead; she is asleep.’ And they ridiculed him. But when the people had been turned out he went inside and took her by the hand; and she stood up. And the news of this spread all round the countryside.’

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Gal 6:14-18

But as for me, it is out of the question that I should boast at all, except of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. It is not being circumcised or uncircumcised that matters; but what matters is a new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this as their rule and to the Israel of God. After this, let no one trouble me; I carry branded on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, my brothers. Amen.

St. Paul speaks to us today of the Cross of the Lord and affirms that he does not want to glory except in it. He also speaks of the “new creation” that is engendered in the Cross…

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Gen 27:1-5,15-29

When Isaac had grown old, and his eyes were so weak that he could no longer see, he summoned his elder son Esau. ‘Son!’ he said, and Esau replied, ‘Here I am.’ He then said, ‘Look, I am old and do not know when I may die. Now take your weapons, your quiver and bow; go out into the country and hunt me some game. Make me the kind of appetising dish I like and bring it to me to eat and I shall give you my special blessing before I die.’ Rebekah was listening while Isaac was talking to his son Esau. So when Esau went into the country to hunt game for his father, Rebekah took her elder son Esau’s best clothes, which she had at home, and dressed her younger son Jacob in them, covering his arms and the smooth part of his neck with the skins of the kids.

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Mt 9:9-13

‘As Jesus was walking on from there he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him. Now while he was at table in the house it happened that a number of tax collectors and sinners came to sit at the table with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, ‘Why does your master eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ When he heard this he replied, ‘It is not the healthy who need the doctor, but the sick. Go and learn the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice. And indeed I came to call not the upright, but sinner.’ Today the Lord gives us three indications that should always accompany us in our evangelistic attempts: Read More

Eph 2:19-22

Brothers: you are no longer aliens or foreign visitors; you are fellow-citizens with the holy people of God and part of God’s household. You are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, and Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. Every structure knit together in him grows into a holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built up into a dwelling-place of God in the Spirit.

On this day on which we celebrate the Feast of an apostle, it is worth meditating a little on the Church.

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Over the past few months, we have systematically worked our way through the Gospel of John, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Letter to the Romans. Starting today, I will return to meditating on the daily reading or gospel. I have already meditated on many of the daily readings in recent years, so at times I will draw on reflections from past years. Occasionally, I will also take the readings according to the traditional calendar, that is, those read at the Tridentine Mass.

Mt 8:28-34 Read More