“ May I never wait for the rebuke of others, but always rebuke myself until I make reparation. “

                                                                          —  St. Eusebius of Vercelli

 

Blessed Virgin Mary

St. Eusebius of Vercelli, bishop

St. Peter Julian Eymard, priest

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Leviticus 25:1, 8-17

The Lord spoke to

Moses on Mount Sinai: When seven Sabbaths of years have passed,

that is, seven times seven years, there shall be the time of the seven weeks of years, that is forty-nine years.

Then on the tenth day of the seventh month sound the trumpet loudly.

On this Day of Atonement sound the trumpet all through the land.

Keep holy the fiftieth year and proclaim freedom for all the inhabitants of the land.

 

It shall be a jubilation year for you when each one shall recover his property and go back to his family.

In this fiftieth year, your year of Jubilee, you shall neither sow nor reap the after growth,

nor gather the grapes from the uncultivated vines. This Jubilee year shall be holy for you,

and you shall eat what the field yields of itself without cultivation. this year of Jubilee each of you shall recover his own property.

 

When you sell something to your neighbor or buy something from him, do not wrong one another.

According to the number of years after the Jubilee,

you shall buy it from your neighbor and according to the number of years left for harvesting crops he shall sell to you.

When the years are many the price shall be greater and when the years are few the price shall be less,

for it is the number of crops that he is selling to you.

So you shall not wrong one another but you shall fear your God, for I am the Lord, your God.

 

Ps 67:2-3, 5, 7-8

O God, let all the nations praise you!

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊

Matthew 14:1-12

At that time, the reports about Jesus reached king Herod. And he said to his servants,

"This man is John the Baptist. John has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in John."

Herod had, in fact, ordered that John be arrested, bound in chains and put in prison,

because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. St. Peter Julian Eymard, priest For John had said to Herod,

"It is not right for you to have her as your wife." Herod wanted to kill him but he did not dare,

because he feared the people, who regarded John as a prophet.

 

On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced among the guests;

she so delighted Herod that he promised under oath to give her anything she asked for. The girl,

following the advice of her mother, said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist, here, on a dish."

The king was very displeased, but because he had made his promise under oath, in the presence of his guests,

he ordered it to be given to her. So he had John beheaded in prison, and his head brought on a dish and given to the girl.

The girl then took it to her mother. Then John's disciples came, took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Fear of the people."

"You shall not wrong one another but you shall fear your God." This command is at the heart of today's readings.

King Herod is haunted by what he has done to John the Baptist, and so he thinks that John has risen

from the dead when he hears about a preacher performing miracles.

Herod had sinned by marrying his brother's wife and he was angered by John's public criticism, even to the point of wanting to kill him.

 

Yet, it was not his fear of God that had stopped him from ordering John's execution,

but his fear of the people. He was more concerned about keeping his throne than saving his soul. Herodias, however,

had no fear of the consequences and so used Herod's foolishly extravagant oath as an occasion to have John beheaded.

Now Herod's deeds are surfacing in his conscience as he realizes the gravity of his wrongdoing.

In contrast to Herod's actions, Moses hears that respect for God and his Law is the fundamental reason

for mutual respect between the people. God commands that our dealings with others bring fairness and freedom,

and not injustice and oppression. We are to remember the Lord and do no wrong.