St. Jane Frances de Chantal, religious 

＊＊＊1st Reading＊＊＊

Deuteronomy 10: 12-22

 So now, Israel, what is it that Yahweh, your God, asks of you but to fear him and follow all his ways?

Love him and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.  Observe the commandments of Yahweh and his laws which I command you today, for your good.

 See: the heavens, those that are seen and those that are unseen, the earth and all that is in it, everything belongs to Yahweh, your God.   Nevertheless, it was on your fathers that Yahweh set his heart. He loved them, and after them, he chose their descendants ­– you – preferring you to all the peoples, as you can see this day.

 Purify your hearts, then, and do not be defiant towards Yahweh be­cause Yahweh is the God of gods and the Lord of lords. He is the great God, the strong and terrible God. When he judges, he treats everyone equally; he does not let himself be bought by gifts.  He renders justice to the orphan and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him bread and clothing. Love the stranger then, because you yourselves were strangers in the land of Egypt.  

 Fear Yahweh, your God, serve him, follow him and call on his name when you have to make an oath. He is your pride and he is your God, who has done those amazing things for you.  When you went down to Egypt, your ancestors were no more than seventy persons, but now, Yahweh, your God, has made you as many as the stars of heaven.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

 Matthew 17: 22-27

 While Jesus was in Galilee with the Twelve, he said to them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. But he will rise on the third day.” The Twelve were deeply grieved.When they returned to Caper­naum, the Temple tax collectors came to Peter and asked him, “Does your mas­ter pay the temple tax?”   He answered, “Yes.”

Peter then entered the house, and immediately, Jesus asked him, “What do you think, Simon? Who pay taxes or tributes to the kings of the earth: their  Peter replied, “Strangers and aliens.” And Jesus told him, “The sons, then, are tax-free.  But so as not to offend these people, go to the sea, throw in a hook and open the mouth of the first fish you catch. You will find a coin in it, take the coin and give it to them for you and for me.”

 

Reflection gospel：

“GIVE THE COIN TO THEM FOR YOU AND FOR ME.”

Here, the gospel writer once again highlights Peter’s special position, but this is not to say it is the focus of the passage. The writer locates the “center of gravity” of the episode in the “teaching on freedom balanced by concern to avoid unnecessary scandal” (Brendan Byrne). To Jesus, he is not obligated to pay the temple tax, but still freely chose to do so out of consideration of the Jewish community, particularly the tax collectors.

A seminarian narrated an incident during an apostolate work at Villa Maria, an indigenous people’s community in a mountainous area in our archdiocese. While walking back to the village, together with a man from the community, he saw ripe bananas still hanging on the plant and asked the man to get the bananas for them to eat and bring to the village.

The man climbed up and got only a few bananas. Wondering why he did not get them all, he asked him. In reply the man said: “We only get what is enough and leave the rest for others who might come this way and might be hungry.