St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe, priest & martyr 

***1st Reading***

 Deuteronomy 34: 1-12

 From the barren plain of Moab,  Moses went up to Mount Nebo, to the summit of Pis­gah, opposite Jericho.

And Yahweh showed him all the Land: from Gilead to Dan, the whole of Naph­tali, the land of Ephraim, and of Manasseh, the whole land of Judah, as far as the Western Sea,  the Ne­geb, the Plains, the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, as far as Zoar. And Yahweh said to him: “This is the land about which I swore to Abraham, Isaac and Ja­cob, promising it to their descendants.

I have let you see it with your own eyes, but you shall not enter it. ” Moses, the servant of God, died there in the land of Moab, according to the will of Yahweh. They buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but to this very day, no one knows where his tomb is.

 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died. He did not  The children of Israel mourned for him in the plains of Moab for thirty days. But Jos­hua, son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands upon him. The children of Israel obeyed him and did as Yahweh had commanded Moses.

 No prophet like Moses has appeared again. Yahweh conversed with him face to face. What signs and wonders he worked in Egypt against Pharaoh, against his people and all his land!  He displayed great power and awesome might in view of all Israel!

 

**** Gospel ****

Matthew  18: 15-20

 If your brother or sister has sinned against you, go and point out the fault to him, when the two of you are alone; and if he listens to you, you have won back your brother. If he doesn’t listened to you , take with you one or two others so that the case may be decided by the evidence of two or three witnesses. And if he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the assembled Church. But if he does not listen to the Church, then regard him as a pagan, or a tax collector.

I say to you: whatever you bind on earth, heaven will keep bound; and whatever you unbind on earth, heaven will keep unbound. In like manner, I say to you: if on earth two of you agree in asking for anything, it will be granted to you by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered in my Name, I am there among them.”

 

Reflection gospel:

I AM THERE AMONG THEM.”

The early Christian Church/communities was not free from discord, misunderstanding, hostility, etc, in spite of the presence of the Jesus’ immediate disciples. Striking within the Christian communities is the recognition of the presence of their risen Lord.  They truly believe that the risen Jesus is with them.

To say that Jesus is in our midst, with us, means regarding our fellow humans with dignity; and treating them with love and understanding, even when they commit a mistake, when they misbehave, always allowing room for forgiveness and rectification. It means respecting caring for others as a sister and as a brother, praying only the good for them and not harm, and wishing them blessings of every kind, not misfortune.

In our ecological age, it would also mean that Jesus is present in the natural world, in every “good” creature of God. that’s why our respect for human life needs to be extended in all form of life on Earth, which bear and manifest the love of God. it means recognizing the rights of other creatures for existence and their intrinsic value. This time, the pronoun “our” in the phrase “Jesus in our midst” includes both human and nonhuman creatures.