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Catholic Daily Liturgical Guide 21.06.2022

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Catholic Daily Liturgical Guide 21.06.2022

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2ND KINGS 19: 9b – 11, 14 – 21, 31 – 35a, 36

In those days: Sennacherib king of Assyria sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God on whom you rely deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, destroying them utterly. And shall you be delivered?” Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord. And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord the God of Israel, who are enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. Of a truth, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands, and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone; therefore they were destroyed. So now, O Lord our God, save us, I beg you, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.” Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Your prayer to me about Sennacherib king of Assyria I have heard. This is the word that the Lord has spoken concerning him: “She despises you, she scorns you — the virgin daughter of Zion; she wags her head behind you — the daughter of Jerusalem.” For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the Lord will do this. Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there, or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, says the Lord. For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.” And that night the angel of the Lord went forth, and slew a hundred and eighty- five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, and went home, and dwelt at Nineveh.

The Word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 48: 2 – 4, 10 – 11 (R/.) 9cd

R/. God establishes his city forever

Great is the Lord and highly to be praised
in the city of our God.
His holy mountain rises in beauty,
the joy of all the earth. R/.

Mount Sion, in the heart of the North,
the city of the Mighty King!
God, in the midst of its citadels,
has shown himself its stronghold. R/.

Your merciful love, O God,
we ponder in your temple.
Your praise, O God, like your name,
reaches the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with saving justice. R/.

ALLELUIA
John 8: 12

Alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord; he who follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia

GOSPEL
“Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.”
MATTHEW 7: 6, 12 – 14

At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you. So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets. Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

The Gospel of the Lord.
[7:48 am, 21/06/2022] Tk: REFLECTION: Do to Others…
June 21, 2022

“Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 7:12)

This familiar phrase was a command from God established in the Old Testament. It’s a good rule of thumb by which to live.

What would you have others “do to you?” Think about that and try to be honest. If we are honest, we must admit that we want others to do a lot for us. We want to be respected, to be treated with dignity, to be treated fairly, etc. But on an even deeper level, we want to be loved, understood, known and cared for.

Deep down, we should all try to recognize the natural longing that God gave us to share in a loving relationship with others, and to be loved by God. This desire goes to the heart of what it means to be human. We as humans are made for that love. This Scripture passage above reveals that we must be ready and willing to offer to others that which we desire to receive. If we can recognize within us the natural desires for love, we should also strive to foster a desire to love. We should foster a desire to love to the same extent that we seek it for ourselves.

This is harder than it sounds. Our selfish tendency is to demand and expect love and mercy from others while at the same time we hold ourselves to a much lower standard regarding how much we offer. The key is to put our attention on our duty first. We must strive to see what we are called to do and how we are called to love. As we see this as our first duty and as we strive to live it, we will discover that we find much greater satisfaction in giving than in seeking to receive. We will find that “doing onto others,” regardless of what they “do to us,” is what we actually find fulfillment in.

Reflect, today, on the natural desire you have in your heart for the love and respect of others. Then, make this the focus of how you treat those around you.

PRAYER:
Lord of perfect desires, help me to do to others what I desire they do to me. Help me to use the desire in my own heart for love as the motivation for my love of others. In giving of myself, help me find fulfillment and satisfaction in that gift. Jesus, I trust in You.

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