Dress to God's Word / "Liturgical Dress": Benedict

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Legend at bottom

Listen

For gospel

Jesus, you once called disciples/ Gillette; works with these and other tunes (gospel)

For 1st reading

Rain down/ Cortez: sheet music [I like the song but not the line, "God's mercy falls on the just and the right"—what about the unjust and the wrong??]

For Psalm 105

Read

Hos 10:1-3, 7-8, 12 Israel is a vine whose fruit matches its growth. Their heart is false, now they pay for their guilt. The king of Samaria shall disappear. They shall cry out to the mountains, “Cover us!” Sow justice, reap the fruit of piety; break up a new field, for it's time to seek the Lord, till he rain justice on you.

Ps 105:2-7 "Seek always the face of the Lord." Look to the Lord; serve him constantly. Recall the wondrous deeds he wrought. He is our God; his judgments prevail.

Mt 10:1-7 Jesus gave his Apostles authority to drive out unclean spirits and cure diseases. Their names: Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James, Thaddeus, Simon, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus. He sent them out: “Don't go into pagan territory but to the lost sheep of Israel. Proclaim, ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

Reflect

Fr. Jim Clarke homily video: Liberate people from their "demons" via prayer and action, imitating and empowered by Jesus.

Creighton: St. Benedict spent much time learning about monks by living with and reading about them. He tried to take monastic life to different levels. He is best known for his writing of his Rule. Still used in some monasteries and convents, it describes how to live in community rooted in the Gospel with charity, humility, stability, and faithfulness. The spirit of the Rule is summed up in the Benedictine motto pax and ora et labora. Benedict founded of twelve monasteries of twelve monks each south of Rome. In today's gospel Jesus names and sends his twelve apostles. The apostles had no written Rule; they lived with Jesus. What would your "rule" be? What's important? How do you spend your time? How do your actions affect others? What does God want from you?

One Bread, One Body: "Groundwork": People in the Bible had a special relationship with the ground. Hosea prophesied that if they didn't repent of idolatry, the ground would be their death. But if we repent and become Jesus' disciples, we'll plow the ground and bear fruit. If we plow and persevere, we will break up a new field. With seed-sized faith we can move mountains to fill in valleys and make a highway for God. May we repent, make disciples, working the ground for Jesus.

Passionist: Jesus sent out the Twelve to proclaim “The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The Kingdom is imminent, and there's work for us to do. Unclean spirits haunt and possess us: greed (wealthiest nations consume 60% of the world’s resources...), gun violence (mass shootings...), slaughter of innocents (>50M abortions last year), “structures of sin” (John Paul II, Solicitudo rei socialis). We're all called to drive out unclean spirits by resisting, correcting, or countering sin, starting where the world touches us and we touch it, where it hurts. We're sent to mend the world's wounds and bring it closer to its original, God-created, condition....

DailyScripture.net: "Jesus gives his disciples authority to heal and set free": God's kingdom is near! Jesus taught his disciples to pray for God to reign in their daily lives and in the world. Jesus demonstrated the power of the Gospel with signs and wonders of healing and freeing; he gave his disciples the same authority to heal and set free. If we believe, we'll know and experience his freedom, joy, and power and be able to live and witness as his disciples. If we know God's love and mercy, we have heaven in our hearts. Jesus commissioned his disciples to carry on his works. Jesus chose ordinary people: non-professional, without wealth, social privilege, or special learning, who did ordinary things. When the Lord calls you, don't think you have little or nothing to offer; he can use you for greatness....

St. Benedict

Universalis: Benedict, hermit, abbot, survived monks' poisoning attempts, founded communities of monks and nuns. His Rule is adopted by many communities and has nuggets for us too.

Online guide to St. Benedict, including bio, daily readings, prayers, and info about the Benedictine order

Dress legend

'Alps' pin: "They'll cry out to the mountains and hills" (1st reading)

'Scales' pin: Sow justice (1st reading)

'Heart' clip: Their heart is false (1st reading); rejoice, hearts that seek the Lord (psalm)

'Fruit with grapes' tie, purple shirt: Israel is a luxuriant vine whose fruit matches its growth; reap the fruit of piety (1st reading)

'Car' tie pin: Jesus gave the 12 authority to 'drive' out unclean spirits... (gospel)

Dress to God's Word / "Liturgical Dress"