Tuesday of the 15th Week in Ordinary Time [390] Exodus 2:1-15a Psalm 69:3, 14, 30-31, 33-34 Matthew 11:20-24

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer

Exodus 2:1-15a “…When the child grew, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, who adopted him as her son and called him Moses; for she said, ‘I drew him out of the water’.…”

Psalm 69: 3, 14,30-31,33-334  “…But I am afflicted and in pain; let your saving help, O God, protect me…”

John 17: 20-26 “…“And as for you, Capernaum:  ‘Will you be exalted to heaven?  You will go down to the nether world.’  For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.”…”

Saints John Jones and John Wall (lived in 16th and 17th Centuries)  Both of these men lived in England, and were persecuted for their Faith.  Living today in America it’s hard to believe people did that to each other, took another’s life because of their Faith, but our world is still not safe from this type of persecution in many parts of the world.  We are reminded to pray for those who suffer for the Faith and for their torturers.  God works purpose through adversity as we’ll see in today’s readings. 

Like our saints/martyrs for their Catholic faith from the 16th and 17th century, the first reading speaks of another time before Christ when God’s people the Israelites are suffering oppression slavery and torture and even suppression as the Pharaoh turns to killing the baby boys to control the population.  The Great Moses is born in our reading and because of his clever mother, his life is spared.  We know he is raised by the Egyptians, having been adopted by the Pharaoh’s own daughter.  Thus Moses has a grand beginning and we know he’ll be called by God to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt and freed from slavery.  Life not death; God made good out of the horrific surroundings that tortured his people for many years.  God wants to draw all people unto Himself, even the suppressors.  Those who murder for their own gain are likewise called to love one another, for otherwise history will repeat itself.

We are no different than the people Jesus speaks to in the gospel today, because we have short memories too.  Like them we forget the miracles we prayed for, that were answered as Jesus has performed wonders in our own lives.  The people who’ve made it through a miraculous recovery, my own mother has survived 45 years of diabetes, and recovered nicely after losing most of her left leg because of poor circulation.  She is our miracle; many times surviving low blood sugars because my Dad rescued her from her coma like state.  Since Dad is no longer here, she is under the care of good nurses in her skilled care facility.  Many of us know someone who has beat the odds and are still with us today.  Jesus speaks to the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum to remember the great works He has performed for them asking them to repent.  Yes, we have choices on how to live, but life has come with instructions to help us make good ones.  The Great Moses will go on to receive the two stone tablets containing the Ten Commandments from God, which he hands over to us their descendants. 

Today we remember those who have gone before us, especially those who shed blood to bring the Faith to our generation.  In looking back with the eyes of Faith, we repent and ask the Lord for direction in our lives; and we pray for those who do not live with the freedom to practice their Faith as we do and all the missionaries who go to those lands to bring hope.  God Bless us all.