A reading of the holy Gospel according to Mt 17:22-27
As Jesus and his disciples were gathering in Galilee,Jesus said to them,"The Son of Man is to be handed over to men,and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day."And they were overwhelmed with grief.When they came to Capernaum,the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said,"Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?""Yes," he said.When he came into the house, before he had time to speak,Jesus asked him, "What is your opinion, Simon?From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax?From their subjects or from foreigners?"When he said, "From foreigners," Jesus said to him,"Then the subjects are exempt.But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook,and take the first fish that comes up.Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax.Give that to them for me and for you."
The Gospel of the Lord
REFLECTION
"And they were overwhelmed with grief."
For the third time, Jesus reveals His passion, death and His Resurrection to the apostles. They focused again on the bad news of His death, "and they were overwhelmed with grief".
In Luke 23:49, St Luke reports what St Paul told him and what St Paul learned from Jesus, "All his friends were standing at a distance".
Abandoned and forsaken is how I feel when bad news hits me square in the face. Abandoned by humans and yes, unfortunately, I feel at times abandoned and forgotten by God. The human touch is missing, the human face of compassion and love cannot be seen or felt when our loss is greater than consolation.
At times we need to share our grief to allow the stings of death to dissipate or soften the blow.
And Jesus remained and still remains faithful and true. He still offers us His Body and Blood both at Mass and always in the Blessed Sacrament. He still beckons us with that seed of hope in the Resurrection.
Experiencing death will help me understand the Resurrection and will let me see that Jesus has never left me.
Never should I feel alone. Never should I be without the warmth of the Holy Spirit’s gift of joy and peace filling my soul with happiness.
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