Monday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
July 1, 2024

Today’s Readings:

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070124.cfm

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A scribe approached and said to him,
“Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
Another of his disciples said to him,
“Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But Jesus answered him, “Follow me,
and let the dead bury their dead.”
Matthew 8: 19-22

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The scribe. What was Jesus driving home to this learned interpreter of the Law who now bursts with enthusiasm for discipleship? Perhaps Jesus looked up to a small nest in a nearby tree. Maybe he pointed to it and told the scribe, ” You have to spread your wings and fly with God if you follow me!”

Basically, I think Jesus is saying this:

• Think about it. It’s a way very different from your present comfortable life.
• We are itinerant preachers, going out to the whole world. We are not intrenched in the Law, commanding people to come to us.
• Even the core responsibilities to which you are devoted will be secondary to your Gospel ministry.
• The whole foundation of your life will be turned upside-down.

Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:

We want to serve God by living the Gospel with a steadfast and enthusiastic heart. We pray for the grace and courage to do so, understanding clearly where our first responsibilities lie as a committed Christian.

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Prose from: The Wisdom of the Carpenter by Ron Miller

Jesus walked the earth as a homeless vagrant
and identified his disciples by their concern
for the most marginalized people in the community.
It’s such a simple criterion
and yet one so easily forgotten.
Daily Prayer: Help me to be especially attentive to You today
in those who have so little of the world’s wealth.

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Music: He Had Not Where To Lay His Head
Score: Alison Willis
Text: Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825 – 1911)

The conies had their hiding place

the fox his stealthy tread a covert found

but Christ the Lord had not a place

to lay his head.


The eagle had an eyrie home,

the blithesome bird its rest,
but not the humblest spot on earth

was by the Son of God possessed.


Princes and kings had palaces,

with grandeur could adorn each tomb;

for him who came with love and life

they gave no room.


The hand whose touch sent thrills of joy

through nerves and palsied frame,

the feet that travelled for our need

were nailed unto the cross of shame.



How feet that travelled for our need

were nailed unto the cross of shame.