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Saint Gertrude Parish - Lasne
July 6, 2025
On this page you will find:
The readings for Mass, the Mass leaflet with the choice of hymns
A sample universal prayer available for download , in PDF and editable Word formats.
A meditation on the Sunday Gospel , a spiritual text and a commentary by Marie-Noëlle Thabut
14th Sunday
Ordinary Time
The harvest is plentiful,
but there are few workers.
Therefore pray to the Lord of the harvest
to send workers for his harvest.
Luke 10:2
Readings from the Mass
Mass leaflet
Universal Prayer
Lectio Divina
Consult this page for a prayerful preparation for the liturgy and then read the meditations below.
MEDITATION OF POPE FRANCIS
In this Sunday's Gospel reading, we read that "the Lord appointed seventy-two others [disciples] and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he went" (Lk 10:1). The disciples were sent out two by two, not individually. From a practical standpoint, going on a mission in pairs seems to have more disadvantages than advantages. There's a risk that the two won't get along, that they'll have different paces, that one will get tired or sick along the way, forcing the other to stop as well. On the other hand, when you're alone, it seems the journey becomes faster and smoother. Yet, Jesus doesn't think so: he doesn't send solitary figures ahead of him, but disciples who go two by two. But let's ask ourselves: what is the Lord's reason for this choice?
The disciples' task is to go into the villages and prepare the people to welcome Jesus; and the instructions He gives them focus less on what they should say than on how they should be: that is, not on the "booklet" they should recite, no; on the witness of their lives, the testimony to bear, rather than on the words to speak. In fact, He defines them as workers: that is, they are called to work, to evangelize through their behavior. And the first concrete action with which the disciples fulfill their mission is precisely that of going out in pairs. The disciples are not "free-spirited preachers," preachers who don't know how to give others a chance to speak. It is above all the very life of the disciples that proclaims the Gospel: their ability to stay together, their mutual respect, their refusal to show themselves more capable than one another, their unanimous reference to the one Master.
Perfect pastoral plans can be drawn up, well-executed projects implemented, organized down to the smallest detail; you can summon crowds and have ample resources at your disposal; but if there is no openness to fellowship, the evangelical mission does not advance. Once, a missionary recounted how he had gone to Africa with a fellow missionary. After some time, however, they parted ways, stopping in a village where he successfully led a series of construction projects for the benefit of the community. Everything went well. But one day, he had a sudden realization: he understood that his life was that of a good businessman, always surrounded by construction sites and accounting paperwork! But... and the "but" remained. Then he left the leadership to others, to the laity, and rejoined his brother. He thus understood why the Lord had sent the disciples "two by two": the evangelizing mission is not based on personal activism, that is to say on "doing", but on the witness of brotherly love, also through the difficulties involved in living together.
We can therefore ask ourselves: how do we share the Good News of the Gospel with others? Do we do so with a fraternal spirit and style, or in the world's way, with leadership, competitiveness, and efficiency? Let us ask ourselves if we have the capacity to collaborate, if we know how to make decisions together, sincerely respecting those around us and taking their perspectives into account, if we do so as a community, not alone. Indeed, it is above all in this way that the life of the disciple reveals that of the Master, truly proclaiming Him to others.
May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, teach us to prepare the way of the Lord through the witness of fraternity.
POPE FRANCIS
ANGELUS
Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, July 3, 2022
Homilies of Father Jacques Fournier
This Sunday brings us the final lines of Saint Paul's letter to the Galatians. Centered on the conflict this community was experiencing regarding the Law received by God's people and faith in Jesus Christ, this letter concludes with a text written in the Apostle 's own hand, thus authenticating its contents and expressing what is at the heart of his thought and life.
A TEMPORARY PEDAGOGY
Jewish observances have played the role of a temporary teacher, leading us to what is essential: Christ: “The law was our guardian until Christ came. Now the time of faith has come, and we are no longer under a guardian.” (Galatians 3:24-25)
This statement, in a few very brief words, reiterates the themes that are particularly dear to him. Therefore, they must be considered in relation to what is expressed in his other letters. The cross of Christ is at work in every life, as it is in the life of Christ. It is not destructive, but rather the generator of the new creation that brings us peace and mercy because it leads us to the Resurrection . “Christ had to suffer in order to enter into his glory.”
The Letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 1:18) also gives the meaning of the cross for Saint Paul and establishes the same link between the resurrection of Christ and the new creation that we are. “Christ died for all, so that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who died and rose again.”
We must have this same perspective on Christ, beyond what we know of the events of his life in Palestine: “Therefore we regard no one from a worldly point of view. But even though we once regarded Christ from a worldly point of view, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:15-17)
THE CROSS OF CHRIST, A MOTIVE OF PRIDE.
In his letter to the Corinthians, Saint Paul wrote that he had chosen to know no one but Jesus Christ and him crucified. What is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles is wisdom and power to the believer. (1 Corinthians 1:2)
For the cross of Christ is not an event about which one can discourse. One must go to the heart of what it is, to its essence: it is the sign of absolute love, not only for all people considered as a whole, but for each of them personally and in the depths of their being, for each of us, for me, and in the depths of my being. “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
To live in faith, to live in Christ… We must never forget what the powerful expression “to live in” means for Saint Paul. It is not about living in an atmosphere or according to a way of life that corresponds to the thought of Jesus, but about “being inserted into” the very being of Christ, into the divine life that is his. “For to me, to live is Christ.” (Philippians 1:21) His life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)
He places his pride in the cross of the one he designates by his full liturgical name: "Our Lord Jesus Christ." And he repeats this name at the end of these words, which are the essence of himself: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." (Galatians 6:18)
He thus rejects any claim by humanity to attain righteousness and conformity to God through its own human strength. He places his pride on the cross, and pride is the lofty feeling one has about oneself and displays to others. For Paul, the source of pride is not what he is or what he has done, but what another has done for him, initially without his involvement.
From a human perspective, this cross is more than a failure; it is a curse. (Galatians 3:13) And yet, in God's eyes, it has become a blessing: "For the blessing given to Abraham has come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we may receive what was promised (to Abraham)." (Galatians 3:14) Those who have put on Christ through baptism into his blood are truly the People of God, just as the people of Abraham's descendants were.
A NEW CREATION.
The cross is indeed astonishing. Only God can love in this way. Man can neither deserve nor even imagine such love: therein lies the mystery of salvation. Baptism has made us a being united and assimilated to Christ in his death, so that we may be so in his resurrection . The cross of Christ must be considered not as a work of destruction but as a work of self-emptying that acts in each of us as it did in Saint Paul, a self-emptying that incorporates us into his divine richness.
This is how it becomes a work of life: “We are constantly being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may also be revealed in our mortal flesh. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” (2 Corinthians 4:10-12)
From our perspective and for our contemporaries, speaking of the cross and death can often seem like very negative language. But this is not the case in the spirit of Saint Paul. Death is a death to sin in order to lead to a new life: eternal life, already begun, now begun, within ourselves.
It is not merely a renewed life, but a new creation, a "re-creation," as innovative as the first: "For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ" (Galatians 3:27). Circumcision, which marks the body as a rite of identification for the Jewish people, is superseded. The baptismal liturgy of the Latin Catholic Church tells the newly baptized this, and that is why, at the same time, it "signs" them with the cross. The "mark of Christ," which is the cross within us, constitutes "the true Israel of God."
It is then that the words of Saint Paul take on their full meaning: “The world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Too often we understand them as meaning detachment from worldly things. Paul's perspective is different. In every person, he sees the indelible mark of the cross by which God makes every person his People.
***
“We no longer regard anyone according to the flesh.” (2 Corinthians 5:16) “You are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)
“Listen, all you who fear God… He turned the sea into dry land…” His love does even more in Jesus Christ: “Listen, I will tell you what he has done for my soul.” (Psalm for this Sunday)
He made us a new creation
Better understanding the Gospel
with Marie-Noëlle Thabut
Better understanding the Gospel
with Marie-Noëlle Thabut
LIKE LAMBS AMONG WOLVES
This Gospel reading immediately follows last Sunday's: we saw Jesus grappling with the sacrifices his mission demanded of him: accepting insecurity, having nothing to rest his head on, letting the dead bury their own dead—that is, making agonizing choices—putting his hand to the plow without looking back, accepting death by resolutely taking the road to Jerusalem. We can imagine the temptations that lurked behind each decision he had to make. Luke shows us this on the road to Jerusalem: Jesus has overcome all temptations for himself; the prince of this world is already defeated.
He now has to pass on the torch: he sends his disciples on their missions in turn. It is urgent to prepare them since his own departure is approaching. And he gives them all the necessary advice to prepare them to face the temptations he knows so well: they too will face the same temptations.
They too will experience rejection: just as Jesus was rejected by a village in Samaria, they must prepare themselves to face rejection; but let this not deter them. When they have to leave a village, let them still proclaim, as they depart, the message for which they came: “Know this: the kingdom of God has come near.” But to clearly demonstrate that their approach was entirely selfless, and that those who receive the message remain free to reject it, they will add: “Even the dust of your town, which clings to our feet, we wipe off to leave it to you.”
They too will experience hatred: “I am sending you out like lambs among wolves.” Yet they must tirelessly proclaim and bring peace: “When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to that house.’ If someone who promotes peace is there, your peace will rest on them.” We must absolutely believe in the contagious nature of peace: when we truly and wholeheartedly wish peace for someone, peace truly grows. We know this from experience. However, it is essential that the person we are speaking to is also a friend of peace; if they are not, Jesus tells them, “Shake the dust off your feet,” meaning, don’t let yourselves be weighed down by failures, rejections… Let nothing make you “drag your feet,” so to speak!
They too will experience insecurity: Jesus himself had "nowhere to lay his head"; if we understand correctly, it will be the same for his disciples: "Take no money, no bag, no sandals." They too will have to learn to live from day to day without worrying about tomorrow, contenting themselves with "eating and drinking whatever they are given," just as the people in the desert could only gather manna for that very day.
THE URGENCY OF THE MISSION
They too will have choices to make, sometimes agonizing ones, because of the urgency of the mission: “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God” (Lk 9:60) was a demanding phrase meaning that even the duties most sacred to us give way to the urgency of the Kingdom of God. “Greet no one on the road” is a similar phrase: for his disciples, who were from the East, lengthy greetings were a true duty.
They too must resist the temptation of success: “Do not go from house to house.” They too must learn to want to pass the torch in their turn: the mission is too serious, too precious, to be monopolized; it does not belong to us. For one of the most subtle temptations is undoubtedly not truly wanting other workers at our side. “Pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest”: this is not about instructing God about something he doesn't know, namely, that we need help. He knows that better than we do! It is about allowing ourselves, through prayer, to be enlightened by Him. Prayer never aims to inform God: that would be quite presumptuous of us! It prepares us to allow ourselves to be transformed.
The final temptation: the glory of our successes. "Do not rejoice because the spirits submit to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven": it must be believed that, throughout history, stardom has been a lurking threat to disciples: the true apostles are perhaps not necessarily the most famous.
We can assume that the seventy-two disciples overcame all these temptations since, upon their return, Jesus was able to tell them: "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven." Jesus, who was undertaking his final journey to Jerusalem, certainly found great comfort there; since immediately afterward Luke tells us, "At that very hour Jesus, full of joy in the Holy Spirit, said: 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.'" (Lk 10:21).
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