Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time A I

(Optional Memorial for the Blessed Virgin Mary)

On Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there is no obligatory memorial, an optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is allowed.[1] Mass texts may be taken from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from a Votive Mass, or from the special collection of Masses for the Blessed Virgin Mary. (USCCB recommends:  # 34. The Blessed Virgin Mary, Cause of Our Joy)

“Isaac Blessing Jacob” by Govert Teunisz Flinck, 1639

Readings for Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time [2]

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]

Readings and Commentary:[4]

Reading 1: Genesis 27:1-5, 15-29

When Isaac was so old that his eyesight had failed him,

he called his older son Esau and said to him, "Son!"

"Yes father!" he replied.

Isaac then said, "As you can see, I am so old

that I may now die at any time.

Take your gear, therefore–your quiver and bow–

and go out into the country to hunt some game for me.

With your catch prepare an appetizing dish for me, such as I like,

and bring it to me to eat,

so that I may give you my special blessing before I die."

Rebekah had been listening

while Isaac was speaking to his son Esau.

So, when Esau went out into the country

to hunt some game for his father,

Rebekah [then] took the best clothes of her older son Esau

that she had in the house,

and gave them to her younger son Jacob to wear;

and with the skins of the kids she covered up his hands

and the hairless parts of his neck.

Then she handed her son Jacob the appetizing dish

and the bread she had prepared.

Bringing them to his father, Jacob said, "Father!"

"Yes?" replied Isaac.  "Which of my sons are you?"

Jacob answered his father:  "I am Esau, your first-born.

I did as you told me.

Please sit up and eat some of my game,

so that you may give me your special blessing."

But Isaac asked, "How did you succeed so quickly, son?"

He answered,

"The LORD, your God, let things turn out well with me."

Isaac then said to Jacob,

"Come closer, son, that I may feel you,

to learn whether you really are my son Esau or not."

So Jacob moved up closer to his father.

When Isaac felt him, he said,

"Although the voice is Jacob's, the hands are Esau's."

(He failed to identify him because his hands were hairy,

like those of his brother Esau;

so in the end he gave him his blessing.)

Again he asked Jacob, "Are you really my son Esau?"

"Certainly," Jacob replied.

Then Isaac said, "Serve me your game, son, that I may eat of it

and then give you my blessing."

Jacob served it to him, and Isaac ate;

he brought him wine, and he drank.

Finally his father Isaac said to Jacob,

"Come closer, son, and kiss me."

As Jacob went up and kissed him,

Isaac smelled the fragrance of his clothes.

With that, he blessed him saying,

"Ah, the fragrance of my son

is like the fragrance of a field

that the LORD has blessed!

"May God give to you

of the dew of the heavens

And of the fertility of the earth

abundance of grain and wine.

"Let peoples serve you,

and nations pay you homage;

Be master of your brothers,

and may your mother's sons bow down to you.

Cursed be those who curse you,

and blessed be those who bless you."

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Commentary on Gn 27:1-5, 15-29

This passage brings us to Isaac’s deathbed. In this selection we hear the plot of Rebecca and Jacob to trick Isaac into giving his final blessing to Jacob, cheating his twin brother Esau out of it. "Here too, as in the case of Isaac (cf. Genesis 21:8-13), the part played by the mother is stressed; she ignores custom, and plays an active part in the furthering of God's plans. The passage also stresses how shrewd the patriarch is by comparison with Esau. Jacob's action is justified in the overall context of the narrative, given that he bought the birthright previously from his brother." [5]

 While nothing is said in this passage as to the morality of the means by which Jacob receives this inheritance, his action is condemned in other parts of scripture (see Hosea 12:3 and Jeremiah 9:3). God punishes them for this act by separating Jacob and his mother. This action shows how God takes even the weak and undeserving and uses them to his greater glory.

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 135:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (3a) Praise the Lord for the Lord is good!

or:

R. Alleluia.

Praise the name of the LORD;

Praise, you servants of the LORD

Who stand in the house of the LORD,

in the courts of the house of our God.

R. Praise the Lord for the Lord is good!

or:

R. Alleluia.

Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;

sing praise to his name, which we love;

For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,

Israel for his own possession.

R. Praise the Lord for the Lord is good!

or:

R. Alleluia.

For I know that the LORD is great;

our LORD is greater than all gods.

All that the LORD wills he does

in heaven and on earth,

in the seas and in all the deeps.

R. Praise the Lord for the Lord is good!

or:

R. Alleluia.

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Commentary on Ps 135:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6

Psalm 135 is a song of praise and thanksgiving. The reference in the second strophe is to God choosing Jacob, which he did at the birth of the twins telling his mother: “the older shall serve the younger.”

CCC: Ps 135:6 269

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Gospel: Matthew 9:14-17

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,

"Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,

but your disciples do not fast?"

Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn

as long as the bridegroom is with them?

The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them,

and then they will fast.

No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,

for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.

People do not put new wine into old wineskins.

Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.

Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved."

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Commentary on Mt 9:14-17

Jesus is approached by St. John the Baptist’s disciples about the Pharisaic practices of ritual fasting. In Old Testament usage this action was a token of repentance or of mourning. No fast is actually prescribed in the Law of Moses, except the fast on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29 and 23:27 and Numbers 29:7). Given this understanding of the Law of Moses, what was being practiced by the Pharisees (and St. John’s disciples) was tradition. Jesus' response, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them,” speaks to the fact that his disciples do not have anything to repent from or mourn for, as long as they are following him.

The next section of the reading seems to contradict an earlier statement of Jesus (Matthew 5:17-20), when he said he had not come to abolish the Law (of Moses) but to fulfill it. But, his metaphors about the wineskins and the cloth refer to a completely new understanding of God’s revelation that cannot be a “patchwork” of ideas, rather a consistent application of Christ’s law of love, mercy, and hope.

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Reflection:

We reflect today upon the cautionary message embedded in the Gospel of St. Matthew.  In the passage given, the Lord is challenged by some of the disciples of St. John the Baptist (of which at least one of his own disciples, Andrew, was formerly a member).  They ask why Jesus and his disciples do not practice the Pharisaic traditions of ritual fasting.  Jesus, also of the Pharisaic tradition, was not following their scrupulous rules and neither were his disciples.  It was important that Jesus strike just the right tone in his reply.  Recognizing that the Pharisees were following a tradition developed out of their understanding of the Law (not prescriptions of the Law), he explains that his disciples do not need to mourn or repent while he is with them (coming as he does to fulfill the law and the prophets - we understand this).

Where, one may ask is the cautionary message here?  Jesus is defending his disciples' actions because what they do, they do out of understanding.  They understand that they do not fast because the Son of God is with them and they cannot mourn while he is present.  The Pharisees and St. John’s disciples have forgotten the underlying spiritual reason for what they do and focus on the actions of their worship instead of upon the reason for those actions.  In other words, the actions themselves become important rather than the spiritual driver that caused them to be enacted in the first place.

In a faith so rich in ritual and tradition, we can sometimes fall into the same trap.  Our focus might be on the ritual or tradition and we might forget that the reason we do what we do is for God’s greater glory, not simply following the rules or rubrics.  We are reminded by this gospel story that when we do the ritual things of our faith, be they as simple as making the sign of the cross or genuflecting, or as complex as the rosary or the Divine Mercy devotionals, we recall the underlying reasons for what we do at each step.

Today we thank God for giving us his word and the means to worship him through our faith.  We also pray that when we participate with our brothers and sisters in the practice of that faith we focus on the spiritual aspects of what we do as well as the rubrics of the faith.

Pax

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[1] General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous Notes no. 5: “Outside Advent, Christmas Time, Lent, and Easter Time, on Saturdays which have no commemoration having the rank of Obligatory Memorial or higher, a Mass in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary may be celebrated. This is indicated in the calendar by “BVM.” The readings and prayers may be selected from the Collection of Masses of the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

[2] The picture is “Isaac Blessing Jacob” by Govert Teunisz Flinck, 1639.

[3] S.S. Commemoratio (Saturday of the 13^th Week in Ordinary Time)

[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.

[5] The Navarre Bible: “Pentateuch”, Scepter Publishers, Princeton, NJ, © 2003, p. 139.

Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time A I

(Optional Memorial for Saint Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr)
 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Maria Goretti
 
Additional information about St. Maria Goretti

“The Sacrifice of Abraham“
by Andrea Del Sarto,1527-28

Readings for Thursday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary:[3]
 
Reading 1: Genesis 22:1b-19
 
God put Abraham to the test.
He called to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
Then God said: "Take your son Isaac, your only one, whom you love,
and go to the land of Moriah.
There you shall offer him up as a burnt offering
on a height that I will point out to you."
Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey,
took with him his son Isaac, and two of his servants as well,
and with the wood that he had cut for the burnt offering,
set out for the place of which God had told him.
 
On the third day Abraham got sight of the place from afar.
Then he said to his servants: "Both of you stay here with the donkey,
while the boy and I go on over yonder.
We will worship and then come back to you."
Thereupon Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering
and laid it on his son Isaac's shoulders,
while he himself carried the fire and the knife.
As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham:
"Father!" he said.
"Yes, son," he replied.
Isaac continued, "Here are the fire and the wood,
but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?"
"Son," Abraham answered,
"God himself will provide the sheep for the burnt offering."
Then the two continued going forward.
 
When they came to the place of which God had told him,
Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it.
Next he tied up his son Isaac,
and put him on top of the wood on the altar.
Then he reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the LORD's messenger called to him from heaven,
"Abraham, Abraham!"
"Here I am," he answered.
"Do not lay your hand on the boy," said the messenger.
"Do not do the least thing to him.
I know now how devoted you are to God,
since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son."
As Abraham looked about,
he spied a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
So he went and took the ram
and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son.
Abraham named the site Yahweh-yireh;
hence people now say, "On the mountain the LORD will see."
Again the LORD's messenger called to Abraham from heaven and said:
"I swear by myself, declares the LORD,
that because you acted as you did
in not withholding from me your beloved son,
I will bless you abundantly
and make your descendants as countless
as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore;
your descendants shall take possession
of the gates of their enemies,
and in your descendants all the nations of the earth
shall find blessing all this because you obeyed my command."
 
Abraham then returned to his servants,
and they set out together for Beer-sheba,
where Abraham made his home.
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Commentary on Gn 22:1b-19
 
Abraham is put to the test to prove his faithfulness to God. He is to offer his son Isaac as a holocaust, an offering completely burnt on the altar. Abraham, though reluctant, is faithful to God and follows his instructions. At the last moment, when God is sure that Abraham has greater love for God than even for his beloved son Isaac, he stops Abraham and “blesses him abundantly,” making him the father of nations. (Note: the use of the term “beloved,” “Only one: uniquely precious, especially loved; therefore the same term is rendered in Genesis 22:12, 17 as "beloved." This connotation is used extensively in the New Testament identifying Jesus as God’s “beloved” son, again, only one and uniquely precious (Matthew 3:17, Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Colossians 1:13). In his obedience to the will of God, Abraham is found worthy of the honor God will afford him.
 
This example demonstrates that God expects those faithful to him to place love and obedience to him above all other worldly interests, and in return, those like Abraham, who demonstrate that God is their first priority, will be blessed as only God can bless.
 
CCC: Gn 22:1-18 1819; Gn 22:8 2572; Gn 22:11 332; Gn 22:17-19 706
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Responsorial Psalm: Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
 
R. (9) I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Not to us, O LORD, not to us
but to your name give glory
because of your kindness, because of your truth.
Why should the pagans say,
"Where is their God?"
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Our God is in heaven;
whatever he wills, he does.
Their idols are silver and gold,
the handiwork of men.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
They have mouths but speak not;
they have eyes but see not;
They have ears but hear not;
they have noses but smell not.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
Their makers shall be like them,
everyone who trusts in them.
The house of Israel trusts in the LORD;
he is their help and their shield.
R. I will walk in the presence of the Lord, in the land of the living.
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 115:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9
 
Psalm 115 is a hymn of praise to our God who is above all things, and creator of all that exists. The strophes exhort the people to be faithful to God, unlike the pagans. False idols are lifeless and dead. Those who create and worship them will be dead as well. The faithful have life because of their trust in the Lord.
 
CCC: Ps 115:3 268, 303; Ps 115:4-5 2112; Ps 115:8 2112
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Gospel: Matthew 9:1-8
 
After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,
"Courage, child, your sins are forgiven."
At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,
"This man is blaspheming."
Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,
Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,'
or to say, 'Rise and walk'?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins"–
he then said to the paralytic,
"Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."
He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.
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Commentary on Mt 9:1-8
 
Jesus continues his saving works in the healing of the paralytic. He leaves the territory of the Gadarenes, having been rejected out of fear.  He comes once more to his own town and is confronted with a singular demonstration of faith.  We are told, "And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher." Note, there was no outcry or plea from those who lovingly brought the paralytic to Jesus. Rather, an unspoken faith in the Lord that moved Jesus to remove his burden.
 
The leaders of the synagogue hear Jesus forgive the man’s sins, which in their thinking caused the man’s affliction (cf. John 9:1-3), and could only be taken away by God (cf. Luke 5:21). To demonstrate that he was from God, and acting for God, Jesus took away, not only the man’s sins, but what the scribes believed were the consequences of those sins, his paralysis. The crowds, if not the scribes, immediately understood and gave thanks to God for his mercy.
 
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Reflection:
 
Think of what Christ did for the paralytic.  The man was crippled and had to be carried on a stretcher and Jesus, out of his will, freed the man from his prison and gave him his life.  Once again, we see this act of healing as a metaphor for Jesus’ gift to each of us: the gift of forgiveness.
 
In his argument with the scribes who were saying that only God could forgive sins, outwardly manifested in the paralysis, Jesus demonstrated what he would do for us.  The scribes presumed in their ignorance that paralysis was caused by God because of some hidden sin committed by either the paralytic himself or by his parents (the punishment transferred to their child). Jesus demonstrated his authority over sin and death, the physical and metaphysical, in his healing act.
 
Christ came for us in the same way.  God understands the debilitating effect of sin in our lives. (Just so we share a common point of reference, we will define sin as conscious failure to love.)
 
When we fail to love ourselves, we do things that will harm us physically or psychologically.  We act out of hedonism seeking pleasure for the senses by crippling the mind and creating a sense of self-loathing.  We offer those sins to Jesus who tells us we are precious and beloved.  He forgives us and begs us to love ourselves because of the life he gave us.
 
When we fail to love others and are hurtful, cruel, or forget the dignity with which our brothers and sisters should be treated, we harm ourselves as well.  That hurt and hate eat us like a cancer and cripple us spiritually.  Knowingly hurting another stains us and makes us unclean in our own eyes.  Jesus asks to carry those sins as well.  He reminds us that all people are like Isaac was to Abraham, beloved and cherished.  In accepting our sin and guilt, he frees us to love once more.
 
In choosing not to love ourselves or others, we ultimately sin against God our Father and his Son, Jesus.  In the sacrament of reconciliation, this stain is removed and we are once more placed in God’s grace and mercy.  Christ heals us and bids us, "Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home."
 
Pax
 

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[1] The Picture is “The Sacrifice of Abraham“ by Andrea Del Sarto,1527-28.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.

Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time A I

 (Optional Memorial for Saint Elizabeth of Portugal) 
– in the United States perpetually transferred from July 4
 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Elizabeth of Portugal
 
Biographical information about St. Elizabeth of Portugal
 
Or
 
(Optional Memorial for Saint Anthony Zaccaria, Priest)
 
Proper readings for the Memorial of St. Anthony Zaccaria
 
Biographical information about St. Anthony Zaccaria

“Expulsion of Hagar”
by Willem van Mieris, 1724

Readings for Wednesday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time [1]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [2]
 
Readings and Commentary:[3]
 
Reading 1: Genesis 21:5, 8-20a
 
Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.
Isaac grew, and on the day of the child's weaning
Abraham held a great feast.
 
Sarah noticed the son whom Hagar the Egyptian
had borne to Abraham
playing with her son Isaac;
so she demanded of Abraham:
"Drive out that slave and her son!
No son of that slave is going to share the inheritance
with my son Isaac!"
Abraham was greatly distressed,
especially on account of his son Ishmael.
But God said to Abraham: "Do not be distressed about the boy
or about your slave woman.
Heed the demands of Sarah, no matter what she is asking of you;
for it is through Isaac that descendants shall bear your name.
As for the son of the slave woman,
I will make a great nation of him also,
since he too is your offspring."
 
Early the next morning Abraham got some bread and a skin of water
and gave them to Hagar.
Then, placing the child on her back, he sent her away.
As she roamed aimlessly in the wilderness of Beer-sheba,
the water in the skin was used up.
So she put the child down under a shrub,
and then went and sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away;
for she said to herself, "Let me not watch to see the child die."
As she sat opposite Ishmael, he began to cry.
God heard the boy's cry,
and God's messenger called to Hagar from heaven:
"What is the matter, Hagar?
Don't be afraid; God has heard the boy's cry in this plight of his.
Arise, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand;
for I will make of him a great nation."
Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water.
She went and filled the skin with water, and then let the boy drink.
God was with the boy as he grew up.
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Commentary on Gn 21:5, 8-20a
 
The saga of Abraham (Abram) continues in this passage as he strives to follow God’s will. The birth of Isaac is announced and immediately tension arises. His wife Sarah (Sarai) has demanded that Hagar and Ishmael (firstborn of Abraham) be cast out of their family group. This is truly the beginning of the split in Abraham’s descendants, as the Jewish people would begin through his son Isaac, and the followers of Islam develop through his son Ishmael. The same God (whose Only Son is the Messiah) that favored the early Jewish people also shows his love for Hagar and Ishmael and their descendants.
 
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 34:7-8, 10-11, 12-13
 
R. (7a) The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
 
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
 
Fear the LORD, you his holy ones,
for naught is lacking to those who fear him.
The great grow poor and hungry;
but those who seek the LORD want for no good thing.
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
 
Come, children, hear me;
I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Which of you desires life,
and takes delight in prosperous days?
R. The Lord hears the cry of the poor.
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Commentary on Ps 34:7-8, 10-11, 12-13
 
Psalm 34 is a hymn of thanksgiving.  In this selection, the singer rejoices in God’s love and compassion, especially for those in need (“the poor”).  God saves those who love him and shares in their delight during good times.
 
CCC: Ps 34:8 336
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Gospel: Matthew 8:28-34
 
When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes,
two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him.
They were so savage that no one could travel by that road.
They cried out, "What have you to do with us, Son of God?
Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?"
Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding.
The demons pleaded with him,
"If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine."
And he said to them, "Go then!"
They came out and entered the swine,
and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea
where they drowned.
The swineherds ran away,
and when they came to the town they reported everything,
including what had happened to the demoniacs.
Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus,
and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district.
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Commentary on Mt 8:28-34
 
Jesus comes to a region about five miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee and encounters the two demoniacs (people taken over by demons). He drives the demons out into a herd of swine. The symbolism here for the Jewish audience would be powerful, as swine were unclean animals. By casting themselves into the sea, they showed that even they preferred death to the presence of evil. The Gentile population, probably very superstitious, was afraid of Christ’s power over evil and did not want any more damage as a result of his presence.
 
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Reflection:
 
What is the difference between physical love (eros) and love (agape), the highest and purest form of love? The story of Sarah and Hagar from Genesis answers this question.  It is also a tremendous lesson in moral theology.  In her rush to give Abraham the heir he needed for his prosperity to be handed down, Sarah brought Hagar, her servant, to Abraham to be a surrogate.  In this action, we see Abraham performing the physical act of love (eros) with Hagar.  Through this action, Hagar’s dignity as a person was not considered.  She was seen by Sarah, and indeed by Abraham, as merely the vessel for an heir.
 
Having been thus demeaned, and having produced the desired son for Abraham in Ishmael, we see the natural enmity arise between Sarah and Hagar.  Hagar for her part loved Ishmael.  Ignoring the circumstances of his conception, she saw Abraham’s fortune passing to Ishmael, as his son and heir.  Then the unthinkable happened, Sarah became pregnant in her advanced years, and bore a son, Isaac.  This event essentially took away any rights that Ishmael could claim on Abraham’s posterity.  We can understand the feelings (jealousy, hate, resentment) between the two women, as complex as they were.
 
We see something else in this story as well.  As favored as Abraham is in the eyes of God, the Lord loves (agape) Ishmael and Hagar without prejudice.  The promise of salvation is given them as well as Abraham, Isaac, and Sarah.  In God’s eyes, they are all precious to him.
 
Within the context of human relationships, we can see a clear example of what happens when the wrong thing is done for what is considered to be a noble purpose.  In this case, Sarah loved (agape) her husband and felt she had somehow displeased God.  Since Abraham was clearly beloved by God and had been promised a multitude of descendants, and since she was barren of children, it must be that God disapproved of her.  With this thought she presented her servant to her husband to be the means of God’s promised continuation of life.  She did so without thinking that this action would constitute any infidelity on the part of Abraham.  She also did not consider that this action would violate the dignity of her servant.
 
Even if Hagar considered this order from her mistress a reasonable one, the action violated her human dignity.  Even though the resultant life in Ishmael was precious to God, the means of begetting that life were ignoble at best.  The end result is obvious to us now.  God’s promise was fulfilled in Ishmael as well as Isaac.  God’s prediction was also fulfilled, that there would be enmity between Ishmael and his descendants and those of Isaac.
 
We see the pain that can arise from doing the wrong thing for the right reasons in this story, and pray for the wisdom to hear and apply this knowledge in our own actions.  We see also that God loves all his people, and hope that our own hearts will respond to that love in the same way.
 
Pax

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[1] The picture is “Expulsion of Hagar” by Willem van Mieris, 1724.
[2] S.S. Commemoratio
[3] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.