The Gospel, Sunday 22nd September 2024

Sunday, 22nd September 2024

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Lord, open my lips — and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
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The Lord Jesus humbled himself, and God exalted him for ever.
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Most glorious Lord, You are Greatness Itself. You are our eternal glory. I thank You for the natural desire for greatness that has been instilled within my soul. Please purify that desire, and help me to direct it toward holiness so that I will be able to store up in Heaven the many treasures You wish to bestow. Jesus, I trust in You.
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God, come to my assistance. Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit: as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Send the fire of your Holy Spirit deep within us.

Protect us, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.

Souls in purgatory, pray for us.

Angels and Saints, pray for us.

Lord, send peace to our own homes and to the whole world.

Have mercy, Lord, and hear our prayer.
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_The Lord said to St. Paul: “Fear not. . . . I am with you” (Acts 18:9-10)._
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Alleluia, alleluia.
God has called us through the Gospel
to possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia, alleluia.

*The Gospel*
Mk 9:30-37

Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee,
but he did not wish anyone to know about it.
He was teaching his disciples and telling them,
“The Son of Man is to be handed over to men
and they will kill him,
and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying,
and they were afraid to question him.

They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. They had been discussing among themselves on the way
who was the greatest.
Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them,
“If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in their midst,
and putting his arms around it, he said to them,
“Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me;
and whoever receives me,
receives not me but the One who sent me.”

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*REFLECTION*

One of the desires that we all have is for greatness.

This is a good and natural desire.

This desire is manifested in competitiveness in sports and games. It becomes a driving force in business and politics. It drives us to do better in life, such as in school, artistic endeavours, and hobbies, working hard to perfect various skills and talents so as to excel.

The problem is that every good and natural desire we have is now disordered to a certain degree because of original sin.

As a result, the desire we have for greatness can become an obsession, a cause of discouragement when we fail, a source of jealousy when others appear to do better, and can lead us to pursue empty and fleeting goals in life.

Even within the life of faith, we can be affected by both the natural desire for greatness and the fallenness of that desire.

The natural desire for greatness, when mingled with faith, will lead us to the desire to be a saint and to do great things for the Kingdom of God.

But as a fallen natural quality, we can also fall into the trap of seeing ourselves in competition with others within the Church, and we can become jealous of those who appear to be holy and who are recognised for their good work for Christ.

Just prior to the passage quoted above in which the disciples were discovered to have been arguing among themselves about who was the greatest, Jesus predicted to them, for the second time, that He would suffer and die. Recall that after the first prediction of His passion, Jesus took Peter, James and John up a high mountain and was transfigured before them.

Perhaps some of the other disciples became jealous of this apparent special treatment.

Then, after Jesus predicted His passion to them for the second time, they might have wondered if some of them would likewise share in a similar experience as the Transfiguration.

Regardless of what motivated the disciples to argue among themselves about who was the greatest, the fact remains that they did so.

This was not the result of a holy and purified desire.

It was the result of a good desire for greatness that became distorted and turned into an unholy competition based on jealousy and selfishness.

In Heaven, we will all know who is the greatest.

Interestingly, the Scriptures, the official Church teachings, and many of the saints reveal to us that there will be levels of glory in Heaven.

This is why Jesus said elsewhere, “Store up treasure in Heaven” (Matthew 6:20). In Heaven, each of us will be perfectly happy. But each of us will also share in God’s glory in varying degrees, based upon the merit of our charity on earth.

The classic example of this is that if every soul is like a glass of water in Heaven, then every glass will be full. But some glasses will be larger than others and will be able to contain more water (glory).

For this reason, we must remember that the natural desire for greatness is good, but it must be properly ordered by grace.

That desire must not become as it was among the disciples who saw each other as competitors. Instead, it must be directed to the deepest desire for holiness and charity.

In Heaven, we will all be in awe of those holy souls who are filled with the greatest depths of glory forever.

Most likely, they will be widely unknown on earth, but loved and admired in Heaven for the greatness of their holiness.

from Catholic Daily Reflections.com

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Prayer for Peace—

Lord Jesus, we ask you to give the people of this world peace in their minds, bodies, soul and spirit. We want you to heal and remove everything that is causing stress, grief, and sorrow in their lives. Please guide our path’s through life and make our enemies be at peace with us. Amen

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THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come,
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
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May the Lord bless us and keep us.

May the Lord let his face shine on us and be gracious to us.

May the Lord show us his face and give us his peace.

May the all-powerful Lord
grant us a restful night
and a peaceful death.
— Amen.
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Be patient in suffering, be constant in prayer (Romans 12:12).
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Father, I thank you for you have heard my prayer (John 11:41).