Gospel Readings and Reflections – Page 4

Gospel and reflection 6.11.2022

Gospel – 6th November 2022

Alleluia
Rv 1:5a, 6b
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Jesus Christ is the firstborn of the dead;
to him be glory and power, forever and ever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Lk 20:27-38
Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,
“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,
If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child,
his brother must take the wife
and raise up descendants for his brother.
Now there were seven brothers;
the first married a woman but died childless.
Then the second and the third married her,
and likewise all the seven died childless.
Finally the woman also died.
Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?
For all seven had been married to her.”
Jesus said to them,
“The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who will rise.
That the dead will rise
even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,
when he called out ‘Lord, ‘
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;
and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,
for to him all are alive.”
REFLECTION

From today’s Gospel, we learn:-
-The Resurrection is a divine gift that God gives to us. We can never earn our way to heaven. This gift cannot be presumed and our life must be lived in Christ-like ways.
-The Sadducees thinks that our earthly marriage and relationships continue in the next world. However, Jesus says there is no need for relationships in heaven because people live forever in the fullness of God’s glory.
-Jesus proclaims that He is Lord over the living and the dead now and for all The quality of our present life is measured by the quality of our relationship with the Lord. Deepen this relationship daily.

November is a month when the church invites us to remember those who have died. This month there will be many memorial services or Masses in parishes, when people will remember loved one who have come to the end of their earthly pilgrimage. November is a month to remember with affection all those past friendships and relationships that have graced and blessed us.

I have never found November an easy month. October still has the colours of Autumn and even though the days are getting shorter we occasionally get days that remind us of Summer. December is a darker month than November but Advent which takes up three weeks of December is a hopeful season. For the children of course, and for the adults, Christmas is on the horizon. Also in December I am conscious that the shortest day of the year is only a few weeks away and after that the days start getting longer. November doesn’t seem to have the colours of October or the hopeful looking forward of December. It always seems to me, at least, to be something of a valley month. Perhaps it is appropriate that it is the month when we reflect on death, which can be a dark experience for all who are touched by it.

Yet, for us as followers of the Lord, there is always light in the darkness. We are never without the light of Christ, even in the face of death, whether it is our own death or the death of loved ones. In today’s gospel reading, a group of Sadducees approach Jesus and try to ridicule his faith in the resurrection of the dead, his faith in fullness of life after death. Not all Jews at the time believed in a life beyond death, and the Sadducees certainly did not. They approach Jesus, knowing that he did not share their scepticism about life beyond death. They present a scenario which they believe makes a mockery of the notion of life beyond death. The woman who had seven husbands in this life; which of them will be her husband in the next life? Jesus responds to the mocking question of the Sadducees in a very considered way.

To begin with, he rejects the presumption hidden in their question that life beyond death will simply be a continuation of this life as we know it now. He declares that there is a radical difference between our life on earth and our life in what Jesus calls ‘the other world’. That future life will be absolutely new, compared to this life. It is a life we can hope for but it is not a life we can describe. Human language can only hint at this new and transformed life. Saint Paul had met the risen Lord on the road to Damascus. He was touched by the Lord’s risen life, the life that is our ultimate destiny. Yet, he is very reluctant to speak or write about what this risen life will be life. In his first letter to the Corinthians, he declares that ‘no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’. Paul is reminding us that the life of heaven is so completely new that no earthly experience can compare with it. All we can say is that it is a life that will fulfil our deepest hungers and thirsts. That is perhaps why Jesus often speaks of the life of the kingdom of heaven using the imagery of the great banquet. That image also suggests an experience of communion, communion among people and between them and their host, the Lord.

PRAYER:-

Lord, may I always be ready to greet You when You come. I thank You for Your perfect promise of raising all from the dead and bringing forth new life. Use me to gather many into this future and glorious Kingdom, dear Lord. Jesus, I trust in You.

Courtesy of Fr. Martins daily homilies

Gospel 30th October 2022

The Gospel – 30th October 2022

Alleluia

Jn 3:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 19:1-10

At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
“Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house.”
And he came down quickly and received him with joy.
When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying,
“He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.”
But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord,
“Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor,
and if I have extorted anything from anyone
I shall repay it four times over.”
And Jesus said to him,
“Today salvation has come to this house
because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.
For the Son of Man has come to seek
and to save what was lost.”

REFLECTION:-

Zacchaeus was up a tree. Why? Practically speaking, he was up a tree because he was short and he wanted to see Jesus as Jesus passed by. But the symbolism reveals far greater meaning.

The first thing we must note is that Zacchaeus was a wealthy and well respected man. In the eyes of the world he was successful. But despite his wealth, it appears there was something missing. He heard about Jesus and desired to know Him. This passage is fascinating because it must have been an unusual sight to see a wealthy and successful man climbing a tree in the presence of a large crowd. In fact, it was so unusual that Jesus immediately noticed it.

Jesus also noticed Zacchaeus because of something far more significant than a grown man climbing a tree. Zacchaeus was noticed by Jesus primarily because Jesus was able to perceive the desire and openness of his heart. Zacchaeus, this wealthy and successful man, was missing something and he was zealous to obtain it. He longed for Jesus and this desire is fulfilled by the compassion of our Lord.

Regardless of whether or not you are “successful” from a worldly point of view, it’s essential that you, too, recognize the unfulfilled desire of your heart. That “unfulfilled desire” refers to any way that God is not fully the centre of your life. Some people try to fulfill this desire in many worldly ways. But those who are like Zacchaeus will realize that Jesus is the answer. And when someone recognizes this fact, they will go to any length necessary to see Him and be with Him.

Reflect, today, upon a simple question: How far am I willing to go to see Jesus? Are you willing to do anything you have to so as to see Him, hear Him and be with Him? It may take an act of humility and you may have to act in a radical way. Doing so will call out to the heart of our Lord and He will respond to you with much generosity just as He did to Zacchaeus.

PRAYER:-

Lord, I desire to choose You above all things. May I never be drawn to the things of this world more than I am drawn to You. Increase my desire for You and give me the courage I need to be faithful to You always. I love You, dear Lord. Please increase my love. Jesus, I trust in You.

From Catholic daily reflections.com

Gospel 23.10.2022

The Gospel 23rd October 2022

Alleluia

2 Cor 5:19

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,
and entrusting to us the message of salvation.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 18:9-14

Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
“Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity —
greedy, dishonest, adulterous — or even like this tax collector.
I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’
But the tax collector stood off at a distance
and would not even raise his eyes to heaven
but beat his breast and prayed,
‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’
I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former;
for whoever exalts himself will be humbled,
and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

REFLECTION

This Scripture passage is the introduction to the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector. This parable offers quite a contrast between two general attitudes. First, the Pharisee’s attitude reveals that he is very impressed with himself, thinking highly of his public image, and is unaware of his own sin. Second, the tax collector’s attitude reveals that he is deeply aware of his own sin, is sorry for it and knows he is in need of God’s mercy. The result of these two very different attitudes is that the tax collector went home justified whereas the Pharisee did not.

What does it mean to be justified? It means that the tax collector had a clear conscience and was grounded in the truth. He knew his need for mercy, begged for it and received it. He did not lie to himself, to others or to God. He knew who he was and it is this truth that allowed God to exalt him. The tax collector’s justification came through the forgiveness of his sins and the bestowal of the mercy of God in his life.

The Pharisee may have felt good about himself to a certain extent in that he elevated himself for all to see. He was convinced of his own self-righteousness but, in truth, was not righteous. He was only self-righteous. He was living a lie and most likely believed that lie and even may have convinced others of that lie. But the fact remained, the Pharisee was not righteous and he was not truly justified.

What we must take from this passage is a profound realization of the importance of living in the truth. Those who paint a false image of themselves may fool themselves and may even fool others. But they will never fool God and they will never be able to achieve true peace in their soul. We each must realize the humble truth of our sin and weakness and, in that realization, beg for the only remedy – the mercy of God.

Reflect, today, upon the prayer of this tax collector: “O God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13). Make it your prayer. Admit your sin. Acknowledge your need for the mercy of God and allow that mercy to exalt you within the righteousness of God.

Prayer to St. John Paul II

(Feast day – 22nd October 2022)

Oh, St. John Paul, from the window of heaven, grant us your blessing! Bless the Church that you loved and served and guided, courageously leading her along the paths of the world in order to bring Jesus to everyone and everyone to Jesus. Bless the young, who were your great passion. Help them dream again, help them look up to the heavens again to find the light that illuminates the paths of life here on earth.

May you bless each and every family! You warned of Satan’s assault against this precious and indispensable divine spark that God lit on earth. St. John Paul, with your prayer, may you protect the family and every life that blossoms from the family.

Pray for the whole world, which is still marked by tensions, wars and injustice. You opposed war by invoking dialogue and planting the seeds of love: pray for us so that we may be tireless sowers of peace.

Oh St. John Paul, from heaven’s window, where we see you beside Mary, send God’s blessing down upon us all. Amen.

Gospel and reflection 16.9.2022

The Gospel – 16th October 2022

Alleluia

Heb 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
discerning reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Lk 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, “There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.'”
The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

REFLECTION:-

This passage is from the story of the Persistent Widow. She kept coming to a judge, who cared little about doing the right thing, and persistently begged him for a good judgment. Finally he gave in so as to get her to leave him alone.

Jesus used this story to teach a lesson about the necessity “to pray always without becoming weary” (Luke 18:1). It’s interesting that the image of the judge is one “who neither feared God nor respected any human being” (Luke 18:2). But Jesus uses this image of an unjust judge to reveal the power of persistence and to reveal the depths of God’s mercy.

First, we learn that this woman never gave up. So with us, we must never cease to lose hope in prayer. We must pray always, constantly and persistently. It’s not that prayer changes God; rather, prayer changes us and disposes us to receive the immeasurable graces from God.

Second, we learn that if an uncaring judge will eventually give a good decision, then so much more will the merciful and all-loving God pour forth His good judgments in our lives when we trust Him. There should be no doubt in our lives that God can do all good things for us if we but let Him.

Reflect, today, upon how persistent you are in your prayer. The prayer you must seek to live is primarily a prayer of total trust and abandonment to God. You do not change God’s mind by begging Him. Rather, your prayer must be so persistent that it opens you to the will of God and allows His grace to flow in accord with His perfect will.

PRAYER:-

Lord, I beg of You that Your perfect and holy will be done in my life. I abandon all to You, dear Lord. Do with me as You will. Jesus, I trust in You

Gospel and Reflection 9.10.2022

Sunday, 9th October 2022

Gospel

Lk 17:11-19

As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he travelled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
“Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!”
And when he saw them, he said,
“Go show yourselves to the priests.”
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.
He was a Samaritan.
Jesus said in reply,
“Ten were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?
Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?”
Then he said to him, “Stand up and go;
your faith has saved you.”

REFLECTION

These words were spoken by Jesus after He healed ten lepers and only one of them, a foreigner, returned to Jesus to thank Him. Ten were healed physically of their leprosy but only one received a much deeper healing. Upon returning to Jesus with a grateful heart, Jesus said to this one leper, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you” (Luke 17:19).

Only this one leper, the one who returned with a grateful heart, heard our Lord speak these words: “Your faith has saved you.” This reveals that gratitude to God is not only our duty, it also brings forth manifest blessings in our lives. When we sincerely offer thanks to God for all that He has done, we are manifesting great faith in God as a result. We are pointing to Him and His goodness as the source of our blessings and it takes faith to see this and to profess it.

What is it for which you need to grow in gratitude in your life? What is it that you may take for granted and have failed to properly return to God and thank Him for? The truth is that everything in life is a gift. Everything. Even the struggles you endure can be turned into blessings. In fact, that’s exactly what happened in this story. The awful suffering of leprosy was turned into a grace from God.

Reflect, today, upon all that God has done for you. Pray that you will understand all of the countless ways that God graces your life. As you see them, ponder those blessings, count them and be grateful for them. And from that gratitude, return a joyful thanks to God. In that act, your faith will also save you.

PRAYER:-

Lord, I do thank You for the countless blessings that You have bestowed upon me throughout my life. I thank You for the ways in which You have graced me, led me and healed me. Help me to see clearly all that You have done and continue to do for me. As I see these blessings, help me to daily express my gratitude in faith. Jesus, I trust in You.

From Catholic Daily Reflections.com

Gospel 2.10.2022

Sunday, 2nd October 2022

Gospel

Lk 17:5-10

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.”
The Lord replied,
“If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.

“Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’?
Would he not rather say to him,
‘Prepare something for me to eat.
Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished’?
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded,
say, ‘We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.'”

REFLECTION

This is a hard command to live. Most often when we have done something well, and fulfilled our duty, we seek recognition and praise. We want to be noticed. And while this may be a “normal” reaction, it’s not the most humble reaction. Humility comes in many degrees, and the deepest degree of humility allows a person to repeat this passage above and mean it.

First, we must realise that the will of God is good for us. It imposes an obligation of love on us. When we fulfill God’s will, we should take delight in that fact alone because it is good. That way, the fulfillment of God’s will becomes the source of our joy, not the recognition of others.

On the other hand, it is good when we see goodness in others and acknowledge it. We should do this not to build up their ego but to give praise to God for the good thing done. And when others see and acknowledge God’s will accomplished in our lives, we must accept their praise not as a source of our pride but as an honest acknowledgment that God is good and His will is being fulfilled. We must be grateful that we could do “what we were obliged to do.”

Embracing the will of God as a holy “obligation” also enables us to fulfill it more fully. When doing the will of God is seen as something extraordinary, we may not build a proper habit of fulfilling it. But when it’s seen as our duty of love and as the normal act we should fulfill, it’s easier to embrace His will more completely.9

Reflect, today, on this humble phrase. “We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.” Try to say it, mean it and let it become the foundation of your daily service of God’s will. Doing so will set you on the “fast track” toward holiness.

PRAYER:-

Lord, I am an unprofitable servant. When I fulfill Your holy will, I acknowledge that this is a holy obligation of love and my most fundamental duty. Help me to see Your will as the most normal part of my daily life. Help me to embrace it with wholehearted faith and obedience. Jesus, I trust in You.

Gospel and reflection 25.9.2022

25th September 2022

Gospel

Luke 16:19-31

Jesus said to the Pharisees: ‘There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast magnificently every day. And at his gate there lay a poor man called Lazarus, covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even came and licked his sores. Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried.

‘In his torment in Hades he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his bosom. So he cried out, “Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames.” “My son,” Abraham replied “remember that during your life good things came your way, just as bad things came the way of Lazarus. Now he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and you a great gulf has been fixed, to stop anyone, if he wanted to, crossing from our side to yours, and to stop any crossing from your side to ours.”

‘The rich man replied, “Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father’s house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too.” “They have Moses and the prophets,” said Abraham “let them listen to them.” “Ah no, father Abraham,” said the rich man “but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent.” Then Abraham said to him, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”’

Reflection

If we are fortunate, we have some food to eat each day. Most of us eat simply enough. We have something for breakfast, for lunch and for dinner in the evening, or, if you are of an older generation, we have something for breakfast, for dinner and for tea in the evening. It is only very occasionally that we would have a very elaborate meal, with four or five courses. We might have such a meal at a wedding reception, or at some other equally important celebration. At elaborate meal is something special, a treat. Most of us couldn’t afford to have such a meal every day. Indeed, there are many for whom even three simple meals a day is a luxury. Some are fortunate to have one simple meal a day.

In the parable Jesus told, a rich man used to feast magnificently every day. He had the equivalent of a five course meal on a daily basis. In the time of Jesus, only a very tiny, proportion of the population could afford to eat like that. Most of Jesus’ contemporaries would have considered that level of self-indulgence to be disgusting. We would probably think so ourselves today. This man was so wealthy that what he ate at one meal was more than what most people would have eaten in a month. Most people at the time would have been fortunate to eat one simple meal a day. There were also many who were constantly hungry and had could not find the basic minimum of food to remain reasonably healthy. One such person appears in the parable. He has a name, Lazarus. Perhaps some considerate people left him at the gate of the rich man’s house in the hope that the rich man would give him something from his huge reserves of food. We are told that what Lazarus was looking for from this extremely wealthy man was very modest, some of the scraps that fell from his table. Even those scraps would have helped to ease the pains of hunger. The wealthy man could easily have sent one of his servants out with a bag of scraps to Lazarus. Yet, he didn’t even do that much. Lazarus was simply invisible to him. It was as if Lazarus didn’t exist as far as the rich man was concerned.

The great sin of the rich man was his total, unfeeling, indifference, his complete lack of any sensitivity towards Lazarus. He just didn’t notice Lazarus. Yet in the parable God notices Lazarus. When Lazarus died, he was taken by God to the banquet of eternal life, with a place of honour beside Abraham. In contrast, the rich man was taken to a place where he could not even get a cup of cold water. In this life, the rich man had kept Lazarus at a distance, and, now, in eternity, he was kept at a distance from Lazarus and from the banquet of life at which Lazarus was an honoured guest. God transformed Lazarus’ plight after his death, but Jesus is saying in this parable that God really wanted Lazarus’ plight to be transformed before his death. The very wealthy man had the resources to transform Lazarus’ wretched state, and he did nothing. He failed to do God’s will, to listen to what God was asking him to do, speaking through the Jewish Law and the prophets, prophets like Amos in the first reading. Lazarus could have enjoyed something of the banquet of eternal life during his earthly life, if the wealthy man had done even the very little that Lazarus was asking for.

Jesus is reminding all of us in this parable that we can all make a difference for the better to the lives of others, or even just to the life of one person. None of us are wealthy in the way the rich man in the parable was. Many of us may be struggling financially in these very difficult times, with soaring prices, rising fuel costs and growing inflation. Yet, we can all do something, no matter how small, for someone who is worse off than we are. On one occasion, Jesus declared that whoever gives even a cup of cold water to someone who needs it will not lose their reward. It is not always the size of what we can give that matters so much as the spirit in which it is given. What Lazarus needed above all was some recognition that he existed, that he wasn’t just invisible. He needed sensitivity, consideration, and for that to be expressed in some practical way. Even more important than what we give to others is our capacity to notice them, to show sensitivity to them, to be attentive to them. God was calling out to the rich man through Lazarus, and the Lord continues to call out to us through those who are struggling to survive. To notice them is to notice the Lord himself. Whenever we respond to others with the sensitivity that Jesus so often showed in his ministry, we are bringing something of the kingdom of heaven to earth. The Lord wants something of the banquet of eternal life to be a reality here and now and he needs each one of us to help him to bring this about.

Gospel and reflection 18.9.2022

Sunday, 18th September 2022

Gospel

Lk 16:1-13

Jesus said to his disciples,
“A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
‘What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.’
The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.’
He called in his master’s debtors one by one.
To the first he said,
‘How much do you owe my master?’
He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’
He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’
Then to another the steward said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’
He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’
The steward said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.’
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
“For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than are the children of light.
I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and mammon.”

REFLECTION

Sometimes when we look at our lives, we can get very discouraged. We are very aware of our failings and weaknesses. We are aware of continuing to struggle with personal issues that have dogged us for years. If we focus too much on what is wrong in our lives, we can fail to see what is good there. We are often much more alert to criticism than to praise. Even in our weakest moments, there remains much good in every one of us. We are all a mixture of the good and the not so good. In one of Jesus’ parables he speaks of a field of wheat with weeds through it. In the story, the farmer rejects the labourer’s suggestion to pull up the weeds straight away. The farmer was more patient; he knew that if the weeds were pulled up some of the wheat would be pulled up too. He ordered that both be let grow until harvest time. Being too focused on getting rid of what is not right in our lives can damage what is good there.

The Lord knows that we are all a work in progress. He has begun a good work in us but he has yet to bring it to completion. We are all a mixture of the good and the not so good, but with the Lord’s help the good can ultimately prevail. The main character in the parable in today’s gospel reading seems to have left a lot to be desired. He was the chief steward of a very rich man and over time he had been wasteful with the rich man’s property. The rich man felt that he had no option but to fire him. He couldn’t live with his steward’s dishonesty indefinitely. When the steward discovered he was shortly to be fired he found himself in a crisis. It could be said that he was getting what he deserved. He had been acting dishonestly to benefit himself, cheating on his rich employer. Yet, there was more to this steward than his dishonesty. In this moment of crisis, he recognized that the good will of others was more important than possessions and wealth. He acted in a way to secure the good will of the tenants who worked on the rich man’s land. He reduced the debt they owed to the rich man. Perhaps he was foregoing the cut that he was taking for himself. Now that he was being fired, he would have the good will of the tenants who might take him into their home until he found his feet again. Even the rich man had to praise his steward’s cleverness. There was something positive about this man after all. It took a personal crisis to make him realize that he needed the support and the friendship of others to survive in life. He came to see that life wasn’t just about taking for himself. Life was also about giving, and making connections with others through the giving. When the steward was at his lowest, when everything had been taken from him, he began to see more clearly what really mattered. When he had lost everything, he began to take a turn for the better. It sometimes takes a crisis to bring to life the good that has been lying dormant within us.

The steward behaved generously towards the tenants of the rich man because he came to realize late in the day that he was dependent on them. In this time of crisis he would need some of them to welcome him into their homes. We all need people to be supportive of us, especially in moments of crisis in our lives, when we sense our vulnerability and frailty. We are not completely independent agents; we depend on one another in various ways. We are completely dependent on others at the beginning of life. Without the loving support of some adult, we wouldn’t survive as babies. We are often completely dependent on others at the end of our lives. Without the loving support of family, friends, carers, medical staff, our final weeks and months would be so much more difficult. What is true of the beginning and end of our lives is also true, to a lesser extent, of our lives in between. We depend on others and others depend on us. We have much to give to others, and much to receive from others. In the gospel reading, Jesus calls on us to give of our financial resources to serve the wellbeing of others, ‘use money, tainted as it is, to win you friends’. Many people’s financial resources are very limited at present. Yet, there remains much we can give to other, such as, our time, our energy, our gifts, our presence, our prayers. In the second reading, Saint Paul calls on the members of the church to pray for those in authority. Even those in authority are dependent on those they govern, especially on their prayers. We need to pray for ourselves and for each other because it is the Lord on whom we all depend the most.

PRAYER

Lord of all, help me to keep You as the one and only Master of my life. Give me the grace I need to detach from all that is of this world, so as to live for You and in accord with Your will alone. I love You, dear Lord. Help me to love You above all else. Jesus, I trust in You.

Gospel 11th September 2022

Sunday, 11th September 2022

The Gospel

Lk 15:1-10

Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus,
but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying,
“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
So to them he addressed this parable.
“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them
would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert
and go after the lost one until he finds it?
And when he does find it,
he sets it on his shoulders with great joy
and, upon his arrival home,
he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
I tell you, in just the same way
there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents
than over ninety-nine righteous people
who have no need of repentance.

“Or what woman having ten coins and losing one
would not light a lamp and sweep the house,
searching carefully until she finds it?
And when she does find it,
she calls together her friends and neighbours
and says to them,
‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’
In just the same way, I tell you,
there will be rejoicing among the angels of God
over one sinner who repents.”

REFLECTION

What a foolish and arrogant thing to say! Jesus was merciful, welcoming, forgiving and loving to those who were sinners. And the Pharisees and scribes complained about this as if Jesus were doing something wrong.

On one level, it is understandable that the pride-filled scribes and Pharisees would look for anything they could to condemn Jesus. They were on a sort of “witch hunt,” so to speak, seeking to find any fault they could with our Lord. So, out of the fullness of their malice, they attempted to make it look like Jesus was an awful sinner due to the fact that He spent time with sinners and welcomed them.

From a perspective of the pure truth, however, the jealousy, envy, manipulation and deception of the scribes and Pharisees are clear. The “condemnation” they uttered against Jesus was no true condemnation at all. It was a fabrication and a twisting of the truth. The truth is that Jesus’ kindness to those who were sinners was a living out of His countless virtues. He was understanding, merciful, compassionate, patient, forgiving and the like. He saw troubled hearts and reached out to them in their need, especially when He could tell they were sorry, open and humble.

We may all encounter those who are religiously “self-righteous” at times. This is an ugly sin and one that should not sit well with us. The problem is that those who are self-righteous are oftentimes also intimidating and oppressive. Those who condemn others in the name of God are hard to confront. Jesus’ initial response was to ignore them and to go about His ministry of love and compassion, telling parables and helping those in need. But eventually He took these religious leaders on directly, condemning them for their pride and arrogance.

Reflect, today, upon any tendency you have in your heart to judge another, especially when you try to do so in the name of God. If you struggle with self-righteousness and pride, humble yourself now so that our Lord will not eventually be compelled to issue forth His justice on you!

PRAYER:-

My most righteous Lord, please have mercy upon me and heal me of my sins. Free me from all tendencies toward judgmentalness and help me, in imitation of You, to love and welcome the sinner in my midst so that I, as a sinner, will be welcomed by You. Jesus, I trust in You.

Gospel and reflection 4.9.2022

September 4th, 2022

Gospel

Lk 14:25-33

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”

REFLECTION

We know from our experience that before any significant undertaking, we need to sit down and think through what will be required of us. Before we act, we need to reflect, not just on our own but with others. That is the message of the two small parables that Jesus speaks in today’s gospel reading. Before building a tower on his land, the landowner has first to sit down and work out the cost. Before marching to war, a king has to first sit down and work out whether he has the soldiers necessary for victory.

The enterprise that Jesus was referring to in today’s gospel reading is that of becoming his disciple. He was talking to the great crowds who were accompanying him. Jesus obviously wanted disciples from that great crowd but he also wanted people to know what was involved in becoming his disciple. It would require giving Jesus an allegiance that is even stronger that the allegiance we would naturally give to our families. That is what Jesus means by that language which seems very strange to our ears about hating family members. It is a Semitic way of expressing preference. Jesus was saying, ‘You are to prefer me to even the most significant people in your life’.

He goes on to say that if we are to love him even more than family we are certainly to love him more than our possessions. Attachment to him comes before attachment to family and possessions. So, Jesus is saying to the people around him that, in the light of what is involved, they need to sit down and reflect whether or not they really want to be his disciples. Becoming his disciple is not to be undertaken lightly. The message of the two parables is ‘don’t start if you cannot finish’.

Jesus wants disciples who will be faithful to him to the end, even though that may mean taking the way of the cross with him.

We live in a time when we need to make a deliberate and informed choice to be a follower of the Lord today. We are no longer being carried by a tide that is moving in the broad direction of the gospel that Jesus preached.

Instead, there can be a great deal of pressure to take a path different to the one that Jesus is calling us to take (some of it subtle pressure and some of it not so subtle).

In choosing to belong to the community of the Lord’s disciples, we are more likely to find ourselves at odds with family members and friends than would have been the case in the past. Belonging to the family of the Lord’s disciples today requires more of a conscious decision on our part. It requires a conscious effort to follow the Lord.

In the language of today’s first reading, we seek to ‘know the intentions of God’, to ‘divine the will of the Lord’, to ‘discover what is in the heavens’.

This requires a conscious and deliberate effort on our part. Yet, we are not left to ourselves to trying to discern what it means to be a disciple of the Lord today. Jesus journeys with us as God’s Wisdom and both God the Father and Jesus his Son have sent the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom, into our lives. The Lord who calls us to be his disciple in today’s world also gives us the wherewithal to live as his disciple. The Spirit is given to each one of us personally and the Spirit also comes to us in and through the other members of the church, our brothers and sisters in the Lord. The difficult journey of discipleship is always one we travel together in the power of the Spirit. In the second reading, it is through the Holy Spirit’s presence in Paul that Onesimus became a disciple of the Lord. We need the Spirit present in each other if we are to be the Lord’s faithful disciples today

Prayer:-

Lord, my life is Yours. Please give me the grace to surrender everything that makes up my life to You without reserve. I surrender to You my life, my finances, my possessions, my family, my labours and my entire future. All is Yours, dear Lord. Do with me what You will. Jesus, I trust in You.

Alleluia

Gospel

Alleluia

Gospel

Alleluia

Gospel

Gospel

Gospel

25th September 2022

Reflection

Gospel

The Gospel

Gospel

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