Galatians 2:20
September 6, 2010
Monday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Brothers
and sisters:
It is widely reported that there is immorality among you,
and immorality of a kind not found even among pagans–
a man living with his father's wife.
And you are inflated with pride.
Should you not rather have been sorrowful?
The one who did this deed should be expelled from your midst.
I, for my part, although absent in body but present in spirit,
have already, as if present,
pronounced judgment on the one who has committed this deed,
in the name of our Lord Jesus:
when you have gathered together and I am with you in spirit
with the power of the Lord Jesus,
you are to deliver this man to Satan
for the destruction of his flesh,
so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
Your
boasting is not appropriate.
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our Paschal Lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.
Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
R. (9) Lead me in
your justice, Lord.
A person in the community had married his step-mother. This was forbidden by
Roman law as well as the Law of Moses. It was also unacceptable to the Greeks.
Paul says that he must be punished but it is a medicinal punishment so that he
can repent and be saved. The leaven unlike in the Gospels is considered an
influence for evil. Sunday was and is the feast of the Lord’s Resurrection. We
should celebrate it free from old habits of sin.
Gospel
On a certain
sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and taught,
and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.
The scribes and the Pharisees watched him closely
to see if he would cure on the sabbath
so that they might discover a reason to accuse him.
But he realized their intentions
and said to the man with the withered hand,
"Come up and stand before us."
And he rose and stood there.
Then Jesus said to them,
"I ask you, is it lawful to do good on the sabbath
rather than to do evil,
to save life rather than to destroy it?"
Looking around at them all, he then said to him,
"Stretch out your hand."
He did so and his hand was restored.
But they became enraged
and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.The scribes and Pharisees saw God as out to catch and punish. They wanted to
be sure they did not break his laws.
They invented many others to safeguard his Law. They concentrated on what was forbidden. Jesus saw God as his
loving Father. His Sabbath was positive, not negative, a day to do good. He
tries to get them to see this. Is it right to do good on the Sabbath as I
intend to do to this man or to do evil
as you intend to do to me. Not to do good is to do evil. Jesus wants to give
life. They want to cause death. How do you look on God and his Laws? To
restrain or to liberate? How do you see the Church’s law, the letter or the
spirit, with love or fear? Do you see love as the heart of all God’s Law
September 7, 2010
Tuesday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Brothers
and sisters:
How can any one of you with a case against another
dare to bring it to the unjust for judgment
instead of to the holy ones?
Do you not know that the holy ones will judge the world?
If the world is to be judged by you,
are you unqualified for the lowest law courts?
Do you not know that we will judge angels?
Then why not everyday matters?
If, therefore, you have courts for everyday matters,
do you seat as judges people of no standing in the Church?
I say this to shame you.
Can it be that there is not one among you wise enough
to be able to settle a case between brothers?
But rather brother goes to court against brother,
and that before unbelievers?
Now indeed
then it is, in any case,
a failure on your part that you have lawsuits against one another.
Why not rather put up with injustice?
Why not rather let yourselves be cheated?
Instead, you inflict injustice and cheat, and this to brothers.
Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the Kingdom of God Kingdom
of God
Responsorial Psalm
R. (see 4) The
Lord takes delight in his people.
By
Baptism we are consecrated to God. We belong to him as his children. Our sins
are forgiven but through the Holy Spirit we should be such that we do not sin
again. It is through the Holy Spirit within us that we are able to abandon all
kinds of sins. It is a contradiction for Baptised person to continue in sin. There will be
disagreements in the community but they should be settled in the community
itself and not by going to court to be settled by unbelievers.Gospel
Jesus
departed to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,
Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James,
and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.In his humanity Jesus needed to pray and he loved to pray. He needed the
guidance of the Holy Spirit in his choice of the men on whom he would build his
community. The sons of Jacob were the fathers of the Twelve Tribes of Israel so
now the Twelve would be the pillars of the New Israel not based on blood but on
faith. He chose ordinary men but would equip them through the Spirit to be the
witnesses to his Life, Death and Resurrection. Jesus can do anything with a
person who offers himself generously. He loved too to pray because it was time
spent with his Father in a deep loving relationship. If prayer was so necessary
for him, then what to say of his disciples?
Do you find guidance for your life in prayer? Do you have the experience
of union with God?
September 8, 2010
Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The LORD
says:
You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah,
too small to be among the clans of Judah,
From you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel;
Whose origin is from of old,
from ancient times.
(Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time
when she who is to give birth has borne,
And the rest of his brethren shall return
to the children of Israel
Whether we are great or small in the eyes of the world has no significance
with God. Before him the whole universe is no more than a speck on the scales.
It is God’s choice that makes us great. Such was Bethlehem
or
Brothers
and sisters:
We know that all things work for good for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.
For those he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son,
so that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers.
And those he predestined he also called;
and those he called he also justified;
and those he justified he also glorified.
Paul is saying that God is in charge of creation. His plan is to glorify
with the glory of Jesus all those who believe in him. They are to become the
images of Jesus. God is working out his plan and he cooperates in everything
that happens so that good comes to his own. We are not blindly predestined but
our free cooperation is required in God’s plan. Eve did not give it. Mary did.
Gospel
The Book of
the genealogy of Jesus Christ,
the son of David, the son of Abraham.Jesus is the Holy One conceived by the Holy Spirit
in the womb of the Immaculate Virgin, Mary and cared for by ‘the just man’
Joseph. Jesus is God with us but he is a God who is totally human and his
ancestry is a proclamation that he is one of us. His ancestors include all
kinds of sinners. They comprise adulterers, prostitutes, murderers, foreigners,
idolaters and many unknown insignificant people. Jesus has come out of the
human race just like you and me. He can truly call us his brothers and sisters.
God knows us through his experience of every aspect of human life and so when
he says, “I stand at the door and knock” if we hear his voice and open the door
a true Friend will come in. Mary is the one who brings us to Jesus. Has she
brought you? Do you imitate her faith?
Thursday of the Twenty-third
Week in Ordinary Time
Brothers
and sisters:
Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.
If anyone supposes he knows something,
he does not yet know as he ought to know.
But if one loves God, one is known by him.
So about
the eating of meat sacrificed to idols:
we know that there is no idol in the world,
and that there is no God but one.
Indeed, even though there are so-called gods in heaven and on earth
(there are, to be sure, many "gods" and many "lords"),
yet for us there is
one God,
the Father,
from whom all things are and for whom we exist,
and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom all things are and through whom we exist.
But not all
have this knowledge.
There are some who have been so used to idolatry up until now
that, when they eat meat sacrificed to idols,
their conscience, which is weak, is defiled.
Thus,
through your knowledge, the weak person is brought to destruction,
the brother for whom Christ died.
When you sin in this way against your brothers
and wound their consciences, weak as they are,
you are sinning against Christ.
Therefore, if food causes my brother to sin,
I will never eat meat again,
so that I may not cause my brother to sin.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting
way.
False gods are just men’s imagination and so have no value in themselves.
Therefore, Paul says, to eat meat offered to gods that do not exist means
nothing. However to share in this kind of sacrifice is false worship. If we
know this and simply eat without worship there is nothing wrong. However some
Christians do not understand this distinction and my eating would lead them
into feeling that I had worshipped a false god and would lead them into sin. In
this case love for my brother is more important that ‘knowedge’. Love is the
supreme guide.
Gospel
Jesus said
to his disciples:
"To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.Here lies the heart of Christian
behaviour. The key is that God loves each person passionately. Each one is
precious to Him and he loves them to the extent of the Cross, wherein we see
the invisible God loving and appealing to us as he hangs in human form. If we
follow him who dies on the Cross we will love others in the same way. Whatever
people do to us, we will respond with goodwill and kindness. We are to love
without condition and limit. Can we love those who harm us with acts of good
will? It is impossible to human nature as history and the world today attests.
But it is possible to those who have received the Spirit of Jesus. With the
Holy Spirit we can do all things. Just how many Christians are there? Are you
one of them?
September 10, 2010
Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Write next for easy find
Brothers
and sisters:
If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,
for an obligation has been imposed on me,
and woe to me if I do not preach it!
If I do so willingly, I have a recompense,
but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.
What then is my recompense?
That, when I preach, I offer the Gospel free of charge
so as not to make full use of my right in the Gospel.
Although I
am free in regard to all,
I have made myself a slave to all
so as to win over as many as possible.
I have become all things to all, to save at least some.
All this I do for the sake of the Gospel,
so that I too may have a share in it.
Do you not
know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race,
but only one wins the prize?
Run so as to win.
Every athlete exercises discipline in every way.
They do it to win a perishable crown,
but we an imperishable one.
Thus I do not run aimlessly;
I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.
No, I drive my body and train it,
for fear that, after having preached to others,
I myself should be disqualified.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (2) How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord, mighty God!Gospel
Jesus told
his disciples a parable:
"Can a blind person guide a blind person?
Will not both fall into a pit?
No disciple is superior to the teacher;
but when fully trained,
every disciple will be like his teacher.
Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye,
but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?
How can you say to your brother,
'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,'
when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?
You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;
then you will see clearly
to remove the splinter in your brother's eye."The blind are those who do not realize their own sinfulness and how God in
his love is merciful to them. Who is greater than Jesus the light of the world?
Can the moon outshine the sun? Jesus is the standard against which we must
judge ourselves. He did not judge even his murderers but prayed for their
forgiveness. Jesus was perfect but we are all sinners. We are not aware of our
sinfulness and our need for God’s mercy. If we were we would be more understanding
of our neighbour. If
only we could see ourselves as the people who live with us see us. May be we
could not face it. Yet if we realize how God loves us and how precious we are
to him, we would be able to face our weaknesses. Are strong enough in your inner
self to recognize the beam in your eye?
September 11, 2010
Saturday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
My beloved
ones, avoid idolatry.
I am speaking as to sensible people;
judge for yourselves what I am saying.
The cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a participation in the Blood of Christ?
The bread that we break,
is it not a participation in the Body of Christ?
Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though many, are one Body,
for we all partake of the one loaf.
Look at Israel
Responsorial Psalm
R. (17) To you, Lord, I will offer a
sacrifice of praise.
In the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the Breaking of the Bread,
all the participants share in the one Bread which is the Body of Christ. Christ
takes each one into himself and so all are united in him. When we have such an
intimate union in love and friendship with the true Lord, it is an abomination
to share in the sacrificial meal offered to idols by which one become one with
them. For the believer it is a grave act of infidelity to Christ and so a union
with Satan.Gospel
Jesus said
to his disciples:
"A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,
but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;
for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.It is not enough to listen to the Readings the rock which is Christ?
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