Monday 22 October 2012
Readings at Mass
First reading
Ephesians 2:1-10
You were dead
through the crimes and the sins in which you used to live when you were
following the way of this world, obeying the ruler who governs the air, the
spirit who is at work in the rebellious. We all were among them too in the
past, living sensual lives, ruled entirely by our own physical desires and our
own ideas; so that by nature we were as much under God’s anger as the rest of
the world. But God loved us with so much love that he was generous with his
mercy: when we were dead through our sins, he brought us to life with
Christ – it is through grace that you have been saved – and raised us
up with him and gave us a place with him in heaven, in Christ Jesus.
This was to show for all ages to come, through his
goodness towards us in Christ Jesus, how infinitely rich he is in grace.
Because it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith; not by anything
of your own, but by a gift from God; not by anything that you have done, so
that nobody can claim the credit. We are God’s work of art, created in Christ
Jesus to live the good life as from the beginning he had meant us to live it.
____________________
Psalm
Psalm 99:1-5
He made us, we
belong to him.
Cry out with joy
to the Lord, all the earth.
Serve the Lord
with gladness.
Come before him,
singing for joy.
He made us, we
belong to him.
Know that he,
the Lord, is God.
He made us, we
belong to him,
we are his
people, the sheep of his flock.
He made us, we
belong to him.
Go within his
gates, giving thanks.
Enter his courts
with songs of praise.
Give thanks to
him and bless his name.
He made us, we
belong to him.
Indeed, how good
is the Lord,
eternal his
merciful love.
He is faithful
from age to age.
He made us, we
belong to him.
__________
Gospel
Luke 12:13-21
A man in the
crowd said to Jesus, ‘Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our
inheritance.’ ‘My friend,’ he replied, ‘who appointed me your judge, or the
arbitrator of your claims?’ Then he said to them, ‘Watch, and be on your guard
against avarice of any kind, for a man’s life is not made secure by what he
owns, even when he has more than he needs.’
Then he told them a parable: ‘There was once a rich
man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself, “What am
I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops.” Then he said, “This is what
I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my
grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty
of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink,
have a good time.” But God said to him, “Fool! This very night the demand will
be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?.” So it
is when a man stores up treasure for himself in place of making himself rich in
the sight of God.’
Earning
Riches that are forever
‘Where
your treasure is, there is your heart’, Jesus said. Look into your treasure box
to see what you love. Although we are in this world, we are only passing
through. Like it or not, we have no lasting city here. Daily we grow up until
we grow old. In the end however much we have achieved or failed to achieve, we
have to leave everything. Jesus wants us to earn riches in the life that lasts
forever. It is certainly wise to have enough material goods to live a
reasonably comfortable life here. Beyond this, we should have the generosity to
reach out to those who are in need and assist them. We will then earn treasure in
heaven, which will last forever and we cannot lose. We earn heavenly riches by
sharing our earthly riches with those who suffer want. Are you generous in your
sharing?
Tuesday 23 October 2012
Readings at Mass
__
First reading
Ephesians 2:12-22
Do not forget
that you had no Christ and were excluded from membership of Israel, aliens with
no part in the covenants with their Promise; you were immersed in this world,
without hope and without God. But now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so
far apart from us have been brought very close, by the blood of Christ. For he
is the peace between us, and has made the two into one and broken down the
barrier which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in his own person
the hostility caused by the rules and decrees of the Law. This was to create
one single New Man in himself out of the two of them and by restoring peace
through the cross, to unite them both in a single Body and reconcile them with
God: in his own person he killed the hostility. Later he came to bring the good
news of peace, peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were
near at hand. Through him, both of us have in the one Spirit our way to
come to the Father.
So you are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you
are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household. You are part of
a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ
Jesus himself for its main cornerstone. As every structure is aligned on him,
all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built
into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.
____________________
Psalm
Psalm 84:9-14
The Lord speaks
peace to his people.
I will hear what
the Lord God has to say,
a voice that
speaks of peace.
His help is near
for those who fear him
and his glory
will dwell in our land.
The Lord speaks
peace to his people.
Mercy and
faithfulness have met;
justice and
peace have embraced.
Faithfulness
shall spring from the earth
and justice look
down from heaven.
The Lord speaks
peace to his people.
The Lord will
make us prosper
and our earth
shall yield its fruit.
Justice shall
march before him
and peace shall
follow his steps.
The Lord speaks
peace to his people.
Gospel
Luke 12:36-38
Jesus said to
his disciples:
‘See that you are dressed for action and have your
lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding
feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those
servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he
will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them. It may be in the
second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants if he finds
them ready.’
First
Things First
We know we are going to die, but think it
will not be now. If we love Jesus, we will not be waiting in fear. According to
our faith, we will wait with expectation. “As the deer years for flowing
streams, so do I yearn for you, my God. I thirst for God, the living God. When
shall I go and see the face of God?” (Ps 42). We will only be ready for the
coming of Jesus in light, if we have met him daily in faith. Now is the time to
put first things first. Jesus must have first place. Whenever he comes, it will
be a joyous occasion and he will welcome us in way we could never imagine.
Jesus tells us not be distracted by the tinsel of this world, but to put our
lives in order. Is Jesus the Shepherd of your life in faith?
Wednesday 24 October 2012
Readings at Mass
First reading
Ephesians 3:2-12
You have
probably heard how I have been entrusted by God with the grace he meant for
you, and that it was by a revelation that I was given the knowledge of the
mystery, as I have just described it very shortly. If you read my word you will
have some idea of the depths that I see in the mystery of Christ. This that has
now been revealed through the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets was
unknown to any men in past generations; it means that pagans now share the same
inheritance, that they are parts of the same body, and that the same promise
has been made to them, in Jesus Christ, through the gospel. I have been made
the servant of that gospel by a gift of grace from God who gave it to me by his
own power. I, who am less than the least of all the saints have been entrusted
with this special grace, not only of proclaiming to the pagans the infinite
treasure of Christ but also of explaining how the mystery is to be dispensed.
Through all the ages, this has been kept hidden in God, the creator of
everything. Why? So that the Sovereignties and Powers should learn only now,
through the Church, how comprehensive God’s wisdom really is, exactly according
to the plan which he had had from all eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord. This
is why we are bold enough to approach God in complete confidence, through our
faith in him.
What is
the infinite treasure of Christ? Surely it is that God, the Father, in his love
for us sent his Son as a human being to be with us: to be our Teacher, our
Saviour, our Friend who calls each of us to an intimate union of love even now.
Through his love, which is the Holy Spirit, we are born of God as his children,
sons in the Son. We are called to grow in love to the full stature of Jesus and
to one day ‘become God’ in vision.____________________
Canticle
Isaiah 12
The rejoicing of a redeemed people
With joy you
will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Truly, God is my
salvation,
I trust, I shall
not fear.
For the Lord is
my strength, my song,
he became my
saviour.
With joy you
will draw water
from the wells
of salvation.
With joy you
will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Give thanks to
the Lord, give praise to his name!
Make his mighty
deeds known to the peoples!
Declare the
greatness of his name.
With joy you
will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Sing a psalm to
the Lord
for he has done
glorious deeds;
make them known
to all the earth!
People of Zion,
sing and shout for joy,
for great in
your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
With joy you
will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Gospel
Luke 12:39-48
Jesus said to
his disciples:
‘You may be quite sure of this, that if the
householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have
let anyone break through the wall of his house. You too must stand ready,
because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’
Peter said, ‘Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or
for everyone?’ The Lord replied, ‘What sort of steward, then, is faithful and
wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their
allowance of food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s
arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place him over
everything he owns. But as for the servant who says to himself, “My master is
taking his time coming,” and sets about beating the menservants and the maids,
and eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he
does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off
and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.
The servant who knows what his master wants, but has
not even started to carry out those wishes, will receive very many strokes of
the lash. The one who did not know, but deserves to be beaten for what he has
done, will receive fewer strokes. When a man has had a great deal given him, a
great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has had a great deal given him
on trust, even more will be expected of him.’
The
Wise Steward of God’s People
Jesus warns the leaders of the Community,
bishops and priests particularly but all to some extent. In our busy life, it
is easy to forget the presence of Jesus. It is easy to embrace the world – with
love for money and comfort, and for human consolation. However, Jesus has
called the leaders of his Church to be shepherds of his flock, just as he is
their Shepherd. They are to forget themselves and give their lives for his
sheep. Since they do the work of Jesus, they need to live in close communion
with him. They should give his people food at the proper time: the food of the
Word of God, and of the Sacrament of Christ’s Body. If they neglect the
spiritual welfare of their flock, they will have to pay dearly for their
negligence. Are you a good shepherd and do you pray daily for the shepherds?
Thursday 25 October 2012
Readings at Mass
First reading
Ephesians 3:14-21
This is what I
pray, kneeling before the Father, from whom every family, whether spiritual or
natural, takes its name:
Out of his infinite glory, may he give you the power
through his Spirit for your hidden self to grow strong, so that Christ may live
in your hearts through faith, and then, planted in love and built on love, you
will with all the saints have strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the
height and the depth; until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all
knowledge, you are filled with the utter fullness of God.
Glory be to him whose power, working in us, can do
infinitely more than we can ask or imagine; glory be to him from generation to
generation in the Church and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen.
God is ‘family’
– Father and Son One God in the Holy Spirit who is their Love. This divine
family is the model for all families on earth.
In ourselves
we are weak and liable to sin, but Jesus can make us strong in our inner selves
through the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit who is the Love of God Jesus lives
in our hearts. Love is the only value. The more love we have the more we become
like God who is Love. The fullness of Love is the fullness of God.
If we
surrender to Love, then God is able to do more in and for us that we can even
imagine.____________________
Psalm
Psalm 32:1-2,4-5,11-12,18-19
The Lord fills
the earth with his love.
Ring out your
joy to the Lord, O you just;
for praise is
fitting for loyal hearts.
Give thanks to
the Lord upon the harp,
with a
ten-stringed lute sing him songs.
The Lord fills
the earth with his love.
For the word of
the Lord is faithful
and all his
works to be trusted.
The Lord loves
justice and right
and fills the
earth with his love.
The Lord fills
the earth with his love.
His own designs
shall stand for ever,
the plans of his
heart from age to age.
They are happy,
whose God is the Lord,
the people he
has chosen as his own.
The Lord fills
the earth with his love.
The Lord looks
on those who revere him,
on those who
hope in his love,
to rescue their
souls from death,
to keep them
alive in famine.
The Lord fills
the earth with his love.
_________________
Gospel
Luke 12:49-53
Jesus said to
his disciples: ‘I have come to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were
blazing already! There is a baptism I must still receive, and how great is my
distress till it is over!
‘Do you suppose that I am here to bring peace on
earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on a household of five
will be divided: three against two and two against three; the father divided against
the son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother,
mother-in-law against daughter-in-law, daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’
Burning
Commitment to Jesus
On Pentecost Day, the Holy Spirit came on
the disciples in the form of tongues of fire. The Love of God, the Holy Spirit,
filled the disciples. Previously they had been timid men and women, afraid of
the Jews. Now filled with the Spirit of God they could proclaim Jesus as Lord
and Saviour. They could even rejoice that God found them worthy to suffer
physical punishment for Jesus’ sake. The Holy Spirit enkindled the fire Jesus
longed for. The disciples and the early Christians were so committed to Jesus
that they chose him before everyone and everything else. They even left the Temple and Judaism,
rather than be separated from Jesus. Jesus wants to kindle the same fire in
Christians today. We are to be so committed to Jesus as Lord that we will
forfeit everything for his sake. Do you leave all things for the sake of Jesus?
Friday 26 October 2012
Readings at Mass
First reading
Ephesians 4:1-6
I, the prisoner
in the Lord, implore you to lead a life worthy of your vocation. Bear with one
another charitably, in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience. Do all
you can to preserve the unity of the Spirit by the peace that binds you
together. There is one Body, one Spirit, just as you were all called into one
and the same hope when you were called. There is one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, and one God who is Father of all, over all, through all and within
all.
____________________
Psalm
Psalm 23:1-6
Such are the men
who seek your face, O Lord.
The Lord’s is
the earth and its fullness,
the world and
all its peoples.
It is he who set
it on the seas;
on the waters he
made it firm.
Such are the men
who seek your face, O Lord.
Who shall climb
the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand
in his holy place?
The man with
clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not
worthless things.
Such are the men
who seek your face, O Lord.
He shall receive
blessings from the Lord
and reward from
the God who saves him.
Such are the men
who seek him,
seek the face of
the God of Jacob.
Such are the men
who seek your face, O Lord.
Gospel
Luke 12:54-59
Jesus said to
the crowds, ‘When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that
rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it
will be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the
earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times?
‘Why not judge for yourselves what is right? For
example: when you go to court with your opponent, try to settle with him on the
way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the
bailiff and the bailiff have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not
get out till you have paid the very last penny.’
The
Advocate to Win your Case
We can interpret the sky. We know when it
will rain and when it will not. Why can we not interpret the signs in our own
lives? Jesus is not visibly present, but even when he was, and preached with
such authority, people chose to ignore his words. They lived without him. Yet
Jesus alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He alone is the way to the
glory of God. Ignore him and we ignore eternal life. Our life is short and
tenuous. Have you prepared yourself for the future? Can you face God? How can
you stand before God? No one is pure in his sight. However, we have an advocate
who pleads our cause. He is Jesus, our High Priest. He can wash away every sin
with his Blood. Are you the friend of the One who can save you at the time of
Judgment?
Saturday 27 October 2012
Readings at Mass
First reading
Ephesians 4:7-16
Each one of us
has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it. It was said
that he would:
When he ascended
to the height, he captured prisoners,
he gave gifts to
men.
When it says, ‘he
ascended’, what can it mean if not that he descended right down to the lower
regions of the earth? The one who rose higher than all the heavens to fill all
things is none other than the one who descended. And to some, his gift was that
they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some,
pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of
service, building up the body of Christ. In this way we are all to come to
unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the
perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.
Then we shall not be children any longer, or tossed
one way and another and carried along by every wind of doctrine, at the mercy
of all the tricks men play and their cleverness in practising deceit. If we
live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ, who is
the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint
adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to its
function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love.
____________________
Psalm
Psalm 121:1-5
I rejoiced when
I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
I rejoiced when
I heard them say:
‘Let us go to
God’s house.’
And now our feet
are standing
within your
gates, O Jerusalem.
I rejoiced when
I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
Jerusalem is
built as a city
strongly
compact.
It is there that
the tribes go up,
the tribes of
the Lord.
I rejoiced when
I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
For Israel’s law
it is,
there to praise
the Lord’s name.
There were set
the thrones of judgement
of the house of
David.
I rejoiced when
I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
Gospel
Luke 13:1-9
Some people
arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with
that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans
who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were
not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or
those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose
that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They
were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they
did.’
He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in
his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to
the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have
been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down:
why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one
more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit
next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’
Eveready
to Meet our Judge
We are to read the signs of the times.
Accidents and murders are not signs of God’s punishment. We are living in a
world that evil has thoroughly infected. This is the work of Satan and his
human allies. However, misfortunes reveal the fragility of life and the need to
be always prepared to face our Maker. We have life on trust and must give an
account of how we have lived. We cannot simply live in sin and do what we like.
God is merciful and gives us time to repent. This present moment is in our
hands. Now then is the time to listen to God. Let us not leave it until it is
too late. Now we must learn to love. Love fulfils all commandments and the
Father looks for this fruit. Is your life the expression of your love for God
and your neighbour?
