Monday 19 November 2012
Readings at Mass
First reading
Apocalypse 1:1-4,2:1-5
This is the
revelation given by God to Jesus Christ so that he could tell his servants
about the things which are now to take place very soon; he sent his angel to
make it known to his servant John, and John has written down everything he saw
and swears it is the word of God guaranteed by Jesus Christ. Happy the man who
reads this prophecy, and happy those who listen to him, if they treasure all
that it says, because the Time is close.
From John, to the seven churches of Asia: grace and
peace to you from him who is, who was, and who is to come, from the seven
spirits in his presence before his throne.
Write to the angel of the church in Ephesus and say,
“Here is the message of the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and
who lives surrounded by the seven golden lamp-stands: I know all about you: how
hard you work and how much you put up with. I know you cannot stand wicked men,
and how you tested the impostors who called themselves apostles and proved they
were liars. Know, too, that you have patience, and have suffered for my name
without growing tired. Nevertheless, I have this complaint to make; you have
less love now than you used to. Think where you were before you fell; repent,
and do as you used to at first, or else, if you will not repent, I shall come
to you and take your lamp-stand from its place.”
This,
like all the books of the Bible, is written by the author for his own time and
circumstances and we should imagine that he is giving a prophecy about what will
happen in our time. There is an eternal truth in the book but it does not tell
us what will happen now or in the future. The author writes throughout in
figurative language which should not be taken literally. We must understand his
mentality to understand his language. He is writing at the time of the Roman
persecution of Christians and he is also writing in a subversive way. He writes
in a way that his readers would understand but people outside would not.
The part
we read today has been added later to this document. In it we learn again that
in our religion love is the most important value to cultivate. We love God in
Christ and in love for him we keep his Commandment which can be summed up in
love for one another.
____________________
Psalm
Psalm 1:1-4,6
Those who prove
victorious I will feed from the tree of life.
Happy indeed is
the man
who follows not
the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in
the way of sinners
nor sits in the
company of scorners,
but whose
delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders
his law day and night.
Those who prove
victorious I will feed from the tree of life.
He is like a
tree that is planted
beside the
flowing waters,
that yields its
fruit in due season
and whose leaves
shall never fade;
and all that he
does shall prosper.
Those who prove
victorious I will feed from the tree of life.
Not so are the
wicked, not so!
For they like
winnowed chaff
shall be driven
away by the wind.
for the Lord
guards the way of the just
but the way of
the wicked leads to doom.
Those who prove
victorious I will feed from the tree of life.
____________________
Gospel Acclamation
Jn8:12
Alleluia,
alleluia!
I am the light
of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who
follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
Or
Jn8:12
Alleluia,
alleluia!
I am the light
of the world, says the Lord;
anyone who
follows me will have the light of life.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Luke 18:35-43
As Jesus drew
near to Jericho there was a blind man sitting at the side of the road begging.
When he heard the crowd going past he asked what it was all about, and they
told him that Jesus the Nazarene was passing by. So he called out, ‘Jesus, Son
of David, have pity on me.’ The people in front scolded him and told him to
keep quiet, but he shouted all the louder, ‘Son of David, have pity on me.’ Jesus
stopped and ordered them to bring the man to him, and when he came up, asked
him, ‘What do you want me to do for you?’ ‘Sir,’ he replied ‘let me see again.’
Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight. Your faith has saved you.’ And
instantly his sight returned and he followed him praising God, and all the
people who saw it gave praise to God for what had happened.
A Desperate cry from the Heart
The
disciples saw everything Jesus did and heard his preaching. Still they did not
understand. We may have listened to the Gospel for years but it did not strike
us. Jesus may not have really entered our life. Does not this blind man stand
for us all? Like him, we too are blind. Jesus is passing by. He cries out to
him, as Saviour. No one can keep him quiet. Jesus is his chance to see. If he
lets him go, he must live in darkness. Jesus hears his cry. “What do you want
of me?” “May I see again”. When you first believed or in a retreat, you too may
have seen. You were full of joy. Then darkness closed in. Today Jesus is
passing by you. You too can meet him as did the blind man. Are you concerned
enough to cry out passionately, “May I see again?”
First reading
Apocalypse 3:1-6,14-22
I, John, heard the Lord saying to me: ‘Write to the
angel of the church in Sardis and say, “Here is the message of the one who
holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars: I know all about you: how
you are reputed to be alive and yet are dead. Wake up; revive what little you
have left: it is dying fast. So far I have failed to notice anything in the way
you live that my God could possibly call perfect, and yet do you remember how
eager you were. when you first heard the message? Hold on to that. Repent. If
you do not wake up, I shall come to you like a thief, without telling you at
what hour to expect me. There are a few in Sardis, it is true, who have kept
their robes from being dirtied, and they are fit to come with me, dressed in
white. Those who prove victorious will be dressed, like these, in white robes;
I shall not blot their names out of the book of life, but acknowledge their
names in the presence of my Father and his angels. If anyone has ears to hear,
let him listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”
‘Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea and say,
“Here is the message of the Amen, the faithful, the true witness, the ultimate
source of God’s creation: I know all about you: how you are neither cold nor
hot. I wish you were one or the other, but since you are neither, but only
lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth. You say to yourself, ‘I am rich, I
have made a fortune, and have everything I want’, never realising that you are
wretchedly and pitiably poor, and blind and naked too. I warn you, buy from me
the gold that has been tested in the fire to make you really rich, and white
robes to clothe you and cover your shameful nakedness, and eye ointment to put
on your eyes so that you are able to see. I am the one who reproves and
disciplines all those he loves: so repent in real earnest. Look, I am standing
at the door, knocking. If one of you hears me calling and opens the door, I
will come in to share his meal, side by side with him. Those who prove
victorious I will allow to share my throne, just as I was victorious myself and
took my place with my Father on his throne. If anyone has ears to hear, let him
listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”’
____________________
Psalm
Psalm 14:2-5
Those who prove victorious I will allow to share my
throne.
Lord,
who shall dwell on your holy mountain?
He who walks without fault;
he who acts with justice
and speaks the truth from his heart.
Those
who prove victorious I will allow to share my throne.
He
who does no wrong to his brother,
who casts no slur on his neighbour,
who holds the godless in disdain,
but honours those who fear the Lord.
Those
who prove victorious I will allow to share my throne.
He
who keeps his pledge, come what may;
who takes no interest on a loan
and accepts no bribes against the innocent.
Such a man will stand firm for ever.
Those
who prove victorious I will allow to share my throne.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
cf.Ps129:5
Alleluia, alleluia!
My soul is waiting for the Lord,
I count on his word.
Alleluia!
Or
1Jn4:10
Alleluia, alleluia!
God so loved us that he sent his Son
to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Luke 19:1-10
Jesus entered Jericho and was going through the town
when a man whose name was Zacchaeus made his appearance: he was one of the
senior tax collectors and a wealthy man. He was anxious to see what kind of man
Jesus was, but he was too short and could not see him for the crowd. So he ran
ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to catch a glimpse of Jesus who was to pass
that way. When Jesus reached the spot he looked up and spoke to him:
‘Zacchaeus, come down. Hurry, because I must stay at your house today.’ And he
hurried down and welcomed him joyfully. They all complained when they saw what
was happening. ‘He has gone to stay at a sinner’s house’ they said. But
Zacchaeus stood his ground and said to the Lord, ‘Look, sir, I am going to give
half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back
four times the amount.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to
this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has
come to seek out and save what was lost.’
My Life’s Mission is to Save the Lost
We
can rejoice that Jesus has come for the lost. He is still searching for sinners,
not to condemn them but to call them back gently to the way of Salvation. He
deliberately calls Zachaeus because he knows he wants to see him. Jesus will
always respond beyond our expectations. Jesus knows Zachaeus is a sinner but he
also sees what he can become. Zachaeus will be a model for disciples. We too
will find him if we look for Jesus as did Zachaeus. When we meet him, he will
transform as he did Zachaeus. Do you seek Jesus in the midst of the crowd of
your life? Do you believe that he is looking out for you? Do you believe that
to give up everything for him will bring you the happiness that he brought to
Zachaeus? How can you meet Jesus today? Has Jesus saved you?
Wednesday 21 November 2012
Readings at Mass
First reading
Apocalypse 4:1-11
In my vision, I, John, saw a door open in heaven and
heard the same voice speaking to me, the voice like a trumpet, saying, ‘Come up
here: I will show you what is to come in the future.’ With that, the Spirit
possessed me and I saw a throne standing in heaven, and the One who was sitting
on the throne, and the Person sitting there looked like a diamond and a ruby.
There was a rainbow encircling the throne, and this looked like an emerald.
Round the throne in a circle were twenty-four thrones, and on them I saw
twenty-four elders sitting, dressed in white robes with golden crowns on their
heads. Flashes of lightning were coming from the throne, and the sound of peals
of thunder, and in front of the throne there were seven flaming lamps burning,
the seven Spirits of God. Between the throne and myself was a sea that seemed
to be made of glass, like crystal. In the centre, grouped round the throne
itself, were four animals with many eyes, in front and behind. The first animal
was like a lion, the second like a bull, the third animal had a human face, and
the fourth animal was like a flying eagle. Each of the four animals had six
wings and had eyes all the way round as well as inside; and day and night they
never stopped singing:
‘Holy,
Holy, Holy
is the Lord God, the Almighty;
he was, he is and he is to come.’
Every time the animals glorified and honoured and gave
thanks to the One sitting on the throne, who lives for ever and ever, the
twenty-four elders prostrated themselves before him to worship the One who
lives for ever and ever, and threw down their crowns in front of the throne,
saying, ‘You are our Lord and our God, you are worthy of glory and honour and
power, because you made all the universe and it was only by your will that
everything was made and exists.’
____________________
Psalm
Psalm 150:1-6
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
Praise
God in his holy place,
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his powerful deeds,
praise his surpassing greatness.
Holy,
Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
O
praise him with sound of trumpet,
praise him with lute and harp.
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipes.
Holy,
Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
O
praise him with resounding cymbals,
praise him with clashing of cymbals.
Let everything that lives and that breathes
give praise to the Lord.
Holy,
Holy, Holy is the Lord God, the Almighty.
or
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
1Jn2:5
Alleluia, alleluia!
Whenever anyone obeys what Christ has said,
God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
Or
cf.Jn15:16
Alleluia, alleluia!
I chose you from the world
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Luke 19:11-28
While the people were listening, Jesus went on to tell
a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and they imagined that the kingdom of
God was going to show itself then and there. Accordingly he said, ‘A man of noble
birth went to a distant country to be appointed king and afterwards return. He
summoned ten of his servants and gave them ten pounds. “Do business with these”
he told them “until I get back.” But his compatriots detested him and sent a
delegation to follow him with this message, “We do not want this man to be our
king.”
Now on his return, having received his appointment as
king, he sent for those servants to whom he had given the money, to find out
what profit each had made. The first came in and said, “Sir, your one pound has
brought in ten.” “Well done, my good servant!” he replied “Since you have
proved yourself faithful in a very small thing, you shall have the government
of ten cities..” Then came the second and said, “Sir, your one pound has made five.”
To this one also he said, “And you shall be in charge of five cities.” Next
came the other and said, “Sir, here is your pound. I put it away safely in a
piece of linen because I was afraid of you; for you are an exacting man: you
pick up what you have not put down and reap what you have not sown.” “You
wicked servant!” he said “Out of your own mouth I condemn you. So you knew I
was an exacting man, picking up what I have not put down and reaping what I
have not sown? Then why did you not put my money in the bank? On my return I
could have drawn it out with interest.” And he said to those standing by, “Take
the pound from him and give it to the man who has ten pounds.” And they said to
him, “But, sir, he has ten pounds . . .” “I tell you, to everyone who has will
be given more; but from the man who has not, even what he has will be taken
away.
“But as for my enemies who did not want me for their
king, bring them here and execute them in my presence.”’
When he had said this he went on ahead, going up to
Jerusalem.
The
nobleman gave gifts to his servants expecting them to use them. He was unhappy
with the man who did not. It would seem that he was testing their ability in
view of real gifts. He does not take back the money but according to their
ability puts the servants in charge of his cities. Does this not mean that God
expects us to use his gifts? They are not mighty gifts because life itself is
short and fleeting. However, the way we live in this world will determine how
we live in the next. We should work for Christ Jesus now to bring glory to his
name. The king treats harshly those who opposed his rule. Those who reject
consciously the Saviour, whom God has sent for our salvation, will have to pay
the consequences of their deliberate rejection. How are you using his gifts to
bring God glory?
Thursday 22 November 2012
Readings at Mass
First reading
Apocalypse 5:1-10
I, John, saw that in the right hand of the One sitting
on the throne there was a scroll that had writing on back and front and was
sealed with seven seals. Then I saw a powerful angel who called with a loud
voice, ‘Is there anyone worthy to open the scroll and break the seals of it?’
But there was no one, in heaven or on the earth or under the earth, who was
able to open the scroll and read it. I wept bitterly because there was nobody
fit to open the scroll and read it, but one of the elders said to me, ‘There is
no need to cry: the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has
triumphed, and he will open the scroll and the seven seals of it.’
Then I saw, standing between the throne with its four
animals and the circle of the elders, a Lamb that seemed to have been
sacrificed; it had seven horns, and it had seven eyes, which are the seven
Spirits God has sent out all over the world. The Lamb came forward to take the
scroll from the right hand of the One sitting on the throne, and when he took
it, the four animals prostrated themselves before him and with them the
twenty-four elders; each one of them was holding a harp and had a golden bowl full
of incense made of the prayers of the saints. They sang a new hymn:
‘You
are worthy to take the scroll
and break the seals of it,
because you were sacrificed, and with your blood
you bought men for God
of every race, language, people and nation
and made them a line of kings and priests,
to serve our God and to rule the world.’
____________________
Psalm
Psalm 149:1-6,9
You made us a line of kings and priests to serve our
God.
or
Alleluia!
Sing
a new song to the Lord,
his praise in the assembly of the faithful.
Let Israel rejoice in its Maker,
let Zion’s sons exult in their king.
You
made us a line of kings and priests to serve our God.
or
Alleluia!
Let
them praise his name with dancing
and make music with timbrel and harp.
For the Lord takes delight in his people.
He crowns the poor with salvation.
You
made us a line of kings and priests to serve our God.
or
Alleluia!
Let
the faithful rejoice in their glory,
shout for joy and take their rest.
Let the praise of God be on their lips:
this honour is for all his faithful.
You
made us a line of kings and priests to serve our God.
or
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
Ps118:135
Alleluia, alleluia!
Let your face shine on your servant,
and teach me your decrees.
Alleluia!
Or
Ps94:8
Alleluia, alleluia!
Harden not your hearts today,
but listen to the voice of the Lord.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Luke 19:41-44
As Jesus drew near Jerusalem and came in sight of the
city he shed tears over it and said, ‘If you in your turn had only understood
on this day the message of peace! But, alas, it is hidden from your eyes! Yes,
a time is coming when your enemies will raise fortifications all round you,
when they will encircle you and hem you in on every side; they will dash you
and the children inside your walls to the ground; they will leave not one stone
standing on another within you – and all because you did not recognise
your opportunity when God offered it!’
If
only You had Recognized my Visitation
By the time Luke wrote his Gospel, the Romans had
destroyed Jerusalem. They committed grave atrocities in the destruction of the
city and the Temple. Realising that Jerusalem was heading for destruction Jesus
wept over it. It was so dear to his heart. However, the leaders had rejected
him and would have him nailed to a Cross. No one would come to support him.
Jesus, overcome with sorrow, cries out, “If only you had recognised this day”. Likewise,
Jesus looks on us. We too are precious and beloved in his eyes. There lie
before us too two ways, one of immense happiness and one of sorrow. Which one we
will follow depends on whether we recognize Jesus in our lives today. Now is
the time to open our eyes, see Jesus, and hear his call. He is present in his
Church. Will Jesus weep or rejoice over you?
Friday 23 November 2012
Readings at Mass
First reading
Apocalypse 10:8-11
I, John, heard the voice I had heard from heaven
speaking to me again. ‘Go,’ it said ‘and take that open scroll out of the hand
of the angel standing on sea and land.’ I went to the angel and asked him to
give me the small scroll, and he said, ‘Take it and eat it; it will turn your
stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.’ So I took it
out of the angel’s hand, and swallowed it; it was as sweet as honey in my
mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach turned sour. Then I was told, ‘You
are to prophesy again, this time about many different nations and countries and
languages and emperors.’
____________________
Psalm
Psalm 118:14,24,72,103,111,131
Your promise is sweet to my taste, O Lord.
I
rejoiced to do your will
as though
all riches were mine.
Your will
is my delight;
your
statutes are my counsellors.
Your promise is sweet to my taste, O Lord.
The law
from your mouth means more to me
than
silver and gold.
Your
promise is sweeter to my taste
than
honey in the mouth.
Your promise is sweet to my taste, O Lord.
Your will
is my heritage for ever,
the joy
of my heart.
I open my
mouth and I sigh
as I
yearn for your commands.
Your promise is sweet to my taste, O Lord.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
cf.2Tim1:10
Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
Or
Jn10:27
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice,
says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Luke 19:45-48
Jesus went into the Temple and began driving out those
who were selling. ‘According to scripture,’ he said ‘my house will be a house
of prayer. But you have turned it into a robbers’ den.’
He taught in the Temple every day. The chief priests
and the scribes, with the support of the leading citizens, tried to do away
with him, but they did not see how they could carry this out because the people
as a whole hung on his words.
You
are God’s Temple
God’s house is sacred. It must not become a market
place. The chief priests were politicians and religion was a way of power,
wealth, and prestige. The Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem. However, it
was also obsolete. Jesus himself is the new and everlasting Temple. His Body is
the Temple, he is the priest, and his life is the only Sacrifice pleasing to
God. By faith and baptism, we become part of Christ. The community of believers
is his Body and each member is a part of it. We are the Temple of God. “Do you
not know you are God’s Temple”, Paul wrote. Again, “Your body is the Temple of
the Spirit”. Like the Temple in Jerusalem, we need to be purified. Jesus needs
to purify the community and each member of it, “without wrinkle, spot, or
stain” (Eph 5). Are you willing to let Jesus purify you?
Saturday 24 November 2012
Readings at Mass
First reading
Apocalypse 11:4-12
I, John, heard a voice saying: ‘These, my two
witnesses, are the two olive trees and the two lamps that stand before the Lord
of the world. Fire can come from their mouths and consume their enemies if
anyone tries to harm them; and if anybody does try to harm them he will
certainly be killed in this way. They are able to lock up the sky so that it
does not rain as long as they are prophesying; they are able to turn water into
blood and strike the whole world with any plague as often as they like. When
they have completed their witnessing, the beast that comes out of the Abyss is
going to make war on them and overcome them and kill them. Their corpses will
lie in the main street of the Great City known by the symbolic names Sodom and
Egypt, in which their Lord was crucified. Men out of every people, race,
language and nation will stare at their corpses, for three-and-a-half days, not
letting them be buried, and the people of the world will be glad about it and
celebrate the event by giving presents to each other, because these two
prophets have been a plague to the people of the world.’
After the three-and-a-half days, God breathed life
into them and they stood up, and everybody who saw it happen was terrified;
then they heard a loud voice from heaven say to them, ‘Come up here’, and while
their enemies were watching, they went up to heaven in a cloud.
____________________
Psalm
Psalm 143:1-2,9-10
Blessed be the Lord, my rock.
Blessed
be the Lord, my rock,
who
trains my arms for battle,
who
prepares my hands for war.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock.
He is my
love, my fortress;
he is my
stronghold, my saviour
my
shield, my place of refuge.
He brings
peoples under my rule.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock.
To you, O
God, will I sing a new song;
I will
play on the ten-stringed lute
to you
who give kings their victory,
who set
David your servant free.
Blessed be the Lord, my rock.
____________________
Gospel
Acclamation
cf.Lk8:15
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Blessed
are those who,
with a
noble and generous heart,
take the
word of God to themselves
and yield
a harvest through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
Or
cf.2Tim1:10
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Our
Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he
has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
____________________
Gospel
Luke 20:27-40
Some Sadducees – those who say that there is no
resurrection – approached him and they put this question to him, ‘Master,
we have it from Moses in writing, that if a man’s married brother dies
childless, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother.
Well then, there were seven brothers. The first, having married a wife, died
childless. The second and then the third married the widow. And the same with
all seven, they died leaving no children. Finally the woman herself died Now,
at the resurrection, to which of them will she be wife since she had been
married to all seven?’
Jesus replied, ‘The children of this world take wives
and husbands, but those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world and
in the resurrection from the dead do not marry because they can no longer die,
for they are the same as the angels, and being children of the resurrection
they are sons of God. And Moses himself implies that the dead rise again, in
the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the
living; for to him all men are in fact alive.’
Some scribes then spoke up. ‘Well put, Master’ they
said – because they would not dare to ask him any more questions.
What
Eye has not Seen, nor Ear Heard
The Sadducees asked the question to make
belief in the Resurrection look foolish. It is worthless to speculate on life
with God. We have no experience of it. Jesus could not explain it, because
there are no words to describe it. Eternal life is not a continuation of this
life. It is a life transformed. “We will be like him, because we will see him
as he is”, (1John3:2), yet be fully human. We are to trust in God’s goodness
and love and prepare ourselves for his glory by repentance and a life of
service to others. Life is a journey. It is foolish to look only for the things
of this world. We will have to leave them all one day. The wise person will
prepare now for eternal life. We do this by listening to and following Jesus.
Is the teaching of Jesus the guide for your life?
No comments:
Post a Comment