Monday 15 October 2012
Readings at Mass
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First reading
Galatians 4:22-24,26-27,31-5:1
The Law says, if
you remember, that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave-girl, and one by his
free-born wife. The child of the slave-girl was born in the ordinary way; the
child of the free woman was born as the result of a promise. This can be
regarded as an allegory: the women stand for the two covenants. The first who
comes from Mount Sinai, and whose children are slaves, is Hagar – The
Jerusalem above, however, is free and is our mother, since scripture says: Shout
for joy, you barren women who bore no children! Break into shouts of joy and
gladness, you who were never in labour. For there are more sons of the forsaken
one than sons of the wedded wife. So, my brothers, we are the children, not
of the slave-girl, but of the free-born wife.
When Christ freed us, he meant us to remain free.
Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.
We are
called to love God with all our hearts and souls. This is the only law there is
and we are free to fulfil this. God’s love for us makes us free because love
does not control. If we love God then we will love every person too because
this is most pleasing to God. Laws as we know them are guidelines for living.
God’s laws express his love and ours in all circumstances. Human laws always
have to be judged to see whether they express my love for God and my
neighnbour.
Psalm
Psalm 112:1-7
May the name of
the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Praise, O
servants of the Lord,
praise the name
of the Lord!
May the name of
the Lord be blessed
both now and for
evermore!
May the name of
the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
From the rising
of the sun to its setting
praised be the
name of the Lord!
High above all
nations is the Lord,
above the
heavens his glory.
May the name of
the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Who is like the
Lord, our God,
who has risen on
high to his throne
yet stoops from
the heights to look down,
to look down
upon heaven and earth?
From the dust he
lifts up the lowly,
from the
dungheap he raises the poor
May the name of
the Lord be blessed for evermore!
or
Alleluia!
Gospel
Luke 11:29-32
The crowds got
even bigger and Jesus addressed them, ‘This is a wicked generation; it is
asking for a sign The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah. For just
as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this
generation. On Judgement day the Queen of the South will rise up with the men of
this generation and condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and there is something greater than Solomon
here. On Judgement day the men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation
and condemn it, because when Jonah preached they repented; and there is
something greater than Jonah here.’
Jesus
Speaks in Our Churches
The crowds are
increasing, however what are they looking for? Is it the sensational, to see
the lame walk, the blind see, and the dumb speak? Who is willing to deny
themselves, take up their cross and follow Jesus through Death to Resurrection?
What are you looking for when you come to church? Do you want to meet Jesus in
faith, to listen to his Word and repent of your sins? Jonah was an imperfect
prophet, yet the people of Nineveh
repented at his word. The queen of the south was amazed at Solomon’s wisdom. In
the Church, we can meet and listen to Jesus. He is God become man and lives
among us still. The Risen Jesus is as present to us in the Church as he was to
the crowds in Galilee. How do you respond to
Jesus? Do you look for him? Have you repented?
Tuesday 16 October 2012
First reading
Galatians 5:1-6
When Christ
freed us, he meant us to remain free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit
again to the yoke of slavery. It is I, Paul, who tell you this: if you allow
yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all. With
all solemnity I repeat my warning: Everyone who accepts circumcision is obliged
to keep the whole Law. But if you do look to the Law to make you justified,
then you have separated yourselves from Christ, and have fallen from grace.
Christians are told by the Spirit to look to faith for those rewards that
righteousness hopes for, since in Christ Jesus whether you are circumcised or
not makes no difference – what matters is faith that makes its power felt
through love.
St. Paul insists that we are not to make religion a matter of rules and regulations. Religion is a matter of love. God calls us to do one thing and that is to love. We love God because everything we are and have is his gift. we love God predominantly by loving his children whom we see and meet each day.
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Psalm
Psalm 118:41,43-45,47-48
Lord, let your
love come upon me.
Lord, let your
love come upon me,
the saving help
of your promise.
Do not take the
word of truth from my mouth
for I trust in
your decrees.
Lord, let your
love come upon me.
I shall always
keep your law
for ever and
ever.
I shall walk in
the path of freedom
for I seek your
precepts.
Lord, let your
love come upon me.
Your commands
have been my delight;
these I have
loved.
I will worship
your commands and love them
and ponder your
statutes.
Lord, let your
love come upon me.
Gospel
Luke 11:37-41
Jesus had just
finished speaking when a Pharisee invited him to dine at his house. He went in
and sat down at the table. The Pharisee saw this and was surprised that he had
not first washed before the meal. But the Lord said to him, ‘Oh, you Pharisees!
You clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled
with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the
inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have and then indeed everything
will be clean for you.’
Go
to Church with your Heart
Jesus is present at every celebration of
the Banquet of his Body and Blood. How do you attend? Do you wash only the
outside of the vessels – bodily cleansing and smart clothes? Do you routinely
make the responses? Do you receive the Bread of Life and then immediately
forget what you have done? If we act like this will Jesus not condemn us as he
condemned the Pharisees. We must cleanse our hearts of sin by sincere
repentance, not just put on fine clothes. We must sincerely listen to his Word,
not just sit there, and sing hymns with our lips. We must meet Jesus personally
in Holy Communion not just go up to the altar along with everyone else. We must
leave the Mass to live a transformed Christian life, not just wear a cross and call
ourselves Christians. Are you a Pharisee or a Disciple?
Wednesday 17 October 2012
First reading
Galatians 5:18-25
If you are led
by the Spirit, no law can touch you. When self-indulgence is at work the
results are obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual irresponsibility;
idolatry and sorcery; feuds and wrangling, jealousy, bad temper and quarrels;
disagreements, factions, envy; drunkenness, orgies and similar things. I warn
you now, as I warned you before: those who behave like this will not inherit
the kingdom of God. What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control. There
can be no law against things like that, of course. You cannot belong to Christ
Jesus unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires.
Since the Spirit is our life, let us be directed by
the Spirit.
The Christian life is life in the Holy Spirit. We are
not led by rules and regulations but by the Holy Spirit in and through prayer.
We evaluate our inspirations by the teaching of the Church regarding faith and
morals. Christ gave the Holy Spirit first to the community of the Church. The
one law of the Spirit is to love.
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Psalm
Psalm 1:1-4,6
Anyone who
follows you, O Lord, will have the light 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.
Anyone who
follows you, O Lord, will have the light 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.
Anyone who
follows you, O Lord, will have the light 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.
Anyone who
follows you, O Lord, will have the light of life.
__
Gospel
Luke 11:42-46
The Lord said to
the Pharisees:
‘Alas for you Pharisees! You who pay your tithe of
mint and rue and all sorts of garden herbs and overlook justice and the love of
God! These you should have practised, without leaving the others undone. Alas
for you Pharisees who like taking the seats of honour in the synagogues and
being greeted obsequiously in the market squares! Alas for you, because you are
like the unmarked tombs that men walk on without knowing it!
A lawyer then spoke up. ‘Master,’ he said ‘when you
speak like this you insult us too.’
‘Alas for you lawyers also,’ he replied ‘because you
load on men burdens that are unendurable, burdens that you yourselves do not
move a finger to lift.’
The
Way God sees us
We pay our dues to the church, but how do we
pay our servants and employees? We sing beautifully at Mass, but how do we love
our wife or husband? What, too, about our neighbours? We must love these,
without neglecting our church contribution. Let us give to everyone what is her
or his due, in love and in kind. Do you do things so that people will praise
you and say how good you are? People may think you holy and devout, but God
knows what you really are. What he thinks is what counts. The rest is
worthless. How understanding we are when we look out our own mistakes! How
strict we can be with others. Let us pray for the grace to see ourselves as God
sees us. Have you the courage to have others tell you how they see your actions
and words? Will you change?
Thursday 18 October 2012
Feast of St. Luke, Evangelist
First reading
2 Timothy 4:10-17
Demas has
deserted me for love of this life and gone to Thessalonika, Crescens has gone
to Galatia and Titus to Dalmatia; only Luke is with me. Get Mark to come and
bring him with you; I find him a useful helper in my work. I have sent Tychicus
to Ephesus. When you come, bring the cloak I left with Carpus in Troas, and the
scrolls, especially the parchment ones. Alexander the coppersmith has done me a
lot of harm; the Lord will repay him for what he has done. Be on your guard
against him yourself, because he has been bitterly contesting everything that
we say.
The first time I had to present my defence, there was
not a single witness to support me. Every one of them deserted me – may
they not be held accountable for it. But the Lord stood by me and gave me power,
so that through me the whole message might be proclaimed for all the pagans to
hear; and so I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.
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Psalm
Psalm 144:10-13,17-18
Your friends, O
Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
All your
creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends
shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak
of the glory of your reign
and declare your
might, O God.
Your friends, O
Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
They make known
to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious
splendour of your reign.
Yours is an
everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts
from age to age.
Your friends, O
Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
The Lord is just
in all his ways
and loving in
all his deeds.
He is close to
all who call him,
who call on him
from their hearts.
Your friends, O
Lord, make known the glorious splendour of your reign.
Gospel
Luke 10:1-9
The Lord
appointed seventy-two others and sent them out ahead of him, in pairs, to all
the towns and places he himself was to visit. He said to them, ‘The harvest is
rich but the labourers are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send
labourers to his harvest. Start off now, but remember, I am sending you out
like lambs among wolves. Carry no purse, no haversack, no sandals. Salute no
one on the road. Whatever house you go into, let your first words be, “Peace to
this house!” And if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest on
him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same house, taking what food
and drink they have to offer, for the labourer deserves his wages; do not move
from house to house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you welcome,
eat what is set before you. Cure those in it who are sick, and say, “The
kingdom of God is very near to you.”
Jesus
Comes in the 21st Century Too
What was the
message of these seventy-two and what was the message of the first preachers of
the Gospel? The message was a Person. Jesus was their message. The seventy-two told
people that Jesus was coming and that they should listen to him. In his name,
they healed the sick. Likewise, the disciples after the death of Jesus changed
completely on meeting the Risen Lord. They ate and drank with him. They knew
him and knew he was the Lord and Saviour of all people. “He has risen,” means
that he is here today to save us from sin and all distress. If we had this
life-changing experience of the Risen Lord then we would do the same. Once
Jesus becomes a real Person who lives among us, then we will bring him to all
who seek him. Is your heart on fire to make Jesus known and loved?
Friday 19 October 2012
First reading
Ephesians 1:11-14
It is in Christ
that we were claimed as God’s own,
chosen from the
beginning,
under the
predetermined plan of the one who guides all things
as he decides by
his own will;
chosen to be,
for his greater
glory,
the people who
would put their hopes in Christ before he came.
Now you too, in
him,
have heard the
message of the truth and the good news of your salvation,
and have
believed it;
and you too have
been stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit of the Promise,
the pledge of
our inheritance
which brings
freedom for those whom God has taken for his own, to make his glory praised.
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Psalm
Psalm 32:1-2,4-5,12-13
Happy the people
the Lord has chosen as his own.
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.
Happy the people
the Lord has chosen as his own.
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.
Happy the people
the Lord has chosen as his own.
They are happy,
whose God is the Lord,
the people he
has chosen as his own.
From the heavens
the Lord looks forth,
he sees all the
children of men.
Happy the people
the Lord has chosen as his own.
Gospel
Luke 12:1-7
The people had
gathered in their thousands so that they were treading on one another. And
Jesus began to speak, first of all to his disciples. ‘Be on your guard against
the yeast of the Pharisees – that is, their hypocrisy. Everything that is
now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear.
For this reason, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the
daylight, and what you have whispered in hidden places will be proclaimed on
the housetops.
‘To you my friends I say: Do not be afraid of those
who kill the body and after that can do no more. I will tell you whom to fear:
fear him who, after he has killed, has the power to cast into hell. Yes, I tell
you, fear him. Can you not buy five sparrows for two pennies? And yet not one
is forgotten in God’s sight. Why, every hair on your head has been counted.
There is no need to be afraid: you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.’
Saturday 20 October 2012
First reading
Ephesians 1:15-23
I, having once
heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus, and the love that you show towards
all the saints, have never failed to remember you in my prayers and to thank
God for you. May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give
you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full
knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see
what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints
will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us
believers. This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ,
when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right
hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination,
or any other name that can be named not only in this age but also in the age to
come. He has put all things under his feet and made him, as the ruler of
everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who
fills the whole creation.
The greatest
gift God can give us is the spirit of wisdom and understanding. Without this we
are not fully human and do not understand the world and all that happens in it
as does the Creator. To see life as God sees it is wisdom. We cannot do this on
our own. God has to give us this. He will do so to all who beg him for it. It
will then transform our lives.
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Psalm
Psalm 8:2-7
You gave your
Son power over the works of your hand.
How great is
your name, O Lord our God,
through all the
earth!
Your majesty is
praised above the heavens;
on the lips of
children and of babes
you have found
praise to foil your enemy,
to silence the
foe and the rebel.
You gave your
Son power over the works of your hand.
When I see the
heavens, the work of your hands,
the moon and the
stars which you arranged,
what is man that
you should keep him in mind,
mortal man that
you care for him?
You gave your
Son power over the works of your hand.
Yet you have
made him little less than a god;
with glory and
honour you crowned him,
gave him power
over the works of your hand,
put all things
under his feet.
You gave your
Son power over the works of your hand.
Gospel
Luke 12:8-12
Jesus said to
his disciples:
‘I tell you, if anyone openly declares himself for me
in the presence of men, the Son of Man will declare himself for him in the
presence of the angels. But the man who disowns me in the presence of men will
be disowned in the presence of God’s angels.
‘Everyone who says a word against the Son of Man will
be forgiven, but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be
forgiven.
‘When they take you before synagogues and magistrates
and authorities, do not worry about how to defend yourselves or what to say,
because when the time comes, the Holy Spirit will teach you what you must say.’
That
Nations are as a Grain of Sand
How foolish of us to fear to proclaim our
faith in Jesus. Who are people in this world, after all? They are like the
grass in the fields which blossoms and then withers. At most, they can kill the
body, Jesus says, but cannot touch the soul. Jesus alone has all authority and
gives us eternal life. As we prove ourselves in this time of testing so will
our ‘reward’ be. To know that Jesus has come from God, as did the Jews (John3:2),
and yet to harden our hearts and say he is possessed by Satan, is the sin
against the Holy Spirit. If we are faithful disciples, however, we can rely on
the Spirit to be with us always. We will fear no one, since he will be our
strength and our wisdom. Have you your priorities right? Are you afraid of what
people may think?
