1st Reading: Ne 8:1–4a, 5–6, 7b–12* In the seventh

1st Reading: Ne 8:1–4a, 5–6, 7b–12* In the seventh month, all the people gathered as one man in the square before the Water Gate, and they asked Ezra to bring the Book of the Law of Moses, which Yahweh had given to Israel. … Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was in a higher place; and when he opened it, all the people stood. Ezra blessed Yahweh, the great God; and all the people lifted up their hands and answered, “Amen!

Amen!” And they bowed their heads to the ground. … Then Ezra, the teacher of the Law, said to the people, “This day is dedicated to Yahweh, your God, so do not be sad or weep.”

He said this because all wept when they heard the reading of the Law. Then he said to them, “Go and eat rich foods, drink sweet wine and share with him who has nothing prepared.

This day is dedicated to the Lord, so do not be sad. The joy of Yahweh is our strength.” …

thursday

October

01

26th Week in Ordinary Time Thérèse of the Child Jesus Psalter: Week 2

Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11 The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.

Gospel: Lk 10:1–12 The Lord appointed seventy-two other disciples and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place, where he himself was to go. And he said to them, “The harvest is rich, but the workers are few. So you must ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers to his harvest. Courage! I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Set off without purse or bag or sandals; and do not stop at the homes of those you know. Whatever house you enter, first bless them saying: ‘Peace to this house.’ If a friend of peace lives there, the peace shall rest upon that person. But if not, the blessing will return to you. Stay in that house eating and drinking at their table, for the worker deserves to be paid. Do not move from house to house. When they welcome you in any town, eat what they offer you. Heal the sick who are there and say to them: ‘The kingdom of God has drawn near to you.’ But in any town where you are not welcome, go to the marketplace and proclaim: Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off and leave with you. But know and be sure that the kingdom of God had come to you.’ I tell you that on the Judgment Day it will be better for Sodom than for this town.”

H

ow often do we meditate on the fact that God is a God of joy? Ezra spoke of the joy of Yahweh as our strength. We are told that, when God created the world, God saw that it was good. When we say that something is good, we are expressing pleasure in experiencing it. God has pleasure and joy as he works with his creation. We should think about the attribute of God’s joy. Without a doubt, it has been a neglected aspect of His character. Yet, it is in God’s joy that we find our strength.

Christ came to reveal God’s joy to us. Christ was to be characterized by joy, to be the one in whom God delights. It was prophesied that Christ would be anointed with the oil of joy. He laid down His life for us that we might have the full measure of His joy in us. Christ makes it perfectly clear in that seeking the lost is His greatest joy. We are expected to rejoice with Him as sinners come to Him. The Holy Spirit allows us to enter into the joy of God. So, let us rejoice and be glad in Him!

02 October friday

26th Week in Ordinary Time Guardian Angels Psalter: Proper

Ps 79:1b–2, 3–5, 8, 9 Have you ever in your lifetime commanded the morning and entered into the sources of the sea?

1st Reading: Bar 1:15–22 You will say: May everyone recognize the justice of our God but, on this day, shame and confusion befit the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem—our kings and princes, our priests, our prophets, and our fathers, because we have sinned before the Lord. We have disobeyed him and have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God, nor have we followed the commandments which the Lord had put before us. From the day that the Lord brought our ancestors out of the land of Egypt until this day, we have disobeyed the Lord our God and we have rebelled against him instead of listening to his voice.

Because of this, from the day on which the Lord brought our ancestors out of the land of Egypt, so as to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, the evils and the curse which the Lord pronounced by Moses, his servant, have dogged our footsteps right down to the present day. We did not listen to the voice of the Lord our God speaking through the words of the prophets whom he sent to us, but each one of us followed his perverted heart, serving false gods and doing what displeases the Lord our God. Gospel: Lk 10:13–16 (or Mt 18:1–5, 10) Jesus said, “Alas for you Chorazin! Alas for you Bethsaida! So many miracles have been worked in you! If the same miracles had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would already be sitting in ashes and wearing the sackcloth of repentance.

Surely for Tyre and Sidon it will be better than for you on the Judgment Day. And what of you, city of Capernaum? Will you be lifted up to heaven? You will be thrown down to the place of the dead.

“Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me; and he who rejects me, rejects the one who sent me.”

J

esus was quite plain in telling his disciples that life as his disciples will not be easy. To those who rejected him, Jesus warned that his words would stand as a witness against them on the day of God’s judgment and wrath. So, when a person of God, who is walking with God, speaks the word of God, he or she speaks for God. And to reject that person or that message is to reject God Himself.

In other words, Christ tells us that, even though He didn’t come to judge individuals at first, the words that He left with us stand as witnesses against all those, who reject His message, when He returns to judge the living and the dead. Although Christ came to save, not condemn the world, an individual’s rejection of Christ is a sign that such a person will stand condemned on the day, when He will come to judge everyone. We must pray for Christ to take over our lives. Nothing is more important than prayer; it works inside a person. It is the pre-eminent work of a disciple. It has been said that we can do no more than pray, until we have prayed.

1st Reading: Bar 4:5–12, 27–29* Take courage, my people, you who preserve the memory of Israel. You have been sold to the nations but not for your destruction; because you had aroused the anger of God, you were delivered to your enemies. For you displeased your Creator in sacrificing to demons and not to God. You have forgotten the Eternal God, the one who nourished you. You have filled Jerusalem with sadness, she who brought you up. For she saw the anger of God fall on you and she said, “Listen, you neighboring cities of Zion, God has sent me a great sorrow. … Take courage, my children, cry out to God, for he who sent you into exile will remember you. Thus, as you distanced yourself from God, return to him and seek him ten times more earnestly. For he who caused these evils to fall on you will bring you salvation and eternal joy.

saturday

October

03

26th Week in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 2

Ps 69:33–35, 36–37 The Lord listens to the poor.

Gospel: Lk 10:17–24 The seventy-two disciples returned full of joy. They said, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we called on your name.” Then Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. You see, I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the Enemy, so that nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, don’t rejoice because the evil spirits submit to you; rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven.”

At that time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and made them known to the little ones. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. I have been given all things by my Father, so that no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and he to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said to them privately, “Fortunate are you to see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings would have liked to see what you see but did not, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

T

here are three themes intertwined in today’s text: joy, salvation, and the sovereignty of God. Jesus urged the disciples to find their joy in their salvation, not in their authority over the demons. Then, Jesus expressed his own deep joy with them, based upon the sovereignty of God in the salvation of humankind, and in the part he was to play in this salvation. And he turned the disciples’ attention to the saints of old, who yearned to see God’s salvation, but were not privileged to see what the disciples were seeing. Jesus’ response to the enthusiasm and joy of the disciples was warm and affirming. While their joy may have been misplaced, they were not rebuked.

Christ always resisted the proud and given grace to the humble. All our victories over evil are obtained by power derived from Christ, and He must have all the praise. The more dependent we are on the help and blessings of Christ, the more we shall know of God. The more we see the glory and hear the words of Christ, the more useful we shall become in promoting His cause.

1st Reading: Gen 2:18–24 Yahweh God said, “It is not good for Man to be alone; I will give him a helper who will be like him.” Then Yahweh God formed from the earth all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air and brought them to Man to see what he would call them; and whatever Man called every living creature, that was its name.

So Man gave names to all the cattle, the birds of the air and to every beast of the field. But he did not find among them a helper like himself.

Then Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to come over Man and he fell asleep. He took one of his ribs and filled its place with flesh. The rib which Yahweh God had taken from Man he formed into a woman and brought her to the man.

The man then said, “Now this is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken from man.” That is why man leaves his father and mother and is attached to his wife, and with her becomes one flesh.

2nd Reading: Heb 2:9–11 Jesus who suffered death and for a little while was placed lower than the angels has been crowned with honor and glory. For the merciful plan of God demanded that he experience death on behalf of everyone.

God, from whom all come and by whom all things exist, wanted to bring many children to Ps 128:1–2, 3, 4–5, 6 glory, and he thought it fitting to make perfect May the Lord bless us all the days of our lives. through suffering the initiator of their salvation.

So he who gives and those who receive holiness are one. He himself is not ashamed of calling us brothers and sisters.

Gospel: Mk 10:2–16 Some Pharisees came and put him to the test with this question, “Is it right for a husband to divorce his wife?” He replied, “What law did Moses give you?” They answered, “Moses allowed us to write a certificate of dismissal in order to divorce.”

Then Jesus said to them, “Moses wrote this law for you, because you are stubborn. But in the beginning of creation God made them male and female, and because of this, man has to leave father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one body. So they are no longer two but one body. Therefore let no one separate what God has joined.”

When they were indoors at home, the disciples again asked him about this and he told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against his wife, and the woman who divorces her husband and marries another also commits adultery.”

People were bringing their little children to him to have him touch them, and the disciples rebuked them for this.

When Jesus noticed it, he was very angry and said, “Let the children come to me and don’t stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and laying his hands on them, blessed them.

sunday

October

04

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 3

T

he title of a recent popular book suggests that Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. The author opines that so different are men and women in the way they think and act that they must be from different planets.

The author of that book speaks in hyperbole, of course, but his convictions are clear. The author of the book of Genesis tells a different story. In fact, if Genesis were to be sold as a popular novel it might well be entitled Men and Women Are From Eden. They are created by God in a complementary fashion. They are created to be partners in harmony with each other and to live in a state of blessed mutuality. “They are no longer two, but one body.”

Sadly, when sin enters the equation this mutuality is less apparent and is much more difficult to sustain. Divorce and spousal abuse are the painful reminders of the effects of sin.

God’s plan for men and women laid out in Genesis is recalled and reaffirmed by the Lord Jesus who elevates matrimony to the level of a sacrament. By His grace can men and women find in holy matrimony a covenant of life-giving love.

05 October monday

27th Week in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 3

Jon 2:3, 4, 5, 8 You will rescue my life from the pit, O Lord.

1st Reading: Jon 1:1—2:1–2, 11* The word of Yahweh came to Jonah, son of Amittai, “Go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach against it, because I have known its wickedness.” But Jonah decided to flee from Yahweh and go to Tarshish. … Yahweh stirred up a storm wind on the sea, so there was a sea tempest, which threatened to destroy the ship. …

The sailors said to each other, “Let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this disaster.” So they did, and the lot fell on Jonah. … As they knew that he was fleeing from Yahweh, the sailors were seized with great fear and said to him, “What a terrible thing have you done!” “What shall we do with you now to make the sea calm down?” The sea was growing more and more agitated. He said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. It will quiet down, for I know it is because of me that this storm has come.” … Yahweh provided a large fish which swallowed Jonah.

He remained in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights. …

Gospel: Lk 10:25–37* … Jesus then said, “There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers.

They stripped him, beat him and went off leaving him halfdead. It happened that a priest was going along that road and saw the man, but passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite saw the man and passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, too, was going that way, and when he came upon the man, he was moved with compassion. He went over to him and treated his wounds with oil and wine and wrapped them with bandages. Then he put him on his own mount and brought him to an inn where he took care of him. The next day he had to set off, but he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper and told him: ‘Take care of him and whatever you spend on him, I will repay when I come back.’”

Jesus then asked, “Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The teacher of the Law answered, “The one who had mercy on him.” And Jesus said, “Go then and do the same.”

T

here are lots of life-lessons for us all in the story of Jonah and the whale. It teaches us about obedience, willingness of spirit, gratitude, compassion and God’s patience and mercy. Jonah confesses that he is running away from God’s will and tells the sailors to throw him overboard to spare their lives. This they do. As Jonah is sinking into the sea, a big fish, a whale, swallows him.

Here we see God’s great mercy. He could have let Jonah suffer the consequences of his actions and drown. We often complain to God about the consequences of our sins; but do we ever wonder how often He has spared us from those consequences? Jonah thanked God for saving him and realized the miracle that God had wrought to save him and was truly grateful. This story also shows that miracles still can happen in people’s lives, whenever we share God’s love and compassion with them.

1st Reading: Jon 3:1–10 The word of Yahweh came to Jonah a second time: “Go to Nineveh, the great city, and announce to them the message I give you.”

In obedience to the word of Yahweh, Jonah went to Nineveh.

It was a very large city, and it took three days just to cross it. So Jonah walked a single day’s journey and began proclaiming, “Forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed.”

The people of the city believed God. They declared a fast, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

Upon hearing the news, the king of Nineveh got up from his throne, took off his royal robe, put on sackcloth and sat down in ashes. He issued a proclamation throughout Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles, no people or beasts, herd or flock, will taste anything; neither will they eat nor drink. But let people and beasts be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call aloud to God, turn from his evil ways and violence. Who knows? God may yet relent, turn from his fierce anger and spare us.”

When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened upon them.

tuesday

October

06

27th Week in Ordinary Time Bruno / Bl. Marie-Rose Durocher Psalter: Week 3

Ps 130:1b–2, 3–4ab, 7–8 If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?

Gospel: Lk 10:38–42 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he entered a village and a woman called Martha welcomed him to her house. She had a sister named Mary who sat down at the Lord’s feet to listen to his words. Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving and finally she said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the serving?”

But the Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.”

J

onah knew God’s nature. He knew that if he preached repentance to the people of Nineveh, they would repent and God would spare them. So, when Jonah was finally willing to do as he was told and preach repentance, they did repent! Thankfully, God felt sorry for Nineveh and spared its people. He was able to use Jonah to deliver a message, despite Jonah’s unwillingness and distaste for the task. Imagine all the lives spared by one willing voice. Think of all, who would have perished if God’s voice had not been heard.

This same issue is with us today. God’s mercy and salvation is for everyone, not just those we think deserve Him. Many of us are afraid to talk about our faith. We don’t want to look foolish or be unpopular. We’re afraid of standing out and being different. So many aren’t saved or have never been told the good news, simply because we Christians have been too fearful to tell it. We have no way of knowing what someone will decide about Christ; we only have the obligation to tell people about Him.

07 October wednesday

27th Week in Ordinary Time Our Lady of the Rosary Psalter: Week 3

Ps 86:3–4, 5–6, 9–10 Lord, you are merciful and gracious.

1st Reading: Jon 4:1–11* … I beseech you now, Yahweh, to take my life, for now it is better for me to die than to live.” But Yahweh replied, “What right have you to be angry?”

Jonah then left the city. He went to a place east of it, built himself a shelter and sat under its shade to wait and see what would happen to Nineveh. Then Yahweh God provided a castor-oil plant and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade over his head and to ease his discomfort. Jonah was very happy about the plant.

But the next day, at dawn, God sent a worm which attacked the plant and made it wither. When the sun rose, God sent a scorching east wind; the sun blazed down upon Jonah’s head, and he grew faint. His death wish returned and he said, “It is better for me to die than to live.”

Then God asked Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the castor-oil plant?” Jonah answered, “I am right to be angry enough to wish to die.”

Yahweh said, “You are concerned about a plant which cost you no labor to make it grow. Overnight it sprang up, and overnight it perished. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot distinguish right from left and they have many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned for such a great city?”

Gospel: Lk 11:1–4 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place and when he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” And Jesus said to them, “When you pray, say this: Father, hallowed be your name, may your kingdom come, give us each day the kind of bread we need, and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive all who do us wrong, and do not bring us to the test.”

J

onah’s complaint about God’s mercy is unbelievable. As if showing mercy were an imperfection of the divine nature, instead of being God’s greatest glory. It is to God’s pardoning mercy, that we all owe our salvation and happiness. Jonah then wished for death; such was his language of folly, passion, and strong corruption. Jonah neither expected nor desired the welfare of the people of Nineveh; he wanted to watch over their destruction. He wasn’t willing to trust God with the salvation of others. In this frame of mind, he neglected to recognize the glorious mercy of God, of which he had been called to reflect.

We should often remind ourselves how good it is to speak and act with mercy. Is it spiritually healthy to be so angry, so easily and so often, or to give others a taste of our anger? Is it healthy to become angered by God’s mercy towards repenting sinners? That was Jonah’s problem. We do well to be happy, whenever we see God’s mercy in action; it is a sign of the advancement of His kingdom. May the conversion of sinners, which is the joy of heaven, be our own joy and never our grief.

1st Reading: Mal 3:13–20b* You say very harsh things about me, says Yahweh, and yet you say: “What harsh things did we say against you?” You say: “It is useless to serve God. There is no benefit in observing his commandments or in leading an austere life for his sake. Happy are the shameless! Those who do evil succeed in everything; though they provoke God, they remain unharmed.”

Those were the very words of those who fear Yahweh.

Yahweh listened and heard what they said. He ordered at once that the names of those who respect him and reverence his Name be written in a record. And he declared, “They will be mine on the day I have already set. Then I shall care for them as a father cares for his obedient son. And you will see the different fates of the good and the bad, those who obey God and those who disobey him. …

thursday

October

08

27th Week in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 3

Ps 1:1–2, 3, 4 and 6 Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Gospel: Lk 11:5–13 Jesus said to his disciples, “Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to his house in the middle of the night and says: ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine who is traveling has just arrived and I have nothing to offer him.’

Maybe your friend will answer from inside: ‘Don’t bother me now; the door is locked and my children and I are in bed, so I can’t get up and give you anything.’ But I tell you, even though he will not get up and attend to you because you are a friend, yet he will get up because you are a bother to him, and he will give you all you need.

“And so I say to you, ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For the one who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to him who knocks the door will be opened.

“If your child asks for a fish, will you give a snake instead?

And if your child asks for an egg, will you give a scorpion?

Even you evil people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more then will the Father in heaven give holy spirit to those who ask him!”

G

od will take care that His children don’t perish with those who don’t believe in Him. We are all very dear to Him. It is our duty to serve God with the disposition of children; but, He doesn’t want to find His children caught up in idleness. We are, therefore, encouraged to live according to the principle of love-in-action. We can often become deceived in our opinions; but, with Christ, everyone’s character is known. So, we need to decide, with whom we are going to cast our lot; and we must not judge others in matters concerning God. In the end, the world will come to realize that we are at our happiest, when we serve God and trust only Him.

09 October friday

1st Reading: Jl 1:13–15; 2:1–2* … Proclaim a fast, call an assembly. Summon the elders 27th Week in Ordinary Time and all who live in the land into the house of your God, and Denis and Companions / John Leonardi cry out to Yahweh, “What a dreadful day—the day of Yahweh Psalter: Week 3 that draws near and comes as ruin from the Almighty!” Blow the trumpet in Zion, sound the alarm on my holy mountain!

Ps 9:2–3, 6 and 16, 8–9 Let all dwellers in the land tremble, for the day of Yahweh is The Lord will judge the world coming. Yes, the day is fast approaching—a day of gloom and with justice. darkness, a day of clouds and blackness. …

Gospel: Lk 11:15–26 When Jesus was casting out a devil some of the people said, “He drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the chief of the demons.” So others wanted to put him to the test by asking him for a heavenly sign. But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every nation divided by civil war is on the road to ruin, and will fall. If Satan also is divided, his empire is coming to an end. How can you say that I drive out demons by calling upon Beelzebul? If I drive them out by Beelzebul, by whom do your fellow members drive out demons? They will be your judges, then.

“But suppose I drive out demons by the finger of God; would not this mean that the kingdom of God has come upon you? As long as the strong and armed man guards his house, his goods are safe. But when a stronger one attacks and overcomes him, the challenger takes away all the weapons he relied on and disposes of his spoils. “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me, scatters.

“When the evil spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through dry lands looking for a resting place. And finding none, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’

When it comes, it finds the house swept and everything in order. Then it goes to fetch seven other spirits even worse than itself. They move in and settle there, so that the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

T

he world has been “on the road to ruin” for a long time now. The history of the world is one of power, self-destruction, war, greed and ignorance. Only by God’s grace is anything resembling a peaceful or loving society in existence anymore. We will only ever have a world that resembles a moral one, if we the people exercise our right to vote for the welfare of all the people of the world.

Unfortunately, many people are not politically astute enough to see the ways, in which they are being tricked into voting for corrupt, single issues, rather than looking past the corruption in government and seeing the moral issues of the larger picture involved and at play. While the focus of world leaders continues to be on nationalistic self-interest, they continue sidelined moral issues, like peace and non-violence. Then they proceed to steal our future by sending us to war, just to make themselves richer. Their wars destroy our livelihood and our homes, wreaking havoc on the environment and turning us and our family into slaves to pay back their debt. God help us all!

1st Reading: Jl 4:12–21 Rise up, O peoples, and come to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, nations.

Bring a sickle for the harvest is ripe; come and tread for the winepress is full and the vats overflow, so great is their wickedness!

Multitudes and more multitudes in the Valley of Verdict!

The day of Yahweh is near in the Valley of Verdict! The sun and the moon become dark, the stars lose their radiance.

Yahweh roars from Zion and raises his voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth are shaken. Indeed Yahweh is a refuge for his people, a strong-hold for the Israelites. You will know that I am Yahweh, your God, dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain.

Jerusalem will be a holy place, and foreigners will never pass through there again.

On that day the mountains shall drip wine and the hills flow with milk; all the streams of Judah will run with water and a fountain will spring from the House of Yahweh, and water the valley of Shittim.

On the other hand, Egypt will be devastated and Edom will become a deserted wasteland because they committed violence against Judah, and shed innocent blood in their country. But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem through all generations. And I shall avenge their blood and not leave it unpunished, for Yahweh dwells in Zion.

saturday

October

10

27th Week in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 3

Ps 97:1–2, 5–6, 11–12 Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

Gospel: Lk 11:27–28 As Jesus was speaking, a woman spoke from the crowd and said to him, “Blessed is the one who bore you and nursed you!” Jesus replied, “Surely blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it as well.”

M

any people think faith and belief are the same thing, but this is wrong. We can believe something and not have faith in it. Let’s imagine that a man staggers up to us, dying of starvation. When we put food in front of him, he just looks at it. You tell him that this food will nourish him and keep him alive “Do you believe that?” we ask. “Yes!” he replies. But, the man looks at it until he dies. Why did he die? Because he didn’t eat the food. The eating of the food is like faith.

Faith is acting on what we believe.

Many Christians today believe God’s promises. If, however, they don’t have faith and act on the word of God they will not receive all that He wants them to have, all that He has promised. We have to do more than just believe; we have to act on what we believe. We have to act on God’s word! And that action is what faith is. The word of God only works when we do what it says. If we believe God’s word, but don’t act upon it, God’s word will never do us any good.

1st Reading: Wis 7:7–11 I prayed and understanding was given to me; I asked earnestly and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.

I preferred her to scepters and thrones and I considered wealth as nothing compared with her.

I preferred her to any jewel of inestimable value, since gold beside her is nothing but a few grains of sand, and silver but mud. I loved her more than wealth and beauty and even preferred her to light, because her radiance never dies.

She brought with her all other good things, untold riches in her hands.

2nd Reading: Heb 4:12–13 The word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword. It pierces to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and judges the intentions and thoughts of the heart. All creation is transparent to Him; everything is uncovered and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we render account.

Gospel: Mk 10:17–30 Just as Jesus was setting out on his journey again, a man ran up, knelt before him and asked, “Good Master, what must I do to have eternal life?”

Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good?

No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: Do not kill, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not cheat, honor your father and mother.”

The man replied, “I have obeyed all these commandments since my childhood.”

Then Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him and he said, “For you, one thing is lacking.

Go, sell what you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven.

Then come and follow me.” On hearing these words, his face fell and he went away sorrowful for he was a man of great wealth.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were shocked at these words, but Jesus insisted, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom

Ps 90:12–13, 14–15, 16–17 Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy! of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were more astonished than ever and wondered, “Who, then, can be saved?” Jesus looked steadily at them and said, “For humans it is impossible, but not for God; all things are possible with God.” Peter spoke up and said, “We have given up everything to follow you.” Jesus answered, “Truly, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or children, or lands for my sake and for the Gospel, who will not receive his reward. I say to you: even in the midst of persecution he will receive a hundred times

sunday

October

11

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 4

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ow ironic that the man went away sorrowful because of his great wealth. The earthly possessions that had been the cause of great joy in that man’s life were now the source of his sorrow. Why? Because they were keeping as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, him from the adventure of a lifetime. They were children, and lands in the present time and in keeping him from following Jesus. Jesus clearly the world to come eternal life.” identified the knot that was tied around that man’s heart. In the same way Jesus wants us to be aware of anything that would keep us bound from living the good life.

Money and material possessions are important to us to be sure. Yet sometimes they become too important. Sometimes it is a matter not of what I own but what owns me. The remedy for this inordinate attachment to money and material possessions is a life of faithful stewardship. A good steward is grateful to the Lord for all of the blessings He has bestowed. A good steward is responsible in taking care of those blessings and using them prudently. A good steward is generous in sharing God’s gifts in justice and in love. Finally, a good steward makes a return to the Lord with increase, using his or her gifts to make a positive difference in the world.

12 October monday

28th Week in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 4

Ps 98:1, 2–3ab, 3cd–4 The Lord has made known his salvation.

1st Reading: Rom 1:1–7 From Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, an apostle called and set apart for God’s Good News, the very promises he foretold through his prophets in the sacred Scriptures, regarding his Son, who was born in the flesh a descendant of David, and has been recognized as the Son of God endowed with Power, upon rising from the dead through the Holy Spirit.

Through him, Jesus Christ, our Lord, and for the sake of his Name, we received grace and mission in all the nations, for them to accept the faith.

All of you, the elected of Christ, are part of them, you, the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy: May God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, give you grace and peace.

Gospel: Lk 11:29–32 As the crowd increased, Jesus began to speak in this way, “People of the present time are evil people. They ask for a sign, but no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah. As Jonah became a sign for the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of Man be a sign for this generation. The Queen of the South will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and here there is greater than Solomon. The people of Nineveh will rise up on Judgment Day with the people of these times and accuse them, for Jonah’s preaching made them turn from their sins, and here there is greater than Jonah.”

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hat would Jesus say about our generation? Jesus gave a rather stern warning to his generation, when they demanded a sign from him. It was characteristic of the Jews that they demanded signs from God’s messengers to authenticate their claims. But, unfortunately, the religious leaders rejected the signs right before their eyes. They had rejected the message of John the Baptist and now they rejected Jesus. Jesus confirmed his message with many miracles, in preparation for the greatest sign of all: his resurrection on the third day.

Christ offers us freedom from sin and wisdom for our lives, if we listen to him. Do you thirst for Godly wisdom? The wisdom from above is pure, gentle, full of mercy, without uncertainty or insincerity. Double-minded persons cannot receive this kind of wisdom. Those, who are single of mind, desire one thing alone: that which is good and ordered, according to God’s wise plan. Let us ask God to increase our thirst for His wisdom. If we ask sincerely, He will give us His wisdom and increase our love for His ways. God will help us to resist temptation, so that we may wholly desire to do what is pleasing to Him.

1st Reading: Rom 1:16–25 For I am not ashamed at all of this Good News; it is God’s power saving those who believe, first the Jews, and then the Greeks. This Good News shows us the saving justice of God; a justice that saves exclusively by faith, as the Scripture says: The upright one shall live by faith.

For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and injustice of those who have silenced the truth by their wicked ways. For everything that could have been known about God was clear to them: God himself made it plain. Because his invisible attributes—his everlasting power and divinity—are made visible to reason by means of his works since the creation of the world.

So they have no excuse, for they knew God and did not glorify him as was fitting, nor did they give thanks to him.

On the contrary, they lost themselves in their reasoning and darkness filled their minds.

Believing themselves wise, they became foolish: they exchanged the Glory of the immortal God for the likes of mortal human beings, birds, animals and reptiles. Because of this God gave them up to their inner cravings; they did shameful things and dishonored their bodies.

They exchanged God’s truth for a lie; they honored and worshiped created things instead of the Creator, to whom be praise for ever, Amen!

tuesday

October

13

28th Week in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 4

Ps 19:2–3, 4–5 The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

Gospel: Lk 11:37–41 As Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to have a meal with him. So he went and sat at table. The Pharisee then wondered why Jesus did not first wash his hands before dinner. But the Lord said to him, “So then, you Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside yourselves you are full of greed and evil. Fools! He who made the outside, also made the inside. But according to you, by the mere giving of alms everything is made clean.”

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hen Paul decried the worship of greed for more and more created things, he was taking his lead from Jesus, who had often warned his disciples about the difficulty of the salvation of those, who have an abundance of riches in this world. People have tried to water down Jesus’ statement about it being harder for a rich man to enter heaven than it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. But Jesus meant what he said. The illustration of the camel going through the eye of a needle was perfect for those he was addressing.

What he was saying was that the rich have to be willing to give up their possessions, and only then will God save them. Those who eagerly seek the wealth of the world will never rightly prize Christ and his grace. But, Christ is equally insistent that rich people can be saved like anyone else, if their attitude to their wealth is not one of greed. The rich can be saved and enter heaven, but only if they put their faith in Christ rather than in their riches.

14 October wednesday

28th Week in Ordinary Time Callistus Psalter: Week 4

Ps 61 Lord, you give back to everyone according to his works.

1st Reading: Rom 2:1–11* Therefore, you have no excuse, whoever you are, if you are able to judge others. For in judging your neighbor, you condemn yourself, for you practice what you are judging.

We know that the condemnation of God will justly reach those who commit these things, and do you think that by condemning others you will escape from the judgment of God, you who are doing the same? …

He will give each one his due, according to his actions. He will give everlasting life to those who seek glory, honor and immortality and persevere in doing good. But anger and vengeance will be the lot of those who do not serve truth but injustice. There will be suffering and anguish for everyone committing evil, first the Jew, then the Greek. But God will give glory, honor and peace to whoever does good, first the Jew then the Greek, because one is not different from the other before God. Gospel: Lk 11:42–46 Jesus said, “A curse is on you, Pharisees; for the Temple you give a tenth of all, including mint and rue and the other herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. This ought to be practiced, without neglecting the other. A curse is on you, Pharisees, for you love the best seats in the synagogues and to be greeted in the marketplace. A curse is on you for you are like tombstones of the dead which can hardly be seen; people don’t notice them and make themselves unclean by stepping on them.”

Then a teacher of the Law spoke up and said, “Master, when you speak like this, you insult us, too.” And Jesus answered, “A curse is on you also, teachers of the Law. For you prepare unbearable burdens and load them on the people, while you yourselves don’t move a finger to help them.”

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esus utters a series of woes against the Pharisees. The negative implications of these woes are substantial. First the Pharisees tithe mint, rue, and every herb, which they should do, but they have neglected the more important things: justice and the love of God. The Pharisees’ love of money and their love of honor prevent them from loving God and God’s justice. Jesus’ judgment of their actions clearly portrays them as being greedy for social prominence. The grasping after honors is an essential part of their greediness.

The seat of honor in the synagogue was, of course, a place of prominence, as was sitting at the head table at dinner. To be greeted first by another person was a sign of respect that acknowledged the honor of another. The Pharisees’ abused social relationships; they were especially indifferent to the plight of the poor. Their greediness for social honors also explains more fully why Christ’s public rebuke to them was so strong. Persons who grasp after honor indiscreetly are still today reprimanded so that their pretensions to superiority may be illuminated and effectively eliminated.

Today, Christ emphatically declares that religious standing should not be used to enhance one’s status in society.

1st Reading: Rom 3:21–30* But, now it has been revealed altogether apart from the Law, as it was already foretold in the Law and the Prophets: God makes us righteous by means of faith in Jesus Christ, and this is applied to all who believe, without distinction of persons. Because all have sinned and all fall short of the Glory of God; and all are graciously forgiven and made righteous through the redemption effected in Christ Jesus. …

Then what becomes of our pride? It is excluded. How? Not through the Law and its observances, but through another law which is faith. For we hold that people are in God’s grace by faith and not because of all the things ordered by the Law. Otherwise, God would be the God of the Jews; but is he not God of pagan nations as well? Of course he is, for there is only one God and he will save by faith the circumcised Jews as well as the uncircumcised nations.

thursday

October

15

28th Week in Ordinary Time Teresa of Jesus Psalter: Week 4

Ps 130:1b–2, 3–4, 5–6ab With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption.

Gospel: Lk 11:47–54 Jesus said to the Pharisees, “A curse is on you, for you build memorials to the prophets your ancestors killed. So you approve and agree with what your ancestors did. Is it not so?

They got rid of the prophets, and now you can build!”

(The Wisdom of God also said,) “I will send prophets and apostles and this people will kill and persecute some of them.

But the present generation will have to answer for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was murdered between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, the people of this time will have to answer for them all. “A curse is on you, teachers of the Law, for you have taken the key of knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you prevented others from entering.”

As Jesus left that place, the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees began to harass him, asking him endless questions, setting traps to catch him in something he might say.

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esus offered a devastating attack against Pharisees in particular and lawyers in general. Pharisees, because of their misplaced concern for purity, exploit people. Lawyers, because of their lack of knowledge concerning the wisdom of God, lead people astray. The opposition of the Pharisees and scribes contrasted with the thousands, who came out to see Jesus. The lawyers and teachers of the law, who were concerned about knowledge of the law, had taken away the key of knowledge and hindered those who were seeking Jesus’ truth. They had never bothered to listen to the wisdom of God. Persons of social prominence, rejected Jesus and designated him as a deviant. The scribes and Pharisees failed in their roles as religious brokers, because they actually blocked access to God, instead of facilitating it. When we see the story from Luke’s point of view, we also identify with Jesus. Thus, because of Luke’s characterization of Jesus and his opponents, when Jesus defied cultural expectations, we find that we accept him as the Christ, sent by God to save us all.

16 October friday

28th Week in Ordinary Time Hedwig / Margaret Mary Alacoque Psalter: Week 4

Ps 32:1b–2, 5, 11 I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.

1st Reading: Rom 4:1–8 Let us consider Abraham, our father in the flesh. What has he found? If Abraham attained righteousness because of his deeds, he could be proud. But he cannot be this before God. Because Scripture says: Abraham believed God who took it into account and held him to be a just man.

Now, when someone does a work, salary is not given as a favor, but as a debt that is paid. Here, on the contrary, someone who has no deeds to show but believes in Him who makes sinners righteous before him: such faith is taken into account and that person is held as righteous. David congratulates in this way those who become righteous by the favor of God, and not by their actions: Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven and whose offenses are forgotten; blessed the one whose sin God does not take into account!

Gospel: Lk 12:1–7 Such a numerous crowd had gathered that they crushed one another. Then Jesus spoke to his disciples in this way, “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy.

Nothing is covered that will not be uncovered, or hidden that will not be made known. Whatever you have said in the darkness will be heard in daylight, and what you have whispered in hidden places, will be proclaimed from the housetops.

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who put to death the body and after that can do no more. But I will tell you whom to fear: Fear the One who after killing you is able to throw you into hell. This one you must fear. Don’t you get five sparrows for two pennies? Yet not one of them has been forgotten by God. Even the hairs of your head have been numbered. So do not fear: are you not worth more than a flock of sparrows?”

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esus warns the disciples to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees. Yeast, of course, has a permeating influence, whether for good or for evil; but the warning of Jesus includes the comment that the Pharisees are an example of what to avoid. The dichotomy is evident: he criticized the Pharisees’ hypocritical practice of the law, whereas he correctly expounded the law. The Pharisees, in their zeal for the law, were opposing the purpose of God, whereas Jesus was fulfilling God’s will. All this was not only a confrontation between Jesus and the scribes and Pharisees, but also between Jesus’ revolutionary understanding of purity and virtue, versus the system, found in the Jewish culture of the scribes and Pharisees. In fact, Jesus remained a figure of unsurpassed holiness: holy in pedigree, holy in observances; he was classified as a reforming insider. To further this point, Jesus was not only unaffected by contact with impurity, he actually imparted purity and wholeness to the impure.

As a limit breaker, Christ today possesses the authority to cross boundaries of purity or impurity and He also invests us with that power to cross boundaries of custom and convention. We only have to ask!

1st Reading: Rom 4:13, 16–18 If God promised Abraham, or rather his descendants, that the world would belong to him, this was not because of his obeying the Law, but because he was just and a friend of God through faith.

For that reason, faith is the way and all is given by grace; and the promises of Abraham are fulfilled for all his descendants, not only for his children according to the Law, but also for all the others who have believed.

Abraham is the father of all of us, as it is written: I will make you father of many nations. He is our father in the eyes of Him who gives life to the dead, and calls into existence what does not yet exist, for this is the God in whom he believed.

Abraham believed and hoped against all expectation, thus becoming father of many nations, as he had been told: See how many will be your descendants.

saturday

October

17

28th Week in Ordinary Time Ignatius of Antioch Psalter: Week 4

Ps 105:6–7, 8–9, 42–43 The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.

Gospel: Lk 12:8–12 Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before people, the Son of Man will also acknowledge before the angels of God. But the one who denies me before others will be denied before the angels of God. There will be pardon for the one who criticizes the Son of Man, but there will be no pardon for the one who slanders the Holy Spirit.

When you are brought before the synagogues, governors and rulers, don’t worry about how you will defend yourself or what to say. For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you have to say.”

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e see, in the New Testament, many instances when Jesus talked about God. And yet, the phrase ‘Son of Man’ is found around two hundred times in the bible and eighty-two times in the gospels. Who exactly is this ‘Son of Man’? The gospels make it crystal clear that the term can only refer to Jesus. The Son of Man has power to forgive sins; he is lord of the Sabbath; he is the messiah, the son of the living God; he was to be killed and raised from the dead; he gave his life as a ransom for many; all of us, who believe in him and worship him, are to have eternal life.

In light of this, the Christian position on the person of Christ has ample support from the bible.

Far from being simply a human prophet of God, He is unique, far above all prophets. So in the gospels the term ‘son of man’ was not simply a way of denoting any old human being, but was used to refer to this special person, Jesus Christ. Those, who confess Christ now, shall be owned by Him on the great day, before the angels of God!

1st Reading: Is 53:10–11 Yet it was the will of Yahweh to crush him with grief.

When he makes himself an offering for sin, he will have a long life and see his descendants.

Through him the will of Yahweh is done.

For the anguish he suffered, he will see the light and obtain perfect knowledge.

My just servant will justify the multitude; he will bear and take away their guilt.

2nd Reading: Heb 4:14–16 We have a great High Priest, Jesus, the Son of God, who has entered heaven. Let us, then, hold fast to the faith we profess. Our high priest is not indifferent to our weaknesses, for he was tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sinning. Let us, then, with confidence approach God, the giver of grace; we will obtain mercy and, through his favor, help in due time.

Gospel: Mk 10:35–45 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him, “Master, we want you to grant us what we are going to ask of you.” And he said, “What do you want me to do for you?”

They answered, “Grant us to sit one at your right and one at your left when you come in your glory.”

But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I drink Ps 33: 4–5, 18–19, 20, 22 or be baptized in the way I am baptized?” They Lord, let your mercy be on us, answered, “We can.” And Jesus told them, “The as we place our trust in you. cup that I drink you will drink, and you will be baptized in the way I am baptized. But to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to grant. It has been prepared for others.”

On hearing this, the other ten were angry with James and John; Jesus then called them to him and said, “As you know, the so-called rulers of the nations act as tyrants and their great ones oppress them. But it shall not be so among you; whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you shall make himself slave of all. Think of the Son of Man who has not come to be served but to serve and to give his life to redeem many.”

sunday

October

18

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 1

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ow does the Lord Jesus lead? The answer provides a model for all who strive to lead others in business, industry, politics, education, health care, the arts and all other fields of human endeavor. The answer also provides a model for parents, called to lead their families along the path of holiness.

Jesus leads by being a servant. He backs up His teachings by picking up the cross and shedding His blood so that we might have life and have it to the full. Jesus drinks of the cup of suffering so as to show His followers the path to true greatness.

Leaders of nations often act as tyrants to get their way, oppressing their subjects and manipulating their followers. Jesus proposes the model of servant-leadership, kneeling to wash the feet of His followers and stretching out His arms upon the cross to accomplish His mission of redemption. Those who seek to lead others in this world can do no better than to follow the example of Jesus and to extend themselves in selfless service to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

19 October monday

29th Week in Ordinary Time Isaac Jogues and John de Brebeuf and Companions / Paul of the Cross Psalter: Week 1

Lk 1:69–70, 71–72, 73–75 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.

1st Reading: Rom 4:20–25 He did not doubt nor did he distrust the promise of God, and by being strong in faith, he gave glory to God: he was convinced that He who had given the promise had power to fulfill it.

This was taken into account for him to attain righteousness.

This was taken into account: these words of Scripture are not only for him, but for us, too, because we believe in Him who raised Jesus, our Lord, from among the dead, he who was delivered for our sins and raised to life for us to receive true righteousness.

Gospel: Lk 12:13–21 Someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus, “Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance.” He replied, “My friend, who has appointed me as your judge or your attorney?” Then Jesus said to the people, “Be on your guard and avoid every kind of greed, for even though you have many possessions, it is not that which gives you life.”

And Jesus continued with this story, “There was a rich man and his land had produced a good harvest. He thought: ‘What shall I do? For I am short of room to store my harvest.’ So this is what he planned: ‘I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones to store all this grain, which is my wealth. Then I may say to myself: My friend, you have a lot of good things put by for many years. Rest, eat, drink and enjoy yourself.’ But God said to him: ‘You fool! This very night your life will be taken from you; tell me who shall get all you have put aside?’ This is the lot of the one who stores up riches instead of amassing for God.”

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ven though you have many possessions, it is not that which gives you life.” When we hear something like this our natural defense mechanisms kick in, causing us to think that we don’t value possessions much. We say to ourselves that we’re not rich; we don’t have abundant possessions, and we live differently. Most of our lives, however, are engaged in collecting more things and desiring more things.

Let’s ask ourselves how we would feel if we lost it all? What if we lost our home, car and bank account? How then would we feel? We certainly recognize that for most of us some possessions as well as shelter are necessary evils for our sheer survival. We should not, however, become unduly attached to them. Who among us can say that, while we accept good things from God, we also accept bad luck? The only way we should live is to realize and accept Christ’s truth: our life is, indeed, worth more than our possessions. It is good to be prudent for our material welfare; but let’s also be prudent spiritually. We will all die and our possessions will go to someone else; so let’s provide for that as well!

1st Reading: Rom 5:12, 15ab, 17–19, 20–21 Therefore, sin entered the world through one man and through sin, death, and later on death spread to all humankind, because all sinned.

Such has been the fall, but God’s gift goes far beyond. All died because of the fault of one man, but how much more does the grace of God spread when the gift he granted reaches all, from this unique man Jesus Christ.

If death reigned through the disobedience of one and only one person, how much more will there be a reign of life for those who receive the grace and the gift of true righteousness through the one person, Jesus Christ. Just as one transgression brought sentence of death to all, so, too, one man’s good act has brought justification and light to all; and as the disobedience of only one made all sinners, so the obedience of one person allowed all to be made just and holy.

The Law itself, introduced later on, caused sin to increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, and as sin caused death to reign, so grace will reign in its own time, and after making us just and friends of God, will bring us to eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

tuesday

October

20

29th Week in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 1

Ps 40:7–8a, 8b–9, 10, 17 Here I am, Lord; I come to do your will.

Gospel: Lk 12:35–38 Jesus said to his disciples, “Be ready, dressed for service, and keep your lamps lit, like people waiting for their master to return from the wedding. As soon as he comes and knocks, they will open to him. Happy are those servants whom the master finds wide-awake when he comes. Truly, I tell you, he will put on an apron and have them sit at table and he will wait on them. Happy are those servants if he finds them awake when he comes at midnight or daybreak!”

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t the start of today’s gospel, a different image breaks in: if the householder had known at what time the burglar was coming, he wouldn’t have let his house be broken into. The one, who is to come, is not only a promise but also a threat: a threat to our autonomy; a threat to the comfortable compromises by which we order our lives. We are the householders; we think we are in control. The day of God’s coming overturns all this.

The Son of Man will come at an hour we do not expect. So much for the cosy images of death as a swift escalator up to the pearly gates of heaven. Christ will come, not only at the time we least expect him, but in a form we least expect. The one, who will come in glory, has already been here, many times and in many shapes: hungry and thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick and in prison. He has been here many times and judges us by how we received Him. May we be alert for Christ’s coming and recognize Him in every man, woman and child, and especially in those most in need of our help.

21 October wednesday

1st Reading: Rom 6:12–18* Do not allow sin any control over your mortal bodies; do 29th Week in Ordinary Time not submit yourselves to its evil inclinations, and do not Psalter: Week 1 give your members over to sin, as instruments to do evil.

On the contrary, offer yourselves as persons returned from Ps 124:1b–3, 4–6, 7–8 death to life, and let the members of your body be as holy Our help is in the name of the Lord. instruments at the service of God. … Let us give thanks to God for, after having sin as your master, you have been given to another, that is, to the doctrine of faith, to which you listen willingly. And being free from sin, you began to serve true righteousness.

Gospel: Lk 12:39–48 Jesus said to his disciples, “Pay attention to this: If the master of the house had known at what time the thief would come, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.” Peter said, “Lord, did you tell this parable only for us, or for everyone?” And the Lord replied, “Imagine, then, the wise and faithful steward whom the master sets over his other servants to give them food rations at the proper time.

Fortunate is this servant if his master on coming home finds him doing his work. Truly, I say to you, the master will put him in charge of all his property.

“But it may be that the steward thinks: ‘My Lord delays in coming,’ and he begins to abuse the menservants and the servant girls, eating and drinking and getting drunk. Then the master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he doesn’t know. He will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.

“The servant who knew his master’s will, but did not prepare to do what his master wanted, will be punished with sound blows; but the one who did what deserved a punishment without knowing it shall receive fewer blows. Much will be required of the one who has been given much, and more will be asked of the one entrusted with more.”

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t the start of today’s gospel, a different image breaks in: if the householder had known at what time the burglar was coming, he wouldn’t have let his house be broken into. The one, who is to come, is not only a promise but also a threat: a threat to our autonomy; a threat to the comfortable compromises by which we order our lives. We are the householders; we think we are in control. The day of God’s coming overturns all this.

The Son of Man will come at an hour we do not expect. So much for the cosy images of death as a swift escalator up to the pearly gates of heaven. Christ will come, not only at the time we least expect him, but in a form we least expect. The one, who will come in glory, has already been here, many times and in many shapes: hungry and thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick and in prison. He has been here many times and judges us by how we received Him. May we be alert for Christ’s coming and recognize Him in every man, woman and child, and especially in those most in need of our help.

1st Reading: Rom 6:19–23 You see that I speak in a very human way, taking into account that you are not fully mature.

There was a time when you let your members be slaves of impurity and disorder, walking in the way of sin; convert them now into servants of righteousness, to the point of becoming holy.

When you were slaves of sin, you did not feel under obligation to righteousness, but what were the fruits of those actions of which you are now ashamed? Such things bring death. Now, however, you have been freed from sin and serve God. You are bearing fruit and growing in holiness, and the result will be life everlasting. So on one side is Sin: its reward, death; on the other side is God: he gives us, by grace, life everlasting in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

thursday

October

22

29th Week in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 1

Ps 1:1–2, 3, 4 and 6 Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Gospel: Lk 12:49–53 Jesus said to his disciples, “I have come to bring fire upon the earth and how I wish it were already kindled; but I have a baptism to undergo and what anguish I feel until it is over!

“Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth?

No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on, in one house five will be divided; three against two, and two against three.

They will be divided, father against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-inlaw against her mother-in-law.”

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oday, we hear another one of Christ’s hard sayings: “I have not come to bring peace, but rather division” So our task is to appreciate the division, which Christ has brought. We are instructed to see and learn from the way other people complement us; for since people are different from us by God’s design, then those differences are good and to be acknowledged, not eliminated. Nobody, not even the people God has put around us, is morally pure and thoroughly ethical; and neither are we!

The essence of most quarrels between people is that one person feels that another owes him or her something. It would be foolish, however, to try to repay someone when we actually didn’t owe them anything at all, just to keep them happy. Keeping others happy is not what God is about; therefore, it is not what we are about, either. Just as we are foolish, trying to keep others happy, so others take on a life of slavery, trying to keep the world happy with them. They try endlessly to live up to expectations, however well meaning, that the world places upon them. Reflecting back, is this how God wants us to live?

23 October friday

29th Week in Ordinary Time John of Capistrano Psalter: Week 1

Ps 119:66, 68, 76, 77, 93, 94 Lord, teach me your statutes.

1st Reading: Rom 7:18–25a I know that what is right does not abide in me, I mean, in my flesh. I can want to do what is right, but I am unable to do it. In fact I do not do the good I want, but the evil I hate.

Therefore, if I do what I do not want to do, I am not the one striving towards evil, but Sin which is in me.

I discover, then, this reality: though I wish to do what is right, the evil within me asserts itself first. My inmost self agrees and rejoices with the law of God, but I notice in my body another law challenging the law of the spirit, and delivering me as a slave to the law of sin written in my members. Alas, for me!

Who will free me from this being which is only death? Let us give thanks to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!

So, with my conscience I am a servant of the law of God, and with my mortal body I serve the law of sin.

Gospel: Lk 12:54–59 Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once: ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. And when the wind blows from the south, you say: ‘It will be hot’; and so it is. You superficial people! You understand the signs of the earth and the sky, but you don’t understand the present times.

“And why do you not judge for yourselves what is fit? When you go with your accuser before the court, try to settle the case on the way, lest he drag you before the judge and the judge deliver you to the jailer, and the jailer throw you in prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

J

esus taught against the court system, built on judgment and condemnation. This issue is also, in many ways, an extension of a larger issue: how we, as Christians, should treat our enemies. Even sinners love those who love them. Jesus promoted a greater love: a love of our enemies. God is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked, so we must be kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. God shows mercy towards his enemies, so we must show mercy towards our enemies. God loves his enemies, so we must love our enemies.

Indeed, refraining from using self-defense against an approaching enemy does require patience and faithfulness. Followers of Christ are called upon to love their enemies, as Christ loved His. If Christ’s kingdom were of this world, we could use violence when attacked. However, Christ’s kingdom is not of this world. Many argue that Christ’s purpose was to redeem us, and this is why we cannot defend ourselves. It must be noted, however, that the reason for not fighting is not that Christ had to redeem us, but that His kingdom is not of this world. His kingdom is built around our love…and our love for our enemies!

1st Reading: Rom 8:1–11* This contradiction no longer exists for those who are in Jesus Christ. For, in Jesus Christ, the law of the Spirit of life has set me free from the law of sin and death. The Law was without effect because flesh was not responding. Then God, planning to destroy sin, sent his own Son, in the likeness of those subject to the sinful human condition; by doing this, he condemned the sin in this human condition. Since then the perfection intended by the Law would be fulfilled in those not walking in the way of the flesh, but in the way of the Spirit. …

Yet your existence is not in the flesh, but in the spirit, because the Spirit of God is within you. If you did not have the Spirit of Christ, you would not belong to him. But Christ is within you; though the body is branded by death as a consequence of sin, the spirit is life and holiness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is within you, He who raised Jesus Christ from among the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies. Yes, he will do it through his Spirit who dwells within you.

saturday

October

24

29th Week in Ordinary Time Anthony Mary Claret Psalter: Week 1

Ps 24:1–2, 3–4ab, 5–6 Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Gospel: Lk 13:1–9 Some persons told Jesus what had occurred in the Temple: Pilate had Galileans killed and their blood mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus replied, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this? I tell you: no. But unless you change your ways, you will all perish as they did. …

And Jesus continued with this story, “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard and he came looking for fruit on it, but found none. Then he said to the gardener: ‘Look here, for three years now I have been looking for figs on this tree and I have found none. Cut it down, why should it use up the ground?’ The gardener replied: ‘Leave it one more year, so that I may dig around it and add some fertilizer; and perhaps it will bear fruit from now on. But if it doesn’t, you can cut it down.”

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nthony Mary Claret was born at Vich, in Catalonia, Spain in 1807. In 1829, he entered the seminary at Vich. Ordained to the priesthood in 1835, he went to Rome to work for the Propagation of the Faith. His apostolate consisted of rural preaching, conferences for the clergy and publications…he wrote more than 150 books. But, his patience was tested in the political upheavals of the nineteenth century. His efforts at reform stirred up a great deal of hostility. He promoted Catholic publications and founded an academy for artists and literary persons.

In 1849, Anthony gathered together five priests, who formed the basis of the Missionary Sons of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, known as Claretians. In 1869, while he was in Rome preparing for the First Vatican Council, he was placed under house arrest in the Cistercian monastery at Fontfroide, where he died at the age of 63. His major work, The Right Way, reached millions of people, promoted fidelity to the gospel among all classes of people, especially among the laity and religious.

1st Reading: Jer 31:7–9 For Yahweh says this: Shout with joy for Jacob; rejoice for the greatest of nations.

Proclaim your praise and say: “Yahweh has saved his people, the remnant of Israel!”

Look, I will bring them back from the land of the north, gather them from the ends of the earth, the lame and the blind, mothers and women in labor—a great throng will return.

They went away weeping, they will return in joy.

I will lead them by the streams of water, on a level path so that no one will stumble, for I am Israel’s father and Ephraim is my firstborn.

2nd Reading: Heb 5:1–6 Every High Priest is taken from among mortals and appointed to be their representative before God to offer gifts and sacrifices for sin. He is able to understand the ignorant and erring for he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he is bound to offer sacrifices for his sins as well as for the sins of the people. Besides, one does not presume to take this dignity, but takes it only when called by God, as Aaron was.

Nor did Christ become High Priest in taking upon himself this dignity, but it was given to him by the One who says: You are my son, I have begotten you today. And in another place: Ps 126:1–2, 2–3, 4–5, 6 You are a priest forever in the priestly order of The Lord has done great things for us; Melchizedek. we are filled with joy.

Gospel: Mk 10:46–52 As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a large crowd, a blind beggar, Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.

On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth passing by, he began to call out, “Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me!” Many people scolded him and told him to keep quiet, but he shouted all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” So they called the blind man saying, “Take heart. Get up, he is calling you.” He immediately threw aside his cloak, jumped up and went to Jesus.

Then Jesus asked him, “What do you want

me to do for you?” The blind man said, “Master, let me see again!” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way, your faith has made you well.” And immediately he could see, and he followed Jesus along the road.

sunday

October

25

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 2

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n the company of Jesus, Bartimaeus did not pretend to be someone he was not. He was a blind man who wanted to see, and this is exactly what he told the Lord.

The blind Bartimaeus offers an example of simple faith that is deserving of our attention.

He persists in crying out for the Lord’s mercy even when told to be quiet. When asked, he tells the Lord exactly what he wants. So it should be with us.

We do not need to pretend that we are perfect. Jesus loves us in spite of our sinfulness.

Nor should we try to hide our sinfulness from the Lord, for who could ever succeed in keeping anything hidden from the Lord who sees all things? Rather, when we take the occasion to make a good confession we approach Jesus as the Divine Physician and show him our wounds, even if they are in embarrassing locations. By presenting ourselves to the Lord in a contrite and humble manner we open ourselves up to His healing power and come to discover the greatness of His compassion and love.

26 October monday

30th Week in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 2

Ps 68:2 and 4, 6–7ab, 20–21 Our God is the God of salvation.

1st Reading: Rom 8:12–17 Then, brothers, let us leave the flesh and no longer live according to it. If not, we will die. Rather, walking in the Spirit, let us put to death the body’s deeds so that we may live.

All those who walk in the Spirit of God are sons and daughters of God. Then, no more fear: you did not receive a spirit of slavery, but the Spirit that makes you sons and daughters and every time we cry, “Abba! (this is Dad!) Father!” the Spirit assures our spirit that we are sons and daughters of God. If we are children, we are heirs, too. Ours will be the inheritance of God and we will share it with Christ; for if we now suffer with him, we will also share Glory with him.

Gospel: Lk 13:10–17 Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the Sabbath and a crippled woman was there. An evil spirit had kept her bent for eighteen years so that she could not straighten up at all.

On seeing her, Jesus called her and said, “Woman, you are freed from your infirmity.” Then he laid his hands upon her and immediately she was made straight and praised God. But the ruler of the synagogue was indignant because Jesus had performed this healing on the Sabbath day and he said to the people, “There are six days in which to work; come on those 1(y)-2(s )26(i)-2coauog231(i)-2(n231(b)l a)-271a5(g23)-2cn2

1st Reading: Rom 8:18–25 I consider that the suffering of our present life cannot be compared with the Glory that will be revealed and given to us. All creation is eagerly expecting the birth in glory of the children of God. For if now the created world was unable to attain its purpose, this did not come from itself, but from the one who subjected it. But it is not without hope; for even the created world will be freed from this fate of death and share the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pangs of birth. Not creation alone, but even ourselves, although the Spirit was given to us as a foretaste of what we are to receive, we groan in our innermost being, eagerly awaiting the day when God will give us full rights and rescue our bodies as well.

In hope we already have salvation. But if we saw what we hoped for, there would no longer be hope: how can you hope for what is already seen? So we hope for what we do not see and we will receive it through patient hope.

tuesday

October

27

30th Week in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 2

Ps 126:1b–2ab, 2cd–3, 4–5, 6 The Lord has done marvels for us.

Gospel: Lk 13:18–21 Jesus continued speaking, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? Imagine a person who has taken a mustard seed and planted it in the garden. The seed has grown and become like a small tree, so that the birds of the air shelter in its branches.”

And Jesus said again, “What is the kingdom of God like?

Imagine a woman who has taken yeast and hidden it in three measures of flour until it is all leavened.”

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entral to the gospels is Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom of God. Jesus’ primary mission to his people was to offer them the possibility of salvation, which, for the most part, he expressed by the term, kingdom of God. Jesus also saw the appearance of the kingdom of God as manifested in his exorcisms and healings.

Christ compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed, or to what happens to a mustard seed.

The mustard plant begins as inconspicuous, the smallest of all seeds, but becomes conspicuous, a large tree. The emphasis of the parable is on the contrast between beginning and end. The depiction of the mustard plant as a tree, large enough to support birds in its branches, is a metaphor of the kingdom of God as offering protection to those within it. The emphasis of the parable is on the contrast between beginning and end. Jesus’ point is that the kingdom of God is an historical process, beginning inconspicuously, but leading to conspicuous results. The birds sitting in the branches of the mature mustard plant serve to illustrate how large the plant has become, so as to accentuate the contrast between the beginning and the end.

28 October wednesday

Simon and Jude, apostles Psalter: Proper

Ps 19:2–3, 4–5 Their message goes out through all the earth.

1st Reading: Eph 2:19–22 Now you are no longer strangers or guests, but fellow citizens of the holy people: you are of the household of God. You are the house whose foundations are the apostles and prophets, and whose cornerstone is Christ Jesus. In him the whole structure is joined together and rises to be a holy temple in the Lord. In him you too are being built to become the spiritual sanctuary of God. Gospel: Lk 6:12–16 Jesus went out into the hills to pray, spending the whole night in prayer with God. When day came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them whom he called apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; Matthew and Thomas; James son of Alpheus and Simon called the Zealot; Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who would be the traitor.

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n the various gospel lists of the twelve apostles, the tenth and eleventh places are occupied

by Simon the Zealot and by Judas son of James, also called Thaddeus. Some ancient Christian writers say that Simon and Jude went together as missionaries to Persia and were martyred there. If this is true, it explains, to some extent, our lack of historical information on them and also why they are usually put together.

Jude is often, in popular usage, referred to as the patron of desperate causes, the saint of last resort, the one you ask for help when all else fails. Some might wonder what this is all about. Since his name reminds hearers of Judas Iscariot, there is a tendency for someone asking a Christian brother, now with God, for intercessory prayers to try one of the other apostles first. Hence, Jude has come to be called “the saint of last resort,” the one, whom we ask only when desperate. Christ wants us to owe our spiritual well-being, not just to Him, but also to one another. Hence, He has told us to pray for one another. And our bond of Christian love will never be broken by death.

1st Reading: Rom 8:31b–39 What shall we say after this? If God is with us, who shall be against us? If he did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not give us all things with him? Who shall accuse those chosen by God: he takes away their guilt.

Who will dare to condemn them? Christ who died, and better still, rose and is seated at the right hand of God, interceding for us?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Will it be trials, or anguish, persecution or hunger, lack of clothing, or dangers or sword? As the Scripture says: For your sake we are being killed all day long; they treat us like sheep to be slaughtered.

No, in all of this we are more than conquerors, thanks to him who has loved us. I am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels nor spiritual powers, neither the present nor the future, nor cosmic powers, were they from heaven or from the deep world below, nor any creature whatsoever will separate us from the love of God, which we have in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

thursday

October

29

30th Week in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 2

Ps 109:21–22, 26–27, 30–31 Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.

Gospel: Lk 13:31–35 Some Pharisees came to Jesus and gave him this warning, “Leave this place and go on your way, for Herod wants to kill you.” Jesus said to them, “Go and give that fox my answer: ‘I drive out demons and heal today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my course!’ Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and for a little longer, for it would not be fitting for a prophet to be killed outside Jerusalem.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you slay the prophets and stone your apostles! How often have I tried to bring together your children, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, but you refused! From now on you will be left with your temple and you will no longer see me until the time when you will say: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

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n today’s gospel, we have a different picture of Jesus. “How often have I tried to bring together your children, as a bird gathers her young under her wings, but you refused!” God is the mother hen, who takes her baby chicks under her wings to protect them. The chicks can be running around the yard, but when danger comes, she clucks and clucks to them to run under her wings and hide in her feathers. That is the way that Christ has promised to protect us also. We are His chicks, His precious children.

Jerusalem had been the place where the Old Testament prophets had been killed and stoned.

The prophets wanted to protect the people by proclaiming the word of God. But the people were not willing to listen to them, and they would not want to listen to Christ, either. They would kill their savior. We do the same when we refuse to believe in Christ or take protection under his wings. That is to say, if we refuse to listen to God’s word or receive Christ into our lives, it is the same as killing and stoning the prophets…it is crucifying Christ all over again!

30 October friday

30th Week in Ordinary Time Psalter: Week 2

Ps 147:12–13, 14–15, 19–20 Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

1st Reading: Rom 9:1–5 I tell you sincerely in Christ, and my conscience assures me in the Holy Spirit that I am not lying: I have great sadness and constant anguish for the Jews. I would even desire that I myself suffer the curse of being cut off from Christ, instead of my brethren: I mean my own people, my kin. They are Israelites whom God adopted, and on them rests his Glory.

Theirs are the covenants, the Law, the worship and the promises of God. They are descendants of the Patriarchs and from their race Christ was born, he who as God is above all distinctions. Blessed be He forever and ever: Amen!

Gospel: Lk 14:1–6 One Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and he was carefully watched. In front of him was a man suffering from dropsy; so Jesus asked the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” But no one answered. Jesus then took the man, healed him and sent him away. And he addressed them, “If your lamb or your ox falls into a well on a Sabbath day, who among you doesn’t hurry to pull it out?” And they could not answer.

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t is much too easy to think of religion as being about us, instead of being about God. It is much too easy to be overwhelmed with our issues, instead of God’s issues. It is much too easy to focus on our priorities, instead of God’s priorities. It is much too easy to superimpose our priorities on God’s priorities and, thereby, to consider our priorities to be God’s priorities.

Here is a simple point: a correct understanding of God’s priorities results in us doing good for other people. The man or woman, who belongs to God, recognizes God’s great concern for the suffering of less fortunate people. God’s top priority for His people is their humble compassion. If God, in humble compassion, could give His son to humanity through crucifixion, those of us, who belong to God, can reach out to each other in humble compassion. We help people to see God’s kindness through our kindness. It never violates God’s priorities when we do good. We can always find opportunities to show compassion in ways we cannot imagine. We represent God well, even in the hardest circumstances, when we are prepared to do good, just because we believe in God.

1st Reading: Rom 11:1–2a, 11–12, 25–29* And so I ask: Has God rejected his people? Of course not.

I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. No, God has not rejected the people he knew beforehand. Don’t you know what the Scripture says of Elijah when he was accusing Israel before God? Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall? Of course not.

Their stumbling allowed salvation to come to the pagan nations and this, in turn, will stir up the jealousy of Israel. If Israel’s shortcoming made the world rich, if the pagan nations grew rich with what they lost, what will happen when Israel is restored?

I want you to understand the mysterious decree of God, lest you be too confident: a part of Israel will remain hardened until the majority of pagans have entered. Then the whole of Israel will be saved, as Scripture says: From Zion will come the Liberator who will purify the descendants of Jacob from all sin. And this is the covenant I will make with them: I will take away from them their sins. …

saturday

October

31

30th Week in Ordinary Time Our Lady’s Saturday Psalter: Week 2

Ps 94:12–13a, 14–15, 17–18 The Lord will not abandon his people.

Gospel: Lk 14:1, 7–11 One Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and he was carefully watched.

Jesus then told a parable to the guests, for he had noticed how they tried to take the places of honor. And he said, “When you are invited to a wedding party, do not choose the best seat. It may happen that someone more important than you has been invited, and your host, who invited both of you, will come and say to you: ‘Please give this person your place.’

What shame is yours when you take the lowest seat!

Whenever you are invited, go rather to the lowest seat, so that your host may come and say to you: ‘Friend, you must come up higher.’ And this will be a great honor for you in the presence of all the other guests. For whoever makes himself out to be great will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be raised.”

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umility, as downward mobility, is clearly seen in Jesus’ picture of taking the lowest seat at the table. Jesus advised the dinner guests not to take the best seats, but the worst. He didn’t put the matter in spiritual terms at first, but appealed to their pragmatism. If a person took a low seat, he might be raised to a higher one, but if he took a high seat to begin with, someone who outranked him might come in and he would then be forced to take a lower seat.

The spiritual principles are the same: to exalt oneself is to invite humbling by God, while to humble oneself before God is to be lifted up by Him. Sometimes, we get the idea that humility means eating mud-pies, so to speak, or always being a wallflower. We confuse personality with spiritual virtue.

Yet, the world’s greatest example of humility, Jesus Christ, was both humble and assertive. As we reflect on God’s work of humility in our lives, let’s pray that our cultural notions of humility will be replaced by Christian examples. Christ’s downward mobility is the way to the joy of God, a joy that is not of this world.