OCTOBER 12, 2015 : MONDAY OF THE TWENTY-EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 467

Reading 1ROM 1:1-7

Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus,
called to be an Apostle and set apart for the Gospel of God,
which he promised previously through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,
the Gospel about his Son, descended from David according to the flesh, 
but established as Son of God in power 
according to the Spirit of holiness 
through resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through him we have received the grace of apostleship, 
to bring about the obedience of faith,
for the sake of his name, among all the Gentiles,
among whom are you also, who are called to belong to Jesus Christ;
to all the beloved of God in Rome, called to be holy.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father 
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Responsorial PsalmPS 98:1BCDE, 2-3AB, 3CD-4

R. (2a) The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him,
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.

AlleluiaPS 95:8

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If today you hear his voice,
harden not your hearts.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 11:29-32

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
“This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment 
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will 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.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation 
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "This is an evil generation; it seeks a sign"

Do you pay attention to warning signs? Many fatalities could be avoided if people took the warning signs seriously. When the religious leaders demanded a sign from Jesus, he gave them a warning to avert spiritual disaster. It was characteristic of the Jews that they demanded "signs" from God's messengers to authenticate their claims. When the religious leaders pressed Jesus to give proof for his claims he says in so many words that he is God's sign and that they need no further evidence from heaven than his own person. 
The Ninevites recognized God's warning when Jonah spoke to them, and they repented. And the Queen of Sheba recognized God's wisdom in Solomon. Jonah was God's sign and his message was the message of God for the people of Nineveh. Unfortunately the religious leaders were not content to accept the signs right before their eyes. They had rejected the message of John the Baptist and now they reject Jesus as God's Anointed One (Messiah) and they fail to heed his message. Simeon had prophesied at Jesus' birth that he was "destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that inner thoughts of many will be revealed" (Luke 2:34- 35). Jesus confirmed his message with many miracles in preparation for the greatest sign of all - his resurrection on the third day.
The Lord Jesus came to set us free from slavery to sin and hurtful desires. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit he pours his love into our hearts that we may understand his will for our lives and walk in his way of holiness. God searches our hearts, not to condemn us, but to show us where we need his saving grace and help. He calls us to seek him with true repentance, humility, and the honesty to see our sins for what they really are - a rejection of his love and will for our lives. 
God will transform us if we listen to his word and allow his Holy Spirit to work in our lives. Ask the Lord to renew your mind and to increase your thirst for his wisdom. James says that the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity (James 3:17). A double-minded person cannot receive this kind of wisdom. The single of heart desire one thing alone - God's pleasure. God wants us to delight in him and to know the freedom of his truth and love. Do you thirst for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14)?

"Lord Jesus, give me a heart that loves what is good and in accord with your will and fill me with your wisdom that I my understand your ways. Give me the grace and the courage to reject whatever is evil and contrary to your will."

www.dailyscripture.net

MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, LUKE 11:29-32
Weekday
(Romans 1:1-7; Psalm 98)

KEY VERSE: "This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah" (v 29). 
TO KNOW: When the people demanded a sign from Jesus as proof that his miracles were genuine, he accused them of lacking faith. He declared that the only sign he would give them would be the sign of Jonah's "death and resurrection" from the belly of a fish (Jonah 2). When Jonah was sent to preach to Nineveh in Assyria (Israel's enemy), the prophet was astonished when these pagan people repented and turned toward God (Jon 3:1-10). Jesus was a prophet greater than Jonah, yet the Gentiles were more receptive to his message than were his own people. Jesus noted that the Queen of Sheba had come from afar to learn the wisdom of King Solomon (1 Kgs 10:1-10). In contrast, Jesus, the wisdom of God, was spurned and rejected even though he came from God to offer them the gift of eternal life. 
TO LOVE: Am I, like Jonah, reluctant to speak God's words to unbelievers?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to repent of my sins and heed your words. 

Columbus Day Observed

The first recorded celebration of Columbus Day in the United States took place on October 12, 1792. Organized by The Society of St. Tammany, also known as the Columbian Order, it commemorated the 300th anniversary of Columbus' landing. The 400th anniversary of the event, however, inspired the first official Columbus Day holiday in the United States. In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison issued a proclamation urging Americans to mark the day. The public responded enthusiastically, organizing school programs, plays, and community festivities across the country. 
The Knights of Columbus is a Catholic men's fraternal benefit society that was formed to render financial aid to members and their families. Mutual aid and assistance are offered to sick, disabled and needy members and their families. Social and intellectual fellowship is promoted among members and their families through educational, charitable, religious, social welfare, war relief and public relief works.

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Monday 12 October 2015

MON 12TH. Romans 1:1-7. The Lord has made known his salvation—Ps 97(98):1-4. Luke 11:29-32.

Readings

'This is a wicked generation: it is asking for a sign.'

Reportedly, eight men condemned to death in Indonesia for drug offences, sang ‘Amazing Grace’ as they stood before the firing squad. In darkness, facing a brutal death, it was sheer faith. They bonded and supported each other. 

A missionary from the Pacific Islands spoke of the loneliness he had experienced, sitting in the church alone on a Sunday evening, far from home. That was in the early days of a thirty-year ministry.

Elderly parents of adult children with severe disabilities patiently care for them. They now hope the National Disability Insurance Scheme will provide security of support, even though housing options remain limited.

Jesus, in many ways, people live faithfully, with little outward reassurance. Deepen my faith and give me the courage to follow you. 

www.pray.com.au

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Benefit of the Doubt

One of the chief differences between the saints and ourselves is that when things go wrong, the saints take it for granted that God is treating them lovingly and wisely; we on the other hand, jump to the conclusion that God either does not mind what happens to us or is handing out a punishment. Sanctity always gives God the benefit of the doubt. In fact, it gives him the benefit of a certainty: He cannot go wrong; he has a plan; he never stops loving. 
—Dom Hubert van Zeller

— from Love Never Fails

October 12
Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos
(1819-1867)

Zeal as a preacher and a confessor led Father Seelos to works of compassion as well.

Born in southern Bavaria, he studied philosophy and theology in Munich. On hearing about the work of the Redemptorists among German-speaking Catholics in the United States, he came to this country in 1843. Ordained at the end of 1844, he was assigned for six years to St. Philomena’s Parish in Pittsburgh as an assistant to St. John Neumann. The next three years Father Seelos was superior in the same community and began his service as novice master.

Several years in parish ministry in Maryland followed, along with responsibility for training Redemptorist students. During the Civil War, he went to Washington, D.C., and appealed to President Lincoln that those students not be drafted for military service.

For several years he preached in English and in German throughout the Midwest and in the Middle Atlantic states. Assigned to St. Mary of the Assumption Church community in New Orleans, he served his Redemptorist confreres and parishioners with great zeal. In 1867 he died of yellow fever, having contracted that disease while visiting the sick. He was beatified in 2000.

Comment:

Father Seelos worked in many different places but always with the same zeal: to help people know God’s saving love and compassion. He preached about the works of mercy and then engaged in them, even risking his own health.

Quote:

“To the abandoned and the lost he preached the message of Jesus Christ, ‘the source of eternal salvation’ (Hebrews 5:9), and in the hours spent in the confessional he convinced many to return to God. Today, Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos invites the members of the Church to deepen their union with Christ in the sacraments of penance and the Eucharist” (John Paul II, beatification homily).

www.americancatholic.org

LECTIO DIVINA: LUKE 11,29-32

Lectio: 

 Monday, October 12, 2015

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Lord,
our help and guide,
make your love the foundation of our lives.
May our love for you express itself
in our eagerness to do good for others.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Luke 11,29-32

The crowds got even bigger and Jesus addressed them, 'This is an evil 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 people of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be a sign to this generation.

On Judgement Day the Queen of the South will stand up against the people of this generation and be their condemnation, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, look, there is something greater than Solomon here.

On Judgement Day the men of Nineveh will appear against this generation and be its condemnation, because when Jonah preached they repented; and, look, there is something greater than Jonah here.

3) Reflection

• The Gospel today presents a very hard accusation of Jesus against the Pharisees and the Scribes. They wanted Jesus to give them a sign, because they did not believe in the signs and in the miracles which he was working. This accusation of Jesus continues in the Gospels of the following days. In meditating on these Gospels we have to be very attentive not to generalize the accusation of Jesus as if it were addressed to the Hebrew people. In the past, the lack of this attention, unfortunately contributed to increase anti- Semitism in us Christians, which has caused so much harm to humanity throughout the centuries. Instead of pointing out the finger against the Pharisees of the time of Jesus, it is better to look at ourselves in the mirror of the texts to discover in them the Pharisee which lives hidden in our Church and in each one of us, and who merits this criticism from Jesus.

• Luke 11, 29-30: The sign of Jonah. “At that time, the people crowed and Jesus began to say: This is an evil generation; it is asking for a sign. The only sign it will be given is the sign of Jonah”. The Gospel of Matthew says that it was the Scribes and the Pharisees who were asking for a sign (Mt 12, 38). They wanted Jesus to work a sign for them, a miracle, in such a way that they could become aware if he was the one sent by God, as they imagined. They wanted Jesus to submit himself to their criteria. They wanted to fit him in to the framework of their own idea of the Messiah. In them there was no openness for a possible conversion. But Jesus did not submit himself to their request. The Gospel of Mark says that Jesus, before the request of the Pharisees, Jesus sighed profoundly (Mk 8, 12), probably because he was upset and sad in the face of such blindness; because it serves nothing to try to show a beautiful picture to a person who does not want to open the eyes. The only sign that will be given is the sign of Jonah. “For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be a sign to this generation “. How will this sign of the Son of man be? The Gospel of Matthew responds: “For as Jonah remained in the belly of the sea-monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights” (Mt 12, 40). The only sign will be the resurrection of Jesus. This is the sign which will be given in the future to the Scribes and the Pharisees. Jesus, who was condemned to death by them and to death on the cross, will rise from the dead by God and will continue to resurrect in many ways in those who believe in him. The sign which converts is not the miracles but the witness of life!

• Luke 11, 31: Salomon and the Queen of the South. The reference to the conversion of the people of Nineveh associates and recalls the conversion of the Queen of the South: “The Queen of the South will stand up against this generation and be their condemnation; because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look, there is something greater than Solomon here”. This reminder almost occasional of the episode of the Queen of the South who recognizes the wisdom of Solomon, shows how the Bible was used at that time. It was by association. The principal rule for the interpretation was this one: “The Bible is explained by the Bible”. Up until now, this is one of the more important norms for the interpretation of the Bible, especially for the Reading of the Word of God, in a climate of prayer.

• Luke 11, 32: And Look there is something greater than Solomon here. After the digression on Solomon and on the Queen of the South, Jesus returns to speak about the sign of Jonah: “The men of Nineveh will appear against this generation and be its condemnation, because when Jonah preached they repented”. The people of Nineveh were converted because of the witness of the preaching of Jonah and he denounces the unbelief of the Scribes and of the Pharisees. Because “something greater than Jonah is here”. Jesus is greater than Jonah, greater than Solomon. For us Christians, he is the principal key for Scripture (2Co 3, 14-18).

4) Personal questions

• Jesus criticizes the Scribes and the Pharisees who managed to deny the evidence, rendering themselves incapable to recognize the call of God in the events. And we Christians today, and I, do we deserve the same criticism of Jesus?

• Níneveh was converted because of the preaching of Jonah. The Scribes and the Pharisees were not converted. Today, the calls of reality cause changes and conversions in people in the whole world: the ecological threat, urbanization that dehumanizes, consumerism which standardizes and alienates, injustice, violence, etc. Many Christians live far away from these calls of God which come from reality.

5) CONCLUDING PRAYER

Praise, servants of Yahweh,
praise the name of Yahweh.
Blessed be the name of Yahweh,
henceforth and for ever. (Ps 113,1-2)

www.ocarm.org