Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 468
Lectionary: 468
Brothers and
sisters:
I am not ashamed of the Gospel.
It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
for Jew first, and then Greek.
For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith;
as it is written, “The one who is righteous by faith will live.”
The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven
against every impiety and wickedness
of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
For what can be known about God is evident to them,
because God made it evident to them.
Ever since the creation of the world,
his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity
have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.
As a result, they have no excuse;
for although they knew God
they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks.
Instead, they became vain in their reasoning,
and their senseless minds were darkened.
While claiming to be wise, they became fools
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God
for the likeness of an image of mortal man
or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.
Therefore, God handed them over to impurity
through the lusts of their hearts
for the mutual degradation of their bodies.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie
and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator,
who is blessed forever. Amen.
I am not ashamed of the Gospel.
It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
for Jew first, and then Greek.
For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith;
as it is written, “The one who is righteous by faith will live.”
The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven
against every impiety and wickedness
of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
For what can be known about God is evident to them,
because God made it evident to them.
Ever since the creation of the world,
his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity
have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made.
As a result, they have no excuse;
for although they knew God
they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks.
Instead, they became vain in their reasoning,
and their senseless minds were darkened.
While claiming to be wise, they became fools
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God
for the likeness of an image of mortal man
or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.
Therefore, God handed them over to impurity
through the lusts of their hearts
for the mutual degradation of their bodies.
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie
and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator,
who is blessed forever. Amen.
Responsorial PsalmPS 19:2-3, 4-5
R. (2a) The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
AlleluiaHEB 4:12
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 11:37-41
After Jesus had
spoken,
a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home.
He entered and reclined at table to eat.
The Pharisee was amazed to see
that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.
The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees!
Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish,
inside you are filled with plunder and evil.
You fools!
Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?
But as to what is within, give alms,
and behold, everything will be clean for you.”
a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home.
He entered and reclined at table to eat.
The Pharisee was amazed to see
that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.
The Lord said to him, “Oh you Pharisees!
Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish,
inside you are filled with plunder and evil.
You fools!
Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside?
But as to what is within, give alms,
and behold, everything will be clean for you.”
Meditation:
"Give alms from what you have within"
Is the Lord Jesus welcomed at your table and are you ready to
feast at his table? A Pharisee, after hearing Jesus preach, invited him to
dinner, no doubt, because he wanted to hear more from this extraordinary man
who spoke the word of God as no one else had done before. It was not unusual
for a rabbi to give a teaching over dinner. Jesus, however, did something which
offended his host. He did not perform the ceremonial washing of hands before
beginning the meal. Did Jesus forget or was he deliberately performing a sign
to reveal something to his host? Jesus turned the table on his host by chiding
him for uncleanness of heart.
Which is more important to God - clean hands or a clean mind and
heart? Jesus chided the Pharisees for harboring evil thoughts that make us
unclean spiritually - such as greed, pride, bitterness, envy, arrogance, and
the like. Why does he urge them, and us, to give alms? When we give freely and
generously to those in need we express love, compassion, kindness, and mercy.
And if the heart is full of love and compassion, then there is no room for
envy, greed, bitterness, and the like. Do you allow God's love to transform
your heart, mind, and actions toward your neighbor?
"Lord Jesus, fill me with your love and increase my thirst
for holiness. Cleanse my heart of every evil thought and desire and help me to
act kindly and justly and to speak charitably with my neighbor."
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13,
LUKE 11:37-41
Weekday
(Romans 1:16-25; Psalm 19)
Weekday
(Romans 1:16-25; Psalm 19)
KEY VERSE: "Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil" (v 39).
TO KNOW: When Jesus was invited to dine at the home of a Pharisee, he was criticized by his host for failing to wash his hands before eating. This was not a matter of cleanliness but of the Pharisaic practice which prescribed that hands must be washed before a meal in a certain way to avoid ritual impurity. Jesus' reply was a full-scale condemnation of the legalistic religious attitude of the Pharisees. The Pharisees were scrupulous about the smallest details of ritual cleanliness, whereas Jesus was more concerned with moral purity than with outward observance of rituals. He made the comparison of tableware that had been washed clean on the outside but remained filthy inside. These religious leaders were contaminating the people with their emphasis on externals while ignoring the essence of the Law of Moses, which was charity and justice.
TO LOVE: Do I serve the Lord out of devotion or obligation?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, cleanse me from all my unknown offenses.
Tuesday 13 October 2015
TUE
13TH. Romans 1:16-25. The heavens proclaim the glory of God—Ps 18(19):2-5.
Luke 11:37-41.
'No
utterance at all, no speech, not a sound to be heard.'
What
beautiful words! They alert us to the great majesty and wonder of our world. It
is good to stop and take in the world that our God has designed for us and then
to praise and thank him for this earth of ours. May we learn to take better
care of it.
From
creation the teacher, to Jesus the teacher. What a great lesson he taught the
Pharisees and lawyers. They were so meticulous about the ritual niceties of
washing. But Jesus used the opportunity to show them the greater importance of
interior cleanliness, in one's heart.
I
remember a question asked of the Dalai Lama, 'How can we ever disarm the world
of nuclear weapons?' He said, 'We must start by disarming ourselves of negative
feelings of anger, hatred and fear.'
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
|
Love Made Credible
|
It is in them [the saints] that Christian love becomes credible;
they are the poor sinners’ guiding stars. But every one of them wishes to point
completely away from himself and toward love…. The genuine saints desired
nothing but the greater glory of God’s love…
—Hans Urs von Balthasar
—Hans Urs von Balthasar
October
13
Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher
(1811-1849)
Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher
(1811-1849)
Canada was one diocese from coast to coast during the first eight
years of Marie-Rose Durocher’s life. Its half-million Catholics had received
civil and religious liberty from the English only 44 years before. When
Marie-Rose was 29, Bishop Ignace Bourget became bishop of Montreal. He would be
a decisive influence in her life.
He faced
a shortage of priests and sisters and a rural population that had been largely
deprived of education. Like his counterparts in the United States, he scoured
Europe for help and himself founded four communities, one of which was the
Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. Its first sister and reluctant
co-foundress was Marie-Rose.
She was
born in a little village near Montreal in 1811, the 10th of 11 children.
She had a good education, was something of a tomboy, rode a horse named Caesar
and could have married well. At 16, she felt the desire to become a
religious but was forced to abandon the idea because of her weak constitution.
At 18, when her mother died, her priest brother invited her and her father to
come to his parish in Beloeil, not far from Montreal. For 13 years she
served as housekeeper, hostess and parish worker. She became well known for her
graciousness, courtesy, leadership and tact; she was, in fact, called “the
saint of Beloeil.” Perhaps she was too tactful during two years when her brother
treated her coldly.
As a
young woman she had hoped there would someday be a community of teaching
sisters in every parish, never thinking she would found one. But her spiritual
director, Father Pierre Telmon, O.M.I., after thoroughly (and severely) leading
her in the spiritual life, urged her to found a community herself. Bishop
Bourget concurred, but Marie-Rose shrank from the prospect. She was in poor
health and her father and her brother needed her.
She
finally agreed and, with two friends, Melodie Dufresne and Henriette Cere,
entered a little home in Longueuil, across the Saint Lawrence River from
Montreal. With them were 13 young girls already assembled for boarding
school. Longueuil became successively her Bethlehem, Nazareth and Gethsemani.
She was 32 and would live only six more years—years filled with poverty,
trials, sickness and slander. The qualities she had nurtured in her “hidden”
life came forward—a strong will, intelligence and common sense, great inner
courage and yet a great deference to directors. Thus was born an international
congregation of women religious dedicated to education in the faith.
She was
severe with herself and by today’s standards quite strict with her sisters.
Beneath it all, of course, was an unshakable love of her crucified Savior.
On her
deathbed the prayers most frequently on her lips were “Jesus, Mary, Joseph!
Sweet Jesus, I love you. Jesus, be to me Jesus!” Before she died, she smiled
and said to the sister with her, “Your prayers are keeping me here—let me go.”
She was beatified
in 1982.
Comment:
The Christian triad has always been and will always be prayer, penance and charity. In our day we have seen a great burst of charity, a genuine interest in the poor. Countless Christians have experienced a deep form of prayer. But penance? We squirm when we read of terrible physical penance done by people like Marie-Rose. That is not for most people, of course. But the pull of a materialistic culture oriented to pleasure and entertainment is impossible to resist without some form of deliberate and Christ-conscious abstinence. That is part of the way to answer Jesus’ call to repent and turn completely to God.
The Christian triad has always been and will always be prayer, penance and charity. In our day we have seen a great burst of charity, a genuine interest in the poor. Countless Christians have experienced a deep form of prayer. But penance? We squirm when we read of terrible physical penance done by people like Marie-Rose. That is not for most people, of course. But the pull of a materialistic culture oriented to pleasure and entertainment is impossible to resist without some form of deliberate and Christ-conscious abstinence. That is part of the way to answer Jesus’ call to repent and turn completely to God.
Quote:
To a novice leaving religious life, Marie-Rose said: “Do not imitate those persons who, after having spent a few months as postulant or novice in a community, dress differently, even ludicrously. You are returning to the secular state. My advice is, follow the styles of the day, but from afar, as it were.”
To a novice leaving religious life, Marie-Rose said: “Do not imitate those persons who, after having spent a few months as postulant or novice in a community, dress differently, even ludicrously. You are returning to the secular state. My advice is, follow the styles of the day, but from afar, as it were.”
LECTIO DIVINA:
LUKE 11,37-41
Lectio:
Tuesday, October 13, 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.
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 11,37-41
Jesus had just finished speaking when a Pharisee invited him to
dine at his house. He went in and sat down at table. The Pharisee saw this and
was surprised that he had not first washed before the meal. But the Lord said
to him, 'You Pharisees! You clean the outside of cup and plate, while inside
yourselves you are filled with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who
made the outside make the inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have
and, look, everything will be clean for you.
3) Reflection
• In today’s Gospel there is the continuation of the tense
relationship between Jesus and the religious authority of his time. But in
spite of the tension there was a certain familiarity between Jesus and the
Pharisees. Invited to eat at their house, Jesus accepts the invitation. He does
not lose his freedom before them; neither do the Pharisees before him.
• Luke 11, 37-38: The admiration of the Pharisees before the
liberty of Jesus. “At that time after Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee
invited him to dine at his house. He went in and sat down at table. The
Pharisee saw this and was surprised that he had not first washed before the
meal”. Jesus accepts the invitation to eat at the house of the Pharisee, but he
does not change his way of acting, sitting at table without washing his hands.
Neither does the Pharisee change his attitude before Jesus, because he
expresses his admiration for the fact that Jesus did not wash his hands. At
that time, to wash the hands before eating was a religious obligation, imposed
upon people in the name of purity, ordered by the law of God. The Pharisee was
surprised by the fact that Jesus does not observe this religious norm. But in
spite of their total difference, the Pharisee and Jesus have something in
common: for them life is serious. The way of doing of the Pharisee was the
following: every day, they dedicated eight hours to study and to the meditation
of the law of God, another eight hours to work in order to be able to survive
with the family and the other eight hours to rest. This serious witness of
their life gives them a great popular leadership. Perhaps because of this, in
spite of the fact of being totally diverse, both, Jesus and the Pharisees,
understood and criticized one another, without losing the possibility to
dialogue.
• Luke 11, 39-41: The response of Jesus. “You Pharisees you
clean the outside of the cup and plate, while inside yourselves you are filled
with extortion and wickedness. Fools! Did not he who made the outside make the
inside too? Instead, give alms from what you have and, look, everything will be
clean for you”. The Pharisees observed the law literally. They only looked at
the letter and because of this they were incapable to perceive the spirit of
the law, the objective that the observance of the law wanted to attain in the
life of the persons. For example, in the law it was written: “Love the
neighbour as yourself” (Lv 19,18). And they commented: “We should love the
neighbour, yes, but only the neighbour, not the others!” And from there arose
the discussion around the question: “Who is my neighbour?” (Lk 10, 29) Paul the
Apostle writes in his second Letter to the Corinthians: “The letter kills, the
spirit gives life” (2 Co 3, 6). In the Sermon on the Mountain, Jesus criticizes
those who observe the letter of the law put transgress the spirit (Mt 5, 20).
In order to be faithful to what God asks us it is not sufficient to observe the
letter of the law. It would be the same thing as to clean the cup on the
outside and to leave the inside all dirty: robbery and injustice so on. It is
not sufficient not to kill, not to rob, not to commit adultery, not to swear.
Only observe fully the law of God, of he who, beyond the letter, goes to the
roots and pulls out from within the desires of “robbery and injustice” which
can lead to murder, robbery, adultery, It is in the practice of love that the
fullness of the law is attained (cf. Mt 5, 21-48).
4) Personal questions
• Does our Church today merit the accusation which Jesus
addressed against the Scribes and the Pharisees? Do I deserve it?
• To respect the seriousness of life of others who think in a
different way from us, can facilitate today dialogue which is so necessary and
difficult. How do I practice dialogue in the family, in work and in the
community?
5) Concluding prayer
Let your faithful love come to me, Yahweh,
true to your promise, save me!
Give me an answer to the taunts against me,
since I rely on your word. (Ps 119,41-42)
true to your promise, save me!
Give me an answer to the taunts against me,
since I rely on your word. (Ps 119,41-42)
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