September 13, 2025
Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of
the Church
Lectionary: 442
Reading 1
Beloved:
This saying is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance:
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
Of these I am the foremost.
But for that reason I was mercifully treated,
so that in me, as the foremost,
Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example
for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.
To the king of ages, incorruptible, invisible, the only God,
honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm
113:1b-2, 3-4, 5 and 6-7
R. (2) Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory.
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
Who is like the LORD, our God,
and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor.
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord for ever.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
"A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,
nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.
For every tree is known by its own fruit.
For people do not pick figs from thornbushes,
nor do they gather grapes from brambles.
A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,
but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;
for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.
"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' but not do what I command?
I will show you what someone is like who comes to me,
listens to my words, and acts on them.
That one is like a man building a house,
who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock;
when the flood came, the river burst against that house
but could not shake it because it had been well built.
But the one who listens and does not act
is like a person who built a house on the ground
without a foundation.
When the river burst against it,
it collapsed at once and was completely destroyed."
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091325.cfm
Commentary on 1
Timothy 1:15-17
In today’s short reading we pick up immediately where we
left off yesterday and we are on the same theme, i.e. God’s mercy to the sinner
and Paul as a striking example of it:
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
This, Paul tells Timothy, is a saying he can rely on and
that no one should doubt. There is no such saying found anywhere else in the
New Testament, and it may simply be a creation of Paul himself and an
expression of his firm belief.
For him, the truth of the statement is perfectly clear
because Paul says that he himself is one of the greatest of sinners. This was
because of his record in persecuting innocent Christians and throwing many of
them into jail. As has been previously mentioned, it looks also as if he was an
accomplice in the stoning of Stephen, if not the chief instigator (see Acts
7:58). That must have been very much on his conscience. So, if he has received
mercy and forgiveness for his past—as is indicated by his being chosen
personally by Christ as apostle—it is because Jesus Christ meant to make him a
striking example of his inexhaustible patience with sinners everywhere, who
threw themselves at God’s mercy.
And he concludes:
To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only
God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.
Reflecting on these words, we can, first of all, recall how
we ourselves have experienced the mercy and “utmost patience” of Christ our
Lord, considering how many times we have failed in our service of him and in
loving those around us.
Second, we need to have some of that same compassion and
patience in our own dealings with those whose behaviour we feel falls short of
Christian and human values. We live in a very judgmental world, but we need to
remember the warning that Jesus gave us in yesterday’s Gospel reading:
Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye but do
not notice the log in your own eye? (Luke 6:41)
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Commentary on Luke
6:43-49
In our final reading from Luke’s version of the Sermon on
the Plain, Jesus speaks of the qualities of a genuine disciple. The goodness of
every disciple comes from within and is not to be measured merely by one’s
external behaviour:
No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree
bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit.
At the same time, consistently good behaviour is a sign of a
healthy interior:
…for each tree is known by its own fruit…The good person
out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of
evil treasure produces evil, for it is out of the abundance of the heart that
the mouth speaks.
We need to focus our energies on our interior spirit. If
that is good, the rest will take care of itself.
Another measure of the good disciple is how he or she
listens and acts on the words of the Master. To ‘listen’ includes hearing,
understanding, accepting, and assimilating into one’s self the Master’s
teaching and vision. The behaviour then follows naturally, spontaneously and,
to a large extent, effortlessly.
Such a person is compared to a man who has built his house
on a strong foundation. When floods came, the house stood firm. On the other
hand, the one who listens, but does not take in and so does not act on what has
been heard is like a man who built his house on a poor foundation. When the
floods came, it collapsed.
This parable needs to be read in the context of the early
Church where, in time of persecution, some stood firm because their faith was
deeply rooted, while others fell away at the first sign of pressure.
Even if there is no overt persecution of the Christian faith
where we live, we live in times which are very threatening to a genuine
Christ-centred life. Without a sure foundation, it is very easy to be enticed
away to a life of materialism, consumerism, hedonism, and individualism.
Because of their superficial attractiveness and their being indulged in by so
many around us, these things are often far more insidious than outright attacks
on our faith.
In fact, experience shows again and again that nothing
strengthens people’s faith more than open persecution. Most of us live in a
much more dangerous environment, an environment not of torture and
imprisonment, but of advertising and media hype promising untold happiness and
pleasure, where the vision of the gospel is ignored, irrelevant or actively
rejected. We need to have very sure foundations to live in such a world.
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https://livingspace.sacredspace.ie/o1237g/
Saturday,
September 13, 2025
Ordinary Time
Opening Prayer
God our Father, you redeem us
and make us your children in
Christ. Look upon us, give us true freedom and bring us to the inheritance you
promised.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives
and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Gospel Reading - Luke 6: 43-49
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘There is no
sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces
sound fruit. Every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs
from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. Good people draw what is good
from the store of goodness in their hearts; bad people draw what is bad from
the store of badness. For the words of the mouth flow out of what fills the
heart. ‘Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord” and not do what I say?
‘Everyone who comes to me and listens to my
words and acts on them—I will show you what such a person is like. Such a
person is like the man who, when he built a house, dug, and dug deep, and laid
the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house
but could not shake it, it was so well built. But someone who listens and does
nothing is like the man who built a house on soil, with no foundations; as soon
as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!’
Reflection
In today’s Gospel we have the
last part of the Discourse of the Plains that is, the version which Luke
presents in the Sermon on the Mountain of the Gospel of Matthew. And Luke puts
together what follows:
•
Luke 6: 43-45: The parable of the tree that
bears good fruit. “There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again
a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. Every tree can be known by its own
fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns or gather grapes from brambles.” The
letter of James the Apostle serves as a comment to this parable of Jesus: “Does
any water supply give a flow of fresh water and salt water out of the same
pipe? Can a fig tree yield olives, my brothers, or a vine yield figs? No more
can sea water yield fresh water” (James 3: 11-12). A person who is well formed
in the tradition of living together in community develops within self a good
nature which leads him/her to do good. “The good of the treasure of his/her
heart is brought out,” but the person who does not pay attention to his/her
formation will have difficulty in producing good deeds. Rather, “from his/her
evil treasure evil will come out evil, because the mouth speaks of the fullness
of the heart.” Concerning the “good treasure of the heart” it is worthwhile to
remember what the Book of Ecclesiasticus’ says on the heart, the source of good
counsel: “Stick to the advice your own heart gives you, no one can be truer to
you than that; since a person’s soul often gives a clearer warning than seven
watchmen perched on a watchtower. And besides all this beg the Most High to
guide your steps into the truth” (Si 37: 13-15).
•
Luke 6: 46: It is not sufficient to say, Lord,
Lord. What is important is not to say beautiful things about God, but rather to
do the will of the Father and in this way be a revelation of his face and of
his presence in the world.
•
Luke 6: 47-49: To construct the house on rock.
To listen and to put into practice, this is the conclusion of the Sermon on the
Mountain. Many people sought security and religious power in the extraordinary
heads (gifts) or in the observance. But true security does not come from power;
it does not come from any of those things. It comes from God! And God becomes
the source of security, when we seek to do his will. And in this way he will be
the rock which will support us, in the difficult hours and in the storms.
God is the rock of our life. In the Book of Psalms, we
frequently find the expression: “God is my rock, my fortress... My God, my
Rock, my refuge, my shield, the force which saves me...” (Ps 18: 3). He is the
defence and the force of those who believe in him and who seek justice (Ps 18:
21-24). The persons, who trust in this God, become, in turn, a rock for others.
Thus the prophet Isaiah invites the people who were in exile: “Listen to me,
you who pursue saving justice, you who seek Yahweh. Consider the rock from
which you were hewn, the quarry from which you were dug. Consider Abraham your
father and Sarah who gave you birth” (Is 51: 1- 2). The prophet asks the people
not to forget the past and to remember Abraham and Sarah who because of their
faith in God became a rock, the beginning of the People of God. Looking toward
this rock, the people should draw courage to fight and get out of the exile.
And thus, Matthew exhorts the communities to have as an incentive or
encouragement this same rock (Mt 7: 24-25) and in this way be themselves rocks
to strengthen their brothers in the faith. This is also the significance which
Jesus gives to Peter: “You are Peter and on this Rock I will build my Church”
(Mt 16: 18). This is the vocation of the first communities called to unite themselves
to Jesus, the living Rock, so as to become themselves living rocks, listening
and putting into practice the Word (P 2: 4-10; 2: 5; Ep 2: 19-22).
Personal Questions
•
Which is the quality of my heart?
•
Is my house built on rock?
Concluding Prayer
Lord, you created my inmost
self, knit me together in my mother’s womb.
For so many marvels I thank you; a wonder am I, and all your
works are wonders. (Ps 139: 13-14)
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