OCTOBER 30, 2013 : WEDNESDAY OF THE THIRTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time 
Lectionary: 481

Reading 1ROM 8:26-30

Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
And the one who searches hearts
knows what is the intention of the Spirit,
because he intercedes for the holy ones
according to God’s will.

We know that all things work for good for those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.
For those he foreknew he also predestined
to be conformed to the image of his Son,
so that he might be the firstborn
among many brothers.
And those he predestined he also called;
and those he called he also justified;
and those he justified he also glorified.

Responsorial PsalmPS 13:4-5, 6                                                   

R. (6a) My hope, O Lord, is in your mercy.
Look, answer me, O LORD, my God!
Give light to my eyes that I may not sleep in death
lest my enemy say, “I have overcome him”;
lest my foes rejoice at my downfall.
R. My hope, O Lord, is in your mercy.
Though I trusted in your mercy,
Let my heart rejoice in your salvation;
let me sing of the LORD, “He has been good to me.”
R. My hope, O Lord, is in your mercy.

GospelLK 13:22-30

Jesus passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”
He answered them,
“Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.
After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
‘Lord, open the door for us.’
He will say to you in reply,
‘I do not know where you are from.’
And you will say,
‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’
Then he will say to you,
‘I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!’
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth
when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God
and you yourselves cast out.
And people will come from the east and the west
and from the north and the south
and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God.
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last.”

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Meditation: Do not risk being shut out

What does the image of a door say to us about the kingdom of God? Jesus' story about the door being shut to those who come too late suggests they had offended their host and deserved to be excluded. It was customary for teachers in Jesus' time to close the door on tardy students and not allow them back for a whole week in order to teach them a lesson in discipline and faithfulness. Jesus told this story in response to the question of who will make it to heaven. Many rabbis held that all Israel would be saved, except for a few blatant sinners who excluded themselves! After all, they were specially chosen by God when he established a covenant with them.
Jesus doesn't directly answer the question, however; but his response is nonetheless unsettling on two counts. First, Jesus surprised his listeners by saying that one's membership as a covenanted people does not automatically mean entry into the kingdom of God. Second, Jesus asserts that many from the gentile nations would enter God's kingdom. God's invitation is open to Jew and Gentile alike. But Jesus warns that we can be excluded if we do not strive to enter by the narrow door.  What did Jesus mean by this expression? The door which Jesus had in mind was himself. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved (John 10:9).  Jesus opens the way for us to enter into God's kingdom through the cross where he has laid down his life as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. If we want to enter and remain citizens of God's kingdom, then we must follow Jesus in the way of the cross. The word strive can also be translated agony. To enter the kingdom of God one must struggle against the forces of temptation to sin and whatever would hinder us from doing the will of God (even apathy, indifference, and compromise).
The good news is that we do not struggle alone. God is with us and his grace is sufficient! As we strive side by side  for the faith of the gospel (Philippians 1:27) Jesus assures us of complete victory! Do you trust in God's grace and help, especially in times of testing and temptation?
"Lord Jesus, help me to always trust in your saving grace, especially when I am tempted and put to the test. Help me to be faithful to you and give me the courage and strength to resist temptation, especially the temptation to compromise or to be indifferent to your word."
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Up Against the Narrow Gate

Wednesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Father James Swanson, LC Luke 13:22-30 Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, "Lord, will only a few people be saved?" He answered them, "Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough. After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ´Lord, open the door for us.´ He will say to you in reply, ´I do not know where you are from.´ And you will say, ´We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.´ Then he will say to you, ´I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!´ And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God. For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last." Introductory Prayer:Lord, I believe in you with a faith that never seeks to test you. I trust in you, hoping to learn to accept and follow your will, even when it does not make sense to the way that I see things. May my love for you and those around me be similar to the love you have shown to me. Petition:Lord, grant me the humility and sincerity to enter by the narrow gate. 1. A Scary Question: This is a scary question: “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” Jesus doesn’t answer the question directly. Instead, he gives some advice. It almost looks like Jesus is avoiding the question, as if the answer is too discouraging. He tries to be encouraging instead, but at the same time underlines the difficulty of success. “Strive” he says, “to enter by the narrow gate.” Strive is the key word, since apparently, many are going to try to enter and fail, because the gate is so narrow. 2. A Disturbing Reply: The words that many will try to enter and fail are troubling. What percentage? How many? Nowadays, we like exact statistics. Jesus doesn’t say, but we get the impression that it will be more than a few. The possibility of failure is very real. Who will fail? Probably, people who don’t take him seriously; people who don’t try hard enough; people who love something more than they love Jesus. In other word, lots of people will fail… 3. My Christian Credentials May Not Be as Solid as I Think They Are: He goes on to say that many who think they are doing enough are going to be surprised to find they didn’t do enough. They think their Christian credentials are solid, but they will be found wanting. They will tell Jesus that they ate and drank with him, that they received communion every Sunday. They will witness to how many times they heard him preach in their streets, how much they contributed to the collection, but that will not be enough. Yet others who did not seem so good in life will be entering the Kingdom before them. Which group will I be in? Jesus is warning me that just because I feel I am doing enough for him doesn’t mean I am going to be in the group to be saved. I need to follow him with as much sincerity and honesty as I am capable of, doing his will and not my own. Conversation with Christ: Dear Jesus, your words are troubling to me. I see how often I fail in what I know I should be doing for you. I see that I cannot reliably guide myself in this matter. Send your Holy Spirit to help me open my eyes to see if I am falling short before it is too late. Help me to enter by the narrow gate. Resolution: Today I will examine my conscience very honestly to see if I am saying ‘no’ to Jesus in any aspect of my life and to see if I am letting myself get too comfortable in any aspect of my life, since comfort, especially in the spiritual life, is a sign that I am not “striving to enter by the narrow gate.”

www.regnumchristi.org

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, LUKE 13:22-30
(Romans 8:26-30; Psalm 13)

KEY VERSE: "Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able" (v 24).
READING: As Jesus traveled on his journey toward his passion in Jerusalem, someone asked him, "Lord, are those who are to be saved few in number?" (Lk 13:23). The assumption was that the kingdom of God was for the Jews and that the Gentiles would be shut out. Jesus shocked his questioner by saying that entry to the kingdom was never automatic but was the result of great effort. He stressed the urgency of God's call. He said that the door to the kingdom was narrow and would not remain open indefinitely. Many would put off their conversion until it was too late. After the master had locked the door, they would beg to enter, but they would hear the Lord pronounce the dreadful words: "I do not know you!" Those faithless ones would be cast out, while the faithful would be welcomed from the four corners of the earth to share fellowship with the saints of old. Although the Gentiles were called last, they would take precedence over the ones who were called first but had rejected the invitation.
REFLECTING: What do I need to do so that Jesus will welcome me into his reign?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to be converted to your will each day.
www.togetherwithgodsword.com

All my hope, O Lord, is in your loving kindness.
Paul’s letter to the community in Rome is full of the understanding and experience of the great love that God has for us.
He writes so passionately, so intimately, about God’s love. He expresses well the gift we have in Jesus, God enfleshed, who not only died for us, but rose from the dead for us. That’s how much God loves us. Nothing can separate us from God’s love. Nothing can come between us and the love that God has for us. Can we say that of our relationship with God? Are we so in love with God that, whatever the day brings, we do not separate ourselves from the great gift of love, the person of Jesus? In all our trials and tribulations, in all our joys and sorrows, God remains with us. 
www.churchresources.info

October 30
St. Alphonsus Rodriguez
(c. 1533-1617)

Tragedy and challenge beset today’s saint early in life, but Alphonsus Rodriguez found happiness and contentment through simple service and prayer.

Born in Spain in 1533, Alphonsus inherited the family textile business at 23. Within the space of three years, his wife, daughter and mother died; meanwhile, business was poor. Alphonsus stepped back and reassessed his life. He sold the business and, with his young son, moved into his sisters’ home. There he learned the discipline of prayer and meditation.

Years later, at the death of his son, Alphonsus, almost 40 by then, sought to join the Jesuits. He was not helped by his poor education. He applied twice before being admitted. For 45 years he served as doorkeeper at the Jesuits’ college in Majorca. When not at his post, he was almost always at prayer, though he often encountered difficulties and temptations.

His holiness and prayerfulness attracted many to him, including St. Peter Claver, then a Jesuit seminarian. Alphonsus’s life as doorkeeper may have been humdrum, but he caught the attention of poet and fellow-Jesuit Gerard Manley Hopkins, who made him the subject of one of his poems.

Alphonsus died in 1617. He is the patron saint of Majorca.

Comment:

We like to think that God rewards the good even in this life. But Alphonsus knew business losses, painful bereavement and periods when God seemed very distant. None of his suffering made him withdraw into a shell of self-pity or bitterness. Rather, he reached out to others who lived with pain, including enslaved blacks. Among the many notables at his funeral were the sick and poor people whose lives he had touched. May they find such a friend in us!

www.americancatholic.org

LECTIO: LUKE 13,22-30

Lectio: 

 Wednesday, October 30, 2013  

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Almighty and ever-living God,
strengthen our faith, hope and love.
May we do with loving hearts
what you ask of us
and come to share the life you promise.
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.

2) Gospel Reading - Luke 13,22-30                                                        

Through towns and villages Jesus went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem. Someone said to him, 'Sir, will there be only a few saved?' He said to them, 'Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed.
'Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself standing outside knocking on the door, saying, "Lord, open to us," but he will answer, "I do not know where you come from."
Then you will start saying, "We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets," but he will reply, "I do not know where you come from; away from me, all evil doers!"
'Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrown out. And people from east and west, from north and south, will come and sit down at the feast in the kingdom of God. 'Look, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.'

3) Reflection

● The Gospel today narrates an episode that took place along the road that Jesus was going through from Galilee to Jerusalem, the description of which occupies one third part of Luke’s Gospel (Lk 9, 51 to 19, 28).
● Luke 13, 22: The journey toward Jerusalem. “Through towns and villages he went teaching, making his way to Jerusalem”. More than once Luke mentions that Jesus is on the way toward Jerusalem. During ten chapters he describes the journey up to Jerusalem (Lk 9, 51 to 19, 28), Luke constantly recalls that Jesus is on the way toward Jerusalem (Lk 9, 51.53.57; 10, 1.38; 11, 1; 13, 22.33; 14, 25; 17, 11; 18, 31; 18, 37; 19, 1.11.28). What is clear and definitive from the beginning is the destiny or end of the journey: Jerusalem, the capital city where Jesus suffers his Passion and dies (Lk 9, 31.51). But Luke rarely tells us about the places through which Jesus passed. This he says only at the beginning of the journey (Lk 9, 51), in the middle (Lk 17, 11) and at the end (Lk 18, 35; 19, 1), and thus we know something about the places through which Jesus was passing. In this way, Luke suggests the following teaching: the objective of our life should be clear, and we should assume it decidedly like Jesus did. We have to walk, we cannot stop. The places through which we have to pass are not always clear and definitive: what is sure, certain, is the objective: Jerusalem, where the “exodus” awaits us (Lk 9, 31), the Passion, Death and the Resurrection.
● Luke 13, 23: The question regarding the number of those who are saved. Along the road all kinds of things happen: information on the massacre and the disasters (Lk 13, 1-5), the parable (Lk 13, 6-9. 18-21), discussions (Lk 13, 10-13) and, in today’s Gospel, a question from the people: “Sir will there be only a few saved?” It is always the same question concerning salvation!
● Luke 13, 24-25: The narrow door. Jesus says that the door is narrow: “Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because I tell you, many will try to enter but will not succeed”. Does Jesus, perhaps, says this to fill us with fear and to oblige us to observe the Law as the Pharisees taught? What does this narrow door signify? About which door is he speaking? In the Sermon on the Mountain Jesus suggests that the entrance into the Kingdom has eight doors. These are the eight categories of persons of the Beatitudes: (a) the poor in spirit, (b) the meek, (c) the afflicted, (d) the hungry and thirsty for justice, (e) the merciful, (f) the pure of heart, (g) the peace makers and (h) those persecuted for justice (Mt 5, 3-10). Luke reduces them to four categories: (a) the poor, (b) the hungry, (c) those who are sad and (d) those who are persecuted (Lc 6,20-22). Only those who belong to one of these categories mentioned in the Beatitudes will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the narrow door. It is the new look on the salvation which Jesus communicates to us. There is no other door! It is a question of the conversion which Jesus asks from us. And he insists: “Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because I tell you many will try to enter and will not succeed. Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself standing outside knocking on the door, saying ‘Lord, open to us’, but he will answer, ‘I do not know where you come from’”. In what concerns the hour of judgment, now is the favourable time for conversion, to change our opinion, our vision on salvation and to enter into one of the eight categories.
● Luke 13, 26-28: The tragic misunderstanding. God responds to the one who knocks at the door: “I do not know where you come from”. But they insist and argue: “We have eaten and we drank in your presence, you taught on our streets!” It is not sufficient to have eaten with Jesus, to have participated in the multiplication of the loaves and to have listened to his teachings on the streets of the cities and of the villages! It is not sufficient to be in Church and to have participated in the instruction of the catechism. God will answer: ”I do not know where you come from; away from me, all evil doers!” This is a tragic misunderstanding and a total lack of conversion, of understanding. Jesus considers unjust what others consider something to be just and pleasing to God. It is a totally new way of seeing our salvation. The door is truly narrow.
● Luke 13, 29-30: The key that explains the misunderstanding. “People from east and west, from north and south, will come and sit down at the feast in the Kingdom of God. Look, there are those now last who will be the first, and those now first who will be last”. It is a question of the great change which takes place with the coming of God down to us in Jesus. All the people will have access and will pass through the narrow door.

4) Personal questions

● To have a clear objective and to travel toward Jerusalem: are the objectives of my life clear or do I allow myself to be transported by the wind of the moment by public opinion?
● The narrow door. What idea do I have of God, of life, of salvation?

5) Concluding prayer

All your creatures shall thank you, Yahweh,
and your faithful shall bless you.
They shall speak of the glory of your kingship
and tell of your might. (Ps 145,10-11)

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