Thursday of the
Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 482
Lectionary: 482
Brothers and
sisters:
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He did not spare his own Son
but handed him over for us all,
how will he not also give us everything else along with him?
Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us.
Who will condemn?
It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised,
who also is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
As it is written:
For your sake we are being slain all the day;
we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He did not spare his own Son
but handed him over for us all,
how will he not also give us everything else along with him?
Who will bring a charge against God’s chosen ones?
It is God who acquits us.
Who will condemn?
It is Christ Jesus who died, rather, was raised,
who also is at the right hand of God,
who indeed intercedes for us.
What will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine,
or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?
As it is written:
For your sake we are being slain all the day;
we are looked upon as sheep to be slaughtered.
No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly
through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities,
nor present things, nor future things,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature will be able to separate us
from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Responsorial PsalmPS 109:21-22, 26-27, 30-31
R. (26b) Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
Do you, O GOD, my Lord, deal kindly with me for your name’s sake;
in your generous mercy rescue me;
For I am wretched and poor,
and my heart is pierced within me.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
Help me, O LORD, my God;
save me, in your mercy,
And let them know that this is your hand;
that you, O LORD, have done this.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
I will speak my thanks earnestly to the LORD,
and in the midst of the throng I will praise him,
For he stood at the right hand of the poor man,
to save him from those who would condemn his soul.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
Do you, O GOD, my Lord, deal kindly with me for your name’s sake;
in your generous mercy rescue me;
For I am wretched and poor,
and my heart is pierced within me.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
Help me, O LORD, my God;
save me, in your mercy,
And let them know that this is your hand;
that you, O LORD, have done this.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your mercy.
I will speak my thanks earnestly to the LORD,
and in the midst of the throng I will praise him,
For he stood at the right hand of the poor man,
to save him from those who would condemn his soul.
R. Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
GospelLK 13:31-35
Some Pharisees came to Jesus and said,
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
“Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.”
He replied, “Go and tell that fox,
‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow,
and on the third day I accomplish my purpose.
Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day,
for it is impossible that a prophet should die
outside of Jerusalem.’
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you,
how many times I yearned to gather your children together
as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were unwilling!
Behold, your house will be abandoned.
But I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say,
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”
Meditation:
"How often would I have gathered your
children together!"
When your security
is threatened and danger strikes do you flee or stand your ground? When King
Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard that thousands of people were coming to
Jesus, he decided it was time to eliminate this threat to his influence and
power. That is why some of the Pharisees warned Jesus to flee from the wrath of
Herod. Jesus, in turn, warned them that they were in greater spiritual danger
of losing both soul and body if they refused to listen to God and to his
messengers the prophets. Like John the Baptist and all the prophets who
preceded him, Jesus posed a threat to the ruling authorities of his day.Jesus went so far as to call Herod a fox. What did he mean by such an expression? The fox was regarded as the slyest of all animals and one of the most destructive as well. Any farmer will tell you how difficult it is to get rid of foxes who under the cover of night steal and destroy. The fox became a symbol of what was worthless, insignificant, and destructive. It takes great courage to stand up and openly oppose a tyrant. Jesus knew that he would suffer the same fate as the prophets who came before him. He not only willingly exposed himself to such danger, but he prayed for his persecutors and for those who rejected the prophets who spoke in God's name. Do you pray for your enemies and for those who oppose the gospel today?
Jesus contrasts his desire for Jerusalem – the holy city and temple of God – with Jerusalem's lack of desire for him as their long-expected Messiah. Jesus compares his longing for Jerusalem with a mother hen gathering her chicks under her protective wings. Psalm 91 speaks of God's protection in such terms: He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge (Psalm 91:4). Jesus willingly set his face toward Jerusalem, knowing that he would meet certain betrayal, rejection, and death on a cross. His death on the cross, however, brought about victory and salvation, not only for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but for all – both Jew and Gentile – who would accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Jesus' prophecy is a two-edged sword, pointing to his victory over sin and death and foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem and the dire consequences for all who would reject him and his saving message. While the destruction of Jerusalem's temple was determined – it was razed by the Romans in 70 A.D. – there remained for its inhabitants a narrow open door leading to deliverance. Jesus says: I am the door; whoever enters by me will be saved (John 10:9). The Lord Jesus opens the way for each of us to have direct access to God who adopts us as his children and who makes his home with us. Do you make room for the Lord in your life? The Lord is knocking at the door of your heart (Revelations 3:20) and he wishes to enter into a close personal relationship with you. Receive him who is the giver of expectant faith, unwavering hope, and undying love. And long for the true home which God has prepared for you in his heavenly city, Jerusalem (Revelations 21:2-4).
"Lord Jesus, I place all my trust and hope in you. Come make your home with me and take possession of my heart and will that I may wholly desire what is pleasing to you. Fill my heart with love and mercy for others that I may boldly witness to the truth and joy of the gospel through word and example, both to those who accept it and to those who oppose it."
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 God Desires to Draw Us to Himself |
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Thursday of the
Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
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Father Paul
Campbell, LC
Luke 13:31-35
At that very hour
some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod
wants to kill you." He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me,
´Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and
on the third day I finish my work. Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I
must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed
outside of Jerusalem.´ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets
and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your
children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were
not willing! See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see
me until the time comes when you say, ´Blessed is the one who comes in the
name of the Lord.´"
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, I want to be convinced of your personal love for me.
1. Persevering in
the Mission: Jesus encounters
opposition on his journey to Jerusalem. Pharisees come to warn him of Herod.
Jesus is undeterred. He knows that the Father’s will is for him to go to
Jerusalem and surrender his life on the cross. He doesn’t hide or seek to
escape from his Father’s will. He knows that the cross lies ahead of him, but
he also knows that death and the cross are not the end. Beyond death is the
Resurrection: “On the third day I finish my work.” Christ’s example should
give us confidence to move forward in the face of our own difficulties and
struggles. We should turn to him because he knows how to persevere in the
mission. And since he wants to be involved in our life, he will accompany us
on our journey. He is always with us ready to give us the help of his grace
and the strength of his hand.
2. A Heart Open to
Others: Jesus cried for
Jerusalem. His heart was not closed to others. He was not absorbed in himself
or his own problems. He freely offered his life for others. Others rejected
him, but he never rejected them. He was not bitter towards those who would
make him suffer. He loved, and he never ceases to love. As a hen gathers her
young under her wings, so does God long to draw all men and women to himself.
We need to let God draw us to himself.
3. Pray for Those Who Persecute You: Jesus sets an example for us to follow. Our hearts should not be closed. We need to be open to the needs of those around us, even those who may attack the Church and persecute us. Jesus loved his enemies. He prayed for those who persecuted him. He blessed those who cursed him. He sought only their good, and he sacrificed himself for them. He shows us the way to live an authentically Christian life. To be faithful to him, we need to reach out in love even to those people who don’t think and act like us.
Conversation with
Christ:Lord, help me to
follow your inspirations always. Often there is good that I want to do, but I
hesitate and draw back. Help me to keep giving even when I’m tired and worn
out. Teach me that you are always with me and that I am never alone.
Resolution:I will be open to what a family member or
colleague at work might need, and I will seek to offer my help.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31, LUKE 13:31-35
(Romans 8:31b-39; Psalm 109)
KEY VERSE: "For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last" (v 30).
READING: As Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, some Pharisees warned him that Herod Antipas was trying to hill him. Jesus dismissed Herod as nothing but a "fox," a sneaky, crafty animal and not a man to be feared. Jesus' destiny awaited him in Jerusalem and he would not be thwarted by Herod. Jesus mourned the great city where so many of God's messengers had lost their lives. He used a tender feminine image of God as a mother hen gathering her chicks under her wings (Ps 17:8). Jesus longed to shelter Israel from its impending destruction (70 CE). The great festival song of Jerusalem that blessed the one who comes in God's name (Ps 118:26) would not be sung again until Jesus' work was fully accomplished.
REFLECTING: Do I pray for all who suffer for the faith?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to faithfully witness the Gospel as your saints have done throughout the ages.
HALLOWEEN
The traditions of Halloween that we celebrate in this country were brought here by Irish and Scottish immigrants. The celebration and many of the practices of this night pre-date Christianity. The word "Halloween" comes from the words "All Hallow's Eve," literally, the evening before the "Feast of All Saints." For centuries, the night before November 1st marked the beginning of the pagan Celtic New Year. Hollowed-out turnips or gourds with candles inside were made into makeshift lanterns to help light the way of the spirits back to where they came from. The Celtic belief that spirits, both benign and malignant, were in intimate contact with human life became a regular feature of Celtic Christianity. God and Mary and the saints were always a hovering, helping presence in Celtic spirituality.
A woman was asked by her co-worker, "What is it like to
be a Christian?" The co-worked replied, "It is like being a pumpkin.
God picks you from the patch, brings you in and washes all of the dirt off of
you. Then God cuts off the top and scoops out all of the yucky stuff. God
removes the seeds of things like doubt, hate and greed. God replaces them with
seeds of love, faith, hope and trust. Then God carves you a new smiling face
and God's light shines inside of you for all of the world to see.
Save me, O Lord, in your kindness.
‘It is not right for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem.’In the face of persistent opposition from the civil authorities and the custodians of the average, and in spite of threats to his life, Jesus was determined to persevere to the end in his prophetic mission. Only on the cross in Jerusalem would he say, ‘It is finished’. Thanks be to God there are prophets in the church today who are imbued with Jesus’ Spirit. Counterweights to the institutional, they are people of hope who come among us in the name of the Lord, exposing indifference and pusillanimity. Women and men who are both in their time and ahead of it, they see future possibilities in the predicaments of the present and ‘love the world with the eyes of those who are not yet born’ (Otto René Castillo, Guatemalan poet).
October
31
St. Wolfgang of Regensburg
(c. 924-994)
St. Wolfgang of Regensburg
(c. 924-994)
Wolfgang was born in Swabia, Germany, and was educated at a school
located at the abbey of Reichenau. There he encountered Henry, a young noble
who went on to become Archbishop of Trier. Meanwhile, Wolfgang remained in
close contact with the archbishop, teaching in his cathedral school and
supporting his efforts to reform the clergy.
At the death of the archbishop, Wolfgang chose to become a
Benedictine monk and moved to an abbey in Einsiedeln, now part of Switzerland.
Ordained a priest, he was appointed director of the monastery school there.
Later he was sent to Hungary as a missionary, though his zeal and good will
yielded limited results.
Emperor Otto II appointed him Bishop of Regensburg (near Munich).
He immediately initiated reform of the clergy and of religious life, preaching
with vigor and effectiveness and always demonstrating special concern for the
poor. He wore the habit of a monk and lived an austere life.
The draw to monastic life never left him, including the desire for
a life of solitude. At one point he left his diocese so that he could devote
himself to prayer, but his responsibilities as bishop called him back.
In 994 he became ill while on a journey; he died in Puppingen near
Linz, Austria. His feast day is celebrated widely in much of central Europe. He
was canonized in 1052.
Comment:
Wolfgang could be depicted as a man with rolled-up sleeves. He even tried retiring to solitary prayer, but taking his responsibilities seriously led him back into the service of his diocese. Doing what had to be done was his path to holiness—and ours.
Wolfgang could be depicted as a man with rolled-up sleeves. He even tried retiring to solitary prayer, but taking his responsibilities seriously led him back into the service of his diocese. Doing what had to be done was his path to holiness—and ours.
LECTIO: LUKE 13,31-35
Lectio:
Thursday,
October 31, 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.
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 13,31-35
Some Pharisees came up
to Jesus and, 'Go away,' they said. 'Leave this place, because Herod means to
kill you.' He replied, 'You may go and give that fox this message: Look! Today
and tomorrow I drive out devils and heal, and on the third day I attain my end.
But for today and tomorrow and the next day I must go on, since it would not be
right for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem.
'Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you that kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused! Look! Your house will be left to you. Yes, I promise you, you shall not see me till the time comes when you are saying: Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord!'
3) Reflection
● The Gospel today
makes us feel the threatening and dangerous context in which Jesus lived and
worked. Herod, as he had killed John the Baptist, wanted to kill Jesus.
● Luke 13, 31: The
warning of the Pharisees to Jesus. “Just at that time some Pharisees came up.
Go away, they said, Leave this place because Herod means to kill you” It
is important to notice that Jesus receives the warning of the Pharisees.
Sometimes, the Pharisees are together with the group of Herod wanting to kill
Jesus (Mk 3, 6; 12, 13). But here they are in solidarity with Jesus and want to
avoid his death. At that time the power of the king was absolute. He did not
render an account to anyone of his way of governing. Herod had already killed
John the Baptist and now he wanted to finish also with Jesus.
● Luke 13, 32-33: the
response of Jesus. “He replied: You may go and give that fox this message,
‘Look! Today and tomorrow I drive out evils and heal, and on the third day I
attain my end”. Jesus’ response is very clear and courageous. He calls
Herod: fox. To announce the Kingdom Jesus does not depend on the permission of
the political authority. He sends a message informing that he continues his
work today and tomorrow and that he will have finished only
day after tomorrow, that is on the third day. In this response is discovered
all the liberty to the power which wanted to prevent him from carrying out the
mission received from the Father. Therefore, the one who determines the time
and the hour is God and not Herod. At the same time, in the response there
arises also a certain symbolism connected to the death and resurrection on the
third day in Jerusalem. This is to indicate that he will not die in Galilee,
but in Jerusalem, capital of his people, and that he will resurrect on the
third day.
● Luke 13, 34-35: Admonishment
of Jesus to Jerusalem. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and
stone those who are sent to you! How often have I longed to gather your
children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused!” This
admonishment of Jesus on the capital of his people recalls the long and sad
story of the resistance of the authority to God’s calls which reached through
so many prophets and wise men. At another moment Jesus speaks of the prophets
persecuted and killed from Abel to Zechariah (Lk 11, 51). Reaching Jerusalem a
short time before his death, looking toward the city from the top of the
Mountain of Olives, Jesus weeps on it, because it does not recognize the time
in which God comes to visit it” (Lk 19, 44).
4) Personal questions
● Jesus qualifies the
public power with the name of fox. Can your political power deserve to be
qualified like this?
● Jesus tried many times to convert the people of Jerusalem, but the religious authority resisted. And you, how many times do you resist?
● Jesus tried many times to convert the people of Jerusalem, but the religious authority resisted. And you, how many times do you resist?
5) Concluding prayer
Yahweh and his
strength,
tirelessly seek his presence!
Remember the marvels he has done, his wonders,
the judgements he has spoken. (Ps 105,4-5)
tirelessly seek his presence!
Remember the marvels he has done, his wonders,
the judgements he has spoken. (Ps 105,4-5)
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