Monday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 485
Lectionary: 485
Brothers and
sisters:
If there is any encouragement in Christ,
any solace in love,
any participation in the Spirit,
any compassion and mercy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,
united in heart, thinking one thing.
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests,
but also everyone for those of others.
If there is any encouragement in Christ,
any solace in love,
any participation in the Spirit,
any compassion and mercy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,
united in heart, thinking one thing.
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests,
but also everyone for those of others.
Responsorial Psalm PS 131:1BCDE, 2, 3
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap,
so is my soul within me.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother’s lap,
so is my soul within me.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.
R. In you, O Lord, I have found my peace.
Gospel LK 14:12-14
On a sabbath Jesus
went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees.
He said to the host who invited him,
“When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees.
He said to the host who invited him,
“When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers or sisters
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Meditation: "You will be repaid at the resurrection
of the just"
Who do you honor at
your table? The Lord is always ready to receive us at his table. As far as we
can tell from the gospel accounts, Jesus never refused a dinner invitation!
Why, in this particular instance, does Jesus lecture his host on who he should
or shouldn't invite to dinner? Did his host expect some favor or reward from
Jesus? Did he want to impress his neighbors with the honor of hosting the
"miracle worker" from Galilee?
Jesus probes our
hearts as well. Do you only show favor and generosity to those who will repay
you in kind? What about those who do not have the means to repay you – the
poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged? Generosity demands a measure of
self-sacrifice. It doesn't impoverish, but rather enriches the soul of the
giver. True generosity springs from a heart full of mercy and compassion. God
loved us first, and our love is a response of gratitude to his great mercy and
kindness towards us. We cannot outgive God in his generosity towards us. Do you
give freely as Jesus gives without expectation for personal gain or reward?
"Lord Jesus, fill
me with gratitude for your unboundless love and mercy towards me. And purify my
love for others that I may seek their good rather than my own benefit or gain.
Free me to love others as you love."
 Our Invitation List |
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November 3, 2014.
Monday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
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Luke 14: 12-14
Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees. He said to the host who invited
him, "When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or
your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may
invite you back and you have repayment. Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you
be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the righteous."
Introductory
Prayer: Oh God, thank you for
allowing me to come into your presence. Your love enlarges my soul. I long to
see your face! I come to this prayer with a thirst to just be in your
presence, relax under your loving gaze. May my presence here be an expression
of my love for you.
Petition: Lord, grant me the grace to put your interests before
my self-interest.
1. “You Scratch
My Back…” “… And I’ll scratch yours.”: Unique
is the individual who doesn’t keep at least one eye on his own self-interest
at all times. For many, life is about leverage, and good deeds are
investments that will reap future profits. In this parable, Jesus invites us
to think outside that human box and more in the divine one. God derives no
personal benefits through showing us immeasurable love. We can’t, after all,
give him anything that he doesn’t already have. Maybe we should be expanding
our list of dinner invitations?
2. The Poor, the
Crippled, the Lame, the Blind: Blessed
Mother Teresa lived this Gospel verse in exemplary fashion. The story is told
of a dying man, found lying in the street and brought to the Missionaries of
Charity’s House of the Dying. They gave him dignity that he had never known:
“I have lived like a dog all my life. But now I will die like an angel.”
Sometimes we also have opportunities to help others in dire need. Sometimes,
more often, we can come to the aid of the person who is spiritually poor or
crippled. Perhaps it is that person who is always in a foul mood, or that
other who once spread a rumor about me. “Blessed will you be because of their
inability to repay you.”
3. Self-interest
vs. Resurrection: Fr. Joe always
used to say this about his priesthood: “The pay is lousy, but the retirement
benefits are out of this world.” Self-interest is about getting the positive
payback here and now. True love and charity do not keep a score card to make
sure that “it’s worth it.” No, we are living for eternity. Let’s ask the Lord
to give us a better sense of the big picture, to see that those unrequited
good deeds are the best ones. So you parents of the world, take heart! Your
sacrifices will indeed find their reward, “in the resurrection of the
righteous.”
Conversation with
Christ: Dear Lord, how often I am
thinking, “What’s in it for me?” Help me to reach out to others beyond the
limits of my group. Help me to see that you are in every soul, not just the
ones that in some way gratify me.
Resolution: I will do an act of charity for someone who doesn’t
like me.
By Father Steven
Reilly, LC
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3 (Thirty-First Week in
Ordinary Time) LUKE 14:12-14
(Philippians 2:1-4; Psalm 131)
(Philippians 2:1-4; Psalm 131)
KEY VERSE: "For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous" (v 14).
READING: When Jesus was invited to a banquet at the home of an influential religious leader, he used this opportunity to teach both host and guests about the equality of all God's people. Jesus told them that when they gave a dinner party, they should not invite only those who were in a position to return the invitation. They should also invite the disadvantaged who had no means to repay them. These anawim (the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized, and socio-economically oppressed) were the ones to whom Jesus addressed his proclamation of the reign of God (Lk 4:18). His followers had no need to be repaid for their generosity in serving him and God's people; God would reward them in the resurrection of the just. Can we imagine what it would be like if banquets were held in honor of the poor and deprived instead of the rich and famous? How would this change us? How would it change the world?
REFLECTING: How can I apply Jesus' teaching to my everyday life?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to see everyone as my brothers and sisters.
Optional Memorial of Martin de Porres,
religious
Martin de Porres is the first black American saint. He was the illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a young freed black slave. He grew up in poverty, and spent part of his youth with a surgeon-barber from whom he learned some medicine and care of the sick. At age 11 he became a servant in the Dominican priory. He begged more than $2,000 a week from the rich to support the poor and sick of Lima. Placed in charge of the Dominican's infirmary, Martin was known for his tender care of the sick and for his spectacular cures. His superiors abandoned the stipulation that "no black person may be received to the holy habit or profession of our order" and Martin took vows as a Dominican brother. Martin established an orphanage and children's hospital for the poor children of the slums. He was venerated from the day of his death. Many miraculous cures, including raising the dead were attributed to Brother Martin. He was canonized in 1962 by Pope John XXIII.
Monday 3 November 2014
St Martin de Porres.
Philippians 2:1-4. In you, Lord, I have found my peace—Ps
130(131). Luke 14:12-14.
Contemporary
culture bombards us with images of individuality.
Devices aimed at efficiency
are often pitched as empowering the ‘I’ over the ‘other’. Even social networks
that seek to promote social interaction often present a superficial image of
relationship and foster competition with regard to popularity.
Today’s readings challenge
us to put self-interest aside in favor of the common good. Paul reminds us that
the church is to be a community devoid of competition and united in purpose. In
the gospel, Jesus exhorts the Pharisee to extend hospitality to those who
cannot repay—the crippled, the lame, the blind. Such hospitality entails dying
to oneself in order to give life to others. The reward of such self-emptying is
union with our God who emptied himself to be one with us.
MINUTE MEDITATIONS
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Alive With God
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After death, the body seems incomplete, missing the part that
enlivens us, our personality—our soul. Faith can help us accept that the one
who has died is now joined with all those whom they have loved and who have
gone before them. We believe that they are now with God in a fuller way than
was possible during their life on earth.
November
3
St. Martin de Porres
(1579-1639)
St. Martin de Porres
(1579-1639)
"Father unknown" is the cold legal phrase sometimes used
on baptismal records. "Half-breed" or "war souvenir" is the
cruel name inflicted by those of "pure" blood. Like many others,
Martin might have grown to be a bitter man, but he did not. It was said that
even as a child he gave his heart and his goods to the poor and despised.
He was
the son of a freed woman of Panama, probably black but also possibly of Native
American stock, and a Spanish grandee of Lima, Peru. His parents never
married each other. Martin inherited the features and dark complexion of his
mother. That irked his father, who finally acknowledged his son after eight
years. After the birth of a sister, the father abandoned the family. Martin was
reared in poverty, locked into a low level of Lima’s society.
When he
was 12, his mother apprenticed him to a barber-surgeon. He learned how to
cut hair and also how to draw blood (a standard medical treatment then), care
for wounds and prepare and administer medicines.
After a
few years in this medical apostolate, Martin applied to the Dominicans to be a
"lay helper," not feeling himself worthy to be a religious brother.
After nine years, the example of his prayer and penance, charity and humility
led the community to request him to make full religious profession. Many of his
nights were spent in prayer and penitential practices; his days were filled
with nursing the sick and caring for the poor. It was particularly impressive
that he treated all people regardless of their color, race or status. He was
instrumental in founding an orphanage, took care of slaves brought from Africa
and managed the daily alms of the priory with practicality as well as
generosity. He became the procurator for both priory and city, whether it was a
matter of "blankets, shirts, candles, candy, miracles or prayers!"
When his priory was in debt, he said, "I am only a poor mulatto. Sell me.
I am the property of the order. Sell me."
Side by
side with his daily work in the kitchen, laundry and infirmary, Martin’s life
reflected God’s extraordinary gifts: ecstasies that lifted him into the air,
light filling the room where he prayed, bilocation, miraculous knowledge,
instantaneous cures and a remarkable rapport with animals. His charity extended
to beasts of the field and even to the vermin of the kitchen. He would excuse
the raids of mice and rats on the grounds that they were underfed; he kept stray
cats and dogs at his sister’s house.
He became
a formidable fundraiser, obtaining thousands of dollars for dowries for poor
girls so that they could marry or enter a convent.
Many of
his fellow religious took him as their spiritual director, but he continued to
call himself a "poor slave." He was a good friend of another
Dominican saint of Peru, Rose of Lima (August 23).
Comment:
Racism is a sin almost nobody confesses. Like pollution, it is a "sin of the world" that is everybody's responsibility but apparently nobody's fault. One could hardly imagine a more fitting patron of Christian forgiveness (on the part of those discriminated against) and Christian justice (on the part of reformed racists) than Martin de Porres.
Racism is a sin almost nobody confesses. Like pollution, it is a "sin of the world" that is everybody's responsibility but apparently nobody's fault. One could hardly imagine a more fitting patron of Christian forgiveness (on the part of those discriminated against) and Christian justice (on the part of reformed racists) than Martin de Porres.
Quote:
At Martin's canonization in 1962, Saint John XXIII remarked: "He excused the faults of others. He forgave the bitterest injuries, convinced that he deserved much severer punishments on account of his own sins. He tried with all his might to redeem the guilty; lovingly he comforted the sick; he provided food, clothing and medicine for the poor; he helped, as best he could, farm laborers and Negroes, as well as mulattoes, who were looked upon at that time as akin to slaves: thus he deserved to be called by the name the people gave him: 'Martin of Charity.'"
At Martin's canonization in 1962, Saint John XXIII remarked: "He excused the faults of others. He forgave the bitterest injuries, convinced that he deserved much severer punishments on account of his own sins. He tried with all his might to redeem the guilty; lovingly he comforted the sick; he provided food, clothing and medicine for the poor; he helped, as best he could, farm laborers and Negroes, as well as mulattoes, who were looked upon at that time as akin to slaves: thus he deserved to be called by the name the people gave him: 'Martin of Charity.'"
Patron Saint of:
African-Americans
Barbers
Hairdressers
Race relations
Social justice
African-Americans
Barbers
Hairdressers
Race relations
Social justice
LECTIO DIVINA:
LUKE 14,12-14
Lectio:
Monday, November 3, 2014
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God of power and mercy,
only with your help
can we offer you fitting service and praise.
May we live the faith we profess
and trust your promise of eternal life.
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 14,12-14
Jesus said to his host, 'When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relations or rich neighbours, in case they invite you back and so repay you. No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you and so you will be repaid when the upright rise again.'
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today continues to present the teaching which Jesus was giving about different themes, all related to the cure in the environment of a banquet: a cure during a meal (Lk 14, 1-6); an advice not to take the first places (Lk 14, 7-12); advice to invite the excluded (Lk 14, 12-14). This organization of the words of Jesus around a determinate word, for example, table or banquet, helps one to perceive the method used by the first Christians to keep the words of Jesus in their memory.
• Luke 14, 12: Interested invitation. Jesus is eating in the house of a Pharisee who has invited him (Lk 14, 1). The invitation to share at table is the theme of the teaching of today’s Gospel. There are different types of invitations: the interested invitations for the benefit of oneself and disinterested invitations for the benefit of others. Jesus says: "When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relations or rich neighbours, in case they invite you back and so repay you”. That was the normal custom of the people: to invite friends, brothers and relatives to eat. And nobody would sit at table with unknown persons. They would sit around the table only with persons who were their friends. That was the custom of the Jews. And even now we also act in the same way. Jesus thinks differently and orders to invite unknown people; these were invitations which nobody used to make.
• Luke 14, 13-14: Disinterested invitation. Jesus says. “On the contrary, when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you. So you will be repaid when the upright rise again.” Jesus orders to break the closed circle and asks to invite the excluded: the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. This was not the custom and it is not either today. But Jesus insists: “Invite these persons”. Why? Because in the disinterested invitation, addressed to excluded and marginalized persons, there is a source of happiness: “And then you will be blessed for they have no means to repay you”. This is a strange type of happiness, a diverse happiness! You will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you. It is the happiness that comes from the fact that you have done a gesture totally gratuitous, without asking for anything. Jesus says that this is the happiness which God will give us in the resurrection; the Resurrection which he will give us not only at the end of history, but even now. To act in this way is already a resurrection!
• It is the Kingdom which will be confirmed. The advice which Jesus gives us in the Gospel today recalls the sending out of the seventy-two on the mission of announcing the Kingdom (Lk 10, 1-9). Among the different recommendations given on that occasion, as signs of the presence of the Kingdom, there is: (a) the invitation to the table and (b) the acceptance of the excluded: “Whenever you go into a town, where they make you welcome, eat what is put before you, cure those who are sick and say: the Kingdom of God is very near to you!” (Lk 10, 8-9) Here, in these recommendations, Jesus orders to transgress that norm of legal purity which prevented fraternal living together.
4) Personal questions
• An interested or disinterested invitation: which of these takes place in my life?
• If you invited in a disinterested way, would this cause some difficulties? Which ones?
5) Concluding prayer
Yahweh, my heart is not haughty,
I do not set my sights too high.
I have taken no part in great affairs,
in wonders beyond my scope.
No, I hold myself in quiet and silence,
like a little child in its mother's arms,
like a little child, so I keep myself. (Ps 131,1-2)
1) Opening prayer
God of power and mercy,
only with your help
can we offer you fitting service and praise.
May we live the faith we profess
and trust your promise of eternal life.
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 14,12-14
Jesus said to his host, 'When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relations or rich neighbours, in case they invite you back and so repay you. No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you and so you will be repaid when the upright rise again.'
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today continues to present the teaching which Jesus was giving about different themes, all related to the cure in the environment of a banquet: a cure during a meal (Lk 14, 1-6); an advice not to take the first places (Lk 14, 7-12); advice to invite the excluded (Lk 14, 12-14). This organization of the words of Jesus around a determinate word, for example, table or banquet, helps one to perceive the method used by the first Christians to keep the words of Jesus in their memory.
• Luke 14, 12: Interested invitation. Jesus is eating in the house of a Pharisee who has invited him (Lk 14, 1). The invitation to share at table is the theme of the teaching of today’s Gospel. There are different types of invitations: the interested invitations for the benefit of oneself and disinterested invitations for the benefit of others. Jesus says: "When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relations or rich neighbours, in case they invite you back and so repay you”. That was the normal custom of the people: to invite friends, brothers and relatives to eat. And nobody would sit at table with unknown persons. They would sit around the table only with persons who were their friends. That was the custom of the Jews. And even now we also act in the same way. Jesus thinks differently and orders to invite unknown people; these were invitations which nobody used to make.
• Luke 14, 13-14: Disinterested invitation. Jesus says. “On the contrary, when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you. So you will be repaid when the upright rise again.” Jesus orders to break the closed circle and asks to invite the excluded: the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. This was not the custom and it is not either today. But Jesus insists: “Invite these persons”. Why? Because in the disinterested invitation, addressed to excluded and marginalized persons, there is a source of happiness: “And then you will be blessed for they have no means to repay you”. This is a strange type of happiness, a diverse happiness! You will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you. It is the happiness that comes from the fact that you have done a gesture totally gratuitous, without asking for anything. Jesus says that this is the happiness which God will give us in the resurrection; the Resurrection which he will give us not only at the end of history, but even now. To act in this way is already a resurrection!
• It is the Kingdom which will be confirmed. The advice which Jesus gives us in the Gospel today recalls the sending out of the seventy-two on the mission of announcing the Kingdom (Lk 10, 1-9). Among the different recommendations given on that occasion, as signs of the presence of the Kingdom, there is: (a) the invitation to the table and (b) the acceptance of the excluded: “Whenever you go into a town, where they make you welcome, eat what is put before you, cure those who are sick and say: the Kingdom of God is very near to you!” (Lk 10, 8-9) Here, in these recommendations, Jesus orders to transgress that norm of legal purity which prevented fraternal living together.
4) Personal questions
• An interested or disinterested invitation: which of these takes place in my life?
• If you invited in a disinterested way, would this cause some difficulties? Which ones?
5) Concluding prayer
Yahweh, my heart is not haughty,
I do not set my sights too high.
I have taken no part in great affairs,
in wonders beyond my scope.
No, I hold myself in quiet and silence,
like a little child in its mother's arms,
like a little child, so I keep myself. (Ps 131,1-2)
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