OCTOBER 23, 2015 : FRIDAY OF THE TWENTY-NINTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 477

Reading 1ROM 7:18-25A

Brothers and sisters:
I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh.
The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not.
For I do not do the good I want,
but I do the evil I do not want.
Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it,
but sin that dwells in me.
So, then, I discover the principle
that when I want to do right, evil is at hand.
For I take delight in the law of God, in my inner self,
but I see in my members another principle
at war with the law of my mind,
taking me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
Miserable one that I am!
Who will deliver me from this mortal body?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Responsorial PsalmPS 119:66, 68, 76, 77, 93, 94

R. (68b) Lord, teach me your statutes.
Teach me wisdom and knowledge,
for in your commands I trust.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
You are good and bountiful;
teach me your statutes.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let your kindness comfort me
according to your promise to your servants.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Let your compassion come to me that I may live,
for your law is my delight.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
Never will I forget your precepts,
for through them you give me life.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.
I am yours; save me,
for I have sought your precepts.
R. Lord, teach me your statutes.

AlleluiaSEE MT 11:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 12:54-59

Jesus said to the crowds,
“When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

“Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?
If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate,
make an effort to settle the matter on the way;
otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge,
and the judge hand you over to the constable,
and the constable throw you into prison.
I say to you, you will not be released
until you have paid the last penny.”

www.usccb.org

Meditation: Heed the warning signs before it is too late to act

How good are you at reading warning signs? Jesus expects his disciples to accurately read the signs of the times! Seafarers and farmers know the importance of spotting weather conditions for safe travel and planting. A lot of effort is made today, with the help of science and technology, to discern potential natural dangers, such as tropical storms, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, earth quakes, and erupting volcanoes, so that people can be warned to take shelter before disaster hits. 

Don't miss God's kingdom and power to transform your life
Our need for accurately discerning the spiritual condition and moral climate around us is vital if we want to avert spiritual crisis and moral disaster. The Lord to transform our lives by offering us his kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). - But we can miss it if we allow a permissive attitude that takes sin lightly or puts off repairing wrongdoing before it is too late to get reconciled. 

Jesus used a very vivid illustration of a threatening lawsuit to show the urgency of settling a bad case outside of court before a worse sentence could passed against us. Why did the neighbor in Jesus' story make an effort to come to an agreement with his adversary before the matter was sent to court for judgment? The accused knew that he had a bad case which would likely go against him in court. He quickly tried to come to an agreement with his adversary to avoid receiving a worse sentence of being thrown into prison and given a costly fine as well. 

We all stand in need of God's mercy, grace, and protection. The Lord Jesus is our physician and healer and he is ready to set us free from any sinful patterns of thinking, acting, and speaking. If we give our lives over to him he will fill us with his Holy Spirit and give us a new heart and a transformed mind that is filled with his truth, love, and goodness.  If you want lasting peace and joy with God, then allow the Lord Jesus to transform every area of your life, your home, your work, your relationships, and possessions so that he may truly be the Lord and Giver of abundant life. Are you ready to surrender all to him - and to receive all from him?

"Lord Jesus, flood my heart with your love and free me from all that would keep me from doing your will. Transform my mind that I may discern what is right and choose what is good and pleasing to you."

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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, LUKE 12:54-59
WEEKDAY
(Romans 7:18-25a; Psalm 119)

KEY VERSE: "Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?" (v 57). 
TO KNOW: Jesus warned the people that they were facing God's coming judgment, yet they refused to make a decision for or against him. He chastised them for being able to observe the weather signs that predicted rain or shine, yet they ignored the signs of the coming of God's reign. Jesus told his followers that God's judgment was already taking place. There might be little time left to be reconciled to God and to put one's affairs in order. He said that it would be much easier to settle "out of court" than to face the ominous judgment of Almighty God. At such time they would be required to pay the full price for their misdeeds. Then they would regret that they did not heed Jesus' words. 
TO LOVE: What are the signs of the times that I must pay attention to today?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to listen to your words while there is still time to act on them.

Optional Memorial of John of Capistrano, priest 

John was born at Capistrano, Italy in 1385, the son of a former German knight. He studied law and practiced as a lawyer in the courts of Naples. King Ladislas of Naples appointed him governor of Perugia. During a war with a neighboring town John was betrayed and imprisoned. During his imprisonment he came to the decision to change vocations. He became a Franciscan on 4 October 1416. John was a noted preacher while still a deacon. Ordained a priest, he preached to tens of thousands throughout Italy, Germany, Bohemia, Austria, Hungary, Poland, and Russia. It was reported that he healed the sick by making the Sign of the Cross over them. John wrote extensively, mainly against the heresies of the day. After the fall of Constantinople to the Muslim Turks, John was commissioned by Pope Callistus II at age 70 to lead a Crusade against them. At the head of 70,000 Christian soldiers, he won the great battle of Belgrade in the summer of 1456, but he died in the field a few months later.

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Friday 23 October 2015

FRI 23RD. St John of Capistrano. Day of penance. Romans 7:18-25. Teach me your laws, O Lord—Ps 118(119):66, 68, 76-77, 93-94. Luke 12:54-59.

Readings

May I never forget your visions, for with them you give me life.

The psalm calls me to live with Jesus’ vision; for all that he tried to do while on earth will give me energy to continue his mission. This is all caught up in the two great commandments—to love God and others. The angels, at his birth, proclaimed peace on earth and good will towards all humanity and this seems to me, to be the Father’s will. Is this the fulfilment of his dream for creation when he saw each phase as good? The signs of the times must sadden God as he watches over and sees what humanity has done, both to themselves and the world. By living by his vision of care and concern for all, maybe we can, in time, renew the face of the earth.

www.pray.com.au

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Lighten Up

If joy really is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, shouldn’t all Christians unleash it? As G. K. Chesterton quipped, “Angels can fly because they take themselves so lightly.” Don’t be so serious that others can’t see the joy of Christ in you.

— from Tweet Inspiration

October 23
St. John of Capistrano
(1386-1456)

It has been said the Christian saints are the world’s greatest optimists. Not blind to the existence and consequences of evil, they base their confidence on the power of Christ’s redemption. The power of conversion through Christ extends not only to sinful people but also to calamitous events.

Imagine being born in the 14th century. One-third of the population and nearly 40 percent of the clergy were wiped out by the bubonic plague. The Western Schism split the Church with two or three claimants to the Holy See at one time. England and France were at war. The city-states of Italy were constantly in conflict. No wonder that gloom dominated the spirit of the culture and the times.

John Capistrano was born in 1386. His education was thorough. His talents and success were great. When he was 26 he was made governor of Perugia. Imprisoned after a battle against the Malatestas, he resolved to change his way of life completely. At the age of 30 he entered the Franciscan novitiate and was ordained a priest four years later.

His preaching attracted great throngs at a time of religious apathy and confusion. He and 12 Franciscan brethren were received in the countries of central Europe as angels of God. They were instrumental in reviving a dying faith and devotion.

The Franciscan Order itself was in turmoil over the interpretation and observance of the Rule of St. Francis. Through John’s tireless efforts and his expertise in law, the heretical Fraticelli were suppressed and the "Spirituals" were freed from interference in their stricter observance.

He helped bring about a reunion with the Greek and Armenian Churches, unfortunately only a brief arrangement.

When the Turks captured Constantinople in 1453, he was commissioned to preach a crusade for the defense of Europe. Gaining little response in Bavaria and Austria, he decided to concentrate his efforts in Hungary. He led the army to Belgrade. Under the great General John Hunyadi, they gained an overwhelming victory, and the siege of Belgrade was lifted. Worn out by his superhuman efforts, Capistrano was an easy prey to an infection after the battle. He died October 23, 1456.

Comment:

John Hofer, a biographer of John Capistrano, recalls a Brussels organization named after the saint. Seeking to solve life problems in a fully Christian spirit, its motto was: "Initiative, Organization, Activity." These three words characterized John's life. He was not one to sit around, ever. His deep Christian optimism drove him to battle problems at all levels with the confidence engendered by a deep faith in Christ.

Quote:

On the saint's tomb in the Austrian town of Villach, the governor had this message inscribed: "This tomb holds John, by birth of Capistrano, a man worthy of all praise, defender and promoter of the faith, guardian of the Church, zealous protector of his Order, an ornament to all the world, lover of truth and religious justice, mirror of life, surest guide in doctrine; praised by countless tongues, he reigns blessed in heaven." That is a fitting epitaph for a real and successful optimist.

Patron Saint of:

Judges

www.americancatholic.org

LECTIO DIVINA: LUKE 12,54-59

Lectio: 

 Friday, October 23, 2015

Ordinary Time

1) Opening prayer

Almighty and everlasting God,

our source of power and inspiration,

give us strength and joy

in serving you as followers of Christ,

who lives and reigns

with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) Gospel Reading - Luke 12,54-59

Jesus said again to the crowds, 'When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it's going to be hot, and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times? 'Why not judge for yourselves what is upright?

For example: when you are going to court with your opponent, make an effort to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the officer and the officer have you thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last penny.'

3) Reflection

• The Gospel today presents the call on the part of Jesus to learn to read the Signs of the Times. This was the text which inspired the Pope John XXIII to convoke the Church to be more attentive to the signs of Time and to perceive better the calls of God in the events of the history of humanity.

• Luke 12, 54-55: Everybody knows how to interpret the face of the earth and of the sky... “When you see a cloud looming up in the west you say at once that rain is coming, and so it does. And when the wind is from the south you say it’s going to be hot and it is”. Jesus reports a universal human experience. Every body and each one, in his own country or region, knows how to read the face of the sky and of the earth. The body itself understands when there is threat of rain or when the time begins to change: “It will rain”. Jesus refers to the contemplation of nature since it is one of the most important sources of knowledge and of experience which he himself had of God. It was the contemplation of nature that helped to discover new aspects in faith and in the history of his people. For example, rain which falls on the good and the bad, and the sun which rises on the upright and on the unjust, helped him to formulate one of the revolutionary messages: “Love your enemies!” (Mt 5, 43-45).

• Luke 12, 56-57: ..., but they do not know how to read the signs of the time. And Jesus draws the conclusion for his contemporaries and for all of us: “Hypocrites!” You know how to interpret the face of the earth and the sky. How is it you do not know how to interpret these times? Why not judge for yourselves what is upright? Saint Augustine said that nature, creation, is the first book that God wrote. Through nature, God speaks to us. Sin mixes up the letters of the book of nature and, because of this we have not succeeded in reading God’s message printed in the things of nature and in the facts of life. The bible is the second book of God, it was written not to occupy or substitute Life but to help us to interpret nature and life and to learn again to discover the calls of God in the facts of life. “Why not judge for yourselves what is upright?” Sharing among ourselves what we see in nature, we will be able to discover God’s call in life.

• Luke 12, 58-59: To know how to draw lessons for life. “When you are going to court with your opponent , make an effort to settle with him on the way, or he may drag you before the judge and the judge hand you over to the officer and the officer have you thrown into prison I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny”. One of the points on which Jesus insists most is reconciliation. At that time there were many tensions and conflicts among the radical groups which had different tendencies, without dialogue: Zelots, Essenes, Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians... No one wanted to give in before others. The words of Jesus on reconciliation which require acceptance and understanding enlighten this situation; because the only sin which God does not forgive is our lack of forgiveness toward others (Mt 6, 14). This is why he advices to seek reconciliation before it is too late! When the time of judgment comes, it will be too late. When there is still time try to change life, behaviour and way of thinking and seek to act justly (cf. Mt 5, 25-26; Col 3,13; Ep 4, 32; Mk 11, 25).

4) Personal questions

• Read the signs of the Times. When I listen or read the news on TV or in the newspaper am I concerned to perceive the calls of God in these facts?

• Reconciliation, to be reconciled is the most insistent request of Jesus. Do I try to collaborate in reconciliation between persons, the races, the people, the tendencies?

5) Concluding prayer

To Yahweh belong the earth and all it contains,

the world and all who live there;

it is he who laid its foundations on the seas,

on the flowing waters fixed it firm. (Ps 24,1-2)

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