Monday
of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 473
Lectionary: 473
Reading
1ROM 4:20-25
Brothers and sisters:
Abraham did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief;
rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God
and was fully convinced that what God had promised
he was also able to do.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.
But it was not for him alone that it was written
that it was credited to him;
it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,
who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was handed over for our transgressions
and was raised for our justification.
Abraham did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief;
rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God
and was fully convinced that what God had promised
he was also able to do.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.
But it was not for him alone that it was written
that it was credited to him;
it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,
who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,
who was handed over for our transgressions
and was raised for our justification.
Responsorial
PsalmLK 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75
R. (see 68) Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he
has come to his people.
He has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
He has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
GospelLK 12:13-21
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.”
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”
Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.”
Meditation: "One's
life does not consist in the abundance of possessions"
Have
you ever tried to settle a money dispute or an inheritance issue? Inheritance
disputes are rarely ever easy to resolve, especially when the relatives or
close associates of the deceased benefactor cannot agree on who should get what
and who should get the most. Why did Jesus refuse to settle an inheritance
dispute between two brothers? He saw that the heart of the issue was not
justice or fairness but rather greed and possessiveness.
The
ten commandments were summarized into two prohibitions – do not worship false
idols and do not covet what belongs to another. It's the flip side of the two
great commandments – love God and love your neighbor. Jesus warned the man who
wanted half of his brother's inheritance to "beware of all
covetousness." To covet is to wish to get wrongfully what another
possesses or to begrudge what God has given to another. Jesus restates the
commandment "do not covet", but he also states that a person's life
does not consist in the abundance of his or her possessions.
August
of Hippo (354-430 AD) comments on Jesus' words to the brother who wanted more:
Greed
wants to divide, just as love desires to gather. What is the significance of
“guard against all greed,” unless it is “fill yourselves with love”? We,
possessing love for our portion, inconvenience the Lord because of our brother
just as that man did against his brother, but we do not use the same plea. He
said, “Master, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” We say,
“Master, tell my brother that he may have my inheritance.” [Sermon 265.9]
Jesus reinforces his point with a parable about a foolish rich man. Why does Jesus call this wealthy landowner a fool? Jesus does not fault the rich man for his industriousness and skill in acquiring wealth, but rather for his egoism and selfishness – it's mine, all mine, and no one else's. This parable is similar to the parable of the rich man who refused to give any help to the beggar Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). The rich fool had lost the capacity to be concerned for others. His life was consumed with his possessions and his only interests were in himself. His death was the final loss of his soul!
In
the parable of the rich fool Jesus gives a lesson on using material
possessions. It is in giving that we receive. Those who are rich towards God
receive ample reward – not only in this life – but in eternity as well.
Cyril
of Alexandria, a fifth century church father, comments on Jesus' word to
be rich toward God:
It
is true that a person’s life is not from one’s possessions or because of having
an overabundance. He who is rich toward God is very blessed and has glorious
hope. Who is he? Evidently, one who does not love wealth but rather loves
virtue, and to whom few things are sufficient. It is one whose hand is
open to the needs of the poor, comforting the sorrows of those in poverty
according to his means and the utmost of his power. He gathers in the
storehouses that are above and lays up treasures in heaven. Such a one shall
find the interest of his virtue and the reward of his right and blameless life. [Commentary on Luke, Homily 89]
In this little parable Jesus probes our heart – where is your treasure? Treasure has a special connection to the heart, the place of desire and longing, the place of will and focus. The thing we most set our heart on is our highest treasure. What do you treasure above all else?
"Lord
Jesus, free my heart from all possessivness and from coveting what belongs to
another. May I desire you alone as the one true treasure worth possessing above
all else. Help me to make good use of the material blessings you give me that I
may use them generously for your glory and for the good of others."
MONDAY,
OCTOBER 23, LUKE 12:13-21
Weekday
(Romans 4:20-25; Psalm: Luke 1)
Weekday
(Romans 4:20-25; Psalm: Luke 1)
KEY VERSE: "You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?" (v 20).
TO KNOW: When an argument arose between brothers regarding their family inheritance, Jesus refused to intervene. Instead, he told a parable about the foolishness of focusing on material wealth. In the story, a rich man's barns were full, so he made plans to build even larger ones to store his harvest. The man presumed that he would have many years to enjoy his prosperity, but he gave no thought to God's plans. (Count the number of times the man says "I" and "my"). When death came unexpectedly, the man's earthly riches counted for nothing. He was a "fool" because he was so absorbed in his worldly goods that he lost sight of God's treasures, which have eternal value (Mt 6:20).
TO LOVE: What are the "barns" I am building to hold my earthly treasures?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, you are more precious than any wealth I might possess.
Optional Memorial of Saint 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 jailed. 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.
Monday 23
October 2017
St John of Capistrano.
Romans
4:20-25. Luke 12:13-21.
Blessed be
the Lord God of Israel, he has come to his people — Luke 12:13-21.
‘Blessed
be the Lord God of Israel, he has come to his people.’
Our life does not consist in the
abundance of possessions. Following Jesus means living counter-culturally.
Everywhere there are advertisements telling us we need bigger, better, newer
possessions. But Jesus tells us quite bluntly that those of us with ample goods
could be rich fools.
We cannot love both God and our
possessions. We cannot eat, drink and be merry while our neighbours are hungry
and cold. If we do not share what we have, we become spiritually impoverished.
We need to guard against our greed and reject the false promises of our Western
world.
How can we help others benefit
from the gifts we have been given?
ST. JOHN OF CAPISTRANO
On Oct. 23, the Catholic Church celebrates the life of Saint John
of Capistrano, a Franciscan priest whose life included a political career,
extensive missionary journeys, efforts to reunite separated Eastern Christians
with Rome and a historically important turn at military leadership.
Invoked
as a patron of military chaplains, St. John of Capistrano was praised by St.
John Paul II in a 2002 general audience for his “glorious evangelical witness,”
as a priest who “gave himself with great generosity for the salvation of
souls.”
Born
in Italy during 1385, John lost his father – a French or possibly German knight
who had settled in Capistrano – at a young age. John’s mother took care to have
him educated, and after learning Latin he went to study both civil law and
Church law in Perugia. An outstanding student, he soon became a prominent
public figure and was appointed governor of the city at age 26.
John
showed high standards of integrity in his civic career, and in 1416 he labored
to end a war that had erupted between Perugia and the prominent House of
Malatesta. But when the nobles had John imprisoned, he began to question his
life’s direction. Encountering Saint Francis of Assisi in a dream, he resolved
to embrace poverty, chastity, and obedience with the Franciscans.
Abandoning
his possessions and social status, John joined the religious order in October
1416. He found a mentor in Saint Bernardine of Siena, known for his bold
preaching and his method of prayer focused on the invocation of the name of
Jesus. Taking after his teacher in these respects, John began preaching as a
deacon in 1420, and was ordained a priest in 1425.
John
successfully defended his mentor from a charge of heresy made against his way
of devotion, though he found less success in his efforts to resolve internal
controversy among the followers of St. Francis. A succession of popes entrusted
important matters to John, including the effort to reunite Eastern and Western
Christendom at the Ecumenical Council of Florence.
Drawing
immense crowds in his missionary travels throughout Italy, John also found
success as a preacher in Central Europe, where he opposed the Hussites’ error
regarding the nature and administration of the Eucharist. After Constantinople
fell to Turkish invaders in 1453, Pope Nicholas V sent John on a mission to
rally other European leaders in defense of their lands.
Nicholas’
successor Pope Callixtus III was even more eager to see the Christian world
defend itself against the invading forces. When the Sultan Mehmet II sought to
extend his territorial gains into Serbia and Hungary, John joined the
celebrated general Janos Hunyadi in his defense of Belgrade. The priest
personally led a section of the army in its historic victory on Aug. 6, 1456.
Neither
John nor the general, however, would survive long past the battle.
Weakened
by the campaign against the Turks, Hunyadi became sick and died soon after the
victory at Belgrade. John survived to preach Janos Hunyadi’s funeral sermon;
but his own extraordinary life came to an end after a painful illness, on Oct.
23, 1456. St. John of Capistrano was canonized in 1724.
LECTIO DIVINA: LUKE 12,13-21
Lectio Divina:
Monday, October 23, 2017
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.
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 12,13-21
A man in the crowd said to him, 'Master,
tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.' He said to him, 'My
friend, who appointed me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?' Then He
said to them, 'Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for
life does not consist in possessions, even when someone has more than he needs.'
Then He told them a parable, 'There was
once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, thought to
himself, "What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops."
Then he said, "This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build
bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, and I will say to my
soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come;
take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time." But God said to him,
"Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this
hoard of yours, whose will it be then?" So it is when someone stores up
treasure for himself instead of becoming rich in the sight of God.'
3) Reflection
● The episode in today’s gospel is found
only in the Gospel of Luke and does not have a parallel in the other Gospels.
It forms part of the long description of Jesus’ trip from Galilee to Jerusalem
(Lk 9, 51 to 19, 28) in which Luke places most of the information which he
collected concerning Jesus which is not found in the other three Gospels (cf.
Lk 1, 2-3). The gospel today gives the response of Jesus to the person who
asked Him to be the mediator in the distribution of an inheritance.
● Luke 12, 13: A request to
distribute an inheritance. “One from the crowd told Jesus: Master, tell my
brother to give me a share of our inheritance”. Up until today, the
distribution of an inheritance among the living relatives is always a delicate
question and, many times, it is the occasion of disputes and of tensions
without end. At that time, the inheritance also had something to do with the
identity of the person (1 K 21, 1-3) and with survival (Num 27,1-11; 36,1-12).
The greatest problem was the distribution of the land among the sons of the
deceased father. If the family was numerous, there was a danger that the
inheritance would be divided into small pieces of land which would not have
guaranteed survival of all. For this reason, in order to avoid the breaking up
or disintegration of the inheritance and to carry on the name of the family,
the firstborn or eldest received double of what the other sons received (Dt
21,17. cf. 2Rs 2, 11).
● Luke 12, 14-15: Response of
Jesus: attention to greed, to cupidity. “Jesus answers: My friend, who
appointed me your judge or the arbitrator of your claims?” In the
response of Jesus appears the knowledge which He has of His mission. Jesus does
not feel sent by God to respond to the request to be arbitrator between the
relatives who argue or quarrel among themselves concerning the distribution of
the inheritance. But the request of this man leads Him to the mission to
orientate persons, because “Watch, and be on your guard against avarice
of any kind, for life does not consist in possessions, even when someone has
more than he needs”. It was part of his mission to clarify the sense
of life. The value of life does not consist in having many things, but rather
in being rich for God (Lk 12, 21). Because when gain occupies the heart, it
does not know how to distribute the inheritance in an equitable way and with
peace.
● Luke 12, 16-19: The parable
that makes one think on the sense of life. Then Jesus told a parable
to help persons to reflect on the sense of life: “There was a rich man who
having had a good harvest from his land, thought to himself: What am I to do? I
have not enough room to store my crops”. The rich man was very obsessed by the
concern of his goods which had increased in an unforeseen way because of an
abundant harvest. He thinks only of accumulating in order to guarantee a life
without worries. He says: This is what I will do. I will pull down my barns and
build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them and I will say
to my soul: My soul, now you have plenty of good things laid for many years to
come, take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time”.
● Luke 12, 20: The first
conclusion of the parable. “But God said to him: ‘Fool! This very night the
demand will be made for your soul, and this hoard of yours, whose will it be
then?” So it is when someone stores up treasures for himself instead of
becoming rich in the sight of God”. Death is an important key to
discovering the true sense of life. It makes all things relative, because it
shows what perishes and what remains. Anyone who only seeks to have, and
forgets to be, loses everything at the hour of death. Here we have a thought
which appears very frequently in the books of wisdom: Why accumulate great
quantities of goods in this life if you do not know what will become of themand
if you do not know what the heirs will do with what you will leave them. (Qo 2,
12.18-19. 21).
● Luke 12, 21: second conclusion
of the parable. “So it is with someone who stores up treasures for himself
instead of becoming rich in the sight of God”. How can one become rich
for God? Jesus gives several suggestions and advice: Anyone who wants to be
first, let him be last (Mt 20, 27; Mk 9, 35; 10, 44); it is better to give than
to receive (Ac 20, 35); the greatest is the smallest (Mt 18, 4; 23, 11; Lk 9,
48) he/she who loses his/her life will save it (Mt 10, 39; 16, 25; Mk 8, 35; Lk
9, 24).
4) Personal questions
● The man asked Jesus to help Him in the
distribution of his inheritance. And you, what do you ask Jesus in your prayer?
● Consumerism creates needs and awakens in us the desire of gaining. What do you do so as not to be a victim of gain brought about by consumerism?
● Consumerism creates needs and awakens in us the desire of gaining. What do you do so as not to be a victim of gain brought about by consumerism?
5) Concluding prayer
Acclaim Yahweh, all the earth,
serve Yahweh with gladness,
come into his presence with songs of joy! (Ps 100,1-2)
serve Yahweh with gladness,
come into his presence with songs of joy! (Ps 100,1-2)
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