Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 348

Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 348

Reading 11 PT 1:10-16

Beloved:
Concerning the salvation of your souls
the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours
searched and investigated it
investigating the time and circumstances
that the Spirit of Christ within them indicated
when it testified in advance
to the sufferings destined for Christ
and the glories to follow them.
It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you
with regard to the things that have now been announced to you
by those who preached the Good News to you
through the Holy Spirit sent from heaven,
things into which angels longed to look.

Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly,
and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you
at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Like obedient children,
do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance
but, as he who called you is holy,
be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,
for it is written, Be holy because I am holy.

Responsorial PsalmPS 98:1, 2-3AB, 3CD-4

R. (2a) The Lord has made known his salvation.
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done wondrous deeds;
His right hand has won victory for him, 
his holy arm.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
The LORD has made his salvation known:
in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice.
He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness
toward the house of Israel.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation by our God.
Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands;
break into song; sing praise.
R. The Lord has made known his salvation.

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.

Gospel MK 10:28-31

Peter began to say to Jesus,
"We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.
But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first."

www.usccb.org

Meditation: "We have left everything and followed you"

What's the best investment you can make with your life? The gospel presents us with a paradox: we lose what we keep, and we gain what we give away. When we lose our lives for Jesus Christ, we gain a priceless treasure and an inheritance which lasts forever. Whatever we give to God comes back a hundredfold. Generosity flows from a heart full of gratitude for the abundant mercy and grace which God grants. Do you give freely and generously? And why do you give, for reward or for love?

The Lord Jesus rewards those who follow him
Right after a wealthy young man refused to follow Jesus, Peter, somewhat crudely wanted to know what he and the other disciples would get out of it since they had freely accepted Jesus' offer to follow him unconditionally. Jesus spoke with utter honesty: Those who left all for him would receive a hundred times more now, even in this life, as well as unending  life in the age to come. Jesus' disciples can expect opposition and persecution from those who are opposed to Jesus Christ and his Gospel.

The joy and treasure of God's everlasting kingdom 
Should we be surprised if we lose favor and experience ridicule, intimidation, and injury when we take a stand for truth and righteousness? In place of material wealth, Jesus promised his disciples the blessing and joy of rich fellowship with the community of believers. No earthly good or possession can rival the joy and bliss of knowing God and the peace and unity he grants to his disciples. The Lord Jesus wants to fill our hearts with the vision of the heavenly kingdom - a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Do you know the joy of following the Lord Jesus and serving him? Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with the joy and peace of God which does not pass away and with the assurance of his personal love for you which never fails.

"Lord Jesus, I want to follow you as your disciple and to love you wholeheartedly with all that I have. Fill my heart with faith, hope, and love that I may always find peace and joy in your presence."

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The spiritual sense of leaving the family, by Clement of Alexandria, 150-215 A.D.

"Do not let this passage trouble you. Put it side by side with the still harder saying Jesus delivered in another place in the words, 'Whoever hates not father, and mother, and children, and his own life besides, cannot be my disciple' (Luke 14:26). Note that the God of peace, who exhorts us to love our enemies, does not arbitrarily require us literally to hate or abandon those dearest to us. But if we are to love our enemies, it must be in accordance with right reason that, by analogy we should also love our nearest relatives... But insofar as one's father, or son, or brother, becomes for you a hindrance to faith or an impediment to godly life, one should then not collude with that temptation. Attend to the spiritual, rather than the fleshly, meaning of the command." (excerpt from SALVATION OF THE RICH MAN 22.13)

www.dailyscripture/net

TUESDAY, MAY 29, MARK 10:28-31
Weekday
(1 Peter 1:10-16; Psalm 98)

KEY VERSE: "But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first" (v 31).
TO KNOW: Jesus instructed his disciples that they could not enter heaven by their own merits, nor could wealth or power gain them entry. The astonished disciples asked who then could be saved. Jesus told them that salvation could only be achieved by God's grace. Peter protested that he and the other disciples had given up everything to follow Jesus. While Jesus acknowledged their tremendous sacrifices, he added that God would return a "hundredfold" what they had renounced. Though they would suffer persecution in the "present age," nothing could compare with God's gift of eternal life in the "age to come" (v 30). Although the world regarded the disciples as being in the lowest place, in God’s reign they would be first.
TO LOVE: What is the Lord asking me to relinquish?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to let go of those things that keep me from your kingdom. 

www.togetherwithgodsword.com

Tuesday 29 May 2018

1 Peter 1:10-16. Psalm 97(98):1-4. Mark 10:28-31.

The Lord has made known his salvation—Psalm 97(98):1-4.

Many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Each early morning, my dear dad would bring in a cup of tea with the resounding words, ‘Many who are first will be last, and the last first!’

Now as an adult, I appreciate those lines of the Gospel. He valued the idea of humility. To us, the words ‘first’ and ‘last’ mean winning or losing, the ability to gain or lose a trophy. Jesus stepped away from these games to stand with the invalid, the ridiculed, the dispossessed.

Today the role of father is questioned by social change and many men feel unsure about their place and their privilege. Let our prayer be for modern dads, that they will be loving and confident in their fathering and will offer their families the better meanings of winning and losing.

www.pray.com.au

Saint of the Day for May 29

(December 12, 1779 – May 25, 1865)

Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat’s Story

The legacy of Madeleine Sophie Barat can be found in the more than 100 schools operated by her Society of the Sacred Heart, institutions known for the quality of the education made available to the young.

Sophie herself received an extensive education, thanks to her brother Louis, 11 years older and her godfather at baptism. Himself a seminarian, Louis decided that his younger sister would likewise learn Latin, Greek, history, physics and mathematics—always without interruption and with a minimum of companionship. By age 15, she had received a thorough exposure to the Bible, the teachings of the Fathers of the Church and theology. Despite the oppressive regime Louis imposed, young Sophie thrived and developed a genuine love of learning.

Meanwhile, this was the time of the French Revolution and of the suppression of Christian schools. The education of the young, particularly young girls, was in a troubled state. Sophie, who had discerned a call to the religious life, was persuaded to become a teacher. She founded the Society of the Sacred Heart, which focused on schools for the poor as well as boarding schools for young women of means. Today, co-ed Sacred Heart schools also can be found, along with schools exclusively for boys.

In 1826, her Society of the Sacred Heart received formal papal approval. By then she had served as superior at a number of convents. In 1865, she was stricken with paralysis; she died that year on the feast of the Ascension.

Madeleine Sophie Barat was canonized in 1925.

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Reflection

Madeleine Sophie Barat lived in turbulent times. She was only 10 when the Reign of Terror began. In the wake of the French Revolution, rich and poor both suffered before some semblance of normality returned to France. Born to some degree of privilege, Sophie received a good education. It grieved her that the same opportunity was being denied to other young girls, and she devoted herself to educating them, whether poor or well-to-do. We who live in an affluent country can follow her example by helping to ensure to others the blessings we have enjoyed.

www.franciscanmedia.org

LECTIO DIVINA: MARK 10:28-31

Lectio Divina: 

 Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Ordinary Time

1) OPENING PRAYER

Lord,
guide the course of world events
and give Your Church the joy and peace
of serving You in freedom.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

2) GOSPEL READING - MARK 10:28-31

Peter began to say to Jesus, "We have given up everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come. But many that are first will be last, and the last will be first."

3) REFLECTION

• In yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus spoke about the conversation among the disciples about material goods: to get away from things, to sell everything, to give it to the poor and to follow Jesus. Or rather, like Jesus, they should live in total gratuity, placing their own life in the hands of God, serving the brothers and sisters (Mk 10:17-27). In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains how this life of gratuity and service of those who abandon everything for Him, for Jesus and for the Gospel, should be (Mk 10:28-31).

• Mark 10:28-31: A hundred times as much, as well as persecutions too. Peter observes: “We have left everything and followed You”. It is like saying: “We have done what the Lord asked of the young rich man. We have abandoned everything and we have followed You. Explain to us how should our life should be.” Peter wants Jesus to explain more of the new way of living in service and gratuity. The response from Jesus is beautiful, profound and symbolic: “In truth there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children or land for My sake and for the sake of the Gospel who will not receive a hundred times as much, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land, with persecutions too, now in the present time and in the world to come. Many who are first will be last and the last, first”. The type of life which springs from the gift of everything is an example of the Kingdom which Jesus wants to establish (a) to extend the family and to create community; it increases a hundred times the number of brothers and sisters. (b) It produces the sharing of goods, because all will have a hundred times more houses and land. Divine Providence incarnates itself and passes through the fraternal organization, where everything belongs to everyone and there are no longer persons who are in need. They put into practice the Law of God which asks “that there be no poor among you” (Dt 15:4-11). This was what the first Christians did (Acts 2:42-45). It is the perfect living out of service and gratuity. (c) They should not expect any privilege in return, no security, no type of promotion. Rather, in this life they will have all this, but with persecutions. Because in this world, organized on ego and the special interests of groups and people, those who want to live a gratuitous love and the gift of self will be crucified as Jesus was. (d) They will be persecuted in this world, but in the future world they will have eternal life, which the rich young man spoke about.

• Jesus is the choice of the poor. A two-fold slavery characterized the situation of the people of the time of Jesus: the slavery from the politics of Herod supported by the Roman Empire and maintained by a well organized system of exploitation and repression, and the slavery of the official religion, maintained by the religious authority of the time. This is why the clan, the family, the community, were all being disintegrated and a great number of the people were excluded, marginalized, homeless, and having no place in religion or in society. This is why several movements arose which were seeking a new way of living in community: the Essene, the Pharisees, and later on, the Zealots. In the community of Jesus there was something new which made it different from other groups. It was the attitude toward the poor and the excluded. The communities of the Pharisees lived separated. The word “Pharisee” means “separated”. They lived separated from impure people. Many Pharisees considered people ignorant and cursed (Jn 7:49), and in sin (Jo 9:34). Jesus and His community, on the contrary, lived together with these excluded persons who were considered impure: publicans, sinners, prostitutes, and lepers (Mk 2:16; 1:41; Lk 7:37). Jesus recognizes the richness and the values which the poor possess (Mt 11:25-26; Lk 21:1-4). He proclaims them blessed, because the Kingdom is theirs - it belongs to the poor (Lk 6:20; Mt 5:3). He defines His mission: “to proclaim the Good News to the poor” (Lk 4:18). He himself lives as a poor person. He possesses nothing for Himself, not even a rock where to lay His head (Lk 9:58). And to those who want to follow Him to share His life, He tells them to choose: God or money! (Mt 6:24). He orders that they choose in favor of the poor! (Mk 10:21). The poverty which characterized the life of Jesus and the disciples also characterized the mission. Contrary to other missionaries (Mt 23:15), the disciples of Jesus could take nothing with them, neither gold, nor money, nor two tunics, nor purse, nor sandals (Mt 10:9-10). They had to trust in the hospitality offered to them (Lk 9:4; 10:5-6). If they would be accepted by the people, they should work like everybody else and live from what they would receive as wages for their work (Lk 10:7-8). They should take care of the sick and those in need (Lk 10:9; Mt 10:8). Now they could tell the people: “The Kingdom of God is very near to you!” (Lk 10:9).

4) PERSONAL QUESTIONS

• In your life, how do you practice as Peter did: “We have left everything and have followed you”?

• Gratuitous sharing, service, acceptance to the excluded, are signs of the Kingdom. What do I do to live this? When do I do it? Can there be more?

• Look inside. What is the real motivation? Is it from love, or for gain? Is it a “transaction”, gaining extra “credits” for the next life? Is pride involved? Are there other reasons?

• Worldy wisdom teaches one has to be powerful, a “mover and shaker”, to influence others. How does one influence others when they have given away everything and in the world’s eyes are poor? At what point, or in what way, would one’s poverty speak louder and be more influential?

5) CONCLUDING PRAYER

The whole wide world has seen
the saving power of our God.
Acclaim Yahweh, all the earth,
burst into shouts of joy! (Ps 98:3-4)

www.ovarm.org