Wednesday of the Twenty-sixth Week in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 457
Lectionary: 457
Job answered his friends and said:
I know well that it is so;
but how can a man be justified before God?
Should one wish to contend with him,
he could not answer him once in a thousand times.
God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
who has withstood him and remained unscathed?
He removes the mountains before they know it;
he overturns them in his anger.
He shakes the earth out of its place,
and the pillars beneath it tremble.
He commands the sun, and it rises not;
he seals up the stars.
He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads upon the crests of the sea.
He made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south;
He does great things past finding out,
marvelous things beyond reckoning.
Should he come near me, I see him not;
should he pass by, I am not aware of him;
Should he seize me forcibly, who can say him nay?
Who can say to him, "What are you doing?"
How much less shall I give him any answer,
or choose out arguments against him!
Even though I were right, I could not answer him,
but should rather beg for what was due me.
If I appealed to him and he answered my call,
I could not believe that he would hearken to my words.
I know well that it is so;
but how can a man be justified before God?
Should one wish to contend with him,
he could not answer him once in a thousand times.
God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
who has withstood him and remained unscathed?
He removes the mountains before they know it;
he overturns them in his anger.
He shakes the earth out of its place,
and the pillars beneath it tremble.
He commands the sun, and it rises not;
he seals up the stars.
He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads upon the crests of the sea.
He made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south;
He does great things past finding out,
marvelous things beyond reckoning.
Should he come near me, I see him not;
should he pass by, I am not aware of him;
Should he seize me forcibly, who can say him nay?
Who can say to him, "What are you doing?"
How much less shall I give him any answer,
or choose out arguments against him!
Even though I were right, I could not answer him,
but should rather beg for what was due me.
If I appealed to him and he answered my call,
I could not believe that he would hearken to my words.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 88:10BC-11, 12-13,
14-15
R. (3) Let my
prayer come before you, Lord.
Daily I call upon you, O LORD;
to you I stretch out my hands.
Will you work wonders for the dead?
Will the shades arise to give you thanks?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
Do they declare your mercy in the grave,
your faithfulness among those who have perished?
Are your wonders made known in the darkness,
or your justice in the land of oblivion?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
But I, O LORD, cry out to you;
with my morning prayer I wait upon you.
Why, O LORD, do you reject me;
why hide from me your face?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
Daily I call upon you, O LORD;
to you I stretch out my hands.
Will you work wonders for the dead?
Will the shades arise to give you thanks?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
Do they declare your mercy in the grave,
your faithfulness among those who have perished?
Are your wonders made known in the darkness,
or your justice in the land of oblivion?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
But I, O LORD, cry out to you;
with my morning prayer I wait upon you.
Why, O LORD, do you reject me;
why hide from me your face?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.
AlleluiaPHIL 3:8-9
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
I consider all things so much rubbish
that I may gain Christ and be found in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I consider all things so much rubbish
that I may gain Christ and be found in him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 9:57-62
As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding
on their journey, someone said to him,
"I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus answered him,
"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
And to another he said, "Follow me."
But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."
But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."
And another said, "I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home."
Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."
on their journey, someone said to him,
"I will follow you wherever you go."
Jesus answered him,
"Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
And to another he said, "Follow me."
But he replied, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father."
But he answered him, "Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God."
And another said, "I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home."
Jesus answered him, "No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God."
Meditation: "Fit for the kingdom of God"
Are you ready to follow the Lord Jesus wherever he may
lead you? With the call the Lord gives the grace to respond and the strength to
follow all the way to the end. Why does Jesus issue a challenge with the call?
Jesus was utterly honest in telling people what it would cost to follow him.
When a would-be disciple approached Jesus and said he was ready to follow,
Jesus told him it would require sacrifice - the sacrifice of certain creaturely
comforts. Jesus appealed to this man's heart and told him to detach himself
from whatever might hold him back. Spiritual detachment is a necessary step for
following the Lord. It frees us to give ourselves without reserve to the Lord
and his service. While many of us may not need to give up the comfort of our
own home and bed to follow Jesus, we, nonetheless, must be willing to part with
anything that might stand in the way of doing God's will.
Don't let anything hold you back from following the
Lord Jesus
Another would-be disciple said he would follow as soon as he had buried his father. What he meant by this expression was that he felt the need to return to his home to take care of his father through old age until he died. The third had no obligation to return home, but simply wanted to go back and say good-bye. Jesus surprised these would-be disciples with the stark truth that nothing should hinder us from following the Lord. Was Jesus being harsh and rude to his would-be followers? Not really. We are free to decide whether we will take the path which Jesus offers. But if we choose to go, then the Lord wants us to count the cost and choose for it freely.
Another would-be disciple said he would follow as soon as he had buried his father. What he meant by this expression was that he felt the need to return to his home to take care of his father through old age until he died. The third had no obligation to return home, but simply wanted to go back and say good-bye. Jesus surprised these would-be disciples with the stark truth that nothing should hinder us from following the Lord. Was Jesus being harsh and rude to his would-be followers? Not really. We are free to decide whether we will take the path which Jesus offers. But if we choose to go, then the Lord wants us to count the cost and choose for it freely.
Don't miss the good path God has set for you - it will
lead to joy and freedom
What does the story of a plowman have to do with the journey? A plowman who looked back while plowing his field caused the line or furrow he cut into the soil to become crooked. One crooked line easily leads to another until the whole field is a mess. The plowman had to look straight ahead in order to keep the plow from going off course. Likewise, if we look back on what we have freely left behind to follow the Lord - whether that be some distraction, attachment, or sinful habit which leads us away from doing God's will - our path will likely diverge and we'll miss what God has for us.
What does the story of a plowman have to do with the journey? A plowman who looked back while plowing his field caused the line or furrow he cut into the soil to become crooked. One crooked line easily leads to another until the whole field is a mess. The plowman had to look straight ahead in order to keep the plow from going off course. Likewise, if we look back on what we have freely left behind to follow the Lord - whether that be some distraction, attachment, or sinful habit which leads us away from doing God's will - our path will likely diverge and we'll miss what God has for us.
Will you say "yes" to the Lord's call for
your life?
The Gospel does not record the response from these three would-be disciples. We are only left with the question which Jesus intends for us as well. Are you ready to take the path which the Lord Jesus offers? His grace is sufficient and his love is strong. There is nothing greater we can do with our lives than to place them at the service of the Lord and Master of the universe. We cannot outmatch God in his generosity. Jesus promises that those who are willing to part with what is most dear to them for his sake "will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29). The Lord Jesus offers us a kingdom of lasting peace, unending joy, surpassing love, enduring friendship, and abundant life. Is there anything holding you back from pursuing the Lord and his will for you life?
The Gospel does not record the response from these three would-be disciples. We are only left with the question which Jesus intends for us as well. Are you ready to take the path which the Lord Jesus offers? His grace is sufficient and his love is strong. There is nothing greater we can do with our lives than to place them at the service of the Lord and Master of the universe. We cannot outmatch God in his generosity. Jesus promises that those who are willing to part with what is most dear to them for his sake "will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29). The Lord Jesus offers us a kingdom of lasting peace, unending joy, surpassing love, enduring friendship, and abundant life. Is there anything holding you back from pursuing the Lord and his will for you life?
"Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my
memory, my understanding, and my whole will. All that I am and all that I
possess you have given me. I surrender it all to you to be disposed of
according to your will. Give me only your love and your grace - with
these I will be rich enough and will desire nothing more." (Prayer of
Ignatius Loyola, 1491-1556)
Daily Quote from the early church fathers: Put to death what is earthly in you, by
Origen of Alexandria (185-254 AD)
"The statement 'Let the dead bury their dead'
implies spiritually: Waste no more time on dead things. You are to 'put to
death therefore what is earthly in you: immorality, impurity, passion, evil
desire and covetousness, which is idolatry' (Colossians 3:5). These things
therefore are dead. Cast them away from you. Cut them off as you would cut off
gangrenous flesh to prevent the contamination of the whole body, so that you
may not hear it said, 'Leave the dead [spiritually dead] to bury their dead'
(Matthew 8:22). But to some it seems abnormal and contradictory that the Savior
does not allow the disciple to bury his father. It seems inhumane. But Jesus
does not in fact forbid people from burying the dead, but rather he puts before
this the preaching of the kingdom of heaven, which makes people alive (Luke
9:60). As for burying the body, there were many people who could have done
this." (excerpt from Fragment 161)
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3, LUKE 9:57-62
Weekday
Weekday
Job 9:1-12, 14-16; Psalm 88)
KEY VERSE: "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God" (v. 62).
TO KNOW: A prospective disciples approached Jesus and declared that he was willing to follow him wherever he went. Jesus made the demands of discipleship very clear. Was he willing to be a homeless wanderer without even a place to lay his head, like Jesus was? Could he renounce security and personal relationships for the sake of the kingdom? When another would-be disciple asked permission to return home to bury his father, Jesus told him that those who were spiritually "dead" should take care of this obligation. Still another asked Jesus if he could bid his family farewell before joining him. He expected that Jesus would allow him to do so, just as Elijah gave permission to Elisha (1 Kgs 19:19-21). Jesus’ answer was even more challenging. God's call was urgent and a disciple's response must be unconditional.
TO LOVE: What stands in the way of my answering God's call?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to follow you no matter what the cost.
Wednesday 3
October 2018
St Francis Borgia
Job 9:1-12, 14-16. Psalm 87(88):10-15. Luke 9:57-62.
Let my prayer come before you, Lord – Psalm 87(88):10-15.
‘Go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’
Today’s Gospel highlights the cost of choosing to follow Christ.
We may have a place to lay our head, but spiritually we are homeless until we
rest in God. The other words of Jesus seem harsh – to abandon family and loved
ones without saying goodbye.
Perhaps Jesus was exaggerating in order to make a bigger point.
We can always find reasons to delay what could be done in the present.
Sometimes we need to reflect on where our priorities lie. If we are always
making excuses for delaying, what are we trying to avoid? Let us take our
procrastinations and concerns to God in prayer
Saint Theodora Guérin
Saint of the Day for October 3
(October 2, 1798 – May 14, 1856)
 |
| Saint Theodora Guerin | Image courtesy and © Sisters of Providence, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods |
Saint Theodora Guérin’s Story
Trust in God’s Providence enabled Mother Theodore to leave her
homeland, sail halfway around the world, and found a new religious
congregation.
Born in Etables, France, Anne-Thérèse Guerin’s life was
shattered by her father’s murder when she was 15. For several years, she cared
for her mother and younger sister. She entered the Sisters of Providence in
1823, taking the name Sister Saint Theodore. An illness during novitiate
left her with lifelong fragile health, but that did not keep her from becoming
an accomplished teacher.
At the invitation of the bishop of Vincennes, Indiana, Sr. Saint
Theodore and five sisters were sent in 1840 to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods,
Indiana, to teach and to care for the sick poor. She was to establish a
motherhouse and novitiate. Only later did she learn that her French superiors
had already decided the sisters in the United States should form a new
religious congregation under her leadership.
Mother Theodore and her community persevered despite fires, crop
failures, prejudice against Catholic women religious, misunderstandings, and
separation from their original religious congregation. She once told her
sisters, “Have confidence in the Providence that so far has never failed us.
The way is not yet clear. Grope along slowly. Do not press matters; be patient,
be trustful.” Another time she asked, “With Jesus, what shall we have to fear?”
Mother Theodore is buried in the Church of the Immaculate
Conception in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. She was beatified in 1998, and
canonized as Saint Theodora Guerin eight years later.
Reflection
God’s work gets done by people ready to take risks and to work
hard—always remembering what Saint Paul told the Corinthians, “I planted,
Apollos watered, but God caused the growth.” Every holy person has a strong
sense of God’s Providence.
LECTIO DIVINA: LUKE 9:57-62
Lectio Divina:
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Father,
you show your almighty power
in your mercy and forgiveness.
Continue to fill us with your gifts of love.
Help us to hurry towards the eternal life your promise
and come to share in the joys of your kingdom.
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.
you show your almighty power
in your mercy and forgiveness.
Continue to fill us with your gifts of love.
Help us to hurry towards the eternal life your promise
and come to share in the joys of your kingdom.
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 9, 57-62
As they travelled along they met a man
on the road who said to Jesus, 'I will follow you wherever you go.'
Jesus answered, 'Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.'
Another to whom he said, 'Follow me,' replied, 'Let me go and bury my father first.'
But he answered, 'Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.'
Another said, 'I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say good -- bye to my people at home.'
Jesus said to him, 'Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'
Jesus answered, 'Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head.'
Another to whom he said, 'Follow me,' replied, 'Let me go and bury my father first.'
But he answered, 'Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God.'
Another said, 'I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say good -- bye to my people at home.'
Jesus said to him, 'Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'
3) Reflection
● In today's Gospel the long and hard
journey of Jesus continues from the periphery of Galilee toward the capital
city. Leaving Galilee, Jesus enters in Samaria and continues toward Jerusalem.
But not all understand him. Many abandon him, because the demands are enormous.
But others get close to him and present themselves to follow Jesus. At the
beginning of his pastoral activity in Galilee, Jesus had called three: Peter,
James and John (Lk 5, 8-11). Here also, in Samaria there are three persons who
present themselves or who are called. In the responses of Jesus there are the
requirements or conditions in order to be able to be his disciples.
● Luke 9, 56-58: The first one of the three new disciples. At that time, as they travelled along, they met a man who said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go". Jesus answered: "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head". To this first person who wants to be his disciple, Jesus asks him to divest himself of everything: he has nowhere to lay his head; much less should he seek a false security where to lay the thoughts of his head.
● Luke 9, 59-60: The second one of the three new disciples. To another one he says "Follow me". And he replied, "Let me go and bury my father first". Jesus replied: "Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the Kingdom of God". To this second person called by Jesus to follow Him, he asks him to leave the dead bury the dead. It is a question of a popular saying used to say: leave aside the things of the past. Do not lose time with what happened and look ahead. After having discovered the new life in Jesus, the disciple should not lose time with what has happened.
● Luke 9, 61-62: The third one of the three new disciples. "Another said: I will follow you, Sir, but first let me go and say good-bye to my people at home". But Jesus replied: once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God". To this third person called to be a disciple, Jesus asks to break the family bonds of union. On another occasion he had said: Anyone who loves his father and his mother more than me cannot be my disciple (Lk 14, 26; Mt 10, 37). Jesus is more demanding than the Prophet Elijah who allowed Elisha to greet and take leave from his parents (1 K 19, 19-21). This also means to break the nationalistic bonds of race and the patriarchal family structure.
● These are three fundamental requirements as necessary conditions for those who want to be the disciples of Jesus: (a) to abandon material goods, (b) not to be attached to personal goods lived and accumulated in the past (c) to break away from the family bonds. In reality, nobody, even wishing it, can break neither the family bonds, nor break away from things lived in the past. What is asked is to know how to re-integrate everything (material goods, personal life and family life) in a new way around the new axis which is Jesus and the Good News of God which he has brought to us.
● Jesus himself, lived and became aware of what he was asking to his followers. With his decision to go up to Jerusalem Jesus reveals his project. His journey toward Jerusalem (Lk 9, 51 a 19, 27) is represented as the undertaking (Lk 9, 51), the exodus (Lk 9, 31) or the crossing (Lk 17, 11). Arriving in Jerusalem Jesus fulfils the exodus, the undertaking or the definitive crossing from this world toward the Father (Jn 13, 1). Only a truly free person can do this, because such an exodus presupposes to dedicate one's whole life for the brothers (Lk 23, 44-46; 24, 51). This is the exodus, the crossing, the undertaking of which the communities should become aware in order to be able to carry on Jesus' project.
4) Personal questions
● Compare each one of these three
requirements with your life.
● Which are the problems that arise in your life as a consequence of the decision which you have taken to follow Jesus?
● Which are the problems that arise in your life as a consequence of the decision which you have taken to follow Jesus?
5) Concluding prayer
Yahweh, you examine me and know me,
you know when I sit,
when I rise,
you understand my thoughts from afar. (Ps 139,1-2)
you know when I sit,
when I rise,
you understand my thoughts from afar. (Ps 139,1-2)
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