Wednesday of the Twenty-third Week in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 439
Lectionary: 439
Brothers and sisters:
If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly:
immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire,
and the greed that is idolatry.
Because of these the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient.
By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way.
But now you must put them all away:
anger, fury, malice, slander,
and obscene language out of your mouths.
Stop lying to one another,
since you have taken off the old self with its practices
and have put on the new self,
which is being renewed, for knowledge,
in the image of its creator.
Here there is not Greek and Jew,
circumcision and uncircumcision,
barbarian, Scythian, slave, free;
but Christ is all and in all.
If you were raised with Christ, seek what is above,
where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ your life appears,
then you too will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly:
immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire,
and the greed that is idolatry.
Because of these the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient.
By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way.
But now you must put them all away:
anger, fury, malice, slander,
and obscene language out of your mouths.
Stop lying to one another,
since you have taken off the old self with its practices
and have put on the new self,
which is being renewed, for knowledge,
in the image of its creator.
Here there is not Greek and Jew,
circumcision and uncircumcision,
barbarian, Scythian, slave, free;
but Christ is all and in all.
Responsorial
PsalmPS 145:2-3, 10-11,
12-13AB
R. (9) The
Lord is compassionate toward all his works.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.
Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.
Let all your works give you thanks, O LORD,
and let your faithful ones bless you.
Let them discourse of the glory of your Kingdom
and speak of your might.
R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.
Making known to men your might
and the glorious splendor of your Kingdom.
Your Kingdom is a Kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
R. The Lord is compassionate toward all his works.
AlleluiaLK 6:23AB
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
Rejoice and leap for joy!
Your reward will be great in heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Rejoice and leap for joy!
Your reward will be great in heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 6:20-26
Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
"Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets
in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way."
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
"Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets
in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way."
Meditation: "Blessed
are you poor - yours is the kingdom of God"
When
you encounter misfortune, grief, or tragic loss, how do you respond? With fear
or faith? With passive resignation or with patient hope and trust in God? We
know from experience that no one can escape all of the inevitable trials of
life - pain, suffering, sickness, and death. When Jesus began to teach his
disciples he gave them a "way of happiness" that transcends every
difficulty and trouble that can weigh us down with grief and despair. Jesus
began his sermon on the mount by addressing the issue of where true happiness
can be found. The word beatitude literally means happiness or blessedness.
Jesus' way of happiness, however, demands a transformation from within - a
conversion of heart and mind which can only come about through the gift and
working of the Holy Spirit.
True
happiness can only be fulfilled in God
How can one possibly find happiness in poverty, hunger, mourning, and persecution? If we want to be filled with the joy and happiness of heaven, then we must empty ourselves of all that would shut God out of our hearts. Poverty of spirit finds ample room and joy in possessing God alone as the greatest treasure possible. Hunger of the spirit seeks nourishment and strength in God's word and Spirit. Sorrow and mourning over wasted life and sin leads to joyful freedom from the burden of guilt and oppression.
How can one possibly find happiness in poverty, hunger, mourning, and persecution? If we want to be filled with the joy and happiness of heaven, then we must empty ourselves of all that would shut God out of our hearts. Poverty of spirit finds ample room and joy in possessing God alone as the greatest treasure possible. Hunger of the spirit seeks nourishment and strength in God's word and Spirit. Sorrow and mourning over wasted life and sin leads to joyful freedom from the burden of guilt and oppression.
The
beatitudes strengthen us in virtue and excellence
Ambrose (339-397 A.D), an early church father and bishop of Milan, links the beatitudes with the four cardinal virtues which strengthen us in living a life of moral excellence. He writes: "Let us see how St. Luke encompassed the eight blessings in the four. We know that there are four cardinal virtues: temperance, justice, prudence and fortitude. One who is poor in spirit is not greedy. One who weeps is not proud but is submissive and tranquil. One who mourns is humble. One who is just does not deny what he knows is given jointly to all for us. One who is merciful gives away his own goods. One who bestows his own goods does not seek another's, nor does he contrive a trap for his neighbor. These virtues are interwoven and interlinked, so that one who has one may be seen to have several, and a single virtue befits the saints. Where virtue abounds, the reward too abounds... Thus temperance has purity of heart and spirit, justice has compassion, patience has peace, and endurance has gentleness." (EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 5.62–63, 68).
No one can live without joy
God reveals to the humble of heart the true source of abundant life and happiness. Jesus promises his disciples that the joys of heaven will more than compensate for the troubles and hardships they can expect in this world. Thomas Aquinas said: "No person can live without joy. That is why someone deprived of spiritual joy goes after carnal pleasures." Do you know the joy and happiness of hungering and thirsting for God alone?
Ambrose (339-397 A.D), an early church father and bishop of Milan, links the beatitudes with the four cardinal virtues which strengthen us in living a life of moral excellence. He writes: "Let us see how St. Luke encompassed the eight blessings in the four. We know that there are four cardinal virtues: temperance, justice, prudence and fortitude. One who is poor in spirit is not greedy. One who weeps is not proud but is submissive and tranquil. One who mourns is humble. One who is just does not deny what he knows is given jointly to all for us. One who is merciful gives away his own goods. One who bestows his own goods does not seek another's, nor does he contrive a trap for his neighbor. These virtues are interwoven and interlinked, so that one who has one may be seen to have several, and a single virtue befits the saints. Where virtue abounds, the reward too abounds... Thus temperance has purity of heart and spirit, justice has compassion, patience has peace, and endurance has gentleness." (EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 5.62–63, 68).
No one can live without joy
God reveals to the humble of heart the true source of abundant life and happiness. Jesus promises his disciples that the joys of heaven will more than compensate for the troubles and hardships they can expect in this world. Thomas Aquinas said: "No person can live without joy. That is why someone deprived of spiritual joy goes after carnal pleasures." Do you know the joy and happiness of hungering and thirsting for God alone?
"Lord
Jesus, increase my hunger for you and show me the way that leads to everlasting
happiness and peace. May I desire you above all else and find perfect joy in
doing your will."
Daily
Quote from the early church fathers: Jesus, though rich, became poor for us,
by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.
"'Blessed,'
it says, 'are the poor.' Not all the poor are blessed, for poverty is neutral.
The poor can be either good or evil, unless, perhaps, the blessed pauper is to
be understood as he whom the prophet described, saying, 'A righteous poor man is
better than a rich liar' (Proverbs 19:22). Blessed is the poor man who
cried and whom the Lord heard (Psalm 34:6). Blessed is the man poor in offense.
Blessed is the man poor in vices. Blessed is the poor man in whom the prince of
this world (John 14:30) finds nothing. Blessed is the poor man who is
like that poor Man who, although he was rich, became poor for our sake (2
Corinthians 8:9). Matthew fully revealed this when he said, 'Blessed are the
poor in spirit' (Matthew 5:3). One poor in spirit is not puffed up, is not
exalted in the mind of his own flesh. This beatitude is first, when I have laid
aside every sin, and I have taken off all malice, and I am content with
simplicity, destitute of evils. All that remains is that I regulate my conduct.
For what good does it do me to lack worldly goods, unless I am meek and
gentle?" (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE
5.53-54)
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, LUKE 6:20-26
Weekday
(Colossians 3:1-11; Psalm 145)
Weekday
(Colossians 3:1-11; Psalm 145)
KEY VERSE: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours" (v. 20).
TO KNOW: Luke's Gospel has a special concern for the "anawim," the poor and lowly of society, rejected by the world but welcomed into God's reign by Jesus. Unlike Matthew who recorded Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount," Luke has Jesus' "Sermon on the Plain," in which he addressed the poor who were following him as disciples. Jesus encouraged them to be detached from material values that became a substitute for the ultimate good of God. Luke also emphasized the persecutions that beset the disciples who were closely united to Jesus' own suffering and rejection. Luke contrasted the blessings that came from being a disciple, and added condemnations of those who were not living a prophetic life-style. This series of "woes," or lamentations, show God's displeasure with people who were blind to the true values of the kingdom.
TO LOVE: How can I bring the Lord's consolation to those who are suffering?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to see my blessings in the midst of my difficulties.
PATRIOT DAY-- 9/11
On December 18, 2001, President George W. Bush signed an amendment of the U.S. Code designating September 11th as "Patriot Day". On the anniversary of the tragedy of 9-11, let us join together to show that we will not forget those innocent people that lost their lives that morning ̶ the passengers, the pilots, and those who were working at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Let us join together to show our appreciation for the brave firefighters, police officers and EMT personnel, many who lost their lives trying to help others. To show our remembrance, our strength, our resolve and our love of our country, let's join together again to show we have not forgotten. Fly the Flag of the United States at half-staff from sunrise to sunset. Hold appropriate programs and activities. Light some candles in the evening. Observe a moment of silence, and pray to forgive our enemies as Jesus taught us to do.
Wednesday 11 September 2019
Colossians 3:1-11. Psalm 144(145):2-3, 10-13. Luke 6:20-26.
The Lord is compassionate to all his creatures – Psalm 144(145):2-3, 10-13
‘Your rule lasts from age to age’
The Lord is compassionate to all his creatures – Psalm 144(145):2-3, 10-13
‘Your rule lasts from age to age’
Should we aim to be happy or sad? Should we focus on heaven or
earth? These readings can appear to be contradictory. The answers, however, lie
in the psalm. God’s everlasting reign is meant for both heaven and earth: when
we live on earth as it is in heaven and are renewed in the image of our
creator. In the church’s liturgy, heaven is often used in place of reign, which
begins here and now. Heaven’s values include gratitude, peace, unity and
courage for the good. Living with these values makes us like God, but like God
with us on earth, they can bring us persecution. We develop the eyes of Jesus
who sees more clearly the true happiness and true sorrow present in our world.
All is not what it seems, but we pray for the vision of true life in Christ.
Saint Cyprian
Saint of the Day for September 11
(d. 258)
 |
| Head Reliquary of Saint Cyprian in the St. Kornelius chapel of the abbey church of Kornelimünster Abbey in Kornelimünster | photo by ACBahn |
Saint Cyprian’s Story
Cyprian is important in the development of Christian thought and
practice in the third century, especially in northern Africa.
Highly educated, a famous orator, he became a Christian as an
adult. He distributed his goods to the poor, and amazed his fellow citizens by
making a vow of chastity before his baptism. Within two years he had been
ordained a priest and was chosen, against his will, as Bishop of Carthage.
Cyprian complained that the peace the Church had enjoyed had
weakened the spirit of many Christians and had opened the door to converts who
did not have the true spirit of faith. When the Decian persecution began, many
Christians easily abandoned the Church. It was their reinstatement that caused
the great controversies of the third century, and helped the Church progress in
its understanding of the Sacrament of Penance.
Novatus, a priest who had opposed Cyprian’s election, set
himself up in Cyprian’s absence (he had fled to a hiding place from which to
direct the Church—bringing criticism on himself) and received back all
apostates without imposing any canonical penance. Ultimately he was condemned.
Cyprian held a middle course, holding that those who had actually sacrificed to
idols could receive Communion only at death, whereas those who had only bought
certificates saying they had sacrificed could be admitted after a more or less
lengthy period of penance. Even this was relaxed during a new persecution.
During a plague in Carthage, Cyprian urged Christians to help
everyone, including their enemies and persecutors.
A friend of Pope Cornelius, Cyprian opposed the following pope,
Stephen. He and the other African bishops would not recognize the validity of
baptism conferred by heretics and schismatics. This was not the universal view
of the Church, but Cyprian was not intimidated even by Stephen’s threat of
excommunication.
He was exiled by the emperor and then recalled for trial. He
refused to leave the city, insisting that his people should have the witness of
his martyrdom.
Cyprian was a mixture of kindness and courage, vigor and
steadiness. He was cheerful and serious, so that people did not know whether to
love or respect him more. He waxed warm during the baptismal controversy; his
feelings must have concerned him, for it was at this time that he wrote his
treatise on patience. Saint Augustine remarks that Cyprian atoned for his
anger by his glorious martyrdom. His Liturgical Feast Day is September 16.
Reflection
The controversies about Baptism and Penance in the third century
remind us that the early Church had no ready-made solutions from the Holy
Spirit. The leaders and members of the Church of that day had to move painfully
through the best series of judgments they could make in an attempt to follow
the entire teaching of Christ and not be diverted by exaggerations to right or
left.
Saint Cyprian is the Patron Saint of:
North Africa
Lectio Divina: Luke 6:20-26
Lectio Divina
Wednesday, September 11, 2019
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
God our Father,
You redeem us
and make us Your children in Christ.
Look upon us,
give us true freedom
and bring us to the inheritance You promised.
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 redeem us
and make us Your children in Christ.
Look upon us,
give us true freedom
and bring us to the inheritance You promised.
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 6:20-26
Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said: "Blessed
are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are
now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for
you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and
insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in
heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to
you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who
are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will
grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors
treated the false prophets in this way."
3) Reflection
• The Gospel today presents four blessings and
four curses in Luke’s Gospel. There is a progressive revelation in the way in
which Luke presents the teaching of Jesus. Up to 6:16, he says many times, that
Jesus taught the people, but he did not describe the content of the teaching
(Lk 4:15,31-32,44; 5:1,3,15,17; 6:6). Now, after having said that Jesus sees
the crowd desirous to hear the Word of God, Luke presents the first great
discourse which begins with the exclamation, “Blessed are you who are poor!”
and “Alas for you, rich!” and then takes up all the rest of the chapter (Lk
6:12-49). Some call this discourse the “discourse on the plain” because,
according to Luke, Jesus came down from the mountain and stopped in a place
which was flat and there He pronounced His discourse. In Matthew’s Gospel, this
same discourse is given on the mountain (Mt 5:1) and is called “The Sermon on
the Mount.” In Matthew, in this discourse there are eight Beatitudes, which
trace a program of life for the Christian communities of Jewish origin. In
Luke, the sermon is shorter and more radical. It contains only four Beatitudes
and four curses, directed to the Hellenistic communities, formed by rich and
poor. This discourse of Jesus will be meditated on in the daily Gospel of the
next days.
• Luke 6:20: Blessed are you, poor! Looking
at the disciples, Jesus declares, “Blessed are you who are poor, the Kingdom of
Heaven is yours!” This declaration identifies the social category of the
disciples. They are poor! And Jesus promises them, “The Kingdom is yours!” It
is not a promise made for the future. The verb is in the present. The Kingdom
belongs to them already. They are blessed now. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus
makes explicit the meaning of this and says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit!”
(Mt 5:3). They are the poor who have the spirit of Jesus; because there are
some poor who have the mentality of the rich. The disciples of Jesus are poor
and have the mentality of the poor. Like Jesus, they do not want to accumulate,
but they assume their poverty and with Him, they struggle for a more just life
together, where there will be fraternity and sharing of goods, without any
discrimination.
• Luke 6:21-22: Blessed are you, who now
hunger and weep. In the second and third Beatitude, Jesus says, “Blessed
are who are hungry now, because you shall have your full! Blessed are you, who
are weeping now, you shall laugh!” One part of the sentence is in the present
and the other in the future. What we live and suffer now is not definitive;
what is definitive is the Kingdom of God which we are constructing with the
force of the spirit of Jesus. To construct the Kingdom presupposes pain,
suffering and persecution, but something is certain: the Kingdom will be
attained, and you will have your fill and you will laugh!
• Luke 6:23: Blessed are you when people
hate you...! The 4th Beatitude refers to the future:
“Blessed are you when people hate you, drive you out on account of the Son of
Man!” Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, look, your reward will be
great in heaven. This was the way your ancestors treated the prophets!” With
these words of Jesus, Luke encourages the communities of his time, because they
were persecuted. Suffering is not a death rattle, but the pain of birth pangs.
It is a source of hope! Persecution was a sign that the future that had been
announced by Jesus was arriving, being reached. The communities were following
the right path.
• Luke 6:24-25: Alas for you who are
rich! Alas for you who now have your fill and who laugh! After the four
Beatitudes in favor of the poor and of the excluded, follow four threats or
curses against the rich and those for whom everything goes well and are praised
by everybody. The four threats have the same identical literary form as the
four Beatitudes. The first one is expressed in the present. The second and the
third one have a part in the present and another part in the future. And the
fourth one refers completely to the future. These threats are found only in
Luke’s Gospel, not in Matthew’s. Luke is more radical in denouncing
injustices.
In front of Jesus, on the plains, there are no rich people.
There are only sick and poor people, who have come from all parts (Lk 6:17-19).
But Jesus says: “Alas for you the rich!” Luke, in transmitting these words of
Jesus, is thinking more of the communities of his time. In those communities
there were rich and poor people, and there was discrimination against the poor
on the part of the rich, the same discrimination which marked the structure of
the Roman Empire (cf. Jas 5:1-6; Rev 3:17-19). Jesus criticizes the rich very
hard and directly: You rich have already received consolation! You are already
filled, but you are still hungry! Now you are laughing, but you will be
afflicted and will weep! This is a sign that for Jesus poverty is not something
fatal, nor the fruit of prejudices, but it is the fruit of unjust enrichment on
the part of others.
• Luke 6:26: Alas for you when everyone
speaks well of you, because this was the way their ancestors treated the false
prophets! This fourth threat refers to the sons of those who in the past
praised the false prophets; because some authorities of the Jews used their
prestige and power to criticize Jesus.
4) Personal questions
• Do we look at life and at people from the
viewpoint of Jesus? What do you think in your heart: is a poor and hungry
person truly happy? The stories which we see on television and commercial
advertising, what ideal of happiness do they present?
• In saying “Blessed are the poor,” did Jesus want to say that the poor have to continue to be poor?
• Rich and poor are two terms with many interpretations. What is my interpretation? How does this fit with the meaning Jesus intended? Do I live authentically and without compromise in my interpretation of His message and meaning?
• In saying “Blessed are the poor,” did Jesus want to say that the poor have to continue to be poor?
• Rich and poor are two terms with many interpretations. What is my interpretation? How does this fit with the meaning Jesus intended? Do I live authentically and without compromise in my interpretation of His message and meaning?
5) Concluding Prayer
Upright in all that He does,
Yahweh acts only in faithful love.
He is close to all who call upon Him,
all who call on Him from the heart. (Ps 145:17-18)
Yahweh acts only in faithful love.
He is close to all who call upon Him,
all who call on Him from the heart. (Ps 145:17-18)
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