SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 : THURSDAY OF THE TWENTY-THIRD WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 440

Reading 1COL 3:12-17

Brothers and sisters:
Put on, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved,
heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
bearing with one another and forgiving one another,
if one has a grievance against another;
as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do.
And over all these put on love,
that is, the bond of perfection.
And let the peace of Christ control your hearts,
the peace into which you were also called in one Body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another,
singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs
with gratitude in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or in deed,
do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Responsorial PsalmPS 150:1B-2, 3-4, 5-6

R.(6) Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise the LORD in his sanctuary,
praise him in the firmament of his strength.
Praise him for his mighty deeds,
praise him for his sovereign majesty.
R. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise him with the blast of the trumpet,
praise him with lyre and harp,
Praise him with timbrel and dance,
praise him with strings and pipe.
R. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!
Praise him with sounding cymbals,
praise him with clanging cymbals.
Let everything that has breath
praise the LORD! Alleluia.
R. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

Alleluia1 JN 4:12

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If we love one another,
God remains in us,
and his love is brought to perfection in us.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 6:27-38

Jesus said to his disciples:
"To you who hear I say, love your enemies,
do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you,
pray for those who mistreat you.
To the person who strikes you on one cheek,
offer the other one as well,
and from the person who takes your cloak,
do not withhold even your tunic.
Give to everyone who asks of you,
and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.
Do to others as you would have them do to you.
For if you love those who love you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners love those who love them.
And if you do good to those who do good to you,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners do the same.
If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners,
and get back the same amount.
But rather, love your enemies and do good to them,
and lend expecting nothing back;
then your reward will be great
and you will be children of the Most High,
for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.
Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful.

"Stop judging and you will not be judged.
Stop condemning and you will not be condemned.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
Give and gifts will be given to you;
a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing,
will be poured into your lap.
For the measure with which you measure
will in return be measured out to you."

For the readings of the Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of Mary, please go here.

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Meditation: "Do good to those who hate you"

What makes Christians different and what makes Christianity distinct from any other religion? It is grace - treating others, not as they deserve, but as God wishes them to be treated - with loving-kindness and mercy. God is good to the unjust as well as the just. His love embraces saint and sinner alike. God seeks our highest good and teaches us to seek the greatest good of others, even those who hate and abuse us. Our love for others, even those who are ungrateful and selfish towards us, must be marked by the same kindness and mercy which God has shown to us. It is easier to show kindness and mercy when we can expect to benefit from doing so. How much harder when we can expect nothing in return.

Give and forgive - the two wings of prayer
Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) describes Jesus double precept to give and forgive as two essential wings of prayer:

"Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given you. These are the two wings of prayer on which it flies to God. Pardon the offender what has been committed, and give to the person in need" (Sermon 205.3). "Let us graciously and fervently perform these two types of almsgiving, that is, giving and forgiving, for we in turn pray the Lord to give us things and not to repay our evil deeds" (Sermon 206.2).

Bless and do not curse
Our prayer for those who do us ill both breaks the power of revenge and releases the power of love to do good in the face of evil. How can we possibly love those who cause us harm or ill-will? With God all things are possible. He gives power and grace to those who believe in and accept the gift of the Holy Spirit. His love conquers all, even our hurts, fears, prejudices and griefs. Only the cross of Jesus Christ can free us from the tyranny of malice, hatred, revenge, and resentment and gives us the courage to return evil with good. Such love and grace has power to heal and to save from destruction. That is why Paul the Apostle tells those who know the love and mercy of Jesus Christ to "bless and not curse.. nor take revenge.. and to overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:14,17,21). Do you know the power of God's love, mercy, and righteousness (moral goodness) for overcoming evil with good?

"Lord Jesus, your love brings freedom and pardon. Fill me with your Holy Spirit and set my heart free with your merciful love that nothing may make me lose my temper, ruffle my peace, take away my joy, nor make me bitter towards anyone."

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The virtue of charity, by Ambrose of Milan, 339-397 A.D.

"Love is commanded when it is said, 'Love your enemies'” so that the saying which was uttered already before the church may be fulfilled: 'Set in order love in me' (Song of Solomon 2:4). For love is set in order when the precepts of love are formed. See how it began from the heights and cast the law underneath the backs of the Gospel's blessing. The law commands the revenge of punishment (see Exodus 21:23-36). The gospel bestows love for hostility, benevolence for hatred, prayer for curses, help for the persecuted, patience for the hungry and grace of reward. How much more perfect the athlete who does not feel injury!"  (excerpt from EXPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 5.73)

www.dailyscripture.net

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, LUKE 6:27-38
Weekday
(Colossians 3:12-17; Psalm 150)

KEY VERSE: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful" (v. 36).
TO KNOW: Luke's "Sermon on the Plain" is the counterpart to Matthew's "Sermon on the Mount" (Mt 5-7). In Luke, Jesus was preaching on a plain to show his humble bond with his followers. In the midst of a hostile political system, Jesus encouraged his followers to bear persecution and suffering as he did. Typical of Luke's gospel, God's "mercy" is stressed rather than "perfection" as in Matthew (5:48). For Luke, Jesus' disciples were children of a compassionate Father and they should imitate God's mercy. Central to Jesus' teaching was love of neighbor and forgiveness of one's enemies. He spoke out against vindictiveness in retaliation of mistreatment or injury. Jesus' commands are clear: Love! Bless! Give! Forgive! Stop judging! Stop condemning! He encouraged his followers to overcome hatred and oppression just as he did, not through power, but through kindness, forgiveness and love.
TO LOVE: To whom do I need to show mercy today?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, for the sake of your sorrowful passion, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Optional Memorial of the Most Holy Name of the Mary

The memorial of the Holy Name of Mary is a counterpart to the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (January 3). Pope Innocent XI extended the memorial of Mary's Most Holy Name, which had already been honored in some parts of the Christian world, to be celebrated each year by the universal Church as a perpetual memorial. Mary always points us to Jesus, reminding us of God's infinite goodness. As we celebrate this feast day, let us remember the opening prayer for the Mass: “Lord, our God, when your Son was dying on the altar of the cross, He gave us as our mother the one He had chosen to be His own mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary; grant that we who call upon the holy name of Mary, our mother, with confidence in her protection may receive strength and comfort in all our needs.”  May our Blessed Mother continue to protect us, especially those Christians suffering persecution today.

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Thursday 12 September 2019

The Most Holy Name of Mary
Colossians 3:12-17. Psalm 150:1-6. Luke 6:27-38.
Let everything that breathes praise the Lord! – Psalm 150:1-6
‘Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you’

Jesus asks us to do to others what we would want done unto us. This makes no exceptions. No hesitations. No debates. This can be really hard. Whether it’s lending money, time, goods or our kind thoughts and words, it’s hard to be giving, open-minded, thoughtful, positive and, most, loving to family, friends and those who pass us on our journey.

It is especially difficult if we feel as if we have been wronged by the very people we have been asked to open our arms and hearts to. Maybe it is putting to rest the past, whether it be yesterday or ten years ago. It is being in the present, being open-minded, open-hearted and loving for the future that we need to keep in the forefront of our minds. May our hearts lighten and fill up with love thanks to the good that we have spread.

www.pray.com.au

Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Saint of the Day for September 12

 

The Virgin and Child (The Madonna of the Rose) | Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio

The Story of the Most Holy Name of the Blessed Virgin Mary

This feast is a counterpart to the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus; both have the possibility of uniting people easily divided on other matters.

The feast of the Most Holy Name of Mary began in Spain in 1513 and in 1671 was extended to all of Spain and the Kingdom of Naples. In 1683, John Sobieski, king of Poland, brought an army to the outskirts of Vienna to stop the advance of Muslim armies loyal to Mohammed IV of Constantinople. After Sobieski entrusted himself to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he and his soldiers thoroughly defeated the Muslims. Pope Innocent XI extended this feast to the entire Church.

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Reflection

Mary always points us to God, reminding us of God’s infinite goodness. She helps us to open our hearts to God’s ways, wherever those may lead us. Honored under the title “Queen of Peace,” Mary encourages us to cooperate with Jesus in building a peace based on justice, a peace that respects the fundamental human rights of all peoples.

https://www.franciscanmedia.org

Lectio Divina: Luke 6:27-38

Lectio Divina

Thursday, September 12, 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.

2) Gospel Reading - Luke 6:27-38

Jesus said to his disciples: "To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak, do not withhold even your tunic. Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same. If you lend money to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, and get back the same amount. But rather, love your enemies and do good to them, and lend expecting nothing back; then your reward will be great and you will be children of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful. "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you."

3) Reflection

• In today’s Gospel we have the second part of the “discourse on the plain.” In the first part (Lk 6:20-26), Jesus addresses Himself to the disciples (Lk 6:20). In the second part (Lk 6: 27-49), He addresses Himself “to you who listen to Me,” that is, the great crowds of poor and sick people, who had come from all parts (Lk 6:17-19).
• Luke 6:27-30: Love your enemies! The words that Jesus addresses to these people are demanding and difficult: to love your enemies, not to curse them, to present the other cheek to anyone who slaps you on one cheek, and do not protest or complain when somebody takes what is yours. Taken literally, these commands seem to favor the rich who rob,but not even Jesus observes them literally. When the soldier struck Him on the face, He did not offer the other cheek but rather reacted firmly: “If there is some offense in what I said, point it out, but if not why do you strike Me?” (Jn 18: 22-23). Then, how are these words to be understood? The following verses help us to understand what Jesus wants to teach us.
• Luke 6:31-36: The Golden Rule! to imitate God. Two sayings of Jesus help us to understand what He wants to teach. The first saying is the so called Golden Rule: “Treat others as you would like people to treat you!” (Lk 6:31). The second saying is “Be merciful as your Father in Heaven is merciful!” (Lk 6:36). These two directives indicate that Jesus does not want simply to change the situation, because nothing would change. He wants to change the system. The novelty which He wants to construct comes from the new experience of God the Father, full of tenderness who accepts all! The words of threat against the rich cannot be the occasion of revenge on the part of the poor! Jesus demands the contrary attitude: “Love your enemies!” Love cannot depend on what I receive from others. True love should want the good of others, independently of what he or she does for me. Love should be creative, because that is how God’s love is for us: “Be merciful, as your Heavenly Father is merciful!” Matthew says the same thing with other words: “Be perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect” (Mt 5:48). Never will anyone be able to say, “Today I have been perfect as the Father in Heaven is perfect! I have been merciful as the Father in Heaven is merciful.” We will always be below the measure which Jesus has placed before us.
In Luke’s Gospel, the Golden Rule says, “Treat others as you would like people to treat you!” (Lk 6:31). Matthew, in his Gospel, gives a different formulation: “Treat others as you would like others to treat you.” And he adds, “That is the Law and the Prophets” (Mt 7,12). Practically, all religions in the whole world have the same Golden Rule with a diverse formulation. This is a sign that a universal intuition or desire is expressed which comes from God and is part of our being in the image of God.
• Luke 6:37-38: “Do not judge and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven; give and there will be gifts for you; a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap; because the standard you use will be the standard used for you.” These are four counsels: two in a negative form, do not judge and do not condemn; and two in positive form: to forgive and to give an abundant measure. When He says, “there will be gifts for you,” Jesus refers to the treatment which God wants to bestow on us. But when our way of treating others is mean, God cannot use with us the abundant and overflowing measure that He would want to use.
Celebrate the visit of God. The Discourse on the Plains or the Sermon on the Mount, from the beginning, leads the listeners to make a choice, to opt, in favor of the poor. In the Old Testament, several times, God placed before people this same choice, blessing or curse. People were given the freedom to choose: “Today I call heaven and earth to witness against you: I am offering you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live” (Deut 30:19).It is not God who condemns, but the people themselves according to the choice that they make between life and death, good or evil. These moments of choosing are moments of the visit of God to His people (Gen 21:1; 50:24-25); Ex 3:16; 32:34; Jr 20:10; Ps 65:10; Ps 80:15; Ps 106: 4). Luke is the only Evangelist who uses this image of the visit of God (Lk 1:68, 78; 7:16; 19:44; Acts 15:16). For Luke it is the visit of God which places  the choice between blessing or curse before people: “Blessed are you who are poor” and “Alas for you, the rich!” But people do not recognize the visit of God (Lk 19:44).

4) Personal questions

• Do we look at life and at people with the same viewpoint as Jesus?
• What does it mean today “be merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful”?
• Am I as literal as Jesus in love and mercy, or do I rationalize it away and compartmentalize it so it doesn’t apply to situations in my life?

5) Concluding Prayer

Yahweh, You examine me and know me,
You know when I sit,
when I rise,
You understand my thoughts from afar.
You watch when I walk or lie down,
You know every detail of my conduct. (Ps 139:1-3)

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