OCTOBER 05, 2019 : SATURDAY OF THE TWENTY-SIXTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Saturday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 460

Reading 1BAR 4:5-12, 27-29

Fear not, my people!
Remember, Israel,
You were sold to the nations
not for your destruction;
It was because you angered God
that you were handed over to your foes.
For you provoked your Maker
with sacrifices to demons, to no-gods;
You forsook the Eternal God who nourished you,
and you grieved Jerusalem who fostered you.
She indeed saw coming upon you
the anger of God; and she said:

"Hear, you neighbors of Zion!
God has brought great mourning upon me,
For I have seen the captivity
that the Eternal God has brought
upon my sons and daughters.
With joy I fostered them;
but with mourning and lament I let them go.
Let no one gloat over me, a widow,
bereft of many:
For the sins of my children I am left desolate,
because they turned from the law of God.

Fear not, my children; call out to God!
He who brought this upon you will remember you.
As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God,
turn now ten times the more to seek him;
For he who has brought disaster upon you
will, in saving you, bring you back enduring joy."

Responsorial PsalmPS 69:33-35, 36-37

R.(34) The Lord listens to the poor.
“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
you who seek God, may your hearts revive!
For the LORD hears the poor,
and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.
Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them!”
R. The Lord listens to the poor.
For God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
They shall dwell in the land and own it,
and the descendants of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall inhabit it.
R. The Lord listens to the poor.

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.

GospelLK 10:17-24

The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,
“Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.”
Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.    
Behold, I have given you the power
‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy
and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Turning to the disciples in private he said,
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, please go here.

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Meditation: "Your names are written in heaven"

 Do you know and experience in your personal life the joy of the Lord? The Scriptures tell us that "the joy of the Lord is our strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). Why does Jesus tell his disciples to not take joy in their own successes, even spiritual ones? Jesus makes clear that the true source of our joy is God himself, and God alone. Regardless of the circumstances, in good times and bad times, in success or loss, God always assures us of victory in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus assures his disciples that he has all power over all evil, including the power of Satan and the evil spirits (demons) - the fallen angels who rebelled against God and who hate men and women who have been created in God's image and likeness (Genesis 1:29). Jesus told his disciples that he came into the world to overthrow the evil one (John 12:31). That is why Jesus gave his disciples power over Satan and his legion of demons (rebellious angels). We, too, as disciples of Jesus have been given spiritual authority and power for overcoming the works of darkness and evil (1 John 2:13-14).

Self-centered pride closes the mind to God's revelation and wisdom
Jesus thanks the Father in heaven for revealing to his disciples the wisdom and knowledge of God. What does Jesus' prayer tell us about God and about ourselves? First, it tells us that God is both Father and Lord of earth as well as heaven. He is both Creator and Author of all that he has made, the first origin of everything and transcendent authority, and at the same time, goodness and loving care for all his children. All fatherhood and motherhood is derived from him (Ephesians 3:14-15).

Jesus' prayer also contains a warning that pride can keep us from the love and knowledge of God. What makes us ignorant and blind to the things of God? Sinful pride springs from being self-centered and holding an exaggerated view of oneself. Pride closes the mind to God's truth and wisdom for our lives. Lucifer, who was once the prince of angels, fell into pride because he did not want to serve God but wanted to be equal with God. Through his arrogant pride he led a whole host of angels to rebel against God. That is why the rebellious angels (whom Scripture calls evil spirits, devils, and demons) were cast out of heaven and thrown down to the earth. They seek to lead us away from God through pride and rebellion.

How can we guard our hearts from sinful pride and rebellion? The virtue of humility teaches us to put our trust in God and not in ourselves. God gives strength and help to those who put their trust in him. Humility is the only true remedy against sinful pride. True humility, which is very different from the feelings of inferiority or low self-esteem, leads us to a true recognition of who we are in the sight of God and of our dependence on God.

Humility is the only soil where God's grace and truth can take root
Jesus contrasts intellectual pride with child-like simplicity and humility. The simple of heart are like "babes" or "little children" in the sense that they see purely without pretense or falsehood and acknowledge their dependence and trust in one who is greater, wiser, and more trustworthy. They seek one thing - the "summum bonum" or "greatest good" who is God himself. Simplicity of heart is wedded with humility, the queen of virtues, because humility inclines the heart towards grace and truth.

Just as pride is the root of every sin and evil inclination, so humility is the only soil in which the grace of God can take root. It alone takes the right attitude before God and allows him as God to do all. God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6). The grace of Christ-like humility inclines us towards God and disposes us to receive God's wisdom and help. Allow the Lord Jesus to heal the wounds of pride in your heart and to fill you with the joy of the Holy Spirit who transforms us into the likeness of Christ himself - who is meek and humble of heart (Matthew 11:29).

Nothing can give us greater joy than the knowledge that we are God's beloved and that our names are written in heaven. The Lord Jesus has ransomed us from slavery to sin, Satan, and death and has adopted us as God's beloved sons and daughters. That is why we no longer belong to ourselves - but to God alone. Do you seek to be like Jesus Christ in humility and simplicity of heart?

The Lord Jesus wants us to know him personally - experientially
Jesus makes a claim which no one would have dared to make: He is the perfect revelation of God - he and the Father are perfectly united in a bond of unbreakable love and fidelity. One of the greatest truths of the Christian faith is that we can know the living God. Our knowledge of God is not simply limited to knowing something about God, but we can know God personally. The essence of Christianity, and what makes it distinct from Judaism and other religions, is the knowledge of God as our Father. Jesus makes it possible for each of us to personally know God as our Father. Saint Augustine of Hippo wrote: "God loves each of us as if there were only one of us to love."

Seek God with expectant faith and trust
To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In Jesus we see the perfect love of God - a God who yearns over men and women, who cares intensely for them and who shows them unceasing kindness, mercy, and forgiveness. That is why the Father sent his only begotten Son who laid down his life for us on the cross. Jesus taught his followers to confidently pray to the Father with expectant faith, "Our Father who art in heaven ...give us this day our daily bread." Do you believe in your heavenly Father's care and love for you and do you pray with confident trust and hope that he will give you what you need to live as his son or daughter?

"Most High and glorious God, enlighten the darkness of our hearts and give us a true faith, a certain hope and a perfect love. Give us a sense of the divine and knowledge of yourself, so that we may do everything in fulfillment of your holy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Prayer of Francis of Assisi, 1182-1226)

Daily Quote from the early church fathers: The power of the Kingdom of God, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)

"He also gave the holy apostles power and might even to raise the dead, cleanse lepers, heal the sick, and by the laying on of hands to call down from heaven the Holy Spirit on anyone they wanted. He gave them power to bind and to loose people's sins. His words are 'I say to you, whatever you will bind on earth, will be bound in heaven (Matthew 18:18). Whatever you will loose on earth, will be loosed in heaven.' These are the things we see ourselves possessing. Blessed are our eyes and the eyes of those of all who love him. We have heard his wonderful teaching. He has given us the knowledge of God the Father, and he has shown him to us in his own nature. The things that were by Moses were only types and symbols. Christ has revealed the truth to us. He has taught us that not by blood and smoke, but rather by spiritual sacrifices, we must honor him who is spiritual, immaterial and above all understanding." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 67)

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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, LUKE 10:17-24
Weekday
(Baruch 4:5-12, 27-29; Psalm 69)

KEY VERSE: "For although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike" (v. 21).
TO KNOW: Only Luke among the evangelists tells of this second mission of seventy-two disciples. Jesus sent them ahead in pairs, to every town he intended to visit. When they returned, they were jubilant because their mission was successful. They were amazed at the power that had been given to them, having witnessed the collapse of Satan's reign through their proclamation of God's reign. Jesus shared their joy over Satan's fall, but he told them not to rejoice that they had greater power than the evil forces. They should be glad that their "names were written in heaven" (v. 20). Jesus prayed in thanksgiving to the Father for bestowing the mysteries of the kingdom on his lowly disciples. This privilege had not been given to the "wise and the learned" (v. 21), but to his disciples who, like little children, were open to God's revelation in Jesus.
TO LOVE: In what ways do I help to reduce the influence of evil in the world?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help me to imitate your humble obedience to God's word.

Optional Memorial of Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos, Priest

Francis Xavier Seelos, was born in Füssen, Germany in 1819, and named for St. Francis Xavier. He entered the diocesan seminary, and was attracted to the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, and their mission to work with the poor and abandoned. Feeling a call to minister to German immigrants, he left the seminary, sailed for America in 1843, and was ordained a priest in the Redemptorist Church of Saint James in Baltimore in 1844. He began his pastoral ministry in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as assistant pastor of his confrere Saint John Neumann, serving also as Master of Novices and dedicating himself to preaching. He became a full-time itinerant missionary preacher, preaching in both English and German in a number of different states. Hearing of an influx of German immigrants to New Orleans, Louisiana, he pastored a Redemptorist church there beginning in 1866. He worked with yellow fever victims until he was taken by the illness and died on October 4, 1867.

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Saturday 5 October 2019

Baruch 4:5-12, 27-29. Psalm 68(69):33-37. Luke 10:17-24.

The Lord listens to the poor – Psalm 68(69):33-37

‘Happy are the eyes that see what you see’

Do you remember that thrill of peace and excitement when you’ve shared an amazing spiritual experience with someone? The joy is heightened because the experience is literally out of this world, and we are left in awe. We need to be able to share it with each other, and the sharing is usually done in a way that praises Jesus generosity in answering our prayer or offering us this experience. When the 72 came back to Jesus, they were incredulous that ‘even demons obeyed us when we gave them a command in your name!’ I would be incredulous too if I had that experience, but then I realise every day Jesus is granting me authority in His name through my baptism, to open myself up to His power working in me. How exhilarating!

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Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska

Saint of the Day for October 5

(August 25, 1905 – October 5, 1938)

 

Saint Faustyna and Jesus, I Trust in You sculpture | Piotrków Trybunalski

Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska’s Story

Saint Faustina’s name is forever linked to the annual feast of the Divine Mercy, the Divine Mercy chaplet, and the Divine Mercy prayer recited each day at 3 p.m. by many people.

Born in what is now west-central Poland, Helena Kowalska was the third of 10 children. She worked as a housekeeper in three cities before joining the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925. She worked as a cook, gardener and porter in three of their houses.

In addition to carrying out her work faithfully, generously serving the needs of the sisters and the local people, Sister Faustina also had a deep interior life. This included receiving revelations from the Lord Jesus, messages that she recorded in her diary at the request of Christ and of her confessors.

At a time when some Catholics had an image of God as such a strict judge that they might be tempted to despair about the possibility of being forgiven, Jesus chose to emphasize his mercy and forgiveness for sins acknowledged and confessed. “I do not want to punish aching mankind,” he once told Saint Faustina, “but I desire to heal it, pressing it to my merciful heart.” The two rays emanating from Christ’s heart, she said, represent the blood and water poured out after Jesus’ death.

Because Sister Maria Faustina knew that the revelations she had already received did not constitute holiness itself, she wrote in her diary: “Neither graces, nor revelations, nor raptures, nor gifts granted to a soul make it perfect, but rather the intimate union of the soul with God. These gifts are merely ornaments of the soul, but constitute neither its essence nor its perfection. My sanctity and perfection consist in the close union of my will with the will of God.”

Sister Maria Faustina died of tuberculosis in Krakow, Poland, on October 5, 1938. Pope John Paul II beatified her in 1993, and canonized her seven years later.

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Reflection

Devotion to God’s Divine Mercy bears some resemblance to devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In both cases, sinners are encouraged not to despair, not to doubt God’s willingness to forgive them if they repent. As Psalm 136 says in each of its 26 verses, “God’s love [mercy] endures forever.”

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Lectio Divina: Luke 10:17-24

Lectio Divina

Saturday, October 5, 2019

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.

2) Gospel Reading - Luke 10:17-24

The seventy-two came back rejoicing. 'Lord,' they said, 'even the devils submit to us when we use your name.'

He said to them, 'I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Look, I have given you power to tread down serpents and scorpions and the whole strength of the enemy; nothing shall ever hurt you. Yet do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you; rejoice instead that your names are written in heaven.'

Just at this time, filled with joy by the Holy Spirit, He said, 'I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to little children. Yes, Father, for that is what it has pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.'

Then turning to his disciples He spoke to them by themselves, 'Blessed are the eyes that see what you see, for I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.'

3) Reflection

• Context. Previously Jesus had sent 72 disciples. They now return from their mission and give an account of it. The proof of  the success of their mission is due to the experience of the superiority and supremacy of the name of Jesus in regard to the power of evil. The defeat of Satan coincides with the coming of the Kingdom and the disciples have seen it in their present mission. The diabolical forces have been weakened and the demons have submitted to the power of the name of Jesus. Such a conviction cannot be the foundation of their joy and the enthusiasm of their missionary witness though.  Joy has its last root or origin in the fact of being known and loved by God. This does not mean that being protected by God through a relationship with Him always places us in an advantageous situation in the face of the diabolical forces. Here is inserted the mediation of Jesus between God and us: “Look, I have given you power” (v. 19). The power of Jesus is one that makes us experience success in regard to the devil’s power and He protects us. Jesus has been present in the fall of Satan, even if he is not as yet definitively defeated or overcome. Christians are called to hinder and be an obstacle to the power of Satan on earth. They are sure of the victory in spite of the fact that they live in a critical situation. They participate in obtaining victory in the communion of love with Christ even though they may be tried by suffering and death. Just the same, the reason for joy is not in the certainty of coming out unharmed but of being loved by God. The expression of Jesus, “your names are written in heaven” is a witness that being present to the heart of God (memory) guarantees the continuity of our life in eternity. The success of the mission of the disciples is the result of the defeat of Satan. Now the benevolence of the Father is shown (vv. 21-22): the success of the word of Grace in the mission of the seventy two, seen as the design of the Father and in the communion in the resurrection of the Son, begins with this revelation of the benevolence of the Father. The mission becomes a space for the revelation of God’s will in human time. This experience is transmitted by Luke in the context of prayer. It shows on one side the reaction in heaven: “I bless you Father”, (v. 21) and that on earth (vv. 23-24).

• The prayer of rejoicing or exultation. In the prayer that Jesus addresses to the Father, guided by the action of the Spirit, the word “exults” expresses the openness of the Messianic joy and proclaims the goodness of the Father. This is made evident in the little ones, in the poor and in those who have no value because they have accepted the Word transmitted by those sent and thus they have access to the relationship between the Divine Persons of the Trinity. Instead, the wise and the learned, on account of  feeling sure, are gratified because of their intellectual and theological competence. But such an attitude prevents them from entering into the dynamism of salvation given by Jesus. The teaching that Luke intends to transmit to individual believers, as well as to the ecclesial communities, may be synthesized as follows: Humility opens to faith. The sufficiency of one’s assurance closes to pardon, to light, to God’s goodness. The prayer of Jesus has its effects on all those who accept this and allow themselves to be wrapped up by the goodness of the Father.

4) Personal questions

• The mission to take the life of God to others implies a lifestyle that is poor and humble. Is your life permeated by the life of God, by the Word of grace that comes from Jesus?
• Do you have trust in God’s call and in his power that asks to be manifested through simplicity, poverty and humility?

5) Concluding Prayer

Lord, you are kind and forgiving,
rich in faithful love for all who call upon you.
Yahweh, hear my prayer,
listen to the sound of my pleading. (Ps 86,5-6)

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