Archive for October 27, 2018

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted: October 27, 2018 by CatholicJules in Sunday Reflections
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Seeing the Son of David: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings:

Jeremiah 31:7–9
Psalm 126:1–6
Hebrews 5:1–6
Mark 10:46–52

Today’s Gospel turns on an irony—it is a blind man, Bartimaeus, who becomes the first besides the Apostles to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. And his healing is the last miracle Jesus performs before entering the holy city of Jerusalem for His last week on earth.

The scene on the road to Jerusalem evokes the joyful procession prophesied by Jeremiah in today’s First Reading. In Jesus this prophecy is fulfilled. God, through the Messiah, is delivering His people from exile, bringing them back from the ends of the earth, with the blind and lame in their midst.

Jesus, as Bartimaeus proclaims, is the long-awaited Son promised to David (see 2 Samuel 7:12–16; Isaiah 11:9; Jeremiah 23:5). Upon His triumphal arrival in Jerusalem, all will see that the everlasting kingdom of David has come (see Mark 11:9–10).

As we hear in today’s Epistle, the Son of David was expected to be the Son of God (see Psalm 2:7). He was to be a priest-king like Melchizedek (see Psalm 110:4), who offered bread and wine to God Most High at the dawn of salvation history (see Genesis 14:18–20).

Bartimaeus is a symbol of his people, the captive Zion which we sing of in today’s Psalm. His God has done great things for him. All his life has been sown in tears and weeping. Now, he reaps a new life.

Bartimaeus, too, should be a sign for us. How often Christ passes us by—in the person of the poor, in the distressing guise of a troublesome family member or burdensome associate (see Matthew 25:31–46)—and yet we don’t see Him.
Christ still calls to us through His Church, as Jesus sent His Apostles to call Bartimaeus. Yet how often are we found to be listening instead to the voices of the crowd, not hearing the words of His Church?

Today He asks us what He asks Bartimaeus: “What do you want me to do for you?” Rejoicing, let us ask the same thing of Him—what can we do for all that He has done for us?

Unsung Heroes

Posted: October 27, 2018 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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While praying the other day, the unsung heroes in our church and those from other churches came to mind.

These are the ones who are present yet unassumingly contribute greatly in the background. They contribute by their God given talents but more importantly their time.

They are the band members who may not even belong to any ministry. The intercessory prayer warriors, the facilitators, those who help to prepare and serve food, those who prepare the slides, projectors and other AV stuff, the altar setup team. Parent volunteers, photographers, ushers, and so on.

Hidden parts of the one body in Christ. Thank you dear sisters and brothers in Christ. For together we give greater glory to God through each and every one of your tireless contributions. May the love of our Lord be with you always. Amen

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: October 27, 2018 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Never should we forget that God loved us when we were sinners. Through our repentance and by His saving grace He set us free to live in His love. Many are the gifts He has bestowed upon us so that coming together we shall build His kingdom.

Why then should anyone hold on to their sins? Why continue to live dry barren lives? Living selfishly and seeking fleeting comforts? Let us not take our Lord’s patience for granted. Let us repent and be saved. And the love of our Lord will transform us.

For by His love our hearts are turned imto fertile ground. Where life giving shoots sprout bringing forth life. By living out our vocation we bear fruit in the lives of our communities. Always reaching out to the poor and marginalised. Amen

First reading

Ephesians 4:7-16
By grace, we shall not be children any longer

Each one of us has been given his own share of grace, given as Christ allotted it. It was said that he would:

When he ascended to the height, he captured prisoners,
he gave gifts to men.

When it says, ‘he ascended’, what can it mean if not that he descended right down to the lower regions of the earth? The one who rose higher than all the heavens to fill all things is none other than the one who descended. And to some, his gift was that they should be apostles; to some, prophets; to some, evangelists; to some, pastors and teachers; so that the saints together make a unity in the work of service, building up the body of Christ. In this way we are all to come to unity in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God, until we become the perfect Man, fully mature with the fullness of Christ himself.
Then we shall not be children any longer, or tossed one way and another and carried along by every wind of doctrine, at the mercy of all the tricks men play and their cleverness in practising deceit. If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to its function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love.

Gospel

Luke 13:1-9
‘Leave the fig tree one more year’

Some people arrived and told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with that of their sacrifices. At this he said to them, ‘Do you suppose these Galileans who suffered like that were greater sinners than any other Galileans? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen on whom the tower at Siloam fell and killed them? Do you suppose that they were more guilty than all the other people living in Jerusalem? They were not, I tell you. No; but unless you repent you will all perish as they did.’
He told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came looking for fruit on it but found none. He said to the man who looked after the vineyard, “Look here, for three years now I have been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and finding none. Cut it down: why should it be taking up the ground?” “Sir,” the man replied “leave it one more year and give me time to dig round it and manure it: it may bear fruit next year; if not, then you can cut it down.”’