Archive for September 11, 2021

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted: September 11, 2021 by CatholicJules in Sunday Reflections
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Following the Messiah: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings:

Isaiah 50:4-9

Psalm 116:1-6, 8-9

James 2:14-18

Mark 8:27-35

In today’s Gospel, we reach a pivotal moment in our walk with the Lord. After weeks of listening to His words and witnessing His deeds, along with the disciples we’re asked to decide who Jesus truly is.

Peter answers for them, and for us, too, when he declares: “You are the Messiah.” Many expected the Messiah to be a miracle worker who would vanquish Israel’s enemies and restore the kingdom of David (see John 6:15).

Jesus today reveals a different portrait. He calls Himself the Son of Man, evoking the royal figure Daniel saw in his heavenly visions (see Daniel 7:13–14). But Jesus’ kingship is not to be of this world (see John 18:36). And the path to His throne, as He reveals, is by way of suffering and death.

Jesus identifies the Messiah with the suffering servant that Isaiah foretells in today’s First Reading. The words of Isaiah’s servant are Jesus’ words—as He gives Himself to be shamed and beaten, trusting that God will be His help. We hear our Lord’s voice again in today’s Psalm, as He gives thanks that God has freed Him from the cords of death.

As Jesus tells us today, to believe that He is the Messiah is to follow His way of self-denial—losing our lives to save them in order to rise with Him to new life. Our faith, we hear again in today’s Epistle, must express itself in works of love (see Galatians 5:6).

Notice that Jesus questions the Apostles today “along the way.” They are on the way to Jerusalem, where the Lord will lay down His life. We, too, are on a journey with the Lord.

We must take up our cross, giving to others and enduring all our trials for His sake and the sake of the Gospel.

Our lives must be an offering of thanksgiving for the new life He has given us until that day when we reach our destination and walk before the Lord in the land of the living.

Catholicjules.net

Posted: September 11, 2021 by CatholicJules in Life's Journeys
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Today as I look back, I want to thank and give praise to God for having given me the opportunity to do my little bit in sharing my faith and His Word through this blog. Praise and Glory be His alone!

Catholicjules.net was born 10 years ago when I started truly growing in my faith. Before its birth, I had started blogging a few years earlier under the moniker Juleslife and the title of my Blog was ‘Living Life With A Passion’ which had a garnered a decent enough following. But as I started growing in love with my Lord, I found that truly living life with a passion and in the fullness of life itself, is only to be found in a deep personal relationship with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ!

And so with great desire, I wanted to share this truth with others. So I began posting my faith journey both on WordPress as well as on Facebook and started the sharing the links with both family and friends. Needless to say that in the beginning year or so, I had very few followers and wondered if I should continue. Well I prayed about it and decided that the whole idea to begin with was simply to share the faith and of my journey into greater faith. And so if just someone out there in the world was inspired or comforted then that would be enough!

If memory serves me right it was only towards the end of 2012 that I began my personal daily reflections ‘On Today’s Gospel’ and did this from Monday to Saturdays. This of course still continues to this very day. For Sundays, that is on my day of ‘rest’, I would always post Dr Scott Hahn’s Sunday Reflections. Just so you know,  posting everyday six days a week, is not without its many challenges. I had persevered to do so even while on holiday overseas, at retreats, in sickness and in health. And continued to do so even though there were many, many, many, times I just did not feel like doing it! Or having sinned found it extremely difficult to share my reflections without feeling like a hypocrite! Each time however I would pray and entrust everything to Jesus asking Him for His mercy and grace to continue. I would pray to the Holy Spirit to guide me and inspire me, that whatever I shared would be according to His Word and Will for me to share. I am deeply aware of this great responsibility. For always in the back of my mind, I envision myself before the Lord upon my return home to Him, and He asks of me this very question, “I have asked you to feed my sheep and lambs have you fed them well?” I would like to be able to answer “YES Lord I have!” And then to hear Him say to me, “Well done my good and faithful servant, come dine with your master.”

Do pray for me dear sisters and brothers in Christ, that I may continue to share the light of Christ with all. Amen

Here are some of the statistics for Catholicjules.net

Here is a list of the countries who have visited the blog from Jan till Sept 2021

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: September 11, 2021 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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What many of us lack is discipline! Did know that the first seven letters of the word discipline is also used to spell Disciple? And for very good reason don’t you think? For how can we be disciples of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ if we lack self control, discipline to listen, be faithful and obey His Word for us.  Today the Lord reminds us, ‘Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord” and not do what I say? And what did Jesus say? What were His commandments? He told us that we must be fruitful and apart from loving the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul we must love one another as He loved us.

So what are we doing in order to be fruitful? Have we tilled and enriched the soil of our hearts? By daily, listening attentively to His Word and Will for us? By entering into His presence through prayer and communion? Are we  giving Him thanks and praise? Do we have kind words and thoughts which we share with our brethren? Are we building our relationship with Him and with one another upon our Rock, our Lord and Saviour?

Or are we instead tearing down foundations by our floods of emotions! With Anger, spitefulness, foul thoughts and vile language. Criticising and insulting others, murdering their spirit. Do we plant deceitful ideas against others to defame and destroy their reputations? Do we gossip in the guise of relieving our own stress? Do we then expect mercy when we are anything but merciful!

Yes the Lord our God is indeed patient, merciful and kind but do we really want to take Him for granted?! Woe to us if we do for we will have no peace, love or joy in our hearts.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the living God have mercy on me a sinner. Amen

First reading

1 Timothy 1:15-17

Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners

Here is a saying that you can rely on and nobody should doubt: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I myself am the greatest of them; and if mercy has been shown to me, it is because Jesus Christ meant to make me the greatest evidence of his inexhaustible patience for all the other people who would later have to trust in him to come to eternal life. To the eternal King, the undying, invisible and only God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Gospel

Luke 6:43-49

Whoever hears me builds his house on a rock

Jesus said to his disciples:

    ‘There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.

    ‘Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord” and not do what I say?

    ‘Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them – I will show you what he is like. He is like the man who when he built his house dug, and dug deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!’