Archive for October 9, 2021

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Posted: October 9, 2021 by CatholicJules in Sunday Reflections
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Wisdom and Riches: Scott Hahn Reflects on the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings:

Psalm 90:12–17

Hebrews 4:12–13

Wisdom 7:7–11

Mark 10:17–30

The rich young man in today’s Gospel wants to know what we all want to know—how to live in this life so that we might live forever in the world to come. He seeks what today’s Psalm calls “wisdom of heart.”

He learns that the wisdom he seeks is not a program of works to be performed or behaviors to be avoided. As Jesus tells him, observing the commandments is essential to walking the path of salvation—but it can only get us so far.

The Wisdom of God is not precepts, but a person—Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Wisdom whose Spirit was granted to Solomon in today’s First Reading. Jesus is the Word of God spoken of in today’s Epistle. And Jesus, as He reveals Himself to the rich man today, is God.

In Jesus we encounter Wisdom, the living and effective Word of God. As He does with the rich man today, He looks upon each of us with love. That look of love, that loving gaze, is a personal invitation—to give up everything to follow Him.

Nothing is concealed from His gaze, as we hear in the Epistle. In His fiery eyes, the thoughts of our hearts are exposed, and each of us must render an account of our lives (see Revelation 1:14).

We must have the attitude of Solomon, preferring Wisdom to all else, loving Him more than even life itself. This preference, this love, requires a leap of faith. We will be persecuted for this faith, Jesus tells His disciples today. But we must trust in His promise—that all good things will come to us in His company.

What, then, are the “many possessions” that keep us from giving ourselves totally to God? What are we clinging to—material things, comfort zones, relationships? What will it take for us to live fully for Christ’s sake and the sake of the Gospel?

Let us pray for the wisdom to enter into the kingdom of God. With the Psalmist, let us ask Him, “Teach us.”

On Today’s Gospel

Posted: October 9, 2021 by CatholicJules in Personal Thoughts & Reflections
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Yes all of us, not one of us will be spared from judgement by the Lord our God of Heaven and on earth. When we do not know! Yesterday at my community prayer meeting a member shared that she had just returned from a wake of  fifteen year old girl who was faithful and full of life before she mysteriously fell sick and returned to our Lord.  Then I recalled a visit to the columbarium where I chanced upon the inscriptions of babies, toddlers and youths! Death does not distinguish between the ages. Should we then wait in fear?

No! We turn with all our hearts to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He who makes all things new will renew the face of the earth when He comes again. We turn to Him now so that we will be transfigured by His merciful grace to live in the light of His resurrection. And if we die, we know without an inkling of doubt that we will rise again in Him. Let us cherish the Word of God made flesh and keep His Word and will of us, just as Mary our Blessed Mother did. For it is written that she ‘treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart’ (Luke 2.19) Let then rejoice for we are the just in the Lord! Amen

First reading

Joel 4:12-21 ·

The day of the Lord is near; sun and moon grow dark

The Lord says this:

‘Let the nations rouse themselves, let them march

to the Valley of Jehoshaphat,

for I am going to sit in judgement there

on all the nations round.

Put the sickle in:

the harvest is ripe;

come and tread:

the winepress is full,

the vats are overflowing,

so great is their wickedness!’

Host on host

in the Valley of Decision!

For the day of the Lord is near

in the Valley of Decision!

Sun and moon grow dark,

the stars lose their brilliance.

The Lord roars from Zion,

makes his voice heard from Jerusalem;

heaven and earth tremble.

But the Lord will be a shelter for his people,

a stronghold for the sons of Israel.

‘You will learn then that I am the Lord your God,

dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain.

Jerusalem will be a holy place,

no alien will ever pass through it again.’

When that day comes,

the mountains will run with new wine

and the hills flow with milk,

and all the river beds of Judah

will run with water.

A fountain will spring from the house of the Lord

to water the wadi of Acacias.

Egypt will become a desolation,

Edom a desert waste

on account of the violence done to the sons of Judah

whose innocent blood they shed in their country.

But Judah will be inhabited for ever,

Jerusalem from age to age.

‘I will avenge their blood and let none go unpunished’,

and the Lord shall make his home in Zion.

Gospel

Luke 11:27-28

‘Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’

As Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, ‘Happy the womb that bore you and the breasts you sucked!’ But he replied, ‘Still happier those who hear the word of God and keep it!’