Most if not all of us suffer from concupiscence as a result of original sin. Still it does not excuse us from giving in into temptation and sin. For we must never forget our Baptism, our call to Holiness as children of God our Heavenly Father. We must strive each and everyday to grow in Holiness through prayer, the Word of God and to exercise acts of mercy in all that we say and do for others. We are therefore outward looking in glorifying the Lord by our lives.
With today’s technology, we have far too easy access to information, graphics, pictures, advertisements and much more from all around the world. And whether we intended to see/look or not we might easily chance upon pornography, sexual images, even manuals and ‘cookbooks’ to do evil. We must resist with all our might! That is to close it off immediately and turn to our Lord for His grace to overcome any lingering thoughts from these. We should ask ourselves this fundamental question, whom or what do we love more? The sin before us or the Lord our God?
Once again we are reminded to stand ready for we truly do not know the hour of our Lord’s return. He who died for love of us and to save us from our sins, wills that each and everyone of us should be with Him in paradise. Amen
First reading
Romans 6:12-18 ·
Make every part of your body a weapon fighting on the side of God
You must not let sin reign in your mortal bodies or command your obedience to bodily passions, you must not let any part of your body turn into an unholy weapon fighting on the side of sin; you should, instead, offer yourselves to God, and consider yourselves dead men brought back to life; you should make every part of your body into a weapon fighting on the side of God; and then sin will no longer dominate your life, since you are living by grace and not by law.
Does the fact that we are living by grace and not by law mean that we are free to sin? Of course not. You know that if you agree to serve and obey a master you become his slaves. You cannot be slaves of sin that leads to death and at the same time slaves of obedience that leads to righteousness. You were once slaves of sin, but thank God you submitted without reservation to the creed you were taught. You may have been freed from the slavery of sin, but only to become ‘slaves’ of righteousness.
Gospel
Luke 12:39-48
The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’
Peter said, ‘Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?’ The Lord replied, ‘What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns. But as for the servant who says to himself, “My master is taking his time coming,” and sets about beating the menservants and the maids, and eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.
The servant who knows what his master wants, but has not even started to carry out those wishes, will receive very many strokes of the lash. The one who did not know, but deserves to be beaten for what he has done, will receive fewer strokes. When a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.’
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