It is on my heart to encourage more of you my fellow sisters and brothers in Christ; to step up boldly to pray over others especially those the Lord shows you or directs you to. He will show you familiar folk in the beginning before leading you to more which will put you outside of your comfort zone. Which is perfectly fine because He will be with you.
I have been doing so more and more when I have an opportunity. And it dawned on me just how many are happy to have someone pray over them. To see the Lord touch them!
It was my privilege to pray for a former EMHC who is now wheel chair bound over at another parish on Sunday, and at the end of mass on I searched out and prayed for his devout wife as well. The look of joy on her face was priceless. Thank you Jesus!
In today’s we find St Paul’s invaluable lesson on appointing leaders. But how many of our leaders in our Church today are irreproachable? Are they all clear of providing obstacles which lead for example the youth away from the church? Especially by their tyrannical temperament? How perhaps the way they poorly manage their office at work are brought into the church environment! How many bring their very own unforgiveness to the altar!
How many leaders are devout such that at every meeting the Lord is first in their hearts and in their minds? Worshipping, praising and sharing His word, joy and mercy with one another before any agenda is even discussed? Inviting always the Holy Spirit to lead the meeting instead of by their own strength and performance mentality?
We, disciples of the Lord are meant to move mountains by our faith! Instead of asking our Lord to increase it, we should be putting what little we have to action so as to build on it.
Come Holy Spirit, come and remain in me as I remain in You. Amen
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First reading
Titus 1:1-9 ·
Appoint elders of irreproachable character
From Paul, servant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ to bring those whom God has chosen to faith and to the knowledge of the truth that leads to true religion; and to give them the hope of the eternal life that was promised so long ago by God. He does not lie and so, at the appointed time, he revealed his decision, and, by the command of God our saviour, I have been commissioned to proclaim it. To Titus, true child of mine in the faith that we share, wishing you grace and peace from God the Father and from Christ Jesus our saviour.
The reason I left you behind in Crete was for you to get everything organised there and appoint elders in every town, in the way that I told you: that is, each of them must be a man of irreproachable character; he must not have been married more than once, and his children must be believers and not uncontrollable or liable to be charged with disorderly conduct. Since, as president, he will be God’s representative, he must be irreproachable: never an arrogant or hot-tempered man, nor a heavy drinker or violent, nor out to make money; but a man who is hospitable and a friend of all that is good; sensible, moral, devout and self-controlled; and he must have a firm grasp of the unchanging message of the tradition, so that he can be counted on for both expounding the sound doctrine and refuting those who argue against it.
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Gospel
Luke 17:1-6
If your brother does wrong, reprove him
Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Obstacles are sure to come, but alas for the one who provides them! It would be better for him to be thrown into the Sea with a millstone put round his neck than that he should lead astray a single one of these little ones. Watch yourselves!
If your brother does something wrong, reprove him and, if he is sorry, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times a day and seven times comes back to you and says, “I am sorry,” you must forgive him.’
The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ The Lord replied, ‘Were your faith the size of a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.’
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