Thy Will Be Done
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I, the Lord, your God,
I am holding you by the right hand;
I tell you, ‘Do not be afraid,
I will help you.’ IS 41:13
The poor and needy ask for water, and there is none,
their tongue is parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, will answer them,
I, the God of Israel, will not abandon them. IS 41:17
He gives strength to the wearied, He strengthens the powerless. Young men may grow tired and weary, youths may stumble, but those who hope in the Lord renew their strength, they put out wings like eagles. They run and do not grow weary,walk and never tire. Isaiah 40:29-31
Why do we go through life feeling all alone amidst a crowd? Why do we struggle everyday feeling overloaded and exhausted? Why are we angry or moody all the time? Why do feel like no one understands us? Why do we allow the world to weigh us down? How can we overcome all this?
The truth and answer is simple…..when we are able to cry out, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want!”
Today Gospel
Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus exclaimed, ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’
There is nothing that we can do, that our Father will not forgive us for, do we realise just how much He loves us?
Do we want to be found?
Let us pray….
Heavenly Father we pray for mercy and forgiveness for ourselves and our loved ones. We pray also for the conversion of sinners, especially for the lost sheep among our friends and family. Soften all our hearts to Your great and wonderful love and by your Grace, our advent journey will be a fruitful and joyous one at the end, through Christ our Lord. Amen
Today’s Gospel – Matthew 18:12-14
12 Jesus said to his disciples: “What is your opinion? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray? 13 And if he finds it, amen, I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not stray. 14 In just the same way, it is not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost.”
Do we have such faith like that of the friends of the paralysed man to do what it takes to bring others to Jesus? Be it praying for them? Petitioning on their behalf? Or simply bringing joy in their lives by sharing with them the Good News? Knowing that Jesus upon seeing our faith will respond accordingly….
Let us cry out together, LORD I BELIEVE…DO THOU INCREASE MY FAITH! Amen.
Today’s Gospel – Luke 5:17-26
Jesus Forgives and Heals a Paralyzed Man
17 One day Jesus was teaching, and Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there. They had come from every village of Galilee and from Judea and Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick. 18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. 19 When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
20 When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
21 The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
22 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? 23 Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, “We have seen remarkable things today.”
SUNDAY BIBLE REFLECTIONS BY DR. SCOTT HAHN
The Road Home
Readings:
Baruch 5:1-9
Psalm 126:1-6
Philippians 1:4-6,8-11
Luke 3:1-6
Today’s Psalm paints a dream-like scene – a road filled with liberated captives heading home to Zion (Jerusalem), mouths filled with laughter, tongues rejoicing.
It’s a glorious picture from Israel’s past, a “new exodus,” the deliverance from exile in Babylon. It’s being recalled in a moment of obvious uncertainty and anxiety. But the psalmist isn’t waxing nostalgic.
Remembering “the Lord has done great things” in the past, he is making an act of faith and hope – that God will come to Israel in its present need, that He’ll do even greater things in the future..
This is what the Advent readings are all about: We recall God’s saving deeds – in the history of Israel and in the coming of Jesus. Our remembrance is meant to stir our faith, to fill us with confidence that, as today’s Epistle puts it, “the One who began a good work in [us] will continue to complete it” until He comes again in glory.
Each of us, the Liturgy teaches, is like Israel in her exile – led into captivity by our sinfulness, in need of restoration, conversion by the Word of the Holy One (see Baruch 5:5). The lessons of salvation history should teach us that, as God again and again delivered Israel, in His mercy He will free us from our attachments to sin, if we turn to Him in repentance.
That’s the message of John, introduced in today’s Gospel as the last of the great prophets (compare Jeremiah 1:1-4,11). But John is greater than the prophets (see Luke 7:27). He’s preparing the way, not only for a new redemption of Israel, but for the salvation of “all flesh” (see also Acts 28:28).
John quotes Isaiah (40:3) to tell us he’s come to build a road home for us, a way out of the wilderness of sin and alienation from God. It’s a road we’ll follow Jesus down, a journey we’ll make, as today’s First Reading puts it, “rejoicing that [we’re] remembered by God.”
On this mountain he will remove
the mourning veil covering all peoples,
and the shroud enwrapping all nations,
he will destroy Death for ever. Isaiah 25:7-8
Still He loves us and wants to feed us with His bread of Life, His very self!
Lord Jesus tear down the veil of sin and death in our lives, so that we may see what You want us to see, and live how You want us to live; in righteousness, liberated and in Our Father’s love. AMEN!
Today’s Gospel
Matthew 15:29-37
Jesus reached the shores of the Sea of Galilee, and he went up into the hills. He sat there, and large crowds came to him bringing the lame, the crippled, the blind, the dumb and many others; these they put down at his feet, and he cured them. The crowds were astonished to see the dumb speaking, the cripples whole again, the lame walking and the blind with their sight, and they praised the God of Israel.
But Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ‘I feel sorry for all these people; they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them off hungry, they might collapse on the way.’ The disciples said to him, ‘Where could we get enough bread in this deserted place to feed such a crowd?’ Jesus said to them, ‘How many loaves have you?’ ‘Seven’ they said ‘and a few small fish.’ Then he instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground, and he took the seven loaves and the fish, and he gave thanks and broke them and handed them to the disciples who gave them to the crowds. They all ate as much as they wanted, and they collected what was left of the scraps, seven baskets full.
“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth. ”
Are we thankful for our Catholic faith?
Do we cherish the Word spoken to us through scriptures?
Do we have a yearning to learn and grow in our faith? Or do we take for granted that we know all we need to know?
Today’s Gospel – Luke 10:21–24
Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
Sunday Bible Reflections by Dr. Scott Hahn
Heads Up
Readings:
Jeremiah 33:14-16
Psalm 25:4-5,8-10,14
1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2
Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
Every Advent, the Liturgy of the Word gives our sense of time a reorientation. There’s a deliberate tension in the next four weeks’ readings – between promise and fulfillment, expectation and deliverance, between looking forward and looking back.
In today’s First Reading, the prophet Jeremiah focuses our gaze on the promise God made to David, some 1,000 years before Christ. God says through the prophet that He will fulfill this promise by raising up a “just shoot,” a righteous offspring of David, who will rule Israel in justice (see 2 Samuel 7:16; Jeremiah 33:17; Psalm 89:4-5; 27-38).
Today’s Psalm, too, sounds the theme of Israel’s ancient expectation: “Guide me in Your truth and teach Me. For You are God my Savior and for You I will wait all day.”
We look back on Israel’s desire and anticipation knowing that God has already made good on those promises by sending His only Son into the world. Jesus is the “just shoot,” the God and Savior for Whom Israel was waiting.
Knowing that He is a God who keeps His promises lends grave urgency to the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel.
Urging us to keep watch for His return in glory, He draws on Old Testament images of chaos and instability – turmoil in the heavens (see Isaiah 13:11,13; Ezekiel 32:7-8; Joel 2:10); roaring seas (see Isaiah 5:30; 17:12); distress among the nations (see Isaiah 8:22/14:25) and terrified people (see Isaiah 13:6-11).
He evokes the prophet Daniel’s image of the Son of Man coming on a cloud of glory to describe His return as a “theophany,” a manifestation of God (see Daniel 7:13-14).
Many will cower and be literally scared to death. But Jesus says we should greet the end-times with heads raised high, confident that God keeps His promises, that our “redemption is at hand,” that ‘the kingdom of God is near” (see Luke 21:31)
From the rising of the sun, you will bathe in my Glory,for as you hold me close to your heart. So will I embrace you in mine.
Today, rarely will we ever face bloody persecutions for the sake of Christ, but un-bloody persecutions do exist for those who love and serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
Such persecutions can from the media, atheist intellectuals who denounce God’s existence, those who want us to tolerate issues against the sanctity of marriage such as gay marriages and contraception, friends and family who insists that all religions are one and the same instead of truly embracing their faith and the Church established by Christ, and many other such persecutions.
Let us remain faithful and pray for endurance that will win us favour with the Lord our God. Amen
Luke 21:12-19
Jesus said: Men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness. Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.’
“Jesus of Nazareth….is so intrinsically king that the title ‘King’ has become his name. By calling ourselves Christians, we label ourselves as followers of the king…. God did not intend Israel to have a Kingdom. The Kingdom was a result of Israel’s rebellion against God…. The law was to be Israel’s king, and, through the law, God himself… God yielded to Israel’s obstinacy and so devised a new kind of kingship for them. The King is Jesus; in Him God entered humanity and espoused it to himself. This is the usual form of the divine activity in relation to mankind. God does not have a fixed plan that he must carry out; on the contrary, he has many different ways of finding man and even of turning his wrong ways into right ways… The feast of Christ the King is therefore not a feast of those who are subjugated, but a feast of those who know that they are in the hands of the one who writes straight on crooked lines.”
Pope Benedict XVI
Sunday Bible Reflections with Dr. Scott Hahn
A Royal Truth
Readings:
Daniel 7:13-14
Psalm 93:1-2,5
Revelation 1:5-8
John 18:33-37
________________________________________
What’s the truth Jesus comes to bear witness to in this last Gospel of the Church’s year? It’s the truth that in Jesus, God keeps the promise He made to David – of an everlasting kingdom, of an heir who would be His Son, “the first born, highest of the kings of the earth” (see 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Psalm 89:27-38).
Today’s Second Reading, taken from the Book of Revelation, quotes these promises and celebrates Jesus as “the faithful witness.” The reading hearkens back to Isaiah’s prophecy that the Messiah would “witness to the peoples” that God is renewing His “everlasting covenant” with David (see Isaiah 55:3-5).
But as Jesus tells Pilate, there’s far more going on here than the restoration of a temporal monarchy. In the Revelation reading, Jesus calls Himself “the Alpha and the Omega,” the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. He’s applying to Himself a description that God uses to describe Himself in the Old Testament – the first and the last, the One Who calls forth all generations (see Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12).
“He has made the world,” today’s Psalm cries, and His dominion is over all creation (see also John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17). In the vision of Daniel we hear in today’s First Reading, He comes on “the clouds of heaven” – another sign of His divinity – to be given “glory and kingship” forever over all nations and peoples.
Christ is King and His Kingdom, while not of this world, exists in this world in the Church. We are a royal people. We know we have been loved by Him and freed by His blood and transformed into “a Kingdom, priests for His God and Father” (see also Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9).
As a priestly people, we share in His sacrifice and in His witness to God’s everlasting covenant. We belong to His truth and listen to His voice, waiting for Him to come again amid the clouds.
Sunday Bible Reflections by Dr. Scott Hahn
Hope in Tribulation
Readings:
Daniel 12:1-3
Psalm 16:5,8-11
Hebrews 10:11-14,18
Mark 13:24-32
In this, the second-to-the-last week of the Church year, Jesus has finally made it to Jerusalem.
Near to His passion and death, He gives us a teaching of hope—telling us how it will be when He returns again in glory.
Today’s Gospel is taken from the end of a long discourse in which He describes tribulations the likes of which haven’t been seen “since the beginning of God’s creation” (see Mark 13:9). He describes what amounts to a dissolution of God’s creation, a “devolution” of the world to its original state of formlessness and void.
First, human community—nations and kingdoms—will break down (see Mark 13:7-8). Then the earth will stop yielding food and begin to shake apart (13:8). Next, the family will be torn apart from within and the last faithful individuals will be persecuted (13:9-13). Finally, the Temple will be desecrated, the earth emptied of God’s presence (13:14).
In today’s reading, God is described putting out the lights that He established in the sky in the very beginning—the sun, the moon and the stars (see also Isaiah 13:10; 34:4). Into this “uncreated” darkness, the Son of Man, in Whom all things were made, will come.
Jesus has already told us that the Son of Man must be humiliated and killed (see Mark 8:31). Here He describes His ultimate victory, using royal-divine images drawn from the Old Testament—clouds, glory, and angels (see Daniel 7:13). He shows Himself to be the fulfillment of all God’s promises to save “the elect,” the faithful remnant (see Isaiah 43:6; Jeremiah 32:37).
As today’s First Reading tells us, this salvation will include will include the bodily resurrection of those who sleep in the dust.
We are to watch for this day, when His enemies are finally made His footstool, as today’s Epistle envisions. We can wait in confidence knowing, as we pray in today’s Psalm, that we will one day delight at His right hand forever.
Luke 17:11–19 (Today’s Gospel)
Can you imagine in today’s context, 9 Catholics and one non Christian attend a healing mass together. All pray for healing and are healed but only the non Christian makes his way to the tabernacle and thanks Jesus and praises God!?
Is this happening today? Sadly yes…..
Do we thank Jesus who cleanses us from the leprosies of our life? Sin, false doctrines, temptations!
Do we revere Him in the Eucharistic celebration by our thoughts, words and deeds?
Like the lone leper, let us have both faith and gratitude. Amen
Anyone who does not carry his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:27
Doing what Jesus tells us individually to do and bearing the burden and suffering of it, is our cross. It unites us with His cross of love.
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.
Philippians 2:14-15
Sunday Bible Reflections with Dr. Scott Hahn
The Law of Love
Readings:
Deuteronomy 6:2-6
Psalm 18:2-4,47,57
Hebrews 7:23-28
Mark 12:28-34
The unity of God—the truth that He is one God, Father, Son, and Spirit—means that we must love Him with one love, a love that serves Him with all our hearts and minds, souls and strength.
We love Him because He has loved us first. We love our neighbor because we can’t love the God we haven’t seen unless we love those made in His image and likeness, whom we have seen (see 1 John 4:19-21).
And we are called imitate the love that Christ showed us in laying His life down on the cross (see 1 John 3:16). As we hear in today’s Epistle, by His perfect sacrifice on the cross, He once and for all makes it possible for us to approach God.
There is no greater love than to lay down your life (see John 15:13). This is perhaps why Jesus tells the scribe in today’s Gospel that he is not far from the kingdom of God.
The scribe recognizes that the burnt offerings and sacrifices of the old Law were meant to teach Israel that it is love that He desires (see Hosea 6:6). The animals offered in sacrifice were symbols of the self-sacrifice, the total gift of our selves that God truly desires.
We are called today to examine our hearts. Do we have other loves that get in the way of our love for God? Do we love others as Jesus has loved us (see John 13:34-35)? Do we love our enemies and pray for those who oppose and persecute us (see Matthew 5:44)?
Let us tell the Lord we love Him, as we do in today’s Psalm. And let us take His Word to heart, that we might prosper and have life eternal in His kingdom, the heavenly homeland flowing with milk and honey.
In my many temptations,
I will cling to you my sweet Jesus,
In the storms and deep dark seas of life,
I will cling to you my sweet Jesus.
Through my sicknesses and pain,
I will cling to you my sweet Jesus,
Through my anger and shame,
I will cling to you my sweet Jesus.
Through my fears and anguish,
I will cling to you my sweet Jesus,
Through my anxieties and confusion,
I will cling to you my sweet Jesus.
In moments I feel I am losing faith,
I will cling to you my sweet Jesus,
In times of loss and emptiness,
I will cling to you my sweet Jesus.
In my joys and in my sorrows,
I will cling to you my sweet Jesus,
In my life and in my death,
I will cling to you my sweet Jesus.
Julian Tan
Aka Catholicjules
From a letter to Proba by Saint Augustine, bishop
(Ep. 130, 11,21-12,22; CSEL 44, 63-64)
We need to use words so that we may remind ourselves to consider carefully what we are asking, not so that we may think we can instruct the Lord or prevail upon him.
Thus, when we say: Hallowed be your name, we are reminding ourselves to desire that his name, which in fact is always holy, should also be considered holy among men. I mean that it should not be held in contempt. But this is a help for men, not for God.
And as for our saying: Your kingdom come, it will surely come whether we will it or not. But we are stirring up our desires for the kingdom so that it can come to us and we can deserve to reign there.
When we say: Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, we are asking him to make us obedient so that his will may be done in us as it is done in heaven by his angels.
When we say: Give us this day our daily bread, in saying this day we mean “in this world.” Here we ask for a sufficiency by specifying the most important part of it; that is, we use the word “bread” to stand for everything. Or else we are asking for the sacrament of the faithful, which is necessary in this world, not to gain temporal happiness but to gain the happiness that is everlasting.
When we say: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, we are reminding ourselves of what we must ask and what we must do in order to be worthy in turn to receive.
When we say: Lead us not into temptation, we are reminding ourselves to ask that his help may not depart from us; otherwise we could be seduced and consent to some temptation, or despair and yield to it.
When we say: Deliver us from evil, we are reminding ourselves to reflect on the fact that we do not yet enjoy the state of blessedness in which we shall suffer no evil. This is the final petition contained in the Lord’s Prayer, and it has a wide application. In this petition the Christian can utter his cries of sorrow, in it he can shed his tears, and through it he can begin, continue and conclude his prayer, whatever the distress in which he finds himself. Yes, it was very appropriate that all these truths should be entrusted to us to remember in these very words.
Whatever be the other words we may prefer to say (words which the one praying chooses so that his disposition may become clearer to himself or which he simply adopts so that his disposition may be intensified), we say nothing that is not contained in the Lord’s Prayer, provided of course we are praying in a correct and proper way. But if anyone says something which is incompatible with this prayer of the Gospel, he is praying in the flesh, even if he is not praying sinfully. And yet I do not know how this could be termed anything but sinful, since those who are born again through the Spirit ought to pray only in the Spirit.
Sunday Bible Reflections by Dr. Scott Hahn
Seeing the Son of David
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?
Today’s Gospel Luke 12:49:53
“I came to cast fire upon the earth; and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division”
[Personal Reflection]
Do I embrace my Faith in the Gospels abandoning earthly feelings and natural affections? Clinging dearly to my Lord in spite of persecutions, trials and sufferings?
Do I embrace my baptism?
Do I accept that the divine love and charity of our Lord Jesus Christ who came to suffer for us, will often cause division between believers and unbelievers?
If I choose to remain steadfast in my love for Him, in spite of pain, trials and suffering. He, my Lord, my God, my saviour will lead me to the room He has prepared for me in my Father’s house. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Well done, good and faithful servant!
“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ Matt 25:21
Today’s Gospel Luke 12:39-48
Are we taking care of those who have physical and spiritual needs?
Providing for them….?
Feeding them the Word both in word, action and deed?
Are we doing our part in sharing the love and graces we have received with others? Are we giving our all? Or are we merely doing the little we feel we can spare?
Like St Paul in his letter to the Ephesians 3:2-12, we too have been made servants of the Gospel by a gift of grace from God so that through the Church, we can show how comprehensive God’s wisdom really is, exactly according to the plan which He had had from all eternity in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Let us be bold in proclaiming the Good News, so that we will one day hear the words we long to hear……
The Light of the World (1853–54) is an allegorical painting by William Holman Hunt representing the figure of Jesus preparing to knock on an overgrown and long-unopened door, illustrating Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me”. According to Hunt: “I painted the picture with what I thought, unworthy though I was, to be by Divine command, and not simply as a good Subject.”[1] The door in the painting has no handle, and can therefore be opened only from the inside, representing “the obstinately shut mind”.
Lk 12:35-38
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Gird your loins and light your lamps
and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,
ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servants
whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,
have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
And should he come in the second or third watch
and find them prepared in this way,
blessed are those servants.”
Personal Reflections
Jesus knocks on our door frequently till one day He will stop. Are we ready to receive Him?
Jesus cannot come into our hearts if we do not open our hearts to Him. His persistent and pure love for us beckons that we open the door through our own free will.
Blessed are we waiting and ready…….
Sunday Bible Reflections by Dr. Scott Hahn
Cup of Salvation
Readings:
Isaiah 53:10-11
Psalm 33:4-5,18-20,22
Hebrews 4:14-16
Mark 10:35-45
The sons of Zebedee hardly know what they’re asking in today’s Gospel. They are thinking in terms of how the Gentiles rule, of royal privileges and honors.
But the road to Christ’s kingdom is by way of His cross. To share in His glory, we must be willing to drink the cup that He drinks.
The cup is an Old Testament image for God’s judgment. The wicked would be made to drink this cup in punishment for their sins (see Psalm 75:9; Jeremiah 25:15, 28; Isaiah 51:17). But Jesus has come to drink this cup on behalf of all humanity. He has come to be baptized—which means plunged or immersed—into the sufferings we all deserve for our sins (compare Luke 12:50).
In this He will fulfill the task of Isaiah’s suffering servant, whom we read about in today’s First Reading.
Like Isaiah’s servant, the Son of Man will give His life as an offering for sin, as once Israel’s priests offered sacrifices for the sins of the people (see Leviticus 5:17-19).
Jesus is the heavenly high priest of all humanity, as we hear in today’s Epistle. Israel’s high priests offered the blood of goats and calves in the temple sanctuary. But Jesus entered the heavenly sanctuary with His own blood (see Hebrews 9:12).
And by bearing our guilt and offering His life to do the will of God, Jesus ransomed “the many”—paying the price to redeem humanity from spiritual slavery to sin and death.
He has delivered us from death, as we rejoice in today’s Psalm.
We need to hold fast to our confession of faith, as today’s Epistle exhorts us. We must look upon our trials and sufferings as our portion of the cup He promised to those who believe in Him (see Colossians 1:24). We must remember that we have been baptized into His passion and death (see Romans 6:3).
In confidence, let us approach the altar today, the throne of grace, at which we drink the cup of His saving blood (see Mark 14:23-24).
I am often overcome with profound sadness when I read about baby or child abuses in the newspapers. How can parents go overboard or at times behave so cruelly? Perhaps there was/is no relationship with God in those situations….
I often question my own parenting skills, have I behaved impatiently with my boys? They have from time to time enraged me with their antics, misbehavior, and stubbornness. Have I gone overboard in disciplining them? They are after all only children…
Lately this scripture passage hit me like never before! Most of us may never be given or take up the opportunity to serve the truly poor and desolate. But we have been given an opportunity as parents to do likewise for our children. We are in actual fact their guardians for our Father in heaven. How can we abuse this privilege??
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me. Matt 25:35-36
We will all be accountable for our actions or inactions ……..let us all as parents be a little more loving and tolerant.
Sunday Bible Reflections with Dr. Scott Hahn
Wisdom and Riches
Readings:
Wisdom 7:7-11
Psalm 90:12-17
Hebrews 4:12-13
Mark 10:17-30
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The rich young man in today’s Gospel wanted 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 sought 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.”
Luke 11:15–26 (Today’s Gospel)
Extract : “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.”
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Posted: October 10, 2012 by CatholicJules in Meditations, Personal Thoughts & Reflections
A prayer above all prayers….any time we are at a loss of words or experience spiritual dryness, you can rest assured that this prayer will bring us back looking to heaven….Seven petitions three ‘your’ petitions and four ‘our’ petitions to be said slowly and reverently, reflecting on each and every petition.
Sunday Bible Reflections with Dr. Scott Hahn
What God Has Joined
Readings:
Genesis 2:18-24
Psalm 128:1-6
Hebrews 2:9-11
Mark 10:2-16
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In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees try to trap Jesus with a trick question.
The “lawfulness” of divorce in Israel was never at issue. Moses had long ago allowed it (see Deuteronomy 24:1-4). But Jesus points His enemies back before Moses, to “the beginning,” interpreting the text we hear in today’s First Reading.
Divorce violates the order of creation, He says. Moses permitted it only as a concession to the people’s “hardness of heart”—their inability to live by God’s covenant Law. But Jesus comes to fulfill the Law, to reveal its true meaning and purpose, and to give people the grace to keep God’s commands.
Marriage, He reveals, is a sacrament, a divine, life-giving sign. Through the union of husband and wife, God intended to bestow His blessings on the human family—making it fruitful, multiplying it until it filled the earth (see Genesis 1:28).
That’s why today’s Gospel moves so easily from a debate about marriage to Jesus’ blessing of children. Children are blessings the Father bestows on couples who walk in His ways, as we sing in today’s Psalm.
Marriage also is a sign of God’s new covenant. As today’s Epistle hints, Jesus is the new Adam—made a little lower than the angels, born of a human family (see Romans 5:14; Psalm 8:5-7). The Church is the new Eve, the “woman” born of Christ’s pierced side as He hung in the sleep of death on the cross (see John 19:34; Revelation 12:1-17).
Through the union of Christ and the Church as “one flesh,” God’s plan for the world is fulfilled (see Ephesians 5:21-32). Eve was “mother of all the living” (see Genesis 3:20). And in baptism, we are made sons and daughters of the Church, children of the Father, heirs of the eternal glory He intended for the human family in the beginning.
The challenge for us is to live as children of the kingdom, growing up ever more faithful in our love and devotion to the ways of Christ and the teachings of His Church.
Anyone who has aged over the years would realise we are not invincible as we once thought ourselves to be. We are slowly transforming into worm food. Bleak? Yes a little if you are concerned with our physical natures, but what about our souls? Our eternal spirit? Will we or do we have one?
Jesus promises eternal life with Him and all we have to do is follow Him. He reaches out to us in love over and over again. And most have rejected Him and/by His Word over and over again.
Soon time will run out for us and not just by our ages. Why have we not listened? Why are we not listening still? Why have we rejected those He has sent in love? Why do some reject the Catholic Church established by Christ Himself?
St Ambrose :- Our Lord warns us that they will meet with a heavier punishment who have refused to follow the Gospel than those who have chosen to break the law; saying, Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida!
Gentle reminder if you had forgotten…..
I invite you to join the Rosary Confraternity….Click on the image for more information…
While In Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament….
Cling to me and I will keep you safe. Put your head on my bosom and experience my deep love for you.
During a Praise and Worship session…..
To be a child of God is to do my Father’s Will.
Angel of God,
my guardian dear,
To whom God’s love
commits me here,
Ever this day,
be at my side,
To light and guard,
Rule and guide.
Amen.
“From infancy to death human life is surrounded by their (the angels) watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life. Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united to God.”
– from the Catechism of the Catholic Church; 336.
I found this to be helpful with quite a fair bit of interesting insights, hence sharing this with you
A key to the reading:
The Gospel text of the 26th Sunday of ordinary time recounts part of a long instruction that Jesus addressed to his disciples (Mc 8,22 a 10,52). (See the commentary on the Gospel of 24th Sunday). This Gospel especially sets down three conditions necessary for the conversion of someone who wishes to follow him: (i) it corrects the wrong idea of those who think they own Jesus (Mk 9:38-40); (ii) it insists on welcoming little ones (Mk 9:41-42) and (iii) it demands a radical commitment to the Gospel (Mk 9:43-48).
This Sunday’s Gospel presents three important requirements for the conversion of anyone who wishes to be Jesus’ disciple: (i) Not to have a closed mentality like that of John the disciple who thought he owned Jesus, but to be open and ecumenical, able to recognise good in others, even though they may belong to another religion. (ii) To overcome the mentality of those who considered themselves superior to others and who, thus, despised the little ones and the poor and drew apart from the community. According to Jesus, such a person deserves to have a millstone tied round his neck and to be thrown into the depths of the sea. (iii) Jesus asks us not to let routine enter our living out of the Gospel, but that we may be able to break the ties that prevent us from living it fully.
● These three pointers are very real for us today. Many members of the Catholic Church tend to be anti-ecumenical and have a closed mentality as if we Christians are better than others. In today’s world, dominated by a neo-liberal system, many despise the little ones and everywhere poverty, hunger, refugees and those abandoned are on the increase. We Christians are often not committed to live the Gospel. If we, millions of Christians, were to really live the Gospel, the world would be a different place.
b) A commentary on the text:
Mark 9:38-40: A closed mentality.
One who did not belong to the community, used Jesus’ name to drive out devils. John, the disciple, sees this and forbids it: Because he was not one of us, we tried to stop him. In the name of the community, John tries to stop someone else from doing good! He thought that to be a good disciple he had to monopolize Jesus and, thus, wanted to stop others from using the name of Jesus in doing good. This was the closed and old mind of the “Chosen people, a people set apart!” Jesus replies: You must not stop him! Anyone who is not against us is for us! (Mk 9:40). For Jesus, what is important is not whether the person is or is not a member of the community, but whether this person does or does not do the good that the community should be doing. Jesus had an ecumenical mind.
Mark 9:41: Anyone who offers a cup of water will be rewarded.
One of Jesus’ sayings was inserted here: If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, then in truth I tell you, he will most certainly not lose his reward. Two thoughts to comment on this saying: i) “If anyone gives you a cup of water”: Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to give his life. The sign of a great offering! But he does not forget little offerings in daily life: a cup of water, a sign of welcome, an act of charity, and so many other signs to show our love. Anyone who despises the brick will never build a house! ii) “Because you belong to Christ”: Jesus identifies himself with us who wish to belong to him. This means that, for him, we are of great worth. Thus we must always ask ourselves: “Who is Jesus for me?” and also ask ourselves: “Who am I for Jesus?” This verse gives us an answer that is encouraging and full of hope.
Mark 9:42: A scandal to little ones.
A scandal is something that makes a person deviate from the straight path. To scandalize little ones is to cause little ones to deviate from the path and lose faith in God. Anyone who does so, is condemned to be: “thrown into the sea with a great millstone hung round his neck!” Why such harshness? Because Jesus identifies himself with the little ones (Mt 25:40.45). Anyone who hurts them, hurts Jesus! Today, in many places, the little ones, the poor, leave the Catholic Church and go to other churches. They can no longer believe in the Church! Why? Before we point the finger at the other churches, it is good to ask ourselves: why do they leave our house? If they leave it is because they do not feel at home with us. There must be something missing in us. How far are we to blame? Do we deserve the millstone around our necks?
Mark 9:43-48: Cutting off the hand and foot.
Jesus tells us to cut the hand or foot, to pluck out the eye, if these are the cause of scandal. He says: “It is better for you to enter into life crippled (maimed, with one eye), than to have two hands (feet, eyes) and go to hell”. These sayings cannot be taken literally. They are saying that we must be radical in our choice for God and for the Gospel. The expression, “Gehenna (hell), where their worm will never die nor their fire be put out”, is an image that depicts the situation of one without God. Gehenna was the name of a valley near Jerusalem, where the rubbish of the city was thrown and where there was a constant fire to burn the rubbish. This malodorous place was used by the people to symbolize the situation of one who had no part in the Kingdom of God.
c) Further information:
Jesus welcomes and defends the little ones
Many times, Jesus insists on welcoming little ones. “Anyone who welcomes a little child such as this in my name, welcomes me” (Mk 9:37). “If anyone gives so much as a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, then in truth I tell you, he will most certainly not go without his reward” (Mt 10,42). He asks that we do not despise the little ones (Mt 18:10). At the final judgment, the just will be welcomed because they gave food to “one of the least of these brothers of mine” (Mt 25:40).
If Jesus insists so much on welcoming little ones, it is because many little ones were not made welcome! In fact, women and children did not count (Mt 14:21; 15:38), they were despised (Mt 18:10) and bound to silence (Mt 21:15-16). Even the apostles forbade them to go near Jesus (Mt 19:13; Mk 10:13-14). In the name of God’s law, badly interpreted by the religious authorities, many good people were excluded. Rather than welcoming the excluded, the law was used to legitimise exclusion.
In the Gospels, the expression “little ones” (in Greek elachistoi, mikroi or nepioi), sometimes means “children”, at other times it means those excluded from society. It is not easy to distinguish. Sometimes what is “little” in the Gospel, means “children” because children belonged to the category of “little ones”, of the excluded. Also, it is not easy to distinguish between what comes from the time of Jesus and what from the time of the communities for whom the Gospels were written. In any case, what is clear is the context of exclusion in practice at the time, and the image that the first communities had of Jesus: Jesus places himself on the side of the little ones and defends them. What Jesus does in defence of the life of children, of little ones, is striking:
● Welcomes and forbids scandalizing them. One of Jesus’ hardest sayings is against those who give scandal to little ones, that is, who by their attitude deprive children of their faith in God. For such as these, it would be better to have a millstone tied round their necks and be thrown into the sea (Mk 9:42; Lk 17:2; Mt 18:6).
● Welcomes and touches. When children come to Jesus to get his blessing, the apostles are upset and want to send them away. According to the customs of those days, mothers and little children lived practically in a permanent state of legal impurity. To touch them meant incurring impurity! But Jesus corrects the disciples and welcomes the mothers and children. He embraces the children. “Let the little children come to me, do not stop them!” (Mk 10:13-16; Mt 19:13-15).
● Identifies with the little ones. Jesus embraces the children and identifies with them. Anyone who welcomes them “welcomes me” (Mk 9:37). “In so far as you did this to one of the least of my brothers, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40).
● Asks the disciples to become like children. Jesus wants the disciples to become like children who receive the Kingdom like children. Otherwise it is not possible to enter the Kingdom (Mk 10:15; Mt 18:3; Lk 9:46-48). He says that children are the teachers of adults! This was not normal. We want to do the opposite.
● Defends their right to shout. When Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem, it is the children who shout the loudest: “Hosanna to the son of David!” (Mt 21:15). Children were criticised by the chief priests and Scribes, but Jesus defends them and even quotes Scripture in their defence (Mt 21:16).
● Is grateful for the Kingdom present in little ones. Jesus greatly rejoices when he realizes that the little ones understand the matters concerning the Kingdom that he proclaimed to the people. “Father, I thank you!” (Mt 11:25-26) Jesus sees that the little ones understand the things concerning the Kingdom better than the doctors!
● Welcomes and heals. Jesus welcomes, heals or raises from the dead many children and young people: Jairus’ twelve-year-old daughter (Mk 5:41-42), the Canaanites’ daughter (Mk 7:29-30), the widow from Naim’s son (Lk 7: 14-15), the epileptic child (Mk 9:25-26), the public servant’s son (Jn 4:50), the child with five loaves and two fishes (Jn 6:9).
Lord Jesus, send your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that you read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible, you helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.
Create in us silence so that we may listen to your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples from Emmaus, may experience the force of your resurrection and witness to others that you are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of you, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed to us the Father and sent us your Spirit. Amen.
Sunday Bible Reflections with Dr. Scott Hahn
To Belong to Christ
Readings:
Numbers 11:25–29
Psalm 19:8,10,12–14
James 5:1–6
Mark 9:38–48
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Today’s Gospel begins with a scene that recalls a similar moment in the history of Israel, the episode recalled in today’s First Reading. The seventy elders who receive God’s Spirit through Moses prefigure the ministry of the apostles.
Like Joshua in the First Reading, John makes the mistake of presuming that only a select few are inspired and entrusted to carry out God’s plans. The Spirit blows where it wills (see John 3:8), and God desires to bestow His Spirit on all the people of God, in every nation under heaven (see Acts 2:5, 38).
God can and will work mighty deeds through the most unexpected and unlikely people. All of us are called to perform even our most humble tasks, such as giving a cup of water, for the sake of His name and the cause of His kingdom.
John believes he is protecting the purity of the Lord’s name. But, really, he’s only guarding his own privilege and status. It’s telling that the apostles want to shut down the ministry of an exorcist. Authority to drive out demons and unclean spirits was one of the specific powers entrusted to the Twelve (see Mark 3:14–15; 6:7, 13).
Cleanse me from my unknown faults, we pray in today’s Psalm. Often, like Joshua and John, perhaps without noticing it, we cloak our failings and fears under the guise of our desire to defend Christ or the Church.
But as Jesus says today, instead of worrying about who is a real Christian and who is not, we should make sure that we ourselves are leading lives worthy of our calling as disciples (see Ephesians 1:4).
Does the advice we give, or the example of our actions, give scandal—causing others to doubt or lose faith? Do we do what we do with mixed motives instead of seeking only the Father’s will? Are we living, as this Sunday’s Epistle warns, for our own luxury and pleasure, and neglecting our neighbors?
We need to keep meditating on His Law, as we sing in today’s Psalm. We need to pray for the grace to detect our failings and to overcome them.
Reflection on the question Jesus puts to us today….
Is Jesus real in our lives? Do we have a real authentic relationship with him?
Can we truly call Him our friend? our Lord? our God?
God before I or is it I before God?
We are called to movement, to action. In Isaiah 50:4-9 we are called to renounce ourselves and take up the cross.
What is the cross we bear? It is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Can we embrace the sufferings in our lives which lead us to His kingdom?
Doing His Will for us with love and in love is the true cross, we embrace the suffering that comes with it and Jesus will give us rest for it is His yoke we bear.
The harm or pain other people cause us is small compared to our little sins against a most Holy God which are great in retrospect.
Jesus forgave us from the cross when we put Him there with our sins, can we do any less to forgive our brethren?
We should absorb the hurts and pain others give us and offer it up to Christ who is the only one who can take it away from us. Trust His love for us to set us free and never forget the Lord’s prayer especially when we utter “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us” If we do not forgive, how do we expect to be forgiven?
About a week ago, I was catching up with a Muslim brother over coffee. We were talking about past adventures, then somehow as we were talking about the previous company we had worked in, he mentioned something rather odd to me. He shared that a mutual Muslim friend, still working there had jokingly mentioned to him to be wary of me, otherwise he might end up being baptized by me! I could not help but feel a little peeved. What would give him that idea? We were not friends on Facebook hence he would not have seen any of my posts on my faith, so where? How? Then it finally dawned on me that we had other mutual friends, and that it must be through them that he got the idea. But hey why was I peeved? I should be joyfully praising the Lord! At least they know their Catholic brother is strong enough in his faith to share it with anyone willing to listen. To share about the greatest gift to us from God our Father, His only begotten Son, our Lord and saviour Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord!
In the stillness of your heart I speak to you, are you listening? My love speaks volumes, if only you would listen.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”
All the time!
In this age it is apparent, that unless you lead a religious life it quite difficult to maintain a long sustaining relationship with Christ through prayer and reflection. Distractions are aplenty! So much so that we often lose sight and wonder of His presence in and through our lives. Doubts may even creep in…..*sigh*….But here I am to tell you that HE LIVES!
Here are a few recent encounters of His love I have been blessed to share….
1) Given the circumstances of the brother in Christ I had been administering Holy Communion for the sick to ( see earlier post) , it was understandable that he was going through a little depression and spiritual darkness. But after a few sessions of listening to the Word of the Lord, receiving Jesus in the Eucharist and in co-operation with the holy spirit through personal determination and spiritual growth he mustered enough strength to attend one mass so far in his wheelchair. Praise the Lord! Please keep him in your prayers….that he may continue to grow in strength, love and spirit, to do and live according to Our Father’s will.
2) The baby son of the brother in Christ mentioned above had to be rushed to the hospital with a high fever recently, however within a week of daily family prayers for his son and am quite certain lots of others were praying too, his son recovered fully within the week and was reported to be a handful! Praise the Lord!
3) My elder son now coming eleven in December had to take his final stage test to qualify to be an alter server for the weekend mass. He was anxious and nervous about it because as far as he knew no one passed the first time around, in fact one of his friends took as many as four times before passing the test. I told him to pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance and assured him that so long as he had the heart to serve, all would be well. He passed the first time round and was even requested to serve the Sunday on the same weekend! Praise the Lord!
4) Last year I had facilitated the Holy Communion program for three families. During the adult portion of the program, I had learned through the sharing after speaking about reconciliation and the Father’s love for us; That one of the participant’s father had lapsed in his faith, had a strained relationship with his wife likely, due to his frequent travels and even admitted to constantly being exposed to temptation while overseas. After the whole program ended and a few months had passed, I noticed both Father and son were regular in receiving the sacrament of reconciliation, then last week I manage to catch up with the Father and he shared with me that he will be starting a new job next month where he will no longer be required to travel and he is even considering joining a ministry in Church to server the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Jesus loves us all! open your hearts and minds to Him and you will experience Him in all things, large and small, loud and bold or soft and subtle like a gentle breeze……
From a sermon On Pastors by St. Augustine, bishop
They were scattered on every mountain and on every hill and over the entire face of the earth. What is the meaning of the phrase: They were scattered over the entire face of the earth? Some men continually strive for all the goods of the world, the goods that are so evident on the face of the earth; yes, they love and prize them. They do not want to die, to have their lives buried in Christ. Over the entire face of the earth: such men love earthly things; moreover such straying sheep are to be found over the entire face of the earth. They dwell in different places, but one mother, pride, has given birth to them all, just as one mother, our Catholic Church, has given birth to all faithful Christians scattered over the whole world.
Small wonder that pride gives birth to division, and love to unity. But our catholic mother is herself a shepherd; she seeks the straying sheep everywhere, strengthens the weak, heals the sick, and binds up the injured. They may not know one another, but she knows all of them because she reaches out to all her sheep.
Thus she is like a vine that is spread out everywhere in its growth. The straying sheep are like useless branches which because of their sterility are deservedly cut off, not to destroy the vine but to prune it. When these branches were cut down, they were left lying there. But the vine grew and flourished, and it knew both the branches that remained upon it and those that had been cut off and left lying beside it.
She calls the stray sheep back, however, because the Apostle said in reference to the broken branches: God has the power to graft them on again. Call them sheep straying from the flock or branches cut off from the vine, God is equally capable of calling back the sheep or of grafting the branches on again, for he is equally the chief shepherd and the true farmer. And they were scattered over the entire face of the earth, and there was no one to search for them, no one to call them back, that is to say, no one among those wicked shepherds. There was no one to search for them, that is, no one among men.
Therefore, shepherds, hear the word of the Lord: I live, says the Lord God. Notice the beginning of this passage; it is as if God were taking an oath, giving testimony to his own life. I live, says the Lord. The shepherds are dead, but the sheep are safe, for the Lord lives. I live, says the Lord God. Which shepherds are dead? Those who seek what is theirs and not what is Christ’s. But will there be shepherds who seek what is Christ’s and not what is theirs, and will they be found? There will indeed be such shepherds, and they will indeed be found; they are not lacking, nor will they be lacking in the future.
Sunday Bible Reflections by Dr. Scott Hahn
Servant of All
Readings:
Wisdom 2:12,17-20
Psalm 54:3-8
James 3:16-4:3
Mark 9:30-37
In today’s First Reading, it’s like we have our ears pressed to the wall and can hear the murderous grumblings of the elders, chief priests and scribes – who last week Jesus predicted would torture and kill Him (see Mark 8:31; 10:33-34).
The liturgy invites us to see this passage from the Book of Wisdom as a prophecy of the Lord’s Passion. We hear His enemies complain that “the Just One” has challenged their authority, reproached them for breaking the law of Moses, for betraying their training as leaders and teachers.
And we hear chilling words that foreshadow how they will mock Him as He hangs on the cross: “For if the Just One be the Son of God, He will…deliver Him…” (compare Matthew 27:41-43).
Today’s Gospel and Psalm give us the flip side of the First Reading. In both, we hear of Jesus’ sufferings from His point of view. Though His enemies surround Him, He offers himself freely in sacrifice, trusting that God will sustain Him.
But the apostles today don’t understand this second announcement of Christ’s passion. They begin arguing over issues of succession—over who among them is greatest, who will be chosen to lead after Christ is killed.
Again they are thinking not as God, but as human beings (see Mark 8:33). And again Jesus teaches the Twelve—the chosen leaders of His Church—that they must lead by imitating His example of love and self-sacrifice. They must be “servants of all,” especially the weak and the helpless – symbolized by the child He embraces and places in their midst.
This is a lesson for us, too. We must have the mind of Christ, who humbled himself to come among us (see Philippians 2: 5-11). We must freely offer ourselves, making everything we do a sacrifice in praise of His name. As James says in today’s Epistle, we must seek wisdom from above, desiring humility not glory, and in all things be gentle and full of mercy.
Sunday Bible Reflections by Dr. Scott Hahn
Following the Messiah
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.
The cross is a passageway; it is a Passover. The cross is God’s true “passage”. But one does not stop or remain there. One does not abide in the cross; one abides in love. Abiding in suffering is bad. One does not abide in suffering, but in love. And because one abides in love, one assumes suffering; one assumes the cross. It is important to have a good understanding of this. The cross is unbearable if viewed from the outside. The cross is wisdom if viewed in the light of faith, that is, from the inside, as God himself views it.
Father Marie-Dominique Phillipe, o.p.
A Prayer Of Blessed John Henry Newman
Man… Is ever changing. Not a day passes but I am nearer the grave. Whatever my age, whatever the number of my years, I am ever narrowing the interval between time and eternity…. O my God I am crumbling away, as I go on! I am already dissolving into my first elements. My soul indeed cannot die, for you have made it immortal; but my bodily frame is continually resolving into that dust out of which it was taken.
Everything below heaven changes : spring, summer, autumn, each has its turn. The fortunes of the world change. What was high lies low; what was low rises high. Riches take wings and flee away; bereavements happen. Friends become enemies, and enemies friends. Our wishes, aims and plans change. There is nothing stable but you, O my God! And you are the center and life of all who change, who trust you as their Father, who look to you, and who are content to put themselves into your hands.
I know, O my God, I must change, if I am to see your face! I must undergo the change of death. Body and soul must die to this world. My real self, my soul must change by a true regeneration. Only the Holy can see you… Oh support me as I proceed in this great awful, happy change, with the grace of your unchangeableness…. Let me day by day be molded upon you, and be changed from glory to glory, by ever looking toward you, and ever leaning on your arm.
I know, O Lord, I must go through trial, temptation, and much conflict, if I am to come to you. I do not know what lies before me, but I know this. I know, too, that If you are not with me, my change will be for the worse, not for the better. Whatever fortune I have, rich or poor, healthy or sick, with friends or without, all will turn to evil if I am not sustained by the Unchangeable. All will turn to good if I have Jesus with me, yesterday and today, the same, and for ever.
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