Saturday - August 26, 2017
If your enemies see that you grow courageous, and that you will neither be seduced by flatteries nor disheartened by the pains and trials of your journey, but rather are contented with them, they will grow afraid of you.
~~Blessed Henry Suso
TODAY'S READINGS
August 26, 2017
Saturday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 424
Reading 1RU 2:1-3, 8-11; 4:13-17
Naomi had a prominent kinsman named Boaz,of the clan of her husband Elimelech.
Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi,
"Let me go and glean ears of grain in the field
of anyone who will allow me that favor."
Naomi said to her, "Go, my daughter," and she went.
The field she entered to glean after the harvesters
happened to be the section belonging to Boaz
of the clan of Elimelech.
Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen, my daughter!
Do not go to glean in anyone else's field;
you are not to leave here.
Stay here with my women servants.
Watch to see which field is to be harvested, and follow them;
I have commanded the young men to do you no harm.
When you are thirsty, you may go and drink from the vessels
the young men have filled."
Casting herself prostrate upon the ground, Ruth said to him,
"Why should I, a foreigner, be favored with your notice?"
Boaz answered her:
"I have had a complete account of what you have done
for your mother-in-law after your husband's death;
you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth,
and have come to a people whom you did not know previously."
Boaz took Ruth.
When they came together as man and wife,
the LORD enabled her to conceive and she bore a son.
Then the women said to Naomi,
"Blessed is the LORD who has not failed
to provide you today with an heir!
May he become famous in Israel!
He will be your comfort and the support of your old age,
for his mother is the daughter-in-law who loves you.
She is worth more to you than seven sons!"
Naomi took the child, placed him on her lap, and became his nurse.
And the neighbor women gave him his name,
at the news that a grandson had been born to Naomi.
They called him Obed.
He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Responsorial PsalmPS 128:1B-2, 3, 4, 5
R. (4) See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.Blessed are you who fear the LORD,
who walk in his ways!
For you shall eat the fruit of your handiwork;
blessed shall you be, and favored.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
You wife shall be like a fruitful vine
in the recesses of your home;
Your children like olive plants
around your table.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
Behold, thus is the man blessed
who fears the LORD.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
The LORD bless you from Zion:
may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life.
R. See how the Lord blesses those who fear him.
AlleluiaMT 23:9B, 10B
R. Alleluia, alleluia.You have but one Father in heaven;
you have but one master, the Christ.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 23:1-12
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying,"The scribes and the Pharisees
have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you,
but do not follow their example.
For they preach but they do not practice.
They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry
and lay them on people's shoulders,
but they will not lift a finger to move them.
All their works are performed to be seen.
They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'
As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.'
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called 'Master';
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
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Is God Planning to re-Christianize our Societies?
Across the daily news and the social media are a lot of conversations and reports about how evil our world has become. Satan is winning a lot of territory.
Jesus warned about this:
"If you belonged to the world, it would embrace you as its own. The fact is, you do not belong to the world; I have chosen you and called you away from the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' Since they persecuted me, they will also persecute you…. They will treat you this way because of Me, for they do not know the Father who sent Me." (John 15:19-21)
Of course, Jesus spoke this to the original Apostles and other early disciples. But, he wants his Word to affect our lives, too, in the here and now. He wants his Word to help us grow closer to him. He wants his Word to challenge us. And he speaks to us throughout the Bible -- including in the Book of Revelation -- with the divine purpose of making a difference in us, here and now.
The revelation given to John during his exile was information about what has happened, is happening, and is yet to happen.
Often, people read the Book of Revelation with an eye only on what is yet to happen. We want Jesus to hurry up and come again to rescue us from a world of evils. But let's not get ahead of God's plans for turning our societies (i.e., large numbers of lost souls) back to Christ. The Book of Revelation is not just about the Final Days and the Second Coming of Christ. In our own lifetime, here and now, God is preparing a come-back of Christian influences on our world. Something big is going to happen, I'm sure of it, and my personal opinion (as I pray, read, listen, and watch the signs of our times) is that it's not going to be the Second Coming of Christ (not yet). The Book of Revelation is telling us much more than that.
We need to look at this book like all other books of the Bible: as a loving, personal message from God.
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God Bless You.....
The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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