Sunday - October 01, 2017
“The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life. It is the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings. There is no more excellent way of praying.”
~~Pope Leo XIII
TODAY'S READINGS
October 1, 2017
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 136
Reading 1EZ 18:25-28
Thus says the LORD:You say, "The LORD's way is not fair!"
Hear now, house of Israel:
Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?
When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies,
it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die.
But if he turns from the wickedness he has committed,
and does what is right and just,
he shall preserve his life;
since he has turned away from all the sins that he has committed,
he shall surely live, he shall not die.
Responsorial PsalmPS 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (6a) Remember your mercies, O Lord.Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;
teach me your paths,
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my savior.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Remember that your compassion, O LORD,
and your love are from of old.
The sins of my youth and my frailties remember not;
in your kindness remember me,
because of your goodness, O LORD.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Good and upright is the LORD;
thus he shows sinners the way.
He guides the humble to justice,
and teaches the humble his way.
R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.
Reading 2 PHIL 2:1-11
Brothers and sisters:If there is any encouragement in Christ,
any solace in love,
any participation in the Spirit,
any compassion and mercy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,
united in heart, thinking one thing.
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests,
but also for those of others.
Have in you the same attitude
that is also in Christ Jesus,
Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
OrPHIL 2:1-5
Brothers and sisters:If there is any encouragement in Christ,
any solace in love,
any participation in the Spirit,
any compassion and mercy,
complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love,
united in heart, thinking one thing.
Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests,
but also for those of others.
Have in you the same attitude
that is also in Christ Jesus.
AlleluiaJN 10:27
R. Alleluia, alleluia.My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 21:28-32
Jesus said to the chief priests and elders of the people:"What is your opinion?
A man had two sons.
He came to the first and said,
'Son, go out and work in the vineyard today.'
He said in reply, 'I will not, '
but afterwards changed his mind and went.
The man came to the other son and gave the same order.
He said in reply, 'Yes, sir, 'but did not go.
Which of the two did his father's will?"
They answered, "The first."
Jesus said to them, "Amen, I say to you,
tax collectors and prostitutes
are entering the kingdom of God before you.
When John came to you in the way of righteousness,
you did not believe him;
but tax collectors and prostitutes did.
Yet even when you saw that,
you did not later change your minds and believe him."
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The correct answer isn't always right
This Sunday's Gospel story was meant to shock people who think they're okay spiritually but do not honestly examine how well they do the Father's will. Jesus said that tax collectors and prostitutes (professions considered to be the most contemptible and unholy) were entering the kingdom of God ahead of religious experts!
These so-called "experts" knew the correct answer to the question that Jesus posed -- they knew to say yes to God -- but knowing the right answer and actually DOing the right answer is the dividing line between heaven and hell.
God doesn't want right answers; he wants righteous actions. God doesn't want dutiful compliance to Church teachings; he wants obedience motivated by love and an enthusiastic attitude of serving in the mission of the Church.
What's the value of going to Mass every Sunday, for example, if it doesn't result in deeds of holiness outside the Mass? Do you know someone who's saying "no" to coming to Mass? If they're doing good works because they genuinely love God, who's to say they won't reach full unity with him sooner than people who attend every Mass but do little to help others?
God wants us to do both: Know the right answers and be righteous. Go to Mass faithfully and be changed by it. Say yes to his calling to make the world a better place by uniting ourselves to Christ in church and following out him out the door, taking him to everyone we meet.
Prayer
Beloved Lord, Give me a plain heart and an open mind to recognize Your work beyond my understanding. Heal me from every root of envy and pride, so that I can surrender myself to You fully. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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