Tuesday - October 10, 2017
"The holy Rosary is a powerful weapon. Use it with confidence and you'll be amazed at the results."
--St. Josemaria Escriva
TODAY'S READINGS
October 10, 2017
Tuesday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 462
Reading 1JON 3:1-10
The word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time:"Set out for the great city of Nineveh,
and announce to it the message that I will tell you."
So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,
according to the LORD's bidding.
Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;
it took three days to go through it.
Jonah began his journey through the city,
and had gone but a single day's walk announcing,
"Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed,"
when the people of Nineveh believed God;
they proclaimed a fast and all of them, great and small,
put on sackcloth.
When the news reached the king of Nineveh,
he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe,
covered himself with sackcloth, and sat in the ashes.
Then he had this proclaimed throughout Nineveh,
by decree of the king and his nobles:
"Neither man nor beast, neither cattle nor sheep,
shall taste anything;
they shall not eat, nor shall they drink water.
Man and beast shall be covered with sackcloth
and call loudly to God;
every man shall turn from his evil way
and from the violence he has in hand.
Who knows, God may relent and forgive,
and withhold his blazing wrath,
so that we shall not perish."
When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,
he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;
he did not carry it out.
Responsorial PsalmPS 130:1B-2, 3-4AB, 7-8
R. (3) If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD
LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
that you may be revered.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
Let Israel wait for the LORD,
For with the LORD is kindness
and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
from all their iniquities.
R. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand?
AlleluiaLK 11:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Blessed are those who hear the word of God
and observe it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 10:38-42
Jesus entered a villagewhere a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
"Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?
Tell her to help me."
The Lord said to her in reply,
"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.
There is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her."
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Quiet time with Jesus
In our Gospel reading today, Jesus gently reprimands Martha, not because he's against hospitality (Martha's gift), but because she has lost her perspective. She stopped looking at her Lord as she focused on the details of her activities.
Although an activity might be very good, if we forget the Lord we're serving and we neglect to slow down for quiet time to build our relationship with him, we're setting ourselves up for burn-out and wrong decisions and sin.
Hospitality is a gift we give to God. Working to support our families is also a gift for God. So is scrubbing floors, cooking scrumptious meals, and (I personally find this one hard to believe) ironing clothes. Serving in our parishes and towns, raising our children, reaching out to the poor, helping to prevent abortions, working against injustice, etc., are all Godly activities. BUT not when we get so busy that we don't have time to sit quietly at the feet of Jesus.
Watching the news on TV without keeping our eyes on Jesus can cause anxiety and fear. Trudging through problems or unpleasant tasks or difficult relationships without quieting ourselves to become aware of the presence and guidance of Jesus causes frustration and upset and despair.
If we are upset about details, if we feel anxious, fearful, worried, or confused, then we've not been sitting at the feet of Jesus long enough. These negative emotions are warnings. They are also chinks in our armor, i.e., the Armor of God that we Christians have been given to wear (see Ephesians 6) -- they are holes of vulnerability that the Enemy uses to pull us even farther away from the feet of Jesus.
No Christian has any valid reason to be in fear or anxiety. It's an opportunity for healing through psychological and possibly medical therapy. Or else it's a sin, because we've wandered away from Jesus and his wisdom and his renewing strength and his peace. Compounding the problem, we inflict our bad mood upon others and send it rippling out into the world.
The only way to "choose the better part" is to slow down and force ourselves to sit with Jesus and remain quietly in his presence, not moving from our prayer chair until we've become fortified and recharged by God.
Whenever a new opportunity to worry comes along, Jesus is waiting for you, arms open, hoping that you will stop long enough to be blessed by his love.
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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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