SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Sunday - November 05, 2017

Sunday - November 05, 2017

Every creature, whether it will or not, is subject to the one God and Lord; but a warning is given to us, to serve the Lord with our whole will, because the just man serves Him willingly, but the unjust serves Him as a slave.

--Saint Augustine

TODAY'S READINGS

November 5, 2017

« November 4  |  November 6 »

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 151

Reading 1MAL 1:14B-2:2B, 8-10

A great King am I, says the LORD of hosts,
and my name will be feared among the nations.
And now, O priests, this commandment is for you:
If you do not listen,
if you do not lay it to heart,
to give glory to my name, says the LORD of hosts,
I will send a curse upon you
and of your blessing I will make a curse.
You have turned aside from the way,
and have caused many to falter by your instruction;
you have made void the covenant of Levi,
says the LORD of hosts.
I, therefore, have made you contemptible
and base before all the people,
since you do not keep my ways,
but show partiality in your decisions.
Have we not all the one father?
Has not the one God created us?
Why then do we break faith with one another,
violating the covenant of our fathers?

Responsorial PsalmPS 131:1, 2, 3

R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O LORD, my heart is not proud,
nor are my eyes haughty;
I busy not myself with great things,
nor with things too sublime for me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
Nay rather, I have stilled and quieted
my soul like a weaned child.
Like a weaned child on its mother's lap,
so is my soul within me.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.
O Israel, hope in the LORD,
both now and forever.
R. In you, Lord, I have found my peace.

Reading 21 THES 2:7B-9, 13

Brothers and sisters:
We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children.
With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you
not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well,
so dearly beloved had you become to us.
You recall, brothers and sisters, our toil and drudgery.
Working night and day in order not to burden any of you,
we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

And for this reason we too give thanks to God unceasingly,
that, in receiving the word of God from hearing us,
you received not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God,
which is now at work in you who believe.

AlleluiaMT 23:9B, 10B

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You have but one Father in heaven
and 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."

*****************************************************************************

Equally Loved, Equally Important

Today's Gospel reading contains a verse that, when taken literally, has been used by some Protestants to condemn Catholicism because we call our priests "Father." By that logic, when Jesus said, "Call no one on earth your father," he meant our dads, too, right? Did he never call St. Joseph by the title father? Perhaps when Jesus as a lad had a question about carpentry he said, "Hey dude who's married to Mom!" I don't think so.

To understand what Jesus means in this scripture, we need to read the whole passage: This singled-out verse is actually part of a teaching about equality. He is telling us that we must not consider anyone to be superior to ourselves -- no one but God is superior to us.

Jesus says here: "The greatest among you must be your servant." At other times in other scriptures, Jesus says that if we want to be greatest, we have to be the servant of all, because we must not think of ourselves as superior to others. But in today's lesson he's telling us not to think of ourselves as inferior, either. He trying to cure our low self-esteem.

Do you know, for example, that as a person you are not inferior to the pope? This is why he's called the servant of the servants of God. As Christ's representative in Church leadership, he serves us in everything he does, whether it's presiding at Mass or writing a Church document or making authoritative decisions.

No matter what someone's credentials are, no matter how much authority God has given to our priests and other Church leaders, and no matter how rich or famous or well-liked anyone is, we are all equally loved by God. We're all equally important to God. To see our worth, we must learn to see ourselves through God's eyes.

Prayer

Dear Father, with Your Holy Spirit help me make my heart humble. I need the humility of a child who knows that he alone can do nothing, but with his Dad nothing can stop him! Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart resemble Yours. Amen.

--------------------------------

God Bless You.....

Rosary Family



The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”