Tuesday - November 14, 2017
Truly, matters in the world are in a bad state; but if you and I begin in earnest to reform ourselves, a really good beginning will have been made.
~~ St. Peter of Alcantara
TODAY'S READINGS
November 14, 2017
Tuesday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 492
Reading 1WIS 2:23–3:9
God formed man to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made them.
But by the envy of the Devil, death entered the world,
and they who are in his possession experience it.
But the souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.
the image of his own nature he made them.
But by the envy of the Devil, death entered the world,
and they who are in his possession experience it.
But the souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished,
yet is their hope full of immortality;
Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed,
because God tried them
and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
They shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.
Responsorial PsalmPS 34:2-3, 16-17, 18-19
R. (2a) I will bless the Lord at all times.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
The LORD has eyes for the just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
The LORD has eyes for the just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
R. I will bless the Lord at all times.
AlleluiaJN 14:23
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
"Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
'Come here immediately and take your place at table'?
Would he not rather say to him,
'Prepare something for me to eat.
Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished'?
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded, say,
'We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.'"
Whoever loves me will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 17:7-10
Jesus said to the Apostles:"Who among you would say to your servant
who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field,
'Come here immediately and take your place at table'?
Would he not rather say to him,
'Prepare something for me to eat.
Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink.
You may eat and drink when I am finished'?
Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded?
So should it be with you.
When you have done all you have been commanded, say,
'We are unprofitable servants;
we have done what we were obliged to do.'"
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How do you bless the Lord?
Because we love Jesus, we want to please him. We certainly don't want to be "unprofitable" (useless and unproductive) like the servants he describes in today's Gospel reading. How profitable are you in the mission he has given you -- the calling to continue his mission here on earth in the circumstances of your own life?
Why isn't it good enough for Jesus when we do "all you have been commanded"? To be use-full, we have to do more than our duty, more than what's expected of us -- like Jesus did. We have to do more than the minimum requirements in the parish, in the home, in the workplace, and in the world community.
Mediocrity is not the hallmark of a truly alive Christian. In fact, I would dare say that mediocrity is a sin, because we should always (always always!) be giving God our very best efforts.
In today's responsorial Psalm, we promise to bless the Lord at all times. What does this mean? How does one bless the Lord; is it by saying, "I bless you, God"? Like HE needs our blessing. Ri-i-i-ght.
We bless God by going the extra mile for him. How can we be a blessing to him if we settle for the mediocre instead of excelling and doing the very best that we can with everything he's given us? He has gone that extra mile for us; oh how we pain him when we don't even try to do the same for him!
Consider, for example, how much we put into the parish collection basket. Are we obeying the minimum scriptural requirement here (10% of all income) or even close to that much? A couple of dollars does not bless the Lord unless our income was less than twenty dollars that week.
Are we going to Mass only as an insurance policy to protect ourselves from punishment and hell? That's not blessing the Lord. Are we in marriages that have not been sacramentalized by the Church because we don't want to put forth the effort to do whatever must be done to receive the Sacrament? That's not blessing the Lord.
In parish ministries, are we doing only what must get done, ignoring the needs of those who don't fit nicely inside our policies and procedures? Are our parish events and projects done without a spirit of evangelization? If so, we're only doing our duty -- and Jesus says we're useless.
Oh-oh!
The Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity (of Vatican Council II) says: " ... the member [of the Church] who fails to make his proper contribution to the development of the Church must be said to be useful neither to the Church nor to himself" (paragraph 2).
Oh-oh again!
Being a blessing to the Lord means that we're so excited about what he has done for us that we feel like we will never be able to do enough for him. This feeling of holy frustration motivates us to serve above and beyond the call of duty. This divine dissatisfaction is what transforms us from useless servants to friends of Jesus who reach our full earthly potential.
As useful servants, we want to make a difference in this world for the kingdom of God. We want to serve his kingdom until our dying breath and even after we die! And so, in heaven, we'll continue the ministries of love that we started while we lived on the earth. (What, you thought "resting in peace" meant floating around on a cloud with nothing to do? How boring!)
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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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