Sunday - August 25, 2019
All day the just man is merciful and lends. Let us lay hold of this blessing, let us earn the name of being considerate, let us be generous. Not even night should interrupt you in your duty of mercy. Do not say "Come back and I will give you something tomorrow." There should be no delay between your intention and your good deed. Generosity is the one thing that cannot admit of delay.
-- Saint Gregory Nazianzen
All day the just man is merciful and lends. Let us lay hold of this blessing, let us earn the name of being considerate, let us be generous. Not even night should interrupt you in your duty of mercy. Do not say "Come back and I will give you something tomorrow." There should be no delay between your intention and your good deed. Generosity is the one thing that cannot admit of delay.
-- Saint Gregory Nazianzen
August 25 2019
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 123
Reading 1IS 66:18-21
Thus says the LORD:
I know their works and their thoughts,
and I come to gather nations of every language;
they shall come and see my glory.
I will set a sign among them;
from them I will send fugitives to the nations:
to Tarshish, Put and Lud, Mosoch, Tubal and Javan,
to the distant coastlands
that have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory;
and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations.
They shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations
as an offering to the LORD,
on horses and in chariots, in carts, upon mules and dromedaries,
to Jerusalem, my holy mountain, says the LORD,
just as the Israelites bring their offering
to the house of the LORD in clean vessels.
Some of these I will take as priests and Levites, says the LORD.
I know their works and their thoughts,
and I come to gather nations of every language;
they shall come and see my glory.
I will set a sign among them;
from them I will send fugitives to the nations:
to Tarshish, Put and Lud, Mosoch, Tubal and Javan,
to the distant coastlands
that have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory;
and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations.
They shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations
as an offering to the LORD,
on horses and in chariots, in carts, upon mules and dromedaries,
to Jerusalem, my holy mountain, says the LORD,
just as the Israelites bring their offering
to the house of the LORD in clean vessels.
Some of these I will take as priests and Levites, says the LORD.
Responsorial PsalmPS 117:1, 2
R.(Mk 16:15) Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R. Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Reading 2HEB 12:5-7, 11-13
Brothers and sisters,
You have forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children:
"My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
or lose heart when reproved by him;
for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he acknowledges."
Endure your trials as "discipline";
God treats you as sons.
For what "son" is there whom his father does not discipline?
At the time,
all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,
yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who are trained by it.
So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.
Make straight paths for your feet,
that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.
I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father, except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
You have forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children:
"My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
or lose heart when reproved by him;
for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he acknowledges."
Endure your trials as "discipline";
God treats you as sons.
For what "son" is there whom his father does not discipline?
At the time,
all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,
yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who are trained by it.
So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.
Make straight paths for your feet,
that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.
AlleluiaJN 14:6
R. Alleluia, alleluia.I am the way, the truth and the life, says the Lord;
no one comes to the Father, except through me.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 13:22-30
Jesus passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
"Lord, will only a few people be saved?"
He answered them,
"Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.
After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
'Lord, open the door for us.'
He will say to you in reply,
'I do not know where you are from.
And you will say,
'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.'
Then he will say to you,
'I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!'
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth
when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and all the prophets in the kingdom of God
and you yourselves cast out.
And people will come from the east and the west
and from the north and the south
and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last."
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
"Lord, will only a few people be saved?"
He answered them,
"Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.
After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
'Lord, open the door for us.'
He will say to you in reply,
'I do not know where you are from.
And you will say,
'We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.'
Then he will say to you,
'I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!'
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth
when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and all the prophets in the kingdom of God
and you yourselves cast out.
And people will come from the east and the west
and from the north and the south
and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last."
******************************
The Sign of Heaven
This Sunday's scripture readings are signposts on the road to the narrow gate at the entrance of heaven. Isaiah says that God knows our works and our thoughts. To help us sanctify our works and purify our thoughts, so that we can see the fullness of the glory of God when we die, he sets a sign among us. It is Jesus. His life -- how he lived and how he died -- are a sign of how to enter heaven.
He says in the Gospel reading that many will attempt to enter salvation who are not strong enough. Strong enough for what?
Throughout the Gospel, Jesus gives us the answer to that: We must be perfect in love. That does not mean that mistakes and other imperfections will lock us out of heaven. The key that opens the gate to heaven is love, and if we throw love away, we throw that key away.
It's very unlikely, however, that we will ever completely throw love away, even though we sin. But we are told to be perfect in love. This means loving fully. Always. Unconditionally. Sacrificially. Radically.
To be perfect in love, we need to have the Lord's own love. We need Jesus to dwell in us and reach others through us. On our own, we cannot love fully, but when we rely on God to give us his love for others, we have perfect love.
To rely on God's love and feel confident in it, we have to get rid of anything that blocks his love: unforgiveness, vengeful attitudes, lingering resentments and cynicism, and the apathetic ignoring of the needs of others.
The reading from Hebrews tells us not to disdain the discipline of the Lord. No matter what causes our hardships and trials or who's to blame, God uses them to perfect us in love. If we recognize these as opportunities to grow in love -- if we seek God in them and let him stretch our ability to love -- we become more like Jesus. We make the path toward heaven straight, and what is lame and disjointed in our spirituality is healed.
Today's Prayer
Thank You, Lord, that through Your Holy Spirit I am able to recognize You. Give me the strength I need to carry out the mission that You have entrusted to me. 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!”
No comments:
Post a Comment