Saturday - September 21, 2019
The face is the mirror of the mind,
and eyes without speaking confess
the secrets of the heart.
--ST. JEROME
September 21 2019
Feast of Saint Matthew, Apostle and evangelist
Lectionary: 643
Reading 1EPH 4:1-7, 11-13
Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace:
one Body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.
But grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ.
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace:
one Body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.
But grace was given to each of us
according to the measure of Christ’s gift.
And he gave some as Apostles, others as prophets,
others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers,
to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry,
for building up the Body of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of faith
and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,
to the extent of the full stature of Christ.
Responsorial PsalmPS 19:2-3, 4-5
R.(5) Their message goes out through all the earth.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R.Their message goes out through all the earth.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R.Their message goes out through all the earth.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R.Their message goes out through all the earth.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R.Their message goes out through all the earth.
Alleluia See Te Deum
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the glorious company of Apostles praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
We praise you, O God,
we acclaim you as Lord;
the glorious company of Apostles praise you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 9:9-13
As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, "Follow me."
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
He heard this and said,
"Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him, "Follow me."
And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,
"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"
He heard this and said,
"Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."
******************************
Why must we go to confession if God's love is unconditional?
We go to confession not to resume God's love for us. His love is indeed unconditional, never-ending, even while we are sinning. Our sins interfere with our love for God -- sin is turning away from God by doing something ungodly, unloving -- but our sins cannot stop God from loving us. Nothing can stop God from loving us.
The reason we should go to confession is to restore our side of the relationship. We are the ones who need healing, and thus it is called a healing sacrament. Going to confession is an act of humility because we are sorry that we have been unloving. It's also a humble
acknowledgement that we need God's help in becoming more able to avoid the same sins in the future, and thus the Sacrament of Confession gives us supernatural grace and power to grow in holiness -- because it is a Sacrament, it is more helpful than simply praying alone by ourselves for forgiveness.
This is true whether it's a mortal (soul-killing) sin or a venial (minor) sin. For mortal sins, however, the effect is much more healing, because more conversion is required from us in order to return to God.
Rest assured that the priest is not the one who forgives our sins in the confessional. It is Jesus himself working and speaking through the priest. The priest as a faulty human being; if he is a poor minister of the Gospel and sinfully chooses to hold our sins against us, no matter, we have been forgiven by God. The Sacrament of Confession was successful.
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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!”
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