SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Sunday - September 22, 2019

Sunday - September 22, 2019

The Kingdom of Heaven, O man, requires no other price than yourself. The value of it is yourself. Give yourself for it and you shall have it.

-- St. Augustine

 

September 22 2019

 

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Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 135

Reading 1AM 8:4-7

Hear this, you who trample upon the needy
 and destroy the poor of the land!
 "When will the new moon be over," you ask,
 "that we may sell our grain,
 and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat?
 We will diminish the ephah,
 add to the shekel,
 and fix our scales for cheating!
 We will buy the lowly for silver,
 and the poor for a pair of sandals;
 even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!"
 The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
 Never will I forget a thing they have done!

Responsorial PsalmPS 113:1-2, 4-6, 7-8

R. (cf. 1a, 7b) Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
 praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
 both now and forever.
R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
High above all nations is the LORD;
 above the heavens is his glory.
Who is like the LORD, our God, who is enthroned on high
 and looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
 from the dunghill he lifts up the poor
to seat them with princes,
 with the princes of his own people.
R. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor.
or:
R. Alleluia.

Reading 21 TM 2:1-8

Beloved:
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers,
petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone,
for kings and for all in authority,
that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life
in all devotion and dignity.
This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
who wills everyone to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God.
There is also one mediator between God and men,
     the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself as ransom for all.
This was the testimony at the proper time.
For this I was appointed preacher and apostle
— I am speaking the truth, I am not lying —,
teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray,
lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument.

AlleluiaCF. 2 COR 8:9

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Though our Lord Jesus Christ was rich, he became poor,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 16:1-13

Jesus said to his disciples,
"A rich man had a steward
who was reported to him for squandering his property.
He summoned him and said,
'What is this I hear about you?
Prepare a full account of your stewardship,
because you can no longer be my steward.'
The steward said to himself, 'What shall I do,
now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me?
I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg.
I know what I shall do so that,
when I am removed from the stewardship,
they may welcome me into their homes.'
He called in his master's debtors one by one.
To the first he said,
'How much do you owe my master?'
He replied, 'One hundred measures of olive oil.'
He said to him, 'Here is your promissory note.
Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.'
Then to another the steward said, 'And you, how much do you owe?'
He replied, 'One hundred kors of wheat.'
The steward said to him, 'Here is your promissory note;
write one for eighty.'
And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently.
"For the children of this world
are more prudent in dealing with their own generation
than are the children of light.
I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth,
so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and mammon."

OrLK 16:10-13

Jesus said to his disciples:
"The person who is trustworthy in very small matters
is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters
is also dishonest in great ones.
If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth,
who will trust you with true wealth?
If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another,
who will give you what is yours?
No servant can serve two masters.
He will either hate one and love the other,
or be devoted to one and despise the other.
You cannot serve both God and mammon."

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God's Economics 

Poverty, as exampled by many Saints, is not the only path of holiness. This Sunday's Gospel reading tells us how a person can be affluent and holy at the same time -- as exampled by other Saints.

If we recognize that our possessions are gifts from God that are meant to enhance his kingdom, we are holy. But if we cling to money and material wealth as if they are meant only for our own benefit, we've divided ourselves from God, because God's Word emphasizes the importance of distributing to others a generous portion of everything we've received.

When acquiring wealth is a higher priority than distributing what we already have, God is not our master. This is true not only with material goods, but with everything else that is good, too.

We are all richly blessed one way or another: How readily to do use your riches for the benefit of others?

The "dishonest wealth" of which Jesus speaks is anything that "belongs to another". When we use other people's money (for example, taking out a loan from the bank) to our own advantage, we are not being trustworthy stewards unless it also glorifies the kingdom of God (for example, a bank loan for a house mortgage is good because it serves the family, but only as long as it doesn't require so much income that a bigger house means little time for the children.)

Likewise, if we misuse time by catering to selfish desires at the expense of those who need our attention, we are untrustworthy in the kingdom of God. Jesus wants to bless people through you. He has called you to be a distributor of his gifts. If we ignore this primary principle of God's economy, Jesus says, "Who will give you what is yours?"

What is ours, if we're trustworthy enough to be good stewards, are riches that will remain with us for all of eternity: the wealth of the spirit, the approval and praise of God, the fullness of love, etc.

To be holy with affluence, we have to first be trustworthy with the love that belongs to others -- the love that God feels for them. Our trust-ability is found in the sharing of our temporal (earthly) goods as well as eternal goods (faith, wisdom, hope, etc.).

Today's Prayer

Forgive me, Lord, for not entrusting to You the control of my finances. I have managed them for a long time by my selfishness and my wounds. Take the control today, my Savior, not only of my finances but of all my life as well. Amen.

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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!”