SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Sunday - August 30 2020

Sunday - August 30 2020

Religious pictures themselves will not make a family good. Only when they are contemplated upon, are they a practical way to help true Christian sentiment, and to a true Christian way of living in the family.

-- St. John Vianney

TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

---

First reading	Jeremiah 20:7-9 ©

The word of the Lord has meant insult for me

You have seduced me, Lord, and I have let myself be seduced;

you have overpowered me: you were the stronger.

I am a daily laughing-stock,

everybody’s butt.

Each time I speak the word, I have to howl

and proclaim: ‘Violence and ruin!’

The word of the Lord has meant for me

insult, derision, all day long.

I used to say, ‘I will not think about him,

I will not speak in his name any more.’

Then there seemed to be a fire burning in my heart,

imprisoned in my bones.

The effort to restrain it wearied me,

I could not bear it.

---

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 62(63):2-6,8-9 ©

For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.

O God, you are my God, for you I long;

  for you my soul is thirsting.

My body pines for you

  like a dry, weary land without water.

For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.

So I gaze on you in the sanctuary

  to see your strength and your glory.

For your love is better than life,

  my lips will speak your praise.

For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.

So I will bless you all my life,

  in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,

  my mouth shall praise you with joy.

For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.

For you have been my help;

  in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.

My soul clings to you;

  your right hand holds me fast.

For you my soul is thirsting, O Lord my God.

---

Second reading	Romans 12:1-2 ©

Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice

Think of God’s mercy, my brothers, and worship him, I beg you, in a way that is worthy of thinking beings, by offering your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God. Do not model yourselves on the behaviour of the world around you, but let your behaviour change, modelled by your new mind. This is the only way to discover the will of God and know what is good, what it is that God wants, what is the perfect thing to do.

---

Gospel Acclamation	cf.Ep1:17,18

Alleluia, alleluia!

May the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

enlighten the eyes of our mind,

so that we can see what hope his call holds for us.

Alleluia!

---

Gospel
Matthew 16:21-27 ©

'Get behind me, Satan!'

Jesus began to make it clear to his disciples that he was destined to go to Jerusalem and suffer grievously at the hands of the elders and chief priests and scribes, to be put to death and to be raised up on the third day. Then, taking him aside, Peter started to remonstrate with him. ‘Heaven preserve you, Lord;’ he said ‘this must not happen to you.’ But he turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my path, because the way you think is not God’s way but man’s.’

  Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it. What, then, will a man gain if he wins the whole world and ruins his life? Or what has a man to offer in exchange for his life?

  ‘For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and, when he does, he will reward each one according to his behaviour.’

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

You Duped Me, Lord!

This Sunday's first reading is one of my personal favorites. I have often felt the way Jeremiah does here. I have yelled at God, "You duped me, O Lord, and I let myself be duped!" And I allow it again and again. "You knew this would happen, Lord! Why did you lead me into this trial?" Have you ever felt that way?

Why do we let him do this to us? Why do we trust God even though he leads us into difficult situations? Why do we follow Jesus into giving our help and love to others even though it's going to feel very uncomfortable if not downright painful?

Walking with God and serving his kingdom is an adventure. We can expect the unexpected, and unfortunately in this world that includes suffering -- denying ourselves the opportunity to pursue self-centered agendas, taking up crosses, and following Jesus all the way to Calvary (but then of course, all the way to resurrection, too, as explained in the Gospel reading).

Because we love God, we are willing to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, like the second reading asks us to do. This is the highest form of worship; it's a spiritual communion that we experience outside of the Eucharistic liturgy of Mass. In union with Jesus, we are the Eucharist.

As Jeremiah's complaint shows us, we can safely complain to God. We can tell him, without getting punished, that we do not like working for him. Complaining to others, however, is a sin because it causes gossip and prejudices and makes God look bad.

Asking for prayer support during our trials is important, and we must keep doing this, but complaining to others shows how little we trust God. Eventually, we will see the good that comes from our sacrifices, and this is what we should communicate to others.

How do you feel when you do a good deed and it later works against you? Have you said "no" to allowing it to happen again? What brings the healing love of Jesus to you to help you recover?  What unexpected sufferings have you encountered while giving someone a gift of unconditional love or while doing some other service for the kingdom of God? How did you feel about God at that time? Was the cross you carried worth all the hardships? Explain.

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

God Bless You.....

The Rosary Family

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