Tuesday - September 01, 2020
If we
are, in fact, now occupied in good deeds, we should not attribute the strength with
which we are doing them to ourselves. We must not count on ourselves, because
even if we know what kind of person we are today, we do not know what we will
be tomorrow.
--Saint
Gregory the Great
If we
are, in fact, now occupied in good deeds, we should not attribute the strength with
which we are doing them to ourselves. We must not count on ourselves, because
even if we know what kind of person we are today, we do not know what we will
be tomorrow.
--Saint
Gregory the Great
SEPTEMBER 01, 2020 - TUESDAY
OF THE TWENTY-SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
| First reading |
|---|
| 1 Corinthians 2:10-16 |
The Spirit reaches even the depths of God
The Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God. After all, the depths of a man can only be known by his own spirit, not by any other man, and in the same way the depths of God can only be known by the Spirit of God. Now instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us. Therefore we teach, not in the way in which philosophy is taught, but in the way that the Spirit teaches us: we teach spiritual things spiritually. An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God: he sees it all as nonsense; it is beyond his understanding because it can only be understood by means of the Spirit. A spiritual man, on the other hand, is able to judge the value of everything, and his own value is not to be judged by other men. As scripture says: Who can know the mind of the Lord, so who can teach him? But we are those who have the mind of Christ.
| Responsorial Psalm |
|---|
| Psalm 144(145):8-14 |
The Lord is just in all his ways.
The Lord is kind and full of compassion,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all,
compassionate to all his creatures.
The Lord is just in all his ways.
All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,
and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign
and declare your might, O God,
to make known to men your mighty deeds
and the glorious splendour of your reign.
The Lord is just in all his ways.
Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to age.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and loving in all his deeds.
The Lord supports all who fall
and raises all who are bowed down.
The Lord is just in all his ways.
| Gospel Acclamation | Heb4:12 |
|---|
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia!
| Or: | Lk7:16 |
|---|
Alleluia, alleluia!
A great prophet has appeared among us;
God has visited his people.
Alleluia!
| Gospel | Luke 4:31-37 |
|---|
'I know who you are: the Holy One of God'
Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean devil, and it shouted at the top of its voice, ‘Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the devil, throwing the man down in front of everyone, went out of him without hurting him at all. Astonishment seized them and they were all saying to one another, ‘What teaching! He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.’ And reports of him went all through the surrounding countryside.
******************************
The Difference Between Judging and Judgmentalism
The difference is between a what and a who. In observing a what -- a situation, an idea, a behavior -- the Holy Spirit scrutinizes it, and if we're listening to God, we hear his opinion about it. But how do we know we're not listening to our own opinions, which can be biased because of our limited perceptions and which have been trained by the limited perspectives of others and the foolishness of the world?
A good relationship with the Holy Spirit is essential for good listening. The more we rely on Jesus, trusting him more than we trust ourselves, the more open our spirits are to the promptings of his Spirit.
In observing a who, we err by making conclusions, because we do not fully know the other's heart and motive and level of accountability -- only God does; only God can serve as The Judge. We can correctly identify when people are sinning, but we can only make assumptions about why, how much they understand, and how much they can be held accountable. Assumptions can never be trusted.
Even when our assumptions are correct, we're not free to judge the sinner, because a judge is one who has the authority to impose sentence. Only God has that authority, for only God is free of sin. Remember what Jesus told the guys who wanted to stone the adulterous woman: Who can cast the first stone?
Today's responsorial Psalm tells us how God serves as Judge (are we like this?): gracious and merciful, slow to anger, great in kindness, good to the sinner, etc. We're quick to condemn. We get frustrated when people don't get the punishment they deserve. And yet, how grateful we are that God does not condemn us so quickly! Ahhh, the sin of hypocrisy rears its ugly face. Judgmentalism leads to one sin after another.
As Christians who are devoted to uniting ourselves to Christ, we have the mind of Christ, but let's remember what is uppermost in Christ's mind: "I did not come to the world to condemn it, but to save it." We become obstacles in his way when we judge people. Redemption and justice only occur when we let Jesus decide how to make good come from every evil.
And by the way, you are a "who" too, so quit condemning yourself! Turn instead to God's mercy and let Jesus redeem you from whatever you've done wrong.
Today's Prayer
May the authority of Your liberating love, which You gave to humanity, fill my being and the hearts of those who are seeking You, beloved Lord! Amen.
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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!”
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