Friday - September 04, 2020
"There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship."
- St. Thomas Aquinas
"There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship."
- St. Thomas Aquinas
Friday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 435
Reading 1
Brothers and sisters:
Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ
and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Now it is of course required of stewards
that they be found trustworthy.
It does not concern me in the least
that I be judged by you or any human tribunal;
I do not even pass judgment on myself;
I am not conscious of anything against me,
but I do not thereby stand acquitted;
the one who judges me is the Lord.
Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time,
until the Lord comes,
for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness
and will manifest the motives of our hearts,
and then everyone will receive praise from God.
Thus should one regard us: as servants of Christ
and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Now it is of course required of stewards
that they be found trustworthy.
It does not concern me in the least
that I be judged by you or any human tribunal;
I do not even pass judgment on myself;
I am not conscious of anything against me,
but I do not thereby stand acquitted;
the one who judges me is the Lord.
Therefore, do not make any judgment before the appointed time,
until the Lord comes,
for he will bring to light what is hidden in darkness
and will manifest the motives of our hearts,
and then everyone will receive praise from God.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (39a) The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Trust in the LORD and do good,
that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will grant you your heart’s requests.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Commit to the LORD your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Turn from evil and do good,
that you may abide forever;
For the LORD loves what is right,
and forsakes not his faithful ones.
Criminals are destroyed
and the posterity of the wicked is cut off.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Trust in the LORD and do good,
that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will grant you your heart’s requests.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Commit to the LORD your way;
trust in him, and he will act.
He will make justice dawn for you like the light;
bright as the noonday shall be your vindication.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Turn from evil and do good,
that you may abide forever;
For the LORD loves what is right,
and forsakes not his faithful ones.
Criminals are destroyed
and the posterity of the wicked is cut off.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
The salvation of the just is from the LORD;
he is their refuge in time of distress.
And the LORD helps them and delivers them;
he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
R. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
The scribes and Pharisees said to Jesus,
“The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,
and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;
but yours eat and drink.”
Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
then they will fast in those days.”
And he also told them a parable.
“No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.
Otherwise, he will tear the new
and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins,
and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.
Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.
And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,
for he says, ‘The old is good.’”
“The disciples of John the Baptist fast often and offer prayers,
and the disciples of the Pharisees do the same;
but yours eat and drink.”
Jesus answered them, “Can you make the wedding guests fast
while the bridegroom is with them?
But the days will come, and when the bridegroom is taken away from them,
then they will fast in those days.”
And he also told them a parable.
“No one tears a piece from a new cloak to patch an old one.
Otherwise, he will tear the new
and the piece from it will not match the old cloak.
Likewise, no one pours new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins,
and it will be spilled, and the skins will be ruined.
Rather, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.
And no one who has been drinking old wine desires new,
for he says, ‘The old is good.’”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
New Wine, New Ways
During the celebration, the fun is grand. However, this groom is going to have to die for his bride. When that happens, everything changes. Everything! What was good in the marriage becomes even better, because the love -- now sacrificial -- has been raised to its highest level. And what had been bad about our pre-married (unconverted) life is transformed, redeemed from the grip of evil, because nothing is stronger than the power of holy love.
Sometimes, though, we try to mix our pre-married ways with our new, redeemed life.
Have you heard Christ's proposal of marriage? What changed after you said yes? The old cloak that dressed up your self-image is no longer needed, because Jesus enthusiastically appreciates all that is good in you. The old holes in your self-esteem cannot even be patched, for the new cloth of God's unconditional love pulls away from the fabric of your self-doubt.
What's different in you because of your love relationship with Jesus and your commitment to remain with him always? How has his commitment to you affected your life?
From the old wineskin, you used to drink up the limited ability of others to make you happy, and it was never totally satisfying. Are you still carrying this around? It cannot hold the new wine of Christ's unconditional, completely thirst-quenching love; if you think it can, it will burst and spill gooey mess all over you.
When we try to pour our marriage to Christ into an old way of coping with unmet needs, it backfires. What once seemed to protect us now fits like a coat we've outgrown, because we're not the persons we used to be. For example, trying to make others love us the way we want to be loved only stirs up bigger troubles, because whatever they do is never good enough compared to God's love, since he's the only one capable of meeting all of our needs.
Our old lives were filled with so many holes, why do we even want to patch them? Sewing Christ onto our worn-out habits and dissatisfying lifestyle tears us apart, and painfully so. Our compromises between the world's ways and God's ways lead to disaster. The problem is we do this so often we think this is normal.
To find the peace we're seeking, we have to fully pour ourselves into the King of Peace and let him completely fill our lives.
Any time our way of handling life makes us feel uncomfortable, unhappy and dissatisfied, there's something old we need to throw out. We have to look for the new way, Christ's way. As our Beloved Spouse, he's busy praying for us while hand-holding us toward healing, love, and every good gift from heaven.
Today's Prayer:
You, Lord, are New Life for those who receive You with open hearts. Fill me with Your mercy to forgive, to leave my past behind, and to joyfully take Your Word to my neighbors. 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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