Saturday - September 12, 2020
Nothing but self-will
can separate us
from God.
-- St. Alphonsus Liguori
Nothing but self-will
can separate us
from God.
-- St. Alphonsus Liguori
Saturday
of the Twenty-Third Week in Ordinary Time
| First reading |
|---|
| 1 Corinthians 10:14-22 © |
We are a single body because we all share the one bread
My dear brothers, you must keep clear of idolatry. I say to you as sensible people: judge for yourselves what I am saying. The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ, and the bread that we break is a communion with the body of Christ. The fact that there is only one loaf means that, though there are many of us, we form a single body because we all have a share in this one loaf. Look at the other Israel, the race, where those who eat the sacrifices are in communion with the altar.
Does this mean that the food sacrificed to idols has a real value, or that the idol itself is real? Not at all. It simply means that the sacrifices that they offer they sacrifice to demons who are not God. I have no desire to see you in communion with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot take your share at the table of the Lord and at the table of demons. Do we want to make the Lord angry; are we stronger than he is?
| Responsorial Psalm |
|---|
| Psalm 115(116):12-13,17-18 © |
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
How can I repay the Lord
for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make to you, O Lord.
| Gospel Acclamation | Jn14:6 |
|---|
Alleluia, alleluia!
I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, says the Lord;
No one can come to the Father except through me.
Alleluia!
| Or: | Jn14:23 |
|---|
Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him,
and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!
| Gospel | Luke 6:43-49 © |
|---|
Whoever hears me builds his house on a rock
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.
‘Why do you call me, “Lord, Lord” and not do what I say?
‘Everyone who comes to me and listens to my words and acts on them – I will show you what he is like. He is like the man who when he built his house dug, and dug deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!’
******************************
Rock
Solid Foundation
Opening Prayer: Lord, I come before you as I do every morning, with an open heart, ready to listen to the message you have for me. I want to build my life on the firm foundation of your word and I begin each day by spending this time with you.
Encountering Christ:
1. Good Fruit: Outside my office window, a beautiful magnolia tree towers over the sidewalk. Each morning in June and July I walk by and pluck a fresh bloom from a low-hanging branch to bring indoors. The fragrance of that single bloom permeates my whole workspace. That magnolia is like the tree Our Lord refers to in today’s Gospel. By simply doing what it was created to do, the magnolia bears pure white, sweet-smelling perfection. Our Lord asks us to do the same. By our own power, we’re helpless, but when we depend on Jesus and do the works he has planned for us to do from all eternity, the fruit we bear is no less than divine perfection. Like the magnolia, we give glory to God.
2. No Foundation: In the Lord’s parable, a river runs through a house, shaking it off of its foundation. Without a foundation, we are susceptible to every kind of “river” that runs through our lives. Facing illness, cultural unrest, political turmoil, or relationships have gone sour; we drown in deep irretrievable anxiety and depression. When suffering comes, we exacerbate it by cling to solutions from the world: drugs, alcohol, shopping, sex, etc. Our “foundation” shakes as we add up our Instagram “likes,” dive into workout regimes, and pay for cosmetic surgery in our pursuit of the fountain of youth. We spend our spiritual and emotional energy on resources that cannot shore up our foundation. When we ignore the plans of the grand architect by refusing to do what he commands, our lives end up in shambles.
3. Solid Foundation: Conversely, Our Lord promises we will survive life’s “rivers” (and even thrive) if we do three things: come to him, listen to his words, and act on them. Lines of scripture are God’s gift to us and address every human emotion. Through these words, Our Lord offers us “peace that surpasses all understanding” (Philippians 4:7). If we want to love Jesus, we need to know what the Bible teaches so well that it’s practically written on our foreheads: “Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength. Take to heart these words which I command you today. Keep repeating them to your children. Recite them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them on your arm as a sign and let them be as a pendant on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates” (Deuteronomy 6:5-9).
Conversing with Christ: Lord, thank you for showing me how to build up my foundation by meditating on your holy word. I want to share with others the strength and peace I find here. So many friends and family suffer from shaky foundations. If only they knew you as I do. Help me, Lord, to be a good witness of your love and to continue to depend solely on you for the good fruits you call me to bear.
Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will prayerfully assess the day ahead, looking for an opportunity to speak your name to a friend or co-worker.
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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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