Tuesday - September 22, 2020
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
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, 2020
Tuesday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
PRV 21:1-6, 10-13
Like a stream
is the king’s heart in the hand of the LORD;
wherever it pleases
him, he directs it.
All the ways of
a man may be right in his own eyes,
but it is the
LORD who proves hearts.
To do what is
right and just
is more
acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Haughty eyes
and a proud heart–
the tillage of
the wicked is sin.
The plans of
the diligent are sure of profit,
but all rash
haste leads certainly to poverty.
Whoever makes a
fortune by a lying tongue
is chasing a
bubble over deadly snares.
The soul of the
wicked man desires evil;
his neighbor
finds no pity in his eyes.
When the
arrogant man is punished, the simple are the wiser;
when the wise
man is instructed, he gains knowledge.
The just man
appraises the house of the wicked:
there is one
who brings down the wicked to ruin.
He who shuts
his ear to the cry of the poor
will himself
also call and not be heard.
………………………………………………………………
Responsorial Psalm
PS 119:1, 27, 30, 34, 35, 44
R. (35) Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Blessed are they whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of the LORD.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous deeds.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Give me discernment, that I may observe your law
and keep it with all my heart.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
Lead me in the path of your commands,
for in it I delight.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
And I will keep your law continually,
forever and ever.
R. Guide me, Lord, in the way of your commands.
……………………………………………………………………
Alleluia
LK 11:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are those who hear the word
of God
and observe it.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
……………………………………………………………………..
Gospel
LK 8:19-21
The mother of
Jesus and his brothers came to him
but were unable
to join him because of the crowd.
He was told,
“Your mother and your brothers are standing outside
and they wish
to see you.”
He said to them
in reply, “My mother and my brothers
are those who
hear the word of God and act on it.”
******************************
Are You Related to Jesus?
Oh, how wonderful to hear in Christ's words of today's Gospel passage that we are as dear to him as his own Blessed Mother and his other relatives! But oh, how hard it is to hear the Word and act upon it!
We think we agree with what the psalmist prays in today's responsorial: "Guide me, Lord, in the way of Your commands." We have heard God's commands and we do want to obey them, so why do we keep breaking away from our true desires - why do we keep breaking our heavenly family ties?
The first reading says that "all our ways might seem right in our own eyes, but it is the Lord who proves hearts." No matter how right we think we are in our daily decisions and relationships, God proves how much or how little we've allowed his Word to transform us. How? Our actions reveal the truth: Are we acting upon his commands or not?
It takes humility to be teachable. It takes a willingness to be changed. We have to distrust our own discernment about right and wrong. We can only trust the ways of God, because often we simply don't understand why something right is right and why something sinful is sinful.
It's difficult to see how disobedient we really are and to realize how this hurts our brotherly or sisterly relationship with Jesus. We actually prefer being blind to the truth when we're busy insisting that we're right. We fail to see the harm we do to others while protecting our pride. It's the power of denial. We prefer to avoid noticing how our agendas or our lusts or our addictions are destroying our work or ministries or relationships. We blindly ignore how our impatience or anger is killing the dignity and spirit of those around us.
This is why Jesus said from the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing."
Humility involves constantly asking the Holy Spirit to teach us how to be like Christ. Humility means wanting our eyes to be opened to the sins that are still infecting us, because we look forward to the joy of becoming holier.
We already know we're not wearing halos. Why are we afraid to find out how "bad" we really are? Why are we so afraid to be wrong? Do we think we're so bad that we're not redeemable? Do we think we're not good enough to be loveable? If so, we need to ask Jesus to heal our sight. When we're totally honest about ourselves, we discover not only what needs to be forgiven but also what God appreciates and admires in us!
Christian living is an action, not just an attitude. Holiness means DOing whatever is Christ-like (being a true brother or sister of Jesus) and taking action against temptations, day by day, moment by moment, so that we build up the bond between us and Jesus and his entire family.
Today's Prayer
Making Your Word the goal and purpose of my life unites me to You, Lord, as nothing else in this world could. 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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