Saturday - October 03, 2020
“Never will anyone who says his Rosary every day be led astray. This is a statement that I would gladly sign with my blood.”
-St. Louis Marie de Montfort
October 03, 2020
Saturday of the 26th Week of Ordinary Time
Reading 1
JB 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17
Job answered the LORD and said:
I know that you can do all things,
and that no purpose of yours can be hindered.
I have dealt with great things that I do not understand;
things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.
I had heard of you by word of mouth,
but now my eye has seen you.
Therefore I disown what I have said,
and repent in dust and ashes.
Thus the LORD blessed the latter days of Job
more than his earlier ones.
For he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels,
a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses.
And he had seven sons and three daughters,
of whom he called the first Jemimah,
the second Keziah, and the third Kerenhappuch.
In all the land no other women were as beautiful
as the daughters of Job;
and their father gave them an inheritance
along with their brothers.
After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years;
and he saw his children, his grandchildren,
and even his great-grandchildren.
Then Job died, old and full of years.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 119:66, 71, 75, 91, 125, 130
R. (135) Lord, let your face shine on me.
Teach me wisdom and knowledge,
for in your commands I trust.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
that I may learn your statutes.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
I know, O LORD, that your ordinances are just,
and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
According to your ordinances they still stand firm:
all things serve you.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
I am your servant; give me discernment
that I may know your decrees.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
The revelation of your words sheds light,
giving understanding to the simple.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
Alleluia
PHIL 3:8-9
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
LK 10:17-24
The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus,
“Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.”
Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky.
Behold, I have given you the power
‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions
and upon the full force of the enemy
and nothing will harm you.
Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you,
but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
”At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said,
“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
for although you have hidden these things
from the wise and the learned
you have revealed them to the childlike.
Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
No one knows who the Son is except the Father,
and who the Father is except the Son
and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
Turning to the disciples in private he said,
“Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
For I say to you,
many prophets and kings desired to see what you see,
but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”
Opening Prayer: Lord, here I am—teach me to pray. You bless those who believe without seeing—help my unbelief! I want to love and be loved by you, so I humbly ask you to show me your love in this time of prayer.
Encountering Christ:
1. Christ Gives Everything: Just a few days ago in the scriptures, Christ sent his disciples out to prepare the way for him “like lambs among wolves.” They must have been scared, but their experience of Christ’s love for them had driven them to go out anyway. Now, as they came back full of amazement at all they were able to accomplish, they realized that their faith in Christ was well-founded. Christ will always ask us for everything (he is God, after all), but the more we give the more we realize that he takes nothing away, but transforms whatever we give into a greater blessing for us and the world. The apostles did not know what to expect as they set off down the dusty roads of Galilee. All they knew was that they had never met anyone like Christ. He had filled them with a love and confidence they had never experienced, and he wanted them to give that same experience to their countrymen. He told them they were to cure illnesses, but imagine their wonder the first time they extended their hands over a sick man and raised him in the name of Christ! If they hadn’t obeyed, hadn’t trusted, hadn’t set out, hadn’t met the sick, hadn’t raised their hands in healing, they might have missed the ecstasy of giving glory to God by bringing his love and grace to others. We never know what Christ is going to do with us. All he asks is that we trust and obey.
2. Rejoice: Although Christ did not hide from his disciples that they were going to do great things, he wanted them to realize that their greatest gift was not what they accomplished (healing lepers), but who they were (children of God). What an immense gift it is that we have been created, and what an even greater gift that there is a place prepared for us in heaven! We all long for a place to call home, for a place of safety where we are unconditionally loved. Christ has already prepared this place for us, and it is waiting for us after our little pilgrimage here on Earth ends. Christ is asking his disciples, and asking us, to keep our faith and confidence in his promise of eternal life, not in worldly success. When that time comes, we draw consolation from Christ’s promise: “Your names are written in heaven.”
3. “I Praise You, Father”: There are few times in the Gospels when it explicitly says that Christ rejoiced, and this is one of them. What could Christ have seen in these moments on Earth, so imperfect compared to Heaven, to make him rejoice? The disciples did not let the miracles Christ did through them go to their heads, and their humility filled Christ with joy! Christ loves a humble, childlike heart. When we strive to do the Lord’s will and ask him to bless our successes, along with our weakness, our failures, and imperfections, he rejoices.
Conversing with Christ: Lord, thank you for revealing your love to me. I want to make you smile, so help me to be more humble, more childlike, more simple. I know you have a place for me in heaven—help me to keep my eyes on that prize, and never let that star be covered by the clouds of the world or my own selfishness.
Resolution: Lord, today by your grace I will give some witness of my faith, be it in word, deed, or example.
God Bless You.....
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