Wednesday - November 04, 2020
My Jesus, how good it is to love you!
Let me be like your disciples on Mount Tabor, seeing nothing else but you, my Savior.
Let us be as two friends, neither of whom can bear to offend the other. Amen.
~~ Saint john vianney
TODAY'S READINGS
November 4, 2020
Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo,Bishop
Lectionary: 487
Reading 1 PHIL 2:12-18
My beloved, obedient as you have always been,
not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling.
For God is the one who, for his good purpose,
works in you both to desire and to work.
Do everything without grumbling or questioning,
that you may be blameless and innocent,
children of God without blemish
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation,
among whom you shine like lights in the world,
as you hold on to the word of life,
so that my boast for the day of Christ may be
that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
But, even if I am poured out as a libation
upon the sacrificial service of your faith,
I rejoice and share my joy with all of you.
In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.
Responsorial Psalm PS 27:1, 4, 13-14
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
The LORD is my life’s refuge;
of whom should I be afraid?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
One thing I ask of the LORD;
this I seek:
To dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
That I may gaze on the loveliness of the LORD
and contemplate his temple.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Alleluia 1 PT 4:14
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
If you are insulted
for the name of Christ, blessed are you,
for the Spirit of
God rests upon you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel LK 14:25-33
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus,
and he turned and addressed them,
“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother,
wife and children, brothers and sisters,
and even his own life,
he cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me
cannot be my disciple.
Which of you wishing to construct a tower
does not first sit down and calculate the cost
to see if there is enough for its completion?
Otherwise, after laying the foundation
and finding himself unable to finish the work
the onlookers should laugh at him and say,
‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’
Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down
and decide whether with ten thousand troops
he can successfully oppose another king
advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?
But if not, while he is still far away,
he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.
In the same way,
everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions
cannot be my disciple.”
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Eliminating Wrong Motives
Nor is Jesus telling us to empty our houses and bank accounts to give everything to the poor. Rather, he's warning us to not let possessiveness get in the way of our relationship with him. If we have something we can share and we see someone who needs it but we cling to it, we are not clinging to Jesus who has come to us in the form of that needy person.
Do you care more about possessing the approval of others than God's approval? If so, you're not following Jesus. Do you possess a destructive habit or pattern? It's probably filling a hole in your life, because you haven't brought Jesus into it. I once had a friend who smoked cigarettes because his parents did, even though they suffered and died from smoking-related diseases. Although he considered himself to be pro-life, he refused to quit and slowly killed himself, because it made him feel "closer" to Mom and Dad.
What's cluttering your relationship with God? Anything that we hold onto because it seems important, if it's not helping us grow closer to God and if it can't be used for his purposes, it's worthless junk and it gets in our way. It's meaningless even when we give it great importance.
What if the priest asks for increased donations? Is it easy for us to give more, or is ownership of the money getting in the way of our trust in Jesus? Today's first reading tells us that in everything we do, we should do it without grumbling. Yet we grumble when the pastor asks for an increase in donations. We grumble when a pesky relative needs our help. We grumble when the sun rises and we face the day's workload. We grumble when we can't work and someone asks us to use our free time in a parish ministry that we've never done before.
Grumbling is another attachment that gets in the way of our relationship with God. Has complaining ever really helped? And what kind of a witness is this? Does it uplift the people who must hear it? Pay attention to the grumbling you do today. Unless you're saying it to some sort of counselor, it's probably not helping you grow emotionally or spiritually. Jesus endured the worst pain of all and yet he never uttered one word of complaint!
"For God is the one who, for his good purpose and plans, works in you and through you. Do everything he asks you to do, without grumbling or questioning." When our friendship with Jesus is truly our highest priority - not just when it's convenient or feels good, but all the time - our trust in him is perfected and we follow him wherever he goes, without questioning his purposes or complaining about his plans.
Today's Prayer
My Lord, Give me the grace of trusting You completely and above everything. Then I will learn what love means. Amen.
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