While
you are proclaiming peace with your lips,
be careful to have it even more fully
in your heart.
--
St. Francis of Assis
While you are proclaiming peace with your lips,
be careful to have it even more fully in your heart.
-- St. Francis of Assis
Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr
Lectionary: 358
Reading 1
Tobit called his son Tobiah and said to him,
“Son, see to it that you give what is due to the man
who made the journey with you; give him a bonus too.”
So he called Raphael and said,
“Take as your wages half of all that you have brought back,
and go in peace.”
Raphael called the two men aside privately and said to them:
“Thank God! Give him the praise and the glory.
Before all the living,
acknowledge the many good things he has done for you,
by blessing and extolling his name in song.
Honor and proclaim God’s deeds,
and do not be slack in praising him.
A king’s secret it is prudent to keep,
but the works of God are to be declared and made known.
Praise them with due honor.
Do good, and evil will not find its way to you.
Prayer and fasting are good,
but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness.
A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness.
It is better to give alms than to store up gold;
for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin.
Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life;
but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies.
“I will now tell you the whole truth;
I will conceal nothing at all from you.
I have already said to you,
‘A king’s secret it is prudent to keep,
but the works of God are to be made known with due honor.’
I can now tell you that when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed,
it was I who presented and read the record of your prayer
before the Glory of the Lord;
and I did the same thing when you used to bury the dead.
When you did not hesitate to get up
and leave your dinner in order to go and bury the dead,
I was sent to put you to the test.
At the same time, however,
God commissioned me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah.
I am Raphael, one of the seven angels
who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord.”
“So now get up from the ground and praise God.
Behold, I am about to ascend to him who sent me;
write down all these things that have happened to you.”
Responsorial Psalm
R. (1b) Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
He scourges and then has mercy;
he casts down to the depths of the nether world,
and he brings up from the great abyss.
No one can escape his hand.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
So now consider what he has done for you,
and praise him with full voice.
Bless the Lord of righteousness,
and exalt the King of ages.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
In the land of my exile I praise him
and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Bless the Lord, all you his chosen ones,
and may all of you praise his majesty.
Celebrate days of gladness, and give him praise.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Gospel Acclamation
Alleluia Alleluia
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia
Gospel
In the course of his teaching Jesus said,
“Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes
and accept greetings in the marketplaces,
seats of honor in synagogues,
and places of honor at banquets.
They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext,
recite lengthy prayers.
They will receive a very severe condemnation.”
He sat down opposite the treasury
and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury.
Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them,
“Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all the other contributors to the treasury.
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood.”
******************************
HELP THE LOST, HURTING, AND CONFUSE
This past year has undoubtedly been a challenge for many people for lots of different reasons. Jesus is calling each one of us now to help build up our Church. The fire of the New Pentecost burns brightly, and baptized Christians are called to take up the torch using the gifts they have been given to light others way to heaven! The fire of the New Pentecost is burning red hot, highlighting those in our communities who are lost, hurting, and confused by today’s Godless society suffering due to the pandemic.
The Holy Spirit gives us special gifts to help them: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord make it possible. As we pray and surrender to the Holy Spirit, we can offer ourselves for his service and see doors open and even more gifts unfold.
Remember, God has chosen each of us for a purpose. Each baptized Christian who is maintaining an intentional discipleship relationship with Christ will receive from God his or her own unique charisms, which are supernaturally empowered graces to be used for the benefit of helping others. A discernment process with a spiritual director can help identify these charisms.
These charisms, given from God as whole-life gifts, might be for healing, encouragement, teaching, giving, helping, hospitality, evangelization, administration, celibacy, craftmanship, faith, intercessory prayer, discernment of spirits, prophecy, music, knowledge, writing, wisdom, pastoring, service, or leadership, for example. God draws us into the work he wants us to do for him as he reveals how he is equipping us with these skills to reach others for his kingdom.
None of us are lacking in valuable gifts that can make a difference in ministry in God's kingdom, no matter how small or unimportant we think our abilities are. God loves all of us and eagerly waits for us to accept his invitation to cooperate with him on his mission to share his love with others.
We might feel drawn to helping in certain ways perhaps, or maybe someone will invite us to volunteer to do something. That could be the Holy Spirit prompting us to get started! We might not feel like an expert, or maybe we might even feel out of our comfort zone, but if we keep having the nagging feeling we should help in that area, we ought to listen. God will always open the doors and equip those he calls. God loves to surprise us!
We must never discount the call God may be making to us in more subtle areas of our lives, too. Sometimes this might turn out to make the biggest difference for someone’s soul. The way we live our lives when we think nobody is watching is very crucial. When others notice our sincere acts of kindness, mercy, and generosity and we slip in words to witness our love of Christ by sharing our personal stories of faith, then they might be drawn to Jesus too.
Let us pray for surrender and openness each day for God to use our gifts and graces in the way he sees best to help others. May we continue to trust the Holy Spirit to guide us and always have our best interest at heart.
Today's Prayer
Come, Holy Spirit, living in Mary! Fill us with surrender and help us to serve Jesus and his Church. Fill our hearts with the fire of Your love. Amen.
God Bless You.....
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