SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY : Friday - September 10, 2021

Friday - September 10, 2021

"Virtues are formed by prayer.

Prayer preserves temperance.

Prayer suppresses anger.

Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy.

Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises man to Heaven."

-- St Ephraem

September 10, 2021

Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 441

 

Reading 1                                                     1 Tm 1:1-2, 12-14

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our savior

and of Christ Jesus our hope,

to Timothy, my true child in faith:

grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father

and Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,

because he considered me trustworthy

in appointing me to the ministry.

I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man,

but I have been mercifully treated

because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.

Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant,

along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              16:1b-2a and 5, 7-8, 11

 

R.    (see 5) You are my inheritance, O Lord.

 

Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge;

    I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.”

O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup,

    you it is who hold fast my lot.

R.    You are my inheritance, O Lord.

I bless the LORD who counsels me;

    even in the night my heart exhorts me.

I set the LORD ever before me;

    with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

R.    You are my inheritance, O Lord.

You will show me the path to life,

    fullness of joys in your presence,

    the delights at your right hand forever.

R.    You are my inheritance, O Lord.

 

Alleluia                                                                      Mt 11:28 Jn 17:17b, 17a

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Your word, O Lord, is truth;

consecrate us in the truth.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Lk 6:39-42

Jesus told his disciples a parable:

“Can a blind person guide a blind person?

Will not both fall into a pit?

No disciple is superior to the teacher;

but when fully trained,

every disciple will be like his teacher.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,

but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?

How can you say to your brother,

‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’

when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?

You hypocrite!  Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;

then you will see clearly

to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”

 

********************************

Learning to Avoid Old Ruts 

Think of a person you wish you could push along on their faith journey, someone whose spiritual eyesight is poor. Today's Gospel reading teaches us how to be like Christ when we try to help.

 

A blind person, in the analogy that Jesus makes, is anyone who cannot see things in the light of truth. Spiritual blindness can be due to sin or to ignorance, but it's always dangerous. There are many, many wrong decisions to bump into, mistakes that cause more wounds, and temptations that lead the blind person farther away from God.

 

Because we care, we want to help people who are spiritually blind. Who have you been trying to lead into the forgiving and healing arms of God?

 

However, when we use methods that are not Christ-like, we are blind guides and we trip into pitfalls, often dragging others down with us. Our path is riddled with old ruts that have been deepened by prolonged use, i.e., old behaviors and habits that we forged apart from Jesus.

 

We need to make a conscious effort to stay close to Jesus, asking him to point out these ruts as we forge a new, holy path with him. If we neglect to do this, we naturally slip back into old ways of reacting, thinking, assuming, and dealing with the blindnesses of others.

 

In our blindness, we can't see the harm of our old ruts, and that's what makes them dangerous -- not only to us, but to those we're trying to help. Becoming like Christ means walking with him long enough and fervently enough to channel a new path while the old ruts get filled up from lack of use.

 

Here's a very common old rut that we're usually too blind to see: As disciples of Christ, we will never be superior to the teacher, yet often we think we are. We behave as if we know better than God does about how to solve our problems, how to help others change, and how quickly it all should happen.

 

Becoming like our teacher means becoming fully trained. That's a lot of discipline! Remember that even Jesus needed to learn before he could serve. What was he doing during all those hidden years before he began his salvation ministry? Just sawing wood?

 

He certainly learned from the sawdust splinters! Will we? There's always something that blocks our view of the truth about the people we'd like to help. What's blinding you from seeing the image of God in them? What old rut do you blindly slip into whenever you deal with them?

 

When we open our eyes to see our own ruts, we're removing the wooden beams that Jesus warned about. Once we've been trained on the new path long enough to stay clear of the old ruts, we understand how to imitate Jesus in leading others to his light. That's when we know how to remove the splinters that make them close their eyes.

 

In the meantime, any good we do for others is miraculous. It's God shining his light through us despite us.

 

Today's Prayer

 

Beloved Jesus, I need to convert and fill myself with You every day. Help me to understand that I cannot love others if first I don't let Your love fill me completely. Amen.

-------------------------------

God Bless You.....

Rosary Family

The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”