MASS READINGS & SAINT QUOTE OF THE DAY - Saturday - October 09, 2021

Saturday - October 09, 2021

"There is no problem, I tell you, no matter how difficult it is, that we cannot solve by the prayer of the Holy Rosary."

--Sister Lucia, of the seers of Fatima

October 9, 2021

Saturday of the Twenty-seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 466

 

Reading 1                                                     Jl 4:12-21

Thus says the LORD:

Let the nations bestir themselves and come up

    to the Valley of Jehoshaphat;

For there will I sit in judgment

    upon all the neighboring nations.

 

Apply the sickle,

    for the harvest is ripe;

Come and tread,

    for the wine press is full;

The vats overflow,

    for great is their malice.

Crowd upon crowd

    in the valley of decision;

For near is the day of the LORD

    in the valley of decision.

Sun and moon are darkened,

    and the stars withhold their brightness.

The LORD roars from Zion,

    and from Jerusalem raises his voice;

The heavens and the earth quake,

    but the LORD is a refuge to his people,

    a stronghold to the children of Israel.

 

Then shall you know that I, the LORD, am your God,

    dwelling on Zion, my holy mountain;

Jerusalem shall be holy,

    and strangers shall pass through her no more.

And then, on that day,

    the mountains shall drip new wine,

    and the hills shall flow with milk;

And the channels of Judah

    shall flow with water:

A fountain shall issue from the house of the LORD,

    to water the Valley of Shittim.

Egypt shall be a waste,

    and Edom a desert waste,

Because of violence done to the people of Judah,

    because they shed innocent blood in their land.

But Judah shall abide forever,

    and Jerusalem for all generations.

I will avenge their blood,

    and not leave it unpunished.

    The LORD dwells in Zion.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              97:1-2, 5-6, 11-12

 

R.    (12a) Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

 

The LORD is king; let the earth rejoice;

    let the many isles be glad.

Clouds and darkness are round about him,

    justice and judgment are the foundation of his throne.

R.    Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,

    before the LORD of all the earth.

The heavens proclaim his justice,

    and all peoples see his glory.

R.    Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

Light dawns for the just;

    and gladness, for the upright of heart.

Be glad in the LORD, you just,

    and give thanks to his holy name.

R.    Rejoice in the Lord, you just!

 

 

Alleluia                                                                      Lk 11:28

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are those who hear the word of God

and observe it.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Lk 11:27-28

 

While Jesus was speaking,

a woman from the crowd called out and said to him,

“Blessed is the womb that carried you

and the breasts at which you nursed.”

He replied, “Rather, blessed are those

who hear the word of God and observe it.”

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

 

Then shall you know that I, the Lord, am your God

God's timing is uncanny. Consider the first reading this Saturday in light of what's happening in our world today.

 

Apply the sickle, for the harvest is ripe;

Come and tread, for the wine press is full;

The vats overflow, for great is their malice. (Joel 4:13)

 

It's a very common understanding today: We are living in a time when the world needs divine intervention and we need it more than ever before. Evil has gotten stronger. Demons have more control.

 

But wait. Is this really what's happening?

 

Yes it is true (I believe) that God is doing a unique intervention and we're going to see more of it, but NO is not true that Evil has gotten stronger. This is only an illusion that the Evil One wants us to believe. In fact, for every demon working against what is good, there are multiple holy angels sent by God to bring about his Divine Will.

 

Evil is not getting stronger, not at all! Rather, God and his holy angels are forcing the truth out into the open. God and his holy angels are ripping the covers off of demonic activity so that it's exposed so that we who belong to Christ will see what's going on and finally take a stand because now we realize beyond doubt, beyond question, that we do need to take a stand. We do need to stand strong in faith, trusting God, believing God's word, and repenting of our disbelief and our mediocre faith and the ways we have made compromises with the false teachings of worldly ideas.

 

Crowds upon crowds in the Valley of Decision;

For near is the day of the Lord in the Valley of Decision. (Joel 4:14)

 

God is making it clearer and clearer that there is no room for compromise when it comes to matters of faith and morals. We have to decide for God or else we are against him. We are in a season of purging. God is dividing the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares. We cannot have one foot on his side of the fence and the other foot in the world any longer. Those who keep doing so will fall off the fence when the shaking gets very rough. Which side will they land on?

 

Where are you standing now?

 

How firm is your stand?

 

Mediocre faith makes us weak. By God's grace and mercy those of mediocre faith can still reach heaven (eventually), but mediocre faith does not give us strong legs to stand on when everything around us is shaking. And God wants us to be wholehearted in our faith, which is why I suspect he's going to make the shaking still greater. There are many who are still embracing mediocre faith and lack wholeheartedness in their devotion to Christ. We are in a season of being strengthened.

 

The Lord roars from Zion,

and from Jerusalem raises his voice;

The heavens and the earth quake,

but the Lord is a refuge to his people,

a stronghold to the children of Israel. (Joel 4:16)

 

Do not be afraid of the devil if you are standing with the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no reason to fear disaster as we look around and see evil getting away with so much -- if we are clinging to Christ. Let him strengthen your legs of faith so that you can stand strong. Cling to Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus. You don't need to know every detail of what kind of corruption is happening nor what evildoers are doing or what lies of the devil your loved ones are believing. Just keep your eyes on Jesus and learn to interpret everything according to the truths about him as described in the Bible and in traditional Church teachings.

 

We are living in a time of shaking so that our legs become strong -- our legs of faith. It is no accident that you were born into these times and are still alive in these times. It is God's choice because you have an important part in this time of history in our Church and in the world. Stand strong knowing that he is on your side. Well, let's re-state that. It's actually better to say that you are on his side. Those who are not fully on his side are those who fall when things shake.

 

Do you feel like you are toppling? Do you feel feeble? Then rejoice because God is revealing to you where you need to lean on him more heavily.

 

Then shall you know that I, the Lord, am your God. (Joel 4:17)

 

Today's Prayer 

Almighty ever-living God, who in the abundance of your kindness surpass the merits and the desires of those who entreat you, pour out your mercy upon us to pardon what conscience dreads and to give what prayer does not dare to ask. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.

 

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!”