GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Sunday - September 25, 2022

 

Sunday - September 25, 2022

The nature of water is soft, and the nature of stone is hard; but if a bottle is hung above the stone, allowing the water to fall down drop by drop, it wears away the stone. So it is with the Word of God: it is soft and our heart is hard, but the man who hears the Word of God often opens his heart to the fear of God.

 

 --Saint Poemen

September 25, 2022

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 138

 

Reading 1                                                     Am 6:1a, 4-7

 

Thus says the LORD the God of hosts:

 Woe to the complacent in Zion!

 Lying upon beds of ivory,

 stretched comfortably on their couches,

 they eat lambs taken from the flock,

 and calves from the stall!

 Improvising to the music of the harp,

 like David, they devise their own accompaniment.

 They drink wine from bowls

 and anoint themselves with the best oils;

 yet they are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph!

 Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile,

 and their wanton revelry shall be done away with.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              Ps 146:7, 8-9, 9-10

 

R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!

 

Blessed is he who keeps faith forever,

 secures justice for the oppressed,

 gives food to the hungry.

The LORD sets captives free.

R. Praise the Lord, my soul!

 

The LORD gives sight to the blind;

 the LORD raises up those who were bowed down.

The LORD loves the just;

 the LORD protects strangers.

R. Praise the Lord, my soul!

 

The fatherless and the widow he sustains,

 but the way of the wicked he thwarts.

The LORD shall reign forever;

 your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.

R. Praise the Lord, my soul!

 

Reading II                                                                 1 Tm 6:11-16

 

But you, man of God, pursue righteousness,

devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness.

Compete well for the faith.

Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called

when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses.

I charge you before God, who gives life to all things,

and before Christ Jesus,

who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession,

to keep the commandment without stain or reproach

until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ

that the blessed and only ruler

will make manifest at the proper time,

the King of kings and Lord of lords,

who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light,

and whom no human being has seen or can see.

To him be honor and eternal power.  Amen.

 

 

Alleluia                                                                      2 Cor 8:9

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Though our Lord Jesus Christ was rich, he became poor,

so that by his poverty you might become rich.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Lk 16:19-31

 

Jesus said to the Pharisees:

"There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen

and dined sumptuously each day.

And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,

who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps

that fell from the rich man's table.

Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.

When the poor man died,

he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.

The rich man also died and was buried,

and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,

he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off

and Lazarus at his side.

And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me.

Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,

for I am suffering torment in these flames.'

Abraham replied,

'My child, remember that you received

what was good during your lifetime

while Lazarus likewise received what was bad;

but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.

Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established

to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go

from our side to yours or from your side to ours.'

He said, 'Then I beg you, father,

send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers,

so that he may warn them,

lest they too come to this place of torment.'

But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets.

Let them listen to them.'

He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,

but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'

Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets,

neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'"

 

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What Makes Us Generous?

What was the rich man’s sin in this Sunday’s Gospel story? What tormented him after he died? Being wealthy is not sinful; what tortured his soul was his decision to not share his wealth with Lazarus while he had the opportunity.

Death is not a closing of life; it’s the opening up of our souls so we become fully alive in the truth of God’s love. Death awakens us to the full reality of who God is and all the gifts he has given us and how well — or how poorly — we’ve invested those gifts.

Whenever we share with others the gifts that we’ve received, we’re investing in God’s kingdom. In God’s economy, our investments always pay off very well. We receive more than we give away so that we can share even more!

In contrast, when we protect and keep something for ourselves, we lose it like a flower that’s “protected” in a dark box. The flower wilts. It cannot grow in the dark. Everything we try to protect ends up useless and even poisonous: We stagnate spiritually as well as emotionally. The gift rots. Our selfishness destroys our union with God who is the Master of Generosity.

Every day, we’re given opportunities to share something — some blessing from God — with others. Consider these opportunities in your life on this 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Perhaps what made the rich man in the parable turn away from Lazarus was his disease. Since Lazarus was covered in sores, we can surmise that he was a leper and highly contagious.

 

This leads us to the question: Do we share less because we feel disgust toward those who need what we have? Or maybe fear holds us back. Or resentment or unforgiving anger. To be united to God and experience everlasting joy, we cannot live in this state. We have to let love motivate us. Love has no limits; it’s always generous.

In the second reading, we hear: “Compete well for the faith.” Against whom are we competing? Ourselves! Are you holier today than you were the last time you had an opportunity to be generous? Are you spiritually stronger because you’ve worked hard at becoming more loving and generous?

Today’s Prayer

Lord Jesus, free my senses from distractions and guide my eyes, ears and heart toward You. You ask me to change my life, because You want the best for me, everything I could never even imagine. 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!”