GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Tuesday - September 27, 2022

 

Tuesday - September 27, 2022

O Lord, give me the fire that you sent forth when coming on earth. . . .

Enable me to be aflame with the ardor of charity, to glow with the splendor of obedience, and to grow ardent with love. Help me to be saved from destruction amid dangers, to escape all perils, and to hasten toward Your goodness. Grant me to come peacefully into Your presence, to be satiated forever by its manifestation, and to praise You unceasingly for all eternity.

-- Saint Ildephonsus of Toledo

September 27, 2022

Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, Priest
Lectionary: 456

 

Reading 1                                                     Jb 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23

 

Job opened his mouth and cursed his day.

Job spoke out and said:

 

Perish the day on which I was born,

the night when they said, “The child is a boy!”

 

Why did I not perish at birth,

come forth from the womb and expire?

Or why was I not buried away like an untimely birth,

like babes that have never seen the light?

Wherefore did the knees receive me?

or why did I suck at the breasts?

 

For then I should have lain down and been tranquil;

had I slept, I should then have been at rest

With kings and counselors of the earth

who built where now there are ruins

Or with princes who had gold

and filled their houses with silver.

 

There the wicked cease from troubling,

there the weary are at rest.

 

Why is light given to the toilers,

and life to the bitter in spirit?

They wait for death and it comes not;

they search for it rather than for hidden treasures,

Rejoice in it exultingly,

and are glad when they reach the grave:

Those whose path is hidden from them,

and whom God has hemmed in!

 

Responsorial Psalm                                              Ps 88:2-3, 4-5, 6, 7-8

 

R. (3) Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

 

O LORD, my God, by day I cry out;

at night I clamor in your presence.

Let my prayer come before you;

incline your ear to my call for help.

R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

For my soul is surfeited with troubles

and my life draws near to the nether world.

I am numbered with those who go down into the pit;

I am a man without strength.

R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

My couch is among the dead,

like the slain who lie in the grave,

Whom you remember no longer

and who are cut off from your care.

R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

You have plunged me into the bottom of the pit,

into the dark abyss.

Upon me your wrath lies heavy,

and with all your billows you overwhelm me.

R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

 

Alleluia                                                                      MK 10:45

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Son of Man came to serve

and to give his life as a ransom for many.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

 

Gospel                                                                       Lk 9:51-56

 

When the days for Jesus to be taken up were fulfilled,

he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,

and he sent messengers ahead of him.

On the way they entered a Samaritan village

to prepare for his reception there,

but they would not welcome him

because the destination of his journey was Jerusalem.

When the disciples James and John saw this they asked,

“Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven

to consume them?”

Jesus turned and rebuked them,

and they journeyed to another village.

 

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The True Measure of Holiness

How do we react when someone blocks us from doing the work or ministry that we want to do, or persecutes our faith, or makes our life difficult in any way? Normally, we want to retaliate. In today’s Gospel reading, the disciples wanted to retaliate against the Samaritans. But Jesus rebuked them, because holiness means doing good in spite of the bad.

In the first reading today, poor Job despaired because he lost nearly everything that was dear to him. Satan had told God that the only reason why Job was holy was because God had surrounded him with goodness. This story was written to teach that true holiness is the desire to do good in spite of the bad.

Opportunities for practicing holiness arise every day. Christ’s disciples and the Samaritans whom they wanted to destroy all loved the same God. Seven centuries earlier, Jews who lived in Samaritan territory had intermarried with pagans, and when the “pure” Israelites rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem after their Babylonian captivity, the Samaritans offered to help, but they were rejected because of their racial impurities. Thus began a long-lasting prejudice and bitter misunderstandings from both sides.

Are we any different toward Christians who don’t worship the same way we do?

During the Protestant rebellions of the Reformation – a reformation that was sorely needed – both sides handled it with battles and cruelty. Thus began long-lasting prejudices and stubborn misunderstandings, which have prevented the restoration of unity in the Body of Christ. Vatican Council II instilled in the Catholic Church the truth that Protestants love the same Lord and Savior as we do (see paragraph 818 in the Catechism), but sadly many Protestants still cling to 16th Century prejudices. Misunderstandings about Catholicism are rampant, and the spirit of prejudice is revealed in an unwillingness to listen to the truth about us.

And how do we Catholics feel about this? How do we handle it? Do we retaliate? Or perhaps we avoid Protestants who want to “save” us, which is a passive form of retaliation.

One of the most profound statements I ever heard was from a Protestant preacher who prophesied: “Mourn and weep, for the Body of My Son is broken.”

Jesus reprimanded his disciples for wanting to do battle. Despite having the power to punish those who were religiously impure, he retaliated not at all.

Prejudices are cured through love, not force, through mercy, not punishment. It’s harder and slower to make changes this way, but nothing else is holy. Nothing else reveals the true nature of Christ.

Today’s Prayer

My Lord, help me to understand that love is sacrifice and, above all, forgiveness. 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!”