GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY - Saturday - October 29, 2022

Saturday - October 29, 2022

“The devotions we practice in honor of the glorious Virgin Mary, however trifling they may be, are very pleasing to Her Divine Son, and He rewards them with eternal glory.”

~~St. Teresa of Avila

October 29, 2022

SATURDAY OF THE THIRTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Lectionary: 484

 

Reading I     

                                                                                    PHIL 1:18B-26

 

Brothers and sisters:

As long as in every way, whether in pretense or in truth,

Christ is being proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

 

Indeed I shall continue to rejoice,

for I know that this will result in deliverance for me

through your prayers and support from the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

My eager expectation and hope

is that I shall not be put to shame in any way,

but that with all boldness, now as always,

Christ will be magnified in my body,

whether by life or by death.

For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.

If I go on living in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me.

And I do not know which I shall choose.

I am caught between the two.

I long to depart this life and be with Christ,

for that is far better.

Yet that I remain in the flesh is more necessary for your benefit.

And this I know with confidence,

that I shall remain and continue in the service of all of you

for your progress and joy in the faith,

so that your boasting in Christ Jesus may abound on account of me

when I come to you again.

 

Responsorial Psalm                                  PS 42:2, 3, 5CDEF

 

R. My soul is thirsting for the living God.

 

As the hind longs for the running waters,

so my soul longs for you, O God.

R. My soul is thirsting for the living God.

Athirst is my soul for God, the living God.

When shall I go and behold the face of God?

R. My soul is thirsting for the living God.

I went with the throng

and led them in procession to the house of God.

Amid loud cries of joy and thanksgiving,

with the multitude keeping festival.

R. My soul is thirsting for the living God.

 

Alleluia                                              Phil 2:8          MT 11:29AB

 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,

for I am meek and humble of heart.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                           LK 14:1, 7-11

 

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine

at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,

and the people there were observing him carefully.

 

He told a parable to those who had been invited,

noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet,

do not recline at table in the place of honor.

A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him,

and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say,

‘Give your place to this man,’

and then you would proceed with embarrassment

to take the lowest place.

Rather, when you are invited,

go and take the lowest place

so that when the host comes to you he may say,

‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’

Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.

For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,

but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

 

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

 

How to Magnify Christ When it’s Difficult

This is the first Saturday reflection that I’ve written in four weeks. During this personal outage, disabled by illness, I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on how to glorify the Lord when life makes it difficult.

 

For the past few months, I’ve suffered the worst and long difficult period of my life. In fact, the past twelve months have been one major difficulty after another, all of which greatly reduced my work hours. Throughout it all, I prayed for healing and relief; many others prayed for me too. I did all the right spiritual warfare prayers. I put everything into God’s super-capable hands. But the prayers didn’t improve anything.

 

I offered up my sufferings to Jesus, uniting myself to his cross for the salvation of sinners, but I felt sure that I could do more good by getting back to work in God’s vineyard.

 

I want to serve Jesus every day and glorify him even with my dying breath. However, these past several weeks have challenged me: How can Christ be magnified when I’m bedridden, miserable, isolated, brain-fogged, and too weak to open the computer or talk on the phone?

 

I can never do enough for the Lord. He has done so much for us, and what I do for him seems atom-size tiny in comparison. Plus, the need is so great for the Good News to get out ever more widely, now more than ever. This is why I don’t understand why Abba Father has allowed so much to happen that reduced and even halted my work hours for so long.

 

But — and this is the important thing — God understands. He knows what he’s doing. Surely my misery will be used as seeds for a crop that we cannot yet imagine.

 

My prayer life changed drastically, especially during the parasitic infection. I didn’t have the energy or strength to do anything but rest in the Lord’s lap. It’s the prayer of wordless trust.

 

Wordless trust is a prayer that magnifies the Lord in your heart. Wordless trust grows into faith sharing that magnifies the Lord in the hearts of others. We are called to make every earthly moment count for the Kingdom of God — even when we don’t understand why Abba Father allows us to suffer. Eventually, when we pass away from earthly difficulties, we will glorify the Lord fully and unceasingly.

 

And, in honor of All Souls Day, which we soon celebrate, let me add here the reminder that your loved ones who have passed away resting in the Lord’s lap are now glorifying him more than you can imagine. Even if they are still in Purgatory, they are glorifying Christ every moment. Whenever you glorify Christ, you are united to your loved ones in a very special way. Ask them to pray for your faith growth.

 

Today's Prayer

 

You’ve called us, Lord, to heal wounds and to lift up the fallen with Your power. Give us the grace to be bold and docile to your calling. 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!”