THE GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY : Sunday - August 27, 2023

 

Sunday - August 27, 2023

In darkness, at times of tribulation and distress of the spirit, Jesus is with you. In such a state you see nothing but darkness, but I can assure you on God's behalf that the light of the Lord is all around you and pervades your spirit. . .You see yourself forsaken and I assure you that Jesus is holding you tighter than ever to His divine Heart.

 -- Saint Padre Pio

August 27, 2023

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 121

 

Reading I     

                                                                                                Is 22:19-23

 

Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace:

"I will thrust you from your office

and pull you down from your station.

On that day I will summon my servant

Eliakim, son of Hilkiah;

I will clothe him with your robe,

and gird him with your sash,

and give over to him your authority.

He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

and to the house of Judah.

I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim's shoulder;

when he opens, no one shall shut,

when he shuts, no one shall open.

I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot,

to be a place of honor for his family."

 

Responsorial Psalm                                                          Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6, 8

 

R. (8bc) Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.

 

I will give thanks to you, O LORD, with all my heart,

for you have heard the words of my mouth;

in the presence of the angels I will sing your praise;

I will worship at your holy temple.

R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.

I will give thanks to your name,

because of your kindness and your truth:

When I called, you answered me;

you built up strength within me.

R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.

The LORD is exalted, yet the lowly he sees,

and the proud he knows from afar.

Your kindness, O LORD, endures forever;

forsake not the work of your hands.

R. Lord, your love is eternal; do not forsake the work of your hands.

 

Reading II                                                                             Rom 11:33-36

 

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!

How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways!

For who has known the mind of the Lord

or who has been his counselor?

Or who has given the Lord anything

that he may be repaid?

For from him and through him and for him are all things.

To him be glory forever. Amen.

 

 

Alleluia         

 

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church

and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

R. Alleluia

 

Gospel                                                                                   Mt 16:13-20

 

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and

he asked his disciples,

"Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"

They replied, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah,

still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."

He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"

Simon Peter said in reply,

"You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."

Jesus said to him in reply,

"Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah.

For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father.

And so I say to you, you are Peter,

and upon this rock I will build my church,

and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.

Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven;

and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

Then he strictly ordered his disciples

to tell no one that he was the Christ.

 

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

Breaking through demonic strongholds

When Jesus ordained Peter to become the rock upon which he would build his Church, he made a promise. The gates of hell, he said, speaking of the netherworld that belongs to the principalities and powers of darkness (see Ephesians 6), “shall never prevail against it.”

 

Jesus did not say that hell would never win battles against the Church. He said that the gates of hell would not win. Of course they won’t: Gates don’t attack! Gates protect. Gates hold inside their boundaries whatever has been enclosed by a fence or wall. Do you know anyone who’s been imprisoned by their sins? Or by hellish circumstances?

 

Christians are not called to take a defensive posture against attacks and encroachments from evil-doers. Christians are called to take the offensive — we are called to attack the very gates of hell, knock them down, and conquer the devils that are trying to drag people into their kingdom of misery and eternal death.

 

What Jesus did 2000 years ago to free people from evil he still does today through you and me.

 

For the sinners who want to escape from evil before it’s too late, Jesus gave gate keys to Peter when he ordained him as the first shepherd (priest and pope) of Christianity. These keys have been passed from generation to generation through the unbroken line of Catholic priests.

 

What are the keys? The gates of hell are unlocked by Sacraments; they open the way to eternal life. When a priest “looses” (releases) the grace and forgiveness of God upon a repentant sinner during the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or when a priest “binds” a man and woman together in the Sacrament of Marriage, it’s Jesus who’s doing it through him.

 

The supernatural power of the Sacraments conquers evil every time we take them seriously and rely on the graces they provide.

 

Questions for Personal Reflection:

Where is there a locked gate in your life, which needs to get blown open so that Jesus can rescue you from some sort of darkness? What will you do this week to utilize the Sacraments more deeply, more profoundly?

 

Prayer

 

Thank you, Lord, that through Your Holy Spirit I am able to recognize You. Give me the strength I need to carry out the mission that You have entrusted to me. 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!”