DAILY PRAYER
A meditation on the scripture readings for every day of the month!
'Come aside for a while ...' invites the Lord. Take a moment from your day to refresh your spirit. Choose today's date for a reflection on the day's liturgical readings.
2004 Mass Readings
Sundays Year B
Weekdays Year 3
September
1 2 3 4
5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28
29 30
AUGUST
WED 25TH. St Louis IX; St Joseph Calasanz. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18. Happy are those who fear the Lord—Ps 127(128):1-2, 4-5. Matthew 23:27-32.
‘Never grow tired of doing what is right’, says St Paul.
Lord, I can be very satisfied with the religious dimension of my life. I look for the affirmation of others. I make comparisons with my past life, and with the lives of others. I decide I am making progress.
But then I stop. My self-satisfaction turns to self-knowledge. Beneath the exterior, I begin to see areas of dishonesty and self-deception. I wonder am I really deepening my friendship with you, if my motives are sincere. My generosity may be only self-interest. Is your glory a mask for my own glory? Is faith in you really faith in myself?
Please reinforce in me this knowledge of myself—so that, in coming to know the self-centredness that is in me, I may come to a better knowledge of you.
THU 26TH. 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. I will praise your name for ever, Lord—Ps 144(145):2-7. Matthew 24:42-51.
Today we listen to the encouragement Paul gives to a believing community.
He tells them that God loves them and enriches them in so many ways. He assures them of God’s faithfulness as they wait in trust for the time when they will see God in his full glory.
We too wait: and waiting is the theme of today’s gospel. Waiting, we must have trust (that he will come), patience (until he does come) and attentiveness (lest we be unprepared for his coming). If we ‘love tenderly, act justly and walk humbly with our God’, then we will always be found watching. However, the temptation is always there—to weariness (‘My master delays his coming’) and thence to indifference.
Lord, give me grace to persevere in watchfulness for your coming.
FRI 27TH. St Monica. Day of penance. 1 Corinthians 1:17-25. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord—Ps 32(33):1-2, 4-5, 10-11. Matthew 25:1-13.
A Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God.
We learn in school that God is all-powerful, and yet in the crucifix we depict Christ in his utter powerlessness. This is the true power of God—that Jesus could surrender himself totally to the will of the Father, to the extent of giving his life, for the salvation of the world. In this way the crucifix celebrates Jesus at the moment of his greatest triumph. It is hardly surprising then, in a world that values conquest and strength, that some find this a difficult message to accept.
We pray today for the power that comes from total surrender to the love of God. We cannot always understand; instead, God invites us to trust. May we, like St Monica, never doubt the power of God to turn strength to weakness, and weakness to strength.
SAT 28TH. St Augustine. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31. Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own—Ps 32(33):12-13, 18-21. Matthew 25:14-30.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
There is a strong link between the two readings today. Matthew gives us Jesus’ story about the use of talents, gifts, and Paul writes about the people God has called, us.
Matthew challenges, Paul affirms. Jesus has given each of us different gifts, and they are to be used for the building up of the reign of God in our world, in our time. Often this can be quite difficult. Our human weakness and selfishness get in the way. Why is the Lord asking me? What about the other person? What will people think of me?
But Jesus chooses people who are not necessarily influential people or those who come from ‘high’ places in our church or in our society. No, each of us is called to live out our mission, whether it be to speak honestly in a church group, or at a barbeque with friends, or wherever.
Lord, thank you for choosing me. Give me the courage and the strength to answer your call.
TWENTY-SECOND WEEK
Psalter Week II
SUN 29TH. 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Ecclesiasticus 3:17-20, 28-29. God, in your goodness, you have made a home for the poor—Ps 67(68):4-7, 10-11. Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24. Luke 14:1, 7-14.
An attentive ear is the desire of the wise.
Lord, teach us to listen properly. To listen properly is to really hear what is being said. We need to listen to you in prayer and to listen to those around us and to think about what we hear.
So often we are deaf to what we do not wish to hear. We talk and talk but do not give others the chance to get a word in, so our world contracts and is little and filled with self. Our words, our needs, our beliefs block out the word, the needs, the beliefs of others.
Help us, Lord, to think about humility and to realise that it is not putting ourselves down but is a commonsense virtue. Humility helps us to see situations and people as they are and, above all, to see ourselves as we really are. Lord, we remember we are people loved by God.
MON 30TH. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5. Lord, I love your commands—Ps 118(119):97-102. Luke 4:16-30.
All eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him …
The people of Nazareth expected Jesus to work the same miracles as he had done in Capernaum and elsewhere, although they had no faith. They were offended when he reminded them of the healing of Naaman the Syrian.
Many of those in other religions are good-living people and are rightly regarded as saints. In days gone by some thought of them as enemies. Today the Church urges us to be friendly with those from other faiths and to cooperate with them in activities for the common good.
We hope and pray that we will be able to achieve the unity that Jesus prayed for. The difficulties are many, but prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit can work wonders.
TUE 31ST. 1 Corinthians 2:10-16. The Lord is just in all his ways—Ps 144(145):8-14. Luke 4:31-37.
‘Come out of him.’
What impresses the bystanders most here is the authority with which Jesus speaks, and the power with which he confirms his teaching. A single word of command, and a man is delivered from the enemy of his salvation.
Lord, may we avail ourselves of this authority and this willing power to save. There are many things which hold us back from a daily closer following of you. Would that we had the courage to address this Holy One of God and ask him to bid all these things: ‘Come out!’ so that we should find ourselves whole and healed.
There are in us many voices—clamouring for this, clamouring for that. Unless they be silenced, we shall not hear Jesus when he speaks. Let us, then, again address him and ask him to bid these voices: ‘Be quiet!’
SEPTEMBER
WED 1ST. 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own—Ps 32(33):12-15, 20-21. Luke 4:38-44.
Lord, you are shown in today’s gospel reading as the one who heals. People come to you with things that are common enough today, like a fever, and ones that are a bit more unusual to our modern western eyes, like demonic possession. You cure their afflictions, whether spiritual or physical. Each story, Lord, is shown as a response to the faith of those suffering or of those caring for them.
These stories are encouraging, Lord, but sometimes I can be very stubborn and think I can get on pretty well without you. Open my eyes to see you and to appreciate the offer of healing you make to me every day in all the situations I am in.
Lord, let your healing power reach right into me.
THU 2ND. 1 Corinthians 3:18-23. To the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it—Ps 23(24):1-6. Luke 5:1-11.
‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinner.’ Simon has just witnessed an ‘act of wonder’—a miracle—and realises that Jesus, who has performed it, is no ordinary human. He is before the Lord and believes himself unworthy to stand in his presence. Simon’s response is not so unusual, for each of us can also remember times when we have felt undeserving of God’s love and care for us, asking the Lord to leave us alone!
Jesus does not leave Simon alone, and he does not desert us either. He exhorts Simon not be afraid and to come and ‘catch people with him’. Jesus continues to call each one of us to follow him too. And we are asked to do it now! Today’s beautiful psalm reminds us that ‘to the Lord belongs the earth and all that fills it’. We belong to the Lord because he has created us. We are the Lord’s, with our failures, inadequacies, limitations, successes, talents and all!
FRI 3RD. St Gregory the Great. Day of penance. 1 Corinthians 4:1-5. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord—Ps 36(37):3-6, 27-28, 39-40. Luke 5:33-39.
‘The time will come for the bridegroom to be taken away ...’
Some people looked down on the apostles because they did not compete with the Pharisees in long prayers and frequent fasts. Our Lord’s answer was that such practices were not appropriate while he was with them but that a time would come—after his Ascension—when they would indeed fast and suffer a great deal. He himself has come not to destroy the practices of the Old Testament but to fulfil them, and this would involve change.
The important thing was not the length of prayers or the frequency of fasts, but the spirit of love which animated them. Pride in one’s religious exercises, and a spirit of competition, deprived them of their value.
Dear Lord, teach us to be generous, but not to boast about it.
SAT 4TH. 1 Corinthians 4:6-15. The Lord is near to all who call him—Ps 144(145):17-21. Luke 6:1-5.
‘Have you not read what David did?’
In 587 BC the Babylonians took Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple and led the Jews into captivity in Babylon. With their temple worship gone, the Jews were thrown back upon the scrolls of their sacred writings. It was during the fifty years of captivity (587-537 BC) that the priests and scribes like Ezechiel and Ezra put these scattered writings into the form which we now have them in the Bible. Pride of place went to the five books of the Law or Torah.
In the centuries after their return from Babylon and particularly after the Maccabean war of independence (167-164 BC) the Jews became a people for whom observance of the Law was the one and only way to please God.
What was missed in the process was God’s desire to enter into personal friendship with his people. It was this aspect of our relationship with God that Jesus stressed.
TWENTY-THIRD WEEK
Week III Psalter
SUN 5TH. 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time. Wisdom 9:13-18. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge—Ps 89(90):3-6, 12-14. Philemon 9-10, 12-17. Luke 14:25-33.
Today let us choose the first reading for our prayer. The writer asks: ‘Who can know the intentions of God? Who can divine the will of the Lord?’
When we as people of faith listen to these questions, we may think to ourselves that it’s impossible to know what God wants. Nevertheless, we do know from experience the joy of a good conscience, and that means that we do ‘listen’ to God in our hearts. Also, as long as we truly desire to be God’s will then that prayer will be heard.
Mary at the Annunciation is a model for us in this manner. Her ‘Thy will be done’ is something she must have prayed all her life and we too pray like that as we live our lives of faith. Mary, pray for a deep faith in all of us.
MON 6TH. 1 Corinthians 5:1-8. Lead me in your justice, Lord—Ps 5:5-7, 12. Luke 6:6-11.
This is a case of sexual immorality among you that must be unparalleled even among the pagans. Paul was so shocked by the sexual immorality of his day—one wonders what he would have to say about today.
St Paul made great efforts to impart Christ’s teaching to the disciples. In this particular case he knew the sinner would not be brought to repentance unless he experienced the full bitterness of his sin. So the community must ask that he suffer in his health and his belongings—in other words, be handed over to Satan until he comes to his senses.
In recent time we have witnessed thousands of people protesting against a government that was telling them what to do with their own bodies. They were sure that their bodies were their own. If only they knew the gift of God.
TUE 7TH. 1 Corinthians 6:1-11. The Lord takes delight in his people—Ps 149:1-6, 9. Luke 6:12-19.
He chose twelve of them.
How did Jesus come to his decision when choosing the twelve? He obviously thought it was an important decision—he prayed all night—yet his choice was not perfect.
Jesus himself must have questioned his choice of the twelve at times, certainly his choice of Peter, and he probably had a growing unease with his selection of Judas, but he didn’t veer from his selection. He got frustrated with his companions, he forgave them and continued to journey with them and in the very act of final betrayal by Judas, Jesus, in Matthew’s account, still calls him friend.
Jesus, teach us to trust when we prayerfully choose. Teach us that God continues to be with us as we live out our choices, even when they are poor choices or revised choices. Teach us to persevere when we become frustrated with ourselves and others. Let our betrayals, and those of others, be held in your love.
WED 8TH. Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Romans 8:28-30. With delight I rejoice in the Lord—Ps 12(13):6-7. Matthew 1:1-16, 18-23.
Of her was born Jesus …
If there is one characteristic we would associate with Mary it is serenity. If there is another, it is probably sorrow. The most pervading one may be uncertainty.
Let us listen to Our Lady praying the Our Father. How was the bread supply in her time? How often she would have prayed for generosity of heart in herself and in the others of her family. Generosity needs to be given and received on both sides in any family. How she would have asked that she not be asked to do something which is beyond her. That she might have confidence in the strength of the Spirit.
Finally how much anxiety and anguish would there have been as her son seemed to be coming into conflict with the powers that be.
Listen to Mary’s Our Father.
THU 9TH. St Peter Claver. 1 Corinthians 8:1-7, 11-13. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way—Ps 138(139):1-3, 13-14, 23-24. Luke 6:27-38.
‘Even sinners love those who love them.’
Some who are not churchgoers claim that they are as good as those who go. I tell myself that I do not pray enough, but I work as hard for God as those who are prayerful. And so by the standards we set for ourselves, we are complacent. But in today’ s gospel Jesus teaches us that as children of God, as listeners to him, our standard is not what we decide for ourselves, or any other human standard, but our standard is God himself. And so our love is not just for the nice and the good, for those who will repay our love, but for all, even our enemies.
Let us turn to the prayer of the psalmist and with him and all the angels and all the mighty hosts give praise to our God who loves us.
FRI 10TH. Day of penance. 1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-27. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!—Ps 83(84):3-6, 12. Luke 6:39-42.
Today’s readings explore different aspects of discipleship, with a special focus on the gift of humility.
St Paul speaks of his task of spreading the Good News as a duty, but also as a privilege. This is echoed by the psalm—‘How happy are those whose strength comes from you!’ Apostles who live near God’s lovely dwelling place are already deeply blessed and need not seek any further reward. I am reminded of one of my father’s sayings about ministry: ‘We think all this time that we’re doing something for God, when really God’s doing something for us!’
St Paul also notes, ‘I have no right to boast just because I preach the gospel’. Luke also warns of the dangers of becoming self-righteous. Lord, help me to rid myself of self-importance and teach me to be all things to all others.
SAT 11TH. 1 Corinthians 10:14-22. To you, Lord, I will offer a sacrifice of praise—Ps 115(116):12-13, 17-18. Luke 6:43-49.
‘Every tree is known by the fruit it bears.’
Jesus is telling us to be doers. It is no good having an exquisite interior life with a host of pious practices, novenas, rosaries and special prayers, if we do not love our neighbour. We show this by the help we give them, with our time, expertise, sympathy and generosity.
The opportunities to show love for others need not be sought for in any extraordinary way. They will occur aplenty in our everyday lives. An important background and ingredient to readiness to respond to another’s need is prayer. Particularly we pray to grow daily in our appreciation of God’s unconditional love for every one of us.
Mary, teach us to know and to love your son Jesus more and more each day and to serve him with generosity, wisdom and joy.
TWENTY-FOURTH WEEK
Week IV Psalter
SUN 12TH. 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14. I will rise and go to my father—Ps 50(51):3-4, 12-13, 17, 19. 1 Timothy 1:12-17. Luke 15:1-32.
‘He came to look at me as a father figure; so, if he looks on you like that, you don’t abandon him.’
The young man, whom the priest had known since childhood, had just been convicted of murdering three members of his family. From the day of the funeral, the priest had supported him; then, once he was charged, visited him in prison every week.
Each day of the six-week trial, he was the first person at the door of the court waiting for it to be unlocked. Each afternoon, he stood at the back of the public gallery, his arm outstretched to the young man before he was again taken down to the cells.
‘I promised that I would help if I could, and I fulfilled the promise. I think the Lord died for saints and sinners, and whether he is or he isn’t, the Lord died for us all. Of course, now, I will continue to be a support person.’
MON 13TH. St John Chrysostom. 1 Corinthians 11:17-26, 33. Proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes again—Ps 39(40):7-10, 17. Luke 7:1-10.
It is no bad thing to have differing groups or factions. Paul says that this helps us to recognise those among us who can be trusted, but then he goes on to chastise the Corinthians for not caring for those who have nothing.
The American activist Dorothy Day had a faith that was rooted in her social conscience. There were always ‘others’ to look out for, and, like Jesus, her ‘others’ were the poor. She said we cannot hide from the poor. They are always with us. We need people like Dorothy Day to worry and bother our conscience.
In today’s gospel, the centurion is a great model for secular and political leadership. He loves and looks after his people while respecting those of different religion and race. He is sensitive to his approach to Jesus. He knows his authority comes from a higher power.
May we too delight Jesus today in the way we love and care for each other.
TUE 14TH. Triumph of the Cross. Numbers 21:4-9. Do not forget the works of the Lord!—Ps 77(78):1-2, 34-38. Philippians 2:6-11. John 3:13-17.
‘As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so must the Son of Man be lifted up.’ These words provide direct linkage between the story told in Numbers in today’s reading and the words of Jesus from today’s gospel.
In Moses’ time, the Israelites spoke against God and Moses. They repented, and Moses interceded to God for them to be saved from the fiery serpents. Responding to God’s direction, Moses made ‘a fiery serpent’ and raised it on a standard, and anyone bitten by a serpent, who looked upon the bronze serpent, survived.
As followers of Jesus, we are called to lift our eyes to him and not only when we repent our sins. Lord, we pray for the grace always to look lovingly at the symbol we have of you on the cross in a spirit of faith and hope.
WED 15TH. Our Lady of Sorrows. 1 Corinthians 12:31 – 13:13. Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own—Ps 32(33):2-5, 12, 22. Luke 7:31-35.
Happy the people the Lord has chosen to be his own …
This statement is simple, but it has a very deep call for us all to hear! Our happiness is not dependent on others. As much as we may look for our desires and wishes to be fulfilled, we need to be aware of our own responsibility for our happiness. This is not about feeling good all the time, but a deeper sense of peace and connectedness to those around us as part of the community of faith.
In the gospel, Jesus tells his contemporaries that they are behaving like children in being critical and finding fault. The psalmist reminds us that our love and hope rest in God and this is further developed in Corinthians: ‘There are three things that last—faith, hope and love—and the greatest of these is love’.
We may not be able to control or manipulate situations to suit our own needs and desires for happiness, but we can trust in the power of love and the hope that justice will bring peace.
THU 16TH. Ss Cornelius & Cyprian. 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good—Ps 117(118):1-2, 15-17, 28. Luke 7:36-50.
‘Simon, do you see this woman?’
A meal is in progress, given by Simon the Pharisee. For what purpose, one wonders, since he has omitted all the common courtesies in the case of his guest of honour.
A woman, a ‘known sinner’ (so much for human judgement) enters. A sudden and hostile silence falls. Either oblivious of it, or ignoring it, she goes at once to Jesus’ feet.
Jesus who reads her heart (there is no need of words: prayer can be like that) also reads Simon’s mind. He brings into the open Simon’s secret thoughts and confronts him
FRI 17TH. St Robert Bellarmine. Day of penance. 1 Corinthians 15:12-20. Lord, when your glory appears, my joy will be full—Ps 16(17):1, 6-8, 15. Luke 8:1-3.
He went through the cities and towns, proclaiming and bringing the good news.
Jesus proclaims and brings the good news. There is a deep and dynamic connection between word and action in Jesus’ ministry. To quote the renowned religious educator Thomas Groome, ‘Jesus did not say "This is my idea", he said, "This is my body".’ The gospel is incarnate in the person of Jesus.
Let us pray that the gospel will be enfleshed in us and in our communities. May God’s Spirit transform us so that we will proclaim and bring the tender loving kindness and justice of our God to the broken places of our world.
SAT 18TH. 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49. I will walk in the presence of God, with the light of the living—Ps 55(56):10-14. Luke 8:4-15.
‘A sower went out to sow his seed …’
One way or another the Word will succeed. The Word, Jesus, spoken in all kinds of hearts, will produce fruit. The harvest is assured. The Word of God never returns to the Father without accomplishing his mission.
We must have great confidence in knowing that, as the seed falls into the ground, before it produces, it must die. The dying and rising of Jesus is the paschal mystery into which Jesus entered for our sake. What is sown is perishable, but what is raised is imperishable.
Jesus, you are the Way we must follow. And so our way too is a way of the cross. Our way is also via resurrection. It is a way full of ultimate hope, and perfect love. Lord, thank you.
TWENTY-FIFTH WEEK
Week I Psalter
SUN 19TH. 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Amos 8:4-7. Praise the Lord who lifts up the poor—Ps 112(113):1-2, 4-8. 1 Timothy 2:1-8. Luke 16:1-13.
Sometimes I get discouraged, Lord, as I look around at the world. So much inequality, starvation, poverty, wretchedness, so much suffering, so much misuse and abuse of the world’s resources. Sometimes I get angry at the corruption and the exploitation, particularly by people of wealth and power. But mostly I just feel helpless and frustrated, and simply ignore it all.
In the first reading your Word tells me that you are a God of justice who cares about the suffering of your people and blazes with anger at injustice. Why then, Lord, is this present situation allowed to exist? The gospel message is that ‘the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind that the children of the light’. If I had a passionate concern for your justice, as much as I have for seeking my own comfort and wellbeing, I would be able to overcome my indifference. What are you asking of me today?
St Paul encourages us to prayers of petition, intercession and thanksgiving. As I thank you now for the relative security of my life, I pray for those who suffer injustice, who live in poverty and die of starvation, who live in fear and unfreedom because of unjust systems of government and distribution of wealth.
MON 20TH. Ss Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang & Cc. Proverbs 3:27-34. Whoever does justice shall live on the Lord’s holy mountain—Ps 14(15):2-5. Luke 8:16-18.
‘No one, after lighting a lamp, hides it under a jar.’
Through our baptism we become like lamps which have been lit with the light of Christ—the light which shines in the darkness and which cannot be overcome.
The light we bear is not for us alone. It makes no sense to light a lamp and then to hide it so as to prevent the light from shining. So in the daily living of our lives we are called to carry the light of Christ and, through him, to illuminate the world.
We are challenged to carry the light of Christ into our relationships, by showering those around us with love. For God is love; and so great is the love of God for us that he sent his son to be with us. And when we share love with one another we are with Jesus.
TUE 21ST. St Matthew. Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-13. Their message goes out through all the earth—Ps 18(19):2-5. Matthew 9:9-13.
Lord, you are lovable.
Matthew and his friends were counted among the dregs of society: despised hirelings of an occupying power. Yet you loved Matthew and called him to be your follower; and he responding invited his companions to meet you over a meal.
You are teaching us never to condemn anyone and to be welcoming to all. And you do this with a certain humour when you say, ‘I have not come to call the virtuous but sinners’, for who has not failed God? Who is not a sinner? Yet you love us and you call us to share your love and your message with others by the way that we act towards them.
St Paul in today’s first reading puts it this way: ‘Bear with one another charitably in complete selflessness, gentleness and patience’. Lord, help me today and always to be selfless, gentle and patient.
WED 22ND. Proverbs 30:5-9. Your word, O Lord, is a lamp for my feet—Ps 118(119):29, 72, 89, 101, 104, 163. Luke 9:1-6.
‘Take nothing for the journey.’
What a challenge for the disciples! They were to throw themselves on their listeners’ mercy, as they carried God’s message to the world—a metaphor, perhaps, for our journey through life?
What do we take with us on our pilgrimage? Our lives are so often cluttered with attachment to possessions, prestige, worldly ambitions and achievements—and, of course, with all our human vanities, prejudices, hurts and resentments. If we truly wish to follow in our Lord’s footprints, we must try to divest ourselves of such impediments. We must indeed ‘take nothing for the journey’!
Lord, help us to be single-minded in our often arduous way to you. Grant us the steadfast faith of your disciples, so that at the end of our journey will be the ultimate wonder of that union with you.
THU 23RD. Ecclesiastes 1:2-11. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge—Ps 89(90):3-6, 12-14, 17. Luke 9:7-9.
May we know the shortness of our life, that we may learn wisdom. In the first reading the prophet seems rather pessimistic about the shortness of life, but we are given all the time we need for what we have been sent to do.
Recently I found a florist’s card with a message of thanks. What I did and when I have no idea, but it reminded me of the last judgement when people said, ‘When did I feed you, visit you, comfort you ...?’
Often, we have no idea what our task is. Even Thomas Merton and Cardinal Newman expressed their unknowing, and Oscar Romero reminds us that we sow what we will not reap and that we cannot do everything.
The wisdom we need we can learn from living and discerning in the light of Jesus and his message.
FRI 24TH. Day of penance. Ecclesiastes 3:1-11. Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!—Ps 143(144):1-4. Luke 9:18-22.
‘Who do the crowds say I am? ... Who do you say I am?’
These are not the questions of a person evaluating his personal worth. Why then did Jesus ask his disciples these questions?
It seems obvious that the time had come for Jesus to announce his passion to them. He had not only come to teach but to open for them the door to the resurrection. Since the disciples now know Jesus to be the saviour promised to Israel they must learn that there is no salvation if death is not conquered.
Lord Jesus, help us all to face our path to Calvary. Forgive us for missed opportunities, for times when we have followed a path which was not the Father’s will. Lead us at last to that everlasting embrace with you.
SAT 25TH. Ecclesiastes 11:9 – 12:8. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge—Ps 89(90):3-6, 12-14, 17. Luke 9:43-45.
Those who are devout receive the Lord’s blessing as their reward. In a moment God brings his blessings to flower.
The first reading gives some of the folk-wisdom of the Jewish people. It is about life with its good and bad, its ups and downs. It calls the people to a right attitude before God, our Creator.
Lord, do I choose what is really important in life? Lord, you made all; let me humbly trust that all is in the hands of my God.
In the gospel, Jesus is at the height of his popularity with the people. He tells the apostles that the Son of Man must die on the cross. God shows that his human love goes beyond wisdom: the Son is sent to save us sinners, to put us right with God.
Lord God, in Jesus your Son, we thank you that you are who you are.
TWENTY-SIXTH WEEK
Week II Psalter
SUN 26TH. 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Amos 6:1, 4-7. Praise the Lord, my soul!—Ps 145(146):6-10. 1 Timothy 6:11-16. Luke 16:19-31.
That poor man, Lazarus, is perhaps not so far away in time. Sympathy for him tugs at my heart.
I realise that he is the ‘other half’ of me—making mistakes, falling short of success, not worthy of love. In inner darkness he waits for kind words, scraps which might fall beneath the hollow laughter. Sufficient neglect will kill him. And then the rich man will soon die too, and there will be no chance for a reconciliation.
Unable to accept the Lazarus in myself, I reject him in others. I cannot live with my own weakness; I cannot live with theirs. God’s people, however, are warmer than this. Those who Dives rejects, Abraham clasps to his bosom. Jesus himself was so tender towards weakness and helplessness: acceptance of these in himself, during his passion, became his very name. And the Father cannot desert such an admission of humanness. ‘Here is my servant whom I uphold.’ The Father loves us in our weakness.
So, I am moved to look under the table and speak kindly to the person in the twilight. I ask this person to come forth, to feast fully with me. Then there is the beginning of wholeness. Then life is not a furious escape from death; it is an acceptance of the challenge to live as a human being.
MON 27TH. St Vincent de Paul. Job 1:6-22. Lord, bend your ear and hear my prayer—Ps 16(17):1-3, 6-7. Luke 9:46-50.
Jesus knew what thoughts were going through their minds.
Today’s story of Job gives us an example of heroic trust in God. Job lost everything, but never doubted in the providence of the God ‘whose right hand saves’.
In our society those who have lost everything are often judged and condemned for what they might have done to ‘cause’ their desperate situation. And yet, Jesus tells us, it is the least among us who is great.
St Vincent de Paul knew this, and trusted in God to hear the cry of the poor. Let us pray today for the Daughters of Charity he founded, and for the Society that bears his name: that all Christians might play a part in casting out the devil of despair.
TUE 28TH. St Wenceslas; Ss Laurence Ruiz & Cc. Job 3:1-3, 11-17, 20-23. Let my prayer come before you, Lord—Ps 87(88):2-8. Luke 9:51-56.
Jesus, you are always going to be misunderstood.
You appeared as an ordinary wanderer, suffering the human disappointment of being turned away from a Samaritan village because of racial prejudice. And you did nothing about it. Your friends expected something more, but they didn’t understand you either. The last thing you wanted (or ever wanted) was aimless one-upmanship.
It can be really difficult to understand that sort of gentleness, especially when our lives are so competitive. As it was with Job, my expectations so often put my mind completely at odds with yours.
Luke carefully draws attention to the fact that from this moment you resolutely begin making your way to Jerusalem. Gentle. Accepting. But resolute. You are utterly committed to your Father’s will. In Jerusalem. On the cross. For me. With no guarantee that even you will not be misunderstood.
WED 29TH. Ss Michael, Gabriel & Raphael. Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14. In the sight of the angels I will sing your praises, Lord—Ps 137(138):1-5. John 1:47-51.
A thousand thousand served him ... ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him.
Dear Lord, today the readings are full of glory, large-picture, thousands of people and angels. It all seems so big and remote. Will we find our loved ones when we join you in your glory in heaven? It is a comforting thought that heaven will be full of ordinary people; but so many of them!
It is also a comforting thought that institutional religion will not exist in heaven—no Christians, Jews, Mohammedans, Buddhists or Hindus, but only loving ordinary people.
Dear Lord, help us to be loving ordinary people here and now and to think about Ronald Knox’s saying: ‘Love is the only luggage we take with us when we die’.
THU 30TH. St Jerome. Job 19:21-27. I believe I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living—Ps 26(27):7-9, 13-14. Luke 10:1-12.
The words of Job in the midst of deadful sufferings are a declaration of firm faith in God.
Many have been overwhelmed when disasters inflict losses and life-threatening illnesses so that they give up believing in God. The conditions of the many refugees in these times are heart-rending. We have seen pictures of people walking into another country carrying merely a few belongings with them. Others such as those who have travelled by boat have been in danger of drowning at sea, or being attacked by pirates.
Job was in far worse condition, but he kept his faith in God. He declared his belief in God whom he hoped to meet and who would save him and befriend him.
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