32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Español)

Our commentary this week is provided by Auxiliary Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of San Diego. For a PDF version, visit http://www.christ-ion.com

Prayer

Loving Father, help us to be instruments of Your will on earth. For the times we disrupt Your will, we ask forgiveness. Let us see your hand in our lives each day. Make us Your instruments. Amen. 

1st Reading: Wisdom 6:12-16

Over the last few weeks, we have considered the vocations to ordained ministry and religious orders. This week, our readings offer us a look at the other Sacrament of vocation - Marriage. The Church has always taught that the goods of marriage between a man and a woman include Fidelity and Procreation. However, surrounding these two goods is the desire for a domestic church; which includes a spousal relationship with God, family, and Church. The domestic church is the primary purpose for a wedding within the Church. Couples who understand the value of a domestic church, know that their marriage is a Vocation. They know it isn’t just about two people living together. After all, anyone can do that. And many do. Developing a domestic church does not happen after the wedding. It should happen before; even during the time of courtship. Our First Reading is a call for all God’s people to have a courtship with Wisdom. God himself is “sitting at the gate,” waiting for us to abide in His love. If couples begin their relationship with God in mind, their courtship, engagement, and marriage will be fruitful. It will be a true Vocation in the life of the Church and for the good of the world. 

What is the purpose of celebrating marriage in the Church?

2nd Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

As the Church winds up its liturgical year this November, the readings take on an end of the world theme. Before the final Sunday, the Feast of Christ the King, and before the new Season of Advent, the readings focus on the return of Christ in Glory. This of course, is what we believe. Christ has died, is Risen, and will come again. St. Paul reminds the Christian faithful in Thessolanica that those who have died in the Lord, along with those who remain, will be “caught up” with the Lord when he returns. Paul encourages the faithful not to lose heart but to “console one another” with the Good News that the one who is wedded to us will never abandon us. Of the Seven Sacraments within the Church, the Vocation of marriage best expresses the fidelity that God has for his faithful. The Church herself is often referred to as the Bride of Christ. And, though Christ will return to His bride, he also remains with us - through the Sacraments - until the end of time. Marriage is a mirror-image of God’s love for humanity. In good times and in bad, and in sickness and in health, God will love us and honor us all the days of our lives. He will never abandon us. He will be wedded to us forever. 

How do you see the Lord as Spouse of the Church?

Gospel: Matthew 25:1-13

While St. Paul reminds us that the Lord will return in glory to take us to himself, there is still a requirement for those who choose to be wedded to him. We are called to be faithful to him as well. There are some who think that they can “accept Jesus as Lord,” and then continue to carry on their lives outside of the Lord. Faith is not just a belief that Jesus the Lord exists. The word fides (as in semper fi) means to have a FAITH-ful relationship with Christ always. Christ is wedded to us and we are wedded to him. There cannot be any room for infidelity. For this reason, our Gospel reminds us to be like the faithful virgins who are always vigilant, faithful, and whose hearts are for the bridegroom alone. The foolish virgins are like those who were never really committed to the Lord. They claim the name Christian, but have not claimed the love and fidelity that goes with that name. Christian marriage between a bride and groom is a beautiful Vocation within the life of the Church when spouses remain faithful to each other, are open to the possibility of children (for love begets love), and remain faithful to the Lord as the source of their Love. Infidelity toward each other, their children, or the Lord, breaks down the domestic church and the marriage ceases to be a proclamation of the Good News - or a mirror image of the faithful love God has for us all. 

What does a domestic church look like for you? 

This Week's Task

Take time to read the wonderful documents from the USCCB website on marriage. It offers great insights, not only for those who are married, but for all within the faith. Visit the following link:http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family

The group prays the following Prayer from the U.S. Bishops:

O God, who in creating the human race

willed that man and wife should be one,

keep, we pray, in a bond of inseparable love

those who are united in the covenant of Marriage,

so that, as you make their love fruitful,

they may become, by your grace, witnesses to charity itself.

Through Christ our Lord

Amen.

Continue with Psalm 63

My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

O God, you are my God whom I seek;

for you my flesh pines and my soul thirsts

like the earth, parched, lifeless and without

water

.

R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Thus have I gazed toward you in the sanctuary

to see your power and your glory,

For your kindness is a greater good than life;

my lips shall glorify you.

R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Thus will I bless you while I live;

lifting up my hands, I will call upon your name.

As with the riches of a banquet shall my soul be satisfied,

and with exultant lips my mouth shall praise you.

R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

I will remember you upon my couch,

and through the night-watches I will meditate on you:

You are my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I shout for joy.

R. My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.

Conclude with an Our Father

All Saints Sunday

All Saints Sunday (Español)

Our commentary this week is provided by Auxiliary Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of San Diego. For a PDF version, visit http://www.christ-ion.com

Prayer

Father, may Your will be done. Help us to remember that we have a place in Your Kingdom along with all angels and saints, where you live and reign, together with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

1st Reading: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14

Our Heavenly Kingdom consists of a “great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.” This countless number, as seen by John in the Book of Revelation, is a reminder to us of how great God’s Kingdom will be for all of us who are called co-heirs. The Population Reference Bureau makes a semi-scientific guess at the number of humans who ever lived on the planet. Assuming, they say, that Homo sapiens came into existence at roughly 800,000 B.C., there may have been as many as 108 Billion people residing on earth since that time. Of course, even if this number were way off, even to count one by one the over 7 Billion people on earth today would take more than a life time. If it is hard to count 7 Billion people (or 10-20 times that), imagine the countless number in the Our Heavenly Kingdom.

On this Feast of All Saints, we look to Our Heavenly Kingdom and long to be in that number. Do you see yourself counted in that number as the Saints go marching in?

2nd Reading: 1 John 3:1-3

If we have been baptized and born again by the power of the Holy Spirit, we may rightly count ourselves among the saints. A saint is, first and foremost, a child of God. As our 1st Reading shares, “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.” We know that Saint Patrick, Pope Saint John Paul II, Saint Therese of Lisieux are all enjoying a certain heavenly bliss that we have yet to enjoy, yet we and they are all children of the same God. We may not carry a big “S” as do the Saints in heaven, but we are still “God’s children now.” To be saintly means to be holy. Holiness does not begin in heaven. It begins now. It begins with God, who through His Son, makes us Holy. When we place our hope in God who created us, saved us, and sanctified us, we will share the same beatific vision of God as the Saints in heaven, “for we shall see him as he is.” 

Is sainthood something to strive for or is it something that you are right now?

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12

While we take time to honor the Saints of heaven and the holy men and women who have gone before us, our readings on this Feast Day point to those of us still on earth’s journey.

The readings, including our Gospel, encourage us to look to the things of heaven and keep our eyes on the prize. In order to keep our eyes on heaven and to live a holy (saintly) life, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount gives us certain “rule of life” with his Beatitudes.

Christ’s blessings upon the poor in spirit do not belong exclusively to Saints like Rose of Lima or Martin de Porres. Nor do His blessings fall upon Saint Francis alone - who was a peacemaker. The Martyrs Peter and Paul are not the only ones blessed for being persecuted. These blessings of God fall upon all of us who strive to live according to His teachings.

On this Feast of All Saints, may we all be holy as our God is holy. May we “rejoice and be glad, for our reward will be great in heaven.”

As you consider these Beatitudes are you able to rejoice and be glad?

This Week's Task

Visit a Catholic bookstore or go to your local library and get yourself aquainted with a Saint. Plenty of books on heroic Christians have been written. These books can offer us assistance on our own spiritual journey.

You may also try on-line to study the lives of the Saints. For fun, google Saint + any name and see what comes up. Yes, there are Saints named Covid, Guy, Ferrari, Hillary, and Lancelot.

The group says or sings “For all the Saints”:

For all the saints

who from their labours rest,

Who Thee by faith before the world

confessed,

Thy Name, O Jesus, be forever blessed.

Alleluia, Alleluia

O blest communion, fellowship divine!

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;

Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;

The saints triumphant rise in bright array;

The King of glory passes on His way.

Alleluia, Alleluia!

The prayer continues with Psalm 24

Response: Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;

the world and those who dwell in it.

For he founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the rivers.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?

or who may stand in his holy place?

One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,

who desires not what is vain.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,

a reward from God his savior.

Such is the race that seeks him,

that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.

R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

Conclude with an Our Father

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Español)

Our commentary this week is provided by Auxiliary Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of San Diego. For a PDF version, visit http://www.christ-ion.com

Prayer

Loving Father, help us to be instruments of Your will on earth. For the times we disrupt Your will, we ask forgiveness. Let us see your hand in our lives each day. Make us Your instruments.

Amen.

1st Reading: Exodus 22:20-26

We are in the second week of our series on “All In!” Responding to God’s call is not for the faint-hearted. It requires a life-long commitment and includes carrying one’s cross. How we go all in depends on the gifts God has given us and the way in which we respond to God’s call. Some of us are called to the single life, others to the consecrated life, still others to the married life. Today, we recognize a life of priesthood. We remember the priests of our parishes and communities. We also remember those who are studying for the priesthood and those who are beginning to respond to God’s call. We keep them all in our prayers! What kind of priest would God be calling? Of course, we hope that he may have intelligence enough to finish his philosophical and theological studies. He should have some administrative skills. But above all, God’s priests must be pastoral. They must tend to all of God’s people and not be selective with whom they prefer to minister. Our First Reading gets right to the point. All priests - and all people of faith - must not oppress aliens, abuse widows, or orphans, or extort the poor. On the contrary, he must be a defender and shepherd of all God’s people; especially the most vulnerable. 

What would you hope to see in a future priest?

2nd Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10

We all recall the priests invitation after the consecration at Mass: “The Mystery of our Faith.” One of our responses is, “We proclaim your death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.” This response, in part, comes from Paul’s many letters; including this letter to the Thessalonians. Here, Paul congratulates the church community for turning to God from idols and as they serve Him, they ...“await his Son from heaven whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.” This short memorial acclamation in Paul’s letter has repeated in some form, time after time, Mass after Mass, for over two-thousand years. Whenever ordained priests and priestly people gather around the altar, we affirm what we believe. This timeless acclamation is a part of our rich Catholic history. It will continue for many years to come - until He returns in glory - as long as priests and priestly people gather in His name. Meanwhile, these words run empty unless we become imitators of the one who died, rose, and promised to come again. Paul reminds his church in Thessolanica - and he reminds us today - to be imitators of Christ until he comes. 

How am I an imitator of Christ?

Gospel: Matthew 22:34-40

The new commandment, requires a new temple and a new priesthood.

The old law, with its temple and priests, gives way to Jesus Christ who is the New Law, the New Temple, the New Priesthood.

If we abide in His love, we have a share in His new law, we become His temple, and we have a share in his priesthood.

By virtue of our Baptism, we are configured to Christ who is priest, prophet, and king.

However, we must be imitators of Christ - as St. Paul reminds us in the Second Reading - and remember that we have put on His garment.

To be priestly people (ordained and lay members), we must follow this new command:

“You shall love the Lord, your God,

with all your heart,

with all your soul,

and with all your mind.

This is the greatest and the first commandment.

The second is like it:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

How have you embraced this new law in your life?

This Week's Task

Send a letter to your parish or community priest and thank him for responding to the Lord’s call.

Offer a prayer for seminarians who are studying for the priesthood.

Pray for more vocations to the priesthood.

The group prays the following Prayer from the U.S. Bishops:

Gracious and loving God, we thank your for the gift of our priests. Through them, we experience your presence in the sacraments.

Help our priests to be strong in their vocation. Set their souls on fire with love for your people.

Grant them the wisdom, understanding, and strength they need to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Inspire them with the vision of your Kingdom.

Give them the words they need to spread the Gospel. Allow them to experience joy in their ministry.

Help them to become instruments of your divine grace. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Continue with Psalm 18

I love you, Lord, my strength.

I love you, O LORD, my strength,

O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

My God, my rock of refuge,

my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!

Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,

and I am safe from my enemies.

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

The LORD lives and blessed be my rock!

Extolled be God my savior.

You who gave great victories to your king

and showed kindness to your anointed.

R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

Conclude with an Our Father

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Español)

Our commentary this week is provided by Auxiliary Bishop John Dolan of the Diocese of San Diego. For a PDF version, visit http://www.christ-ion.com

Prayer

Loving Father, help us to be instruments of Your will on earth. For the times we disrupt Your will, we ask forgiveness. Let us see your hand in our lives each day. Make us Your instruments. Amen.

1st Reading: Isaiah 45:1, 4-6

Over these next four weeks, we will go all in! This segment of Sundays will help us to discern what it means to follow the Lord in very deep and profound ways. This World Mission Sunday, next week’s Priesthood Sunday, and the following National Vocations Awareness Week, will help us to recall the beauty of ordained and consecrated life. The last week in this series is dedicated to the vocation of married life. On this World Mission Sunday, we remember the wonderful missionaries who are dedicated to sharing the Gospel in all parts of the world. As far as the sun extends, dedicated men and women go out to share the Good News in Word and Deed. Of course, these missionaries take their marching orders from God Himself. Our first reading recalls how God set up King Cyrus of Persia to be His instrument to lead the people of Israel back home. This was God’s way of saying, “ I’m in charge of the Salvation of My People Israel.” As the reading States, “From the rising of the Sun to its setting,” God is in charge. From the rising of the Sun to its setting,” God continues to send missionaries to the ends of the Earth and to show His glory to all nations. 

In what way is God using you as an instrument?

2nd Reading: 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5

Our vocation comes from God. St Paul new this when he spoke to the Thessalonians. In his letter, Paul first gives thanks to God for the servants there in Thessolanica. With these words of thanksgiving, Paul acknowledges that God is in charge and that all good things come from the Lord. Even the missionary efforts of our Church today begin with God. We are simply instruments of His grace to dispense grace and mercy to the ends of the Earth. To reaffirm this thought, Paul reminds the Thessalonians that they received the gospel not just by Paul’s words, but first by the power of the Holy Spirit who was with them. Indeed! All good things proceed from the grace of the Holy Spirit who is God. The old adage is still true: “You cannot give what you have not first received.” Our celebration of the Eucharist each Sunday is a reminder that all we receive and all that we give flow from the Altar of God. It is for this reason that we say the Eucharist is the source and the summit of all that we do. Everything we do - and all that we are - begins and ends with God. 

How do I see the Eucharist as the source and Summit of my weekly life?

Gospel: Matthew 22:15-21

We may hear people say, “. . . but on the other side of the coin . . .” This is an expression to show a contrast between two opinions or two ways of life.

In the gospel, Jesus invites the Pharisees and Sadducees to look at a coin. In this case, Jesus shows that the whole coin belongs to Caesar. But while the whole coin belongs to Caesar, life - including Caesar’s life - belongs to God.

Let us remember that the word Caesar means King in Latin. The Roman King stood as an adversary to both Jews and the early Christian Community. For both communities, he was the other side of the coin. They were looking for a king who stood on the same side of the coin - their side.

By contrast, as we saw in the First Reading, the Persian king Cyrus stood alongside God and the people of Israel.

Unfortunately, the religious leaders in the Gospel, by posing the question to Jesus and in an attempt to trip him up, are seen as the adversaries of the true Christ, Caesar, the king. They could not accept this humble servant to be the king (Messiah) that they had longed for.

Do you believe that you are on the same side of the coin with God?

This Week's Task

This is World Mission Sunday.

Before you make a gift on Sunday to help share the Gospel through the efforts of our missionaries, take time to study the missionary life of the church.

You may wish to go to the Vatican website and read the Pope’s message for this special weekend.

Please pray for all missionaries who dare to share the Gospel in the most remote parts of our world.

The group prays the following Prayer of St. Francis:

Lord make me an instrument of your peace

Where there is hatred let me sow love

Where there is injury, pardon

Where there is doubt, faith

Where there is despair, hope

Where there is darkness, light

And where there is sadness, joy.

O divine master grant that I may

not so much seek to be consoled as to console

to be understood as to understand

To be loved as to love

For it is in giving that we receive

it is in pardoning that we are pardoned

And it’s in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Continue with Psalm 96

Give the Lord glory and honor.

Sing to the LORD a new song;

sing to the LORD, all you lands.

Tell his glory among the nations;

among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.

R. Give the Lord glory and honor.

For great is the LORD and highly to be praised;

awesome is he, beyond all gods.

For all the gods of the nations are things of nought,

but the LORD made the heavens.

R. Give the Lord glory and honor.

Give to the LORD, you families of nations,

give to the LORD glory and praise;

give to the LORD the glory due his name!

Bring gifts, and enter his courts.

R. Give the Lord glory and honor.

Conclude with an Our Father

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Español)

Our commentary this week is provided by Deacon Mark Silvia of the Diocese of San Diego. For a PDF version, visit http://www.christ-ion.com

Opening Prayer

Father and maker of all, you adorn all creation with splendor and beauty, and fashion human lives in your image and likeness. Awaken in every heart reverence for the work of your hands, and renew among your people a readiness to nurture and sustain your precious gift of life. Amen

1st Reading: Ezekiel 18:25-28

Knowing the Lord’s way and living it are two separate things. Sometimes we might find it easier to justify our way, our beliefs and morals, to match our actions rather than to follow God’s way. God said, “Both ways lie before you, life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you may live!” The Church upholds and defends the dignity and sacredness of life from conception to natural death for all persons. As baptized disciples of Christ and members of his body, we are called to uphold and defend the life of every person regardless of nationality, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, criminal conviction, etc. Abortion, euthanasia, and capital punishment are never acceptable or justifiable to take a human life.

• Is there a Church teaching or doctrine regarding life that you don’t agree with or found too challenging to follow? If so, what did you decide to do?

2nd Reading: Philippians 2:1-11

What makes a saint? One of my favorite definitions comes from Soren Kierkegaard, a Danish Theologian, who famously wrote: “To be a saint is to will the one thing.” And, that one thing is to know God. Similarly, St. Paul calls us to be of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, (willing the) one thing; to have in us the same attitude that is also in Christ Jesus.To have the same attitude of Christ, we need to know him. Jesus described himself as meek and humble of heart. He said the greatest commandments is to love God with all your heart, your mind, and your soul; and to love your neighbor as yourself. Henri Nouwen, a Dutch Catholic priest, professor, writer and theologian, wrote that the beatitudes “offer us a self-portrait of Jesus. Jesus is the Blessed One. And the face of the Blessed One shows poverty, gentleness, grief, hunger, and thirst for uprightness, mercy, purity of heart, a desire to make peace, and the signs of persecution.”

• How would you describe yourself to another person who has never met you before?

• How would you describe Jesus to another person who has never heard of him before?

• What do you need to change in yourself to have the same attitude of Christ?

Gospel: Matthew 21:28-32

I have two sons. Both are great kids (now in their thirties) and both at times have either said yes and then didn’t do what I asked them to do, or said no and later did what was asked of them. I have also done both when things were asked of me.

It seems to be human nature to sometimes feel pulled by other priorities or resistant to what is being asked of us. But Jesus reminds us that only those who hear and do the will of God will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus summed up the commands of God as; love God will all your heart, mind and soul; and to love your neighbor as yourself.

Can we profess that we believe and follow Christ if we then hate our neighbor and despise our enemy?

If we say we love our neighbor and enemies, then our actions should match our words, especially in the defense of the dignity and sanctity of life for all people including the unborn, the poor, the elderly, the ill, the disabled, the refugee, and the imprisoned. If we see the face of Jesus in all people, how can we then leave him hungry, alone and cold? How then could we crucify him?

• Was there a time when you failed to speak up or take an action to uphold the sacredness and dignity life because you were afraid?

• How can we improve how we see the face of Christ in all persons, especially in the outcasts and most vulnerable of society?

This Week's Task

• Think of one action that you can take this week in support of the dignity and sacredness of life and then do it for your love of God and your love for that person.

Group Prayer

The leader invites the group to pray the following words together.

Lord Jesus, help us to realize the sacredness of human life and to respect it from the moment of conception until the last moment at death. Give us courage to speak with truth and love and with conviction in defense of life. Help us to extend the gentle hand of mercy and forgiveness to those who do not reverence your gift of life. To all, grant pardon for the times we have failed to be grateful for your precious gift of life or to respect it in others. Amen.

The leader will guide the group in praying Psalm 25 (from the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time)

Psalm Response: Remember your mercies, O Lord.

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me; teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my savior.

R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.

Remember that your compassion, O LORD, and your love are from of old. The sins of my youth and my frailties remember not; in your kindness remember me, because of your goodness, O LORD

R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.

Good and upright is the LORD; thus, he shows sinners the way. He guides the humble to justice, and teaches the humble his way.

R. Remember your mercies, O Lord.

Conclude with an Our Father

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

25th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Español)

Our commentary this week is provided by Bishop John Dolan of  the Diocese of San Diego. For a PDF version, visit http://www.christ-ion.com

Prayer

Loving Father,You gave Your Son as a sacrifice for our sins. How can we be unforgiving when we consider what He has done for us? Help us to gaze upon the cross whenever we fail to be loving and forgiving. Amen.

Commentary 

1st Reading: Isaiah 55:6-9

Over these last weeks, we have been challenged to examine the way in which we are loving and forgiving. Our readings this week allow us to continue our theme.Rarely do we fall in love. Falling in love may happen only a few times in a person’s life. More often than not, we must will ourselves to love. Even within the context of marriage, love is work.Our love for God is no different. “Seek the Lord while he may be found,” says Isaiah. This is something that we must do at the beginning of our day, within our day, and at the end of our day. It’s work.Love - even love for God - requires prayer and prayer is work. In fact, the word “Liturgy” means public work. Our Sunday Mass, our Liturgy of the Hours, our gatherings for Adoration all require work. Liturgy doesn’t just happen, because our love for God doesn’t just happen. Love and liturgy require seeking the Lord and calling on Him “while He may be found.” More than anything, our love for God means letting go of our old ways, our anger, our pride, and learning to forgive - to forgive ourselves, others, and God.Turning to the Lord who is loving and forgiving makes our work a little easier. The more we spend time with the Lord who loves us, the more we are able to love and forgive. 

Question

How do I work at loving God, others, and even myself?

2nd Reading: Philippians 1:20-24, 27

Letting go of our old ways, and trusting in the Lord does take work. It is a daily task. Thankfully, we wont have to work at loving forever. When we die and rise with Christ we will live in Eternal love. This thought occupied the mind and heart of St. Paul who longed to be with the Lord. For to Paul, “life is Christ, and death is gain.”St. Paul knew that he had to die to the things of this world in order to live with the Lord in heaven. This was his daily practice, his work, and his liturgy.While he still journeyed on earth, he was caught between a zeal to be in the eternal home of the Lord and a zeal for his ministry to the churches that he had established.Having a zeal for both heaven and the mission entrusted to us while on earth doesn’t just happen. It too takes work. While we dwell here, we must always keep the mission of Christ before us. We must be zealous about it. The temptation is to slow down on our mission and take a rest from our work for the Lord. When we do that, we become complacent and lose our desire for heaven. Moreover, we become too acquainted with the passing things of this world as if this world is our final destination. However, we should ask St. Paul to pray for us on our journey and say with him, “I long to depart this life and be with Christ, for that is far better.”

Question

Do I have a zeal to be with God in heaven?

Gospel: Matthew 20:1-16

This parable hardly seems fair and just.

Putting in a hard days work in the vineyard and finding that my pay is the same as the person who worked only one hour. Where is the justice in that?

Of course, working for the Lord is an entirely different thing. Love is work. But the benefits remain the same for those who have been on this mission and labor of love for years or even for a few minutes. The Lord himself is our benefit and our inheritance.

It is impossible for our God to give just a little of Himself to some and more of Himself to others. Through His Son, he gives us his entire self.

Of course, anyone on the mission of the Lord and who works hard to be loving and forgiving is joyful when a person comes to the Lord even in their final hour on earth.

It is impossible to labor in the vineyard of love and - at the same time - be envious of those who come late to the Lord.

Question

How long have I been working in the Lord’s vineyard of love and forgiveness?

This Week's Task

This week, our Church celebrates the Feast of St. Vincent de Paul. We remember the Vincentians who are dedicated to serving our brothers and sisters in need.

Many parishes have St. Vincent de Paul outreach centers. You are invited to get involved and assist those who need a hand.

You may also want to visit the following site and learn more about Vincentians:

https://www.svdpusa.org/

Group Prayer

The group prays together the following:

Why do You forgive us?

We sing your praises in liturgy and with the same tongue we curse others.

Why do You forgive us?

We say we love You and still keep sinning.

Why do You forgive us?

We thank You for your blessings and then refuse to bless others.

Why do You forgive us every single time?

Continue with Psalm 103

Response: The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

Every day will I bless you,

and I will praise your name forever and ever.

Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;

his greatness is unsearchable.

R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

The LORD is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and of great kindness.

The LORD is good to all

and compassionate toward all his works.

R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

The LORD is just in all his ways

and holy in all his works.

The LORD is near to all who call upon him,

to all who call upon him in truth.

R. The Lord is near to all who call upon him.

Conclude with an Our Father

For more information, visit Christ in Our Neighborhood at WWW.CHRIST-ION.COM

24th Sunday in Ordinary Time

 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Español)

Our commentary this week is provided by Bishop John Dolan of  the Diocese of San Diego. For a PDF version, visit http://www.christ-ion.com

Prayer

Loving Father,You gave Your Son as a sacrifice for our sins. How can we be unforgiving when we consider what He has done for us? Help us to gaze upon the cross whenever we fail to be loving and forgiving. Amen.

1st Reading: Sirach 27:30-28:7

“Wrath and anger are hateful things.” These are the first words from our reading of Sirach this weekend. It is very human to be angry and to even have wrathful flare-ups. But to abide in wrath and anger is another thing. In his book, “Anger Kills,” Dr. Redford Williams reminds us that a continued dose of anger is harmful to the body. It is like a “slow-acting poison.” It is one thing to be angry when something severe happens to you. It is another to be angry when someone is driving slowly in front of you.If we know that anger is poison for ourselves, how can we think that it would nourish another? Sirach asks, “Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the LORD?”The alternative to anger and wrath is love and forgiveness. We can spend a lifetime trying to deflect those who have wronged us through our anger and lack of forgiveness. But, we will never grow. We will never reach the Christian ideal.Even when the most ideological people are hell-bent on destroying us or our nation, we can pray for them. Their anger doesn’t have to be my anger. Their wrath does not have to be my wrath. How do you manage your anger?

2nd Reading: Romans 14:7-9

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul writes, “None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.”In this world where we live behind our cell phones and computers, we are becoming more and more isolated from God and others. People aren’t just walking away from Religion. They are walking away from humanity.Thomas Merton wrote: “When a man attempts to live by and for himself alone, he becomes a little ‘island’ of hate, greed, suspicion, fear… This whole outlook on life is falsified. All his judgments are affected by that untruth. In order to recover the true perspective, which is that of love and compassion, he must once again learn, in simplicity, truth, and peace, that ‘No man is an island.’”The Lord Himself chose not to live a solitary life in the heavens. Rather, he became one with us and even died for us so that we could live with him. We were never created to live alone. In the beginning, God said, “It is not good for man to be alone.”To live in communion and in love with each other and with the Lord is the Christian ideal. Living in isolation puts us in a perilous place.Do you know someone who lives in isolation? What can you do to let them live in communion with God and with others?

Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35

Last week, we read Jesus’ words in Matthew to treat those who have wronged us like Gentiles and tax collectors. In our commentary, we were reminded that Jesus treated tax collectors and Gentiles very well. In other words, we can’t ever give up on our mission to be forgiving and loving.

This week, Peter asks Jesus if he is expected to forgive seven times. Seven, in the Jewish culture, is a perfect number. In other words, Peter asks, “Am I to forgive infinitely?” Jesus responds with, “seventy-seven” times - or “beyond infinity.”

In our less than infinite world, we are accustomed to a beginning, a middle, and an end. We think, “There has to be an end to this long saga or drama.” In God’s world, the saga continues, for He is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.

If we choose to live in the Kingdom of God, we can stop forgiving when God tells us to stop forgiving. Unfortunately for us, Christ does not give us a date or time when our forgiving can cease. Forgiveness must be as endless as He is endless.

Questions

Have I given up forgiving a certain person in my life?

Am I able to offer a prayer of forgiveness for those who threaten to do harm to me, my community, or country?

This Week's Task

Last week, you were invited to reflect on the prologue of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 25. The purpose was to see that the Catechism and the teachings of the Church are not meant to be a hammer to beat people into submission. “In all things charity” reads the prologue.

Often, we become angry - even wrathful - when dealing with those who do not understand our teaching or choose to conform with our doctrine. If we begin our conversations on church matters with charity, love, and forgiveness, we may win a friend. However, we must end our conversations with the same love and forgiveness. Give it a try!

Prayer

The group says together the following from the prologue of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Artice 25:

The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends. Whether something is proposed for belief, for hope or for action, the love of our Lord must always be made accessible, so that anyone can see that all the works of perfect Christian virtue spring from love and have no other objective than to arrive at love.

Continue with Psalm 103

Response: The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

Bless the LORD, O my soul;

and all my being, bless his holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

He pardons all your iniquities,

heals all your ills.

He redeems your life from destruction,

crowns you with kindness and compassion.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

He will not always chide,

nor does he keep his wrath forever.

Not according to our sins does he deal with us,

nor does he requite us according to our crimes.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

For as the heavens are high above the earth,

so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.

As far as the east is from the west,

so far has he put our transgressions from us.

R. The Lord is kind and merciful, slow to anger, and rich in compassion.

Conclude with an Our Father

For more information, visit Christ in Our Neighborhood at WWW.CHRIST-ION.COM