Reading I Responsorial Psalm GospelPosted on 10/16/2002 7:27:04 AM PDT by Salvation
Reading I Responsorial Psalm GospelReading I
Gal 5:18-25
Brothers and sisters:
If you are guided by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are obvious:
immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry,
sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy,
outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness,
dissensions, factions, occasions of envy,
drinking bouts, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I warned you before,
that those who do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, generosity,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Against such there is no law.
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their flesh
with its passions and desires.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also follow the Spirit.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
R (see Jn 8:12) Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the Lord
and meditates on his law day and night.
R Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the Lord watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R Those who follow you, Lord, will have the light of life.
Gospel
Lk 11:42-46
The Lord said:
"Woe to you Pharisees!
You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God.
These you should have done, without overlooking the others.
Woe to you Pharisees!
You love the seat of honor in synagogues
and greetings in marketplaces.
Woe to you!
You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk."
Then one of the scholars of the law said to him in reply,
"Teacher, by saying this you are insulting us too."
And he said, "Woe also to you scholars of the law!
You impose on people burdens hard to carry,
but you yourselves do not lift one finger to touch them."
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Wednesday, October 16, 2002
Meditation
Galatians 5:18-25
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5:24)
Crucified flesh is a disturbing image. Does every Christian really have to suffer physical crucifixion? Of course not! That’s the whole point: Out of love for us, Jesus took the penalty of sin and bore it in his body. Sin had no power over him. Rather than a humiliating defeat, his death was a moment of victory and triumph, leading to a glorious resurrection. Now, Jesus extends the power of his victory to everyone who through faith is baptized into his cross.
St. Paul explains that we can experience the power of Jesus’ resurrection as we learn to live by the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). We no longer have to be held captive to the selfish passions, the fears and insecurities, or the moral weaknesses that seek to bind us to sin. We can turn away from death-dealing thoughts and urges. Their power over us has been broken, and we are free to follow the Spirit. We are now free to love!
If all this is true, why do we still succumb to sin? Is it because we still have passions and desires? No, being passionless is not the goal. Passions are neither good nor evil in themselves. The question is how they engage our intellect and will (Catechism, 1767, 1773). For example, when our “passions and desires” are marked by selfishness, self-reliance, and fear, they must be put to death. But when they stir us to greater love for God or a greater desire to lift up our brothers and sisters in Christ, our passions can be our greatest friends. It all depends on the degree to which we allow the Spirit to lead us in a direction diametrically opposed to the selfishness of the flesh.
This is a message of great hope. Our rescue is complete! The Holy Spirit lives within us! Every day as we keep our hearts pure and our eyes fixed on the Spirit, we can walk in love. And when the love of Christ is in our hearts, every other fruit of the Spirit will surely follow.
“Jesus, I praise your cross, for that’s where you set us free from sin and death. Because you live, I can now live in you. Alleluia!”
O Sacred Heart of Jesus! I fly to Thee, I unite myself with Thee, I enclose myself to Thee! Receive this, my call for help, O my Saviour, as a sign of my horror of all within me contrary to Thy Holy Love. Let me rather die a thousand times than consent! Be Thou my Strength, O God: defend me, protect me. I am thine, and desire forever to be Thine!
-- St Margaret Mary Alocoque
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Commentary:
17-21. The fall of Adam and Eve left us with a tendency to seek created things for our own pleasure, instead of using them to lead us to God. The desires of the flesh make their appearance, urges which are at odds with God and with all that is noble in our personality. But when grace enters our soul and justifies us, we share in the fruits of the Redemption wrought by Christ and we are enabled to conquer our concupiscence and life according to the flesh.
The vices referred to in vv. 19-21 have their roots in something much deeper--life "of the flesh". And, St Augustine asserts, "it is said that someone lives according to the flesh when he lives for himself. Therefore, in this case, by 'flesh' is meant the whole person. For everything which stems from a disordered love of oneself is called work of the flesh" ("The City of God", 14, 2).
This is why we find included in the "works of the flesh" not only sins of impurity (v. 19) and faults of temperance (v. 21 ) but also sins against the virtues of religion and fraternal charity (v. 20).
"Significantly, when speaking of 'the works of the flesh' Paul mentions not only 'immorality [fornication], impurity, licentiousness [...], drunkenness, carousing'--all of which objectively speaking are connected with the flesh; he also names other sins which we do not usually put in the 'carnal' or 'sexual' category --'idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, envy' [...]. All these sins are the outcome of 'life according to the flesh', which is the opposite to 'life according to the spirit"' (John Paul 11, "Address", 7 January 1981).
Therefore, as the Apostle says, anyone who in one way or other obstinately persists in his sin will not be able to enter the Kingdom of heaven (cf. 1 Cor 6:9-10; Eph 5:5)
22-25. When someone lets himself be led by his instincts he is said to be leading an "animal life"; whereas, if he acts as his reason advises, he is leading a rational, human, life. Similarly, when one allows the Holy Spirit to act, one's life becomes life according to the Spirit--a supernatural life, a life which is no longer simply human but divine. This is what happens when a person is in the state of grace and is mindful of the treasure he bears within.
"Alone! You are not alone. We are keeping you close company from afar. Besides..., the Holy Spirit, living in your soul in grace--God with you--is giving a supernatural tone to all your thoughts, desires and actions" (J. Escriva, "The Way", 273).
The soul then becomes a good tree which is known by its fruits. Its actions reveal the presence of the Paraclete, and because of the spiritual delight they give the soul, these actions are called fruits of the Holy Spirit (cf. St Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae, I-II, q. 70, a. 1).
"Those blessed fruits enumerated by the Apostle (Gal 5:22) the Spirit produces and shows forth in the just, even in this mortal life--fruits replete with all sweetness and joy. Such must, indeed, be from the Spirit 'who in the Trinity is the love of the Father and the Son, filling all creatures with immeasurable sweetness' (St Augustine, "De Trinitate", 6, 9)" (Leo XIII, "Divinum illud munus", 12).
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.
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Commentary:
42. The Law of Moses laid down that the harvest had to be tithed (cf. Leviticus 27:30-33; Deuteronomy 12:22ff; etc.) to provide for the worship offered in the temple. Insignificant products were not subject to this Law.
Rue is a bitter medicinal plant used by the Jews in ancient times. Did it have to be tithed?: the Pharisees, who were so nit-picking, said that it did.
44. According to the Old Law, anyone who touched a grave became unclean for seven days (Num 19:16), but with the passage of time a grave could become so overgrown that a person could walk on it without noticing. Our Lord uses this comparison to unmask the hypocrisy of these people He is talking to: they are very exact about very small details but they forget their basic duty--justice and the love of God (verse 42). On the outside they are clean but their hearts are full of malice and rottenness (verse 39); they pretend to be just, appearances are all that matters to them; they know that virtue is held in high regard, therefore they strive to appear highly virtuous (verse 43). Duplicity and deceit mark their lives.
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Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland.
As proof, he asked her to ask Jesus what sinned the priest last confessed in confession.
The next time he talked with her after she had another visitation, he awaited with interest what she would say in answer to his question.
"Jesus said He forgot," was her answer.
How beautiful. That's how completely we are forgiven.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, may the world burn in love for You.
| Catholic Online Saints | ||
Duchess and widow, the patroness of Silesia, a region of eastern Europe. Also called Jadwiga in some lists, she died in a Cistercain convent, having taken vows. Hedwig was born in Andechs, Bavaria, Germany, the daughter of the Duke of Croatia and Dalmatia. She was the aunt of St. Elizabeth of Hungary. At the age of twelve, Hedwig was marrie to Duke Henry of Silesia, the head of the Polish Royal family. She bore him seven children, and they had a happy marriage. Henry founded a Cistercain convent at Trebnitz, as well as hospitals and monasteries. Henry died in 1238 and Hedwig became a Cistercain at Trebnitz. She had to leave her prayers to make peace among her offspring, and she buried a child who was killed fighting against the Mongols. She died in the convent on October 15.Many miracles were reported after her death, and she was canonized in 1266. |
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| Catholic Online Saints | ||
Daughter of Claude Alacoque and Philiberte Lamyn, Margaret was born on July 22, at L'Hautecour, Burgundy, France, was sent to the Poor Clares school at Charolles on the death of her father, a notary, when she was eight years old. She was bedridden for five years with rheumatic fever until she was fifteen and early developed a devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. She refused marriage, and in 1671 she entered the Visitation convent at Paray-le-Monial and was professed the next year. From the time she was twenty, she experienced visions of Christ, and on December 27, 1673, she began a series of revelations that were to continue over the next year and a half. In them Christ informed her that she was His chosen instrument to spread devotion to His Sacred Heart, instructed her in a devotion that was to become known as the Nine Fridays and the Holy Hour, and asked that the feast of the Sacred Heart be established. Rebuffed by her superior, Mother de Saumaise, in her efforts to follow the instruction she had received in the visions, she eventually won her over but was unable to convince a group of theologians of the validity of her apparitions, nor was she any more successful with many of the members of her community. She received the support of Blessed Claude La Colombiere, the community's confessor for a time, who declared that the visions were genuine. In 1683, opposition in the community ended when Mother Melin was elected Superior and named Margaret Mary her assistant. She later became Novice Mistress, saw the convent observe the feast of the Sacred Heart privately beginning in 1686, and two years later, a chapel was built at the Paray-le-Monial to honor the Sacred Heart; soon observation of the feast of the Sacred Heart spread to other Visitation convents. Margaret Mary died at the Paray-le-Monial on October 17, and was canonized in 1920. She, St. John Eudes, and Blessed Claude La Colombiere are called the "Saints of the Sacred Heart"; the devotion was officially recognized and approved by Pope Clement XIII in 1765, seventy-five years after her death. Her feast day is observed on October 17. |
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