In the face of this present tragedy, I wonder what our leaders feel and think, if I am not to question what they are actually doing.
Gospel for November 12, 2013, Tuesday
Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc.
Posted at 11/12/2013 4:50 AM | Updated as of 11/12/2013 5:13 AM
32nd Week in Ordinary Time
Josaphat
Psalter: Week 4
Ps 34:2–3, 16–17, 18–19
I will bless the Lord at all times.
1st Reading: Wis 2:23—3:9
Indeed God created man to be immortal in the likeness of his own nature, but the envy of the devil brought death to the world, and those who take his side shall experience death.
The souls of the just are in the hands of God and no torment shall touch them
In the eyes of the unwise they appear to be dead. Their going is held as a disaster; it seems that they lose everything by departing from us, but they are in peace.
Though seemingly they have been punished, immortality was the soul of their hope. After slight affliction will come great blessings, for God has tried them and found them worthy to be with him; after testing them as gold in the furnace, he has accepted them as a holocaust.
At the time of his coming they will shine like sparks that run in the stubble. They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will be their king forever.
Those who trust in him will penetrate the truth, those who are faithful will live with him in love, for his grace and mercy are for his chosen ones.
Gospel: Lk 17:7–10
Jesus said to his disciples, “Who among you would say to your servant coming in from the fields after plowing or tending sheep: ‘Come at once and sit down at table’? No, you tell him: ‘Prepare my dinner. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; you can eat and drink afterwards.’ Do you thank this servant for doing what you commanded? So for you. When you have done all that you have been told to do, you must say: ‘We are no more than servants; we have only done our duty.’”
Reflection:
In relation to God, we are servants. Does this statement evoke negative feelings in you? It should not. For, we are talking not about the kind of human slavery that is despicable, but about servanthood that flows from freedom and love. It is the kind of servanthood Jesus showed towards his Father and to each of us. He declared: “The Son of Man has come not to be served, but to serve” (Matt 20:28). In such a servanthood of love, we do what is asked of us; and even more than what is asked of us. We do not claim any special favors and privileges for what we have done, for the love that wells up in us when we do service to God is its own reward.
How different the world would be if we were to do service to God and our fellow human beings and obey God’s commandments as our sacred duty, rather than clamor for our every right and privilege!
Josaphat
Psalter: Week 4
Ps 34:2–3, 16–17, 18–19
I will bless the Lord at all times.
1st Reading: Wis 2:23—3:9
Indeed God created man to be immortal in the likeness of his own nature, but the envy of the devil brought death to the world, and those who take his side shall experience death.
The souls of the just are in the hands of God and no torment shall touch them
In the eyes of the unwise they appear to be dead. Their going is held as a disaster; it seems that they lose everything by departing from us, but they are in peace.
Though seemingly they have been punished, immortality was the soul of their hope. After slight affliction will come great blessings, for God has tried them and found them worthy to be with him; after testing them as gold in the furnace, he has accepted them as a holocaust.
At the time of his coming they will shine like sparks that run in the stubble. They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will be their king forever.
Those who trust in him will penetrate the truth, those who are faithful will live with him in love, for his grace and mercy are for his chosen ones.
Gospel: Lk 17:7–10
Jesus said to his disciples, “Who among you would say to your servant coming in from the fields after plowing or tending sheep: ‘Come at once and sit down at table’? No, you tell him: ‘Prepare my dinner. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink; you can eat and drink afterwards.’ Do you thank this servant for doing what you commanded? So for you. When you have done all that you have been told to do, you must say: ‘We are no more than servants; we have only done our duty.’”
Reflection:
In relation to God, we are servants. Does this statement evoke negative feelings in you? It should not. For, we are talking not about the kind of human slavery that is despicable, but about servanthood that flows from freedom and love. It is the kind of servanthood Jesus showed towards his Father and to each of us. He declared: “The Son of Man has come not to be served, but to serve” (Matt 20:28). In such a servanthood of love, we do what is asked of us; and even more than what is asked of us. We do not claim any special favors and privileges for what we have done, for the love that wells up in us when we do service to God is its own reward.
How different the world would be if we were to do service to God and our fellow human beings and obey God’s commandments as our sacred duty, rather than clamor for our every right and privilege!
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