Mass Reading: Sunday - 27th February 2022

The Liturgy of the Word

First reading
Ecclesiasticus 27:5-8
The test of a man is in his conversation

In a shaken sieve the rubbish is left behind,
    so too the defects of a man appear in his talk.
The kiln tests the work of the potter,
    the test of a man is in his conversation.
The orchard where a tree grows is judged on the quality of its fruit,
    similarly a man’s words betray what he feels.
Do not praise a man before he has spoken,
    since this is the test of men.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 91(92):2-3,13-16

It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.

It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
    to make music to your name, O Most High,
to proclaim your love in the morning
    and your truth in the watches of the night.

It is good to give you thanks, O Lord. 

The just will flourish like the palm tree
    and grow like a Lebanon cedar.

It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.

Planted in the house of the Lord
    they will flourish in the courts of our God,
still bearing fruit when they are old,
    still full of sap, still green,
to proclaim that the Lord is just.
    In him, my rock, there is no wrong.

It is good to give you thanks, O Lord.

________

Second reading
1 Corinthians 15:54-58
Death is swallowed up in victory

When this perishable nature has put on imperishability, and when this mortal nature has put on immortality, then the words of scripture will come true: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

    Never give in then, my dear brothers, never admit defeat; keep on working at the Lord’s work always, knowing that, in the Lord, you cannot be labouring in vain.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
cf.Ac16:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.

Alleluia!

Or:
Ph2:15-16

Alleluia, alleluia!

You will shine in the world like bright stars
because you are offering it the word of life.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Luke 6:39-45
Can the blind lead the blind?

Jesus told a parable to his disciples: ‘Can one blind man guide another? Surely both will fall into a pit? The disciple is not superior to his teacher; the fully trained disciple will always be like his teacher. Why do you observe the splinter in your brother’s eye and never notice the plank in your own? How can you say to your brother, “Brother, let me take out the splinter that is in your eye,” when you cannot see the plank in your own? Hypocrite! Take the plank out of your own eye first, and then you will see clearly enough to take out the splinter that is in your brother’s eye.

    ‘There is no sound tree that produces rotten fruit, nor again a rotten tree that produces sound fruit. For every tree can be told by its own fruit: people do not pick figs from thorns, nor gather grapes from brambles. A good man draws what is good from the store of goodness in his heart; a bad man draws what is bad from the store of badness. For a man’s words flow out of what fills his heart.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 27th February 2022

 

Today’s readings exhort us Christian disciples to form ourselves — mind and heart — in imitation of Christ so we can better reflect His goodness in our daily lives.

The first reading from Sirach offers timeless counsel: “the fruit of a tree shows the care it has had: so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind. Praise no one before he speaks.” Jesus uses the very same analogy in today’s Gospel reading from Luke. “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit.” Jesus explains, “A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good… for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.” 

Everything we have is a gift from God to be used for His honor and glory. This includes the gift of speech and, even more broadly, all forms of modern-day communication — email, text, Twitter, Facebook, and the rest. What comes forth from our mouths, or keyboard, or phone, reflects what is in our minds and hearts. Our ability to communicate with each other is itself a gift that we must steward well.

In the same Gospel passage, Jesus reminds us, “No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher.” We must therefore be trained by Jesus our teacher so that our minds and hearts will be aligned with His mind and heart, and our speech (and actions for that matter) will reflect His goodness.

How do we obtain this training? Thankfully, we have an abundance of supernatural “training materials” at our disposal.

First and foremost, we can spend time with the Teacher, our Lord: we can study His life through reading the Scriptures, and we can listen and speak with Him in quiet, regular times of prayer. We can expand our faith knowledge through study of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We can find healing and strength in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Amazingly, we can partake of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist.

The more intentionally and frequently we make use of these means, the more we will become like our Teacher and Lord. Then, all that we do and say (and tweet and post) will bring others closer to Him. This is the life’s work of the Christian steward. It is privileged work indeed. 

Mass Reading: Sunday - 20th February 2022

The Liturgy of the Word

First reading
1 Samuel 26:2,7-9,11-13,22-23
Do not lift your hand against the Lord's anointed

    Saul set off and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, accompanied by three thousand men chosen from Israel to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph.

    In the dark David and Abishai made their way towards the force, where they found Saul lying asleep inside the camp, his spear stuck in the ground beside his head, with Abner and the troops lying round him.

    Then Abishai said to David, ‘Today God has put your enemy in your power; so now let me pin him to the ground with his own spear. Just one stroke! I will not need to strike him twice.’ David answered Abishai, ‘Do not kill him, for who can lift his hand against the Lord’s anointed and be without guilt? The Lord forbid that I should raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed! But now take the spear beside his head and the pitcher of water and let us go away.’ David took the spear and the pitcher of water from beside Saul’s head, and they made off. No one saw, no one knew, no one woke up; they were all asleep, for a deep sleep from the Lord had fallen on them.

    David crossed to the other side and halted on the top of the mountain a long way off; there was a wide space between them. He called out, ‘Here is the king’s spear. Let one of the soldiers come across and take it. The Lord repays everyone for his uprightness and loyalty. Today the Lord put you in my power, but I would not raise my hand against the Lord’s anointed.’

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 102(103):1-4,8,10,12-13

The Lord is compassion and love.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord
    all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
    and never forget all his blessings.

The Lord is compassion and love. 

It is he who forgives all your guilt,
    who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
    who crowns you with love and compassion.

The Lord is compassion and love.

The Lord is compassion and love,
    slow to anger and rich in mercy.
He does not treat us according to our sins
    nor repay us according to our faults.

The Lord is compassion and love.

As far as the east is from the west
    so far does he remove our sins.
As a father has compassion on his sons,
    the Lord has pity on those who fear him.

The Lord is compassion and love.

________

Second reading
1 Corinthians 15:45-49
The first Adam became a living soul; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit

The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, first the one with the soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit. The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we in heaven. And we, who have been modelled on the earthly man, will be modelled on the heavenly man.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
cf.Ac16:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Open our heart, O Lord,
to accept the words of your Son.

Alleluia!

Or:
Jn13:34

Alleluia, alleluia!

I give you a new commandment:
love one another just as I have loved you, 
says the Lord.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Luke 6:27-38
Love your enemies

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘I say this to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who treat you badly. To the man who slaps you on one cheek, present the other cheek too; to the man who takes your cloak from you, do not refuse your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your property back from the man who robs you. Treat others as you would like them to treat you. If you love those who love you, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks can you expect? For even sinners do that much. And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what thanks can you expect? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount. Instead, love your enemies and do good, and lend without any hope of return. You will have a great reward, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he himself is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked.

    ‘Be compassionate as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged yourselves; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned yourselves; grant pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap; because the amount you measure out is the amount you will be given back.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 20th February 2022

In today’s Gospel, taken from the sixth chapter of Luke, Jesus offers a very challenging, seemingly impossible approach to daily life. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. To the person who strikes you on one cheek, offer the other one as well, and from the person who takes your cloak do not withhold even your tunic.” It makes one want to say, “Seriously, Lord?” And He doesn’t stop there. Jesus adds, “Give to everyone who asks of you, and from the one who takes what is yours do not demand it back.” 

It seems so unfair! Unless, that is, we look at this way of life from a stewardship point of view. Then, not only does it seem doable (though challenging), but it also actually makes perfect sense. A steward understands clearly that all he has and all that he is — his very life — is a gift from God given to him from an unfathomable abundance of love. This changes everything! This means “my” cloak, “my” tunic, “my” money, and time — all of it ultimately belongs to God. He has entrusted these things to each of us in love to use for His purposes and His glory.

Does this mean we are to be passive “doormats” to anyone who wants to take advantage of us? Certainly not. Jesus explains this in the next verse of this passage when He says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” As the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, Jesus understands human nature well. He knows that we naturally desire only good and nothing bad for ourselves. And there is nothing wrong with loving oneself since God loves us and has made us in His own image and likeness. Jesus is simply asking that we also approach others, and the sharing of our gifts, with this same attitude. He is giving us a definition here of real love, a steward’s love! 

In fact, Jesus tells us that anything short of this is not love at all. “For if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do the same.” 

We are made for much higher than that. Jesus says instead, “Love your enemies and do good to them and lend expecting nothing back.” That is true greatness in God’s view. When we love like that, He promises our “reward in heaven will be great.” A stewardship way of life is a life worth living because it is modeled after nothing less than our Most High God.

And if that is still not incentive enough to embrace this way of life, Jesus gives us one more bit of loving motivation. “Give and gifts will be given to you: a good measure, packed together, shaken down and overflowing will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” Our wonderful God and Father simply will not be outdone in love. Be generous with your gifts — with your life — and just watch what He will do!                                                                                                                         

                          

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 13th February 2022

  Today’s readings speak of an essential quality for the Christian steward — hope.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit (CCC 1817).”

In many ways, this is the very definition of a stewardship way of life — focusing on eternity as we live our daily lives and relying on God to provide for our needs and satisfy our deepest longings for meaning and happiness right now. 
 
The First Reading from Jeremiah paints a vivid picture of the difference between the person who puts his trust in fellow humans versus the person who relies on — or, in other words, hopes in — the Lord. “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh... He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season but stands in a lava waste.” Not a pretty picture!

On the other hand, the prophet teaches, “Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: it fears not the heat when it comes; its leaves stay green.”

Notice that the one who trusts in the Lord does not escape the heat any more than the one who has put his trust in human strength — his own or another’s. The difference between the two is that the one who fails to trust in the Lord becomes barren in the heat, while the one who trusts in God is given the means to persevere and even thrive in the midst of the challenging times. “Its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress but still bears fruit.”

In the Second Reading, St. Paul reminds the Corinthians that it is foolish to think of hope in the Lord with only an “earthly” vision since God desires nothing less than our eternal happiness. “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all.” To aim only for comforts or pleasure or honors in this life is actually an impoverished way of living.

In today’s Gospel from Luke, Jesus describes the true richness of life that is possible for those of us who are willing to live as his disciples. We are all familiar with this passage in which Jesus reveals the Beatitudes: blessed are the poor; they have the kingdom of God. Blessed are those now hungry because they will be satisfied. Blessed are those who weep because they will laugh. Blessed are those who are hated, excluded, and insulted because they are disciples of Jesus; they will be greatly rewarded in heaven. Jesus is describing here the character of one who is living a life of hope — the life of a Christian steward whose trust is firmly rooted in God and who is focused on others and eternity. It is not always an easy life, but it is a deeply meaningful life and one that leads to eternal reward.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 13th February 2022

First reading
Jeremiah 17:5-8
A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord

The Lord says this:

‘A curse on the man who puts his trust in man,
who relies on things of flesh,
whose heart turns from the Lord.
He is like dry scrub in the wastelands:
if good comes, he has no eyes for it,
he settles in the parched places of the wilderness,
a salt land, uninhabited.

‘A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord,
with the Lord for his hope.
He is like a tree by the waterside
that thrusts its roots to the stream:
when the heat comes it feels no alarm,
its foliage stays green;
it has no worries in a year of drought,
and never ceases to bear fruit.’

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 1:1-4,6

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

Happy indeed is the man
    who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
    nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
    and who ponders his law day and night. 

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

He is like a tree that is planted
    beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
    and whose leaves shall never fade;
    and all that he does shall prosper.

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.

Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
    shall be driven away by the wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
    but the way of the wicked leads to doom.

Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord. 

________

Second reading
1 Corinthians 15:12,16-20
If Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins

If Christ raised from the dead is what has been preached, how can some of you be saying that there is no resurrection of the dead? For if the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And what is more serious, all who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.

But Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of all who have fallen asleep.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Mt11:25

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed are you, Father, 
Lord of heaven and earth,
for revealing the mysteries of the kingdom
to mere children.

Alleluia!

Or:
Lk6:23ab

Alleluia, alleluia!

Rejoice and be glad:
your reward will be great in heaven.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Luke 6:17,20-26
Happy are you who are poor, who are hungry, who weep

Jesus came down with the Twelve and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said:

‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God.
Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.

Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.

‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep. 

‘Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 6th February 2022

Our readings today remind us of the great privilege we have in calling ourselves children and disciples of the Most High God. 

The First Reading from Isaiah describes a vision of the prophet in which angels surround the Lord. They proclaim, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts! All the earth is filled with his glory!” Our God invites us to such deep intimacy and friendship with Him that we sometimes can forget just how majestic and unspeakably holy He truly is.

While we can approach Him with the confidence of a child before his father, we must also remember the deep reverence and awe that we owe to Him.

This sense of awe and reverence should motivate us to deepen our stewardship way of life as well. As we contemplate the holiness of God, we come to a heightened awareness of what a privilege it is that He has chosen to include us in His work of spreading the Gospel to others through the grateful sharing of the gifts He has given us. We can make the words of the prophet Isaiah our own: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send” Who will go for us? Here I am, I said, send me!”

The theme of awe before God continues in the Gospel passage from Luke, where we again see the juxtaposition of a God who is so near to us, yet who is altogether holy and powerful. In this passage we find Jesus preaching to a crowd who is pressing in on Him to listen. (What an inspiring image! Do we “press in” as we listen to the readings proclaimed in Mass with this same sense of wonder and urgency?) In response, Jesus uses very ordinary means so that the crowd can hear Him. He simply gets into one of the nearby boats belonging to Simon so that His voice will better carry over the water. He finishes speaking and then tells Simon the fisherman to lower his nets for a catch. Simon is skeptical about this instruction but obeys, putting his fishing talents to use as Jesus asks.

The result is a catch of fish beyond Simon’s wildest imaginings. Overwhelmed, he fell at Jesus’ knees, “for astonishment at the catch of fish they had made seized him and all those with him.”

When we truly embrace a stewardship way of life, putting our talents, time and treasure at the service of the Most High God, we, too, will be astonished at what God will do. Our lives may take a direction beyond our wildest imaginings.

But just as Jesus reassured Simon, “Be not afraid,” He reassures us, too. We need not fear a stewardship way of life. Rather, we should embrace the adventure it presents us and prepare to be astonished by what our awesome God will do. “Here I am Lord, send me!”

Mass Reading: Sunday - 06th February 2022

First reading
Isaiah 6:1-2,3-8
'Here I am: send me'

In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord of Hosts seated on a high throne; his train filled the sanctuary; above him stood seraphs, each one with six wings.

And they cried out to one another in this way,

‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts.
His glory fills the whole earth.’

The foundations of the threshold shook with the voice of the one who cried out, and the Temple was filled with smoke. I said:

‘What a wretched state I am in! I am lost,
for I am a man of unclean lips
and I live among a people of unclean lips,
and my eyes have looked at the King, the Lord of Hosts.’

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding in his hand a live coal which he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. With this he touched my mouth and said:

‘See now, this has touched your lips,
your sin is taken away,
your iniquity is purged.’

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying:

‘Whom shall I send? Who will be our messenger?’

I answered, ‘Here I am, send me.’

The word of the Lord.

_______

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 137(138):1-5,7-8

Before the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

I thank you, Lord, with all my heart:
    you have heard the words of my mouth.
In the presence of the angels I will bless you.
    I will adore before your holy temple.

Before the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

I thank you for your faithfulness and love,
    which excel all we ever knew of you.
On the day I called, you answered;
    you increased the strength of my soul.

Before the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

All earth’s kings shall thank you
    when they hear the words of your mouth.
They shall sing of the Lord’s ways:
    ‘How great is the glory of the Lord!’

Before the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

You stretch out your hand and save me,
    your hand will do all things for me.
Your love, O Lord, is eternal,
    discard not the work of your hands.

Before the angels I will bless you, O Lord.

________

Second reading
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
I preached what the others preach, and you all believed

Brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, the gospel that you received and in which you are firmly established; because the gospel will save you only if you keep believing exactly what I preached to you – believing anything else will not lead to anything.

    Well then, in the first place, I taught you what I had been taught myself, namely that Christ died for our sins, in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised to life on the third day, in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared first to Cephas and secondly to the Twelve. Next he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died; then he appeared to James, and then to all the apostles; and last of all he appeared to me too; it was as though I was born when no one expected it.

    I am the least of the apostles; in fact, since I persecuted the Church of God, I hardly deserve the name apostle; but by God’s grace that is what I am, and the grace that he gave me has not been fruitless. On the contrary, I, or rather the grace of God that is with me, have worked harder than any of the others; but what matters is that I preach what they preach, and this is what you all believed.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Jn15:15

Alleluia, alleluia!

I call you friends, says the Lord,
because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.

Alleluia!

Or:
Mt4:19

Alleluia, alleluia!

Follow me, says the Lord,
and I will make you into fishers of men.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Luke 5:1-11
They left everything and followed him

Jesus was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats – it was Simon’s – and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

    When he had finished speaking he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch.’ ‘Master,’ Simon replied, ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing, but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.’ And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.

    When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man.’ For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made; so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners. But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch.’ Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.

The Gospel of the Lord.