Mass Reflection: Sunday - 27th November 2022

IS 2:1-5; PS 122:1-9; ROM 13: 11-14; MT 24:37-44

Today we begin the beautiful season of Advent. It is a season meant for preparation.
 
But what exactly are we preparing for? 
 
Two things actually — the celebration of our Savior's birth and the anticipation of His second coming. These are weighty tasks that have eternal consequences. So, let us Christian stewards make the words of the Prophet Isaiah our motto for the season: “Come, let us climb the Lord’s mountain to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may instruct us in his ways and we may walk in his paths.”
 
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, it seems everywhere we turn we are pushed to spend more, do more, entertain more, and generally rush around at a frantic pace — all to create a “perfect” Christmas day. In contrast to this worldly pressure, the Church’s guidance to use these weeks as a time to focus on our spiritual lives can indeed seem like a mountain climb. 
 
But the intentional and wise use of the gift of time is exactly what the Christian steward is called to do, and with even greater intensity during Advent.
 
St. Paul makes this so clear in his letter to the Romans, our second reading today. He instructs, “It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep.” And what should we do once awake? We must become like Christ. St. Paul puts it this way: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.”
 
Our Lord Himself gives us several powerful images to fix in our minds as we travel through the Advent season. 
 
First, He calls to mind for us the image of Noah preparing the ark in the days before the flood. While Noah used his time (and talents) to follow God’s instructions in preparation for the coming flood, everyone else around him was “living it up.” This is exactly what it can feel like for us as we attempt to focus our time on spiritual matters in the days leading up to Christmas! But when the flood came, those unprepared were carried away by the water while Noah endured unharmed. Je-sus warns that this is how it will be at His second coming.
 
To further illustrate the suddenness with which He will return, Jesus describes it as two men out in a field. One man gets taken while the other is spared; and as two women grinding at a mill, one taken, the other spared. Then he describes his return as a thief in the night, certainly the image of a sudden and unexpected event. “Therefore, stay awake!” He implores, adding, “So, too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, Son of Man will come.”
 
How can we Christian stewards prepare ourselves and our families for a holy celebration of Jesus’ birth on Dec. 25 and for his certain second coming at a date we do not know? We can push back against the world’s pressure to have the “perfect Christmas.” Scale back on the material kind of gift-giving, the complicated menus, and the unessential trappings of the season so that we have more time for spiritual preparation: Confession, weekday Mass, adoration, family prayer time, lighting the Advent wreath, performing acts of kindness.
 
It may feel like a mountain climb, but in the end, we will be prepared to celebrate a truly meaningful Christmas, we will have become more like our Savior, and we will be ready for Him to come again. Let’s go climb the Lord’s mountain!

Mass Reading: Sunday - 27th November 2022

First reading
Isaiah 2:1-5
The Lord gathers all nations together into the eternal peace of God's kingdom

    The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.

    In the days to come
the mountain of the Temple of the Lord
shall tower above the mountains
and be lifted higher than the hills.
All the nations will stream to it,
peoples without number will come to it; and they will say:

    ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the Temple of the God of Jacob
    that he may teach us his ways
    so that we may walk in his paths;
    since the Law will go out from Zion,
    and the oracle of the Lord from Jerusalem.’

    He will wield authority over the nations
and adjudicate between many peoples;
these will hammer their swords into ploughshares,
their spears into sickles.
Nation will not lift sword against nation,
there will be no more training for war.

O House of Jacob, come,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.

The word of the Lord.


________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 121(122):1-2,4-5,6-9

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

I rejoiced when I heard them say:
    ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
And now our feet are standing
    within your gates, O Jerusalem.

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

It is there that the tribes go up,
    the tribes of the Lord.
For Israel’s law it is,
    there to praise the Lord’s name.
There were set the thrones of judgement
    of the house of David.

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

For the peace of Jerusalem pray:
    ‘Peace be to your homes!
May peace reign in your walls,
    in your palaces, peace!’

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

For love of my brethren and friends
    I say: ‘Peace upon you!’
For love of the house of the Lord
    I will ask for your good.

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

________

Second reading
Romans 13:11-14
Our salvation is near

    You know ‘the time’ has come: you must wake up now: our salvation is even nearer than it was when we were converted. The night is almost over, it will be daylight soon – let us give up all the things we prefer to do under cover of the dark; let us arm ourselves and appear in the light. Let us live decently as people do in the daytime: no drunken orgies, no promiscuity or licentiousness, and no wrangling or jealousy. Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ.

The word of the Lord.


________

Gospel Acclamation
Ps84:8

Alleluia, alleluia!

Let us see, O Lord, your mercy
and give us your saving help.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel

Matthew 24:37-44
The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect

    Jesus said to his disciples: ‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it be when the Son of Man comes. For in those days before the Flood people were eating, drinking, taking wives, taking husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and they suspected nothing till the Flood came and swept all away. It will be like this when the Son of Man comes. Then of two men in the fields one is taken, one left; of two women at the millstone grinding, one is taken, one left.
    ‘So stay awake, because you do not know the day when your master is coming. You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what time of the night the burglar would come, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed anyone to break through the wall of his house. Therefore, you too must stand ready because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reading: 20th November 2022

First reading
2 Samuel 5:1-3
They anointed David king of Israel

All the tribes of Israel then came to David at Hebron. ‘Look’ they said ‘we are your own flesh and blood. In days past when Saul was our king, it was you who led Israel in all their exploits; and the Lord said to you, “You are the man who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you shall be the leader of Israel.”’ So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a pact with them at Hebron in the presence of the Lord, and they anointed David king of Israel.

The word of the Lord.

_______

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 121(122):1-5

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

I rejoiced when I heard them say:
    ‘Let us go to God’s house.’
And now our feet are standing
    within your gates, O Jerusalem.

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

Jerusalem is built as a city
    strongly compact.
It is there that the tribes go up,
    the tribes of the Lord.

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

For Israel’s law it is,
    there to praise the Lord’s name.
There were set the thrones of judgement
    of the house of David.

I rejoiced when I heard them say: ‘Let us go to God’s house.’

________

Second reading
Colossians 1:12-20
The Father has created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves

    We give thanks to the Father who has made it possible for you to join the saints and with them to inherit the light.

    Because that is what he has done: he has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins.

    He is the image of the unseen God
and the first-born of all creation,
for in him were created
all things in heaven and on earth:
everything visible and everything invisible,
Thrones, Dominations, Sovereignties, Powers –
all things were created through him and for him.
Before anything was created, he existed,
and he holds all things in unity.
Now the Church is his body,
he is its head.

    As he is the Beginning,
he was first to be born from the dead,
so that he should be first in every way;
because God wanted all perfection
to be found in him
and all things to be reconciled through him and for him,
everything in heaven and everything on earth,
when he made peace
by his death on the cross.

The word of the Lord.


________

Gospel Acclamation

Mk11:10

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessings on him who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessings on the coming kingdom of our father David!

Alleluia!


________

Gospel
Luke 23:35-43
'Today you will be with me in paradise'

    The people stayed there before the cross watching Jesus. As for the leaders, they jeered at him. ‘He saved others,’ they said ‘let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.’ The soldiers mocked him too, and when they approached to offer vinegar they said, ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.’ Above him there was an inscription: ‘This is the King of the Jews.’
   

     One of the criminals hanging there abused him. ‘Are you not the Christ?’ he said. ‘Save yourself and us as well.’ But the other spoke up and rebuked him. ‘Have you no fear of God at all?’ he said. ‘You got the same sentence as he did, but in our case we deserved it: we are paying for what we did. But this man has done nothing wrong. Jesus,’ he said ‘remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ ‘Indeed, I promise you,’ he replied ‘today you will be with me in paradise.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 20th November 2022

2 SM 5:1-3; PS 122:1-5; COL 1:12-20; LK 23:35-43 

On this Feast of Christ the King, our readings show us that we serve the greatest of Kings, who is at the same time the humblest of Kings. Christ is the perfect model of servant leadership. And what an indescribable privilege that He has called us to be servant leaders — stewards in the work of advancing His Kingdom. 

In our second reading, from St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians, Paul describes the great power and dignity that characterize Christ the King. “All things were created through him and for him. He is before all things and in him all things hold together... For in him all the fullness was pleased to dwell.” It makes you want to stand up and cheer. That’s our King! 

Yet what a contrasting description of the same King we find in our Gospel passage, from Luke. Now we see our King nailed to the Cross. Everyone from rulers to soldiers, to the criminals on either side of Christ is mocking, sneering, and reviling him. They tauntingly urge him to prove His kingship by coming down from the Cross to end his suffering with a great show of power. “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself.” 

But He does not. 

Amazingly, it is in this moment of seeming weakness and humiliation, when all appears hopeless and lost, that the full breadth of his greatness as king is displayed. Though all things were created through and for Him — Christ chooses to live entirely for others, for us! 

What does this mean for us as his followers and stewards of His kingdom? Precisely that our lives are not about us. They are about Christ and others. And we will advance his kingdom to the extent that we embrace this mindset: my life is not about me; it is about serving Christ and others. 

The “good thief” hanging on the cross next to Jesus realizes this just in time. Struck by our Lord’s perfect humility, he recognizes that Christ is indeed the King of kings. In his last moments of life, he becomes a steward of Christ’s kingdom as he counsels the criminal on our Lord’s other side to repent. What is the result? Jesus promises the good thief a place with him that very day in Paradise. Our God simply cannot be outdone in generosity. 

What powerful lessons this King teaches us from the Cross. We learn that true leadership is displayed in emptying ourselves for others; that true greatness is displayed by way of humility; that none of us is worthy of the call to stewardship of His kingdom but that all of us, like the good thief, are welcomed and invited to take up this call. Following in His footsteps will involve suffering and sacrifice. Yet how can we say no to the King who loves us so completely and promises that His faithful stewards will one day be with Him in Paradise?

Mass Reading: Sunday - 13th November 2022

First reading
Malachi 3:19-20
For you the sun of righteousness will shine out

The day is coming now, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and the evil-doers will be like stubble. The day that is coming is going to burn them up, says the Lord of Hosts, leaving them neither root nor stalk. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will shine out with healing in its rays.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 97(98):5-9

The Lord comes to rule the peoples with fairness.

Sing psalms to the Lord with the harp
    with the sound of music.
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
    acclaim the King, the Lord.

The Lord comes to rule the peoples with fairness.

Let the sea and all within it, thunder;
    the world, and all its peoples.
Let the rivers clap their hands
    and the hills ring out their joy
    at the presence of the Lord.

The Lord comes to rule the peoples with fairness.

For the Lord comes,
    he comes to rule the earth.
He will rule the world with justice
    and the peoples with fairness.

The Lord comes to rule the peoples with fairness.

________

Second reading
2 Thessalonians 3:7-12
Do not let anyone have food if he refuses to work

    You know how you are supposed to imitate us: now we were not idle when we were with you, nor did we ever have our meals at anyone’s table without paying for them; no, we worked night and day, slaving and straining, so as not to be a burden on any of you. This was not because we had no right to be, but in order to make ourselves an example for you to follow.

    We gave you a rule when we were with you: do not let anyone have any food if he refuses to do any work. Now we hear that there are some of you who are living in idleness, doing no work themselves but interfering with everyone else’s. In the Lord Jesus Christ, we order and call on people of this kind to go on quietly working and earning the food that they eat.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Lk21:36

Alleluia, alleluia!

Stay awake, praying at all times
for the strength to stand with confidence
before the Son of Man.

Alleluia!

Or:
Lk21:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

Stand erect, hold your heads high,
because your liberation is near at hand.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Luke 21:5-19
The destruction of the Temple foretold

    When some were talking about the Temple, remarking how it was adorned with fine stonework and votive offerings, Jesus said, ‘All these things you are staring at now – the time will come when not a single stone will be left on another: everything will be destroyed.’ And they put to him this question: ‘Master,’ they said ‘when will this happen, then, and what sign will there be that this is about to take place?’

    ‘Take care not to be deceived,’ he said ‘because many will come using my name and saying, “I am he” and, “The time is near at hand.” Refuse to join them. And when you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened, for this is something that must happen but the end is not so soon.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes and plagues and famines here and there; there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.

    ‘But before all this happens, men will seize you and persecute you; they will hand you over to the synagogues and to imprisonment, and bring you before kings and governors because of my name – and that will be your opportunity to bear witness. Keep this carefully in mind: you are not to prepare your defence, because I myself shall give you an eloquence and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relations and friends; and some of you will be put to death. You will be hated by all men on account of my name, but not a hair of your head will be lost. Your endurance will win you your lives.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 13th November 2022

MAL 3:19-20A; PS 98:5-9; 2 THES 3:7-12; LK 21:5-19

As we approach the end of the liturgical year, our readings offer a sober reminder that this life is not our aim and that God’s justice will triumph in the end. Now is the time to get our priorities in order, putting God above all else as his faithful stewards.

This theme of right priorities is rolled out in no uncertain terms from the first verse of our first reading from Malachi. “Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble and the day that is coming will set them on fire.” 

But there is good news for those who are faithful. “For you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.” All the trials, any sufferings, or injustices we endure for the sake of the Gospel, will be healed and we will be rewarded in the end by our loving God who cannot be outdone in generosity.

Our second reading, from St. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, reinforces the message that we must order our lives so that they direct the attainment of holiness and nothing else. We see in this passage that conducting ourselves as good stewards involves not only action in certain areas (intentional prioritizing of our time, talents, and treasure); it also means refraining from certain actions and areas that are none of our concern. 

St. Paul puts it this way: “some are conducting themselves among you in a disorderly way, by not keeping busy but minding the business of others.” It can be tempting in family life, work life, and parish life, especially for those go-getters among us, to want to insert ourselves (to help of course!) Into others’ way of doing things. But a good steward must have the humility to recognize that God has given gifts to everyone and that the way others use their gifts is between them and God. Besides, with a strong stewardship plan of life, we should have plenty to focus on without worrying about how those around us are operating.

Finally, our Lord brings home the urgency of right priorities in our Gospel passage from Luke, reminding the people around him who were looking at the temple nearby, “All that you see here—the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” All in this world is passing, our Lord reminds us. We must keep our focus on eternity. 

Yet before the eternal bliss of heaven, we should expect to be tried and tested. “Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.” Sounds scary. But if you are living a stewardship way of life, there is nothing to fear. You have a plan in place. All you need to do is stick with it. Put our Lord first in your time, with your talents, and through your use of treasure. This way of life is not meant to be easy. But Jesus promises it will lead to eternal salvation and the joy of union with Him. “You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance, you will secure your lives.”

Mass Reading: Sunday - 06th November 2022

First reading
2 Maccabees 7:1-2,9-14
'The King of the world will raise us up to live for ever'

There were seven brothers who were arrested with their mother. The king tried to force them to taste pig’s flesh, which the Law forbids, by torturing them with whips and scourges. One of them, acting as spokesman for the others, said, ‘What are you trying to find out from us? We are prepared to die rather than break the laws of our ancestors.’

    With his last breath the second brother exclaimed, ‘Inhuman fiend, you may discharge us from this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up, since it is for his laws that we die, to live again for ever.’

    After him, they amused themselves with the third, who on being asked for his tongue promptly thrust it out and boldly held out his hands, with these honourable words, ‘It was heaven that gave me these limbs; for the sake of his laws I disdain them; from him I hope to receive them again.’ The king and his attendants were astounded at the young man’s courage and his utter indifference to suffering.

    When this one was dead they subjected the fourth to the same savage torture. When he neared his end he cried, ‘Ours is the better choice, to meet death at men’s hands, yet relying on God’s promise that we shall be raised up by him; whereas for you there can be no resurrection, no new life.’

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 16(17):1,5-6,8,15

I shall be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory, O Lord.

Lord, hear a cause that is just,
    pay heed to my cry.
Turn your ear to my prayer:
    no deceit is on my lips.

I shall be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory, O Lord.

    I kept my feet firmly in your paths;
    there was no faltering in my steps.
I am here and I call, you will hear me, O God.
    Turn your ear to me; hear my words.

I shall be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory, O Lord.

Guard me as the apple of your eye.
    Hide me in the shadow of your wings
As for me, in my justice I shall see your face
    and be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory.

I shall be filled, when I awake, with the sight of your glory, O Lord.

________

Second reading
2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5
May the Lord strengthen you in everything good that you do or say

    May our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father who has given us his love and, through his grace, such inexhaustible comfort and such sure hope, comfort you and strengthen you in everything good that you do or say.

    Finally, brothers, pray for us; pray that the Lord’s message may spread quickly, and be received with honour as it was among you; and pray that we may be preserved from the interference of bigoted and evil people, for faith is not given to everyone. But the Lord is faithful, and he will give you strength and guard you from the evil one, and we, in the Lord, have every confidence that you are doing and will go on doing all that we tell you. May the Lord turn your hearts towards the love of God and the fortitude of Christ.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Lk21:36

Alleluia, alleluia!

Stay awake, praying at all times
for the strength to stand with confidence
before the Son of Man.

Alleluia!

Or:
Rv1:5,6

Alleluia, alleluia!

Jesus Christ is the First-born from the dead:
to him be glory and power for ever and ever.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Luke 20:27-38
He is God, not of the dead, but of the living

    Some Sadducees – those who say that there is no resurrection – approached Jesus and they put this question to him, ‘Master, we have it from Moses in writing, that if a man’s married brother dies childless, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Well then, there were seven brothers. The first, having married a wife, died childless. The second and then the third married the widow. And the same with all seven, they died leaving no children. Finally the woman herself died. Now, at the resurrection, to which of them will she be wife since she had been married to all seven?’

    Jesus replied, ‘The children of this world take wives and husbands, but those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world and in the resurrection from the dead do not marry because they can no longer die, for they are the same as the angels, and being children of the resurrection they are sons of God. And Moses himself implies that the dead rise again, in the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all men are in fact alive.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 06th November 2022

2 MC 7:1-2, 9-14; PS 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15; 2 THES 2:16-3:5; LK 20:27-38

Today’s readings challenge us to focus on the “why” of stewardship. Why embrace this challenging way of life when it seems hard enough just to pay the bills, take care of our loved ones, meet the demands of our jobs, and fall into bed at the end of each full day? Because this life is not all there is. We were made for more — for eternal happiness in union with God. While we cannot earn our way into Heaven, what we do now with the life God has given us has eternal consequences. Stewardship living helps us to keep focused on our hoped-for destination in the choices we make each day.

Our first reading, from the Second Book of Maccabees, gives an inspiring example of people committed to living for God and striving for eternal happiness with Him. This passage revolves around seven brothers and their mother who were being tortured for refusing to eat pork in violation of God’s law. They accepted the torture even to the point of death. This courage was, of course, not about the pork! 

It was about love. It was about their awareness that their lives were a gift from God and their grateful response in choosing to live for Him above all else, even if obedience to His laws meant suffering and death.  In fact, as one brother was told to put out his tongue (no doubt for some cruel purpose), he offered not only his tongue but his hands as well, saying, “It was from Heaven that I received these; for the sake of his laws I disdain them; from him I hope to receive them again.” That is a commitment to one’s convictions.

Stewardship is not ultimately about the particular amount or kind of time, talent, and treasure that we offer. It is about the conviction that everything we have is a gift from our loving God whom we can never truly repay and with whom we want to live forever. Revisiting these three aspects of our lives regularly, prayerfully discerning the best use of our gifts, and putting this down in writing clarifies and strengthens our conviction to put God first. It is a clear guide and a powerful aid in living out this conviction in concrete ways day by day. 
To borrow the words from St. Paul to the Thessalonians in our second reading, our stewardship commitments help us “direct [our] heart to the love of God and to the endurance of Christ.”

In our Gospel passage from Luke, Christ reminds us very clearly that we were made for more than just this life and that our choices in this life have eternal consequences. In this passage, our Lord corrects some Saducees for their mistaken notion that there is no resurrection. He instructs that “those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead…can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.

Why should we embrace the stewardship way of life? So that we will use this life to thank God for all His gifts to us and so that we may attain the gift of eternal life and everlasting happiness of Heaven with Him.