Mass Reading: Sunday - 13th October 2024

First reading
Wisdom 7:7-11
I esteemed Wisdom more than sceptres or thrones

I prayed, and understanding was given me;

I entreated, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.

I esteemed her more than sceptres and thrones;

compared with her, I held riches as nothing.

I reckoned no priceless stone to be her peer,

for compared with her, all gold is a pinch of sand,

and beside her silver ranks as mud.

I loved her more than health or beauty,

preferred her to the light,

since her radiance never sleeps.

In her company all good things came to me,

at her hands riches not to be numbered.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 89(90):12-17

Fill us with your love so that we may rejoice.

Make us know the shortness of our life
    that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Lord, relent! Is your anger for ever?
    Show pity to your servants.

Fill us with your love so that we may rejoice.

In the morning, fill us with your love;
    we shall exult and rejoice all our days.
Give us joy to balance our affliction
    for the years when we knew misfortune.

Fill us with your love so that we may rejoice.

Show forth your work to your servants;
    let your glory shine on their children.
Let the favour of the Lord be upon us:
    give success to the work of our hands.

Fill us with your love so that we may rejoice.

________

Second reading
Hebrews 4:12-13
The word of God cuts more finely than a double-edged sword

    The word of God is something alive and active: it cuts like any double-edged sword but more finely: it can slip through the place where the soul is divided from the spirit, or joints from the marrow; it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts. No created thing can hide from him; everything is uncovered and open to the eyes of the one to whom we must give account of ourselves.

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:
Mt5:3

Alleluia, alleluia!

How happy are the poor in spirit:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Mark 10:17-30
Give everything you own to the poor, and follow me

    Jesus was setting out on a journey when a man ran up, knelt before him and put this question to him, ‘Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You must not kill; You must not commit adultery; You must not steal; You must not bring false witness; You must not defraud; Honour your father and mother.’ And he said to him, ‘Master, I have kept all these from my earliest days.’ Jesus looked steadily at him and loved him, and he said, ‘There is one thing you lack. Go and sell everything you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’ But his face fell at these words and he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.

    Jesus looked round and said to his disciples, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!’ The disciples were astounded by these words, but Jesus insisted, ‘My children,’ he said to them ‘how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.’ They were more astonished than ever. ‘In that case’ they said to one another ‘who can be saved?’ Jesus gazed at them. ‘For men’ he said ‘it is impossible, but not for God: because everything is possible for God.’

    Peter took this up. ‘What about us?’ he asked him. ‘We have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, brothers, sisters, father, children or land for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not be repaid a hundred times over, houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and land – not without persecutions – now in this present time and, in the world to come, eternal life.’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 13th October 2024

 

WIS 7:7-11; PS 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17; HEB 4:12-13; MK 10:17-30 OR 10:17-27

In our Gospel today we hear the story of a man who ran up to Jesus and asked Him what he must do to reach eternal life.

Jesus said, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”

It says the man went away sad because he had much.

We might cringe when we hear this story because it is sad — this man was so close to becoming an active disciple of Jesus, but instead turned away. We also might cringe because it could be deeply applicable to our lives.

Jesus states that, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

One of the metaphors for the “eye of a needle” was a tight passageway into Jerusalem that people had to enter to get into the city. In order for their camels to pass through, they had to remove whatever the camel was carrying, only then, could they enter.

If we look at our own lives, we can most likely think of something that we tightly carry with us. Maybe it is possessions — material goods or money — like Jesus references in our Gospel. Or maybe it is something less material — like status, pride or control. As we go through life, it can be hard not to cling tightly to things of the world.

But what will happen when we reach the gate of heaven? All of our “stuff” won’t fit into the narrow gate.

Jesus doesn’t want our stuff — our job promotions, our designer house or our bank account. He just wants us. So, we need to be willing to strip those things from our lives in order to reach Him.

Later in our Gospel, Jesus’ disciples asked a question we all might be thinking, “Then who can be saved?” How can anyone make it to heaven if we all are attached to things in our everyday life that we put in front of Him?

Jesus tells us, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” It is only through Him that we will reach eternal life.

Our First Reading reminds us that through prayer, we will gain the virtues to persevere through this life — “I prayed, and prudence was given me; I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.” If we ask, we shall receive. And if we remain close to Jesus, He will show us the way.

It is also through opportunity. As our Second Reading states, “everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him.” Jesus knows exactly what we struggle with, and He gives us countless opportunities in life to choose Him, to overcome our attachments and surrender.

It could be a tragic life event, a rough week, an unexpected expense that depletes our savings, or the loss of material goods. These moments are opportunities that Jesus allows in our lives for our sanctification. It is our job not to waste those moments.

We can also create opportunities throughout our day to help ourselves detach from whatever is holding us back from Jesus. Jesus’ recommendation to this man was to sell all his possessions and give them to the poor. While He may not be calling us to do that, we can still give to the point where it makes us uncomfortable. And it is in that discomfort that we put more trust in Christ that helps us to grow closer to Jesus, that we turn and follow Him more intentionally.

Recall that Jesus already knew the life of this man in our Gospel, and it said that He “loved him.” No matter where we are on our journey as disciples, know that Jesus knows everything about us and still radically loves us. There is nothing we could do to make Him love us more or less. However, there is much we can do to love Him more.

May we consider what it is that is holding us back from radically loving Jesus in return. Pray for the grace to overcome, don’t pass by the opportunities to surrender and create moments to detach. It might seem difficult, but the outcome will be more than we could have ever imagined — peace on earth and treasure in heaven.

Mass Reading: Sunday - 06th October 2024

First reading
Genesis 2:18-24
A man and his wife become one body

    The Lord God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him a helpmate.’ So from the soil the Lord God fashioned all the wild beasts and all the birds of heaven. These he brought to the man to see what he would call them; each one was to bear the name the man would give it. The man gave names to all the cattle, all the birds of heaven and all the wild beasts. But no helpmate suitable for man was found for him. So the Lord God made the man fall into a deep sleep. And while he slept, he took one of his ribs and enclosed it in flesh. The Lord God built the rib he had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man. The man exclaimed:

‘This at last is bone from my bones,

and flesh from my flesh!

This is to be called woman,

for this was taken from man.’

    This is why a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to his wife, and they become one body.

The word of the Lord.

________

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 127(128)

May the Lord bless us all the days of our life.

O blessed are those who fear the Lord
    and walk in his ways!
By the labour of your hands you shall eat.
    You will be happy and prosper.

May the Lord bless us all the days of our life.

Your wife like a fruitful vine
    in the heart of your house;
your children like shoots of the olive,
    around your table.

May the Lord bless us all the days of our life.

Indeed thus shall be blessed
    the man who fears the Lord.
May the Lord bless you from Zion
    in a happy Jerusalem
    all the days of your life!
May you see your children’s children.
    On Israel, peace!

May the Lord bless us all the days of our life.

________

Second reading
Hebrews 2:9-11
The one who sanctifies is the brother of those who are sanctified

    We see in Jesus one who was for a short while made lower than the angels and is now crowned with glory and splendour because he submitted to death; by God’s grace he had to experience death for all mankind.

    As it was his purpose to bring a great many of his sons into glory, it was appropriate that God, for whom everything exists and through whom everything exists, should make perfect, through suffering, the leader who would take them to their salvation. For the one who sanctifies, and the ones who are sanctified, are of the same stock; that is why he openly calls them brothers.

The word of the Lord.

________

Gospel Acclamation
Jn17:17

Alleluia, alleluia!

Your word is truth, O Lord:
consecrate us in the truth.

Alleluia!

Or:
1Jn4:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

As long as we love one another
God will live in us
and his love will be complete in us.

Alleluia!

________

Gospel
Mark 10:2-16
What God has united, man must not divide

    Some Pharisees approached Jesus and asked, ‘Is it against the law for a man to divorce his wife?’ They were testing him. He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ‘Moses allowed us’ they said ‘to draw up a writ of dismissal and so to divorce.’ Then Jesus said to them, ‘It was because you were so unteachable that he wrote this commandment for you. But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. This is why a man must leave father and mother, and the two become one body. They are no longer two, therefore, but one body. So then, what God has united, man must not divide.’ Back in the house the disciples questioned him again about this, and he said to them, ‘The man who divorces his wife and marries another is guilty of adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another she is guilty of adultery too.’

    People were bringing little children to him, for him to touch them. The disciples turned them away, but when Jesus saw this he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ Then he put his arms round them, laid his hands on them and gave them his blessing.

The Gospel of the Lord.

 

Mass Reflection: Sunday - 06th October 2024

 

GN 2:18-24; PS 128:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6; HEB 2:9-11; MK 10:2-16 OR 10:2-12

Our readings this week speak to each of our domestic churches — the little churches that we call our families. They bring us back to the very beginning of time and call us to restore what God had intended for each of us.

The First Reading from the book of Genesis takes us to the beginning of creation when God made man and woman. God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a suitable partner for him.” And out of man, woman was created.

When Adam sees the woman he says, “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called ‘woman.’”

We can almost hear the longing, gratitude, and appreciation in Adam’s voice when he meets Eve as he says, “at last.” She was a gift because she was an equal partner to him.

This was before the fall of man, meaning sin had not entered the world. Adam and Eve only viewed each other in total acceptance and love.

Our Gospel brings us to life after sin had entered the world — a time that is familiar to us. As the Pharisees questioned Jesus about divorce, He expressed that Moses permitted it because of the hardness of man’s heart. However, Jesus was calling them to deeper holiness. He was calling them to restore the original plan God had intended for marriage, “A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Jesus’ words still apply to us here and now in each of our domestic churches. It is the task of families to tirelessly work to restore God’s original plan for marriage and family life — homes filled with gratitude, acceptance, and love. It is a beautiful request and yet extremely difficult because sin and temptation surround us.

It takes a daily commitment to live out our call to holiness to restore our families to this beautiful image.

To recognize the gifts God has bestowed on us through the members of our families, we need to remain close to our Gracious Giver. Just as Adam and Eve “walked” with God in the Garden before their fall, we too are called to walk with God in our day-to-day moments. This is primarily done through prayer and action.

As Genesis reminds us, God created woman as a partner for man and He desires that they become unified. It is in this union of marriage that man and woman work together to bring their family to Heaven. This is the mission that our families must be united in.

We must ask ourselves, how are we living out that mission? It should be the very heart and soul of our families.

It is done through individual, spousal, and family prayer. Simply by praying before meals, attending Mass together, going to confession, praying a decade of the Rosary, or even a simple Hail Mary, Our Father and Glory be together each evening that we become more aware and united on our mission to Heaven.

It’s also done through action — how we treat each member of our family. How we respond to one another in our day-to-day moments, support and challenge one another on this road to sanctity, and humbly choose to serve each member that our families will be transformed.

Restoring our families to what God had intended them to be takes work, but it doesn’t need to be complicated. All we need to do is take one step closer to Him.

As we think about our families this week — whether it be a single household or a family of 10 — let us find small ways in which we can live out our mission to bring our families to Heaven.