Catholic 745: Sixteenth Sunday of the Year C - Sunday, July 21, 2019

Homily

First Reading: Genesis 18:1-10

Psalm: Ps 14:2-5. "The just will live in the presence of the Lord"
Second Reading: Colossians 1:24-28

Gospel Acclamation: cf Luke 8:15

Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

Photograph:  By Zvonimir Atletic.Shutterstock  stock photo ID: 425153152. Uused under license. STITAR, CROATIA - NOVEMBER 24: Christ in the House of Mary and Martha, main altar in the church of Saint Matthew in Stitar, Croatia on November 24, 2015 

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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers, and reflections for the Sixteenth Sunday of the Year C  - Sunday, July 21, 2019 by clicking this link here:   https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/16c-faith-hope-and-love-ep-167/s-7u98n  (EPISODE: 167)
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Both the first reading and the gospel this weekend speak of the true meaning of hospitality and graciousness;  and for a Christian, these are always a symbol of openness and a welcoming attitude…  an open heart… an open ear…. An open mind to God and God's word….   An openness to God's different ways…..  
 
In the first reading….  Abraham and Sarah give hospitality to the three mysterious visitors….    This is what is expected in the culture of the time of all people towards travellers….  But there is something different here….  Somehow, Abraham KNOWS that these three visitors are not just any old travellers, but are actually Angels… representing the presence of God….   I love this scene from the bible…   if anyone was to make a movie of this scene from the Bible…. I reckon the three strangers would say very little…  but would just nod.. and cooperate and graciously accept the hospitality of Abraham……   it would be a delightful and very mysterious scene….. I would love to see it acted out…..(actually, the 1966 movie entitled The BIBLE, features this scene and one reviewer describes this scene of the three angels visiting Abraham as one of the best scenes in the movie…  and bemoaning that more scenes like it are not featured…..)…  probably because its such a key incident…
 
The hospitality of Abraham, which is nothing less than was expected of all hosts of his time, nevertheless is a symbol and example of the graciousness, openness, and compassion that is expected of all who follow God… and is open to all people in this way, one's heart is shown to be open to God himself…. 
 
This lesson is consolidated in the Gospel….   Its also a beautiful passage,  but, it is also a very misunderstood passage..  it can be quite confusing….   It may be helpful to keep in mind that Jesus is very good friends with both Mary and Martha. He is not rebuking Martha….  But he is gently teaching her that, although he deeply appreciates and values her hospitality and welcome.. and the meal she is rushing to prepare….  In the end… these important actions are a foretaste and a symbol of the true hospitality and welcome that comes from sitting at the feet of the Lord and listening to him… learning from him… becoming a disciple of Christ and being utterly open and responsive to God's word and God's teachings….   And this is what Mary is doing …. And it is not to be taken from her…..
 
Unlike many oft-heard interpretations of this gospel…..   Jesus is not preferring action to contemplation…..  and is not rejecting Martha's ways and accepting only Mary's ways……    Jesus is not "contrasting a strictly contemplative life with the active life. Both are necessary. We venerate Martha as a saint as well as Mary. The one thing necessary is to listen to Jesus and to ponder his words deeply. Without his values and his Spirit and good news, our activity could be misguided and even harmful. We need, (and our homes need, and our world needs) the saving message, values, and Spirit of Jesus. We need to listen and be open to this first and foremost.**
 
Both action and contemplation are needed in the life of a Christian….  But both need to be firmly based on openness and responsiveness to Jesus' teachings and values and message….
 
As we have said already….Action without contemplation could be fruitless and quite misguided ….   A waste of effort……    and contemplation without actions could be just self-indulgence.  Both are needed in their own order… with first priority given to sitting at Christ's feet and listening to him and learning from him.  
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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly

*(CARMELPRINT 2004)

SHARING THE WORD THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR. GUSTAVO GUTIERREZ.
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Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love,  A time of Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul W. Kelly
Texts used in this programme are for the purposes of worship and prayer for listeners wherever you are.
Prayers and chants are taken from the English Translation of the Roman Missal, edition three, © 2010, The International commission on English in the liturgy.
Scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  by the national council of Churches of Christ, USA. , //adaptations to conform with Catholic liturgical norms, © 2009, by the same.
 [{selected psalms } - ***Psalm verses are (also) taken from "The Psalms: A New Translation" ©1963, The Grail (England), published by Collins.. **]

Prayers of the Faithful are adapted from Robert Borg's 1993 book " Together we pray". Published in Sydney Australia By  E.J. Dwyer. (out of print).

{ "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -published 2011,  Composed and Sung by Jeffrey M. Ostrowski 
Featuring the….Gloria, The Creed, The Kyrie, The Mass parts, Psalms:   http://www.ccwatershed.org/chabanel/  ]]] ] COPYRIGHT @ 2018 CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  www.ccwatershed.org/vatican/Ralph_Sherwin_Videos/  

"Faith, Hope and Love" theme Hymn:   Words, based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, set to original music © 1996 by Paul W. Kelly.

For more details please visit http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au/
Contact us at paulwkelly68@gmail.com
Production by Kelly Enterprises Resources. 

May God bless and keep you.

Sixteenth Sunday of the Year C
(Sunday, July 21, 2019)

(EPISODE: 167 )

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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{{May Our Lord's gift of hope encourage you.}}

As we prepare to celebrate the great Sacramental feast of Gods love, let us pause, recall our sins, and trust in Gods infinite mercy. 
Lord Jesus, you have revealed yourself as the way to the Father: Lord, have mercy//You have poured out on your people the Spirit of truth: Christ, have mercy//You are the Good Shepherd, leading us to eternal life: Lord, have mercy.//
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation

1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.

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own preface

Various Needs and Occasions  I

Communion side.  pwk:  RH
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{Thanks for joining us for this time of prayer and reflection}

Go in peace, glorifying the Lord by your life.

Catholic 744 : Fifteenth Sunday, Ordinary Time. Year C - Sunday, July 14, 2019

Homily Fifteenth Sunday, Ordinary Time. Year C - Sunday, July 14, 2019

stock photo ID: 1083278969. BOLOGNA, ITALY - APRIL 18, 2018: The icon of Parable of the Good Samaritan in church Chiesa di San Pietro by Giovanni Paolo Bardini. – Image. Shutterstock. Used under license.
First Reading. Deuteronomy 30:10-14
Responsorial Psalm. Ps 18:8-11. R. The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
Second Reading. Colossians 1:15-20
Gospel Acclamation. cf John 6:63, 68
Gospel. Luke 10:25-37
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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers and reflections for the Fifteenth Sunday, Ordinary Time. Year C - Sunday, July 14, 2019 by clicking this link here: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/15c-faith-hope-and-love-ep-166/s-A0a5G  (EPISODE: 166)
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Homily FIFTEENTH Sunday of the Year C 
Prologue: The readings this weekend are really beautiful. Each of them has a similar thread running through them. What we believe in, the Word of God, and how we live this word is very, very practical, down-to-earth and tangible! The word of God is not something distant and theoretical and ponderous, but it is alive and active and it is living in our hearts and minds and on our lips and actions. Jesus is not some distant figure, he is God made flesh who shows us what God the Father I like and how God treats sinners and how God loves us. In the Gospel, Jesus reinforces this by telling the famous and wonderful parable of the Good Samaritan. We show we love God and have his word by how we show love to our neighbour, anyone in need, and how we respect ourselves and the gift of life and responsibility we have been given.
Imagine a newly married couple sitting down to their first dinner together after returning from their honeymoon… imagine if the husband said to his new wife….. "I just want to get something clear with you? I hope you don't mind! What is the absolute minimum I need to do to fulfil my obligations to you as your spouse? – I don't want to be seen by you or anyone else as shirking my responsibilities so, could you tell me what the absolute least things I need to do to satisfy requirements? "
Could you imagine such a question?? It is outrageous… It is crazy… If that foolish man  got to start dinner, let along finish it, that would be a miracle.
Of course this would be an awful and immature and terribly unloving attitude.
The answer to such a  question… (if it even needs answering) would be twofold… … It is about LOVE… not about duty. It is also not about grudgingly doing the bare-minimum… This, without doubt, is about love and friendship, about companionship and two people loving, living and working together united in heart and mind….. How much do you need to give???? …whatever it takes… everything you've got… we are not in this together for just a dedication capped at "30% "and nor are we in this for merely 50/50, (whilst keeping score all the way!!??) – its 100% each.
As crazy as this extreme example is, that is really what the lawyer is asking of Jesus in today's Gospel… and we too are can be guilty of insanely asking similar things of Our Lord-  whenever we try to ration out our commitments and responsibility to Our Lord (who is our everything!).  
Isn't the lawyer in the gospel asking a similarly ill-calculated question of Jesus? He is looking for a clear and definite pathway to Heaven, and so he asks: 'What must I do?' When Jesus tells him that the answer is Compassion and love, the lawyer again asks for a definition: "What are the limits of this? "
Jesus tells him that his Way is not lived by merely following rules, not rationing-out our efforts -- and nor is the Gospel kept by staying within strict and limited boundaries…….. Rather, the Gospel is lived by responding to life wherever and whenever you find it; with the Love and compassion of God abiding in us… The love which is made up of God's very essence… serving, self-sacrificing love to others and to all……. .
Eternal life is the free, generous, unrestrained, authentic gift of true, compassionate, self-forgetting love for others.
Living in a loving relationship with God means loving and caring for all that God has created; and going beyond the limits, the reservations, the fears, the restrictions and responding freely, lovingly and passionately, (come what may, and irrespective of the personal cost), to the situations and people life throws up at us.
The law of God, the word of God is not some distant thing written in stone, but a living, breathing, flexible and loving law,… as the first reading tells us…… "the Word is very near to you, it is in your mouth and in your heart for your observance. "
With this parable, Jesus shows us that God's love doesn't care one jot about what others think of a person. God's love does what is right, and what is compassionate, and what is responding to real need, irrespective of popular opinion.
Scripture Commentator William Barclay gives profound insights into this parable: 

"The first listeners to Our Lord's parable, in First Century Palestine, would have been utterly shocked and thrown-off-balance by the unexpected results of the story. The hero in this parable is not the one the listeners expected. The hero turns out to be the one who is usually despised by Jesus' listeners. How can the "good guy "be the Samaritan?? They would have gasped in astonishment.
And worse…. The expected "good guys "- the priest and the levite, turned out to be not responding the way that Jesus was teaching God's disciples to respond.
 
Interestingly, the traveler who gets attacked has been very foolish and even reckless. The road to Jericho was notorious for robbers, as it was steep and winding. People who travelled that road travelled in groups and were taking their lives into their hands if they dared to travel alone and with valuables. So Our Lord is saying, even if people have been foolish and have contributed to the situation they have found themselves in, Gospel compassion responds to their need and doesn't moralize. Compassion and love responds to real need, it does not stop to work out blame and fault. Nor does compassion stop to work out whether people deserve a loving response when their own foolishness may have played a part in their situation.
The story does not suggest that the Priest was a bad guy. Nor does it suggest that the priest did not care about the poor person who had been beaten. It may have been that the Priest was very concerned for the victim. However, it is clear that he put his religious and legal duties ahead of the human and physical needs of a robbery victim. If the priest touched an injured person, he would have been ritually unclean and unable to perform his duties at the temple. So, he put his "ceremonial duties ahead of charity. " "The Temple and its liturgy meant more to him than the pain of a person. "***
"The Levite appears to have moved a little closer to the victim but still does not help. In those days, robbers often used decoys pretending to be injured to lure helpers to come nearer, whereby they would be ambushed and attacked. "The Levite was a man whose motto was, "Safety first. "He would take no risks to help anyone else even if he felt he should.
"Then there was the Samaritan. The listeners would obviously expect that with his arrival the villain had arrived. He may not have been racially a Samaritan at all. The Jews had no dealings with the Samaritans and yet this man seems to have been a kind of commercial traveller who was a regular visitor to the inn. The name "Samaritan "was sometimes used to describe a man who was a heretic or a person who did not keep the letter of the ceremonial law. Perhaps this man was a Samaritan in the sense of being one whom all orthodox good people despised.
We note two things about him.
(i) His credit was good! Clearly the innkeeper was prepared to trust him. He may have been theologically unsound, but he was an honest man.
(ii) He alone was prepared to help. He may have been considered a heretic but he alone showed the love of God in his heart. … In the end we will be judged not by the creed we hold but by the life we live.
And so, the Lord teaches us that we must help a person even when they may have been foolish and ill-advised, or even brought their trouble on themselves, as the traveller had done.
We must help any person…. of any nation or any creed, colour or nationality or value-system…. Anyone who is actually in need is our neighbour. Our help must be as wide as the love of God, which is beyond measure….
We must not put rules and ceremonials ahead of people and their plight. The law of God is living and active. The ceremonials of religion express and contain the values of God's Kingdom and ought not be used in opposition to the human condition.
The help we give must be practical and not consist merely in feeling sorry. No doubt the priest and the Levite felt a pang of pity for the wounded man, but in the end they did nothing to help.
In order for the fullness of compassion to exist, it must flow into deeds.
What Jesus said to the scribe, he says to us-- "Go and do the same. " "**
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References:
**William Barclay - THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE SERIES. REVISED EDITION. THE GOSPEL OF LUKE. THE WESTMINSTER PRESS. PHILADELPHIA. 1975
Fr Paul W. Kelly, additional expansion and reflection comments included within the commentary of Barclay.
PICTURE:  https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/bologna-italy-april-18-2018-icon-1083278969?src=kd_Fg0SYj6DDV25G4wgDFQ-1-1&studio=1
stock photo ID: 1083278969. BOLOGNA, ITALY - APRIL 18, 2018: The icon of Parable of the Good Samaritan in church Chiesa di San Pietro by Giovanni Paolo Bardini. – Image. Shutterstock. Used under license.
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Archive of homilies and reflections: http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.auTo contact Fr. Paul, please email: paulwkelly68@gmail.comTo listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead: https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracksYou are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com
Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog: "Faith, Hope and Love, A time of Christian worship and reflection "- Led by Rev Paul W. Kelly
Texts used in this programme are for the purposes of worship and prayer for listeners wherever you are.
Prayers and chants are taken from the English Translation of the Roman Missal, edition three, © 2010, The International commission on English in the liturgy.
Scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version: © 1989, by the national council of Churches of Christ, USA. , //adaptations to conform with Catholic liturgical norms, © 2009, by the same.
 [{selected psalms } - ***Psalm verses are (also) taken from "The Psalms: A New Translation "©1963, The Grail (England), published by Collins.. **]
Prayers of the Faithful are adapted from Robert Borg's 1993 book "Together we pray ". Published in Sydney Australia By E.J. Dwyer. (out of print).
{ "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin "-published 2011, Composed and Sung by Jeffrey M. Ostrowski
Featuring the….Gloria, The Creed, The Kyrie, The Mass parts, Psalms: http://www.ccwatershed.org/chabanel/ ]]] ] COPYRIGHT @ 2018 CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. www.ccwatershed.org/vatican/Ralph_Sherwin_Videos/ "Faith, Hope and Love "theme Hymn: Words, based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, set to original music © 1996 by Paul W. Kelly.
For more details please visit http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au/Contact us at paulwkelly68@gmail.comProduction by Kelly Enterprises Resources.
May God bless and keep you.
Fifteenth Sunday, Ordinary Time. Year C
(Sunday, July 14, 2019)
(EPISODE: 166 )
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (or/ The Lord be with You)
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{{May Our Lord's courage, uphold you.}}
Our Gods love and mercy knows no bounds, and so let us recall our sins so as to worthily celebrate this Holy Sacrifice.
Lord Jesus, you were lifted up to draw all people to yourself: Lord, have mercy//You shouldered the cross, to bear our suffering and sinfulness: Christ, have mercy// You open for your people the way from death into life: Lord, have mercy//
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation
3. Save us, Saviour of the world, for by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free.
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Sundays Ordinary V
Eucharistic Prayer II
Communion side. pwk: LH
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{Thanks everyone, and have a grace-filled and compassion-filled week.}
Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.

Catholic 743: Fourteenth Sunday of the Year C - Sunday, July 7, 2019

Catholic 743: Homily Fourteenth Sunday of the Year C  - Sunday, July 7, 2019

First reading Isaiah 66:10-14.
Responsorial Psalm 65:1-7,16,20. "Let all the earth cry out to God with joy."
Second reading. Galatians 6:14-18.
Gospel. Luke 10:1-12,17-20.

https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-holding-three-heavy-suitcases-hand-492066481?src=eK-qq-PWXgVV0jCmTr8soA-1-15&studio=1 Stock photo ID: 492066481. Man holding three heavy suitcases in hand. Travel light. – Image. Licensed by Shutterstock.

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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers, and reflections for the Fourteenth Sunday of the Year C  - Sunday, July 7, 2019, by clicking this link here:   https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/14c-faith-hope-and-love-ep-165/s-mv2Xm  (EPISODE: 165)
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The gospel this weekend shows Our Lord teaching his disciples to "travel lightly."  If we avoid being overly attached to material possessions and if we are not enmeshed with "power and authority," we can successfully proclaim and witness to true peace, justice and the values of God's Kingdom. 

Our Lord knew intuitively that people who are attached to possessions, personal comfort and power will be more tempted to water-down the gospel message and tone down the values of the Kingdom for fear of the economic and social consequences of offending the status-quo or upsetting the influential.

If I value my possessions too much, I will hesitate to proclaim the gospel boldly for fear of forfeiting my valuables when persecuted for my stance.  If I value power, I will not be keen to humble myself to the level of a servant, as Christ did.  If I value my life too much, the truth and the justice of the gospel will be silenced by the merest threat to life, liberty or well-being by those who hate this message.

There is certainly something free-ing and light about 'travelling lightly'.  

Our Lord really knew what he was talking about.  Jesus wants us to travel light,  (Not just in regards possessions, but also other spiritual and emotional baggage that we can tend to get bogged down with).  

I find the second reading by Saint Paul a bit mysterious.  Paul was writing a very important message to the people of Galatia.  There were tensions in the community,  and Paul's letter is a passionate, loving and sometimes stern masterpiece of writing…  to get across the message of the gospel to the arguing people.  Saint Paul tells people that they shouldn't get bogged down on focusing on external signs of religiousness unless one keeps the meaning of the gospel. He is so passionate he even says at the end of it.  See!…  look!  It is my own handwriting.. See the big letters….… 

(I am so old and hard of sight now. But I am so moved by this issue, I am scribbling this down myself….in my own hand.. I have taken the writing implement from my usual scribe…)….he then goes on to reminds them, and us, that some people wear the signs of faith but don't live it….  They wear the signs of membership of God's people in the Jewish faith, but only to avoid being persecuted by the Romans for being Christian. He says,  enough of this. No more trouble on this topic…  look.. the cross of Christ shows us the meaning of true discipleship… if you want signs.. look at the signs on my body, says Paul, of what I have suffered for proclaiming the gospel….    He had been through shipwreck, imprisonment, floggings, stoning, starvation, and so much more…  

Finally, in the gospel, the seventy-two disciples come back successful.  They are delighted that the spirits deferred to them. But Jesus seems to warn them…   don't give in to pride and don't gloat over your power…   our achievements are all about God's grace…  Jesus says a strange comment here…  he says, I saw Satan fall from heaven.   He may be saying, watch out..  one of the angels fell from heaven because of pride… don't fall for that yourselves.. it is not about you and your power and ability, it is about allowing God's grace and peace to work in and through you…  it needs humility, openness and also not going around looking at what I can get out of this or that situation… 

Only by this humility, simplicity, and openness to serve and travel lightly, can be more fully allow God's grace to work in us, as instruments in the hand of the Divine Artist.     

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References:

THE DAILY STUDY BIBLE. GOSPEL OF LUKE. (REVISED EDITION). BY WILLIAM BARCLAY.

Sharing the Word through the Liturgical Year: (1997). Gustavo Gutierrez

Fr Paul W Kelly

Also Prologue:  (scripture scholar William Barclay, as cited above ):     "the first disciples are sent out on their first missionary assignment as raw recruits, with little to help them, but the lessons they learn here will be greatly needed later,.  Whatever we seek to achieve in Jesus' name, we are indeed doing it in the name of Jesus...  not in our own names or by our own powers of talents....// .We are given the assistance that we need.  Jesus reminds us that the crucial factor is not that we are personally powerful or that we are successful.  What really matters is that we are doing the will of God, in Jesus' name, and it is this which is the reason for our ultimate salvation."

Photographic item: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/man-holding-three-heavy-suitcases-hand-492066481?src=eK-qq-PWXgVV0jCmTr8soA-1-15&studio=1
Stock Photo ID: 492066481. Man holding three heavy suitcases in hand. Travel light. – Image. Licensed by Shutterstock. ++++++
Archive of homilies and reflections:  http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au
To contact Fr. Paul, please email:  paulwkelly68@gmail.com

To listen to my weekly homily audio podcast, please click this link here.
NB - It is often a week or so Ahead:  https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/tracks

You are welcome to subscribe to Fr Paul's homily mail-out by sending an email to this address: paulkellyreflections+subscribe@googlegroups.com

Further information relating to the audio productions linked to this Blog:
"Faith, Hope and Love,  A time of Christian worship and reflection"  - Led by Rev Paul W. Kelly
Texts used in this program are for the purposes of worship and prayer for listeners wherever you are.
Prayers and chants are taken from the English Translation of the Roman Missal, edition three, © 2010, The International Commission on English in the liturgy.
Scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  by the national council of Churches of Christ, USA. , //adaptations to conform with Catholic liturgical norms, © 2009, by the same.
 [{selected psalms } - ***Psalm verses are (also) taken from "The Psalms: A New Translation" ©1963, The Grail (England), published by Collins.. **]

Prayers of the Faithful are adapted from Robert Borg's 1993 book " Together we pray". Published in Sydney Australia By  E.J. Dwyer. (out of print).

{ "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -published 2011,  Composed and Sung by Jeffrey M. Ostrowski 
Featuring the….Gloria, The Creed, The Kyrie, The Mass parts, Psalms:   http://www.ccwatershed.org/chabanel/  ]]] ] COPYRIGHT @ 2018 CORPUS CHRISTI WATERSHED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.  www.ccwatershed.org/vatican/Ralph_Sherwin_Videos/  

"Faith, Hope and Love" theme Hymn:   Words, based on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, set to original music © 1996 by Paul W. Kelly.

For more details please visit http://homilycatholic.blogspot.com.au/
Contact us at paulwkelly68@gmail.com
Production by Kelly Enterprises Resources. 

May God bless and keep you.

Fourteenth Sunday of the Year C
(Sunday, July 7, 2019)

(EPISODE: 165 )

The Lord be with you.
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{{May Our Lord's Fidelity strengthen you.}}

My brothers and sisters, trusting in Gods mercy and love let us call to mind our sins.
Lord Jesus, you call your people to turn away from sin: Lord, have mercy//You teach us wisdom, and write your truth in our inmost heart: Christ, have mercy//You forgive sins through the ministry of reconciliation: Lord, have mercy//
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation

2. When we eat this Bread and drink this Cup, we proclaim your Death, O Lord, until you come again.

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Sundays Ordinary IV

Eucharistic Prayer I

Communion side.  pwk:  RH
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{I pray this week brings you an ever deeper experience of his compassion and love. }

Go forth, the Mass is ended.

Catholic 742: Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year C. - Sunday, June 30, 2019

Photo by Christophe Maertens on Unsplash  

Homily Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year C.  - Sunday, June 30, 2019

First reading. 1 Kings 19:16,19-21
Responsorial Psalm. Psalm 15:1-2,5,7-11. You are my inheritance, O Lord.
Second reading. Galatians 5:1,13-18
Gospel. Luke 9:51-62

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Please listen to my audio recordings of the readings, prayers, and reflections for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year C.  - Sunday, June 30, 2019, by clicking this link here:   https://soundcloud.com/user-633212303/13c-faith-hope-and-love-ep-164/s-UJvzg  (EPISODE: 164)
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(If anyone who has subscribed to the weekly email is getting double-copies each time, could you please contact me at paulwkelly8@gmail.com Thanks).

The Gospel this weekend shows various people coming up to Jesus and giving reasons why they cannot follow him immediately, but also how they intend to follow him as soon as possible.

I think the key to this gospel is the first words of the passage: "As the time drew near for Jesus to be taken up to heaven." In other words, there was no time left. There was an absolute urgency and immediacy to Jesus' last days. There was no time but the present and there was not a time for hesitations, excuses or delays.  It was now or never.  So, irrespective of whether the excuses given by people were good or whether they were weak, nothing must be allowed to stop the mission of Christ from being accomplished. So, one needs to get their priorities right. Jesus' gospel has an urgency that demands first priority.  And we must not let the many reasons that surround us, frustrate that plan. There may very well always be good reasons to put off until tomorrow (or later) what really needs to be done today. And of course.. tomorrow may never come….

There is a story told of an Olympic champion who lived in an Eastern Block nation during the time of the Cold War. … They wanted to defect to the West…. When they finally decided to do so… it was only by literally turning their back on their special car and their unique privileges and leaving immediately, without hesitation, carrying only what fitted into a had in the small suitcase they carried…. If they had tried to take anything more it would have alerted the authorities to their planned defection and the escape would have failed and ended tragically. If something is urgent and important hesitation or looking back could be catastrophic. Christ knew that.

This weekend's readings are about setting out on an urgent and very important journey….  Jesus has been up 'til this point, traveling about proclaiming the good news… Now he has resolutely set his face towards Jerusalem and his impending suffering and death. As he journeys,  various people come up to him and say: "I want to come with you." Jesus impresses upon them that he is not forcing anyone to come along with him. Rather, he is giving them absolute freedom. But, if they choose to follow him it will require total, complete and single-minded commitment. There can be no "ifs or buts," and no hesitation. To those who say "I will follow you anywhere, but first I have to do such and such," Jesus cuts them off and virtually says…. "forget it!  Go home. I am heading in this direction immediately. Come with me now or lose the moment. There is only now. No time for wavering" ….. The intensity and the urgency of Jesus' mission cannot be more strongly emphasized.

The first reading has a strikingly similar incident.  Elisha is chosen by the prophet Elijah to follow him as a disciple, symbolised by the beautiful image of the Prophet Elijah throwing his cloak over the young man as he walks by.  Elisha is obviously both honoured and frightened. He says, "first let me say goodbye to my parents." Elijah is affronted and says to him: "have I done anything to you? Am I forcing you to come with me? Go back and forget it."  This has the desired effect of shocking Elisha into realising that this offer is once-and-only.  (Elijah in his wisdom knew that Elisha, would probably have hesitated and not returned if he had looked back), and so Elisha went and followed Elijah immediately.

At various times we all find ourselves setting out on new journeys. Whether those journeys be physical, spiritual, vocational, or otherwise.  These journeys create some hesitations and fears. They involve moving out of comfort zones and into unfamiliar territory.  But we also know that we follow Jesus wherever he has led us in life,  without significant hesitation. God never has been one to lead us down the wrong paths, even if sometimes we have occasionally turned down some seemingly "dead-end streets" in some of our decisions and actions.  ………. but we are sure that ultimately we will be led by the Lord to our destination.

We trust in the shepherd who leads us all in the right paths…and who is always true to his name.

The gospel today also raises the really important question of the extent to which we are capable of fooling ourselves… and self-deceiving ourselves… it can be a very subtle but effective thing…. Jesus wants us to be honest and clear-sighted about our lives and our motives and priorities… it can be so easy to be self-indulgent, whilst glossing over this by making up all sorts of noble excuses and reasons…. Which really are not the truth of our decisions…

No wonder our Lord said in another scripture, "let your yes be yes, and your no be no, everything else comes from the evil one...."  how wise- anything other than a clear yes or no is often an excuse or a justification, or an alibi..... don't excuses and explanations so often cloud the original objective and value.

Let us never underestimate the power of self-deception… it is a barrier and an obstacle to the generous challenge of self-forgetting service, demanded by the gospel of Jesus…

The more we accept that we can tend to fall into self-justification to mask self-indulgence or water down Christ's message, the more we will be open to Jesus' call to follow him and place our priorities at his service; and meanwhile staying ever-vigilant and wary  of the trap of self-serving justifications and excuses.

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References:
Fr Paul W. Kelly

MISSION 2000 – PRAYING SCRIPTURE IN A CONTEMPORARY WAY. YEAR c. BY MARK LINK S.J.

A BOOK OF GRACE-FILLED DAYS. BY ALICE CAMILLE.

SHARING THE WORD THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR. GUSTAVO GUTIERREZ.

Photo by Christophe Maertens on Unsplash:  Photo by Christophe Maertens on Unsplash

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Texts used in this programme are for the purposes of worship and prayer for listeners wherever you are.
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Scriptures are from the New Revised Standard Version: © 1989,  by the national council of Churches of Christ, USA. , //adaptations to conform with Catholic liturgical norms, © 2009, by the same.
 [{selected psalms } - ***Psalm verses are (also) taken from "The Psalms: A New Translation" ©1963, The Grail (England), published by Collins.. **]

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{ "Mass In Honour of St. Ralph Sherwin" -published 2011,  Composed and Sung by Jeffrey M. Ostrowski 
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May God bless and keep you.

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Year C.
(Sunday, June 30, 2019)

(EPISODE: 164 )

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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{{May Our Lord's justice sustain you}}

My friends in Christ, to worthily celebrate the sacred mysteries, let us first acknowledge our sins. 
Lord Jesus, you came to reconcile us to the Father and to one another: Lord, have mercy//You heal the wounds of our sin and division: Christ, have mercy// You intercede for us with the Father: Lord, have mercy//
May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.  Amen.
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Memorial Acclamation

1. We proclaim your Death, O Lord, and profess your Resurrection until you come again.

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Sundays Ordinary III

Euch Prayer Three

Communion side.  pwk:  LH
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{Thank you for giving generously of  your time and prayer.}

Go in peace. (glorifying the Lord by your life)