September, 2010

Wednesday, Sept. 1 (1 Cor 3: 1-9; Lk 4: 38-44)
The sacraments plant live waters but God causes the growth. We, however, allow all three of these realities to work together.

Thursday, Sept. 2 (1 Cor 3: 18-23; Lk 5: 1-11)
What nets does Jesus ask us to lower into our daily lives? If we listen and obey, we will catch a great number of people for the kingdom.

Friday, Sept. 3 Gregory the Great, Pope, Religious and Doctor of the Church (2 Cor 4: 1-2, 5-7; Lk 22: 24-30)
Let us reflect today on what it means to be trustworthy and how we measure up to that.

Saturday, Sept. 4 (1 Cor 4: 6b-15; Lk 6: I-5)
We are not to be inflated with pride. Jesus models this when he disregards the Jewish concept of the Sabbath.

Sept. 5, Twenty-third Sunday (Wis 9: 13-18b; Phlm 9-10, 12-17; Lk 14: 25-33)
Many of us can relate to Paul when he says: “I, Paul, an old man…” But it certainly didn’t stop him from devoting himself to the gospel and so it should be for us.

Monday, Sept. 6, Labor Day (1 Cor 5: 1-8; Lk 6: 6-11)
“Clear out the old yeast so that you may become a fresh batch of dough.” Jesus is challenging us to be a new people who are not caught up in laws and ordinances. May we look to the gospel as our guide.

Tuesday, Sept. 7 (1 Cor 6: 1-11; Lk 6: 12-19)
Paul assumes that we have been washed and sanctified and, therefore, justified in the name of Jesus. It is important that we continue to touch Jesus and be kept holy.

Wednesday, Sept. 8, Birth of the Virgin Mary (Micah 5: 1-4; Mt 1: 1-16,18-23)
The first reading tells us that God shall remain great and be our peace. Mary’s presence is one of the ways that happens. It certainly did not seem that way to Joseph, but he believed the angel who came to him in a dream and told him not to be afraid. How often has an angel of the Lord told you not to be afraid?

Thursday, Sept. 9 (1 Cor 8: 1-7, 11-13; Lk 6: 27-38)
We are cautioned by Paul not to hurt the consciences of the weak, not in any way cause them to sin. Jesus in the gospel gives an even stronger command: “Love your enemies, be good to those who hate you. … Stop judging and you will not be judged.”

Friday, Sept. 10 (1 Cor 9: 16-19, 22b-27; Lk 6: 39-42)
We are expected to preach the gospel free of charge. The best way to do that is to live the gospel. And never forget that no disciple is superior to the teacher.

Saturday, Sept. 11 (1 Cor 10: 14-22; Lk 6: 39-42)
We though many are one body for we all eat the same bread. That even includes people we don’t especially like.

Sept. 12, Twenty-fourth Sunday (Ex 32: 7-11, 13-14; 1 Tim 1: 12-17; Lk 15: 1-32)
The Lord calls those who do not follow his commands, depraved. Moses tries to talk him out of it. And it worked. The Lord relented in the punishment he had intended to inflict. In the second reading Paul points out that this kind of conversion is possible because we have been mercifully treated. But the Pharisees and the Scribes didn’t get it. Jesus, however, comes right back at them and tells the story of the man who lost one sheep and left the 99 in the desert to go after the lost one. This would seem to say that it is very unlikely that any of us would stay lost.

Monday, Sept. 13 ( 1 Cor 11: 17-26, 33; Lk 7: 1-10)
Paul really gives it to the Corinthians today, suggesting that their meetings are doing more harm than good. And then encourages them to share the bread and the cup with everyone. Jesus cures the slave of the Centurion, and the latter humbly declares: “I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof.” We use this declaration at Mass. How sincere are we in that declaration?

Tuesday, Sept. 14 Exaltation of the Holy Cross (Num 21: 4b-9; or Phil 2: 6-11; Jn 3: 13-17)
The Lord punished the people for their complaining, but then he gave them a way to gain forgiveness. Just as he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being obedient unto death and being greatly exalted, we, too, can seek that pattern. We can do this because of the gift of the only Son.

Wednesday, Sept. 15 Our Lady of Sorrows (Heb 5: 7-9; Jn 19: 25-27)
How fitting it is, on the feast of the Blessed Mother, that Paul should give a treatise on love. Mary certainly understood what it meant to love as she stood at the cross of her son.

Thursday, Sept. 16 (1 Cor 15; 1-11; Lk 7: 36-50)
Paul reminds us that he passed on to us what he had received from Christ. He declared himself to be last of all. In the gospel Jesus goes to the home of the Pharisee to dine, but was not given the usual welcoming custom of washing his feet. It took a sinful woman from the city to do that. Which, of course, did not sit well with Simon and his other guests. But Jesus did not back down, rather he made it even clearer that it was her faith that saved her. How does our faith save us?

Friday, Sept. 17 (I Cor 15: 12-20; Lk 8: 1-3)
Peter makes a case for resurrection. He must have remembered how the twelve and some
women followed Jesus on his journeys and cared for Jesus out of their own resources. What are the resources we have that we are called to “spend” on Jesus?

Saturday, Sept. 18 (I Cor 15: 35-37, 42-49; Lk 8: 4-15)
Paul reminds us that we bear the image of the heavenly Father. That same heavenly one gives us the parable of the seed as the Word of God and reminds us that we cannot allow that seed to be choked by anxieties, riches, and pleasures, but rather, we are to embrace the word with a generous heart and bear fruit through perseverance.

Sept. 19, Twenty-fifth Sunday (Am 8: 4-7; 1 Tim 2: 1-8; Lk 16: 1-13)
The merchants are plotting to cheat the people, but God says, never will I forget a thing they have done. But in the second reading, we are told to pray for everyone, for kings and for all in authority; the hope being that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life. But the plotting continues. In the gospel the steward plots a way out of his difficulties. And the master had to admit that the children of this world are more prudent than the children of the light. But then goes on to reminds us that the one who is trustworthy in small matters is also trustworthy in great matters.

Monday, Sept. 20 (Prv 3; 27-34; Lk 8; 16-18)
Do not promise to give tomorrow what you could give today. The curse of the Lord “is on the house of the wicked but the dwelling of the just he blesses.”

Tuesday, Sept. 21 St. Matthew Apostle (Eph 4; 1-7, 11-13; Mt 9: 9-13)
Paul writes to the Ephesians from jail reminding them that grace was given to each according as they had need. So we have different ministries that fulfill us and take care of the Church. When Jesus then saw Matthew he said, follow me, and that is what happened. The Pharisees took scandal at this, but Jesus calmly replied: “Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.” And made it clear that he had come to call sinners.

Wednesday, Sept. 22 (Prv 30: 5-9; Lk 9; 1-6)
Every word of God is tested. He then gives the example of one of the more confusing of his sayings. He says: “Give me neither poverty nor riches, provide me only with what I need.” He emphasizes this in the gospel, “Take nothing for the journey.” How do we understand this as we journey through life?

Thursday, Sept. 23 (Eccl 1: 2-11; Lk 9: 7-9)
“Nothing is new under the sun.” It follows then that there is no remembrance of the men of old: nor of those to come will there be any remembrance of those who come after them. People were speculating who Jesus might be, was he John, or Elijah, or one of the ancient prophets? Somehow Herod knew none of that was true, and he kept trying to see Jesus. He just didn’t try quite hard enough.

Friday, Sept. 24 (Eccl 3: 1-11; Lk 9: 18-22)
The first reading is that famous passage from Ecclesiastes: “There is an appointed time for everything.” It would be good to think of today as the point in time to meditate on this reading. Having done that, we must come to the same conclusion that Peter did, that Jesus was the Christ and God.

Saturday, Sept. 25 (Eccl 11: 9 to 12: 8; Lk 9; 43b-45)
The first reading is a message to young people, but they would also work for us who are young at heart. Read them that way. Jesus, in the meantime, says to his disciples: “Pay attention to what I am telling you.” We must do the same; and, unlike them , not be afraid to ask him questions.

Sept. 26, Twenty-sixth Sunday (Am 6: 1a, 4-7; 1 Tim 6: 11-16; Lk 16: 19-31)
God says to us today, woe to the complacent, all the while failing to recognize the sadness of the collapse of Joseph. Paul tells us in the second reading, that we are to pursue righteousness, devotions, faith, love, patience and gentleness. Thus we will lay hold of eternal life. To emphasize all of this, Jesus tells the story in the gospel about the rich man who ignored Lazarus, the poor man who was lying at his door. He then declares that these people would not be persuaded of the wrongness of their wisdom, even if someone should rise from the dead. Where does that put us who claim to believe in the resurrection?

Monday, Sept. 27 (Job 1: 6-22; Lk 9: 46-50)
In the strange story of Job, God brags about the goodness and faithfulness of Job. But Satan wanted him tested and God allowed that to happen. Job’s agonizing response was: “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.” There is a message in that story for each of us. But the disciples missed it. And the very next thing we read was the disciples trying to find out from Jesus, which of them was the greatest. And Jesus’ insightful response: “Whoever is not against me is for me.”

Tuesday, Sept. 28 (Job 3: 1-3, 11-17, 20-23; Lk 9: 51-56)
We’re not finished with Job. He was so upset at his own behavior that he cried out: “Why did I not perish at birth?” He doesn’t really get an answer, but it isn’t hard to figure out what his heart is telling him.

Wednesday, Sept. 29 Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels (Dan 7: 9-10, 13-14; John 1: 47-51)
Jesus says of Nathanial today, there is no duplicity in him. When Nathanial wants to know how Jesus knows, he gets the answer: “I saw you under the fig tree.” Don’t you wonder just what he was doing under the fig tree or who he was doing it with?

Thursday, Sept. 30 (Job 19: 21-27; Lk 10: 1-12)
We hear Job’s wonderful cry: “Pity me, pity me, oh you my friends, for the hand of God has struck me.” But hard as life must be for him at this time, he also declares: “My vindicator lives.” A helpful thing for us to remember when the going gets tough. And like the disciples, we hear Jesus say to us: Go on your way.

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