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Message of the Day
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The mystery of God touches us -- or does not -- in the smallest details: giving a strawberry, with love; receiving a touch, with love; sharing the snapdragon red of an autumn sunset, with love.
- Marion Woodman, Coming Home to Myself
(It is a matter of awareness. Be awake to God’s presence this day.)
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Readings of the Day
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2 Tm 4:10-17b; Ps 145:10-11,
12-13, 17-18 Lk 10:1-9 The Lord Jesus appointed seventy-two disciples
whom he sent ahead of him in pairs
to every town and place he
intended to visit.
He said to them,
"The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.
Go on your way;
behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.
Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals;
and greet no one along the way.
Into whatever house you enter,
first say, 'Peace to this household.'
If a peaceful person lives there,
your peace will rest on him;
but if not, it will
return to you.
Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you,
for the laborer deserves payment.
Do not move about from one house to another.
Whatever town you
enter and they welcome you,
eat what is set before you,
cure the sick in it and say to them,
'The Kingdom of God is at hand for
you.'" USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“I have no one with me but Luke.” —2 Timothy 4:11
St. Luke’s Gospel
could also be known as the Gospel of Forgiveness. Only in Luke’s Gospel do we meet the penitent woman whose many sins were forgiven because of her great love (Lk 7:47). In contrast with Sts. James and John, who wanted to destroy a Samaritan town by fire (Lk 9:54), Luke shows Jesus exalting the virtues of the “good Samaritan” (see Lk 10:33). Jesus also exalted another unforgiven group when He ate with the hated tax collector Zacchaeus and granted him salvation (Lk 19:5ff).
Only in Luke’s Gospel do we also meet the prodigal son, his forgiving father, and unforgiving older brother (Lk 15:11ff). This parable is probably the greatest revelation of God’s way of forgiving. God forgives affectionately, graciously, and mercifully. He honors sinners by giving them exceptional gifts and a special celebration.
Only in Luke’s
Gospel do we meet the “good thief.” While suffering on the cross, Jesus said: “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing” (Lk 23:34). Then Jesus forgave the “good thief” and promised him paradise that very day (see Lk 23:43).
Today, read part of the Gospel of Luke and forgive all who have hurt you in any way.
Prayer: Father, help me to choose to forgive all as You forgive — immediately and completely (Col 3:13). Promise: “On entering any house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ ” Presentation Ministries
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Spiritual Reading
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-Readings from Jesus Alive in Our Lives, by Philip St. Romain. Ave Maria Press, 1985. Contemplative Ministries, Inc. 2011. Part Two, Encountering the Risen Christ Chapter 5: Sacramental Encounters,
part II - Selected quotes Let’s go back now to some of the earlier points made, first about how Christ’s living memories—and, hence, his presence—are available to us through the Gospels. As one studies the life of Jesus, it will be seen that there are special times when he acts to
nourish, to heal, to bless, and to forgive; you can probably think of many examples for each.. The next step is to affirm that what Jesus once did in the Gospels, he still wants to do today—after all, it is the same Jesus who rose from the dead. If you carry these insights to the next step, what you come to recognize is that Jesus wants to continue his ministry of nourishing, healing, blessing, and forgiving through the action of his Church, or Mystical Body. The Church is the
most visible manifestation of Christ’s ongoing ministry in space and time. What he once did in the flesh, he continues to do now through the action of the Church.
Are we OK with this so far? As you can see, these aren’t especially “Catholic” kinds of insights.
Where the Sacraments come in is
that these are touch-points in which Christ ministered in profound and significant ways and where he continues now, through the action of the Church, to do the same in a visible—even tangible—way. The rituals used for Sacramental celebrations recall those special times in Christ’s life; they are an “anamnesis” (not-forgetting—remembering), bridging past and present, and opening us to the dynamic, ongoing ministry of Christ. In almost all cases, there are Scripture passages that
enable this remembering—times when Christ once acted in our behalf as he will be doing through the Sacraments. They show him loving us during important, transitional times on the human journey, reassuring us that God is with us during those times. Sacraments consecrate these events to Christ and help us to integrate them into our life with him. Through their signs and symbols, they transmit the life of Christ to us so that we might live more fully in union with him. These
signs and symbols also speak to our human ways of knowing, enabling us to become open to and receptive of Christ’s gift of Self through the Sacraments.
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