Forum on Christianity and Spirituality
November 6, 2025, 7:30 p.m. CDT Topic: What is Christian Nationalism? by Jerry Truex, Ph.D. See https://shalomplace.com/inetmin/forum.html for more information and registration.
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Message of the Day
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Only those who try to live near God and have formed the habit of faithfulness to Him in the small things of our daily life, can hope in times of need for that special light which shows us our path. To do as well as we can the job immediately before us, is the way to learn what we ought to do next.
- Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941)
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Readings of the Day
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Romans 5:12, 15b, 17-19, 20b-21
Psalm 40:7-8a, 8b-9,
10, 17 Luke 12:35-38 Jesus said to his disciples:
‘You may be quite sure of this, that if the householder had known at what hour the burglar would come, he would not have let anyone break through the wall of his house. You too must stand ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.’
Peter said, ‘Lord, do you mean this parable for us, or for everyone?’ The Lord replied, ‘What sort of steward, then, is faithful and wise enough for the master to place him over his household to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? Happy that servant if his master’s arrival finds him at this employment. I tell you truly, he will place him over everything he owns. But as for the servant who says to himself, “My master is taking his time coming,” and
sets about beating the menservants and the maids, and eating and drinking and getting drunk, his master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. The master will cut him off and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.
The servant who knows what his master wants, but has not even started to carry out those wishes, will receive very many strokes of the lash. The one who did not know, but deserves to be beaten for what
he has done, will receive fewer strokes. When a man has had a great deal given him, a great deal will be demanded of him; when a man has had a great deal given him on trust, even more will be expected of him.’ Podcast reflection on Jesus at the home of Martha and
Mary. USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“I tell you, He will put on an apron, seat them at table, and proceed to wait on them.” —Luke 12:37 There is a reversal of roles in
today’s Gospel passage. For a master to serve slaves would turn the social order of the time upside down (Lk 12:37). Yet Jesus washed His disciples’ feet to be an example for them (Jn 13:5, 15). Jesus turned the world upside down through His death and Resurrection (see Rm 5:19ff). The missionary apostles also turned the world upside down (see Acts 17:6, RSV-CE). The Bible is filled with one good turn after another. We disciples of Jesus are
to be always vigilant, alert for the Master’s return (Lk 12:36). In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, God turns heaven and earth upside down, returning every day to serve us and wait for us to return to Him. He returns in the poor and needy, in the wounded and broken. Jesus returns in His Mystical Body, the Church. How upside down is this? The Master serves, the King of the Universe appears humbly in the form of bread and wine, the weak are
strong (2 Cor 12:9-10), the proud are humbled, and the poor and meek inherit the land (Mt 5:5). The Kingdom of God is not the kingdom of this world (Jn 18:36). It is upturned, upside-down soil that allows the seed to germinate, grow, and bear fruit. Let Jesus do any upturning and upheaval needed. Let Him turn your family, workplace, marriage, and life upside down. In Jesus, upside down is right-side-up. Prayer: Father, may I not take
the role of victim but of victor. Promise: “Despite the increase of sin, grace has far surpassed it.” —Rm 5:20 Presentation Ministries
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Spiritual Reading
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Dilexi Te: On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ, by Pope Francis (completed by Pope Leo XIII), 2025.
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/20241024-enciclica-dilexit-nos.html
CHAPTER ONE
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HEART
4. The Bible tells us that, “the Word of God is living and active... it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb 4:12). In this way, it speaks to us of the heart as a core that lies hidden beneath all outward appearances, even
beneath the superficial thoughts that can lead us astray. The disciples of Emmaus, on their mysterious journey in the company of the risen Christ, experienced a moment of anguish, confusion, despair and disappointment. Yet, beyond and in spite of this, something was happening deep within them: “Were not our hearts burning within us while he was talking to us on the road?” (Lk 24:32).
5. The heart is also the locus of sincerity, where deceit
and disguise have no place. It usually indicates our true intentions, what we really think, believe and desire, the “secrets” that we tell no one: in a word, the naked truth about ourselves. It is the part of us that is neither appearance or illusion, but is instead authentic, real, entirely “who we are”. That is why Samson, who kept from Delilah the secret of his strength, was asked by her, “How can you say, ‘I love you’, when your heart is not with me?” (Judg 16:15). Only when Samson opened
his heart to her, did she realize “that he had told her his whole secret” (Judg 16:18).
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