October 29, 2015

Oct. 29

October 29, 2015:  Thursday, 30th week, Ordinary Time

Do you see 15 connections with today?
Legend below

Music for 1st reading

Pope Francis homily
God’s love for us is unwavering; no person, power, or thing can separate us from it.  Paul explains Christians are victors because “if God is for us, who can be against us.”  We hold this gift and can almost say, “now we are the champions!”  But we're victors not because we hold it but because “nothing can separate us from God’s love....”
We're so closely bound to God’s love that no one, nothing can separate us from it.  Paul saw beyond the gift to the Giver of re-creation and regeneration in Christ; he saw God’s inexplicable love.  We can refuse it by preferring vanity, pride, or sin, but God’s gift is always there for us.  We say, "God can do everything!",  but he can't sever himself from us!  The gospel image of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem helps us understand that love.  His weeping is about his inability to not love.
Jesus’ weeping over those who kill prophets and those who announce salvation is an image of God’s love and tenderness:  “How I've longed to gather your children, but you refused!”  That's why Paul can say, “Neither death, life, angels, principalities, anything in existence or to come, powers, nor created things can come between us and God's love.”  God can't not love us!  This is our safeguard.  I can refuse that love.  The Good Thief did till the end of his life, but the love was waiting for him there.  God loves the most wicked person with a father's tenderness.  All of God’s love is contained in Jesus' weeping over Jerusalem.  God weeps for me when I move away from him.  God weeps for people who do bad things and cause harm.  He's waiting and weeping, not condemning, because he loves us!

    Read

    • Rom 8:31b-39  If God is for us, who can be against us?  If he gave his Son, won't he give us everything else too?  Who will condemn us--God?  Christ?  What will separate us from Christ's love:  distress, peril?  No; we super-conquer through him.  Neither death, life, angels, present or future things, powers, nor creatures can separate us from God's love in Christ.
    • Ps 109:21-22, 26-27, 30-31  "Save me, O Lord, in your mercy."  Lord, deal kindly with me; in your generous mercy rescue me, for I'm wretched and poor, my heart pierced.  I'll thank you who stood at the right hand of the poor to save them.
    • Lk 13:31-35  Pharisees / Jesus:  “Go away, Jesus; Herod wants to kill you.” / “Tell him, ‘I'll accomplish my purpose.  I must continue on my way.’  “Jerusalem, I yearn to gather your children together, but your house will be abandoned.”

    Reflect

    I love the first reading!  I remember it from a college campus ministry retreat, I keep returning to it, I was blessed to take a course in Romans from Fr. Dan Harrington, S.J., and the passage remains a consolation in hard times.   Here's an exegesis of it and homily based on it that I prepared then.
      • Creighton:  Fr. Gregory Boyle, SJ, after burying 50 youths killed from gang warfare, decided to go onto the streets to know the gang-bangers and help them get jobs.  Early on, he said his secret was "showing up and learning names."  Paul writes, “Nothing can separate us from God's love.”  May we help others discover that no matter what, God is not separated from us.
      • Passionist:  We can't be separated from God's love.  We can, however, ignore it and pretend we're not connected with God ("You were unwilling").  If we choose to affirm and accept God’s love, we must reject the divisive nature of our times.  We are one with God and each other.  Negative comments about others, support for violence, absence of compassion, cursory judgments, and bigotry are choices for separation and against unity with God’s love.
      • DailyScripture.net:  "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"  When King Herod heard thousands were coming to Jesus, he decided it was time he was a threat to be eliminated.  When Pharisees warned Jesus to flee, Jesus warned them they were in more danger if they refused to listen to God and the prophets.  The fox, regarded as sly and destructive, was a symbol of what's worthless,  insignificant, and destructive.  Jesus knew he'd suffer the fate of the prophets for opposing Herod, but he exposed himself to that danger and prayed for his persecutors and for those who rejected the prophets.
      Jesus contrasts his desire for Jerusalem with their lack of desire for him as their Messiah and with a hen gathering her chicks.  ("Under his wings you'll find refuge.")  Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem, knowing he'd meet betrayal, rejection, and death, but his death brought victory and salvation.  Jesus' prophecy pointing to his victory and foretells the destruction of Jerusalem and the consequences for all who reject him....

    • Blessed Martyrs of Douai College


    • St. Colman MacDuagh, abbot, bishop; see Wikipedia.

      • Dress legend
      • 'Ram' tie pin:  Reference to Akedah (1st reading)
      • 'Scales of justice' pin:  courtroom metaphor of Rom 8:31-34 (1st reading)
      • 'Hand' tie pin:  Christ is at God's right hand (1st reading); let them know this is your hand; he stood at the poor man's right hand (psalm)
      • 'Sword' tie pin:  Will the sword separate us from Christ's love? (1st reading)
      • 'Sheep' tie bar:  "We're looked on as sheep to be slaughtered" (1st reading)
      • 'Angel' pin:  Angels [spiritual beings not necessarily heavenly] can't separate us from God's love in Christ (1st reading)
      • 'Pierced hearts' suspenders:  My heart is pierced within me (psalm)
      • 'Stone' tie pin:  “Jerusalem, you who stone those sent to you..." (gospel)
      • 'Chicken' pin: "...I've yearned to gather you as a hen her brood" (gospel)
      • 'Musical notes with skulls as note heads' tie:  singing thanks (end of psalm), saints en route to eternal reward (Hallowe'en)
      • 'OneLife LA' button:  It's Respect Life week
      • Green shirt:  Ordinary Time season
      Posted by at

      No comments:

      Post a Comment

      Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)