November 3, 2015

Nov. 3

November 3, 2015:  Tuesday, 31st week, Ordinary Time

  • 'Hearts' suspenders:  "Love one another" (1st reading); "My heart is not proud" (psalm)
  • 'Peace sign' tie bar:  "In you, O Lord, I have found my peace." (psalm)
  • 'Silverware' tie bar:  “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many." (gospel)
  • 'Streets' tie:  ‘Go out into the streets and alleys" (gospel)
  • 'Olympics' tie pin:  Exercise your gifts (1st reading)
  • Green shirt:  Ordinary Time season
Listen



 Pope Francis:  Tuesday homily
Just as Jesus washed his disciples' feet, renew your commitment to service.  Just as Jesus came to serve, be ready to give your lives for your flock.  In the world's eyes, servants are seen as losers, but those who give their lives and lose themselves in the love of Christ will overcome death and give life to the world.  “God so loved the world” that he sent his Son as a servant to save us.  Just as the Israelites were saved from death by looking at the bronze snake Moses held up, so Christ saves us from death through his death on the Cross.
To us, death seems dark and fearful, just as those who died from snake bites were full of fear.  Yet Jesus took these contradictions upon himself so that whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.  His service and humility has much to teach us.  The secret lies in the strength of God’s love for us.  Jesus conquered death and transformed evil to good, through deeds, at the root; he transformed the Cross into a bridge towards life, and we can do the same if we serve with humility as he did.
Read
  • Rom 12:5-16ab  We, though many, are one Body in Christ, parts of one another.  We have gifts that differ:  prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, contribution, leadership, mercy...; let us exercise them.  Love, honor, respect one another.  Hope; endure; persevere...  Associate with the lowly.
  • Ps 131:1bcde, 2, 3  "In you, O Lord, I have found my peace."  I've stilled my soul.  Hope in the Lord.
  • Lk 14:15-24  Many invited to dinner excused themselves.  Enraged master:  "Bring in the poor, blind, lame...  None of the invited will taste my dinner."
Reflect
    • One Bread, One Body:  "The irresistible force":  In the way the master "forced" people to enter, we may sometimes need to break open the path of someone crying out and "force"/lead/guide them into God's kingdom....

    • Passionist:  God’s peace is one of our greatest gifts, but it’s up to us to receive it and live in peace.  One way we can is by controlling our thoughts.  Some days we let negative thinking get the best of us, but how much better to look for the positive, or at least remember that God’s peace is available to us every day, no matter what.  Lord, help me look to you when problems and negative thoughts bombard me.
    • DailyScripture.net:  "Invitation to the banquet table":  In the ancient world the most notable sign of intimate friendship was the invitation to "share bread."  Who you ate with showed who you valued and trusted as your friends. A great banquet would involve a lavish meal and a large company of notable guests.  We've been invited to the most important of banquets, the wedding feast of the Lamb:  "The Spirit and Bride say, Come!"  The Lamb is Christ; the bride, the people he redeemed.
    A great banquet would take days to prepare and invitations sent out early to give time to prepare.  How insulting for them to refuse, putting their interests above his!  The first excuse allows the claims of one's own business to take precedence:  do I allow any task to keep me from God?  The second allows our possessions to come before God:  do I allow media or diversions to crowd out prayer or worship?  The third puts home and family first:  God never meant for home and relationships to be used selfishly.  We serve God best when we invite him into work, home, and personal life and when we share with others.
    Then the story focuses on the outcasts who had no claim on the master and would never have expected an invitation.  There's room for outsiders, the Gentiles.  It's an invitation of grace, undeserved favor, but it carries a responsibility.  Bonhoeffer contrasted cheap and costly grace:  "Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves... preaching forgiveness without requiring repentance... grace without discipleship, the cross, or Christ living and incarnate...  Costly grace is the Gospel which must be sought, the gift which must be asked for, the door you must knock on; it's costly because following Christ costs your life, and it's grace because it gives you the true life" (The Cost of Discipleship, paraphrased).  God lavishes his grace to draw us closer to himself and invites us to his banquet that we may share his joy.

     Saints, from Universalis
    • Malachy, bishop, abbot, monastery founder
    • Winefride, Bl. John Body...
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