Author: admin

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Gospel: Luke 11: 5-13

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Suppose one of you has a friend
to whom he goes at midnight and says,
‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread,
for a friend of mine has arrived at my house from a journey
and I have nothing to offer him,’
and he says in reply from within,
‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked
and my children and I are already in bed.
I cannot get up to give you anything.’
I tell you, if he does not get up to give him the loaves
because of their friendship,
he will get up to give him whatever he needs
because of his persistence.

“And I tell you, ask and you will receive;
seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives;
and the one who seeks, finds;
and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
What father  among you would hand his son a snake
when he asks for a fish?
Or hand him a scorpion when he asks for an egg?
If you then, who are wicked,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit
to those who ask him?”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Why do we not always get what we pray for?

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The honest answer is, “I don’t know.”

I think why we get what we pray for is as mysterious why we sometimes don’t. The fact that God listens to us and, at times, answers our prayers exactly as we ask is a marvelous truth in itself.

But there is one thing we always receive in prayer: the Holy Spirit.

As Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “Ask, seek, knock. Then my Father in heaven will give you the gift of the Holy Spirit.” 

Saint Paul says the fruits of the Spirit are, “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

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So, what does this mean for us?

Maybe we’ve been praying for a conflict with someone to end. Even if it hasn’t, through prayer, God will give you the patience and self-control you need to bear it.

Maybe a particular temptation continues to pester you. Through prayer, God will give you the grace you need to resist it and remain faithful to the Gospel.

Maybe a malignant diagnosis for you or a loved one won’t turn benign. Through prayer, God will give you the peace needed to accept it. (I can personally testify to this as my mother was dying).

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Place your needs and desires before the Lord today. Perhaps God will answer you exactly as you wish. I certainly hope so.

But if not, be open to receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit, who helps us to bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things.

God’s loving support for us never fails.

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Image credits: (1) Family Shield Ministries (2) John Templeton Foundation (3) Pinterest, alittleperspective.com

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Galatians 2: 1-2, 7-14

Brothers and sisters:
After fourteen years I again went up to Jerusalem with Barnabas,
taking Titus along also.
I went up in accord with a revelation,
and I presented to them the Gospel that I preach to the Gentiles–
but privately to those of repute–
so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain.
On the contrary, 
when they saw that I had been entrusted with the Gospel to the uncircumcised,
just as Peter to the circumcised,
for the one who worked in Peter for an apostolate to the circumcised
worked also in me for the Gentiles,
and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me,
James and Cephas and John,
who were reputed to be pillars,
gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership,
that we should go to the Gentiles
and they to the circumcised.
Only, we were to be mindful of the poor,
which is the very thing I was eager to do.

And when Cephas came to Antioch,
I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong.
For, until some people came from James,
he used to eat with the Gentiles;
but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself,
because he was afraid of the circumcised.
And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him,
with the result that even Barnabas
was carried away by their hypocrisy.
But when I saw that they were not on the right road
in line with the truth of the Gospel,
I said to Cephas in front of all,
“If you, though a Jew,
are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew,
how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

The Word of the Lord.

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In the early Church, Christians would not only gather together to celebrate Mass weekly, they would also share a common meal known as the agape. Today, we might call it a potluck.

Everyone brought what they could. The richest Christians brought the choicest foods, such as meat and wine. While the poorest might bring a loaf of bread, if anything. 

For the poor, that potluck was not only an opportunity to gather socially; it might also have been the only solid meal they’d eaten all week. 

Today we could imagine a similar potluck being held by the Missionaries of Charity in Newark. They and their guests would have little to offer – perhaps fruit and crackers. Meanwhile, we could bring anything we wanted – steaks and a bottle of wine.

In theory, it’s a beautiful idea: all of God’s people coming together as one, foreshadowing the divine banquet in heaven. However, Saint Paul identifies two problems in that early Christian practice, which can still surface today.

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In our first reading, Paul accuses Peter, Barnabas, and others of separating themselves from the Gentiles during their potluck. The laws of the Old Testament were still fresh in their minds, leading Peter and the others to exclude the Gentiles.

While everyone gathered in the same place to share a meal, the non-Jewish Christians were forced to eat apart from the others. 

Secondly, the rich would sometimes hide their gifts, creating separate tables for themselves, leaving the poor to eat whatever was left over – you might say, fruit and crackers. Paul was grieved by such a stunning lack of charity!

As he states in his Letter to the Galatians, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Meaning, a church ceases to be Christian if it embraces class or ethnic distinctions. 

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So, what might this mean for us?

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Every Sunday you and I gather around the altar to share a meal. We gather physically as one body. The challenge is to embrace this practice spiritually, seeing everyone as an equal – a “Christ-bearer” – regardless of our race, politics, social, or economic background.

May we strive, each in our own way, to break down those barriers that separate us so that we may be, not only in word but also in spirit, one in Christ Jesus.

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Image credits: (1) Westwood First Presbyterian Church (2) Potluck, Wikipedia (3) Beyond Foreignness

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Gospel: Luke 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village 
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. 
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? 
Tell her to help me.” 
The Lord said to her in reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. 
There is need of only one thing. 
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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I’m glad Martha loses her cool, because her frustration teaches us a lesson in discipleship which we can apply to our daily lives. 

Imagine the scene: Martha is moving around the kitchen for an hour or two, banging pots and pans, cutting vegetables while mumbling beneath her breath. Finally, she storms into the dining room confronting her sister, Mary, who’s listening attentively to Jesus.

Interrupting their conversation, Martha snarls, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?”

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Martha just made several mistakes. First, she accuses Jesus of not caring about her burdens. “Lord, do you not care?” 

How often is that also us, accusing God of being aloof from our burdens?

Then Martha blames someone else for her own anxiety. “My sister has left me to do all the serving.” Somehow, it’s Mary’s fault that Martha is so anxious.

Finally, Martha polishes off her cocktail of complaints by telling the Lord how to solve her problem. “Tell her to help me!” Can’t we do the same, telling God how to help us?

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Jesus rebukes Martha gently, knowing that she is not anxious about making a perfect sauce or maintaining a clean kitchen.

Deep down, Martha is anxious because she lost her focus; that day, she’s motivated more by duty than by love, effectively choking the meaning out of her work.

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Think about the ordinary tasks we do throughout the day – going to work, toting the kids across town, doing household chores. Do these activities bring us more anxiety than peace?

The answer really depends upon what our motivation is: either duty or love. If it’s the latter, then we should be at peace.

As Saint Paul says, “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” 

It brings joy to any situation, even hosting a meal. 

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Image credits: (1) Neuroscience News (2) Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, Jan Bruegel the Younger and Peter Paul Rubens (3) self.com