Thursday, September 12, 2024

13-SEP-'24, Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom


Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Lectionary: 441


Reading 1

1 Corinthians 9:16-19, 22B-27

Brothers and sisters:

If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast,

for an obligation has been imposed on me,

and woe to me if I do not preach it!

If I do so willingly, I have a recompense,

but if unwillingly, then I have been entrusted with a stewardship.

What then is my recompense?

That, when I preach, I offer the Gospel free of charge

so as not to make full use of my right in the Gospel.


Although I am free in regard to all,

I have made myself a slave to all

so as to win over as many as possible.

I have become all things to all, to save at least some.

All this I do for the sake of the Gospel,

so that I too may have a share in it.


Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race,

but only one wins the prize?

Run so as to win.

Every athlete exercises discipline in every way.

They do it to win a perishable crown,

but we an imperishable one.

Thus I do not run aimlessly;

I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing.

No, I drive my body and train it,

for fear that, after having preached to others,

I myself should be disqualified.


Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 84:3, 4, 5-6, 12

R. (2) How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!


My soul yearns and pines 

for the courts of the LORD.

My heart and my flesh

cry out for the living God.

R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!


Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest

in which she puts her young—

Your altars, O LORD of hosts,

my king and my God!

R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!


Blessed they who dwell in your house!

continually they praise you.

Blessed the men whose strength you are!

their hearts are set upon the pilgrimage.

R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!


For a sun and a shield is the LORD God;

grace and glory he bestows;

The LORD withholds no good thing

from those who walk in sincerity. 

R. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!


Alleluia

See John 17:17b, 17a

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Your word, O Lord, is truth;

consecrate us in the truth.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.


Gospel

Luke 6:39-42

Jesus told his disciples a parable:

"Can a blind person guide a blind person?

Will not both fall into a pit?

No disciple is superior to the teacher;

but when fully trained,

every disciple will be like his teacher.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye,

but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?

How can you say to your brother,

'Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,'

when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?

You hypocrite!  Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;

then you will see clearly

to remove the splinter in your brother's eye.”


Reflection 1

Catholic Daily Reflections 


Seeing Through the Eyes of God


“Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?”  Luke 6:41


Saint Teresa of Ávila, one of the greatest spiritual writers and doctors of the Church, explains in her spiritual masterpiece “Interior Castles,” that one of the first steps on the path to holiness is self-knowledge. Self-knowledge produces humility, because humility is simply having a true opinion about yourself. When a person fails to know themself from the true perspective of the mind of God, then they open themselves up to many errors of judgment. One such error is that they can easily become fixated upon their perceived sins of others.


The Gospel passage quoted above depicts a person who gravely lacks self-knowledge. Why? Because they “do not perceive the wooden beam” in their own eye, meaning, they do not see their own sin. As a result, Jesus explains that this person also becomes fixated upon the “splinter” in their brother’s eye.


When you consider your own thoughts, what do you dwell upon the most all day long? Do you honestly look inward, seeking to know yourself as God knows you? Or do you spend excessive time thinking about others, analyzing and judging their actions? This is an important question to ask yourself and to answer with honesty.


The best way to know yourself is to gaze upon Jesus. When He becomes the focus of your attention throughout the day, you will not only come to know Him, but you will also come to know yourself more honestly. Gazing at the beauty and perfection of our Lord will have the double effect of knowing Him and knowing yourself through His eyes. It will also help you to know others as He sees them.


How does Jesus look at those around you? He looks at them with perpetual mercy. True, at the end of every life, when we pass from this world to the next, we will encounter our particular judgment from our Lord. But while here on earth, God continually gazes upon us with mercy. For that reason, mercy must become our daily mission, and we must build a habit of gazing upon everyone in our life with the eyes of mercy.


Reflect, today, upon our Lord. Look at Him, gaze upon Him, seek to know Him and make Him the focus of your attention. As you do, try to dismiss from your thinking process your own perceived judgments of others. Allow your gaze upon our Lord to help you to not only see Him but to also see others through His eyes. Build this habit and you will be on the fast track to the path to holiness.


Reflection 2

One Bread, One Body 


SPECK-TACULAR


“You will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” —Luke 6:42


Jesus has commissioned us to remove the specks from other people’s eyes. The sins of other people are our concern because we love these people enough to try to keep them from destroying themselves through sin.


However, we are not ready to work on others’ eyes until we have first let the Lord deal with our own spiritual blindness due to sin (Lk 6:42). Blind eye surgeons do much more harm than good.


When we repent and confess our sins, we humble ourselves. This is a necessary preparation for dealing with the pride of sin in someone else. Proud preachers turn people off when they call others to humility.


When we repent, we learn several things. We realize the horror of sin, its addictive and paralyzing effects, and most of all, the mercy and compassion of our heavenly Father. Without understanding these things, we are not effective in helping others repent. Teachers who don’t understand are not very understandable.


Repentance and Confession are essential not only to our relationship with the Lord, but also to our preparation for speck-removal. If you haven’t had a plank removed, you're not ready to remove a speck. “Walk the plank” of repentance.


Prayer:  Father, make me a prophet and minister of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18).


Promise:  “I do not run like a man who loses sight of the finish line. I do not fight as if I were shadowboxing. What I do is discipline my own body and master it.” —1 Cor 9:26-27


Praise:  St. John Chrysostom died for Jesus while in forced exile because of his bold public stand for holiness.


Reflection 3

Shared from God's Word


How easy and quick we normally are to find fault with others, point fingers at others and their behaviour!  But rarely do we realize that it is we who are at fault in the first place.  The story goes that a lady saw that the laundry done by her neighbour was always looking dirty, and she often remarked about this to her husband.  One day, however, the laundry looked immaculately clean and she wondered how!  The husband gently, but firmly, told her that he cleaned the windows!  “The problem was not with the laundry, but with the dirty windows of our own house, dear!”  Let us clean our hearts, our eyes, and yes, our minds and windows too! And then we will see clearly enough to understand and help others instead of being blindly critical. 


Prayers

My merciful Jesus, may I build a humble and true habit of gazing upon You in Your splendor and beauty. As I see You, day in and day out, please also help me to see myself through Your eyes of mercy so that I will also grow in humility. Please remove all judgment from my heart so that I will be free to know and love all people as You know and love them. Jesus, I trust in You.


O Father, give us the humility which realizes its ignorance, admits its mistakes, recognizes its need, welcomes advice, accepts rebuke. Help us always to praise rather than to criticize, to sympathize rather than to discourage, to build rather than to destroy, and to think of people at their best rather than at their worst. This we ask for thy name's sake. (Prayer of William Barclay, 20th century)


Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy


Reflection 256: Doing Your Best

Saint Mother Teresa is often quoted as saying that God asks us to be faithful, not successful.  In other words, we are called to offer our best to the Lord, striving to be faithful to His holy Will, and then leave the rest to Him.  At times it may appear that our “best” does not produce the desired good fruit that we desire.  Perhaps an attempt you make at reconciling with another failed.  Or perhaps you put your heart and soul into some apostolic work and it never appeared to take off in the way you had hoped.  There is great freedom in the realization that all we are called to do is be faithful, not successful.  “Success” is measured by God, not by human standards.  We are truly “successful” only when we are faithful to the Will of God and diligent in committing ourselves to His divine work.  If we are faithful in this way, nothing else matters.  Do your best and leave the rest to God (See Diary #1295).


Reflect upon your level of commitment to the Will of God.  Committing yourself to God’s holy Will is not the same as committing yourself to perfect success in all you do.  Even if everything you do appears to end in failure, you please God when you are faithful to Him without worrying about the results.  God sees your heart and wants your good works to be offered to Him and done in accordance with His Will.  Nothing else in life matters.  Seek fidelity above success and you will delight the merciful Heart of our Lord.


Lord, I give myself to You for Your service and glory.  I commit myself to all that You call me to do and pray that I may serve Your Will in fidelity and diligence.  Use me, dear Lord, as You will and help me to leave the rest to You.  Jesus, I trust in You.

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