Saturday of the Twenty-Fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 454
Reading 1
Ecclesiastes 11:9—12:8
Rejoice, O young man, while you are young
and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart,
the vision of your eyes;
Yet understand that as regards all this
God will bring you to judgment.
Ward off grief from your heart
and put away trouble from your presence,
though the dawn of youth is fleeting.
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,
before the evil days come
And the years approach of which you will say,
I have no pleasure in them;
Before the sun is darkened,
and the light, and the moon, and the stars,
while the clouds return after the rain;
When the guardians of the house tremble,
and the strong men are bent,
And the grinders are idle because they are few,
and they who look through the windows grow blind;
When the doors to the street are shut,
and the sound of the mill is low;
When one waits for the chirp of a bird,
but all the daughters of song are suppressed;
And one fears heights,
and perils in the street;
When the almond tree blooms,
and the locust grows sluggish
and the caper berry is without effect,
Because man goes to his lasting home,
and mourners go about the streets;
Before the silver cord is snapped
and the golden bowl is broken,
And the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the broken pulley falls into the well,
And the dust returns to the earth as it once was,
and the life breath returns to God who gave it.
Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
all things are vanity!
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 AND 17
R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Alleluia
2 Timothy 1:10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Christ Jesus destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Luke 9:43B-45
While they were all amazed at his every deed,
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”
But they did not understand this saying;
its meaning was hidden from them
so that they should not understand it,
and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
A Well-Ordered Soul
“Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying. Luke 9:44–45
This is the second time that Jesus predicts His coming passion to His Apostles. After telling them that He will be handed over, the Gospel relates that “they did not understand this saying.” It also states that “they were afraid to ask him about this saying.” Why did they not understand, and why were they afraid to ask Jesus about His coming passion?
The Apostles were deeply attached to our Lord, both on a spiritual level and also through their affections. And this is good. But sometimes our affections can cloud our thinking and make it difficult to understand the deeper spiritual realities in life. Though our affections are natural, they must always be directed by the will of God. For example, if we were to try to understand Jesus’ affections, we’d have to conclude that He both spiritually and affectionately desired to lay down His life for the salvation of souls in accord with the will of the Father. He not only chose this with His will, but He also desired it in His affections, because His affections were perfectly ordered.
The Apostles, however, were unable to understand that Jesus had to lay down His life, be rejected, suffer and die, in part because they were very attached to Jesus in an emotional and affectionate way. So in this instance, their human love and attachment to Jesus hindered their ability to understand the greater spiritual good of Jesus laying down His life.
Consider, also, our Blessed Mother. How would she have reacted to Jesus saying that He had to be handed over, be rejected, suffer and die? Though this would have grieved her with a holy sorrow, the perfection of her human nature would have led her to not only understand and accept this deep spiritual truth, but she would have also desired this to happen within her affections because she perfectly desired the fulfillment of the will of the Father. There would have been no conflict within her between the will of the Father and what she desired.
In our own lives, we will often tend to struggle in the same way that the Apostles struggled. When faced with some challenging cross in life, a cross that the Father calls us to embrace freely, we will often find that our affections resist. When this happens, we become confused and even fearful of the future. Thus, the only way to conquer fear is to work to surrender every emotion, every affection and every human attachment over to the will of the Father so that His will is all we desire with every power of our soul.
Reflect, today, upon the interior struggle of these Apostles as they came face-to-face with this the second time Jesus began to prepare them to accept, understand, choose and desire His passion. Consider the interior struggle they went through at that time and even as they saw this unfold. Eventually they understood. Eventually all fear vanished. And eventually they affectionately rejoiced in Jesus’ sacrifice. But it took much time and much surrender. Reflect upon those ways our Lord is inviting you to choose His Cross in your life. Where you see your affections resisting, try to surrender, pray for understanding and seek the courage you need to desire His Cross with all your soul.
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
DESTROYING DEATH (1 COR 15:26)
“You make an end of them in their sleep.” —Psalm 90:5
The author of Ecclesiastes, living centuries before the revelation of Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life (Jn 11:25), is naturally pessimistic about life. For example, he goes on and on about growing old. Then he speaks of death in six ways. Death is like going home, a snapped cord, a broken bowl, a shattered pitcher, a pulley fallen into a well, and dust returning to earth (Eccl 12:5-7). It isn’t enough for him to say that we will die. He seems obligated to belabor the point.
Death, for the author of Ecclesiastes, almost ruins life. Death has a deadly sting; it is seemingly victorious over life (cf 1 Cor 15:55). Because of the overshadowing influence of death, we are tempted to trivialize life by eating and drinking, for tomorrow we die (1 Cor 15:32; Wis 2:5-6ff). Living for pleasure makes us slaves — slaves of sin through fear of death our whole lives long (Heb 2:15). Because of death, we are tempted to give “allegiance to the present age and to the prince of the air, that spirit who is even now at work among the rebellious. All of us were once of their company; we lived at the level of the flesh, following every whim and fancy, and so by nature deserved God’s wrath like the rest” (Eph 2:2-3). The fear of death can turn our lives into living deaths (see 1 Jn 3:14).
The only way to de-fang death is to believe in and live totally for Jesus, “the Resurrection and the Life” (Jn 11:25). Jesus alone holds “the keys of death” (Rv 1:18). In Jesus, “death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor 15:54). Praise Jesus forever!
Prayer: Father, may my dying day be the happiest day of my life.
Promise: “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.” —Ps 90:12
Praise: St. Lawrence Ruiz and his companions were martyred in a most horrendous way. They would not renounce their faith.
Reflection 3
Shared from God's Word
This is now the second passion prediction in the Gospel of Luke, and these predictions are narrated by both Mark and Matthew in their Gospels. This repetition, and its occurrence in all the three Gospels, emphasizes its importance to the narrative. But in the same breath, the evangelists inform us that the disciples failed to understand its necessity and importance totally. They were most likely expecting not only a glorious, powerful, royal, Davidic Messiah, but also, they wanted to be assured of special positions of power, which is clear from other passages in the Gospel (see e.g., Lk 9:46-49; Mk 10:35-45 etc.). However, did the teaching of Jesus on suffering really “sink in”? Does this teaching sink into us today? Suffering is necessary for us too.
Prayers
My revealing Lord, You opened Your divine heart to Your Apostles and invited them to understand and choose Your suffering and death. And though they hesitated and struggled, You continued to invite them to embrace the Father’s will. Give me the grace I need, dear Lord, to embrace every spiritual truth first and foremost and to allow that Truth to free me from fear and fill me with the gift of understanding. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus, by your cross you have redeemed the world and revealed your glory and triumph over sin and death. May I never fail to see your glory and victory in the cross. Help me to conform my life to your will and to follow in your way of love and holiness.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 271: Looking Past the Obstacles in Life
One very common tendency and temptation most people struggle with is to become fixated upon sufferings, humiliations and the false opinions of others. When we experience one or more of these burdens, we can be tempted to make them the central focus of our life. For example, if you are unjustly humiliated and others have an erroneous opinion of you, it can be exceptionally hard to keep this from dominating your thoughts. Similarly, whatever it is that causes you grief or suffering can easily become the focal point of your life. These tendencies must be overcome by a commitment to look beyond these obstacles and to gaze only on the Truth. What is the Truth? It’s that which is in the Mind of God. Nothing less, nothing more, nothing other. As you seek to look beyond the struggles of life and focus only on the Truth, you will discover God’s glorious Will. His Will always offers us hope, confidence and joy as we move forward in life (See Diary #1360).
What is it that dominates your attention? What is it that you are most aware of day after day? If you tend to let yourself become drawn into the confusions of life, work to change the focus of your attention. Instead, look only at the Will of God. His Will is glorious, inspiring, hopeful and renewing. Pay no attention to anything that is not contained within His Divine Will and the confusion, hurt and humiliation that you struggle with will slowly disappear as it is overwhelmed by the Mercy of God.
Lord, help me to remain focused on the Truth as it is seen by Your watchful eye and known by Your perfect Mind. Help me to discover Your Will as the only Truth that I must know and help me to embrace Your Will with my whole being. Jesus, I trust in You.
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