Tuesday - June 20, 2017
Even though you possess plenty, you are still indigent. You abound in temporal possessions, but you need things eternal. You listen to the needs of a human beggar, yet yourself are a beggar of God. What you do with those who beg from you is what God will do with His beggar. You are filled and you are empty. Fill your empty neighbor with your fullness, so that your emptiness may be filled from God's fullness.
-- Saint Augustine of Hippo
TODAY'S READINGS
June 20, 2017
Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 366
Reading 12 COR 8:1-9
We want you to know, brothers and sisters, of the grace of Godthat has been given to the churches of Macedonia,
for in a severe test of affliction,
the abundance of their joy and their profound poverty
overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
For according to their means, I can testify,
and beyond their means, spontaneously,
they begged us insistently for the favor of taking part
in the service to the holy ones,
and this, not as we expected,
but they gave themselves first to the Lord
and to us through the will of God,
so that we urged Titus that, as he had already begun,
he should also complete for you this gracious act also.
Now as you excel in every respect,
in faith, discourse, knowledge, all earnestness,
and in the love we have for you,
may you excel in this gracious act also.
I say this not by way of command,
but to test the genuineness of your love
by your concern for others.
For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that for your sake he became poor although he was rich,
so that by his poverty you might become rich.
Responsorial PsalmPS 146:2, 5-6AB, 6C- 7, 8-9A
R. (1b) Praise the Lord, my soul!or:
R. Alleluia.
Praise the LORD, my soul!
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
The LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who were bowed down;
the LORD loves the just.
The LORD protects strangers.
R. Praise the Lord, my soul!
or:
R. Alleluia.
AlleluiaJN 13:34
R. Alleluia, alleluia.I give you a new commandment:
love one another as I have loved you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 5:43-48
Jesus said to his disciples:"You have heard that it was said,
You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your heavenly Father,
for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good,
and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.
For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have?
Do not the tax collectors do the same?
And if you greet your brothers only,
what is unusual about that?
Do not the pagans do the same?
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect."
******************************
In today's first reading, St. Paul describes what happens when a church community truly works together as a community of love, where people enthusiastically volunteer to help, and where the need for assistance is recognized and people cheerfully pitch in to get the work done -- not because they ought to, but because they're so in love with God that they want to do it as a gift for him. Love for God becomes love that floods outward to everyone.
This is what Jesus means in our Gospel reading, when he says, "Be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect." He's not telling us to be perfectionists. He's not saying that it's bad to make mistakes. Every time you see the word "perfect" in scripture, think "fullness of love." We're perfected into the likeness of our God-Daddy whenever we love others so fully that we eagerly serve his kingdom with our talents and resources.
How much do you love God? What kind of worker are you in his kingdom? Do you have the same joy and enthusiasm that the Christians of Macedonia had? Neither Paul nor any parish leader had to pressure them to get involved. Rather, the parishioners begged -- insistently -- for the favor of serving the Church. Wow!
Do you understand that the people who seek volunteers in your parish are doing you a favor by asking for your gifts and talents? And your time? "Oh-ho! Not with my busy schedule and all the demands coming at me from other directions," we say. Well then, we still don't realize how blessed we are to serve God. We're serving a different god or two or three gods who don't appreciate our efforts nearly as much as the true God does.
When we reach true Christian maturity, we're unhappy at the sight of an unmet need, and we're even more unhappy if we can fill that need but don't know how to get involved. Here's a thought: Have you ever begged the pastor to let you donate more money? What would happen if you said, "Father, I didn't put enough in the collection basket last Sunday. May I stop by and drop off a check?"
Splattttt. That's the sound of Father fainting.
If you want to have more fun in your parish community, call the director of any ministry that appeals to you, and say, "What can I do to make your job easier? I'm not going to be happy until you give me some volunteer work to do." There might be some stammering or speechlessness at first, but be patient. The director will recover.
And God will smile at you and say, "THAAAAANK you!"
--
God Bless You.....
KONKANI PRAYER GROUP - Abu Dhabi
"Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone" Mark 16:15
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