Monday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time (October 16, 2017): Some people do much more with much less

Chúa Nhật, 15-10-2017 | 15:52:00

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 11:29-32)

While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the Judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the Judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.

Good News Reflection:

Introductory Prayer:Father, give me the grace to know you more deeply. Don’t let me float through life with a superficial spirituality. I love you with all my heart and ask you to bless this time of prayer.

Petition:Lord, please help me to not waste any of your precious graces. I want to be faithful and fruitful.

1. Jonah and Solomon: Not Exactly Stellar Instruments of God. Jesus speaks in today’s reading about Jonah and Solomon. Neither one will ever be canonized. Jonah had to be dragged kicking and screaming into his prophetic mission. Solomon, at the end of his life, found himself building temples to other gods, just to keep the harem happy. Yet, surprisingly, other people encountered God’s grace through them. The Ninevites, inhabitants of that infamous city of the ancient world known for it cruelty, converted after one day’s preaching by Jonah, the unenthusiastic and unconvinced prophet. As for Solomon, his wisdom was legendary among his contemporaries. Jesus is asking the people, if others listened to Jonah and Solomon, why are you so slow to accept my message, backed up by hundreds of miraculous cures?

Very often the same thing happens today. Despite the spiritual treasures of the Catholic Church, frequently we encounter a lot more fervor outside the Church. To take one example, look at the Mormons. They send 60% of their young men to do missionary work for two years. Their tithing is extensive and their divorce rate is low. But we Catholics can be hard pressed just to get our youth to go to Mass, let alone give two years of their lives to voluntary service. Many of our institutions struggle financially, and our divorce rate is no better than the national average. As committed Catholics, we need to enkindle our own personal enthusiasm and our capacity to sacrifice for the Church.

2. We Have the Fullness of Truth! We are incredibly blessed in the Catholic Church. We have it all! We don’t lack anything. Our souls are fed with the precious Body and Blood of Our Lord. The sacred Scriptures continually enlighten our minds. We have a “cloud of witnesses” in all the martyrs and saints. Look at all the good examples we have. If you are struggling with purity, you have a St Maria Goretti reminding you what a jewel chastity is. If you lack confidence in God, you have a St Therese of Lisieux showing you that not even the temptation of atheism should take away your faith. And what a gift we have in the Magisterium! Truth is never far away.

If we were to value what we have, we would go so much further in our spiritual lives. When asked why he wasn’t a Christian, Ghandi replied that if they really believed that Jesus was in the Eucharist, they would never be able to leave the church. Yes, let us value what we have received. Let us give Christ the consolation of seeing that we are making good use of all the incredible blessings.

3. It’s Not Just Our Own Spiritual Lives. A person that has been truly touched by Christ can’t just be routine and lackadaisical about his faith. It wouldn’t even occur to him to miss a Sunday Mass. In fact, he tries to go as often as possible. The Bible doesn’t sit on the shelf gathering dust; he is continually going to it to keep his soul nourished. Most importantly, his love for the Lord is a fire in his soul that is contagious. As Pope John Paul II writes in Novo Millennio Inuente, “At the threshold of the third millennium, God calls believers, especially lay people, to a renewed missionary zeal. Mission is not an appendix to the Christian vocation. Rather, as the Second Vatican Council recalls, the Christian vocation by its nature is a vocation to the apostolate. Christ should be proclaimed by word and the witness of life, and, before being a strategic and organized effort, the apostolate involves the grateful and joyful communication to all of the gift of meeting Christ. An evangelically mature person, or community, is motivated by intense missionary enthusiasm, which spurs him to bear witness to Christ in every circumstance and situation, in every social, cultural and political context.” We are blessed in the Church. Let’s try to give our best efforts, so that there will be fruits after all the great gifts we have received. It would be a shame if we let the Ninevites beat us in the generous response category.

Dialogue with Christ: Lord, you were frustrated when people continued to ask for signs without opening their hearts to the meaning of your words and deeds. I hope that I will never offend you with a stubborn attitude. Help me to realize that you have given me incredible gifts to allow me to be spiritually fruitful. I know that with your grace, I will succeed.

Resolution: I will speak about my faith to someone, so that they can see how powerful a help it is in my daily life.

Fr. Marcial Maciel, LC

Tags: Good News Reflection, Holy Gospel according to Luke., Some people do much more with much less, Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time