Readings for Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 1 Thes 3:7-13
St. Paul speaks to the Thessalonians in a conversational tone. He first thanks God for their faithfulness in the face of difficulties. He then offers a prayer asking God to increase their love for each other and others using one of the Lord’s sayings (Love one another as I have loved you.)
Responsorial Psalm Ps 90:3-5a, 12-13, 14 and 17
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Psalm 90 is an individual song of thanksgiving. In this section the psalmist reflects on God’s immenseness and asks for God’s continued presence in support of all activities.
Gospel Mt 24:42-59
This discourse from St. Matthew’s Gospel follows his reflections about the end times and the need for vigilance. The Lord speaks to those who followers and especially the leaders of the community he leaves behind as he tells them they will not know the time when they will be called to the Kingdom of Heaven. In the second section he tells his followers that those who are found to be vigilant will be rewarded at the end of all things while those who have fallen away will be punished.
Homily:
Jesus clearly knows the human heart and mind. He knows there are those who wish to be seen by other as being good and righteous but in their hearts they are only concerned with appearances. These people are with us today. They are the ones who publicly say they support the faith but their private actions shout that are really not willing to walk the difficult path.
We are warned in the Gospel today that we cannot be like this. We must not only embrace the faith and all it entails but live it in our hearts as well. We are called to constant vigilance by Holy Scripture and we are told that faithfulness will be rewarded while hypocrisy will have its own reward.
How will we know our actions reflect our faith? How will others see in us the vigilant servant? St. Paul says it in his letter to the Thessalonians – Love one another. It is the Lord’s most important message and the foundation of who we are and, indeed, why he came. In the end, it will be the measure of our lives, to see how well we stood up to that test.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture used today is Last Judgment by Raphael Coxce, c. 1600
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 1 Thes 3:7-13
St. Paul speaks to the Thessalonians in a conversational tone. He first thanks God for their faithfulness in the face of difficulties. He then offers a prayer asking God to increase their love for each other and others using one of the Lord’s sayings (Love one another as I have loved you.)
Responsorial Psalm Ps 90:3-5a, 12-13, 14 and 17
R. Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Psalm 90 is an individual song of thanksgiving. In this section the psalmist reflects on God’s immenseness and asks for God’s continued presence in support of all activities.
Gospel Mt 24:42-59
This discourse from St. Matthew’s Gospel follows his reflections about the end times and the need for vigilance. The Lord speaks to those who followers and especially the leaders of the community he leaves behind as he tells them they will not know the time when they will be called to the Kingdom of Heaven. In the second section he tells his followers that those who are found to be vigilant will be rewarded at the end of all things while those who have fallen away will be punished.
Homily:
Jesus clearly knows the human heart and mind. He knows there are those who wish to be seen by other as being good and righteous but in their hearts they are only concerned with appearances. These people are with us today. They are the ones who publicly say they support the faith but their private actions shout that are really not willing to walk the difficult path.
We are warned in the Gospel today that we cannot be like this. We must not only embrace the faith and all it entails but live it in our hearts as well. We are called to constant vigilance by Holy Scripture and we are told that faithfulness will be rewarded while hypocrisy will have its own reward.
How will we know our actions reflect our faith? How will others see in us the vigilant servant? St. Paul says it in his letter to the Thessalonians – Love one another. It is the Lord’s most important message and the foundation of who we are and, indeed, why he came. In the end, it will be the measure of our lives, to see how well we stood up to that test.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture used today is Last Judgment by Raphael Coxce, c. 1600
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