Readings for Wednesday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Col 1:1-8
This selection begins St. Paul’s Letter to the Church at Colossae, it is a Church the apostle did not found nor apparently had never visited. In these verses he begins by commending them on their faith in Christ Jesus and congratulates them on living the Gospel values. He assures them that knowledge and faith in Christ is growing in the world and they are among those faithful having genuine teaching about the Lord. (Later in this letter he clarifies some articles of faith that are causing anxiety)
Responsorial Psalm Ps 52:10, 11
R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
The latter strophes of Psalm 52 given here give thanks to God and proclaim the singer’s faithfulness. The individual resolves to spread the news of God’s goodness.
Gospel Lk 4:38-44
This Gospel passage continues the healing mission of Christ in Capernaum. He first heals Simon’s mother-in-law (at this point in St. Luke’s Gospel we Simon has not yet been called). He then proceeds to heal all who are brought to him. The demons he cast out were, as the first, aware of Jesus’ identity as the Son of God.
When Jesus tries to leave the people try to keep him with them. Contrast this response with the people of Nazareth, his home town, earlier. The Lord then proceeds to teach throughout the region, proclaiming the Kingdom of God.
Reflection:
St. Paul rejoices in the faith of the Colossians and the Lord is able to heal all those brought to him in faith during his stay in Capernaum. Faith, then, is the common thread through Holy Scripture and the Gospel tells us that miraculous things can be accomplished through its power.
There are two passages from the Catechism of the Catholic Church that address “faith” as it interacts in our lives. The first speaks of the origins of faith as a gift from God:
162 Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man. We can lose this priceless gift, as St. Paul indicated to St. Timothy: "Wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith." To live, grow and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith; it must be "working through charity," abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church.
While it is given in different measures to different people, it can be grown and nourished, much like muscles in the body or abilities that can be developed through practice. Faith we are also told does not exist in us alone. Here is a second reference form the Catechism:
166 Faith is a personal act - the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself. But faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone. You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life. The believer has received faith from others and should hand it on to others. Our love for Jesus and for our neighbor impels us to speak to others about our faith. Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith.
When we internalize the fact that faith cannot grow unless it is shared we realize that the interior strength is built up in the act of sharing and the sharing comes back to us as nourishment.
It is a lot to contemplate today. Our prayer, therefore, is that God continue to bless us with faith, his free gift, and that we, his disciples, use that gift, spread that gift, and in its spreading, increase itself in us.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture used today is Jesus Heals Paul’s Mother-In-Law by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, After UNKNOWN; Illustrator of 'Biblia : Das ist die gantze Heilige Schrift...', Martin Luther (author), Nuremberg, 1702
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Col 1:1-8
This selection begins St. Paul’s Letter to the Church at Colossae, it is a Church the apostle did not found nor apparently had never visited. In these verses he begins by commending them on their faith in Christ Jesus and congratulates them on living the Gospel values. He assures them that knowledge and faith in Christ is growing in the world and they are among those faithful having genuine teaching about the Lord. (Later in this letter he clarifies some articles of faith that are causing anxiety)
Responsorial Psalm Ps 52:10, 11
R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
The latter strophes of Psalm 52 given here give thanks to God and proclaim the singer’s faithfulness. The individual resolves to spread the news of God’s goodness.
Gospel Lk 4:38-44
This Gospel passage continues the healing mission of Christ in Capernaum. He first heals Simon’s mother-in-law (at this point in St. Luke’s Gospel we Simon has not yet been called). He then proceeds to heal all who are brought to him. The demons he cast out were, as the first, aware of Jesus’ identity as the Son of God.
When Jesus tries to leave the people try to keep him with them. Contrast this response with the people of Nazareth, his home town, earlier. The Lord then proceeds to teach throughout the region, proclaiming the Kingdom of God.
Reflection:
St. Paul rejoices in the faith of the Colossians and the Lord is able to heal all those brought to him in faith during his stay in Capernaum. Faith, then, is the common thread through Holy Scripture and the Gospel tells us that miraculous things can be accomplished through its power.
There are two passages from the Catechism of the Catholic Church that address “faith” as it interacts in our lives. The first speaks of the origins of faith as a gift from God:
162 Faith is an entirely free gift that God makes to man. We can lose this priceless gift, as St. Paul indicated to St. Timothy: "Wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith." To live, grow and persevere in the faith until the end we must nourish it with the word of God; we must beg the Lord to increase our faith; it must be "working through charity," abounding in hope, and rooted in the faith of the Church.
While it is given in different measures to different people, it can be grown and nourished, much like muscles in the body or abilities that can be developed through practice. Faith we are also told does not exist in us alone. Here is a second reference form the Catechism:
166 Faith is a personal act - the free response of the human person to the initiative of God who reveals himself. But faith is not an isolated act. No one can believe alone, just as no one can live alone. You have not given yourself faith as you have not given yourself life. The believer has received faith from others and should hand it on to others. Our love for Jesus and for our neighbor impels us to speak to others about our faith. Each believer is thus a link in the great chain of believers. I cannot believe without being carried by the faith of others, and by my faith I help support others in the faith.
When we internalize the fact that faith cannot grow unless it is shared we realize that the interior strength is built up in the act of sharing and the sharing comes back to us as nourishment.
It is a lot to contemplate today. Our prayer, therefore, is that God continue to bless us with faith, his free gift, and that we, his disciples, use that gift, spread that gift, and in its spreading, increase itself in us.
Pax
[1] After Links to Readings Expire
[2] The picture used today is Jesus Heals Paul’s Mother-In-Law by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, After UNKNOWN; Illustrator of 'Biblia : Das ist die gantze Heilige Schrift...', Martin Luther (author), Nuremberg, 1702
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