Religious
Saturday of the Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time
Biographical Information about St. Elizabeth of Hungary[1]
Readings for Saturday of the Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Reading from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Wis 18:14-16; 19:6-9
This selection from the Book of Wisdom speaks first of the bondage and death the Hebrews suffered in Egypt. In the second section we hear an account of the exodus through the Red Sea and of the gratitude of those delivered.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 105:2-3, 36-37, 42-43
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done!
Saturday of the Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time
Biographical Information about St. Elizabeth of Hungary[1]
Readings for Saturday of the Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time[2]
Reading from the Jerusalem Bible
Commentary:
Reading 1 Wis 18:14-16; 19:6-9
This selection from the Book of Wisdom speaks first of the bondage and death the Hebrews suffered in Egypt. In the second section we hear an account of the exodus through the Red Sea and of the gratitude of those delivered.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 105:2-3, 36-37, 42-43
R. Remember the marvels the Lord has done!
or: R. Alleluia.
This passage from Psalm 105 focuses on the part of the exodus story that deals with the final plague in Egypt. Praise and gratitude flow from those who have seen God’s great works of salvation.
Gospel Lk 18:1-8
This is the first of two parables on the need for prayer found in St. Luke’s Gospel. In this selection the Lord tells the disciples of the need for persistent prayer so they do not fall victim to apostasy. He assures them that God, the Just Judge, will listen to their prayers and come speedily to their aid in times of need.
Reflection:
It would be easy to understand the parable about the widow demanding a just ruling as meaning that we need to somehow convince God of the worthiness or our prayer. Parables like all analogies sometimes are misleading. If we interpreted this story’s characters as God being the judge and the widow as being us, we could certainly get that impression. However the Lord would never cast his Heavenly Father in such a role.
The widow in this story represents the powerless in society. They must depend upon an unfeeling society for justice. That unfeeling society is what is represented by the judge. The Lord tells us he “neither feared God nor respected any human being.” When we think about the identity of this character it is an accurate description of our secular system.
The story continues that the widow was persistent in her call for justice from the judge. In other words she did not give up hope even in the face of what seemed to her, constant rejection. We are told she was looking for a just decision, indicating that what she was asking for was not requested out of greed or intended to inure her adversary. Rather, like the powerless of any age, she sought what was fair. Finally, in God’s time, her request was granted.
The real moral in this story is that we need to remain steadfast in our hope for God’s help in our need. We must recognize that, like the widow, our prayer must be worthy of God’s assistance. Our motives must not be selfish (“I pray I win the Lotto today so I can pay of the credit card bills I ran up this year.”) or malicious (“God, would you strike that person down for stealing from me?”).
God sees into our hearts and hears our constant plea. He answers those prayers, although sometimes in ways we do not understand. The important lesson from the Lord is that we must be diligent in our prayer and constant in our communication with the Father. It is only this way that we can get to know Him and his will for us.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is The Renunciation of St. Elizabeth of Hungary by James Collinson 1850
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
This passage from Psalm 105 focuses on the part of the exodus story that deals with the final plague in Egypt. Praise and gratitude flow from those who have seen God’s great works of salvation.
Gospel Lk 18:1-8
This is the first of two parables on the need for prayer found in St. Luke’s Gospel. In this selection the Lord tells the disciples of the need for persistent prayer so they do not fall victim to apostasy. He assures them that God, the Just Judge, will listen to their prayers and come speedily to their aid in times of need.
Reflection:
It would be easy to understand the parable about the widow demanding a just ruling as meaning that we need to somehow convince God of the worthiness or our prayer. Parables like all analogies sometimes are misleading. If we interpreted this story’s characters as God being the judge and the widow as being us, we could certainly get that impression. However the Lord would never cast his Heavenly Father in such a role.
The widow in this story represents the powerless in society. They must depend upon an unfeeling society for justice. That unfeeling society is what is represented by the judge. The Lord tells us he “neither feared God nor respected any human being.” When we think about the identity of this character it is an accurate description of our secular system.
The story continues that the widow was persistent in her call for justice from the judge. In other words she did not give up hope even in the face of what seemed to her, constant rejection. We are told she was looking for a just decision, indicating that what she was asking for was not requested out of greed or intended to inure her adversary. Rather, like the powerless of any age, she sought what was fair. Finally, in God’s time, her request was granted.
The real moral in this story is that we need to remain steadfast in our hope for God’s help in our need. We must recognize that, like the widow, our prayer must be worthy of God’s assistance. Our motives must not be selfish (“I pray I win the Lotto today so I can pay of the credit card bills I ran up this year.”) or malicious (“God, would you strike that person down for stealing from me?”).
God sees into our hearts and hears our constant plea. He answers those prayers, although sometimes in ways we do not understand. The important lesson from the Lord is that we must be diligent in our prayer and constant in our communication with the Father. It is only this way that we can get to know Him and his will for us.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is The Renunciation of St. Elizabeth of Hungary by James Collinson 1850
[2] After Links to Readings Expire
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