13th Sunday of the Year (C)

Inspire in Us the Practice of Good (2011-2013):

13th Sunday of the Year (C), June 30, 2013

Liturgical readings
1 Kings 19:16, 19-21
Psalm 16
Galatians 5:1, 13-18
Luke 9:51-62

"Jesus firmly resolved to proceed toward Jerusalem."



As the time approached
when Jesus was to be taken
from this world,


he firmly resolved
to proceed toward Jerusalem,
and sent messengers
ahead of him.


These
entered a Samaritan town
to prepare for his passing through,


but


the Samaritans
would not welcome him
because he was on his way
to Jerusalem.


When his disciples
James and John saw this,
they said,


"Lord,
would you not have us call down
fire from heaven
to destroy them?"


He turned toward them
only to reprimand them.


Then they set off
for another town.


As they were making their way along,
someone said to him,


        "I will be your follower
        wherever you go."


Jesus said to him,


        "The foxes have lairs,
        the birds of the sky have nests,
        but the Son of Man has nowhere
        to lay his head."


To another
he said,


        "Come after me."


The man replied,


        "Let me bury my father first."


Jesus said to him,


        "Let the dead
        bury their dead;
        come away and
        proclaim the kingdom of God."


Yet another said to him,


        "I will be your follower, Lord,
        but first
        let me take leave
        of my people at home."


Jesus answered him,


        "Whoever put his hand
        to the plow
        but keeps looking back
        is unfit for the reign of God."



Points for reflection and prayer:
"The Lord said to Elijah: 'You shall anoint Elisha, son of Shaphat." (1 Kings)
"Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge." (Psalm 16)
"It was for liberty that Christ freed us." (Galatians)

12th Sunday of the Year (C)

Inspire in Us the Practice of Good (2011-2013):

12th Sunday of the Year (C), June 23, 2013

Liturgical readings
Zechariah 12:10-11
Psalm 63
Galatians 3:26-29
Luke 9:18-24

"He must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Christ."



One day
when Jesus was praying in seclusion
and his disciples were with him,
he put the question to them,


"Who do the crowds say that I am?"


"John the Baptizer,"
they replied,


"and some say Elijah,


while others claim
one of the prophets of old
has returned from the dead."


"But you
- who do you say that I am?"
he asked them.


Peter said in reply,
"The Messiah of God."


He strictly forbade them
to tell this to anyone.


"The Son of Man,"
he said
"must first endure many sufferings,
        be rejected by the elders,
        the high priests
        and the scribes,
and be put to death,
and then be raised up on the third day."


Jesus said to all:
"Whoever wishes to be my follower
must deny his very self,
take up his cross each day,
and follow in my steps,


Whoever would save his life
will lose it,
and
whoever loses his life
for my sake will save it."


Points for reflection and prayer:
"And they shall look on him whom they have thrust through." (Zechariah)
"O God, you are my God whom I seek." (Psalm 63)
"Each one of you is a son of God because of your faith in Christ Jesus." (Galatians)

11th Sunday of the Year (C)

Inspire in Us the Practice of Good (2011-2013):

11th Sunday of the Year (C), June 16, 2013

Liturgical readings
2 Samuel 12:7-10
Psalm 32
Galatians 2:16, 19-21
Luke 7:36 - 8:3

"Her many sins are forgiven - because of her great love."



There was a certain Pharisee
who invited Jesus to dine with him.


Jesus went to the Pharisee's home
and reclined to eat.


A woman
known in the town
        to be a sinner
learned that he was dining
        in the Pharisee's home.


She brought in a vase of perfumed oil
and stood behind him at his feet,


weeping


so that her tears fell upon his feet.


Then
she wiped them with her hair,
kissing them and
perfuming them with the oil.


When his host,
the Pharisee,
saw this,
he said to himself,


"If this man were a prophet,
he would know who
and what sort of woman
this is that touches him,
- that she is a sinner."


In answer to his thought,
Jesus said to him,


"Simon,
I have something to propose to you,"


"Teacher,"
he said,
"speak."


"Two men owed money
to a certain money-lender;
one owed a total of five hundred coins,
the other fifty.



Since neither was able to repay,
he wrote off both debts.


Which of them was more grateful to him?"


Simon answered,
"He, I presume,
to whom he remitted the larger sum."


Jesus said to him,
"You are right."


Turning then to the woman,
he said to Simon:


"You see this woman?
I came to your home
and you provided me with no water for my feet.


        She has washed my feet with her tears
        and wiped them with her hair.


You gave me no kiss,


        but she has not ceased kissing my feet
        since I entered.


You did not anoint my head with oil,


        but she has anointed my feet with perfume.


I tell you,
that is why her many sins are forgiven
- because of her great love.


Little is forgiven
the one whose love is small."


He said to her then,
"Your sins are forgiven,"


at which his fellow guests
began to ask among themselves,


"Who is this
that he even forgives sins?"


Meanwhile
he said to the woman,
"Your faith has been your salvation.
Go now in peace."


After this
he journeyed through
towns and villages
preaching and proclaiming
the good news
of the kingdom of God.


The Twelve
accompanied him,
and also some women
who had been cured of evil spirits
and maladies;


Mary called the Magdalene,
from whom seven devils had gone out,


Joanna,
the wife of Herod's steward Chuza,


Susanna,


and many others
who were assisting them
out of their means.


Points for reflection and prayer:
"The Lord on his part has forgiven your sin: you shall not die." (1 Kings)
"You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me." (Psalm 30)
"I will not treat God's gracious gift as pointless." (Galatians)