“Let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.
Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
his name is the Lord, be exultant before him.” (Psalm 68)
(Taken from the Living with Christ – September 2019 issue)
Psalm 117
Praise the Lord, all you nations!
Extol him, all you peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.
R: Go into all the World and proclaim the good news.
(taken from Living with Christ – August 2019)
When Jesus says He came to divide families, people might stop listening. But Jesus is not saying it is His desire for families to be split up, but rather that we cannot take a stand against sin and expect those attached to sin will love us for it. Calling out sin got Jeremiah stuck at the bottom of the well! The second reading gives us a clue as to how to wage war on sin: start with your own. Do not declare war on yourself as sinner, as that does tremendous damage. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and resist your own sinfulness, running the race of faith that God has asked of you. It is God’s desire that our redemption be complete, not that we suffer, even though it is painful to let go of the sin we use to protect ourselves.
For peace to be the fruit of letting go of our sinfulness, we pray to the Lord.
Prayer: Forgiving God, show us how to love ourselves while we let go of the sin we have learned to use as faulty protection for our wounds. Heal us, that peace might find us and reconcile us to you and to each other. Amen.
(taken from Facebook page of Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary)
So many seasons of our lives involve waiting and, very often, we are tempted to give up on God before we see the fruit of the waiting. Unemployment, unrealized growth, difficulty in relationships, struggles at school or work – all these and many other challenges show up, teasing us with the lie that we have been abandoned. From the Passover in the midst of slavery, to Abraham and Sarah’s infertili…ty, to the disciples waiting for Jesus to come back to them again, the life of faith is marked by living our lives in the midst of a plan for human salvation that is much bigger than any one of us and greater even than our collective lifetimes. People without faith do not have more or less suffering than we do, but they may struggle with less hope. Choose abundant life, grow hope and patience, and wonder at what God will do with our messes.
Prayer: For hope and patience in the midst of struggle, we pray to the Lord. Saving God, you have worked eternal life for all people out of an infertile couple, and you make all things new. In seasons of confusion and difficulty, draw us into your loving arms, and give us the gift of trusting in you when we cannot see the way. Be our hope and our life, Lord. Amen.
#CatholicYYC #SundayMass
Text: CCCB
(taken from the Facebook page of Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary)
For all of human history, we have been tempted to think we can take better care of ourselves than God can. The first reading condemns justifying worry as responsibility – it’s a form of vanity that keeps us from trusting God. The Gospel extends this teaching into our financial anxiety. Building up wealth and security for ourselves, or being jealous or greedy about what others have, makes an idol o…f material gifts. Our hearts will be where our treasures are, and so if our security comes from worrying, storing up wealth, or condemning those who have more than us, we will find ourselves eternally bound by poverty. Abundant life, in this world and the world to come, comes from living with prudent trust in God’s provision for us.
For healing from worry and greed, we pray to the Lord.
Source: CCCB #CatholicYYC #SundayMass
(taken from the Facebook page of Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary)