30th WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 1 / (Green/White)
St. Martin de Porres, religious
Ps 147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20
Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.
1st Reading: Rom 9:1-5
I tell you, sincerely, in Christ, and my conscience assures me in the Holy Spirit, that I am not lying: I have great sadness and constant anguish for the Jews. I would even desire, that, I myself, suffer the curse of being cut off from Christ, instead of my brethren: I mean, my own people, my kin. They are Israelites, whom God adopted, and on them, rests his glory. Theirs, are the Covenants, the law, the worship and the promises of God. They are descendants of the patriarchs, and from their race, Christ was born, he, who, as God, is above all distinctions. Blessed be He forever and ever: Amen!
Gospel: Lk 14:1-6
One Sabbath Jesus had gone to eat a meal in the house of a leading Pharisee, and he was carefully watched. In front of him was a man suffering from dropsy; so Jesus asked the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?“ But no one answered. Jesus then took the man, healed him, and sent him away. And he said to them, “If your lamb or your ox falls into a well on a Sabbath day, who among you doesn‘t hurry to pull it out?“ And they could not answer.
REFLECTION:
Jesus is not unaware that healing is prohibited on Sabbath day yet He did it. The reason for doing so is manifested in His words to the teachers and Pharisees: “If your lamb falls into a well on Sabbath day, who among you doesn’t hurry to pull it?“ He could not afford seeing the man suffering. He acted spontaneously.
In Luke 3:5-6, Jesus taught that human need is more important that the laws of the Sabbath. In fact, He said that Sabbath is made in service to the people and not enslave the people. Of all God‘s visible creatures, we are the most important. We are the most loved. Our life is a sharing from God‘s life, created in His image and likeness. Jesus came for us. He died for us. All He did was for man to be happy and reach the fullness of life. Our being and our dignity are such that Jesus would even dispense the law of the Sabbath if only to save life. St. John Mary Vianney experienced such love of God and dignity of man that he said; “One soul is worth saving.“ In the words of Ninoy Aquino: “The Filipino is worth dying for.“ Let us appreciate our gift of life and its dignity. Let us be grateful to God for His care. Let us observe the “Day of the Lord,“ Sunday not simply as a law but a way to achieve the best of life as designed by God.
Daily Reflection
Daily Gospel ® is a product Claretian Publications, a division of Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc. (CCFI) which is a pastoral endeavor of the Claretian Missionaries in the Philippines that brings the Word of God to people from all walks of life. CCFI aims to promote integral evangelization and renewed spirituality that is geared towards empowerment and total liberation in response to the needs and challenges of the Church today.
CCFI is a member of Claret Publishing Group, a consortium of the publishing houses of the Claretian Missionaries all over the world: Bangalore, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Chennai, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Lagos, Madrid, Macao, Manila, Owerry, São Paolo, Varsaw , Yaoundé.
Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
Readings and Reflections
Copyright © 2O16
Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc.
U.P. P.O. Box 4, Diliman,
1101 Quezon City, Philippines
Tel.: (63-2) 921-3984
Fax: (6352) 921-7429
Email: ccfi@claretianpublicationscom
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Web: www.claretianph.com
