31st WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 2 / (White)
St. Martin of Tours, bishop / Memorial of Blessed Virgin Mary
Ps 145:2-3, 4-5, 10-11
I will praise your name for ever, Lord.
1st Reading: Rom 16:3-9, 16, 22-27
Greetings to Prisca and Aquilas, my helpers in Christ Jesus. To save my life, they risked theirs; I am very grateful to them, as are all the churches of the pagan nations. Greetings also to the church that meets in their house. Greetings to my dear Epaenetus, the first in the province of Asia to believe in Christ. Greet Mary, who worked so much for you. Greetings to Andronicus and Junias, my relatives and companions in prison; they are well known apostles and served Christ before I did. Give greetings to Ampliatus, whom I love so much in the Lord. Greetings to Urbanus, our fellow worker, and to my dear Stachys. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send their greetings. I, Tertius, the writer of this letter, send you greetings in the Lord. Greetings from Gaius, who has given me lodging and in whose house the church meets. Greetings from Erastus, treasurer of the city, and from our brother Quartus. Glory be to God! He is able to give you strength, according to the Good News I proclaim, announcing Christ Jesus. Now is revealed the mysterious plan, kept hidden for long ages in the past. By the will of the eternal God it is brought to light, through the prophetic books, and all nations shall believe the faith proclaimed to them. Glory to God, who alone is wise, through Christ Jesus, forever! Amen.
Gospel: Lk 16:9-15
And so I tell you: use filthy money to make friends for yourselves, so that, when it fails, these people may welcome you into the eternal homes.
Whoever can be trusted in little things can also be trusted in great ones; whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones. So if you have been dishonest in handling filthy money, who would entrust you with true wealth? And if you have been dishonest with things that are not really yours, who will give you that wealth which is truly your own?
No servant can serve two masters. Either he does not like the one and is fond of the other, or he regards one highly and the other with contempt. You cannot give yourself both to God and to Money.“
The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and sneered at Jesus. He said to them, “You do your best to be considered righteous by people. But God knows the heart, and what is highly esteemed by human beings is loathed by God.
REFLECTION:
St Paul‘s letter to the Romans mentions all the men and women to be greeted and be kissed reminds me of the life in the parish. In the parish, wherever one is assigned, there are lay people who are so dedicated and would do anything they can to help the parish and of course the priest. They are men and women, young and old, rich or poor, learned or not. They are in different ministries and apostolates. The parish is able to carry out its programs through them. In their own ways they make the Church present in the locality. Since the start of the Church, God has provided the Church with pastors and the Pastors were provided with collaborators. Together, they form the parish. God‘s presence and action are made visible. They form the Church, the “People of God.“
The gospel reminds me of a gumamela I planted at the inner garden of the pastoral center. It bore a beautiful yellow flower. It attracted everyone. One time I found the plant seemingly dying because those going to the center got cuttings mercilessly for their home garden. I then decided to hang a note on it : “An paghabon dawa sadit, kasalan (Bicol). On the other side; “stealing no matter how small, is a sin.“ It solved the problem. “whoever is dishonest in slight matters will also be dishonest in greater ones.“
Daily Reflection
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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
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