Archive for month: October, 2020
Prayer for the Week (October 25-October 31)
Let us pray that our love of God becomes real and tangible in love for our neighbor: God, you display your almighty power in loving us without regret. In Jesus your Son you have shown us how far love can go. Give us a love that is forgiving, generous, and gentle like his, so that we recognize and welcome him in others. May our hearts reach out first to the poorest and the least lovable with the gratuitous love you have given us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Claretian Publications)
Sunday Reflection (October 25, 2020)
Jesus links Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18 to form the “Great Commandment” in Matthew 22:24-40: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself.” Love in this sense is loyalty to God and faithful actions toward our neighbor. We still struggle with it. For example, we may have empathy for suffering people in other nations from a distance, yet if they immigrate to our country and become our neighbor, we can become quite intolerant of them.
Jesus practiced the love of God by not saying: “Hey, I love God!” Rather, Jesus practiced the love of God by his humble, loving treatment of others, and pointing out the mistreatment of others. May we, his followers, do the same. May the Great Commandment to love God and neighbor direct and orient lover lives as we reflect upon and practice the love of God.
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Sunday Reflection (October 18, 2020)
We are created in God’s image and God’s inscription is upon each and every human being, yet how often do we fail to recognize that? We attempt to deface God’s Image when we say mean and ugly things about others when we look down upon someone when we deliberately and maliciously injure or harm another or a group of people. We all have been guilty of attempting to deface God’s Image and note that I said attempt. God notices when we attempt to deface God’s image and to do so is to stand against God.
St. Augustine said that we are like God’s coins that have wandered away from the treasury and what once was stamped upon us has been worn down by our wanderings. God’s image may be defaced but not obliterated. God seeks to renew God’s image within us and among us, that is, to freshen the imprint so to speak; therefore, there is great hope for us. Through the Holy Spirit, the divine image is renewed within us and among us unto the Image of Christ. The Holy Spirit transforms our lives and our outlooks according to the full image of humanity revealed in Jesus Christ.
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Prayer for the Week (October 18-October 24)
Let us pray to the Lord who bends close to hear our prayers: Lord our God, Father of all, you guard us under the shadow of your wings and search into the depths of our hearts. Remove the blindness that cannot know you and relieve the fear that would hide us from your sight. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
(Sunday Missal, alt)
