October 28, 2020 Feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles

2020년 10월 28일 성 시몬과 성 유다(타대오) 사도 축일 

오늘의 복음 : http://info.catholic.or.kr/missa/default.asp 

제1독서

 에페소서. 2,19-22
 형제 여러분, 19 여러분은 이제 더 이상 외국인도 아니고 이방인도 아닙니다.

성도들과 함께 한 시민이며 하느님의 한 가족입니다.
20 여러분은 사도들과 예언자들의 기초 위에 세워진 건물이고,
그리스도 예수님께서는 바로 모퉁잇돌이십니다.
21 그리스도 안에서 전체가 잘 결합된 이 건물이 주님 안에서
거룩한 성전으로 자라납니다.
22 여러분도 그리스도 안에서 성령을 통하여
하느님의 거처로 함께 지어지고 있습니다.

 

복음

 루카. 6,12-19
 12 그 무렵 예수님께서는 기도하시려고 산으로 나가시어,

밤을 새우며 하느님께 기도하셨다.
13 그리고 날이 새자 제자들을 부르시어 그들 가운데에서 열둘을 뽑으셨다.
그들을 사도라고도 부르셨는데,
14 그들은 베드로라고 이름을 지어 주신 시몬, 그의 동생 안드레아,
그리고 야고보, 요한, 필립보, 바르톨로메오,
15 마태오, 토마스, 알패오의 아들 야고보, 열혈당원이라고 불리는 시몬,
16 야고보의 아들 유다, 또 배신자가 된 유다 이스카리옷이다.
17 예수님께서 그들과 함께 산에서 내려가 평지에 서시니,

그분의 제자들이 많은 군중을 이루고,
온 유다와 예루살렘, 그리고 티로와 시돈의 해안 지방에서
온 백성이 큰 무리를 이루고 있었다.
18 그들은 예수님의 말씀도 듣고 질병도 고치려고 온 사람들이었다.
그리하여 더러운 영들에게 시달리는 이들도 낫게 되었다.
19 군중은 모두 예수님께 손을 대려고 애를 썼다.
그분에게서 힘이 나와 모든 사람을 고쳐 주었기 때문이다.

October 28, 2020

Feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/ 

Daily Mass : http://www.catholictv.com/shows/daily-mass 

Reading 1 

Eph 2:19-22

Brothers and sisters:
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
Through him the whole structure is held together
and grows into a temple sacred in the Lord;
in him you also are being built together
into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

 

Responsorial Psalm 

Ps 19:2-3, 4-5

R. (5a) Their message goes out through all the earth.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. Their message goes out through all the earth.

 

Gospel 

Lk 6:12-16

Jesus went up to the mountain to pray,
and he spent the night in prayer to God.
When day came, he called his disciples to himself,
and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles:
Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew,
James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew,
Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus,
Simon who was called a Zealot,
and Judas the son of James, 

and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor

 

http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html

 

Psalm response: Their message goes out through all the earth.

This is a feast of the apostles Simon and Jude, but apparently there is no trace whatever of them outside of the New Testament and no word of them anywhere after Pentecost, no mention even of their efforts or whether they were actually martyred or not. 

Now Christ and Paul variously describe us as servants, disciples, workers, apostles, children, and heirs, among other things.  That is quite a spectrum, reaching not only across the span of our spiritual development but also the range of the particular role and identity that the Father offers us and calls us to – and what we choose to accept and try to become.

Today’s passage from Paul's Letter to the Ephesians refers to the "household of God" before going into the less felicitous metaphor for the Church, a building, and yet that building becomes the “holy temple of the Lord” here and Revelation speaks of it in a more profound and imposing manner reminiscent of it being the Mystical Body of Christ (21:9-14, 22-27).

While all of those roles or identities fit us, the one I like the best because it is the closest to our human experience is that of being a child of God.  Just off the top of my head I think of the prodigal son, the son sent to the ignoble men who lease the vineyard and kill that envoy of the father, and the son who says "yes" and doesn't go into the field, the son who says "no" and does go.  The place where we relate best to God made man is in the humanity which we share with Him. 

But there is also the Firstborn Himself, the son of Mary, in whom all of us are called to be children of the Father.  He is the image of what it means to be a child of God but is above all the living God Himself who helps us not to mirror that image but to live and become alive in the same way, with the same life, filled with the same Spirit.

And like all children, each of us will become different in how we live out the lives we are given, how we ourselves choose to respond to the love that gave us life.  A few us will be well known, but most of us will be Simons and Judes, true apostles but often enough hidden ones even from ourselves....

 

 http://www.presentationministries.com/obob/obob.asp

APOSTOLIC SUCCESS-ION

“At daybreak He called His disciples and selected twelve of them to be His apostles.” —Luke 6:13

Jesus went up the mountain, prayed all night long in communion with God, and, as the sun rose, chose the twelve who were to be His apostles (Lk 6:12-13). By this dramatic setting, Luke indicates that the apostles were very important in God’s plan. In fact, the Church is founded on them (Eph 2:20; Rv 21:14).

The early Church believed that the apostles were to have successors. Through the bishops of the Church (cf Acts 1:20-22), the apostolic ministry would continue as an essential part of the order of the Church and of God’s plan of salvation. Apostolic succession was an almost universally accepted belief of the Church for 1,500 years up to the time following the Protestant Reformation. Some Protestants deny apostolic succession. The splintering of the Church into thousands of denominations and the weakening of the Church through the Enlightenment and secular humanism has certainly not confirmed the denial.  Today we have even more reason to believe that the apostolic ministry continues through the bishops of the Church.

This means that bishops are important, and that it is vitally important for us to know and submit to their teachings. The truth of apostolic succession also indicates that the Pope, as the bishop of all bishops, is very important. By obeying the Pope and the bishops, we will know the truth which will set us free (Jn 8:32), be united as members of Christ’s body, and truly build the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

Prayer:  Father, may it make a significant difference to me that the Church is apostolic.

Promise:  “You are strangers and aliens no longer. No, you are fellow citizens of the saints and members of the household of God.” —Eph 2:19

Praise:  “Glory be to this only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Majesty, too, be His, might and power from ages past, now and for ages to come. Amen” (Jude 25).

 

 http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/

 

What does the image of a door say to us about the kingdom of God? Jesus' story about the door being shut to those who come too late suggests they had offended their host and deserved to be excluded. It was customary for teachers in Jesus' time to close the door on tardy students and not allow them back for a whole week in order to teach them a lesson in discipline and faithfulness.

Who will be invited to enter God's kingdom?
Jesus told this story in response to the question of who will make it to heaven - to God's kingdom of everlasting peace and eternal life. Many rabbis held that all Israel would be saved and gain entry into God's kingdom, except for a few blatant sinners who excluded themselves! After all, they were specially chosen by God when he established a covenant relationship with them.

Jesus surprised his listeners by saying that one's membership as a people who have entered into a covenant relationship with God does not automatically mean entry into the everlasting kingdom of God. Second, Jesus asserts that many from the Gentile (non-Jewish) nations would enter God's kingdom. God's invitation is open to Jew and Gentile alike.

Jesus is the door to the kingdom of heaven
But Jesus warns that we can be excluded if we do not strive to enter by the narrow door. What did Jesus mean by this expression? The door which Jesus had in mind was himself. I am the door; if any one enters by me, he will be saved (John 10:9). God sent his only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to open the way for us to have full access to the throne of God's grace (his favor and blessing) and mercy (his pardon for our sins). Through Jesus' victory on the cross he has freed us from slavery to sin and hurtful desires and addictions, and he has made us sons and daughters of God and citizens of his heavenly kingdom. We are free now to choose which kingdom we will serve - the kingdom of light and truth ruled by God's justice and wisdom or the kingdom of darkness and falsehood ruled by Satan and a world system or society of people who are opposed to God and his laws.

Following the Lord requires effort and commitment on our part
If we want to enter God's kingdom and receive our full inheritance which is stored up for us in heaven, then we must follow the Lord Jesus in his way of the cross through a willing renunciation of our own will for his will - our own life for his life - our own way for his way.

Why did Jesus say we must strive to enter his kingdom of righteousness and peace? The word strive can also be translated as agony. To enter the kingdom of God we must struggle against every force or power of opposition - even the temptation to remain indifferent, apathetic, or compromising in our faith and personal trust in Jesus, our hope in holding firm to the promises of Jesus, and our uncompromising love for God above all else (the "love that has been poured into our hearts through the gift of the Spirit which has been given to us" - Romans 5:5).

The Lord is with us to strengthen us in our trials and struggles
The good news is that we do not struggle alone. God is with us and his grace is sufficient! As we strive side by side for the faith of the Gospel with the help and support of our brothers and sisters in the Lord (Philippians 1:27), Jesus assures us of complete victory! Do you trust in God's grace and help, especially in times of testing and temptation?

Lord Jesus, may I never doubt your guiding presence and your merciful love towards me. Through the gift of your Spirit fill me with courage and persevering faith to trust you in all things and in every circumstance I find myself. Give me the strength to cling to your promises when the world around me begins to shake or crumble. And when my love and zeal begin to waver, fan into my heart a flame of consuming love and dedication for you who are my All.

Psalm 13:3-6

3 Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4 lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him"; lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I have trusted in thy steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me. 

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: To enter the narrow door, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)

"'Wide is the door, and broad the way that brings down many to destruction.' What are we to understand by its broadness? ...A stubborn mind will not bow to the yoke of the law [the commandments of God]. This life is cursed and relaxed in all carelessness. Thrusting from it the divine law and completely unmindful of the sacred commandments, wealth, vices, scorn, pride and the empty imagination of earthly pride spring from it. Those who would enter in by the narrow door must withdraw from all these things, be with Christ and keep the festival with him."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 99)

   

More Homilies

October 28, 2019 Feast of Saint Simon and Saint Jude, Apostles