October 26, 2021Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

2021년 10월 26일 연중 제30주간 화요일  

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

제1독서

<피조물은 하느님의 자녀들이 나타나기를 간절히 기다리고 있습니다.>

 로마서. 8,18-25
 형제 여러분, 18 장차 우리에게 계시될 영광에 견주면,

지금 이 시대에 우리가 겪는 고난은 아무것도 아니라고 생각합니다.
19 사실 피조물은 하느님의 자녀들이 나타나기를 간절히 기다리고 있습니다.
20 피조물이 허무의 지배 아래 든 것은
자의가 아니라 그렇게 하신 분의 뜻이었습니다.
그러나 그것은 희망을 간직하고 있습니다.
21 피조물도 멸망의 종살이에서 해방되어,
하느님의 자녀들이 누리는 영광의 자유를 얻을 것입니다.
22 우리는 모든 피조물이 지금까지 다 함께 탄식하며
진통을 겪고 있음을 알고 있습니다.
23 그러나 피조물만이 아니라 성령을 첫 선물로 받은 우리 자신도
하느님의 자녀가 되기를, 우리의 몸이 속량되기를 기다리며
속으로 탄식하고 있습니다.
24 사실 우리는 희망으로 구원을 받았습니다.
보이는 것을 희망하는 것은 희망이 아닙니다. 보이는 것을 누가 희망합니까?
25 우리는 보이지 않는 것을 희망하기에 인내심을 가지고 기다립니다.

 

복음

<겨자씨는 자라서 나무가 되었다.>

 루카. 13,18-21
 그때에 18 예수님께서 말씀하셨다.

“하느님의 나라는 무엇과 같을까? 그것을 무엇에 비길까?
19 하느님의 나라는 겨자씨와 같다.
어떤 사람이 그것을 가져다가 자기 정원에 심었다.
그랬더니 자라서 나무가 되어 하늘의 새들이 그 가지에 깃들였다.”
20 예수님께서 다시 이르셨다.
“하느님의 나라를 무엇에 비길까? 21 그것은 누룩과 같다.
어떤 여자가 그것을 가져다가 밀가루 서 말 속에 집어넣었더니,
마침내 온통 부풀어 올랐다.”

October 26, 2021

Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Daily Readings — Audio

Daily Reflections — Video

http://www.usccb.org/bible/ 

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

Reading 1 

Rom 8:18-25

Brothers and sisters:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing
compared with the glory to be revealed for us.
For creation awaits with eager expectation
the revelation of the children of God;
for creation was made subject to futility,
not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it,
in hope that creation itself
would be set free from slavery to corruption
and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now;
and not only that, but we ourselves,
who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
we also groan within ourselves
as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
For in hope we were saved.
Now hope that sees for itself is not hope. 
For who hopes for what one sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait with endurance.

 

Responsorial Psalm 

Ps 126:1b-2ab, 2cd-3, 4-5, 6

R. (3a) The Lord has done marvels for us.
When the LORD brought back the captives of Zion,
we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Then they said among the nations,
"The LORD has done great things for them."
The LORD has done great things for us;
we are glad indeed.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,
like the torrents in the southern desert.
Those that sow in tears
shall reap rejoicing.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.
Although they go forth weeping,
carrying the seed to be sown,
They shall come back rejoicing,
carrying their sheaves.
R. The Lord has done marvels for us.

 

Gospel 

Lk 13:18-21

Jesus said, "What is the Kingdom of God like?
To what can I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.
When it was fully grown, it became a large bush
and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches."
Again he said, "To what shall I compare the Kingdom of God?
It is like yeast that a woman took
and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch of dough was leavened."

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

To Groan or not to Groan

I have found myself long attracted to the eighth chapter of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans.  It began with a fascination with the word “groaning” applied to the Holy Spirit.  (“The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”)  What are those groanings and how do they affect us as we become award of them? 

But it’s not only the Holy Spirit groaning on our behalf.  Both we ourselves and the whole of creation also groans.  So, the plot thickens! How do we deal with this unusual word applied to us, to creation, and to God? And how does it affect the relationship between God and ourselves?

The word connotes deep and full experience of longing for engagement with and for something. In the Romans letter it seems to express something further and even deeper.  I’m sure that at some point in my life I groaned, but it is difficult to speculate about it because of its profundity.

However difficult to understand, St. Paul convinces me of how important it is to discover the working of God with us who seek to discover God interacting with us.

I recall an incident that seems to shed some light on what Romans is getting at with the reference to groaning.  I was asked to administer the Sacrament of the Sick to a friend’s brother.  He was hospitalized and on his last days.  He had not communicated verbally with me since I arrived at his bed side, but then somewhere in the midst of words and actions in the sacrament, he began to sob.  It felt to me that it was coming at the depth of his soul.

It was astonishing to hear.  My sense was that the Holy Spirit was touching him at an incredibly profound level in his last hours.  Clearly it was his experience, but it communicated itself to me on a deep level as well.  I considered how privileged I was to be there in his presence as he experienced God’s love. 

Am I right about that interpretation?  I do not know - maybe or maybe not.  But being right or wrong seems not the real question here. All I can say is that the Lord touched me profoundly at that moment; and I was (and still am) drawn to gratitude by it. God’s graciousness and healing was displayed to me by the man’s experience however that came to him.

So, my attraction to St. Paul’s word groaning continues.  I am even more attracted to it since the gift that day showed me profound healing power of the Sacrament of the Sick.  How good is God to us?  We’ll only know faintly, I suspect, but even in its faintness it is powerful and abiding in its Godliness. 

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

 

GROANERS

“Yes, we know that all creation groans and is in agony even until now.” —Romans 8:22

After the first sin was committed, a groan was heard for the first time. Adam groaned in his labors; Eve groaned in her labor pains (see Gn 3:16, 19). Both groaned when they saw the first dead body ever: the body of their son Abel, murdered by his brother Cain (Gn 4:8). This groaning grew increasingly worse until the whole world groaned (Rm 8:22).

Eventually, there came a Man Who groaned like the rest of us, but also unlike the rest of us. His name was Jesus. Like us, He groaned because of His sufferings and those of others. Unlike us, when Jesus groaned, things got better instead of worse. For example, Jesus groaned and said “ ‘Ephphatha!’ (that is, ‘Be opened!’),” and at once a deaf-mute could speak and hear (Mk 7:34-35). When Jesus groaned, it was different. Finally, He groaned when He died on the cross (see Mk 15:37). This resulted in Jesus’ Resurrection, His Ascension, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit, like Jesus, groans in a different way. When He groans, He makes intercession for us (Rm 8:26). This results in conversion, forgiveness, repentance, healing, freedom, and new life. “We ourselves, although we have the Spirit as first fruits” (Rm 8:23), continue to groan inwardly. However, it is different now. “The sufferings of the present” seem “to be as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed in us” (Rm 8:18).

Prayer:  Father, may I groan with hope.

Promise:  The kingdom of God “is like mustard seed which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a large shrub and the birds of the air nested in its branches.” —Lk 13:19

Praise:  Bedridden Marsha can no longer speak, yet she still prays in faith.

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

  What can mustard seeds and leaven teach us about the kingdom of God? The tiny mustard seed literally grew to be a tree which attracted numerous birds because they loved the little black mustard seed it produced. God's kingdom works in a similar fashion. It starts from the smallest beginnings in the hearts of men and women who are receptive to God's word. And it works unseen and causes a transformation from within.

The transforming power of the Holy Spirit within us
Leaven is another powerful agent of change. A lump of dough left to itself remains just what it is, a lump of dough. But when the leaven is added to it a transformation takes place which produces rich and wholesome bread when heated - the staple of life for humans. The kingdom of God produces a transformation in those who receive the new life which Jesus Christ offers. When we yield to Jesus Christ, our lives are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Paul the Apostle says, "we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). Do you believe in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit?

Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and transform me into the Christ-like holiness you desire. Increase my zeal for your kingdom and instill in me a holy desire to live for your greater glory.

Psalm 126:1-6

1 When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, "The LORD has done great things for them."
3 The LORD has done great things for us; we are glad.
4 Restore our fortunes, O LORD, like the watercourses in the Negeb!
5 May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy!
6 He that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.

Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The Word of God operates in us like leaven, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)

"The leaven is small in quantity, yet it immediately seizes the whole mass and quickly communicates its own properties to it. The Word of God operates in us in a similar manner. When it is admitted within us, it makes us holy and without blame. By pervading our mind and heart, it makes us spiritual. Paul says, 'Our whole body and spirit and soul may be kept blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The God of all clearly shows that the divine Word is poured out even into the depth of our understanding... We receive the rational and divine leaven in our mind. We understand that by this precious, holy and pure leaven, we may be found spiritually unleavened and have none of the wickedness of the world, but rather be pure, holy partakers of Christ."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 96)

 

 

More Homilies

October 29, 2019 Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time