Daily Reflection – Oct 15, 2015
Thursday 15 October 2015
First Reading: Romans 3:21-30
Psalm Response:
With the Lord there is mercy, and fullness of redemption
Psalms 130:1-6
Gospel Reading; Luke 11:47-54
Today’s Saint: St Teresa of Avila
Opening Prayer:
Lord,
our help and guide,
make your love the foundation of our lives.
May our love for you express itself
in our eagerness to do good for others.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
R. Amen.
Gospel Reading:
The Lord said:
“Woe to you who build the memorials of the prophets whom your fathers killed.
Consequently, you bear witness and give consent to the deeds of your ancestors,
for they killed them and you do the building.
Therefore, the wisdom of God said,
‘I will send to them prophets and Apostles; some of them they will kill and persecute’ in order that this generation might be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who died between the altar and the temple building.
Yes, I tell you, this generation will be charged with their blood!
Woe to you, scholars of the law!
You have taken away the key of knowledge.
You yourselves did not enter and you stopped those trying to enter.”
When Jesus left, the scribes and Pharisees began to act with hostility toward Him and to interrogate Him about many things, for they were plotting to catch Him at something He might say.
Reflection:
‘Woe to you!’
Such strong words from Jesus to the scholars of the law in today’s Gospel. St Paul continues on in the same manner when writing to the Romans. He stresses that we are justified through our faith, not by boasting about our good deeds.
This all sounds very reasonable and simple on the surface. We all know it. We’ve heard it all before. Today let us focus on the fact that Jesus is still speaking to us in this present time.
We could reflect on the following questions:
- Do we ‘know and understand’ what’s in the daily readings but not ‘stop and listen’ to his strong words to us personally?
- Do we fulfil our duties to family, work and church but not listen to what our God is asking of us?
- How are we different to the scholars of the law?
Concluding Prayer:
Yahweh has made known his saving power,
revealed his saving justice for the nations to see,
mindful of his faithful love
and his constancy to the House of Israel. (Ps 98:2-3)
Quote of St. Teresa of Jesus:
“Christ has no body now on earth but yours,
no hands but yours,
no feet but yours,
Yours are the eyes through which to look out
Christ’s compassion to the world
Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good;
Yours are the hands with which he is to bless men now.”
