Sunday, October 4, 2020

TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - 2020

 DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I chose you from the world
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will last,
says the Lord.
 JN 15:16

ISAIAH 5:1-7

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

We are chosen by You, created for You, we are called by Your Name, we have been baptized into Your Body, we are now members of the Church You founded. You lay down Your life to pay the price of our redemption. You instituted the Sacraments through which we receive sanctifying grace. You even made provision, because we are weak, to be forgiven of every sin no matter how many times we fall in a day, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. You feed us with Your Flesh and Blood. Not only does the Holy Spirit dwell in the fullness of Truth in the Church You founded on Peter, but I too have received the Holy Spirit to live in me, guide me, direct, me and help me to grow in holiness.

There is nothing You have not done for Your Spouse, the Church, and for me as a member of this Church which is Your Body. Just as the Jews were God's chosen people whom God took by the hand but ultimately rejected You, His only Son, whom You sent to establish the Kingdom of God, in their midst; so too many who are baptized continue to reject You.

We have no excuse, Beloved, You have given us all we need for salvation, You make Your home in us, we eat and drink Your Body and Blood and receive Your life, Your Holy Spirit breathes in us, You have given us Your Father as our Father, and Your Mother as our Mother as well, yet we still yield 'sour grapes.'

What has God not done for us - as Catholics, we ought to be Your light in the world but the fact is, while we make all these wonderfully truthful claims, we squander the gifts given to us. We are anything but shining witnesses to the Truth. Grant O Lord, that we return to You wholeheartedly with contrite, humble hearts, and with the help of Your Holy Spirit, begin anew to renew the face of the earth before it is too late.

PSALM 80:9, 12-16, 19-20

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

What God, our Father, did for the people of Israel, pales in comparison to what God has done for us in You, Christ Jesus, His only Son. 

We are the branches of the Vine planted in the Vineyard of the Lord, we receive life from You, we are nurtured by You. We, the Church, have been set high on the hill and all the world's weary are invited to come and make their home in her. This is the Father's will that all who come to her are made one with You through her.  But many of us wither and die. Many of the branches are barren, many of us are weak with little life in us because we refuse to abide in Your love. This is why we are attacked on every side. She is weakened within and without. Evil is looking to breach her defences, to find a chink in her armour, so she can come crashing down.

Thankfully, Beloved, we have Your assurance that the gates of hell shall never prevail against her. You will not give up on Your Bride, and for the sake of the faithful remnant, You will revive, strengthen and purify her through suffering. She will prevail because Your Face shines on her.

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-9

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

Prayer is the key to an intimate relationship with You. Prayer must be the air we breathe. Prayer keeps us aware of You, it heightens our senses, it spurs us on to do things we never thought possible. It keeps us alive to the truth that without You we can do nothing. Prayer strengthens us and keeps us united with You. 

The more we pray, the more we learn that we need not worry for You are in control not only of our lives but of the whole world. When, like children, we approach You confident that You will deny us nothing that is good and necessary for a happy, holy life we will live in peace, anxious about nothing. 

St. Paul gives us the perfect formula for living a life that radiates Your light and fills the world with Your fragrance. 

'Fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise.'

Another interesting thing that St. Paul urges us to do is to 'Keep doing all the things that you learnt from me and have been taught by me and have heard or seen that I do. Then the God of peace will be with you.' He asks that they imitate him as he imitated You. If we imitate You as closely as St. Paul did, then the Kingdom of God will be soon be established here on earth and among us.

MATTHEW 21:33-43

My Beloved, Soul of my soul,

The pages of Sacred Scripture are filled with all the ways in which God revealed Himself through the people He first chose to be His own. In today's Gospel passage You address the chief priests and the elders and remind them of what their ancestors had done to all the prophets and messengers sent by God to them by narrating a parable.

You knew Your ultimate destiny at the hands of those in authority who wanted to keep the status quo. They were evil and corrupt and they perverted the law to suit their own interests. You revealed their hypocrisy and in doing so You threatened their power and influence over the people and they were united in their resolve to stop at nothing, including murder.

They rejected You who became the keystone of the Church founded on Peter. Because of their rejection we were brought into God's new Covenant of Love, this was the Lord's doing and it is wonderful to see. May we who receive it be fruitful for Your glory and the glory of our Father, in heaven.

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