12th Sunday of the Year (C)

Inspire in Us the Practice of Good (2011-2013):

12th Sunday of the Year (C), June 23, 2013

Liturgical readings
Zechariah 12:10-11
Psalm 63
Galatians 3:26-29
Luke 9:18-24

"He must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Christ."



One day
when Jesus was praying in seclusion
and his disciples were with him,
he put the question to them,


"Who do the crowds say that I am?"


"John the Baptizer,"
they replied,


"and some say Elijah,


while others claim
one of the prophets of old
has returned from the dead."


"But you
- who do you say that I am?"
he asked them.


Peter said in reply,
"The Messiah of God."


He strictly forbade them
to tell this to anyone.


"The Son of Man,"
he said
"must first endure many sufferings,
        be rejected by the elders,
        the high priests
        and the scribes,
and be put to death,
and then be raised up on the third day."


Jesus said to all:
"Whoever wishes to be my follower
must deny his very self,
take up his cross each day,
and follow in my steps,


Whoever would save his life
will lose it,
and
whoever loses his life
for my sake will save it."


Points for reflection and prayer:
"And they shall look on him whom they have thrust through." (Zechariah)
"O God, you are my God whom I seek." (Psalm 63)
"Each one of you is a son of God because of your faith in Christ Jesus." (Galatians)

11th Sunday of the Year (C)

Inspire in Us the Practice of Good (2011-2013):

11th Sunday of the Year (C), June 16, 2013

Liturgical readings
2 Samuel 12:7-10
Psalm 32
Galatians 2:16, 19-21
Luke 7:36 - 8:3

"Her many sins are forgiven - because of her great love."



There was a certain Pharisee
who invited Jesus to dine with him.


Jesus went to the Pharisee's home
and reclined to eat.


A woman
known in the town
        to be a sinner
learned that he was dining
        in the Pharisee's home.


She brought in a vase of perfumed oil
and stood behind him at his feet,


weeping


so that her tears fell upon his feet.


Then
she wiped them with her hair,
kissing them and
perfuming them with the oil.


When his host,
the Pharisee,
saw this,
he said to himself,


"If this man were a prophet,
he would know who
and what sort of woman
this is that touches him,
- that she is a sinner."


In answer to his thought,
Jesus said to him,


"Simon,
I have something to propose to you,"


"Teacher,"
he said,
"speak."


"Two men owed money
to a certain money-lender;
one owed a total of five hundred coins,
the other fifty.



Since neither was able to repay,
he wrote off both debts.


Which of them was more grateful to him?"


Simon answered,
"He, I presume,
to whom he remitted the larger sum."


Jesus said to him,
"You are right."


Turning then to the woman,
he said to Simon:


"You see this woman?
I came to your home
and you provided me with no water for my feet.


        She has washed my feet with her tears
        and wiped them with her hair.


You gave me no kiss,


        but she has not ceased kissing my feet
        since I entered.


You did not anoint my head with oil,


        but she has anointed my feet with perfume.


I tell you,
that is why her many sins are forgiven
- because of her great love.


Little is forgiven
the one whose love is small."


He said to her then,
"Your sins are forgiven,"


at which his fellow guests
began to ask among themselves,


"Who is this
that he even forgives sins?"


Meanwhile
he said to the woman,
"Your faith has been your salvation.
Go now in peace."


After this
he journeyed through
towns and villages
preaching and proclaiming
the good news
of the kingdom of God.


The Twelve
accompanied him,
and also some women
who had been cured of evil spirits
and maladies;


Mary called the Magdalene,
from whom seven devils had gone out,


Joanna,
the wife of Herod's steward Chuza,


Susanna,


and many others
who were assisting them
out of their means.


Points for reflection and prayer:
"The Lord on his part has forgiven your sin: you shall not die." (1 Kings)
"You are my shelter; from distress you will preserve me." (Psalm 30)
"I will not treat God's gracious gift as pointless." (Galatians)

10th Sunday of the Year (C)

Inspire in Us the Practice of Good (2011-2013):

10th Sunday of the Year (C), June 9, 2013

Liturgical readings
1 Kings 17:17-24
Psalm 30
Galatians 1:11-19
Luke 7:11-17

"At this, the bearers halted."



Jesus went to a town
        called Nain,


and his disciples
and a large crowd
accompanied him.


As he approached the gate
        of the town
a dead man was being carried out,
the only son of a widowed mother.


A considerable crowd
of townsfolk were with her.


The Lord was moved with pity
upon seeing her
and said to her,


"Do not cry."


Then he stepped forward
and touched the litter;


at this,


the bearers halted.


He said,


Young man,
I bid you
get up."


The dead man sat up
and began to speak.


Then Jesus gave him back
        to his mother.


Fear seized them all
and they began
to praise God.


"A great prophet
has risen among us,"
they said,


and


"God has visited
his people."


This was the report
that spread about him
throughout Judea
and the surrounding country.


Points for reflection and prayer:
"O Lord, my God, let the life breath return to the body of this child." (1 Kings)
"O Lord, be my helper. You have changed my mourning into dancing." (Psalm 30)
"He who has set me apart before I was born and called me by his favor chose to reveal His Son through me, that I might spread among the Gentiles the good things concerning Him." (Galatians)