25th Week in Ordinary Time
30th September 2023 (Saturday) Readings and Reflection
Psalter: Week 1
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Zechariah 2:1-5, 10-11a
I, Zechariah, lifted my eyes and saw, and behold a man with a measuring line in his hand! Then I said, "Where are you going?" And he said to me, "To measure Jerusalem, to see what is its width and what is its length." And behold, the angel who talked with me came forward, and another angel came forward to meet him and said to him, "Run, say to that young man, 'Jerusalem shall be inhabited as villages without walls, because of the multitude of people and livestock in it. And I will be to her a wall of fire all round, declares the Lord, and I will be the glory in her midst. " Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Sion, for behold, I come and I will dwell in your midst, declares the Lord. And many nations shall join themselves to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst.
Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12ab, 13 (R. see 10d)
R/. The Lord will keep us, as a shepherd keeps his flock.
Alleluia
V/. Alleluia R/. Alleluia
V/. Our Saviour Christ Jesus abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
R/. Alleluia
Gospel : Luke 9:43b-45
At that time: While they were all marvelling at everything Jesus was doing, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let these words sink into your ears: The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men." But they did not understand this saying, and it was concealed from them, so that they might not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
Daily Gospel Reflection
Highlight: Glory, wrapped in suffering!
Guidlines: In the life of a Christian, the end and the destiny is always glory. But the process is always struggle and suffering. One cannot aspire for glory without going through the path of misery{alertSuccess}
1. In life, there is always a balancing act between the positive and the negative, between happy things and sad things, and between good and bad things. And invariably any good cause, any godly thing will certainly involve a lot of struggle and adversity. This is not the twist of fate or ignominy of human existence. Rather it is the cost of destiny, the price of glory.
2. This would mean that there is no glory without preceding misery. There is no joy without bouts of sadness. There is no success without breaches of failure. There is no victory without the lingering fear of defeat.
3. It is not that the glory is at the end of a long road in waiting after a phase of struggles. It would rather mean that it is all an integral process. One cannot aspire for glory without going through the crucible of suffering.
4. This is the same theme of the interplay between salvation and affliction, glory and suffering that Jesus underlies in his passion prediction. Certainly, he did great things at which people marvel. Certainly, he is the Son of God vested with power. Certainly, he destines us for the glory that is his.
5. However, suffering is also perfectly within the process. But at the same time, that suffering and misery is not end and we need not be frightened or upset about it.
Practice: The real spiritual maturity is to learn to strike a balance between the goal of glory and the means and process of struggle and suffering. The process should not discourage us and the end should not make us unrealistic{alertSuccess}