Thirty-Third Sunday and Christ the King 13 November and 20 November 2022
Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 21:5-19)
Each of the synoptic gospels (Mark, Matthew and Luke) contains a report of the words of Jesus about the future and the end of the world. These words are pronounced by Jesus in Jerusalem shortly before his passion and death. The location is in the vicinity of the temple, and Jesus announces that one day it will be destroyed.
This topic leads into broader teachings about trust in God in the midst of disasters and persecutions. Christians are not to waste time calculating when the end will come. They are not to allow themselves to be misled by false prophets and false messiahs. Above all, they are to trust in the provident care of God, who will give them eloquence and wisdom to defend themselves and preach the truth. ‘Your endurance will win you your lives’.
Am I fearful about the future or do I trust in the providence of God?
Do I waste my energy calculating how to reach salvation?
We pray for all victims of natural disasters and religious persecution.
We pray for the gift of patient endurance.
Christ the King (Luke 23:35-43)
It might seem strange that this part of the story of Christ’s passion and death is read on the feast of Christ the King. How is it that this gospel reading was chosen?
The debate about whether Jesus is properly called the anointed king or Messiah takes us to the heart of the drama of the gospel. The leaders taunt Jesus: ‘let him save himself if he is the Christ of God’, The soldiers mock Jesus for claiming to be ‘the king of the Jews’. The truth is proclaimed somewhat ironically by the inscription on the cross. But Jesus did not come to win a worldly kingdom, and throughout his public ministry he was wary of any messianic claims made for him.
It is in the dialogue with the ‘good thief’, the criminal crucified with Him who is well disposed towards him, that we come to know the truth about the kingdom of Jesus. His kingdom is not of this world. It is the kingdom of God, where peace and mercy reign, not an earthly kingdom which can be fought over in war and violence.
The heart of the message of this gospel is that Jesus welcomes the repentant sinner, no matter how grievous his offence, into the kingdom, into the arms of the loving Father. This is an appropriate passage with which to end our Sunday-by-Sunday reading of the Gospel of Luke. Jesus has come to ‘bring good news to the poor’ (4:18), and to ‘seek out and save the lost’ (19:10). Those who turn to Jesus come into his company in the kingdom of God.
Have I understood the good news preached by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke?
What will stay with me particularly from the Gospel of Luke?
Let us pray for perseverance as we journey towards God’s kingdom of love and peace.
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
Fr Adrian Graffy
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) and Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C) 20 October and 6 November 2022c
Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 19:1-10)
The story of the chief tax-collector Zacchaeus is of considerable importance in the Gospel of Luke, for in it Jesus declares that the purpose of his coming is ‘to seek out and save what was lost’(verse 10). In climbing the sycamore tree Zacchaeus illustrates that sometimes strenuous efforts are needed to rise above fears and preoccupations and to see the forgiving face of the Lord.
Forgiveness can bring profound changes in a person’s life. Zacchaeus now knows that he is no longer an isolated individual caught up in his own greed and selfishness.
Do I recognise my need for forgiveness and the need to make changes in my life?
Do I allow the preoccupations of life to obscure my view of Jesus?
Let us pray for those who are approaching forgiveness and faith.
Let us pray for those who are critical of the free gift of forgiveness.
All Saints (Matthew 5:1-12)
We celebrate our belonging to the great ‘communion of saints’ and long to be fully united with those who have gone before us. We are born into then life of the saints, of God’s holy people, through our baptism and faith in Christ. We yearn for the life of God. This life is for the present beyond our imaging. We are reminded that so many of those who follow Christ in our day still give their lives in martyrdom. That way of following Christ may not be asked of us, but self-giving after the example of Christ is.
Do I treasure my membership of the Church, the holy people of God?
Do I try to make real in my life the simplicity of the beatitudes?
We celebrate being one with our brothers and sisters in the communion of saints.
We pray for all the faithful departed that they may have the fulness of life.
Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 20:27-38)
Jesus points out that the life of the resurrection is quite different from earthly life. Above all, death will not bring this risen life to an end. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is God of the living, the God of the resurrection, the God who raises human beings from death.
Do I trust in the Christian hope that God’s care and power go beyond death?
Do I respect the life of every human being?
Let us pray for those who live without hope.
Lt us pray for all our deceased brothers and sisters.
Fr Adrian Graffy
27,28,29 and 30 Sunday Year C 2, 9, 16 and 23 October 2022
Twenty-Seventh Sunday (Luke 17:5-10)
Does faith in God lie at the very heart of my life?
Am I content to be a ‘useless servant’?
Let us pray for openness to the word of Jesus, especially when they challenge us and perplex us.
Let us pray for the gifts of true faith and true love.
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 17:11-19)
Am I truly grateful for the gifts of God?
Am I willing to see the goodness of God in those who are despised?
Let us pray for courage in the face of illness and disease.
Let us pray for those who care for the sick, and those who offer healing..
Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 18:1-8)
Do I trust in the overriding goodness of God amid all the troubles of the world?
Do I blame God for suffering and pain?
Let us pray for faith to inspire our words and deeds.
Let us ask for faith to inspire our words and deeds.
Let us ask for the gift of perseverance in prayer.
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 18:9-14)
Are my efforts to do good an attempt to win God over, or an expression of love for the God who forgives me?
Do I pray as my heart directs me, or as I imagine I should?
Let us pray for those who are desperate to please God.
Let us pray for the faith which acknowledges the need of forgiveness)
Fr Adrian Graffy
23,24,25 and 26 Sunday in Ordinary Time 4, 11, 18 and 25 September 2022
Twenty-Third Sunday (Luke 41:25-33)
Do I manage to put God above all else in my life?
Do I use my intelligence to make decisions about discipleship?
Let us pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide our detachment to generosity.
Let us pray for the courage in following Jesus to Jerusalem, to the cross and to new life..
Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 15:1-32)
Do I rejoice at the return of the sinner or consider God to be soft?
Do I try to stretch my heart and mind to grasp the extraordinary ways of God?
Let us pray for those who grumble at the forbearance of God.
Let us pray for those trying to find forgiveness.
Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 16:1-13)
Do I really understand the urgency of the call of Jesus?
Am I willing to learn from ‘the children of this world’?
Let us pray that we may shake off our lethargy and behave as ‘children of the light’.
Let us resolve to be honest in little things as well as great.
Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 16:19-31)
Does the parable have anything to say to me here and now?
Am I sufficiently committed to working for a better world?
Let us pray for the eyes to see the needs of others and the heart to respond.
Let us pray for justice and solidarity in human affairs.
Fr Adrian Graffy
The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Twenty-First Sunday and Twenty-second Sunday, 14, 21 and 28 August.
The Assumption of Our Lady (Luke 1:39-56)
There is of course no gospel reading which narrates the Assumption into heaven of the Blessed Virgin Mary, her sharing body and soul in the risen life of her Son. Mary was the first to respond to the call to serve Christ.
The gospel reading demonstrates with what faith and generosity Mary answered God’s call.
The inexpressible glory of the risen life bestowed on Mary is suggested in the vision of the woman ‘adorned with the sun, standing on the moon, and with twelve stars on her head’ from the Book of Revelation, which has traditionally been used to celebrate the glory Mary receives through her being ‘assumed’ body and soul into the presence of God.
What does the feast of the Assumption tell us about the value of our bodies?
Why is it that Mary is so privileged by God?
We pray that we may be filled with the hope of the resurrection.
Let us pray for a deeper appreciation and love for the mother of Jesus.
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 13:22-30)
This gospel reading combines two themes: the difficulty of entering the kingdom of God, and the arrival of people from every corner of the earth.
Jesus speaks of the danger of presuming to be saved. Those who do so may find themselves barred from the kingdom. There is a clear implication here that simply to have heard and known about Jesus is not enough. The call does not guarantee salvation. Whether we are Jew or Gentile, it is our response that matters.
Do I presume that the way to the kingdom of God will be easy?
Do I have fixed ideas about who will enter the kingdom of God?
Let us pray for those who have lost all desire to find God in their lives.
Let us pray for a deeper sense of belonging to the Church throughout the world.
Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 14:1,7-14)
For the Christian there is nothing too mundane, no activity which cannot benefit from the light of faith. For the Christian there is no person who does not deserve the gift of our hospitality, the gift of our love.
Do I endeavour to shed the light of faith on all my actions and decisions?
Do I strive for true humility in my attitudes and behaviour?
Let us pray for a heart that is welcoming towards those who are rejected and ill-treated.
Let us pray that despite our weakness we may one day take our place at the wedding feast of God.
Fr Adrian Graffy
Seventeenth, Eighteenth, Nineteenth Sundays of the Year – 24, 31 July & 7 August
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 11:1-13)
The overriding theme is the compassion and loving-kindness of the Father. If human beings, prone to sin as they are, know how to care for their children, how much more can we expect from the God who is holy and who bestows the Holy Spirit on receptive souls?
Do I trust in the fatherly love of God, or does failed human love cloud my vision?
In what sense do those who ask always receive?
We pray for those who struggle to believe in the goodness of God.
We pray for those who promote false images of God.
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 12:13-21)
God reminds us that the gospel is the ultimate answer to the human search for wisdom. Rejection of it is rejection of the true path to God and to life. Fulness of life comes not from possessions but from the discovery of the trustworthy God of the poor. This is of enormous relevance to the world of today, both developed and developing, in which desperate poverty is so often found alongside extraordinary wastefulness and extravagance.
Do I allow the craving for more to control my life or my decisions?
In what sense do those who ask always receive?
We pray for those who are trapped by their own addictions and desires.
We pray for the gift of true freedom.
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Luke 12:32-48)
The theme of constant readiness is developed by reference to the watches of the night. The lateness of the hour underlines the sacrifice required in staying alert. Christians have already experienced the saving death and resurrection of the Lord. Now we await his return.
Would it be accurate to say that I have my lamp lit to go out and meet the Lord?
Am I prepared to persevere in the life of faith with joy and hope?
We pray for courage for Christians who struggle with their faith.
We pray for the coming of the Lord.