Reflection for Sunday September 25th, 2022
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Sunday Gospel: Lk 16:19-31 By. Silvia C.
The Gospel this Sunday talks about the rich man and the poor man named Lazarus. The rich man has everything he wants in life, and is happy, while Lazarus is living in poverty and strife. Jesus says that Lazarus was lying at the rich mans door, later on the rich man calls Lazarus by name which may mean he knew who he was and still didn’t help him. Because of his suffering on Earth, Lazarus is comforted and given eternal life with God in heaven. As a punishment, the rich man is sent to hell for being greedy and not noticing and helping other people in need. After the rich man is sent to hell, he begs Abraham to have pity on him but is never sorry for what he did. Abraham reminds the rich man of the good he received in his life, and the bad that Lazarus received in his life. The rich man chose wealth above helping others and his relationship with God. Who is God inviting you to notice and see as God sees them? How can we help the Lazarus’s in our life? Silvia is in 8th grade at OMC. |
Reflection for Sunday September 4th, 2022
Sunday Gospel: Lk 14:25-33
Each Gospel has a symbol that points to a central theme of that particular Gospel. Sometimes you can see the four symbols in Catholic churches. The symbol for the Gospel of Luke is the winged Ox which points to the sacrificial nature of Jesus. The passion of Jesus is central to Luke. Luke also emphasizes the cost of being a disciple of Jesus. We, as disciples, are called to make sacrifices. In this week’s Gospel Jesus challenges each of us to think about the cost of discipleship. Specifically, he asks us to consider three things he is calling us to. As a disciple, Jesus calls us to, put him first even above family and our own life, to carry our own crosses, and to renounce our possessions. This week’s Gospel should shock us and make us stop and think. Usually, whichever one of the three things that Jesus asks us to do bothers us the most is the one that we need to pray about and work on. For me, it's the last one, renouncing possessions. I know I am too attached to my stuff and Jesus is challenging me to work to be more detached. Which of the three things do you need to work on in order to grow as a disciple of Jesus? |
Reflection for Sunday September 11th, 2022
Sunday Gospel: Lk 15:1-32
In today’s Gospel Luke tells the story of the Pharisees and scribes complaining to Jesus regarding His attention to the sinners instead of themselves; law-abiding and ever-present followers of God. Acknowledging their discontent, Jesus enlightens them with three parables analogous with their greed for attention, all of which have the moral of searching hard for those that are lost and rejoice greatly when they are found. In telling these stories, especially the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Jesus shows the jealous Pharisees and scribes that the repentance of an outcast sinner deserves more rejoicing than the expected continuity of His followers. Perhaps when we miss mass consistently or have a setback in our relationship with God, we assume the role of the prodigal son. God will rejoice for us when we decide to return just as the father of the prodigal son slaughtered the fattened calf in order to celebrate. If we ever feel like the jealous brother, let us remember the why behind rejoicing for the renewed soul and why we should not need to be jealous. When met with a real-life prodigal son situation, how can we deflect the intrusive jealous thoughts of a prodigal son’s brother? How can we positively shift our thinking? This week's reflection is by Jane H. Gwynedd Mercy Academy Class of 2024. |
Reflection for Sunday September 18th, 2022
Sunday Gospel: Lk 16:1-13 By Finn A.
The Gospel reading this Sunday follows the actions of a steward who attempts to gain the favor of his master’s debtors after hearing he will soon be fired. The steward is aware that he is too weak to labor, and too prideful to beg, so he decides that when he collects what is owed to his master, his own share of the debt will be eliminated. In doing so, the steward hopes that the creditors will be grateful towards him and perhaps provide him favors once jobless. This parable tells us that relationships are more valuable than wealth, and with that we are able to understand that you can only serve one master; God or money. Further in the reading, Jesus explains to the disciples that you must be careful with how you show responsibility in earthly wealth, that will reflect the eternal wealth granted to you in Heaven. When we lie, cheat, and steal to get what we want, we are choosing wealth over the most important relationship; ours with God. When we don’t help those in need and spend our money on less important things, we show irresponsibility which shows God how we might handle eternal wealth. If we are selfish on Earth, we will be more so in Heaven. If we are trustworthy on Earth, we will be more so in Heaven. Our actions on Earth correlate to our actions in Heaven. What relationships do you want to build? How can you prove to God you are trustworthy? This week's reflection is by Finn in 8th grade at OMC. |