St. Matthias Men's Life Ministry

Saturday, August 13th, 2016, 7:00 AM



Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy
Merciful like the Father
Tuesday, December 8th, 2015 through Sunday, November 20th 2016




" In Deo Speramus "
(In God We Hope)
20th Sunday of Ordinary Time
 
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.
Readings:
Oremus pro invicem
(Let us pray for one another)
I have come to set earth on fire.

Jesus,
with you there is no "sometimes,"
no "maybe," no "not today."
 
There is only, always,
love without
 limit. 

A burning bushfire of love
that you came to 
share with
us.
 
Please help our
distracted 
love.
 
Amen
First Reading
In those days, the princes said to the king:
"Jeremiah ought to be put to death;
he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in this city,
and all the people, by speaking such things to them;
he is not interested in the welfare of our people,
but in their ruin." 
King Zedekiah answered: "He is in your power";
for the king could do nothing with them. 
And so they took Jeremiah
and threw him into the cistern of Prince Malchiah,
which was in the quarters of the guard,
letting him down with ropes. 
There was no water in the cistern, only mud,
and Jeremiah sank into the mud.

Ebed-melech, a court official,
went there from the palace and said to him:
"My lord king,
these men have been at fault
in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah,
casting him into the cistern. 
He will die of famine on the spot,
for there is no more food in the city." 
Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Cushite
to take three men along with him,
and draw the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before
he should die. 


The Word of the Lord
Discussion Questions

1.         Are you certain enough of God's covenant with us that you can carry out a "leap of faith"? What gave the Israelites the courage to begin their journey into the unknown? How do you yourself make smaller leaps, maybe hops, of faith in your everyday life?
 
2.       What is "the Passover"? Can you trace it to the Hebrew testament? Was it of  "divine institution"?
Second Reading
Brothers and sisters:
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us
and persevere in running the race that lies before us
while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus,
the leader and perfecter of faith. 
For the sake of the joy that lay before him
he endured the cross, despising its shame,
and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. 
Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners,
in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart. 
In your struggle against sin
you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.


The Word of the Lord
Discussion Questions

1.     What is the "cloud of witnesses" Paul refers to? What does everyone in the "cloud" have in common with the others? Do you have favorites in this cloud? Why? Do you think many of them were "thrown in the mud" or treated like Jeremiah? Did everyone in the "cloud" keep his/her eyes on Jesus?

2.      Pope Francis gave this "lesson" on contemplative prayer as he reflected on our Gospel Reading at Casa Santa Marta.

We should all carry out this contemplative prayer. 'But I have so much to do!' At home, [take] 15 minutes, pick up the Gospel, a small passage, imagine what happened and talk with Jesus about it. So your gaze will be fixed on Jesus and not so much on a TV soap opera, for example. Your ears will be focused on the words of Jesus and not so much on your neighborhood gossip."

Pope Francis: A lesson in contemplative prayer, February 4, 2015

If your eyes are on Jesus, what are they not on? What is the outcome of developing a habit of contemplation?

Alleluia
JN 10:27 
My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord;
I know them, and they follow me.

Alleluia, alleluia
Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing! 
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! 
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? 
No, I tell you, but rather division. 
From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father,
a mother against her daughter
and a daughter against her mother,
a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law."

The Gospel of the Lord
Discussion Questions

1.      According to this Gospel, what did Jesus come on earth to do? What does he wish? What is the "fire" he wants the earth consumed with? Does part of that fire consume you?

2.     God seems to have a radical, unconditional love for us. Could the resistance to it that some people have cause the divisions Jesus mentions in this Gospel?

 For what are we born if not to aid one another?

Ernest Hemingway

 

 

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then we'll have peace."

By: Jimi Hendrix

 

"My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right."

Abraham Lincoln

 

 

If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is brought to perfection in us.

1 John 4:12
 

 

Deus fit homo ut homo fieret Deus

God became human so that humans might become God

(Catholicism, Page 2 by Fr. Robert Barron)

 

"The Glory of God is a human being fully alive."

Meyers, Robin R. (2009-02-19).  Saving Jesus from the Church: How to Stop Worshiping Christ and Start Following Jesus (Kindle Location 639).  Harper Collins, Inc..  Kindle Edition.

 

God "dwells in us." 
God's love is not meant for us alone;  
we must give it away.

 

 

Do small things today and for many tomorrows,
with a generous heart.

 

Give God Away Today!
Help us then, Lord,  
to be so united with the paschal mystery of Jesus,  
that through Him the world can become a better place to dwell.  
You promise us much for this life  
and for our eternal presence with You;  
may we live into that promise  
each day.

 

 

An interesting thought:

The birth of St. John is celebrated on June 24th, in the moment of the summer solstice. From that point onward, daylight begins to reduce. On the other hand, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is celebrated on December 25th, during the winter solstice. From that point onward, daylight begins to grow, to get longer.