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Saturday, September 23rd, 2017, 7:00 AM
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"
In Deo Speramus
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(In God We Hope)
(Contact First Name)
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Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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'These
last ones worked only one hour,
and
you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day's burden and the heat.' |
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Oremus pro invicem
(Let us pray for one another)
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O God
you know us all:
each one's wants and needs
(some more, some less).
Our
reward
will be
your call
to the vineyard,
to the place of grace,
where you heap the fortune
of everlasting life and love upon us.
Thank you for your
wonderfully constant call
to work there.
Amen
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First Reading
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Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked his thoughts;
let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
As high as the heavens are above the earth,
so high are my ways above your ways
and my thoughts above your thoughts.
The Word of the Lord
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Discussion Questions
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"Seek the Lord while he may be found, call on him while he is near." Can God always be near? Name some times in your day when it is easier to find God than at others. What helps you in your life to "find God in all things"?
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2.
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Isaiah is writing about a call to conversion in this reading. How does this apply to you? Do you withhold mercy when your friend offends you? Are you be able to have mercy on ISIL/ISIS (Islamic State) beheading young American journalists? Or on genocide against the Tutsi people in Rwanda? Does God ever withhold mercy or pardon?
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Second Reading
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Brothers and sisters:
Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.
For to me life is Christ, and death is gain.
If I go on living in the flesh,
that means fruitful labor for me.
And I do not know which I shall choose.
I am caught between the two.
I long to depart this life and be with Christ,
for that is far better.
Yet that I remain in the flesh
is more necessary for your benefit.
Only, conduct yourselves in a way worthy of the gospel of Christ.
The Word of the Lord
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Discussion Questions
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Is there someone who "magnifies" the Lord for you? Every time you are around him or her, do you feel Christ somehow present? Why is that? What about them clears your eyesight?
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2.
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What did Paul mean when he said, "For to me life is Christ and death is gain." What do you think was the "fruitful labor" for Paul, especially since he had to stay in the "flesh"? What is your "fruitful labor"?
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Alleluia, alleluia.
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CF. ACTS 16:14B
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Open our hearts, O Lord,
to listen to the words of your Son.
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Alleluia, alleluia.
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Gospel
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Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner
who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.
After agreeing with them for the usual daily wage,
he sent them into his vineyard.
Going out about nine o'clock,
the landowner saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
and he said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard,
and I will give you what is just.'
So they went off.
And he went out again around noon,
and around three o'clock, and did likewise.
Going out about five o'clock,
the landowner found others standing around, and said to them,
'Why do you stand here idle all day?'
They answered, 'Because no one has hired us.'
He said to them, 'You too go into my vineyard.'
When it was evening the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman,
'Summon the laborers and give them their pay,
beginning with the last and ending with the first.'
When those who had started about five o'clock came,
each received the usual daily wage.
So when the first came, they thought that they would receive more,
but each of them also got the usual wage.
And on receiving it they grumbled against the landowner, saying,
'These last ones worked only one hour,
and you have made them equal to us,
who bore the day's burden and the heat.'
He said to one of them in reply,
'My friend, I am not cheating you.
Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage?
Take what is yours and go.
What if I wish to give this last one the same as you?
Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?
Are you envious because I am generous?'
Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last."
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Discussion Questions
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This Gospel reading is not about strict justice but outrageous generosity. Are any of us, first hour worker or eleventh, ever worthy of grace, no matter what? What is the message of this parable? What is the message for you in your everyday life?
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2.
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How would grace be handed out if people made the rules? What if God's ways were like our ways, if God's bountiful generosity did not exceed the level of simple distributive justice?
According to Pope Francis, in Joy of the Gospel, paragraph 46, who qualify as the "last" in the gospel saying, "the last shall be first"?
A Church which "goes forth" is a Church whose doors are open. Going out to others in order to reach the fringes of humanity does not mean rushing out aimlessly into the world. Often it is better simply to slow down, to put aside our eagerness in order to see and listen to others, to stop rushing from one thing to another and to remain with someone who has faltered along the way. At times we have to be like the father of the prodigal son, who always keeps his door open so that when the son returns, he can readily pass through it.
The Church is called to be the house of the Father, with doors always wide open. One concrete sign of such openness is that our church doors should always be open, so that if someone, moved by the Spirit, comes there looking for God, he or she will not find a closed door.
Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, p. 46
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| 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!
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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.
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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.
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