Follow Holy Spirit on social media
Friday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1 1 COR 15:12-20
Brothers and sisters:
If Christ is preached as raised from the dead,
how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
If there is no resurrection of the dead,
then neither has Christ been raised.
And if Christ has not been raised, then empty too is our preaching;
empty, too, your faith.
Then we are also false witnesses to God,
because we testified against God that he raised Christ,
whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised.
For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised,
and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain;
you are still in your sins.
Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If for this life only we have hoped in Christ,
we are the most pitiable people of all.
But now Christ has been raised from the dead,
the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.
 
Gospel LK 8:1-3
Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another,
preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God.
Accompanying him were the Twelve
and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities,
Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out,
Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza,
Susanna, and many others
who provided for them out of their resources.


Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. 
Take the Gospel to prayer:

The Gospel writers often speak of those present with Jesus. Many times, they are setting a scene of believers vs. non-believers or a large gathering vs. an intimate one. Today is one of the few places where we get an insight into the Lord's "inner circle".

We are familiar with the Twelve and that Jesus would sometimes be traveling with Peter, James and John. We read that these left their careers to follow the Lord. But did you ever really think about what that meant? There was no "Nike" sponsorship to take care of expenses. There was no guaranteed reservation for a hotel at the end of a long day of travel or preaching. We have accounts of Jesus sending people ahead of him to make arrangements: "Tell them the Master has need of it". But we also know that, on occasion, the apostles gleaned wheat from the field to satisfy their hunger

Today Luke names some of the benefactors that took care of the needs of the group. Not surprising is that there would be women to "care for the home" needs wherever the home might be. But the surprise twist is that it is the financial resources of the women, that support the itinerant ministry! Those named are women whose lives had been transformed by Jesus and now they were caring for Him.

It is not a long text but it still has lessons to teach us: Jesus' public ministry was such that He was dependent upon the generosity of others. He gave up everything trusting that what He needed would be provided. Do we have the same faith?

Even for Jesus - some days were better than others. Can we see that this pattern in His life gives us reason to stay firm in our missionary work of the Gospel?

Do we appreciate the people "behind the scenes" in our own lives - those who mentor us or are our emotional support network?

Do we support the mission of Jesus that continues today through His Church? The work needs both prayer and financial resources. Do we participate or leave it to someone else to be generous?

Let us pray this day for the workers in the Lord's vineyard and do our part to support them.