October 25, 2015: Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Catholic Social Teaching: Rights and Responsibilities
Inextricably connected to the topic of rights is the issue of the duties falling to men and women, which is given appropriate emphasis in the interventions of the Magisterium. The mutual complementarities between rights and duties — they are indissolubly linked — are recalled several times, above all in the human person who possesses them. This bond also has a social dimension: “in human society to one man’s right there corresponds a duty in all other persons: the duty, namely, of acknowledging and respecting the right in question”. The Magisterium underlines the contradiction inherent in affirming rights without acknowledging corresponding responsibilities. “Those, therefore, who claim their own rights, yet altogether forget or neglect to carry out their respective duties, are people who build with one hand and destroy with the other”. (156) Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
Readings
First Reading: Jeremiah 31:7-9
Psalm: 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
Second Reading: Hebrews 5:1-6
Gospel: Mark 10:46-52
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Faith in God the Father Almighty can be put to the test by the experience of evil and suffering. God can sometimes seem to be absent and incapable of stopping evil. But in the most mysterious way God the Father has revealed his almighty power in the voluntary humiliation and Resurrection of his Son, by which he conquered evil. Christ crucified is thus “the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” It is in Christ’s Resurrection and exaltation that the Father has shown forth “the immeasurable greatness of his power in us who believe”. (272) From the Daily Roman Missal, Introduction to the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church: No references this week
For complete text visit: http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html
Reflection
When have you been exiled from God? How were you taken into captivity? Why did you fall into journeying that path? Living with self-absorption, we blot out the presence of God in all aspects of our lives. Attempting to pinpoint answers with precision, we deny God’s presence spreads across infinite horizons. There comes a time when we fathom our folly to throw away our cloaks that we used as security blankets to entomb ourselves in the blindness of self-centeredness, self-idolatry, where we prioritized our desires instead of letting God fulfill our needs. Only a change of heart transforming us to know Jesus as the Son of David, a messianic experience to know the Lord’s healing touch in the physical reality accentuating our spiritual beings’ vastness. People may say why do you pray, why do you believe and rebuke us to be silent about our faith, telling us not to cry for help and stand on our own two feet. But the Lord brought us back from our captivity of exile from God and once we sowed tears in disbelief and abandonment of God, we now rejoice for the Lord has done great things for us. In the spiritual transformation, we are glad indeed for His patience with our ignorance and erring.
We must not let the experience of faith become a terminating destination of our lives, so we just bask in the serenity of the Divine. As Jesus told the blind man, “Go your way, your faith has saved you,” we too must move forward. A prayerful discernment to use the gift of faith we received. When we acknowledge our faith, we are given sight to see open doors to walk through, as disciples offered the opportunity for living our faith and sharing in Jesus’ ministry. With heartfelt faith, we can only follow Jesus on the way for the healing He infuses into our lives.
Individual Reflection: Mark 10:46-52
Utilize some of the USCCB resources to share with your parish to free people from the captivity of sameness. Subscribe to the Notes for Neighbors newsletter:
http://www.usccb.org/about/justice-peace-and-human-development/resources-and-tools.cfm
Family Reflection: Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6
Each day this week, be freed from the mundane captivity of life and take time to affirm ways family members have been filled with joy. Take narrow strips of colored paper and write a short phrase about each joy experience. Each day put the strips of paper in a vase to make a colorful “bouquet” of joys and pray a prayer of thanksgiving for your faith.
Prayer: Prayer over the offerings for the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time. May it be the prayer of the offering of our lives.
Look, we pray, O Lord on the offerings we make to your majesty, that whatever is done by us in your service may be directed above all to your glory, Through Christ our Lord, Amen
Blogs to Visit:
As we reflect upon Mary’s presence in the mysteries of the Rosary, we are blessed to know her. For her journey, a timeless trek, calls us to surrender, continuing conversion, humbleness and justice now.
http://peaceonjustice.wordpress.com/
Weekly lectionary reflections, for faith sharing groups, parish bulletins, newsletters or personal prayer, from the synergy of the Word we hear and the rich tradition of Catholic Social Teaching.
https://cst74life.wordpress.com/
Catholic Social Teaching offers seven principles for upholding life in our thoughts, decisions and actions.
How we do Catholic Social Teaching.
https://csmresources.wordpress.com/
Creation sustainability ministry resources in the spirit of the St Francis Pledge.
Involvement Opportunities
List one or two upcoming events, legislative action alerts or social justice websites
By Barb Born, October 15, 2015 St Teresa pray for us. The reflection maybe used in parish bulletins, newsletters or for faith sharing groups without copyright concern.