{"id":170955,"date":"2015-11-07T15:11:27","date_gmt":"2015-11-07T21:11:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=170955"},"modified":"2015-11-09T13:56:28","modified_gmt":"2015-11-09T19:56:28","slug":"sunday-says-podcast-november-8-2015-mass-readings-and-reflections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/11\/sunday-says-podcast-november-8-2015-mass-readings-and-reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Says Podcast – November 8, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"SundaySaysPodcast-logo\"<\/a>

Podcast<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time<\/p>\n

Lectionary: 155 (NAB Translation<\/b><\/a>)<\/p>\n

Reading 1<\/b><\/p>\n

1 Kings 17:10-16<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

The first reading is from the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament.\u00a0 In our passage for today, we see a poor widow and her son during a time of famine in ancient Israel.\u00a0 The widow and her son are on the verge of starvation themselves when the prophet Elijah has the nerve to ask her to give him<\/i> something to eat.\u00a0 In an act of pure faith and\u00a0 obedience she does as the prophet asks, giving Elijah all the food she has.\u00a0 By way of a miracle, God does not allow her to starve, but rather takes her sacrificial gift and increases it so that it becomes enough to feed not only the God’s\u00a0 prophet, but to also feed the widow herself and her son, with food left over.\u00a0 Despite her poverty, this widow gives everything she has and God uses it to bless her and her son.\u00a0\u00a0 This story serves as a challenge to us to ask if we trust God enough to give sacrificially.<\/p>\n

Responsorial Psalm<\/b><\/p>\n

Psalm 146:7-10<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Praise the Lord, my soul!<\/p>\n

Reading 2<\/b><\/p>\n

Hebrews 9:24-28<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

This week\u2019s second reading from the letter to the Hebrews, continues to focus on Christ’s role as a high priest of the New Covenant by contrast to the high priests under the old covenant.\u00a0 Because the letter to the Hebrews was written for Jewish converts to Christ, there is a great deal of comparison and contrast between the old institutions of Judaism which have been fulfilled, completed, and perfected by Christ.\u00a0 The main theme in today’s reading is that Christ has become the perfect sacrifice made with His own blood, rather than the blood of animals.\u00a0 His sacrifice only needed to happen once for all<\/i> mankind compared to the recurring sacrifices of the Old Testament that had to be made over and over for the sins of the Hebrew people.\u00a0 This passage also contrasts the Old Testament sanctuary made by human hands that has been replaced by the sanctuary in heaven where Christ resides.\u00a0 Christ will return at the end of time to judge us and give us the possibility to enter with Him into His glory in heaven.\u00a0 For each of us death and judgment must come once, but Christ’s unique sacrifice opens the possibility of mercy and salvation to those who eagerly await Him.<\/p>\n

Alleluia<\/b><\/p>\n

Matthew 5:3<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

Alleluia, alleluia!<\/p>\n

How happy are the poor in spirit:<\/p>\n

theirs is the kingdom of heaven.<\/p>\n

Alleluia!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gospel<\/b><\/p>\n

Mark 12:38-44<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

This week\u2019s Gospel is from St Mark. Here we see another story of a widow making a generous sacrifice.\u00a0\u00a0 But the passage starts by warning us to beware of scribes who sought personal prestige while neglecting their duties to the poor and suffering.\u00a0 Jesus’ warning that they will receive a more severe sentence on the day of judgment is like His other warnings against hypocrisy, especially when people use a false reputation for holiness to enhance their own reputations.\u00a0 As St John Chrysostom says, \u201cSimulated holiness is a double iniquity.\u201d<\/p>\n

By contrast, Jesus points out the selfless act of a widow who, not thinking of herself at all, gives everything she has to the treasury.\u00a0\u00a0 Like the widow in the first reading who gives her only remaining food to Elijah, this widow’s gift is of great merit because it is truly sacrificial. The merit of a gift in God’s eyes corresponds to the intention and generosity of the giver, apart from gift’s external value. As always, this passage might be used to examine our own consciences.\u00a0\u00a0 Are we willing to give until it hurts?\u00a0\u00a0 Are we strong enough in our faith that we would we imitate the widow’s generosity and total trust in God?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gospel Meditation from Bishop V\u00e1squez<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reflection question<\/b><\/p>\n

Imagine the situation of the first reading. Gathering two sticks to build a tiny fire over which to cook an equally tiny morsel of bread for yourself and your child. Then being destitute, the two would starve and die. Yet, she still shared with Elijah. The widow in the Gospel shows the same level of sacrificial giving. Has our encounter with the Lord left us with this deep love of God? Deep enough to give from our poverty not our surplus? Can we really love without giving deeply? Where are we being called to give deeply?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 155 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 1 Kings 17:10-16 The first reading is from the First Book of Kings in the Old Testament.\u00a0 In our passage for today, we see a poor widow and her son during a time of famine in ancient Israel.\u00a0 The widow and her son… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[258],"tags":[215,55,50,37,330,266,131,491,598],"class_list":["post-170955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sundaysays","tag-bible","tag-catholic-2","tag-faith","tag-gospel","tag-jesus","tag-liturgy-of-the-word","tag-mass","tag-scripture","tag-theology","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t