This past Sunday's awesome readings...

Jasmine&Rajah

Seriously, I was sitting in Mass with DH and we kept squeezing one another's hands and nodding and mouthing, "AMEN!"  :-)

This verse from the Gospel (Matthew) really stood out to me:

Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.

And the first reading was from Sirach:

If you choose, you can keep the commandments; it is loyalty to do his will.

I love that, and I really needed to hear it.  If we choose.  There's nothing to debate about it.  Following Christ is a choice.  Making the decision to live in the Truth of the One Church is a choice.  Accepting our crosses and bearing the burdens in the name of Jesus is a choice.  We are Christians because we choose to be.

As "simple" as this sounds . . . how blessed we are to have His Word and the Good News through the Scriptures!  :-)  Lord, be merciful and give us strength and grace to do Your will!

Readings for February 13 are in full here:

http://www.easterbrooks.com/cgi-bin/Cathcal.cgi?20110213w

bibliophile2010

I also thought that this Sunday's readings were particularly rich. There are so many directions to go with reflection. Thanks for sharing some of yours.

mica178

Here's the Homily my H's friend wrote for this last weekend specifically on the Gospel reading, since you mentioned being moved, I thought I'd add his interpretation:

I.  Why aren’t we all blind?
Today’s Gospel presents us with one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted passages in all of Sacred Scripture.  Jesus says, “If  your hand causes you to sin cut it off ... if your eye causes you to sin pluck it out.”  Obviously Jesus does not mean this to be taken literally, and no one takes it literally, not even Christians who claim to literalists.  If this were taken literally, 99.9% of all Christians would be blind and missing at least one hand.  The problem that, because the meaning is not literal, we tend to dismiss the passage as if Jesus meant nothing at all, as if the Lord were having a bad day and got a little carried away with his rhetorical rhetoric.  I think that dismissal is a little too easy and goes a little too quickly.  Jesus meant something, even if he did not mean that we should all maim ourselves.
II.  Skandalon
I very rarely, almost never, deal with the Greek of the NT in a homily, that is because it tends to get a bit boring and, moreover, my Greek really stinks.  However, the word that Jesus uses for something which “causes us to sin,” is skandalon.  Skandalon means a “stumbling block.”  This would be the modern equivalent of a trap.  Remember the old Road Runner cartoons where Wiley Coyote would cover a hole and set a trap for the road runner to fall into, that is roughly what skandalon means.  Jesus is saying that anything in life which causes us to stumble, to lose our way, to sin, must be surgically rooted out of our life at all costs. 
III.  Placement of the passage
Notice also, that this passage comes immediately after the passage about forbidden thoughts and desires.  Jesus is saying that if we only try to control our actions, without first purifying our hearts, we are doomed to fail.  But how do we do that?  How do we purify our thoughts and desires?   If we only concentrate on the object of our desire, even to fight against it, we are doomed.  Not aloud of course, but in your head, consider the deadly sin that most afflicts you.  For the sake of argument and propriety, let us say it is gluttony.  As anyone who has ever tried to diet knows, if all you ever do is think about not eating, the only thing you are thinking about is eating  – talk about a stumbling block!
IV.  Agere Contra
The only way to overcome the desire is to cut it out.  The best way to overcome the “stumbling block” is to do something.  In the case of the diet, you are much better off taking a walk or playing a bit of tennis than siting on that couch just not eating by sheer force of will.  The best way to overcome sin is to live a life so full of love and service that there is no room for sin.    The cure for evil thought is kind action. 
V.  Kathy and her beads
A very dear lady from one of my parishes has been going through chemotherapy for cancer for about year now.  Please pray for her, her name is Kathy. I met with her and her husband this week.  She is going through some intense treatments next week.  The treatments are very long and tedious.  She told me that when she is laying there she prays her rosary.  She prays not so much for herself as for others.  She said, “Father, I don’t know how people without faith get through this.”  Do you see?  Kathy could very easily be angry or bitter or wallowing in self-pity.  She stays happy and holy by doing something, by doing something for others, by something so simple and easy as counting Hail Marys on little plastic beads.  If anything causes you to stumble, cut it out, cut it out with love and prayer.

Hope61

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_this-past-sundays-awesome-readings?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:615Discussion:c1787db5-d671-405e-9fc6-5a600e42fcd6Post:70a26122-bbc2-4076-8931-275c0ef8390d">This past Sunday's awesome readings...</a>:
[QUOTE]  If we choose.   There's nothing to debate about it.  Following Christ is a choice.  Making the decision to live in the Truth of the One Church is a choice.  Accepting our crosses and bearing the burdens in the name of Jesus is a choice.  We are Christians because we choose to be. As "simple" as this sounds . . . how blessed we are to have His Word and the Good News through the Scriptures!  :-) 
Posted by Jasmine&Rajah[/QUOTE]
Great reflection! Thank you for sharing :)

Jasmine&Rajah

mica, that is wonderful - thanks for posting it!