Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Friday, 31 October 2014

Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Friday, 31 October 2014 
Meditation: Philippians 1:1-2 Paul and Timothy, both of us committed servants of Christ Jesus, write this letter to all the followers of Jesus in Philippi, pastors and ministers included. We greet you with the grace and peace that comes from God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ.
A Love That Will Grow
3-6 Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.
7-8 It’s not at all fanciful for me to think this way about you. My prayers and hopes have deep roots in reality. You have, after all, stuck with me all the way from the time I was thrown in jail, put on trial, and came out of it in one piece. All along you have experienced with me the most generous help from God. He knows how much I love and miss you these days. Sometimes I think I feel as strongly about you as Christ does!
9-11 So this is my prayer: that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. Live a lover’s life, circumspect and exemplary, a life Jesus will be proud of: bountiful in fruits from the soul, making Jesus Christ attractive to all, getting everyone involved in the glory and praise of God.
30th Week in Ordinary Time
This is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more. (Philippians 1:9)
Have you smiled today? Research shows that something as simple as smiling can help improve marriages and reduce stress. It’s amazing that something we usually don’t think about can have such a big impact, but it does.
Judging from his Letter to the Philippians, Paul probably wished that the believers in this cosmopolitan city would have smiled more! Throughout this friendly but pointed letter, Paul tackles the issue of unity from many different angles. While we aren’t certain, it’s likely that Paul saw the beginnings of division in the church there—“sparks” amongst the Philippians that had the potential to burst into flame. Perhaps he was thinking of Euodia and Syntyche, two leading women in the community who were at odds with each other (Philippians 4:2). So rather than face another fractious community like the Corinthians, he sought to put out the sparks as soon as he could.
We don’t know for sure how things worked out for the Philippians, but we can still apply Paul’s wise words to our own lives. First, identify any sparks of disunity in your relationships. Perhaps you have let small resentments linger in your heart or you have let small divisions simmer at home. Maybe you could be a little kinder to the person sitting next to you at work or to your children and spouse in the morning.
Once you know where those sparks are, there are a number of ways to put them out. A quick, one-sentence e-mail to a family member or friend; being the first one to make the coffee in the morning; being patient with the driver ahead of you in traffic; smiling at a co-worker or the cashier at the grocery store you see every day—all of these small things can go a long way. As Mother Teresa once said, “Every time you smile at someone, it is an act of love.” And we know that love can cover a multitude of sins!
You don’t have to invest in big, grand gestures. You just need to try, and trust that God will bear the “fruit of righteousness” through whatever you do (Philippians 1:11).
“Lord, guide the little things I do each day so that I can help build up the people around me. May these small things bear the fruit of righteousness.” Amen!
Psalm 111:1-10 Hallelujah!
I give thanks to God with everything I’ve got—
Wherever good people gather, and in the congregation.
God’s works are so great, worth
A lifetime of study—endless enjoyment!
Splendor and beauty mark his craft;
His generosity never gives out.
His miracles are his memorial—
This God of Grace, this God of Love.
He gave food to those who fear him,
He remembered to keep his ancient promise.
He proved to his people that he could do what he said:
Hand them the nations on a platter—a gift!
He manufactures truth and justice;
All his products are guaranteed to last—
Never out-of-date, never obsolete, rust-proof.
All that he makes and does is honest and true:
He paid the ransom for his people,
He ordered his Covenant kept forever.
He’s so personal and holy, worthy of our respect.
The good life begins in the fear of God—
Do that and you’ll know the blessing of God.
His Hallelujah lasts forever!
Luke 14:1-3 One time when Jesus went for a Sabbath meal with one of the top leaders of the Pharisees, all the guests had their eyes on him, watching his every move. Right before him there was a man hugely swollen in his joints. So Jesus asked the religion scholars and Pharisees present, “Is it permitted to heal on the Sabbath? Yes or no?”
4-6 They were silent. So he took the man, healed him, and sent him on his way. Then he said, “Is there anyone here who, if a child or animal fell down a well, wouldn’t rush to pull him out immediately, not asking whether or not it was the Sabbath?” They were stumped. There was nothing they could say to that.
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