Catholic Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Friday, 12 September 2014

Catholic Daily Mass Reading & Meditation for Friday, 12 September 2014
Meditations: Luke 6:39-40 He quoted a proverb: “‘Can a blind man guide a blind man?’ Wouldn’t they both end up in the ditch? An apprentice doesn’t lecture the master. The point is to be careful who you follow as your teacher.
41-42 “It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this I-know-better-than-you mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.
The Most Holy Name of Mary
When fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. (Luke 6:40)
What a vision Jesus had for his disciples—and for us! We can actually become like him in our attitudes and thoughts, in our desires and dreams. Where the world tells us to have smaller hopes—maybe just to get over one or two sin patterns—Jesus tells us to raise our expectations and believe that he wants to do so much more in us.
But can we really become like Christ, even to the core of our beings? Yes we can, but it doesn’t happen automatically. In fact, it can be downright painful at times. How many times have you had a hint that God wants to shine his light into a dark corner of your heart—but you have turned away? Maybe it’s envy of someone who has more than you do. Maybe it’s a desire to condemn instead of forgive someone who has hurt you.
It’s only as we let the Lord expose the darkness within us that we will begin to experience his light. And it’s a light that does far more than banish darkness. Like the sun, this light brings warmth, growth, and new beginnings. It transforms even as it illuminates. It’s the way God always works. Long before he became our Lawgiver or our Judge, he was our Creator, shaping us to become vessels of his own divine life. Now all he asks is that we let him continue to shape us, removing whatever impurities we have allowed in through sin.
This is why the Sacrament of Reconciliation is such a blessing. It’s also why it’s called a celebration. In Confession we move from darkness to light, rejoicing in the mercy of a God who wants nothing more than to make us like himself. By actively deciding to confess our sins, we can invite Jesus to prune us like an expert gardener so that we can bear fruit for him. By removing the “logs” from our eyes in Confession, we can be enlightened more. We can become more like Jesus, our great Teacher, Lord, and Friend.
“Holy Spirit, burn in my heart. Set aflame all that stands in opposition to you. I want to look at people with the eyes of Christ. You have loved me so much, Lord; help me to give your love away.” Amen!
1 Corinthians 9:15-18 Still, I want it made clear that I’ve never gotten anything out of this for myself, and that I’m not writing now to get something. I’d rather die than give anyone ammunition to discredit me or impugn my motives. If I proclaim the Message, it’s not to get something out of it for myself. I’m compelled to do it, and doomed if I don’t! If this was my own idea of just another way to make a living, I’d expect some pay. But since it’s not my idea but something solemnly entrusted to me, why would I expect to get paid? So am I getting anything out of it? Yes, as a matter of fact: the pleasure of proclaiming the Message at no cost to you. You don’t even have to pay my expenses!
19-23 Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn’t just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!
24-25 You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.
26-27 I don’t know about you, but I’m running hard for the finish line. I’m giving it everything I’ve got. No sloppy living for me! I’m staying alert and in top condition. I’m not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.
Psalms 84:3-4 Birds find nooks and crannies in your house,
    sparrows and swallows make nests there.
They lay their eggs and raise their young,
    singing their songs in the place where we worship.
God-of-the-Angel-Armies! King! God!
    How blessed they are to live and sing there!
5-7 And how blessed all those in whom you live,
    whose lives become roads you travel;
They wind through lonesome valleys, come upon brooks,
    discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain!
God-traveled, these roads curve up the mountain, and
    at the last turn—Zion! God in full view!
10-12 One day spent in your house, this beautiful place of worship,
    beats thousands spent on Greek island beaches.
I’d rather scrub floors in the house of my God
    than be honored as a guest in the palace of sin.
All sunshine and sovereign is God,
    generous in gifts and glory.
He doesn’t scrimp with his traveling companions.
    It’s smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies.
____________________________