Pray! : Daily Readings August 30, 2012

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Daily Readings August 30, 2012

Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 428

Reading 1 1 Cor 1:1-9

Paul, called to be an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,and Sosthenes our brother,to the Church of God that is in Corinth,to you who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be holy,with all those everywhere who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.Grace to you and peace from God our Fatherand the Lord Jesus Christ.

St. Paul begins with a blessing upon all in the Church.

I give thanks to my God always on your accountfor the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus,that in him you were enriched in every way,with all discourse and all knowledge,as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you,so that you are not lacking in any spiritual giftas you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

St. Paul gives thanks to God for all who have come to believe in Christ.

He will keep you firm to the end,irreproachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.God is faithful,and by him you were called to fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

And expresses confidence that all who so believe will be saved on the Final Judgement.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 145:2-3, 4-5, 6-7

Response. (1) I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

Every day will I bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the LORD and highly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.

R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

Generation after generation praises your works
and proclaims your might.
They speak of the splendor of your glorious majesty
and tell of your wondrous works.

R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

They discourse of the power of your terrible deeds
and declare your greatness.
They publish the fame of your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your justice.

R. I will praise your name for ever, Lord.

The lesson in this Psalm is hard for me to express. It is related to the first reading. When we praise the works of God, we praise God. There is a relationship between God's works and Himself. The other part of that lesson is this. We, who believe in God and do His works, WE are also His works.

It confuses many, when we praise Mary and the Saints and then explain that in praising Mary and the Saints, we are praising God.

Gospel Mt 24:42-51

Jesus said to his disciples:"Stay awake!For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.Be sure of this:if the master of the househad known the hour of night when the thief was coming,he would have stayed awakeand not let his house be broken into.So too, you also must be prepared,for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

This call to staying awake, is a call to preparation, a call to do the works which God has commanded. A master of a house doesn't just ward off prowlers by staying up all night. He must close windows, lock doors, prepare enough to eat and do many other things. Therefore, the call to stay awake is a call to do the works which God has commanded us to do in order that we should be saved:

Matthew 10:22
King James Version (KJV)
²²And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent servant,whom the master has put in charge of his householdto distribute to them their food at the proper time?

This is a veiled reference to the Priests. Note that God has put them in charge of the house and authorized them to give us our food, (i.e. the Eucharist).

Blessed is that servant whom his master on his arrival finds doing so.

If he serves his duty faithfully, God will bless that Priest.

Amen, I say to you, he will put him in charge of all his property.But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is long delayed,'and begins to beat his fellow servants,and eat and drink with drunkards,the servant's master will come on an unexpected dayand at an unknown hour and will punish him severelyand assign him a place with the hypocrites,where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth."

But, if that Priest abuses of his power, well, as it says in another place: