My dear Friends,
Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ!
I ask you my sisters & brothers, to continue to pray for peace and healing in the world especially as there was another deadly mass shooting which happened in Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, during a school Mass.
Let us pray:
“For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my deliverance and my honor; my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.” (Psalm 62: 5-7)
Prayer: God our Loving Father, we pray for those who are grieving today that may they find rest in you, be their rock, their salvation, and their fortress so that they will not be shaken. Empower us all to trust in you for you are our refuge and give us the courage to express all the emotions that come with grief and loss, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen
In our Gospel (Luke 14: 1, 7-14), Jesus invites us to reflect on choosing the most honored seats at a party; warning that a more important guest might arrive and the host will then be forced to move you. Instead to take the lowest place, trusting that the host will recognize our humility and invite you to a higher position. True honor is not seized for personal gain but is awarded by God, who exalts the humble. Humility will bring us peace, delight and encouragement.
“For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11)
Jesus illustrates to us that the fundamental principle of the Kingdom of Heaven is a reversal of earthly values where authority and status are replaced by humility, service, and love. As Christians, we are encouraged to ask God for the grace to be truly humble, leading us to become generous, and a blessing to others, recognizing that a heavenly reward awaits for us. AMEN.
God Loves You! ~ Fr. NEIL