October 25
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Frist Reading
EX 22:20-26
Thus says the LORD: "You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. You shall not wrong any widow or orphan. If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry. My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword; then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.
"If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people, you shall not act like an extortioner toward him by demanding interest from him. If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, you shall return it to him before sunset; for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body. What else has he to sleep in? If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate."
Responsorial Psalm
PS 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
R. (2) I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength, O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength. My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! Praised be the LORD, I exclaim, and I am safe from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD lives and blessed be my rock! Extolled be God my savior. You who gave great victories to your king and showed kindness to your anointed.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
Second Reading
1 THES 1:5C-10
Brothers and sisters: You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit, so that you became a model for all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves openly declare about us what sort of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to await his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.
Alleluia
JN 14:23
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord, and my Father will love him and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
MT 22:34-40
When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together, and one of them, a scholar of the law tested him by asking, "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
Give a Mass Offering
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
“I love you, Lord, my strength.”
Readings & Reflection
We are called to ask ourselves again what it means to love. In our first reading as well as our gospel reading, the primary focus is love of God and love of neighbor. St Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians reminds the people of Thessalonica how they changed from their former way of living worshiping idols to serving the living and true God. How often do we like to hear the word change? Let’s face it, none of us like change. We get into a habit or a routine and continue to live out that routine each day until we decide to change or get bored with it. We all know that it is not easy to change a pattern. Statistics even tell us that it takes a certain amount of time of doing a different habit to be able to brake the old one. So, let’s get back to the gospel. How are we to look at the two commandments in the gospel today? Love of God seems rather easy but love of neighbor is not always as easy. People tell me all the time, “Father, it’s not easy to love our neighbor.” My mind often is drawn to the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus says, “…whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40 NABRE). Does this mean we are going to be best friends with every person we encounter? No! When we encounter people we do not like or disagree with, we often shy away so that we do not offend them. Although we are not called to be perfect friends with everyone, we are called to respect each person even if we disagree with their political views, sexual orientation, values, and outlook on life. In the words of Pope Francis, “Who am I to judge?” Take some time this week and reflect on how you have been acting with the people around you and how you can become a better person to them. Love of God and love of neighbor are the two things that God asks of us. While we profess Him each week by coming to Mass, praying, and receiving the Eucharist, we love Him by simply loving the people around us.
Fr Matt Rawson
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