November 3
Tuesday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time
First Reading
PHIL 2:5-11
Brothers and sisters: Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and, found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Responsorial Psalm
PS 22:26B-27, 28-30AB, 30E, 31-32
R. (26a) I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
I will fulfill my vows before those who fear him.
The lowly shall eat their fill;
they who seek the LORD shall praise him:
“May your hearts be ever merry!”
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the LORD; All the families of the nations shall bow down before him.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
For dominion is the LORD’s, and he rules the nations. To him alone shall bow down all who sleep in the earth.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
To him my soul shall live; my descendants shall serve him. Let the coming generation be told of the LORD that they may proclaim to a people yet to be born the justice he has shown.
R. I will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.
Alleluia
MT 11:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
LK 14:15-24
One of those at table with Jesus said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the Kingdom of God.” He replied to him, “A man gave a great dinner to which he invited many. When the time for the dinner came, he dispatched his servant to say to those invited, ‘Come, everything is now ready.’ But one by one, they all began to excuse themselves. The first said to him, ‘I have purchased a field and must go to examine it; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have purchased five yoke of oxen and am on my way to evaluate them; I ask you, consider me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have just married a woman, and therefore I cannot come.’ The servant went and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in a rage commanded his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in here the poor and the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ The servant reported, ‘Sir, your orders have been carried out and still there is room.’ The master then ordered the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedgerows and make people come in that my home may be filled. For, I tell you, none of those men who were invited will taste my dinner.’”
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 will praise you, Lord, in the assembly of your people.”
Readings & Reflection
As we reflect on our gospel reading today, we are called to focus on the banquet or feast we attend each time we attend Mass. This month as we prepare for the holidays, we do so in a very different way. Nonetheless, we still focus on making sure our homes are ready and our lives are prepared for what is to come. When we begin by making preparations to our homes, what do we do? We often start by cleaning it and making sure things are in order. We should be doing the same things with our spiritual lives. Have we taken the opportunity to go to confession? Do we attend Mass when we can, either online or in person? Today in the gospel, the king has prepared a feast to which people are leaving one by one. There is no interest in attending the feast by those people, so the king dispatches the servants to go and invite more people so that his house is filled with people for the feast. Christ invites us to the feast each time we attend Mass, how well are we prepared to receive the King in our lives?
Fr Matt Rawson
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