September 25
Saturday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time
Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intention
9:00 AM – Marilyn Root / Joyce Kotch & Michelle Rourke
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.
Readings
First Reading
Zechariah 2:5-9, 14-15a
I, Zechariah, raised my eyes and looked: there was a man with a measuring line in his hand. I asked, “Where are you going?” He answered, “To measure Jerusalem, to see how great is its width and how great its length.”
Then the angel who spoke with me advanced, and another angel came out to meet him and said to him, “Run, tell this to that young man: People will live in Jerusalem as though in open country, because of the multitude of men and beasts in her midst. But I will be for her an encircling wall of fire, says the LORD, and I will be the glory in her midst.”
Sing and rejoice, O daughter Zion! See, I am coming to dwell among you, says the LORD. Many nations shall join themselves to the LORD on that day, and they shall be his people and he will dwell among you.
Responsorial Psalm
Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12ab, 13
R. (see 10d) The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Hear the word of the LORD, O nations,
proclaim it on distant isles, and say:
He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together,
he guards them as a shepherd guards his flock.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
The LORD shall ransom Jacob,
he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.
Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
they shall come streaming to the LORD’s blessings.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Then the virgins shall make merry and dance,
and young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will console and gladden them after their sorrows.
R. The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.
Gospel Acclamation
See 2 Timothy 1:10
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Our Savior Jesus Christ destroyed death
and brought life to light through the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Luke 9:43b-45
While they were all amazed at his every deed, Jesus said to his disciples, “Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.” But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
“The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.”
Reflection
Today, we are given a glimpse of heaven in our readings. We see in the reading from Zechariah that he is experiencing a vision where a man is measuring Jerusalem in preparation for the arrival of all those who have kept the faith that is part and parcel of God’s plan for His people to be with Him in eternity. You or I might do the same thing if we are expecting to host a great party or get-together. We would look at the room we have in our house and make a decision about whether or not we need to rent a gathering space like a banquet hall. We don’t need to worry about the space that God has though. There is more than enough room for all of us in His house. And the best thing of all is that we won’t have to look for God. He will be right there with us forever.
We might wonder about how this will come about. One of the central themes of our faith is that through the sufferings of Jesus and our participation in building up the Kingdom of God with our faith, our works and our witness to others, we will be brought to where God is, and we will rejoice with Him forever. Jesus alludes to this plan in the gospel when he tells his disciples to pay attention to what he is telling them. The price of our freedom is his being handed over to men and nailed to the Cross. This is a terrible price to pay, but for God, it is all worth it, because He does not want any of us to be lost. What a marvelous God we have.
Keep the faith,
Deacon Dare
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