February 27
Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Give a Mass Offering
Mass Intentions
Sat., 4:00 PM – Richard T. A'Hearn / Charles Kelly
Sun., 7:30 AM – Michael Ferrante / Bernadette Andaloro
Sun., 10:30 AM – John Fennessey / Rita & Peter Bergamo
Sun., 5:00 PM – Jean Hogan / Holy Cross Staff, Priests & Deacon
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
Sirach 27:4-7
When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear; so do one’s faults when one speaks. As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace, so in tribulation is the test of the just. The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind. Praise no one before he speaks, for it is then that people are tested.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalms 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16
R (cf. 2a) Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,
To proclaim your kindness at dawn
and your faithfulness throughout the night.
R Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
The just one shall flourish like the palm tree,
like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow.
They that are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
R Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
They shall bear fruit even in old age;
vigorous and sturdy shall they be,
Declaring how just is the LORD,
my rock, in whom there is no wrong.
R Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
Second Reading
1 Corinthians 15:54-58
Brothers and sisters: When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about: Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
Gospel Acclamation
Philippians 2:15d, 16a
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Shine like lights in the world
as you hold on to the word of life.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Luke 6:39-45
Jesus told his disciples a parable, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? No disciple is superior to the teacher; but when fully trained, every disciple will be like his teacher. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’ when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.
“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles. A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”
“Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.”
Reflection
Nothing like setting the tone for our entrance into Lent this week! The readings this Sunday invite us to grow in humility and have a mirror held up to ourselves. Of course, this is never easy, nor is it a comfortable experience to endure. Yet, if we are honest with ourselves, we always have a need for our hearts to be purified by the Lord. There’s always an invitation before us to put sin behind us and live more virtuously.
Without much noticing or intention on our part, we can slip into selfishness, pride, or entitlement, especially in our interactions with others. It’s just a reality of our humanity. Without much noticing, even our language in conversations can be a source of negativity or cynicism that can take root in our hearts. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much for a ‘wooden beam’ to form in our eye either (cf. Luke 6:42).
Our Scripture readings today particularly relate this important truth with imagery of growing trees: “The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had; so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind” (Sirach 27:6). “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit” (Luke 6:43-44). We are challenged to genuinely evaluate the fruit from the tree that is our life, and what kind of care we are allowing this tree to actually receive.
Over time if we let what might otherwise seem like “small vices” of ours to become deeply rooted habits in our lives (use of harsh words, hardness of heart, harboring bitterness/unforgiveness etc.) we unwittingly build up barriers that block our ability to receive and grow in God’s grace. Holiness alive in us is essentially our imitating and enacting the life and words of Jesus—even if this is uncomfortable for us at times. There’s nothing fun about recognizing beams in our eyes when we are naturally experts at finding splinters in the eyes of others.
With these remaining days before beginning our Lenten journey, let’s take some intentional moments in prayer to ask Jesus what he desires to purify from our hearts. May we have the grace not only to sincerely ask this question in prayer, but also the grace to respond with humility and courage upon receiving his response, whatever it may be. Fortunately for us, Jesus knows the human heart, he is an expert gardener (if you will), and he can bring new life out of any tree that may otherwise seem dead.
Peace,
Fr. Foley
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