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distracted
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August 17, 2010
Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
*** Mass readings / commentary (uppity humans act like they’re God / God gets sarcastic with them [etc] / hard for the rich to enter Heaven / losing in order to gain…) ***
Ez 28:1-10
The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man,
say to the prince of Tyre:
Thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you are haughty of heart,
you say, “A god am I!
I occupy a godly throne
in the heart of the sea!”—
And yet you are a man, and not a god,
however you may think yourself like a god.
Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel,
there is no secret that is beyond you.
By your wisdom and your intelligence
you have made riches for yourself;
You have put gold and silver
into your treasuries.
By your great wisdom applied to your trading
you have heaped up your riches;
your heart has grown haughty from your riches–
therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you have thought yourself
to have the mind of a god,
Therefore I will bring against you
foreigners, the most barbarous of nations.
They shall draw their swords
against your beauteous wisdom,
they shall run them through your splendid apparel.
They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to die
a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the sea.
Will you then say, “I am a god!”
when you face your murderers?
No, you are man, not a god,
handed over to those who will slay you.
You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners,
for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.
Deuteronomy 32:26-27ab, 27cd-28, 30, 35cd-36abResponsorial Psalm
It is I who deal death and give life.
“I would have said, ‘I will make an end of them
and blot out their name from men’s memories,’
Had I not feared the insolence of their enemies,
feared that these foes would mistakenly boast.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
“‘Our own hand won the victory;
the LORD had nothing to do with it.’”
For they are a people devoid of reason,
having no understanding.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
“How could one man rout a thousand,
or two men put ten thousand to flight,
Unless it was because their Rock sold them
and the LORD delivered them up?”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
Mt 19:23-30Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich
to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
***Again I say to you,
it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”***When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,
“Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible.”
***Then Peter said to him in reply,
“We have given up everything and followed you.
What will there be for us?”***Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
.
its kinda funny that God gets sarcastic with the king for thinking he’s so great…
In a way its not 2 funny, tho… cuz a lot of us humans act like that
& then maybe something terrible needs 2 happen to us before we get the picture that we aren’t so great after all?? that we can’t control everything (or even most things) about our lives.
I think its hard for the rich to enter Heaven cuz they get too comfortable w/ their wealth… I guess they get like the king in the 1st reading… they start thinking tht they can control just about everything in their lives with their money and influence…& worldy power. Then at death they find out that… well, like in the 1st reading, they find out they are not so powerful… they have no power over the unknown thing that is happening to them known as death. They find out the hard way how weak and needy they really are. In another psg it says something about how [some human] thinks he is [so great] but God says “yet you are poor and naked and blind.”
Yrs ago i wanted to send some $$ to the poor people in Calcutta being cared for by Mother Teresa, but the nun i talked to on the phone (in CA) said that the people in the US need more “charity” than the poor in Inda do… I didn’t understand it then cuz i was a lot younger… and stuff… but i understand it perfetcly now… Those who are affluent need more “spiritual charity” than some poor people need food (altho we should not neglect them either, of course).
…only problem is… it is easier to deal with people who have physical needs than those with deep (yet unperceived?) spiritual needs, esp those who are arrogant because they have wealth and prestige and etc… & don’t think they need to hear your spiel about Jesus… ***
Tuesday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Reading 1
*** Mass readings / commentary (uppity humans act like they’re God / God gets sarcastic with them [etc] / hard for the rich to enter Heaven / losing in order to gain…) ***
Ez 28:1-10
The word of the LORD came to me: Son of man,
say to the prince of Tyre:
Thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you are haughty of heart,
you say, “A god am I!
I occupy a godly throne
in the heart of the sea!”—
And yet you are a man, and not a god,
however you may think yourself like a god.
Oh yes, you are wiser than Daniel,
there is no secret that is beyond you.
By your wisdom and your intelligence
you have made riches for yourself;
You have put gold and silver
into your treasuries.
By your great wisdom applied to your trading
you have heaped up your riches;
your heart has grown haughty from your riches–
therefore thus says the Lord GOD:
Because you have thought yourself
to have the mind of a god,
Therefore I will bring against you
foreigners, the most barbarous of nations.
They shall draw their swords
against your beauteous wisdom,
they shall run them through your splendid apparel.
They shall thrust you down to the pit, there to die
a bloodied corpse, in the heart of the sea.
Will you then say, “I am a god!”
when you face your murderers?
No, you are man, not a god,
handed over to those who will slay you.
You shall die the death of the uncircumcised
at the hands of foreigners,
for I have spoken, says the Lord GOD.
Deuteronomy 32:26-27ab, 27cd-28, 30, 35cd-36abResponsorial Psalm
It is I who deal death and give life.
“I would have said, ‘I will make an end of them
and blot out their name from men’s memories,’
Had I not feared the insolence of their enemies,
feared that these foes would mistakenly boast.”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
“‘Our own hand won the victory;
the LORD had nothing to do with it.’”
For they are a people devoid of reason,
having no understanding.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
“How could one man rout a thousand,
or two men put ten thousand to flight,
Unless it was because their Rock sold them
and the LORD delivered them up?”
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
Close at hand is the day of their disaster,
and their doom is rushing upon them!
Surely, the LORD shall do justice for his people;
on his servants he shall have pity.
R. It is I who deal death and give life.
Mt 19:23-30Gospel
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Amen, I say to you, it will be hard for one who is rich
to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
***Again I say to you,
it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God.”***When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and said,
“Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said,
“For men this is impossible,
but for God all things are possible.”
***Then Peter said to him in reply,
“We have given up everything and followed you.
What will there be for us?”***Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you
that you who have followed me, in the new age,
when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory,
will yourselves sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters
or father or mother or children or lands
for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more,
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
.
its kinda funny that God gets sarcastic with the king for thinking he’s so great…
In a way its not 2 funny, tho… cuz a lot of us humans act like that
& then maybe something terrible needs 2 happen to us before we get the picture that we aren’t so great after all?? that we can’t control everything (or even most things) about our lives.I think its hard for the rich to enter Heaven cuz they get too comfortable w/ their wealth… I guess they get like the king in the 1st reading… they start thinking tht they can control just about everything in their lives with their money and influence…& worldy power. Then at death they find out that… well, like in the 1st reading, they find out they are not so powerful… they have no power over the unknown thing that is happening to them known as death. They find out the hard way how weak and needy they really are. In another psg it says something about how [some human] thinks he is [so great] but God says “yet you are poor and naked and blind.”
Yrs ago i wanted to send some $$ to the poor people in Calcutta being cared for by Mother Teresa, but the nun i talked to on the phone (in CA) said that the people in the US need more “charity” than the poor in Inda do… I didn’t understand it then cuz i was a lot younger… and stuff… but i understand it perfetcly now… Those who are affluent need more “spiritual charity” than some poor people need food (altho we should not neglect them either, of course).
…only problem is… it is easier to deal with people who have physical needs than those with deep (yet unperceived?) spiritual needs, esp those who are arrogant because they have wealth and prestige and etc… & don’t think they need to hear your spiel about Jesus…
***