Mon (Oct 19) Mass readings (Faith credited as righteousness / Not being rich in what concerns God)

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October 19, 2009

Reading 1
Rom 4:20-25


Brothers and Sisters:
Abraham did not doubt God’s promise in unbelief;
rather, he was empowered by faith and gave glory to God
and was fully convinced that what God had promised
he was also able to do.
That is why it was credited to him as righteousness.

But it was not for him alone that it was written
that it was credited to him;
it was also for us, to whom it will be credited,
who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

who was handed over for our transgressions
and was raised for our justification.

Responsorial Psalm
Luke 1:69-70, 71-72, 73-75


R. (see 68) Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
He has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.
R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.
This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.

R. Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel; he has come to his people.

Gospel
Lk 12:13-21


Someone in the crowd said to Jesus,
“Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”
He replied to him,
“Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”
Then he said to the crowd,
“Take care to guard against all greed,
for though one may be rich,
one’s life does not consist of possessions.”


Then he told them a parable.
“There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.
He asked himself, ‘What shall I do,
for I do not have space to store my harvest?’
And he said, ‘This is what I shall do:
I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.
There I shall store all my grain and other goods
and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you,
you have so many good things stored up for many years,
rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’
But God said to him,
‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you
;
and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’
Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself
but is not rich in what matters to God.”

The first psg may cause confusion because it would tend to support being saved by faith alone (?) - it doesn’t support it in my opinion but i could see someone thinking such a thing. Actually, Abraham’s faith was just another of his many good works. Abraham loved God and undoubtedly did everything to please Him and nothing to displease Him… Things not always looked upon as works are actually works: prayer, fasting, self-examination, etc…

2nd:

We never know when God will call us home… so we had better be headed toward Home when that happens. It seems there is something in all humans (the unconscious) that tells him he will live on EArth forever… but we often get reminders that that is not the case…

Have a safe trip Home… 🙂
 
I would be interested to see your justification for the first passage. I agree with the statement that faith without works is dead, but i would like to know why the first passage does not support the idea that Faith alone can save.:confused:

The Gospel I think isn’t so much about going home and not knowing the time. I think the point is more about how we make use of the gifts given to us by God. It’s easy to think that the blessing from God are for our own personal use. Or worse, they are a sign that God has found favor with us. Rather, I think, God gives us gifts for his own purposes. We should always be looking to figure out how our gifts should be used for his purpose. In other words, we must share our gifts and put them to use in the world. At the most superficial level, this would mean that the man should have considered shaing his excess with his neighbors, especially those most in need. Similarly, we may have a particular gift. The gift of intellect; descernment; compassion; a beatiful singing voice, etc. How can we use these gifts not only to help ourselves but more importantly to advance God’s purpose on this earth. How can my gifts enhance my fellow man? Those who would seek to be first must serve. The mondatum novem. May be mispelled. 😃
 
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