So let's talk about today's readings 9/2/09

[cheeto1]

September 2, 2009

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Reading 1
Col 1:1-8

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
and Timothy our brother,
to the holy ones and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae:
grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when we pray for you,
for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus
and the love that you have for all the holy ones
because of the hope reserved for you in heaven.
Of this you have already heard
through the word of truth, the Gospel, that has come to you.
Just as in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing,
so also among you,
from the day you heard it and came to know the grace of God in truth,
as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow slave,
who is a trustworthy minister of Christ on your behalf
and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 52:10, 11

R. (10) I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
I, like a green olive tree
in the house of God,
Trust in the mercy of God
forever and ever.
R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever.
I will thank you always for what you have done,
and proclaim the goodness of your name
before your faithful ones.
R. I trust in the mercy of God for ever.

Gospel
Lk 4:38-44

After Jesus left the synagogue, he entered the house of Simon.
Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a severe fever,
and they interceded with him about her.
He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her.
She got up immediately and waited on them. At sunset, all who had people sick with various diseases brought them to him.
He laid his hands on each of them and cured them.
And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.”
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak
because they knew that he was the Christ.
At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place.
The crowds went looking for him, and when they came to him,
they tried to prevent him from leaving them.
But he said to them, “To the other towns also
I must proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God,
because for this purpose I have been sent.”
And he was preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

 

[cheeto1]

“We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when we pray for you”
– Who is “we”? Paul, Timothy, and who else? Anybody? This line makes me
very interested in Paul’s prayers. Who was he praying with and what did they
say? He already told others like the Thessalonians that they are praying for
them too. He had a lot to pray about. So much so, that I wonder how he found
time for it all? I’d like to know his prayer schedule, and what he said. What if
he didn’t even have a schedule? Remember, he said he could pray constantly.
The Colossians had faith in Jesus, love for all holy ones, and love in the Spirit.
What did they do? What were their actions that showed this?

“I, like a green olive tree
in the house of God,
Trust in the mercy of God”
–But when I come out, I’m not so sure. I see mercy for the guilty, but not for
the innocent, helpless in their hands…
When my foot steps into “his house” or my first knee goes down to the ground
anywhere, I see this in itself as an act of mercy from God…

“He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her”
–What did He say to the fever? Be gone, leave her? Yet a fever is there to kill
invading bacteria and viruses. Did He mean to banish the bacteria or viruses,
but He couldn’t say that because they hadn’t been discovered yet?

“And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.”
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak”
– Then why did He keep letting them say “You are the Son of God”?
And why did they say that? When did they know it?

“At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place”
– Was He up all night? I wonder if during all that healing He felt power going out
of Him, like with the woman who had a hemorrage? What if He felt weak by
daybreak and needed to recharge Himself in prayer… See how He laid down His
life for others, even before He laid down His life!

So what struck you about today’s readings? :bible1::twocents:

 

[CHRISTINE77]

“We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when we pray for you”
– Who is “we”? Paul, Timothy, and who else? Anybody? This line makes me
very interested in Paul’s prayers. Who was he praying with and what did they
say? He already told others like the Thessalonians that they are praying for
them too. He had a lot to pray about. So much so, that I wonder how he found
time for it all? I’d like to know his prayer schedule, and what he said. What if
he didn’t even have a schedule? Remember, he said he could pray constantly.
The Colossians had faith in Jesus, love for all holy ones, and love in the Spirit.
What did they do? What were their actions that showed this?

“I, like a green olive tree
in the house of God,
Trust in the mercy of God”
–But when I come out, I’m not so sure. I see mercy for the guilty, but not for
the innocent, helpless in their hands…
When my foot steps into “his house” or my first knee goes down to the ground
anywhere, I see this in itself as an act of mercy from God…

“He stood over her, rebuked the fever, and it left her”
–What did He say to the fever? Be gone, leave her? Yet a fever is there to kill
invading bacteria and viruses. Did He mean to banish the bacteria or viruses,
but He couldn’t say that because they hadn’t been discovered yet?

“And demons also came out from many, shouting, “You are the Son of God.”
But he rebuked them and did not allow them to speak”
– Then why did He keep letting them say “You are the Son of God”?
And why did they say that? When did they know it?

“At daybreak, Jesus left and went to a deserted place”
– Was He up all night? I wonder if during all that healing He felt power going out
of Him, like with the woman who had a hemorrage? What if He felt weak by
daybreak and needed to recharge Himself in prayer… See how He laid down His
life for others, even before He laid down His life!

So what struck you about today’s readings? :bible1::twocents:

What struck me is Jesus’s curative powers. I think there are many people today who have demons inside them, but modern science says that it is just mental illness, and yet science and medicine cannot cure these people, and there is no drug nor therapy that can rid them of their demons. Today we call them schizophrenics, but they are really possessed by demons. Only Jesus or the power of Jesus could really save these people and release them from their misery.

 

[JAGCath28]

My thoughts on the readings:

Col. 1: 1-8

I sometimes forget how difficult these early Christians had it, because I often envy their zeal. They had such tremendous faith even up until death. I thought this morning how wonderful it would be if all Catholics continued to have this same zeal our early brothers and sisters did. AND…if all Christians could once again be united. What an amazing army for the Lord we would have! :knight2:Can you imagine the power of prayer and faith?

Psalm 52:10-11

I read the whole Psalm just to understand why David wrote those verses. This was just another time that Saul was trying to kill him, and yet, here is David praising God.

If I were had constant assassination attempts, I would start to feel a little sorry for myself and probably despair. He had such awesome faith. So much praise and thanksgiving even when his mortal life was at stake. He truly knew how to praise God through all things.

Which brings me to the Gospel…

Luke 4:38-44

Most of the individuals healed were healed because of the faith of others. Amazing isn’t it? They had so much faith in Christ that their loved ones were healed. What an inspirational testimony to the power of prayer and faith!

What can we do to bring back that zeal and love for Christ? Pray and have faith I suppose! As a convert, I look at some of my cradle Catholic friends and family and it really makes me sad that to them I’m considered zealous. I was told last night regarding why some didn’t want to come to a study of the Gospel of Matthew at our parish, “We just don’t have the same zeal as you.” Why? And why be OK with that? I just don’t understand it.

 

[JAGCath28]

“We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when we pray for you”
– Who is “we”? Paul, Timothy, and who else? Anybody? This line makes me
very interested in Paul’s prayers. Who was he praying with and what did they
say? He already told others like the Thessalonians that they are praying for
them too. He had a lot to pray about. So much so, that I wonder how he found
time for it all? I’d like to know his prayer schedule, and what he said. What if
he didn’t even have a schedule? Remember, he said he could pray constantly.
The Colossians had faith in Jesus, love for all holy ones, and love in the Spirit.
What did they do? What were their actions that showed this?

I think in this case, we, is Paul and Timothy as written but in a more generalized sense it could be all the followers with Paul. Many times parishes pray for other parishes so it could be something like that.

You bring up a thought provoking point regarding Paul’s prayer life. How did he manage to pray constantly? And how did he manage to pray for everyone on his prayer list? I know that I can’t. It is so hard to remember to pray for others who need it. I think the only specific prayer requests that I make on a daily basis is for my parents (that they can grow closer in their walk with God, includes in-laws), for my siblings (that they will learn to put God first in their life), and the safety of my grandparents until the next time that I can see them. Every other request is a general one for certain groups of people. Or the occasional specific request. But I wish I had a more disciplined prayer life because there are so many people out there who need prayer who may not have anyone praying for them at all.

 

[CHRISTINE77]

My thoughts on the readings:

Luke 4:38-44

Most of the individuals healed were healed because of the faith of others. Amazing isn’t it? They had so much faith in Christ that their loved ones were healed. What an inspirational testimony to the power of prayer and faith!

What can we do to bring back that zeal and love for Christ? Pray and have faith I suppose! As a convert, I look at some of my cradle Catholic friends and family and it really makes me sad that to them I’m considered zealous. I was told last night regarding why some didn’t want to come to a study of the Gospel of Matthew at our parish, “We just don’t have the same zeal as you.” Why? And why be OK with that? I just don’t understand it.

Yes you are so right. People have so little faith in God these days, they put their faith in science and other men. If we only would believe - really believe - and put all our faith and hope and trust in the Lord, I am sure the world would be a different place. I am no exception, I need to work on my faith for everything in my life and for the people around me.

These were good readings today, about faith and prayer!

 

[cheeto1]

My thoughts on the readings:

Col. 1: 1-8

I often envy their zeal. They had such tremendous faith even up until death…how wonderful it would be if all Catholics continued to have this same zeal…

Luke 4:38-44

Most of the individuals healed were healed because of the faith of others.

I was told last night regarding why some didn’t want to come to a study of the Gospel of Matthew at our parish, “We just don’t have the same zeal as you.”

I really enjoyed your thoughts.
Has anyone offered to kill you lately for your faith? How about burn down your
house? The truth is, we don’t know how we will react until we get the chance.
But who is praying for a chance to be killed?

I think the people who told you they didn’t have zeal were just saying that as a
compliment to you when they really just thought it was a waste of time. I hope
you will have a great time and maybe even meet others with “the same zeal as you”!

Thank you for pointing out that it was people bringing others to Jesus that was
responsible for their healing. It was pretty obvious with the paralytic, but I’ve never
even noticed it here…thanks!

 

[cheeto1]

Today we call them schizophrenics, but they are really possessed by demons.

Do you think this is true of all schizoprenics?

 

[CHRISTINE77]

Do you think this is true of all schizoprenics?

I would never say all, but I think the vast majority are. My brother was a schizophrenic, it came on very suddenly when he was in his early twenties, and he was tormented until he hung himself in his early thirties. The medicine simply muffled the symptoms, made him rather stiff and zombie-like. I think he was possessed, and I have seen other schizophrenics who seem the same - its a horrible evil thing.

 

[cheeto1]

I would never say all, but I think the vast majority are. My brother was a schizophrenic, it came on very suddenly when he was in his early twenties, and he was tormented until he hung himself in his early thirties. The medicine simply muffled the symptoms, made him rather stiff and zombie-like. I think he was possessed, and I have seen other schizophrenics who seem the same - its a horrible evil thing.

This is such a sad story that I don’t know what to say. I am so sorry for your loss.
He is your brother, and I’m sorry :tissues:

 

[CHRISTINE77]

This is such a sad story that I don’t know what to say. I am so sorry for your loss.
He is your brother, and I’m sorry :tissues:

It was a long time ago, but it still hurts like hell.