This Week’s Gospel Message for Sunday, September 29th is from Luke 16:19-31.
“Jesus said to the Pharisees: ‘There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus . . . When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels . . . The rich man also died and was buried . . . And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me.’ Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.’”
“The rich man had everything he wanted; Lazarus had nothing. But the contrast is just as stark after they die. Now Lazarus has everything he ever wanted . . . The rich man has only suffering . . . The divider between the sides has changed as well. Where once it was a door, which could have easily been opened, now it is a great chasm, impossible to cross. How the rich man must wish he had crossed the doorway when he had the chance!” Source: Pastoral Patterns, Autumn 2019
DAILY READINGS FOR THE WEEK
Monday Zech 8:1-8; Luke 9:46-50
Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church (Memorial) – St. Jerome translated the Bible into the Latin language of the common people (the Vulgate). Source: Living With Christ, September 2019
Tuesday Zech 8:20-23; Luke 9:51-56
Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, (Memorial) – “Marie-Francoise Thérèse Martin entered the Carmelites at age fifteen. . .[her] writings were combined into her autobiography, The Story of a Soul. She sought holiness through her “little way”: fidelity to God in the small things of everyday life.” Source: Living With Christ, October 2019
Wednesday Neh 2:1-8; Matt 18:1-5, 10
Thursday Neh 8:1-4a, 5-6, 7b-12; Luke 10:1-12
Friday Bar 1:15-22; Luke 10:13-16
Saint Francis of Assisi (Memorial) – “Francis inspired thousands to lead lives of poverty, simplicity, and humble service, delighting in creation and consumed with love for Christ.” Source: Living With Christ, October 2019
Saturday Bar 4:5-12, 27-29; Luke 10:17-24