Follow us
Posts Tagged ‘Catholic Scripture Readings’
Download 7th Sunday Yr A
Reflection Question 4: Offering no resistance and turning the other cheek sounds initially like becoming a ‘doormat’. Yet violent resistance breeds violence. Offering the other cheek is neither submission or surrender. Culturally it would force a person to use the open hand rather than the backhand (a shameful way of hitting slaves) and force a re-think of the oppressors position. Offering your cloak as well would bring the community to rebel and shame the offender as they had made someone go virtually naked in public. Jesus seeks to change the status quo and make a bold declaration of God’s will of love for the human family. Is this way of ‘perfect’ living possible? What does this challenge within you?
Two Ways: There are only two feelings, Love and fear: There are only two languages, Love and fear: There are only two activities, Love and fear: There are only two motives, two procedures, two frameworks, two results, Love and fear, Love and fear.
Download: 6th Sunday Yr A
Reflection Question 4: Does a brother or a sister (anyone) have ‘something against you’? Jesus challenges us not to separate right relationship with God with being ‘right’ with others. Ritual is not separate from relationships. Is there any words, conversation, letter, action that could show you taking a step toward reconciliation? What urgency would you experience if you were required to do this before receiving Holy Communion?
Download: 4th Sunday Advent
Reflection Question 3: Joseph listens to the message of the angel in a dream. Like Mary’s courageous Yes to the Angel, Joseph also says Yes to God’s will with similar courage despite many questions. Joseph is not the passive figure often portrayed. He wrestles with questions of law and faith. He submits to the invitation of prayer and listening to God. He chooses not to be afraid. He ensures the child is named Jesus and in doing so becomes the adoptive father and inserts Jesus into the ‘line of David’ (naming the child is also normally done by Jewish women). He takes Mary as his wife into his home. Joseph’s contribution to the Christmas drama and salvation is huge. What salvation story and drama is going on in my own life this Christmas? What does Joseph teach me?
Advent Story: The Kitten at Christmas. A Catholic couple were celebrating Christmas Eve. The wife invited her husband to Midnight mass, but he declined. He thought he would instead stay at home on this cold night, watch television, and they could have a christmas drink when she returned. His wife left early to attend christmas carols and shortly after he heard a noise at the front door. Opening the back door he noticed a cold and wet kitten. He reached toward it but it cried in fear and retreated further away. He pondered to himself how he could help comfort this poor kitten. He got some milk from the fridge, poured it into a plate, showed the kitten and placed it just inside the door. He hoped to welcome the kitten into the warm and dry room of his house. The kitten continued its crying. He tried again to reach out to it. But the kitten interpreted these actions fearfully and moved further away into the cold. As the man continued to ponder how he could truly communicate positively with this kitten it dawned on him that he would need to become like this kitten. Suddenly he realised what God had done. He jumped into his car to attend midnight mass and whispered to his wife: for the first time I’ve realised Christmas is God born among us in Jesus to help us!
If you have any difficulties downloading documents please make contact: contact@livingtheword.org.nz
Download 22nd Sunday Yr C
Reflection Question 5: Jesus reverses everything that was considered socially and religiously ‘correct’. The poor, crippled, lame, blind were excluded from the priesthood and some claimed they were not eligible to participate in the heavenly banquet. The Kingdom of God revealed by Jesus is there is a great reversal about to take place. Notice the extreme nature of Jesus’ challenge. He doesn’t say give money to the poor, give some volunteer service hours to the poor, but ‘invite them into your home, to sit at table and eat together’! To enter into a relationship that goes beyond ‘charity’. Examine your life-style and ‘time-style’. Who do you include? Exclude? Why? How could you bring about the ‘great reversal’ of the Kingdom of God in your family, workplace, church community?
Enjoy and Share