Lectionary: 454
Reading 1
eccl 11:9-12:8
Rejoice, O young man, while you are young
and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart,
the vision of your eyes;
Yet understand that as regards all this
God will bring you to judgment.
Ward off grief from your heart
and put away trouble from your presence,
though the dawn of youth is fleeting.
Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,
before the evil days come
And the years approach of which you will say,
I have no pleasure in them;
Before the sun is darkened,
and the light, and the moon, and the stars,
while the clouds return after the rain;
When the guardians of the house tremble,
and the strong men are bent,
And the grinders are idle because they are few,
and they who look through the windows grow blind;
When the doors to the street are shut,
and the sound of the mill is low;
When one waits for the chirp of a bird,
but all the daughters of song are suppressed;
And one fears heights,
and perils in the street;
When the almond tree blooms,
and the locust grows sluggish
and the caper berry is without effect,
Because man goes to his lasting home,
and mourners go about the streets;
Before the silver cord is snapped
and the golden bowl is broken,
And the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the broken pulley falls into the well,
And the dust returns to the earth as it once was,
and the life breath returns to God who gave it.
Vanity of vanities, says Qoheleth,
all things are vanity!
Responsorial Psalm
ps 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14 and 17
R. (1) In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You turn man back to dust,
saying, “Return, O children of men.”
For a thousand years in your sight
are as yesterday, now that it is past,
or as a watch of the night.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
You make an end of them in their sleep;
the next morning they are like the changing grass,
Which at dawn springs up anew,
but by evening wilts and fades.
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
And may the gracious care of the Lord our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R. In every age, O Lord, you have been our refuge.
Gospel
lk 9:43b-45
While they were all amazed at his every deed,
Jesus said to his disciples,
“Pay attention to what I am telling you.
The Son of Man is to be handed over to men.”
But they did not understand this saying;
its meaning was hidden from them
so that they should not understand it,
and they were afraid to ask him about this saying.
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: GROWING NEW IN JESUS
"Remember your Creator in the days of your youth." –Ecclesiastes 12:1
In front of me at Mass this morning is Sister Ann. She remembered her Creator in her youth (Eccl 12:1), giving her entire life to God in her religious vocation. For fifty years she taught young women in Catholic high schools and led them to know, love, and serve God. Now retired, Sister wears a hearing aid. For her, "the sound of the mill is low" (Eccl 12:4). Beginning this spring, Sister can no longer stand up and kneel down with the congregation during Mass; she has to remain seated, for her "strong men (legs) are bent" (Eccl 12:3). Yet she never complains about her situation, and daily radiates the joy of the Lord to all she meets at Mass.
When we live the lifestyle of a disciple of Christ, we constantly work at dying to ourselves in Jesus (Lk 9:23), day by day, year by year. It becomes second nature to joyfully offer our body, life, soul, heart, mind, health, and our all to Jesus in every situation of life. "Continually we carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus, so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may also be revealed. While we live we are constantly being delivered to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal flesh" (2 Cor 4:10-11). Thus, when our bodily abilities decline in old age, we adjust to it readily, even with joy and gratitude, for it is second nature to abandon everything to Jesus. We rejoice to have even more to offer Him.
The opposite of old is not young, but new. As each year passes, instead of growing old in the Lord, grow new in Him (2 Pt 3:18).
PRAYER: Father, "teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart" (Ps 90:12). I give my entire life to You.
PROMISE: "God will bring you to judgment." –Eccl 11:9
PRAISE: St. Vincent ministered to the poor by forming organizations of charity, constant communication and appeals to those in power, and the humble, loving spirit of a pastor of souls.
Be an inspiration, kindly Share.
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