Friday, October 31 2014; Friday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

Reading 1
phil 1:1-11

Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus,
to all the holy ones in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi,
with the bishops and deacons:
grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I give thanks to my God at every remembrance of you,
praying always with joy in my every prayer for all of you,
because of your partnership for the Gospel
from the first day until now.
I am confident of this,
that the one who began a good work in you
will continue to complete it
until the day of Christ Jesus.
It is right that I should think this way about all of you,
because I hold you in my heart,
you who are all partners with me in grace,
both in my imprisonment
and in the defense and confirmation of the Gospel.
For God is my witness,
how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
And this is my prayer:
that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception,
to discern what is of value,
so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God.

Responsorial Psalm
ps 111:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R. (2) How great are the works of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart
in the company and assembly of the just.
Great are the works of the LORD,
exquisite in all their delights.
R. How great are the works of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
Majesty and glory are his work,
and his justice endures forever.
He has won renown for his wondrous deeds;
gracious and merciful is the LORD.
R. How great are the works of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.
He has given food to those who fear him;
he will forever be mindful of his covenant.
He has made known to his people the power of his works,
giving them the inheritance of the nations.
R. How great are the works of the Lord!
or:
R. Alleluia.

Gospel
lk 14:1-6

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
and the people there were observing him carefully.
In front of him there was a man suffering from dropsy.
Jesus spoke to the scholars of the law and Pharisees in reply, asking,
“Is it lawful to cure on the sabbath or not?”
But they kept silent; so he took the man and,
after he had healed him, dismissed him.
Then he said to them 
“Who among you, if your son or ox falls into a cistern,
would not immediately pull him out on the sabbath day?” 
But they were unable to answer his question.

REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: FINISHING SCHOOL

"He Who has begun the good work in you will carry it through to completion." –Philippians 1:6

Hours before His death, Jesus Himself prayed to His Father: "I have given You glory on earth by finishing the work You gave Me to do" (Jn 17:4). At His death, Jesus "said, 'Now it is finished.' Then He bowed His head, and delivered over His spirit" (Jn 19:30).

Paul, having the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), stated in the last years of his life: "I put no value on my life if only I can finish my race and complete the service to which I have been assigned by the Lord Jesus" (Acts 20:24). Paul proclaimed: "The Lord stood by my side and gave me strength, so that through me the preaching task might be completed" (2 Tm 4:17). Before his death, Paul also proclaimed: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Tm 4:7). Paul assured the church of Philippi: "I am sure of this much: that He Who has begun the good work in you will carry it through to completion, right up to the day of Christ Jesus" (Phil 1:6).

The Lord has called us to make our lives beautiful temples of the Spirit to His glory (see 1 Pt 2:5). Our concern is that we may not "complete the work" (Lk 14:29). Then all who see our lives will not give glory to God; rather, they will jeer at us and say: "They began to build what they could not finish" (see Lk 14:30).

However, because we have been baptized into Christ and have the mind of Christ, we can confidently say: "The Lord will complete what He has done for me" (Ps 138:8).

PRAYER: Father, may I cross Your finish line.

PROMISE: "He took the man, healed him, and sent him on his way." –Lk 14:4

PRAISE: Charles prays, studies the church's teachings (especially the Bible), and reads the lives of the saints to help increase his faith.

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