Lectionary: 467
Reading 1
gal 4:22-24, 26-27, 31-5:1
Brothers and sisters:
It is written that Abraham had two sons,
one by the slave woman and the other by the freeborn woman.
The son of the slave woman was born naturally,
the son of the freeborn through a promise.
Now this is an allegory.
These women represent two covenants.
One was from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery;
this is Hagar.
But the Jerusalem above is freeborn, and she is our mother.
For it is written:
Rejoice, you barren one who bore no children;
break forth and shout, you who were not in labor;
for more numerous are the children of the deserted one
than of her who has a husband.
Therefore, brothers and sisters,
we are children not of the slave woman
but of the freeborn woman.
For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm
and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.
Responsorial Psalm
ps 113:1b-2, 3-4, 5a and 6-7
R. (see 2) Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Praise, you servants of the LORD,
praise the name of the LORD.
Blessed be the name of the LORD
both now and forever.
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the name of the LORD to be praised.
High above all nations is the LORD;
above the heavens is his glory.
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Who is like the LORD, our God,
who looks upon the heavens and the earth below?
He raises up the lowly from the dust;
from the dunghill he lifts up the poor.
R. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever.
or:
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
lk 11:29-32
While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them,
“This generation is an evil generation;
it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it,
except the sign of Jonah.
Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites,
so will the Son of Man be to this generation.
At the judgment
the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation
and she will condemn them,
because she came from the ends of the earth
to hear the wisdom of Solomon,
and there is something greater than Solomon here.
At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation
and condemn it,
because at the preaching of Jonah they repented,
and there is something greater than Jonah here.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: SECONDS
"Stand firm, and do not take on yourselves the yoke of slavery a second time!" –Galatians 5:1
If Jesus sets us free, we are really free (Jn 8:36). If, however, we take on ourselves "the yoke of slavery a second time," we are in the worst condition possible for a human being. "When men have fled a polluted world by recognizing the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and then are caught up and overcome in pollution once more, their last condition is worse than their first. It would have been better for them not to have recognized the road to holiness than to have turned their backs on the holy law handed on to them, once they had known it" (2 Pt 2:20-21). If we ever give up our God-given freedom, seven demons far worse than anything we have previously experienced may enter and dwell in us. "The result is that the last state of the man is worse than the first" (Lk 11:26). The people who have done the worst things in history are often former Christians. This does not indicate that Christianity is bad but that leaving Christianity is very bad. We must get free in Jesus and stay free.
You can guard against the second slavery which leads to the second death (see Rv 2:11) and deprives you of the graces of the second birth (see Jn 3:3, 5) if you do the following:
Repent and go to Confession at least monthly.Live a communal life (Acts 2:42) and do not absent yourself from the assembly (Heb 10:25).Read and pray the Bible daily.Submit to the Pope and the universal Church.
If you lose your freedom, you lose everything. Don't ever lose your freedom in Christ.
PRAYER: Father, give me lasting freedom.
PROMISE: "You have a greater than Jonah here." –Lk 11:32
PRAISE: Jesus healed Ellen's cancer by removing her tumor when Fr. Angelo laid hands on her in prayer.
Be an inspiration, kindly Share.
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