Tuesday, October 7 2014; Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary

Lectionary: 462

Reading 1
gal 1:13-24

Brothers and sisters:
You heard of my former way of life in Judaism,
how I persecuted the Church of God beyond measure
and tried to destroy it, 
and progressed in Judaism
beyond many of my contemporaries among my race,
since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions.
But when he, who from my mother’s womb had set me apart
and called me through his grace,
was pleased to reveal his Son to me,
so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles,
I did not immediately consult flesh and blood,
nor did I go up to Jerusalem
to those who were Apostles before me;
rather, I went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus.

Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas
and remained with him for fifteen days.
But I did not see any other of the Apostles,
only James the brother of the Lord.
(As to what I am writing to you, behold,
before God, I am not lying.)
Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
And I was unknown personally to the churches of Judea
that are in Christ;
they only kept hearing that “the one who once was persecuting us
is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
So they glorified God because of me.

Responsorial Psalm
ps 139:1b-3, 13-14ab, 14c-15

R. (24b) Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar.
My journeys and my rest you scrutinize,
with all my ways you are familiar.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
Truly you have formed my inmost being;
you knit me in my mother’s womb.
I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made;
wonderful are your works.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.
My soul also you knew full well;
nor was my frame unknown to you
When I was made in secret,
when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.
R. Guide me, Lord, along the everlasting way.

Gospel
lk 10:38-42

Jesus entered a village 
where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.
She had a sister named Mary
who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. 
Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said,
“Lord, do you not care
that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? 
Tell her to help me.” 
The Lord said to her in reply,
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. 
There is need of only one thing. 
Mary has chosen the better part
and it will not be taken from her.”

REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: PRAYER: THE FIRST, NOT THE LAST, RESORT

"Mary has chosen the good portion, and she shall not be deprived of it." –Luke 10:42, our transl.

Every Martha needs to have been and continue to be a Mary. We need to work for the Lord with all our heart, but we need to pray first. Before we work, doesn't it make sense to listen to the One Whose love motivates us to work? (see Lk 10:39; 2 Cor 5:14) Before we do something, shouldn't we get instructions from the Lord Who tells us what to do? It's true that we shouldn't just sit there; rather, we should be doing something. However, we shouldn't just aimlessly do something, but rather first sit there in prayer.

Before Jesus began His public ministry, He fasted and prayed for forty days (Mt 4:2). Before Jesus started His day's work, He first prayed (Mk 1:35). Before Jesus died on the cross for our salvation, He prayed an hour in the garden of Gethsemani (Mt 26:36ff). Before the early Church began to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth, she prayed for nine days in the upper room (Acts 1:14). Before Paul began working harder than all the other apostles (1 Cor 15:10), he spent three years in Arabia and Damascus, most likely seeking God's direction in prayer (Gal 1:17-18). Work hard, but pray first, pray on, and pray always (Lk 18:1).

PRAYER: Jesus, teach me to pray first and always (Lk 11:1).

PROMISE: "He who was formerly persecuting us is now preaching the faith he tried to destroy." –Gal 1:23

PRAISE: Michelle attended church purely out of obligation. A priest gave her a rosary. While watching TV, she decided to pray it. Jesus touched her heart. She now attends Mass frequently and prays the rosary daily. Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.

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