Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection November 19, 2024

19th November 2024 (Tuesday)

Psalter: Week 1

Readings of the Day

First Reading: Revelation 3:1-6, 14-22

I, John, heard the Lord saying to me: “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’ And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”

Psalm 15:2-3a, 3bc-4ab, 5 (R. Revelation 3:21)

R/. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me one my throne.

Gospel Acclamation

V/. Alleluia

R/. Alleluia

V/. God loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

R/. Alleluia.

Gospel: Luke 19:1-10

At that time: Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.” And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Daily Gospel Reflection

Tuesday – Thirty-Third Week of Ordinary Time

Guidelines: The world is suffering so much from pretension and lukewarmness. People appear to be all okay but they are very shallow and defective

1. In the book of Revelation, God admonishes the different churches because all lack all that is supposed to be there. Their works are not found complete in the sight of God. Some appear to be so alive. They create such good impressions and enjoy public reputation. They soil their garments.

2. Some others are neither cold nor hot. They are so dormant and indifferent. They are neither closed nor open. They are neither good nor bad. They are the so-called “neutral” people. They think that they are balanced people and do not take sides. But these are highly unreliable because they are not trustworthy. After all, they are tepid and unaffected.

3. These suffer from a spirit of self-sufficiency and complacency. They wrongly presume that they are rich, They have everything, and lack nothing. They think that they are well-dressed and clear-sighted. But in reality, they are wretched, poor, blind and naked.

4. Therefore what is needed is openness and receptivity. Zacchaeus stands before us as a symbol. We are invited to hear what the Spirit says. We need to hear his voice and open the door to him who stands at the door of our hearts and knocks. We need to let him in and sit and eat with us. We need to wake up and remember, recollect and retain what we have received and heard.

5. We need to strengthen what remains and what is about to die. We need to allow God to anoint our eyes so that we may see. We need to be humble to see our wretchedness and misery and seek the Lord to touch and heal us. We need to allow him to reprove and discipline us.

6. We must constantly strive to conquer the evil one. Thus we shall be clothed in white garments. Our names shall not be blotted out of the book of life. Our names shall not be blotted out of the book of life. Our names shall be a convenient compression of animation and convenience. Thereupon we are granted the privilege to stand erect before the world.

Practice: Pretension, indifference, and complacency are very pernicious in our spiritual life. These will make us fall away from God’s grace and eternity.