Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection October 17, 2024

17th October 2024 (Thursday)

Psalter: Week 4

Readings of the Day

First Reading: Ephesians 1:1-10

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Psalm 98:1, 2-3ab, 3cd-4, 5-6 (R. 2a)

R/. The Lord has made known his salvation.

Gospel Acclamation

V/. Alleluia

R/. Alleluia

V/. I am the way, and the truth, and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.

R/. Alleluia.

Gospel: Luke 11:47-54

At that time: Jesus said, “Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed. So you are witnesses and you consent to the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.” As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.

Daily Gospel Reflection

Thursday – Twenty-Eighth Week of Ordinary Time

Guidelines: In life, the awareness of purposes is very important lest it will deviate us from the right path

1. In the first reading, we are reminded of the purpose of our life. That is to be holy and blameless before Him. It is for this He chose us before the foundation of the world. This is our eternal destiny. We can lead a good and faithful life if we are always aware of our eternal destiny and purpose of life.

2. People lose the sense of direction and go off track when they lose the sense of purpose of life as a whole and also the purpose of different things in life. This is what happened in the case of the Pharisees and scribes.

3. They lost sight of the purpose of their various religious practices and laws. They did not bother about the spirit behind them. They concentrated only on their external performance. They followed the laws meticulously but missed the purpose of them.

4. Laws are meant to be guides that discipline us, restrain and regulate us and guard us against deviations. But they reduced them to credit cards of righteousness and guarantees of piety. Similarly, they built beautiful tombs in honour of the prophets who were killed by their ancestors.

5. But their real purpose was not so much to honour them, to make reparation for the sin committed, or to follow their example. It was more to cover up the wrongdoing and divert the attention of the people from the wrongdoing.

6. Further, they had excellent knowledge of the scripture and tradition. But they did not accomplish the purpose. It was meant to teach and guide the people and take them to the kingdom.

7. Knowledge was like a key given to them to open the doors of the kingdom to all. But instead, they would distort the teachings to suit their convenience and advantage. Thus, they hinder those who want to enter the kingdom.

8. St Ignatius of Antioch whom we venerate today knew the purpose of his life. In order to stand pure and blameless before God, he faced martyrdom. Igniting are his dying words: “I am the wheat of Christ ground under the teeth of the wild beasts so that it can become pure bread.”

Practice: Hypocrisy is not merely a wrong perspective and approach. It is a total failure in living the fundamental purpose of our life, which is to be holy and blameless