Monday 10/26/2020 Live Stream Mass at St. Monica Catholic Church

Thank you for joining the St. Monica’s Live Stream Mass for Monday 10/26/2020

Readings for Monday 10/26/2020

Reading 1

Brothers and sisters:
Be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.

Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.
Immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be mentioned among you,
as is fitting among holy ones,
no obscenity or silly or suggestive talk, which is out of place,
but instead, thanksgiving.
Be sure of this, that no immoral or impure or greedy person,
that is, an idolater,
has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.

Let no one deceive you with empty arguments,
for because of these things
the wrath of God is coming upon the disobedient.
So do not be associated with them.
For you were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light.

Responsorial Psalm

PS 1:1-2, 3, 4 AND 6

R. (see Eph. 5:1) Behave like God as his very dear children.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Behave like God as his very dear children.

Alleluia

JN 17:17B, 17A

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth;
consecrate us in the truth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

LK 13:10-17

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath.
And a woman was there who for eighteen years
had been crippled by a spirit;
she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect.
When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said,
“Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.”
He laid his hands on her,
and she at once stood up straight and glorified God.
But the leader of the synagogue,
indignant that Jesus had cured on the sabbath,
said to the crowd in reply,
“There are six days when work should be done.
Come on those days to be cured, not on the sabbath day.”
The Lord said to him in reply, “Hypocrites!
Does not each one of you on the sabbath
untie his ox or his ass from the manger
and lead it out for watering?
This daughter of Abraham,
whom Satan has bound for eighteen years now,
ought she not to have been set free on the sabbath day
from this bondage?”
When he said this, all his adversaries were humiliated;
and the whole crowd rejoiced at all the splendid deeds done by him.

Jesus Heals

Jesus was teaching in a synagogue on the sabbath. And a woman was there who for eighteen years had been crippled by a spirit; she was bent over, completely incapable of standing erect. When Jesus saw her, he called to her and said, “Woman, you are set free of your infirmity.” He laid his hands on her, and she at once stood up straight and glorified God. Luke 13:10-13

Every miracle of Jesus is certainly an act of love given toward the person healed. In this story, this woman was suffering for eighteen years and Jesus shows her compassion by healing her. And though it is a clear act of love for her directly, there is much more to the story as a lesson for us.

One message we can take from this story comes from the fact that Jesus heals on His own initiative. Though some miracles are performed at the request and prayer of the one healed, this miracle comes simply through the goodness of Jesus and His compassion. This woman apparently was not seeking a healing, but when Jesus saw her His heart went out to her and He healed her.

So it is with us, Jesus knows what we need before we ask Him. Our duty is to always remain faithful to Him and know that in our fidelity He will give us what we need even before we ask.

A second message comes from the fact that this woman “stood up straight” once she was healed. This is a symbolic image of what grace does to us. When God enters our life, we are able to stand up straight, so to speak. We are able to walk with a new confidence and dignity. We discover who we are and live freely in His grace.

Reflect, today, upon these two facts. God knows every need you have and will answer those needs when it is best for you. Also, when He bestows His grace on you, it will enable you to live in full confidence as His son or daughter.

Lord, I surrender myself to You and trust in Your abundant mercy. I trust that You will enable me to walk in Your ways every day of my life with full confidence. Jesus, I trust in You.

Source of content: mycatholic.life