30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B) - 27 October
27th October 2024
“The greater and more persistent your confidence in God, the more abundantly you will receive what you ask.” – St Albert the Great
A reflection on today's Gospel by the Venerable Archbishop Fulton J Sheen:
"Our Lord passes us by each day in every opportunity to do good. If we neglect the opportunity He does not reveal Himself. When the false Christ comes he will say, ‘I am Christ.’ But not so with the Divine Christ. He seems to walk by us, trying our dim eyes and weak hands to see if we have faith enough to want Him. He leaves us in darkness if we ask not for the Light. Never does He act independently of our desires for intimate union with Him. He breaks down no doors; the latch is on our side. He stands without the door and knocks.
"He has ‘no place to lay His Head’ unless a friendly soul, like the friends at Bethany, give lodging. The innkeeper at Bethlehem missed the opportunity of forever saying of his inn, ‘Jesus was born here.’ ‘I was a stranger and you took Me in,’ He will say on the Last Day, but He will be only a stranger to those who did not press the invitation.
"This same principle of hiding until sought after is evident throughout His life. At Jericho there was a blind man by the name of Bartimaeus who kept crying out, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.’ The Lord pretended to pass him by, but despite the rebuke even of others in the crowd the blind man cried out more loudly and was cured.
"So it was with the woman who came from the neighbourhood of Tyre and Sidon and pleaded that He cure her ailing daughter, who was troubled by an evil spirit. He gave her no word in answer; His disciples came to Him and pleaded with Him. ‘Rid us of her,’ they said. But after further testing her faith, He answered her, ‘Woman, for this great faith of thine, let thy will be granted.’ And from that hour, her daughter was cured.
"Every word that comes to us about the uncomfortable, the homeless, the lepers, is the Son of God passing by. If we let Him pass, He may never be recalled. Graces unused are not often repeated; whispers ignored do not become shouts. All through life, our hands will stretch forth empty of the richest blessings of wisdom and truth unless they are first used to clutch at the sleeve of the Divine Who ‘makes as if He would pass us by.’ Emotional responsiveness without practical issue harms the soul. The drama stirs the emotions, but awakens no duties toward the afflicted on the stage. For the moment we may feel we are on the side of the angels. But that is what the Romans called ignis fatuus— the empty fire—the pleasurable glow that consumes no evil and illumines no path."
(Guide to Contentment)
Prayer for Charity & Tolerance
May I be no man’s enemy, and may I be the friend of that which is eternal and abides. May I never quarrel with those nearest to me; and if I do, may I be reconciled quickly. May I never devise evil against any man; if any devise evil against me, may I escape uninjured and without the need of hurting him. May I love, seek, and attain only that which is good. May I wish for all men’s happiness and envy none. May I never rejoice in the ill-fortune of one who has wronged me. When I have done or said wrong, may I never wait for the rebuke of others, but always rebuke myself until I make amends. May I win no victory that harms either me or my opponent. May I reconcile friends who are angry with one another. May I, to the extent of my power, give all needful help to my friends and to all who are in want. May I never fail a friend in danger. When visiting those in grief, may I be able, by gentle and healing words, to soften their pain. May I respect myself. May I always tame that which rages within me. May I accustom myself to be gentle and never angry with people because of circumstances. May I never discuss who is wicked and what wicked things he has done, but know good men and follow in their footsteps, through Christ our Lord. Amen. 🙏💐💖