Year C
Discover the deeper meaning and connections found in this week's readings, through these great commentaries written by our priests.
Explore this week's readings and hear what God is saying to us through His Word.
Find out more about how we can mark this special day in our liturgy.
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Wisdom 9
The word “philosophy” means “love of wisdom,” and the ancient Greeks were very concerned with the meaning of wise living. At the end of the Old Testament era, a Jewish scholar engaged with some of the claims of Greek philosophy, showing that besides human thinking, we also need divine revelation. The reasoning of mortals is limited by our earthly condition. The only way to know God is through the wisdom granted us by the Holy Spirit. In our own lives, we also need the gift of wisdom, which is one of the seven spiritual gifts granted to us through our confirmation. We can ask the Holy Spirit to guide us wisely in our thinking and action.
Philemon
The shortest of St Paul’s letters is his appeal to a wealthy convert (Philemon) on behalf of a runaway slave. Onesimus had come to Paul for refuge, and Paul had welcomed him, but as a runaway slave he was vulnerable, and so Paul decides it is best for Onesimus to return to his master. But Paul does not send back Onesimus empty-handed. Instead, he gives him a letter for Philemon, appealing to him to grant freedom to the returning runaway. Both men were now brothers in the Lord as Christian converts. But they were also “brothers” in the flesh — possibly Onesimus was an impoverished relative of Philemon and had fallen into slavery to pay off his debt. The early church could not just abolish slavery at the stroke of a pen, but by encouraging generous consideration towards those who were enslaved, it sowed the seeds towards the eventual abolition of slavery.
Luke 14
In this stark gospel, Jesus calls on us to count the cost of being his disciples. This was not empty talk for the first hearers, because some of them would die as martyrs. In a very strong expression, Jesus tells us that we must hate everyone in our family. The word “hate” here does not mean becoming actively hostile—as we can see from Jesus’ words (Luke 16:13)about God and mammon, “hating” (or loving less) one master and “loving” (or preferring) the other. Rather, Jesus emphasises that serving him has to come first in our lives, if there is a major conflict. Jesus also says that we cannot be his disciples without hating our own lives — not meaning us always to be miserable, but to put him first. In practice, this could mean giving up our possessions in answer to his call. The exact implications of Jesus’ call will differ for each person, but the meaning is clear. Jesus’ call will challenge us all to be wholehearted disciples.
The readings today could give rise to many different lines of thought but one which might be useful is Jesus warning that though we are called each of us to carry our cross we must give thought to what that might mean for us. The ‘Introduction to a Devout Life’ by Francois de Sales is really all about this where he says that the way in which a merchant lives his Christian life will necessarily be different from that of a Carthusian monk.
Perhaps today is a day to reflection our lives and ask ourselves some honest questions and as the writer of the book Wisdom says, we need the guidance of the Holy Spirit to do this.
Might this be a day for talking about Synodality because this discernment of the Cross which Jesus calls each one of us to carry is best done in a synodal way, searching prayerfully with a few others to see where the Sprit is leading us.
Would this be a day as the year begins again after the holiday period to try to form some synodal groups in the parish if we haven’t done this already? The ‘School for Synodality’ which is available on Youtube would be a good instrument to use in setting up some groups.
The hymns have been selected from the Laudate hymnbook:
The kingdom of God 821
Be still for the presence of the Lord, 720
This is by body 627
Take my life 874
Do you have questions about the liturgy and how we are called to participate in it? Explore how the Church councils, saints, and popes have answered this key question and many more.
Every movement of the Mass is rich in meaning but we can become over-familiar with it. Rediscover the Mass and explore how it relates to the Exodus story, where many of its rituals come from, and how it makes Jesus present to us today.
