Monday,
August 30 - September 4
Sunday Gospel and Question of the Week
The Word in Liturgy and Catholic Doctrine
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GOSPEL: LUKE 14:1, 7-14
On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the
leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.
He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing
the places of honor at the table.
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table
in the place of honor.
A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host
who invited both of you may approach you and say,
‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment
to take the lowest place.
Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host
comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’
Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.
For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles
himself will be exalted.”
Then he said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy
neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the
blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For
you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
Question
of the Week
The Question
of the Week provides a simple way to reflect on the
scripture readings we hear at Sunday Mass. Several publishers of Catholic books
have prepared questions based on weekly readings and generously give permission
for the questions to be used in parishes. The Question of the Week prompts
us to hear the Word of God proclaimed at Mass in a new way, not only with our
ears, but with also with our mind and heart. God's word to us in Scripture
is a great
gift. Question of the Week helps us open this gift of God's Word.
QUESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK
FOR
ADULTS: Jesus tells his host that he should invite people who can't
repay him. What can I do for someone in need who can't do anything for me?
FOR CHILDREN: What can I do to make others feel valued and welcome
during the coming week?
REFLECTION
Have you noticed how
often Jesus talks about parties and dinners? He wants us to be prepared for that
great feast that is the fullness of God's reign. In today's gospel, Jesus
prepares us with some good advice about ways to be a guest and ways to be a
host. As God's guests in this world, we should act humbly and remember that we
are always in the presence of Someone greater than we are. As hosts of God's
people, we should offer hospitality to those who cannot reward us.
In the custom of his time and place, Jesus exaggerates to make a point. We do
not have to leave out our friends and families. But neither should we leave out
the poor and disabled.
FOR DISCUSSION
Because God created each one of us and loves each one of us, each one of us
is important. We start out as babies who are supposed to be "selfish,"
who need to have others pay attention to us and take care of our needs because
we can't do anything for ourselves! Gradually we grow up and are able to do more
things by ourselves. Gradually, we can help take care of others. We can be happy
"behind the scenes" and we can be happy "at the head table."
Life usually has a little bit of both in store for us.
What can you do by and for yourself that you couldn't do last year or a few
years ago? How can you take care of others now, perhaps a pet who needs food or
water, or a little brother or sister who needs your attention and help? How can
you do what Jesus says in the gospel and help the ones among us who need our
help the most?
The Word in
Liturgy
Sociological studies of ancient Judaism have recently deepened our understanding
of Jesus’ social milieu in significant ways. Scholars have in particular
highlighted the importance of dining protocols for establishing and maintaining
social hierarchies. These studies offer helpful insights into why Luke so often
describes the table fellowship of Jesus, taking pains to point out his custom of
welcoming at table the poor and outcast. The jockeying for position at table
which Jesus castigates in today’s reading would have been judged reprehensible
by many of Jesus contemporaries. However, Jesus goes beyond a lesson in
etiquette here when he suggests that welcoming the poor and outcast to table is
linked to the final judgment. That apocalyptic reference puts the entire scene
into the context of Jesus’ proclamation of the Kingdom of God which, he has
shown, is already a present reality in his person and in his mission to bring
the Good News to those judged least deserving of it by his pious contemporaries.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus shows a “preferential option” for the poor.
Luke obviously felt that this example of Jesus was (or should be) normative for
every Christian community.
Catholic Doctrine
Preferential Option for the Poor
In our Catholic teaching, the purpose of society is to ensure a proper framework
to promote the conditions for both associations and individuals to obtain what
is their due, given their nature and vocation. Social justice relies, therefore,
on the notion of the “common good,” which is defined as the “the sum total
of social conditions which allow people, either as groups or as individuals, to
reach their fulfillment more fully and easily.” (GS, 26) Thus, the common good
concerns all. And, that concern focuses on making accessible to each those basic
things that provide a genuine human life: food, clothing, housing, health, work,
education, culture, suitable information, the right to establish a family,
privacy, and so on. (CCC 1908)
It is within this context of the Catholic social teaching and our understanding
of the common good, combined with the Church’s reflection on the good news of
Jesus Christ that a preferential option for the poor has been articulated. We
believe that God blesses those who help the poor and that there is a definite
gospel imperative for us to act for when the “poor have the good news preached
to them” it is a sign of the presence of Christ (Mt 11:5; Lk 4:8). A love of
the poor has been a constant hallmark of the Church’s tradition.
While love for the poor is a gospel hallmark and has been present in the
tradition from the earliest times, the Church only relatively recently
articulated this concern as expressed in the language of a “preferential
option.” This theme arose particularly in the Church of Latin America, as
Catholics there grappled with massive injustices and oppressive social
conditions. The situation gave rise to liberation theology. Since the early
1970s, this notion of a preferential option for the poor has found its way into
the vocabulary of papal and curial writings.
Material deprivation, unjust oppression, physical and psychological illness and
death—all the many forms of human misery—have elicited the compassion of
Jesus and the concern of the Church. This concern of the Church for the poor is
not only directed to helping each individual but also is directed to addressing
the social causes of inequality, deprivation and misery.
Special attention to the needs of the poor and for the causes of poverty is
seen, therefore, as a moral obligation for individual Christians, for the
Church, and for society. Within the framework of the common good, Catholics
believe that there is a systematically weighted concern to be responsive to the
needs of the poor. In their pastoral letter on Catholic social teaching,
Economic Justice for All, the bishops of the United States have developed at
length the basis
Reflection
and Questions are adapted and reprinted with
permission from Harcourt Religion Publishers,
www.Harcourtreligion.com
, RCL-Benziger: www.rclweb.com
and http://www.blestarewe.com/misc/terms.html
,and
William F. Sadlier: www.webelieveweb.com
Visit these web sites for
additional information and formation resources for adults and children.
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Scripture references for the week
Click on underlined day/date to see the readings for the day. Right click back to return to this page
Monday August 30
Tuesday August 31
Wednesday
September
1
Thursday September
2
Friday September 3 ~ Memorial of Saint Gregory the Great, pope and doctor of the Church
Saturday September 4
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