October 11, 2015
Gospel: Mk 10:17-30
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before
him, and asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal
life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good
but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not
commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you
shall not defraud; honor (1) your father and your mother." He
replied and said to him, "Teacher, all of these I have observed from my
youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, "You are lacking (2)
in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have
treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." At that statement his face
fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for
those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" The disciples were
amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, "Children, how
hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass
through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of
God." They were exceedingly astonished (3) and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For
human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for
God." Peter began to say to him, "We have given up everything and
followed you." Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you, there is no one who
has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or
lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred
times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers
and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to
come."
The difficult words
(1) To honor is to respect and obey.
(2) To lack means to be in need.
(3) Astonished means amazed.
This week’s spotlight
The homily
The readings from Scripture that we hear at Mass are
supposed to help us to learn more about God and about how we can live better
lives as Christians. Sometimes the readings can be hard to understand! That’s
why the priest or deacon explains them to us after he reads the Gospel. He
helps us to understand the meaning of the Scriptures for us today. We call this
moment of the Mass the “homily", which comes from a Greek word for
"conversation.”
The preparation of the gifts
The Liturgy of the Eucharist begins with the
preparation of the altar and the presentation of the gifts. The collection is
taken at this time and the people bring forth the bread and wine that will become
the body and blood of Christ. The bread and wine are called “the work of human
hands." They represent our lives and work, which we also offer to God at
this moment in the Mass. With the bread and wine, we too are changed by our
participation in the Eucharist.
Reflection
True wealth
There are probably lots of things that you’d like to have: candy, a new
bike, a video game, a DVD. But if you really think about it, you would rather
have good friends and a happy family. Friendship is far more precious than
candy or video games, but friendship requires trust. When you have worldly
wealth, and nice things to keep you busy, trust may not seem so important. But
true wealth is invisible. You can’t buy it even with lots of money. The man in
today’s Gospel who comes to see Jesus wants to be a friend of God, and he wants
to know what he has to do.
Jesus tries to make him understand that one can’t buy friendship - even
by keeping the commandments.
Friendship comes through entrusting your heart to another person; it
comes through love. Love is true wealth, and good friends are true riches. So
Jesus tells the man to give up all his worldly riches in order to make room in
his heart for what he really needs - trust. The young man, however, is afraid
to trust, and he goes away sad. How about you? Will you choose true wealth?
Discussion questions
1.What are the first things Jesus tell the man to do?
2. What are the second thing the man should do to
inherit eternal life?
3. What did the man do?
4. Why was it difficult for the man to do that?
Praying after Communion
After receiving Holy Communion, you can say this prayer
silently to yourself. If you have not yet received your First Communion, you
can still
say this prayer
because of your desire to receive Jesus.
Father, through Jesus, in communion with the whole
Church, I thank you for coming into my heart. With this communion with the body and blood of your
Son, I offer you the week ahead, and my entire life. Help me to seek true
riches, and to follow your Son with love.
Puzzle
