"We are to cling to the Lord."

"And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts,

crying , Abba, Father" The Spirit of Christ dwells in our hearts by faith.

"be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith" .

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Genesis 32:23-33

That same night

Jacob got up and taking his two wives, his two maid servants and his eleven sons, crossed the ford of the Jabbok. 

He took them and sent them across the stream and likewise everything he had. And Jacob was left alone.

Then a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he could not get the better of Jacob,

he struck him in the socket of his hip and dislocated it as he wrestled with him.

 

The man said, "Let me go, for day is breaking." But Jacob said, "I will not let you go until you have given me your blessing."

The man then said, "What is your name?""Jacob" was the reply. He answered, "You will no longer be called Jacob,

but Israel, for you have been strong with God as you have been with men and have prevailed."

 

Then Jacob asked him, "What is your name?" He answered, "Why do you ask my name?" And he blessed him there.

So Jacob called the place Penuel, saying, "I have seen God face to face and survived." The sun rose as he passed through Penuel, limping because of his hip.

That is why to this day the Israelites do not eat the sciatic nerve which is in the hip socket because the sciatic nerve in Jacob's hip had been touched.

 

Ps 17:1b, 2-3, 6-7ab, 8b & 15 In justice, I shall behold your face, O Lord.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 9:32-38

As they were going away, some people brought to Jesus a man who was dumb because he was possessed by a demon.

When the demon was driven out, the dumb man began to speak. The crowds were astonished and said,

"Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel." But the Pharisees said, "He drives away demons with the help of the prince of demons."

Jesus went around all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom;

and he cured every sickness and disease. When he saw the crowds, he was moved with pity; for they were harassed and helpless,

like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is abundant, but the workers are only few. Ask the master of the harvest to send workers to gather his harvest."

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"We are to cling to the Lord."

Once, when Teresa of Avila was travelling by carriage to Burgos, in the north of Spain,

the carriage got stuck in the mud while crossing a stream and she tumbled into the water with her belongings.

As she complained to Jesus, she heard him reply, "That's how I treat my friends," and she replied frankly,

"No wonder you have so few!" Saint Teresa gives us a great example of how prayer should be honest,

 

just as a conversation between friends is honest. And so, Saint Teresa expressed all her joys,

frustrations and sufferings to the Lord, and in this way, she grew in her understanding of his will,

since nothing was held back. Similarly, the patriarch wrestles with God in Genesis.

 

He would not let God go until he received his blessing, even in pain and suffering.

The actions of Jacob and Teresa become models for our spiritual lives. We are to cling to the Lord,

in good times and bad, never letting him go. Rather, in confidence, familiarity, and loving trust,

we hold on to the Lord, pouring out our hearts to him (Ps 62:8), that he might bless us and lead us along the path of life.