" Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. 

God is merciful and will hear your prayer. "

 ~~~   ST. PIO OF PIETRELCINA   ~~~

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

 There is a given time for everything

And a time for every happening under heaven:

 A time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for plant­ing, a time for uprooting.  A time for killing, a time for healing; a time for knocking down, a time for building.

A time for tears, a time for laugh­­ter; a time for mourning, a time for dancing.

A time for throwing stones, a time for gathering stones; a time for embracing, a time to refrain from em­bracing.  A time for searching, a time for losing; a time for keeping, a time for throwing away.  A time for tearing, a time for sewing; a time to be silent and a time to speak.  A time for loving, a time for hating; a time for war, a time for peace. 

What profit is there for a man from all his toils? Finally I considered the task God gave to the humans. He made everything fitting in its time, but he also set eternity in their hearts, although man is not able to embrace the work of God from the beginning to the end.

 

Ps 144:1b & 2ab, 3-4

Blessed be the Lord, my Rock!

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊ 

Luke 9:18-22

 One day when Jesus was pray­ing alone, not far from his disciples, he asked them, “What do peo­ple say about me?” And they answered, “Some say that you are John the Baptist; others say that you are Elijah, and still others that you are one of the former prophets risen from the dead.”

Again Jesus asked them, “Who then do you say I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.” Then Jesus spoke to them, giving them strict orders not to tell this to anyone.

And he added, “The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the elders and chief priests and teachers of the Law, and put to death. Then after three days he will be raised to life.”

 

Gospel Reflection：

Appreciative Inquiry

Looks like everybody needs appreciation and affirmation, even the Son of God! It is heartening to realize that Jesus cared for what his own friends/brothers/disciples thought of him. We also find God, the Father, affirming the Son at crucial moments of his life.

Now we have Peter, on behalf of his disciples (and the Church) responding with the same affirmation, which Jesus recognizes as coming from his own Father. Jesus needed this affirmation, as much for himself as for the disciples, before he would reveal the destiny of the Mystery that awaited him.

An intervention method currently popular among companies and organizations is “appreciative inquiry” which seeks to affirm what is good, positive, and constructive in people and seek to build on them.

How wonderful and healing would it be, if we could apply similar dynamics to our everyday life, to affirm and appreciate those with whom we share our life, whom we normally tend to take for granted!