St. Gregory the Great, pope and doctor

“God is within all things but not included: outside all things but not excluded.

God is above all things but not beyond their reach.”

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊    

Colossians 1:1-8

Paul, apostle of Christ Jesus,

By the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, to the saints in Colossae, our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:

Receive grace and peace from God, our Father, and Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Thanks be to God, the Father of Christ Jesus, our Lord!

 

We constantly pray for you, for we have known of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of your love for all the saints.

Indeed, you wait in hope the inheritance reserved for you in heaven, of which you have heard through the word of truth.

This gospel, already present among you, is bearing fruit and growing throughout the world, as it did among you,

from the day you accepted it, and understood the gift of God, in all its truth.

He who taught you, Epaphras, our dear companion in the service of Christ,

faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, has reminded me of the love you have for me, in the Spirit.

 

Ps 52:10, 11 I trust in the mercy of God for ever.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊     

Luke 4:38-44

Leaving the synagogue, Jesus went to the house of Simon. His mother-in-law was suffering from high fever,

and they asked him to do something for her. Bending over her, he rebuked the fever,

and it left her. Immediately, she got up and waited on them.

 

At sunset, people suffering from many kinds of sickness were brought to Jesus. Laying his hands on each one,

he healed them. Demons were driven out, howling as they departed from their victims, "You are the Son of God!"

He rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, for they knew he was the Messiah.

Jesus left at daybreak and looked for a solitary place. People went out in search of him, and finding him, they tried to dissuade him from leaving.

But he said, "I have to go to other towns, to announce the good news of the kingdom of God.

That is what I was sent to do." And Jesus continued to preach in the synagogues of Galilee.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"The Good News is for everyone."

The sick and the possessed have received from Christ the grace and peace of God.

They are witnesses to the Good News of God being preached to them not in words but in deeds.

Jesus has brought the Good News of salvation, a message that is communicated in miracles of liberation and healing.

Having received this living Word of the Good News, the people want to hold on to it, but they misunderstand how this is achieved.

They think that they can only do this by stopping Jesus from leaving. Others do the same after Christ's resurrection, begging him to stay with them (cf. Lk 24:29),

 

but each time Jesus goes elsewhere, because the Good News is for everyone. We are not to keep the Gospel to ourselves,

but be instruments of Christ, bringing his active, living Word into the lives of others, so that they too can experience his enduring power and presence.

The Gospel will bear fruit in our lives while it also grows in the lives of others.

Thus, Saint Gregory the Great teaches in his Pastoral Rule that care of others is proof of our love of Christ.