St. Anthony Mary Claret, bishop 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Romans 6: 19-23

 you see that I speak in a very human way, taking into account that you are not fully mature.

There was a time when you let your members be slaves of impurity and disorder, walking in the way of sin; convert them now into servants of righteousness, to the point of becoming holy.

When you were slaves of sin, you did not feel under obligation to righteousness,   but what were the fruits of those actions of which you are now ashamed? Such things bring death.  Now, however, you have been freed from sin and serve God.

You are bearing fruit and growing in holiness, and the result will be life everlasting.   So on one side is Sin: its reward, death; on the other side is God: he gives us, by grace, life everlasting in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

 

Ps  1  Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 12: 49-53

 I have come to bring fire upon the earth and how I wish it were already kindled!   But I have a baptism to undergo and what anguish I feel until it is finished!

Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on, in one house five will be divided; three against two, and two against three.

 They will be divided, father against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daugh­ter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

 

Reflection gospel：

“DO YOU THINK THAT I HAVE COME TO BRING PEACE ON EARTH?

Is the Lord divisive? One answer is no. Jesus desires unity. This was in fact revealed to us in the so-called high priestly prayer of Jesus in the Gospel of St. John (cf. John 17:21).

Even St. Pope John Paul Ⅱ acknowledged this as a challenge to the Church from the Lord in his 1995 encyclical Ut Unum Sint, quoting Vatican Ⅱ decree Unitaits Redintegratio: “the Church is ….sent to the world to announce and witness, to make present and spread the mystery of communion which is essential to her, and to gather all people and all things into Christ, so as to be for all an inseparable sacrament of unity”(5). God’s eternal plan is to put all things united under Christ (cf. Eph. 1:9-10).

And, needless to say, yes, Christ also brings peace (cf. Eph. 2:14).But placed in the context of the whole Chapter 12 of Luke’s gospel, another answer to the question “Is the Lord divisive?” is yes! The Lord’s return demands faith, and faith is a choice.

 

In life, as we prepare for his return, it is either we are on his side or against him. Our choice might create opposition even from our family. But the wisest option is to be on the side of Christ because our loyalty to him will matter most in his return than our fidelity to family ties.