St. John of Capistrano priest 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊

Ephesians 4:1-6

Therefore I, the prisoner of Christ,

Invite you to live the vocation you have received. Be humble, kind, patient, and bear with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep among you the unity of Spirit through bonds of peace.

Let there be one body and one spirit, for God, in calling you, gave the same Spirit to all. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. One God, the Father of all, who is above all and works through all and is in all.

 

Ps 24:1-2, 3-4ab, 5-6

Lord this is the people that longs to see your face.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 12:54-59

Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once: ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. And when the wind blows from the south, you say: ‘It will be hot’; and so it is. You superficial people! You understand the signs of the earth and the sky, but you don’t understand the present times.

And why do you not judge for yourselves what is fit? When you go with your accuser before the court, try to settle the case on the way, lest he drag you before the judge and the judge deliver you to the jailer, and the jailer throw you in prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

 

Gospel Reflection：

St. Paul advices the Ephesians “live the vocation you have received.” From our one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, we have all been called by Christ to bear witness to the Gospel.

Vatican Ⅱ teaches us that we are all “priests” by our Baptism. We are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (1 pet 2:9) called to make the image of God visible in our world today. Too many people only see the image of “Caesar”(remember last Sunday)!

As a priestly people we dare to be counter culture and make the face of Christ attract people. St. Paul in our first readings makes a short list of Christian attributes that we must have so that the world today may see the face of Christ. He says be humble, kind, patient, and bear with one another in love.”

these attributes when visible in our Christian communities will validate our sublime vocation, our calling to a holy people! Pope Francis in 2018 wrote a beautiful encyclical, Gaudete et Exultate (Rejoice and be glad), where he invites all to become Saints by fidelity to the Beatitudes.