St. John Paul II, pope

 ＂There is no evil to be faced that Christ does not face with us.＂

"There is no evil to be faced that Christ does not face with us,"

believers are not alone in their struggles against evil, as Christ is present with them.

It serves as a reminder to have courage and faith,

as Christ's victory over evil is a source of power for believers.

 

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊       

Romans 6:12-18

Do not allow

Sin any control over your mortal bodies; do not submit yourselves to its evil inclinations,

and do not give your members over to sin, as instruments to do evil. On the contrary,

offer yourselves, as persons returned from death to life,

and let the members of your body be as holy instruments, at the service of God.

Sin will not lord it over you again, for you are not under the law, but under grace.

 

I ask again: are we to sin because we are not under the law, but under grace? Certainly not.

If you have given yourselves up to someone as his slave, you are to obey the one who commands you, aren't you?

Now, with sin, you go to death, and by accepting faith, you go the right way. Let us give thanks to God, for,

after having sin as your master, you have been given to another, that is, to the doctrine of faith, to which you listen willingly.

And being free from sin, you began to serve true righteousness 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.

 

Ps 124:1b-3, 4-6, 7-8

Our help is in the name of the Lord.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Luke 12:39-48

Pay attention to this:If the master of the house had known at what time the thief would come,

he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready,

for the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect."

 

Peter said, "Lord, did you tell this parable only for us, or for everyone?"

And the Lord replied, "Imagine, then, the wise and faithful steward,

whom the master sets over his other servants, to give them wheat at the proper time.

Fortunate is this servant if his master, on coming home, finds him doing his work.

Truly, I say to you, the master will put him in charge of all his property.

 

But it may be that the steward thinks, 'My Lord delays in coming,

and he begins to abuse the male servants and the servant girls, eating and drinking and getting drunk.

Then the master will come on a day he does not expect, and at an hour he doesn't know.

He will cut him off, and send him to the same fate as the unfaithful.

 

The servant who knew his master's will, but did not prepare and do what his master wanted,

will be soundly beaten; but the one who does unconsciously what deserves punishment, shall receive fewer blows.

Much will be required of the one who has been given much, and more will be asked of the one who has been entrusted with more.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"To imitate Christ's loving service."

Pope Saint John Paul II's first encyclical Redemptor Hominis concludes with a reflection

on service as the mature expression of the "kingly" nature bestowed upon us by Christ our Redeemer.

Christ, the King of heaven and earth, gave us the example of loving service, even to the point of his saving death for us on the cross.

Therefore, if we are to live up to the dignity we have received, we are to imitate Christ's loving service.

We do this in a variety of ways, since all members of the Church have a complementary capacity for service that is to be used to the benefit

of the whole Church in her mission of proclaiming Christ as Saviour and of bearing Christ to the world.

 

Saint John Paul called all people to live their vocation of "kingly service" with fidelity.

Both faithful and unfaithful servants appear in today's Gospel parable and Jesus describes the heavenly reward of the faithful.

Although for now the Lord is beyond our sight, we are to serve Christ with love

and dedication thinking that he is always at hand, for indeed, so he is (cf. Mk 1:15).