Day Two: Friday, September 11, 2015
Theme: Mary, our Merciful Mother
Friday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time: Lectionary: 441
Reading 1: 1 TM 1:1-2, 12-14
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by command of God our saviorand of Christ Jesus our hope,to Timothy, my true child in faith:grace, mercy, and peace from God the Fatherand Christ Jesus our Lord.I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord,because he considered me trustworthyin appointing me to the ministry.I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man,but I have been mercifully treatedbecause I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.Indeed, the grace of our Lord has been abundant,along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
Alleluia: SEE JN 17:17B, 17A R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth. R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel LK 6:39-42
Jesus told his disciples a parable:“Can a blind person guide a blind person?Will not both fall into a pit?No disciple is superior to the teacher;but when fully trained,every disciple will be like his teacher.Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?How can you say to your brother,‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?You hypocrite! Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;then you will see clearlyto remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.”
La Salette Scripture Reflection: Friday of the Twenty-Third Week of the Year
Luke 6:39-42: "Why look at the speck in your brother's eye when you miss the plank in your own?" Jesus' message here seems blunt and unmistakable. We have no right to criticize others since we ourselves are not free of faults. Sadly, how quick we are to notice the faults of those around us. They seem so obvious. A poet once said, “There is so much bad in the best of us and so much good in the worst of us that it ill becomes any of us to find fault with the rest of us.” These are surely good words to live by, for in the Our Father we ask God to forgive us our failings in the same way that we forgive the failings of others. We need to leave judgment to our heavenly Father, for he sees the complete picture while we often see only a small part of the reason behind another's actions.
At La Salette, Mary shed tears of sorrow. Melanie would later state, “She wept all the while she spoke to us.” Our Blessed Mother told Melanie and Maximin, “If my people do not obey, I shall be compelled to loose the arm of my Son. It is so hoavy that I can no longer restrain it." It is our own lives Mary asks us to look at and not the faults of others.
Some Reflection Questions: Do I constantly judge others? How often do I criticize my neighbor while failing to see my own shortcomings?
Other La Salette Feast materials (including La Salette words to ordinary familiar hymn tunes) are available on our website (www.lasalette.org) in the upper menu under: “About La Salette….Resources…..La Salette Liturgy and Music.”
NOTE: A full version of the Mass for the Feast of La Salette (with priest’s prayers, General Intercessions, special prefaces, etc.) is also available on our Province website in PDF format (www.lasalette.org) in the upper menu under: “About La Salette….Resources…..La Salette Liturgy and Music.”
Wishing you joyous celebration of Mary's Feast!
Peace,
Ron Gagne, M.S.
La Salette Communications Center
947 Park Street, Attleboro, MA 02703
Tel: 508-838-0313
