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Wisdom 7:7-11
I prayed, and prudence was given me;
I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepter and throne,
and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;
because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,
and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,
and I chose to have her rather than the light,
because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
Yet all good things together came to me in her company,
and countless riches at her hands.
Ps 90:12-13,14-15,16-17
R./ Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R./ Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Fill us at daybreak with your kindness,
that we may shout for joy and gladness all our days.
Make us glad, for the days when you afflicted us,
for the years when we saw evil.
R./ Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Let your work be seen by your servants
and your glory by their children;
and may the gracious care of the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands for us!
Prosper the work of our hands!
R./ Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Hebrews 4:12-13
Brothers and sisters:
Indeed the word of God is living and effective,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow,
and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
No creature is concealed from him,
but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him
to whom we must render an account.
Mark 10:17-30 (or 10:17-27)
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother."
He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!"
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
"Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for God."
Peter began to say to him,
"We have given up everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."
Dear friends,
Money is an important subject. For some, it is a matter of life and death. A big problem in our society.
It’s not about being obsessed, but decisions can’t be made without thinking. You need knowledge and will. The first reading is about «wisdom.» We inherit things like our physical shape, our background, and in monarchies, power. Many people help us learn throughout our lives, including our parents, teachers, and tutors.
The wisdom of the first reading is a gift from God. We must ask for wisdom in prayer to know how to value things properly. Most things are not bad, but some are more important than others. Our attitude towards them is the main thing. This is not a game; it is about our salvation.
The Word of God gives us guidelines for discernment. That Word is living and effective. The Lord’s words always have an effect, like rain that doesn’t fall fruitlessly (Is 55:10-11). The Word can change us if we let it. Don’t say, «I already know,» or «I’ve heard this before.» Listen as if it’s the first time. Desire to know Jesus as those people did, who traveled far and fought many barriers to get closer to him.
If nothing changes, it might be because our words are not as effective as the Word.
Jesus met many people. He invited some people to follow him. «Come and follow me.» People had different reactions. Some left everything and followed him. Some followed him, but when the time came, they left. One betrayed him after being a member of his group. Today’s Gospel is about a young man who didn’t step forward but withdrew in sorrow. He was good and kept the law. For his contemporaries, wealth was a sign of God’s blessing. It was a reward for his honest life.
Maybe he heard about Christ and wanted to meet him. He set out to meet the Master with that idea in mind. But sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for. He met the Lord, but when he heard what Christ was telling him, he collapsed. Everything he was proud of was insufficient. He lacked the most important thing: putting God first. What a pity!
This young man wanted to know how to get to Heaven. Many Christians today just want to live comfortably without worrying about the afterlife. Not many think about what it means to live forever.
Many people are like the rich young man. They lack generosity and courage. Some people are afraid of failure. Peter asked Jesus, «We have left everything; what will we receive in return?» (Mt 19:27-30). This shows that they don’t trust in God’s promises. We must trust in God’s promises more than in our fears.
Our lives are about putting our trust in God or material goods. Our faith is tested. We need to feel that God is real and that we can rely on him. God is generous.
Have we asked ourselves what God wants from us? Are we doing all we can to spread his kingdom? What moves me in my daily life? What do I, a Christian in the 21st century, want to do? St. Teresa, whose memorial we celebrate on October 15, often repeated, «What do you command me to do?»
The world is isolating us from God. We have many obligations, like family and work. We often only have time or money for a little at a time.
Maybe, like the rich young man, we’re afraid of making big changes to live by the Gospel. Long ago, Christians were willing to leave their homes, families, and lives to follow the Lord. This was a valuable inheritance that could never be taken away. Many early Christians died for this.
What about us? Maybe we’re like the rich young man: «good people,» formal, dutiful. That’s not bad. But being in the Kingdom is not just about following rules. Be sincere in your relationship with Christ. Put material goods in their proper place. We must not become attached to things that can give us prestige or power but do not give us eternal happiness. To reach the Kingdom, we must not be attached to material things. We do not get there by being more or less rich, but by how we use our wealth.
The Gospel today invites us to think about whether we need to change. Maybe we can do more than the minimum. Maybe we can share our gifts with others. To live with Jesus, like Jesus, to find eternal life, worrying about the future.
We need wisdom to know what is truly worthwhile and what is not. We need to know what we will lose when we die and what we cannot lose. We need a value system and to ask God for the detachment and generosity to live the most radical love. That love does not deceive.
Your brother in faith,
Alejandro Carbajo, cmfThe Word of God is alive and active;
it can judge our secret emotions and thoughts.
It is the Lord Jesus who speaks this word to us.
May he always be with you.
R/ And also with you.
A. What Do You Lack?
Today the word of God challenges us: in what do you put your heart? Where is your security? What makes your life valuable and worthwhile? Here comes the advice of God's word and wisdom as early as the Old Testament and here comes Jesus' warning: Do not put your heart in possessions for they will become your masters. Let God be your Lord. Let it be Jesus whom we follow.
B. The Lord Invites You
How happy are we when once in a while the Lord invites us to encounter him on a deeper level beyond the banality of life, be it in prayer, in listening to the word he speaks to us, in our thanksgiving after communion, in admiring the beauty of his creation. When we really encounter him he changes us, for known or unknown to us he invites us to follow him more radically. But we can refuse the invitation. It saddens him, for he loves us. Let us ask the Lord here in the eucharist that we may always follow his call and invitation.
Do we dare to trust more in God
than in our own securities and possessions?
Let us examine ourselves before the Lord.
(PAUSE)
Lord, your wisdom and your love
are worth much more than fame,
health, beauty and possessions:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
Jesus Christ, you know where our heart is
and you want it to be turned to God:
Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, you want us to give up
the things that possess and control us
and to follow you instead:
Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
In your kindness forgive us
our treacherous attachments.
Make us put our trust in you
and lead us to everlasting life. R/ Amen.
Let us pray to God for the wisdom
to follow his Son without hesitation.
(PAUSE)
Lord our God,
your living word upsets us.
You give the first place in your kingdom
to the last and the least in our judgment:
you call the poor rich and blessed
and ask the rich to become poor.
Give us, we pray you, the wisdom
of living for the things that matter
and following your Son on the road
to you and to our neighbor,
that we may become secure in your hand.
Grant this through Christ our Lord.. R/ Amen.
First Reading Introduction: Wise with God's Wisdom
More precious than power, riches, health and beauty is the wisdom that comes from God. It make us live in God's love.
Second Reading Introduction: God's Word Is Living and Effective
God's Word is upsetting. It forces us to face ourselves and to make a choice, for or against God. It is decisive for the outcome of our lives.
Gospel Introduction: Come, Follow Me Without Useless Baggage
Like the rich man, we have not given anything to God if we do not answer his invitation to follow him the way he wants us to.
Let us pray to God for the wisdom to appreciate his gifts with gratitude and to use them for the good of all. Let us say to him: R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.
- For those in the Church who proclaim to us the wisdom of the Word of God, that they themselves may first live it and share their experience with us, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.
- For the leaders of he Church in particular, that they may give up even the appearance of power and wealth; for leaders everywhere, that they may not sacrifice their principles for power, success and ambition but commit themselves to promote human dignity and the values of the gospel, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.
- For those engaged in mass media, in radio, television, movies and newspapers, that they may not twist words and images to distort the values of life but honestly seek the truth, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.
- For parents and educators, that they may challenge the young to live for things that matter; and for the young, that idealism and generosity may keep guiding their lives, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.
- For those rich in possession and talents, that they may learn to share what they are and have with those who have less, let us pray: R/ Lord, make us wise with your wisdom.
God, we pray you not for riches but for trust, not for power but for courage, not for pleasure but for joy, not for pretense but for integrity. Make us wise with the wisdom of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Lord our God,
your wisdom has a name:
your Son Jesus Christ.
In these signs of bread and wine
we celebrate the folly of the cross
whereby he saved us from sin and death.
Make us aware of the poverty
and emptiness of our hearts
and of the passing value of the things
to which we attach ourselves.
Convert our hearts and set them
on riches that never devaluate:
justice, truth and generous love.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
We praise and thank God for creating and guiding all things by his wisdom and power. May we be stewards of his creation, and use the goods of this earth for the benefit of others and the glory of God.
God is our riches
and we cry out to him
in the words of Jesus himself: R/ Our Father...
Deliver us, Lord, from every evil
and grant your peace to a world
that is tired of wars and injustice.
Give us your Holy Spirit of wisdom,
that we may not seek our happiness
in ambition, power and possessions.
Help us to seek you and your kingdom,
as we wait in joyful hope
for the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. R/ For the kingdom...
This is Jesus our Lord,
the Lamb of God.
He is God's gift to us
and the riches of those
who are poor of heart.
Happy and wise are we
if we accept our Lord's invitation
and eat the bread of life. R/ Lord, I am not worthy...
Lord our God,
we are easily satisfied with ourselves
and our own little worlds.
Wake us up and give us the courage
to set out with your Son
on his adventure of hope and love.
Make us ask ourselves
not what have we done for you
but what have we not done and not yet given.
By the strength of this eucharist
help us to follow your Son
today more than yesterday
but less than tomorrow.
Grant this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Christ and his gospel keep challenging us
not to seek contentment and safety
in the things we have, our own little worlds,
not even in self-congratulations
for having obeyed God's commandments.
If we want to be really happy
with a joy which nobody can rob from us,
we must learn from Jesus
to give ourselves without reserve
to God and the people around us.
They are our riches and security.
May God give you this wisdom and strength:
the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen.
Go and follow the Lord
every day that he gives you. R/ Thanks be to God.
