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Today, 27th of September, we celebrate
Saint Vincent of Paul
1 Cor 5:1–8
Brothers and sisters:
It is widely reported that there is immorality among you,
and immorality of a kind not found even among pagans–
a man living with his father's wife.
And you are inflated with pride.
Should you not rather have been sorrowful?
The one who did this deed should be expelled from your midst.
I, for my part, although absent in body but present in spirit,
have already, as if present,
pronounced judgment on the one who has committed this deed,
in the name of our Lord Jesus:
when you have gathered together and I am with you in spirit
with the power of the Lord Jesus,
you are to deliver this man to Satan
for the destruction of his flesh,
so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.
Your boasting is not appropriate.
Do you not know that a little yeast leavens all the dough?
Clear out the old yeast, so that you may become a fresh batch of dough,
inasmuch as you are unleavened.
For our Paschal Lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed.
Therefore, let us celebrate the feast,
not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness,
but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Ps 5:5-6, 7, 12
R. Lead me in your justice, Lord.
For you, O God, delight not in wickedness;
no evil man remains with you;
the arrogant may not stand in your sight.
You hate all evildoers.
R. Lead me in your justice, Lord.
You destroy all who speak falsehood;
The bloodthirsty and the deceitful
the Lord abhors.
R. Lead me in your justice, Lord.
But let all who take refuge in you
be glad and exult forever.
Protect them, that you may be the joy
of those who love your name.
R. Lead me in your justice, Lord.
Luke 6:6-11
On a sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and began teaching. There was a man with a paralyzed right hand and the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees watched him: Would Jesus heal the man on the sabbath? If he did, they could accuse him.
But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to the man, "Get up and stand in the middle." Then he spoke to them, "I want to ask you: what is allowed by the Law on the sabbath, to do good or to do harm, to save life or destroy it?" And Jesus looked around at them all.
Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out and his hand was restored, becoming as whole as the other. But they were furious and began to discuss with one another how they could deal with Jesus.
Dear friend,
As we read in the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians, “Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough?” In other words, a small act, full of power, love, and conviction, can change many things. Even if it seems objectively insignificant, it can hide the strength of God’s grace that transforms everything it touches.
It’s good to remember this, since sometimes we get discouraged when it comes to taking concrete steps that can change the reality of our work, family, or personal life. “It’s not worth it,” we think, forgetting that the great changes in history and in the life of faith have started with small gestures, but ones that are full of life, like yeast.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus performs a small but life-filled gesture: He heals the arm of a paralyzed man. What most of the witnesses in the synagogue fail to see is that, besides healing the arm, Jesus has healed the whole person. He has forgiven his sins along with his physical healing, and this allows him to be seen as someone who is not a sinner. We have to remember that in the Jewish mindset, if a person suffered from an illness, it was the consequence of a sin committed by the person himself or by his parents, so the illness was God’s punishment for that sin. Therefore, this person, completely healed, is no longer seen as an outcast; he is reintegrated into society as a person worthy of trust.
Small gestures do a lot, you just have to believe in the strength of God’s grace that accompanies us in all the actions we do with good will. Let’s not give up before our time; we have a lot of yeast in our hands to share.
Your brother in faith,
Juan Lozano, cmf.
God our Father,
we thank you for your Son, Jesus Christ.
He went around doing good
and no law made by human beings could keep him
from carrying out his mission of life and love.
Let your Spirit enlighten us
to understand his mentality
and to give first place to what is important,
that we may live by the law of love
of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
First Reading Introduction
The community of Corinth has problems not only of unity but, as an important pagan port city, it is also easy-going on morality. Paul reminds them that this is intolerable in Christians. They are now identified with Christ and should have become new.
Gospel Introduction
It is strange how, as we read in the Gospel, faithful, practicing religious people, like the scribes and Pharisees—the regular churchgoers of their day—were a big obstacle to the work of Jesus. They are upset and angry because Jesus cures a man with a withered hand on the day of the Lord. Jesus came to do good and to preserve life, as he said, to carry out a mission of love and life, and these cannot be adequately expressed in laws and commands. We may and should do good also on Sundays!
– That on the Lord's day people may be given the time to rest and recover from the pressure of their work and have the opportunity to worship God and help people, we pray:
– That the people, who go to Mass on Sundays, may also live according to the Gospel on weekdays, we pray:
– That the Eucharistic celebration on Sundays may be to all Christians a source of great joy and an encouragement to serve people, we pray:
Lord our God,
we bring these gifts before you
to celebrate the mystery of the death and life
of your Son, Jesus Christ.
Give us the wisdom of the Spirit
to opt always with your Son,
not for death, but for life
and to let even death become
a promise and a seed of your life,
which you give us through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Lord our God,
we are afraid of becoming fixed and rigid
in our attitudes and practices,
even with the best of intentions.
By the word of your Son spoken here
and by the bread of life he has given us,
keep us always young and flexible of heart
and attentive to your presence and call
in the people around us.
Let us never stand in the way of any good
done in the name of Jesus, the Lord.
It is lawful to do good on Sundays. It is even commendable for it makes the day of the Lord greater, more wonderful. May Almighty God bless you for the good you do: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
