Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Scripture Readings

Reflection on Scripture

For the last several weeks, we have heard the importance of renouncing all we are and all we have for the sake of the Gospel. Some may think that renouncing themselves and their possessions, means leaving everything and become a pauper. But that is not the intention of the Gospel.

A person who has nothing and is possessed with the thought of having nothing and longing and wishing for the fortune to change, is as guilty as the person who has everything and wants more. God will not compete with our wants and desires because when we desire something more than God, then we are not ready for the friendship and the community of the Holy Spirit.

In Cursillo, a question is asked to all people who attend the four day renewal. The question, “How do you spend your money, how do you spend your time, and what thought is most recurring in your mind on a daily basis?” If the answer is not directed toward seeking first the kingdom of God, then we are holding back and not giving our all.

St. John of the Cross wrote in the Spiritual Canticle, that if we want the All, which is God, then we must give all, which is ourselves. Are we ready.

Deacon Phil