Daily Reading and Questions for Reflection November 13, 2024

Daily Reading for Wednesday,          13th, 2024

Reading 1, Titus 3:1-7

1  Remind them to be obedient to the officials in authority; to be ready to do good at every opportunity;

2  not to go slandering other people but to be peaceable and gentle, and always polite to people of all kinds.

3  There was a time when we too were ignorant, disobedient and misled and enslaved by different passions and dissipations; we lived then in wickedness and malice, hating each other and hateful ourselves.

4  But when the kindness and love of God our Saviour for humanity were revealed,

5  it was not because of any upright actions we had done ourselves; it was for no reason except his own faithful love that he saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and renewal in the Holy Spirit

6  which he has so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our Saviour;

7  so that, justified by his grace, we should become heirs in hope of eternal life.

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6

1  [Psalm Of David] Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

2  In grassy meadows he lets me lie. By tranquil streams he leads me

3  to restore my spirit. He guides me in paths of saving justice as befits his name.

4  Even were I to walk in a ravine as dark as death I should fear no danger, for you are at my side. Your staff and your crook are there to soothe me.

5  You prepare a table for me under the eyes of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup brims over.

6  Kindness and faithful love pursue me every day of my life. I make my home in the house of Yahweh for all time to come

Gospel, Luke 17:11-19

11  Now it happened that on the way to Jerusalem he was travelling in the borderlands of Samaria and Galilee.

12  As he entered one of the villages, ten men suffering from a virulent skin-disease came to meet him. They stood some way off

13  and called to him, 'Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.'

14  When he saw them he said, 'Go and show yourselves to the priests.' Now as they were going away they were cleansed.

15  Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice

16  and threw himself prostrate at the feet of Jesus and thanked him. The man was a Samaritan.

17  This led Jesus to say, 'Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they?

18  It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.'

19  And he said to the man, 'Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.'

     Questions for Reflection for              13, 2024

1.      Paul continues to instruct Titus, the Bishop, on how he was to instruct the Christians on Crete. He addresses how Christians should relate to civil authority and conduct themselves toward all men and women, and not just members of the Church. Christians are to be exemplary citizens of every Nation, while understanding that our eternal citizenship is in heaven and the coming kingdom. Why, because we have been reborn in Baptism and renewed by the Holy Spirit. How do we view our own role as citizens? How do we treat our neighbors?

2.      The Psalmist sings of making "his home" in the House of Yahweh". Psalm 23 is one of the most popular Psalms, giving millions such a sense of security by reminding us that the Lord is a loving Shepherd. Have we made our home in the Church? Do we view the Church as "some-thing" or "SOME-ONE", the mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Head, who now continues His redemptive mission, until He returns to judge the living and the dead and establish His eternal Kingdom?

3.      During the time of the earthly ministry of Jesus, leprosy was seen as incurable - so dangerously contagious that lepers were banished from every community and avoided. Yet, the Lord avoids no-one. Jesus heals these lepers and sends them back into the community as witnesses. 

In the tradition, sin has been presented as a form of spiritual leprosy which corrodes us from within. The only cure is to come to Jesus for healing. He is ready, awaiting our response of faith. And every time we go to confession for serious sin, we leave the Sacrament brand new! Do we frequent this Sacrament of healing? Do we come back to give thanks to the Lord?