19th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C
Prayer
O Sacred Heart of Jesus,
Inspire our hearts with Wisdom. Fill our hearts with love. Fashion our hearts for Mercy. Conform our hearts to yours. Amen.
Commentary
1st Reading: Wisdom 18:6-9
We continue our six-week retreat on the theme: “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.”
A heart that has no hope in the future is prone to depression. “All is lost,” says a hopeless heart.
When we lose hope, we can’t seem to put one foot in front of the other. Hope, gives a heart courage to persevere. Even an atheist can hope that tomorrow will be a better day. Of course, a Christian heart is reminded that hope in the Lord will get us through today, tomorrow, and beyond death.
The Book of Wisdom reminds us that the Hebrew slaves in Egypt placed their faith and hope in a Passover that was to come. They “awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes.” Their hope was not in vain and God did not disappoint.
If our hearts seek the Lord and heaven above, our hope will be at least as strong as those who awaited their Passover reward. A Christian heart acknowledges an eternal Passover with heaven as its reward.
Question:
How does your Christian faith give you hope as you look to the future?
2nd Reading: Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19
Long before the ancient Israelites placed hope in their Passover and release from slavery, the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were secure in their faith, trusting in the promises God had in store for them. Their faith led them to assume that their future would be blessed. Moreover, they knew that their future blessings would be extended to “descendants as numerous as the stars.”
Though they “died in faith,” the author of Hebrews reminds us that they would enjoy an eternal reward with God who had prepared a heavenly city for them. Faith and hope in our God who cannot be seen by the physical eye brings eternal rewards.
Abraham’s hope was based on a communal relationship with his God. He trusted in God and believed that God trusted him. This bond of love and trust was the basis for Abraham’s hope. Love and trust should be the basis for our hope as well.
Question:
In what way do you love and trust God?
Gospel: Luke 12:32-48
Trust in God means not being afraid. “Fear is useless; what is needed is trust,” said Jesus (Lk 8:50).
In our Gospel, Jesus reminds us not to be afraid any longer. He even goes so far as to say, “Sell your belongings and give alms.”
Perhaps it’s time to give ourselves a trust test. How far am I willing to go to trust God? Knowing that there is life after death, would I still have the faith of Abraham who was commanded to put his only son to death? Would I have the courage of Christian martyrs who were ready to go to their death?
When a certain man asked Mother Teresa to pray that he would have clarity — a clarity that he assumed she possessed — the Saint responded, “I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.”
All too often, we want clarity or signs so that the God we believe in will be there at the end of the day. This is why many Christians hold on to things of this world as a sort of insurance policy. If we treasure that “just-in-case” insurance policy, we stand against the virtues of faith and trust. We treasure what is seen rather than what is unseen.
Question:
Jesus speaks to us plainly: “Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” Does your trust in Jesus have limits?
This Week’s Task
Take a look at your closet. Are their things you can donate to a local thrift store? Give them a call and have them pick up some of your items. Then, take a look at your moral closet. Perhaps a visit to the confessional is in order to let go of unnecessary baggage.
Group Prayer
The group offers the following prayer by St. Margaret Mary
Alacoque:
O my Jesus, you have said: “Truly I say to you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.” Behold, in your name, I ask the Father for the grace of…….(here name your request)
Our Father…Hail Mary….Glory Be To the Father….
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place all my trust in you.
The prayer continues with Psalm 33
Psalm
Response: Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Exult, you just, in the LORD;
praise from the upright is fitting.
Blessed the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he has chosen for his own inheritance.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.
Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD,
be upon us who have put our hope in you.