Tuesday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
PRIESTS AND MINISTERS
Introduction
St. Paul writes to Timothy on people fit to be ministerial leaders in the Church: bishops, priests, and deacons. He presupposes that they are from the people and close to the people, as they still were in those days. Then, aside from having some leadership qualities, they must first of all be good Christians themselves, who are credible because they live as they teach. Then, their word will be as mighty as that of Christ, who could raise the dead to life.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
the word of your Son was mighty
for he lived as he taught
and he was a free person.
And he could heal the sick
and raise the dead to life.
Give to your Church credible leaders
who lead in living the life of your Son.
Let their words and deeds stir our hearts
and bring us the new life
of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Reading 1: 1 Tm 3:1-13
Beloved, this saying is trustworthy:
whoever aspires to the office of bishop desires a noble task.
Therefore, a bishop must be irreproachable,
married only once, temperate, self-controlled,
decent, hospitable, able to teach,
not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle,
not contentious, not a lover of money.
He must manage his own household well,
keeping his children under control with perfect dignity;
for if a man does not know how to manage his own household,
how can he take care of the Church of God?
He should not be a recent convert,
so that he may not become conceited
and thus incur the Devil’s punishment.
He must also have a good reputation among outsiders,
so that he may not fall into disgrace, the Devil’s trap.
Similarly, deacons must be dignified, not deceitful,
not addicted to drink, not greedy for sordid gain,
holding fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience.
Moreover, they should be tested first;
then, if there is nothing against them,
let them serve as deacons.
Women, similarly, should be dignified, not slanderers,
but temperate and faithful in everything.
Deacons may be married only once
and must manage their children and their households well.
Thus those who serve well as deacons gain good standing
and much confidence in their faith in Christ Jesus.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 101:1b-2ab, 2cd-3ab, 5, 6
Of mercy and judgment I will sing;
to you, O LORD, I will sing praise.
I will persevere in the way of integrity;
when will you come to me?
R. I will walk with blameless heart.
I will walk with blameless heart,
within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
any base thing.
R. I will walk with blameless heart.
Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret,
him will I destroy.
The man of haughty eyes and puffed up heart
I will not endure.
R. I will walk with blameless heart.
My eyes are upon the faithful of the land,
that they may dwell with me.
He who walks in the way of integrity
shall be in my service.
R. I will walk with blameless heart.
Alleluia Lk 7:16: Lk 7:16
A great prophet has arisen in our midst
and God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Lk 7:11-17
Jesus journeyed to a city called Nain,
and his disciples and a large crowd accompanied him.
As he drew near to the gate of the city,
a man who had died was being carried out,
the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.
A large crowd from the city was with her.
When the Lord saw her,
he was moved with pity for her and said to her,
“Do not weep.”
He stepped forward and touched the coffin;
at this the bearers halted,
and he said, “Young man, I tell you, arise!”
The dead man sat up and began to speak,
and Jesus gave him to his mother.
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, exclaiming,
“A great prophet has arisen in our midst,”
and “God has visited his people.”
This report about him spread through the whole of Judea
and in all the surrounding region.
Intentions
– That the Lord may give to our leaders in the Church and in the state the qualities to be good, dedicated leaders, we pray:
– For our leaders in the Church, that they may be close to the people and speak to them in a language the people can understand, which makes the Gospel familiar to them we pray:
– That the pope, bishops, priests and religious may make the Gospel credible by living sincerely and generously what they preach, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
people entrusted themselves to your Son
because he was everything to all.
He gives himself again to us now
in these signs of bread and wine.
Make the ministers of your word and life
close and available to their people.
May they learn from your Son
to give themselves without regrets
as a piece of bread broken and shared
and a cup of gladdening wine
passed from hand to hand.
We ask this through Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
your Son has spoken his word in our midst
and broken for us the bread of himself.
Send us people who keep reminding us
of his words of life and hope
and of his deeds of saving love.
Let them bring us together
as a community of service
in which your Son is alive,
he who is our Lord for ever.
Blessing
Paul is expecting much of the ministers of Christ, for the best way they can lead and teach the community will be as the persons they are and the way they live. May the Lord give you good shepherds and may he bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Reflection:
September 19 Luke 7:11-17
As new persons
In today’s first reading, Paul proposes certain qualities that the leaders in the church should possess. Are they only for the leaders? Are they not relevant for every Christian? Yes, they are! What are they? We need to have an impeccable character, leading a good married life; must be temperate, discreet, courteous, hospitable, kind, peaceable, humble. We shouldn’t be lover of money and must avoid greed. We should behave in such a way that non-Christians speak well of us. We should be respectable people that our words can be trusted. We must avoid gossiping and character-assassination.
The Gospel of the day presents a compassionate Jesus. Our Lord Jesus is a compassionate and kind God. He does not want us to suffer. He is moved by our suffering and he continuously alleviates our pain. He sees a weeping and suffering mother of Nain as she lost her only son. Her tears touched Jesus. He felt so sorry for her and asked her not to cry. He went up and put his hand on the bier and brought the dead son back to life. Let us allow Jesus to touch us that we come out of our spiritual death as new persons brimming with new heart, new spirit and new attitude.