Life is for Giving
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
“The hand of the Lord feeds us; he answers all our needs.”Ps. 145
At the end of our life, we will regret not having given more, of what we did not give. Like the person who saved many Jews from Nazi extermination with money and during the war wept for not having saved more, lamenting not having sold their rings, their vehicles, their house to have saved more people.
The love of God leads us to be love, to give ourselves body and soul to God and to spread His Kingdom, which arises as a seed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. That seed is the divine Love that frees us from all selfishness and always makes us think about how to do good to others.
Far from allowing ourselves to be a burden to someone, we want to be a blessing, relief, and comfort to everyone. We cannot afford to bear bitter fruit of any kind; we do not want to harm anyone, for Christ set the example for us, as have so many faithful disciples who have followed Him faithfully, such as the saints, and who are worthy of being imitated, reflecting to us that same divine love they knew how to receive; therefore, Saint Paul could say:
“Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.”1 Co 11:1
This is what we are called to express, all of us who want to follow Jesus and bear the name of Christians. For this purpose we were anointed by the same Spirit, which is the love of God poured into our hearts, so that we may
love as Jesus loved us, even to giving our lives if necessary, but we will only be able to give it if we give it day by day, not living for ourselves but for Him who died and gave Himself for us (cf. 2 Co 5:15).
“For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself; for if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.”Romans 14:7ff
The passionate love that God shares with us through His Spirit compels us to give ourselves totally, to surrender out of love for Him, day by day, for this is what He asks of us in the first commandment, to love Him with all our mind, heart, body, and soul. This is what gives us true happiness, doing everything with love; our daily service and work is a way of loving God and neighbor, and so we live it with love and joy.
And He made us participants in that same divine life, through His Holy Spirit, so that by loving as He does, we receive more of His blessings and become a blessing as He is for us.
Weekly Readings
Sunday: 2 Kgs 4:42-44/Ps 145:10-11, 15-16, 17-18 (see 16)/Eph 4:1-6/Jn 6:1-15
Monday: Jer 13:1-11/Ps 32:18-19, 20, 21/Jn 11:19-27 or Lk 10:38-42
Tuesday: Jer 14:17-22/Ps 79:8, 9, 11 and 13/Mt 13:36-43
Wednesday: Jer 15:10, 16-21/Ps 59:2-3, 4, 10-11, 17, 18/Mt 13:44-46
Thursday: Jer 18:1-6/Ps 146:1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab/Mt 13:47-53
Friday: Jer 26:1-9/Ps 69:5, 8-10, 14/Mt 13:54-58
Saturday: Jer 26:11-16, 24/Ps 69:15-16, 30-31, 33-34/Mt 14:1-12
Next Sunday: Ex 16:2-4, 12-15/Ps 78:3-4, 23-24, 25, 54 (24b)/Eph 4:17, 20-24/Jn 6:24-35
Observances for the Week
Sunday: 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday: Sts. Martha, Mary and Lazarus
Tuesday: St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Wednesday: St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest
Thursday: St. Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Friday: St. Eusebius of Vercelli, Bishop; St. Peter Julian Eymard, Priest
Next Sunday: 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time