Welcome the Stranger
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
We have become accustomed to seeing pictures in the media and stories on the news about immigrants from Latin America and refugees from Syria fleeing violence and destruction in their own countries, trying to make their way to a safe place. We have also seen the reactions of people who want to keep them away from their countries, who fail to welcome the stranger and the helpless children. Have we forgotten Jesus’ call to comfort the homeless and the stranger? “They shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations . . . to Jerusalem, my holy mountain, says the Lord.” In the three readings for this day, we are told that we are to welcome these strangers, to welcome the discipline of the Lord, which leads to peace, and to “strive to enter through the narrow gate” into the glory of God’s own homeland, the reign of God.
Copyright © J. S. Paluch Co.
Readings of the Week
Monday: 1 Thes 1:1-5, 8b-10; Ps 149:1b-6a, 9b; Mt 23:13-22
Tuesday: 1 Thes 2:1-8; Ps 139:1-6; Mt 23:23-26
Wednesday: 1 Thes 2:9-13; Ps 139:7-12ab; Mt 23:27-32
Thursday: 1 Thes 3:7-13; Ps 71:1-4a, 5-6ab, 15ab, 17;Mk 6:17-29
Friday: 1 Thes 4:1-8; Ps 97:1, 2b, 5-6, 10-12; Mt 25:1-13
Saturday: 1 Thes 4:9-11; Ps 98:1, 7-9; Mt 25:14-30
Sunday: Sir 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Ps 68:4-7, 10-11; Heb 12:18-19, 22-24a; Lk 14:1, 7-14
Saints & Special Observances
Sunday: Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Tuesday: St. Monica
Wednesday: St. Augustine
Thursday: The Passion of St. John the Baptist
Saturday: Blessed Virgin Mary