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Catholic Church / Pacoima, CA

Winner Over Death

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

“I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.”Ps. 30

Resurrected Jesus is the victor over death, both His own and ours, and the giver of life; let us turn to Him with full confidence, for He is the way of truth that leads us to life, there is no other path to free us from death, or worse, from condemnation. If we were aware of the seriousness and danger, we would not cease to be His disciples and to follow Him closely.

Someone said that our time has lost the sense of sin, which is a logical consequence of losing the sense of God, by losing faith; hence comes the loss of the morality we experience today. Therefore, the gravity and seriousness of sin are underestimated or undervalued, which is so serious that we call it mortal, for it takes away divine life and causes death in many.

Theological and biblically it is very clear that sin and death are linked. Through sin, death entered the world (Romans 5:12), so if you want to overcome death, you must overcome sin. Many believe it impossible, but Christ makes it possible, in fact, this is why He came, to free us from sin that leads us to death.

Jesus did not come to overcome human limitations, illnesses, or the necessity of passing through death as He Himself did. He does not remove human vulnerability or clumsiness, which are consequences of sin, but with His divine grace, with the Holy Spirit, we can have a good heart that decides to seek goodness and the will of God, although it may err, stumble, and fall due to our limitedness and human weakness, but God with His grace heals our will to seek good.

This brings a new life, for this Jesus came so that we may have life in abundance. This is the good news: the Kingdom of God is within our reach (Luke 17:20-21). We can begin to live it now if we open ourselves to the Spirit, for that Kingdom consists of living the fruits of the Holy Spirit: Love, Joy, Peace, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, … (Galatians 5:22). Like the mustard seed, grows slowly, and is the greatest.

“Therefore, we even long to be rid of this body to live with the Lord. But whether in exile or in the homeland, what matters is to please the Lord. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”2 Corinthians 5:8-10

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”Galatians 6:7-9

Weekly Readings

Sunday: Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24/Ps 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11, 12, 13 (2a)/2 Cor 8: 7, 9, 13-15/Mk 5:21-43 or 5:21-24, 35b-43
Monday: Am 2:6-10, 13-16/Ps 50:16bc-17, 18-19, 20-21, 22-23/Mt 8:18-22
Tuesday: Am 3:1-8; 4:11-12/Ps 5:4b-6a, 6b-7, 8/Mt 8:23-27
Wednesday: Eph 2:19-22/Ps 117:1bc, 2/Jn 20:24-29
Thursday: Am 7:10-17/Ps 19:8, 9, 10, 11/Mt 9:1-8
Friday: Am 8:4-6, 9-12/Ps 119:2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131/Mt 9:9-13
Saturday: Am 9:11-15/Ps 85:9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14/Mt 9:14-17
Next Sunday: Ez 2:2-5/Ps 123:1-2, 2, 3-4 (2cd)/2 Cor 12:7-10/Mk 6:1-6a

Observances for the Week

Sunday: 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Monday: St. Junipero Serra, Priest
Wednesday: St. Thomas, Apostle
Thursday: Independence Day
Friday: St. Anthony Zaccaria, Priest; St. Elizabeth of Portugal
Saturday: St. Maria Goretti, Virgin and Martyr
Next Sunday: 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time