Skip to main content

11th Sunday of Ordinary Time 2013

By
This week our theme is forgiveness, which we Catholics embrace as the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  We open with a reading from the 2nd book of Samuel, in which we see King David, after having sinned against God, begs his forgiveness, which God eventually grants.  In our Gospel from Luke, we see Jesus dining with Simon, a Pharisee.  A sinful woman in the town, upon knowing where Jesus is dining, enters the gathering and anoints Jesus’ feet.  As usual, Jesus turns this into a catechetical moment, helping us to see the nature of sin and forgiveness, but that our faith in Jesus helps us attain salvation.

The Word for the 11th Sunday of Ordinary Time:
        2 Samuel 12:7-10, 13
        Psalm 32:1-2, 5, 7, 11
        Galatians 2:16, 19-21
        Luke 7:36-8:3

This idea of "faith in Jesus" as the one necessary element for justification is also explored in our 2nd reading from continuing journey through Paul’s letter to the Galatians.  Here Paul tells us that following the Law is not enough.. that this alone does not justify us.  Instead it is faith in Jesus, the Son of God, the Christ, that gives us justification.  For as Paul writes, “… for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.”  This is one of the readings that help to fuel our constant debate of whether it is “faith” or “good works” that lead us to salvation.  As is typical of that dual nature of our Catholic sensibilities, it’s not either/or… it’s both/and.

You may also want to check out these supplemental readings;
Catholic Update
The Sacrament of Reconciliation:  Celebrating God’s Forgiveness
How to Celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation Today
Ten Tips for Better Confessions:  The Gift of Reconciliation
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

25th Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle A

By
For anyone who is a parent, or anyone who’s had to mediate a dispute among children, you likely have confronted the phrase “But that’s not fair!”  How many times in your life have you uttered that phrase?  Even as adults we have a tendency to equate “justice” with “fairness.”  But here’s the thing – what is “just” may not always be “fair,” and what is “fair” to one person may not always be “fair” to the other.  Our readings this week deal with just that problem, the difference between what we think is fair and what God thinks is both fair and just. The Word for the 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time Isaiah 55:6-9 Psalm 145:2-3, 8-9, 17-18 Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a Matthew 20-1-16a We open with a reading from the book of the prophet Isaiah, in this case from the closing chapter of Deutero or “second” Isaiah.  This comes from a point in Israelite history where the people have been released from their Exile in Babylon.  The Lord has shown them great mercy and forgiveness by freeing them from th
Post a Comment
Read more

3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time - Cycle B

By
Our readings this week focus on a core theme that runs through Jesus’ ministry – repentance.  There is no sin so grave that cannot be forgiven with true contrition and a return to God.  This was the message that John the Baptist proclaimed, and the message Jesus continued to proclaim as he took up his own ministry.  This theme not only runs through the gospels but is one of the major themes that binds the entire Bible into a cohesive volume.   The Word for the 3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Psalm 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 1 Corinthians 7:29-31 Mark 1:14-20 Our first reading comes from the book of Jonah.  The story of Jonah is well known in both Jewish and Christian circles, yet for all its popularity, we only hear it in the Sunday Liturgy this once.  For this reason, many Catholics only have a passing familiarity with Jonah’s story.  They know his name and that he was swallowed by a large fish (or whale), but that’s about it.  In our passage this week, God asks Jonah to go through
Post a Comment
Read more

2nd Sunday of Lent - Cycle B

By
Lent is a season where, scripturally, we revisit the story of our salvation history.  It’s the story of where our great patriarchs and prophets met the Lord God, and how our relationship with God as a people continues to grow and evolve.  We also know from our review of the readings last week that our overarching theme for Cycle B is covenant .  After God’s covenant with Noah last week, we now visit the next great covenant, that between God and Abraham: The Word for the 2nd Sunday of Lent Genesis 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18 Psalm 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19 Romans 8:31b-34 Mark 9:2-10 Our first reading, from the book of Genesis, is one of the great stories about Abraham.   By this point in the narrative God has already made a covenant with Abraham, but now God is putting that covenant to the test.  God asks Abraham to make a sacrifice of his young son Isaac.  Isaac, as we know, is the only child born by Abraham’s wife, Sarah (a birth promised by God).  By challenging Abraham to kill his son,
Post a Comment
Read more