FIRST READING
Job 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17
Job answered the LORD and said:
I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be hindered. I have dealt with great things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know. I had heard of you by word of mouth, but now my eye has seen you. Therefore I disown what I have said, and repent in dust and ashes.
Thus the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his earlier ones. For he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she-asses. And he had seven sons and three daughters, of whom he called the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Kerenhappuch. In all the land no other women were as beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; and he saw his children, his grandchildren, and even his great-grandchildren. Then Job died, old and full of years.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Psalm 119:66, 71, 75, 91, 125, 130
R. (135) Lord, let your face shine on me.
Teach me wisdom and knowledge, for in your commands I trust.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
I know, O LORD, that your ordinances are just, and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
According to your ordinances they still stand firm: all things serve you.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
I am your servant; give me discernment that I may know your decrees.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
The revelation of your words sheds light, giving understanding to the simple.
R. Lord, let your face shine on me.
ALLELUIA
See Matthew 11:25
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Luke 10:17-24
The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not
REFLECTIONS:
Do you know and experience in your personal life
the joy of the Lord? The scriptures tell us that "the joy of
the Lord is our strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). Why does Jesus tell his
disciples to not take joy in their own successes, even spiritual ones?
Jesus makes clear that the true source of our joy is God himself, and God
alone. Regardless of the circumstances, in good times and bad times, in
success or loss, God always assures us of victory in Jesus Christ. Jesus
assures his disciples that he has all power over evil, including the power
of Satan and the evil spirits or fallen angels who conspire against us.
In fact, that is why Jesus came into the world to overthrow the evil one
(John 12:31). We, too, as disciples of Jesus have been given spiritual
authority and power for overcoming the works of darkness and evil (1 John
2:13-14).
Jesus thanks the Father in heaven for revealing to his disciples the
wisdom and knowledge of God. What does Jesus' prayer tell us about God
and about ourselves? First, it tells us that God is both Father and Lord
of earth as well as heaven. He is both Creator and Author of all that he
has made, the first origin of everything and transcendent authority, and
at the same time, goodness and loving care for all his children. All fatherhood
and motherhood is derived from him (Ephesians 3:14-15). Jesus' prayer also
contains a warning that pride can keep us from the love and knowledge of
God. What makes us ignorant and blind to the things of God? Sinful pride
springs from exaggerated self-centeredness. It closes the mind to God's
truth and wisdom for our lives. The angels fell into pride and were cast
out of heaven. The virtue of humility, the only true remedy against false
pride, and which is very different from the feelings of inferiority and
low self-esteem, leads us to a true recognition of who we are in God and
of our dependence on God.
Jesus contrasts intellectual pride with child-like simplicity and humility.
The simple of heart are like "babes" in the sense that they see purely
without pretense and acknowledge their dependence and trust in one who
is greater, wiser, and more trustworthy. They seek one thing the "summum
bonum" or "greatest good" who is God himself. Simplicity of heart is wedded
with humility, the queen of virtues, because humility inclines the heart
towards grace and truth. Just as pride is the root or every sin and evil,
so humility is the only soil in which the grace of God can take root. It
alone takes the right attitude before God and allows him as God to do all.
God
opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34, James
4:6). The grace of Christ-like humility inclines us to God and disposes
us to receive God's wisdom. Nothing can give us greater joy than the knowledge
that we are God's beloved and that our names are written in heaven. Do
you seek to be like Jesus Christ in humility and simplicity of heart?
Jesus makes a claim which no one would have dared to make: He is the
perfect revelation of God. One of the greatest truths of the Christian
faith is that we can know the living God. Our knowledge of God is not simply
limited to knowing something about God, but we can know God personally.
The essence of Christianity, and what makes it distinct from Judaism and
other religions, is the knowledge of God as our Father. Jesus makes it
possible for each of us to personally know God as our Father. Saint Augustine
of Hippo wrote: "God loves each of us as if there were only one of us to
love."
To see Jesus is to see what God is like. In Jesus we see the perfect
love of God a God who cares intensely and who yearns over men and women,
loving them to the point of laying down his life for them upon the cross.
Jesus is the revelation of God a God who loves us completely, unconditionally
and perfectly. Jesus also promises that God the Father will hear our prayers
when we pray in his name. That is why Jesus taught his followers to pray
with confidence, "Our Father who art in heaven ...give us this day our
daily bread." Do you pray to your Father in heaven with joy and confidence
in his love and care for you?
"Most High and glorious God, enlighten the darkness of our hearts and
give us a true faith, a certain hope and a perfect love. Give us a sense
of the divine and knowledge of yourself, so that we may do everything in
fulfilment of your holy will; through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Prayer of
Francis of Assisi, 1182-1226)
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