Daily Bible Reflections

[evolution8]

November 1, 2007

Solemnity of All Saints
Rv 7:2-4, 9-14 • Ps 24 • 1 Jn 3:1-3
Mt 5:1-12

The Beatitudes

1When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 2He began to teach them, saying:
3“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
6Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
7Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
9Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10Blessed are they who are persecuted for
the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.â€

[evolution8]

November 2, 2007

Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
Wis 3:1-9 • Ps 23 • Rom 6:3-9
Mt 25:31-46

The Judgment of the Nations

[Jesus said to his disciples,] 31“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ 40And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’... 46And these will go off to eternal life.â€

[evolution8]

November 3, 2007

St. Martin de Porres, religious
Saturday of the 30th Week
Rom 11:1-2a, 11-12, 25-29 • Ps 94
Lk 14:1, 7-11

Conduct of Invited Guests and Hosts

1On a sabbath [Jesus] went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.
7He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table. 8“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, 9and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place. 10Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’ Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.â€

[evolution8]

November 4, 2007

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time | Green
Wis 11:22—12:2 • Ps 145 • 2 Thes 1:11—2:2
Lk 19:1-10

Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

1[Jesus] came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. 2Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, 3was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. 5When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.â€

[evolution8]

November 5, 2007

St. Spinulus
Monday of the 31st Week
Rom 11:29-36 • Ps 69
Lk 14:12-14

Invite the Poor

[On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees.] 12He said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment. 13Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; 14blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.â€

[evolution8]

November 6, 2007

St. Leonard of Noblac
Tuesday of the 31st Week
Rom 12:5-16ab • Ps 131
Lk 14:15-24

The Parable of the Great Feast

15One of [those at table with Jesus] said to him, “Blessed is the one who will dine in the kingdom of God.â€

[evolution8]

November 7, 2007

St. Florentius
Wednesday of the 31st Week
Rom 13:8-10 • Ps 112
Lk 14:25-33

Sayings on Discipleship

25Great crowds were traveling with [Jesus], and he turned and addressed them, 26“If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? 29Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him 30and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ 31Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? 32But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. 33In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.â€

[evolution8]

November 8, 2007

St. Paul Ngan
Thursday of the 31st Week
Rom 14:7-12 • Ps 27
Lk 15:1-10

The Parable of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin

1The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to [Jesus], 2but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.â€

[evolution8]

November 9, 2007

Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 • Ps 46 • 1 Cor 3:9-11, 16-17
Jn 2:13-22

Cleansing of the Temple

13Since the Passover of the Jews was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, as well as the money-changers seated there. 15He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, 16and to those who sold doves he said, “Take these out of here, and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.â€

[evolution8]

November 10, 2007

St. Leo the Great, pope and doctor
Rom 16:3-9, 16, 22-27 • Ps 145
Lk 16:9-15

Application of the Parable

[Jesus said to his disciples,] 9“I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. 11If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? 12If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? 13No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.â€

[evolution8]

November 11, 2007

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
2 Mc 7:1-2, 9-14 • Ps 17 • 2 Thes 2:16—3:5
Lk 20:27-38 (20:27, 34-38)

The Question about the Resurrection

27Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to [Jesus], 28saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’ 29Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. 30Then the second 31and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. 32Finally the woman also died. 33Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.â€

[evolution8]

November 12, 2007

St. Josaphat, bishop and martyr
Wis 1:1-7 • Ps 139
Lk 17:1-6

Temptations to Sin

1[Jesus] said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur. 2It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him.â€

[evolution8]

November 13, 2007

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
Tuesday of the 32nd Week
Wis 2:23—3:9 • Ps 34
Lk 17:7-10

Attitude of a Servant

[Jesus said to his disciples,] 7“Who among you would say to your servant who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here immediately and take your place at table’? 8Would he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat. Put on your apron and wait on me while I eat and drink. You may eat and drink when I am finished’? 9Is he grateful to that servant because he did what was commanded? 10So should it be with you. When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do.’ â€

[evolution8]

November 14, 2007

St. Lawrence
Wednesday of the 32nd Week
Wis 6:1-11 • Ps 82
Lk 17:11-19

The Cleansing of Ten Lepers

11As [Jesus] continued his journey to Jerusalem, he traveled through Samaria and Galilee. 12As he was entering a village, ten lepers met [him]. They stood at a distance from him 13and raised their voice, saying, “Jesus, Master! Have pity on us!â€

[evolution8]

November 15, 2007

St. Albert the Great, bishop and doctor
Thursday of the 32nd Week
Wis 7:22b—8:1 • Ps 119
Lk 17:20-25

The Coming of the Kingdom of God

20Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, “The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, 21and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the kingdom of God is among you.â€