November
8, 2015
Thirty-second
Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year B
Saints of the day : Saint Godfrey, Bishop (1066-1115), Blessed John Duns Scotus, O.F.M. (c. 1266-1308)
Readings
10He left and went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he
called out to her, "Please bring me a small cupful of water to
drink."
11She left to get it, and he called
out after her, "Please bring along a bit of bread."
12"As the LORD, your God,
lives," she answered, "I have nothing baked; there is only a handful
of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a
couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we
have eaten it, we shall die."
13"Do not be afraid,"
Elijah said to her. "Go and do as you propose. But first make me a little
cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare something for yourself and your
son. 14For the LORD, the God of Israel,
says, 'The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until
the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'"
15She left and did as Elijah had
said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; 16The jar of flour did not go empty,
nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah.
7The Lord keeps faith forever, secures justice
for the oppressed,who gives bread to the hungry. The LORD sets prisoners
free; 8the LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD raises up those who are
bowed down; the LORD loves the righteous. 9The LORD protects the resident
alien, comes to the aid of the orphan and the widow, but thwarts the way of
the wicked.
10The LORD shall reign forever, your
God, Zion, through all generations! Hallelujah!
24For Christ did not enter into a
sanctuary made by hands, a copy of the true one, but heaven itself, that He
might now appear before God on our behalf. 25Not that He might offer Himself
repeatedly, as the high priest enters each year into the sanctuary with blood
that is not His own; 26if that were so, He would have had
to suffer repeatedly from the foundation of the world.
But now once for all He
has appeared at the end of the ages to take away sin by His sacrifice.[1] 27Just as it is appointed that human
beings die once, and after this the judgment, 28so also Christ, offered once to
take away the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to take away sin
but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him.[2]
38In the course of His teaching He
said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept
greetings in the marketplaces,[3] 39seats of honor in synagogues, and
places of honor at banquets. 40They devour the houses of widows
and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe
condemnation."
41He sat down opposite the treasury
and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in
large sums.[4] 42A poor widow also came and put in
two small coins worth a few cents.
43Calling His disciples to Himself, He said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all
the other contributors to the treasury. 44For they have all contributed from
their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood."
Notes on Readings
[1] Hebrews 9:23-28
- Since the blood of animals became a cleansing symbol among Old Testament
prefigurements, it was necessary that the realities foreshadowed be brought
into being by a shedding of blood that was infinitely more effective by reason
of its worth (Hebrews 9:23). Christ did not simply prefigure the heavenly realities (Hebrews 9:24) by performing an annual sacrifice with a blood not his own (Hebrews 9:25); He offered the single sacrifice of Himself as the final annulment of sin (Hebrews 9:26). Just as death is the unrepeatable act that ends a person's life, so Christ's
offering of Himself for all is the unrepeatable sacrifice that has once for all
achieved redemption (Hebrews 9:27-28).
[2]
Hebrews 9:26 - At the end of the ages: the use of expressions
such as this shows that the author of Hebrews, despite his interest in the
Platonic concept of an eternal world above superior to temporal reality here
below, nevertheless still clings to the Jewish Christian eschatology with its
sequence of "the present age" and "the age to come."
[3]
Hebrews 9:28 - To take away the sins of many: the
reference is to Isaiah 53:12. Since the Greek verb anaphero can mean both "to take away" and
"to bear," the author no doubt intended to play upon both senses:
Jesus took away sin by bearing it Himself. See the similar wordplay in John 1;29. Many is used in the Semitic meaning of "all" in the inclusive
sense, as in Mark 14:24. To those who eagerly await Him: Jesus will appear a second time at the
parousia, as the high priest reappeared on the Day of Atonement, emerging from
the Holy of Holies, which he had entered to take away sin. This dramatic scene
is described in Sirach 50:5-11.
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Dear Humanity,
I personally encourage everyone to emulate JESUS' values on LOVE, FAITH, HOPE
and CHARITY, as the humanity has been a failure; which resulted to the more than two (2) years of pandemic and its after-effects on economy, not only here in the Philippines but worldwide.
And the saddest part of it, is that, it affected the POOREST of the POOR to even extremely be more poorer, in exchange of the affluent to be more richer.
Thank you and may GOD bless you and the whole family to have an enjoyed life's journey at home, Church, schools/universities, corporate commitments, public and places of interest.