Sunday 6th October 2019
27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
St Peter's Catholic Church
Eastwood Parish Leigh on Sea
Morning Masses 8.30 & 10.15am Evening 6pm
12 Noon SUNG MASS
IN THE ORDINARIATE USE
16th Sunday after Trinity
Wednesday 9th October 7.30pm
Feast of Blessed John Henry Newman Mass in the Ordinariate Use
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Life by Faith:
Scott Hahn Reflects on the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Readings:
Habakkuk 1:2–3; 2:2–4
Psalm 95:1–2, 6–9
2 Timothy 1:6–8, 13–14
Luke 17:5–10
Because of his faith, the just man shall live. We hear in today’s
First Reading the original prophetic line made so central by St. Paul
(see Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38).
We are to live by faith in Christ who loved us and gave Himself on the Cross for us (see Galatians 2:20).
We are to live by faith in Christ who loved us and gave Himself on the Cross for us (see Galatians 2:20).
The world, though, can seem to us as seventh-century Judah seemed to
Habakkuk—in the control of God’s enemies. The strife and discord we face
in our own lives can sometimes cause us to wonder, as the prophet does,
why God doesn’t seem to hear or intervene when we cry for help.
We can’t let our hearts be hardened by the trials we undergo. As
today’s Psalm reminds us: Israel forgot His mighty works, lost faith in
the sound words of His promise. They tested God in the desert, demanding
a sign.
But God didn’t redeem Israel from Egypt only to let them die in the
desert. And He didn’t ransom us from futility only to abandon us in our
trials. He is our God and we are the people He shepherds always—though
at times His mercy and justice seem long delayed.
If we call on the Lord, as the Apostles do in today’s Gospel, He will
increase our faith, will stir to a flame the Holy Spirit who has dwelt
within us since Baptism.
As Paul tells us in today’s Epistle, the Lord will always give us the
love and self-control we need to bear our share of hardship for the
Gospel—with a strength that can come from God alone.
Our task is to continue doing what He has commanded—to love and to build up His kingdom—trusting that His vision still presses on to its fulfillment.
Our task is to continue doing what He has commanded—to love and to build up His kingdom—trusting that His vision still presses on to its fulfillment.
For His vision still has its time. One day, though we are but
“unprofitable servants,” we will be invited to eat and drink at our
Master’s table. It is that day we anticipate with each celebration of
the Eucharist.
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