Liturgical Readings for : Friday, 10th November, 2023
Friday of the Thirty -First Week in Ordinary Time, Year 1
Memorial of St Leo the Great, pope and doctor of the Church
FIRST READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans 15:14-21
I am a priest of Jesus Christ among the pagans so as to make them acceptable as an offering.
My brothers; I am quite certain that you are full of good intentions, perfectly well instructed and able to advise each other. The reason why I have written to you, and put some things rather strongly, is to refresh your memories, since God has given me this special position. He has appointed me as a priest of Jesus Christ, and I am to carry out my priestly duty by bringing the Good News from God to the pagans, and so make them acceptable as an offering, made holy by the Holy Spirit.
I think I have some reason to be proud of what I, in union with Christ Jesus, have been able to do for God. What I am presuming to speak of, of course, is only what Christ himself has done to win the allegiance of the pagans, using what I have said and done by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus all the way along, from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have preached Christ’s Good News to the utmost of my capacity. I have always, however, made it an unbroken rule never to preach where Christ’s name has already been heard. The reason for that was that I had no wish to build on other men’s foundations; on the contrary, my chief concern has been to fulfil the text:
Those who have never been told about him will see him, and those who have never heard about him will understand.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 97
Response The Lord has shown his salvation to the nations.
1. Sing a new song to the Lord for he has worked wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm have brought salvation. Response
2. The Lord has made known his salvation; has shown his justice to the nations.
He has remembered his truth and love for the house of Israel. Response
3. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
Shout to the Lord all the earth, ring out your joy. Response
Gospel Acclamation 2 Cor 5: 19
Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
Or I Jn 2: 5
Alleluia, alleluia!
When anyone obeys what Christ has said God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 16:1-8 Glory to you, O Lord.
The children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than the children of light.
Jesus said to his disciples,
‘There was a rich man and he had a steward denounced to him for being wasteful with his property. He called for the man and said, “What is this I hear about you? Draw me up an account of your stewardship because you are not to be my steward any longer.”
Then the steward said to himself, “Now that my master is taking the stewardship from me, what am I to do? Dig? I am not strong enough. Go begging? I should be too ashamed. Ah, I know what I will do to make sure that when I am dismissed from office there will be some to welcome me into their homes.”
Then he called his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, “How much do you owe my master?” “One hundred measures of oil” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond; sit down straight away and write fifty”. To another he said, “And you, sir, how much do you owe?” “One hundred measures of wheat” was the reply. The steward said, “Here, take your bond and write eighty”.
‘The master praised the dishonest steward for his astuteness.
For the children of this world are more astute in dealing with their own kind than are the children of light.’
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
*********************************
Gospel Reflection Friday, Thirty First Week in Ordinary Time Luke 16:1-8
Not all of the characters in the parables of Jesus are virtuous characters. Many of them leave a lot to be desired, but very often they have some redeeming features. The figure of the younger son in the well-known parable of the father and his two sons is a good example of a flawed character who went on to display a better side. The character in today’s gospel reading is similar. He is described in the parable as wasteful with his master’s property and as dishonest. Perhaps he was lining his pockets with his master’s resources. However, just as in a moment of extreme crisis the younger son showed his better nature, so with this dishonest steward. As he was about to be dismissed from his lucrative position by his master, he acted in a way that served others rather than himself. In reducing the debt of his master’s debtors, he may have been taking off the amount that would have come to himself.
In a moment of crisis he realized that he needed to make friends with these people because when he will be out of his job he will need their good will and their hospitality. Even though his actions showed a better side to him, there was a degree of self-interest in his actions, just as there was a degree of self-interest in the younger son deciding to go home. He went home because he had nowhere else to go. Yet, Jesus is reminding us that there is some good in everyone, even if it is not always apparent. We can even have something to learn from those who leave a great deal to be desired. The steward in today’s parable has something important to teach us, according to Jesus, about the importance of acting decisively in a crisis. The Lord invites us to see every crisis, be it social, ecclesial, communal or personal, as an opportunity. Every crisis is a call to a deeper reflection. In times of crisis the Lord is always calling on us to draw more deeply, more decisively, on our personal qualities and resources that may have been lying dormant, so that our own good and the good of others will be better served.
________________________________
The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
