Saturday, October 01, 2011 {St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Virgin, Doctor of the Church (Memorial)}

REFLECTION FOR TODAY
Think well. Speak well. Do well. These three things, through the mercy of God, will make a man go to Heaven.
-- St. Camillus de Lellis


READINGS FOR TODAY
First Reading: Baruch 4:5-12, 27-29
(Comfort for Jerusalem)
5 Take courage, my people, you are the ones who keep Israel's name alive. 
6 You were sold to Gentile nations, but not to be destroyed. Because you made God angry, he handed you over to your enemies. 
7 When you offered sacrifices to demons instead of to God, you angered the one who made you.

8 You forgot the Eternal God, who had nourished you as a child, and so you brought grief to Jerusalem, who had been like a mother to you. 
9 Jerusalem saw that God was punishing you because he was angry, and she said to all the neighboring cities, “Look at the great misery that God has brought on me. 
10 I saw my sons and daughters taken into captivity, a captivity brought on them by the Eternal God. 
11 I brought up my children with great delight, but I cried and mourned when they were taken from me. 
12 Let no one take pleasure in my suffering now that I am a widow and so many of my children have been taken from me. They turned away from God's Law, and their sins have made me a deserted city.
27 “Take courage, my children, and cry out to God for help. He punished you, but he will not forget you. 
28 Just as you were once determined to turn away from God, now turn back and serve him with ten times more determination. 
29 The one who brought these calamities upon you will rescue you and bring you everlasting joy.”
Psalms: Psalm 69:33-37
33 The Lord listens to those in need and does not forget his people in prison.
34 Praise God, O heaven and earth, seas and all creatures in them.
35 He will save Jerusalem and rebuild the towns of Judah. His people will live there and possess the land;
36 the descendants of his servants will inherit it, and those who love him will live there.
Gospel: Luke 10:17-24
(The Return of the Seventy-Two)
17 The seventy-two  men came back in great joy. “Lord,” they said, “even the demons obeyed us when we gave them a command in your name!”
18 Jesus answered them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.   Listen! I have given you authority, so that you can walk on snakes and scorpions and overcome all the power of the Enemy, and nothing will hurt you. 20 But don't be glad because the evil spirits obey you; rather be glad because your names are written in heaven.”
(Jesus Rejoices)
21 At that time Jesus was filled with joy by the Holy Spirit  and said, “Father, Lord of heaven and earth! I thank you because you have shown to the unlearned what you have hidden from the wise and learned. Yes, Father, this was how you were pleased to have it happen.
22 “My Father has given me all things. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23 Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said to them privately, “How fortunate you are to see the things you see! 
24 I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.”