Tuesday, October 25, 2011 (Weekday)

REFLECTION FOR TODAY
I am not my own; I have given myself to Jesus. He must be my only love. The state of helpless poverty that may befall me if I do not marry does not frighten me. All I need is a little food and a few pieces of clothing. With the work of my hands I shall always earn what is necessary and what is left over I'll give to my relatives and to the poor. If I should become sick and unable to work, then I shall be like the Lord on the cross. He will have mercy on me and help me, I am sure.
-- Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
READINGS FOR TODAY
First Reading: Romans 8:18-25
(The Future Glory)
18 I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.
19 All of creation waits with eager longing for God to reveal his children.
20 For creation was condemned to lose its purpose, not of its own will, but because God willed it to be so. Yet there was the hope 21 that creation itself would one day be set free from its slavery to decay and would share the glorious freedom of the children of God.
22 For we know that up to the present time all of creation groans with pain, like the pain of childbirth.
23 But it is not just creation alone which groans; we who have the Spirit as the first of God's gifts also groan within ourselves as we wait for God to make us his children and
set our whole being free.
24 For it was by hope that we were saved; but if we see what we hope for, then it is not really hope. For who of us hopes for something we see?
25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Psalms: Psalm 126:1-6
(A Prayer for Deliverance)
1 When the Lord brought us back to Jerusalem, (brought us back to Jerusalem; or made Jerusalem prosperous again) it was like a dream!
2 How we laughed, how we sang for joy! Then the other nations said about us, “The Lord did great things for them.”
3 Indeed he did great things for us; how happy we were!
4 Lord, make us prosperous again (take us back to our land) just as the rain brings water back to dry riverbeds.
5 Let those who wept as they planted their crops, gather the harvest with joy!
6 Those who wept as they went out carrying the seed will come back singing for joy, as they bring in the harvest. Gospel: Luke 13:18-21
(The Parable of the Mustard Seed)
18 Jesus asked, “What is the Kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it with?
19 It is like this. A man takes a mustard seed and plants it in his field. The plant grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make their nests in its branches.”
(The Parable of the Yeast)
20 Again Jesus asked, “What shall I compare the Kingdom of God with?
21 It is like this. A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel of flour until the whole batch of dough rises.”