Monday, September 26, 2011 (Weekday)

REFLECTION FOR TODAY
Before you receive Jesus Christ, you should remove from your heart all worldly attachments which you know to be displeasing to Him.
-- St. Augustine

READINGS FOR TODAY
First Reading: Zechariah 8:1-8
(The Lord's Promises to Zion)
1 The Lord All-Powerful said to me:
2 I love Zion so much that her enemies make me angry. 
3 I will return to Jerusalem and live there on Mount Zion. Then Jerusalem will be known as my faithful city, and Zion will be known as my holy mountain.

4 Very old people with walking sticks will once again sit around in Jerusalem, 
5 while boys and girls play in the streets. 
6 This may seem impossible for my people who are left, but it isn't impossible for me, the Lord All-Powerful. 
7 I will save those who were taken to lands in the east and the west, 
8 and I will bring them to live in Jerusalem. They will be my people, and I will be their God, faithful to bring about justice.
Psalms: Psalm 102:16-21, 29, 22-23
16 When the Lord rebuilds Zion, he will reveal his greatness.
17 He will hear his forsaken people and listen to their prayer.
18 Write down for the coming generation what the Lord has done, so that people not yet born will praise him.
19 The Lord looked down from his holy place on high, he looked down from heaven to earth.
20 He heard the groans of prisoners and set free those who were condemned to die.
21 And so his name will be proclaimed in Zion, and he will be praised in Jerusalem
****
22 when nations and kingdoms come together and worship the Lord.
23 The Lord has made me weak while I am still young; he has shortened my life.
Gospel: Luke 9:46-50
(Who Is the Greatest?) THIS PASSAGE IS ALSO FOUND IN (Matthew 18.1-5; Mark 9.33-37)
46 An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them was the greatest. 
47 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he took a child, stood him by his side,
48 and said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, also welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all is the greatest.” 
(Whoever Is Not against You Is for You) THIS PASSAGE IS ALSO FOUND IN (Mark 9.38-40)
49 John spoke up, “Master, we saw a man driving out demons in your name, and we told him to stop, because he doesn't belong to our group.”
50 “Do not try to stop him,” Jesus said to him and to the other disciples, “because whoever is not against you is for you.”