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Reflections
for Sunday, September 20, 2009
We continue the same theme that we were given in last Sunday's readings:
the way to life is through dying to ourselves. The more we come to know
Jesus, the more we know that if we want to follow Him, we must accept all
the sufferings that come with such a commitment. Even if we live in
Christian communities, we will still suffer. Suffering is just a normal
part of following Jesus Christ.
The second reading, from the Letter of Saint James, shows us the reasons
for suffering: jealousy, selfish ambition, inconstancy, insincerity, wars,
conflicts and asking wrongly. These negative qualities and others like
them are found in all of us from time to time and in varying degrees.
Although we are made in the image of God, that image is no longer clear in
us because of the effects of sin. Sometimes we suffer from the effects of
bad example, from the sins of others and from difficult things that have
passed in our lives. We also have the effects of all of the bad choices
that we have made, some of them sinful and some not.
Redemption in Jesus Christ gives us power to live in another way but not
always a complete healing of all that is in us which is negative or of sin.
Believing in Jesus Christ does not immediately make us perfect human
beings. The graces of Baptism and the other Sacraments begin to change us.
The more we cooperate with the grace of God, the more God can transform
us. We are invited to become like little children and to live in the Lord
with total confidence and trust.
In our struggles in life we will surely meet up with people such as those
described in the first reading, from the Book of Wisdom. Always there are
people willing to put themselves against us. We are blessed when we can
avoid such difficulties. On the other hand, we are also blessed when we
meet opposition because it clarifies for us the meaning of following the
Lord Jesus.
This Sunday we can pray that we be able to know the will of God in our
lives, that we have the power of the Holy Spirit to fight against all that
is negative or of sin within us and that we can love all those who may set
themselves against us.
Readings of the day:
First Reading:
Second Reading:
Gospel:
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Reflections are available for the following Sundays:
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