Saturday, October 5, 2013

The Sunday Word

Tomorrow is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, bringing us ever closer to the 34th and last Sunday of this liturgical season and Solemnity of Christ the King on November 21 - and then, Advent! It also ends the Year of Faith proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI.

But... back to the day at hand.

There's just no better way to prepare for Sunday Mass than to read, ponder and pray over the Scriptures we will hear proclaimed there.

This Sunday's first reading is a lament from the book of the prophet Habakkuk. Writing at a desperate time of faithlessness and political peril, the prophet does not hold back on giving God his two cents on how he thinks the Lord is running things! The passage also includes a response from the Lord, promising that the vision of hope still has its time.

From Luke we have the parable of the mustard seed - and the mulberry bush which grows into a tree. In addition, Jesus speaks to his disciples about the kind of service he demands and expects of those who follow him.