DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION

AUGUST 25, 2022

THURSDAY OF THE TWENTY-FIRST WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

(OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINT LOUIS OF FRANCE / SAINT JOSEPH CALASANZ, PRIEST)

FIRST READING

1 CORINTHIANS 1:1-9 OR (ISAIAH 58:6-11 / 1 CORINTHIANS 12:31--13:13 / 1 CORINTHIANS 13:4-13 / WISDOM 10:10-14)

1 Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sos'thenes, 2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: 3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I give thanks to God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way you were enriched in him with all speech and all knowledge 6 even as the testimony to Christ was confirmed among you 7 so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ; 8 who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Word of the Lord
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RESPONSORIAL PSALM

PSALMS 144(145):2-7 OR (PSALMS 112:1-9 / PSALMS 34:2-11 / PSALMS 89:8, 12, 20, 22, 27-28)

Response: I will praise thy name for ever, O Lord.

Every day I will bless thee,
and praise thy name for ever and ever.
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.

R. I will praise thy name for ever, O Lord.

One generation shall laud thy works to another,
and shall declare thy mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of thy majesty,
and on thy wondrous works, I will meditate.

R. I will praise thy name for ever, O Lord.

Men shall proclaim the might of thy terrible acts,
and I will declare thy greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of thy abundant goodness,
and shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

GOSPEL

Are you ready to meet the Lord?

MATTHEW 24:42-51 OR (MATTHEW 22:34-40 / MATTHEW 18:1-5 / LUKE 19:12-19)

42 Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45 Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, `My master is delayed,' 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with the drunken, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, 51 and will punish him, and put him with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.

The Gospel of the Lord
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REFLECTION

DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS

You do not know the day, by John Chrysostom (347-407 AD)

"But his meaning is like this: If ordinary persons knew when they were going to die, they would surely be striving earnestly at that hour. In order therefore that they may strive, not at that hour only, he does not tell them the hour or day. He wants to keep them on their toes looking for it, that they may be always striving. This is why he made the end of each persons life so uncertain. In this passage he openly implies that he himself is Lord. Nowhere before has he spoken of this so distinctly. But here he seems to me also to be putting to shame those who remain careless about his lordship. They take much more care about a thief taking their money than about their own soul. Those who care about their house and do not want their possessions stolen take measures against the thief. They watch; they are prepared for the thief. So it is with you. You do not know when he will come. But you know assuredly that he will come. If you do not continue to watch, you will not be ready on that day. You will be unprepared. Destruction will come in your sleep. If the person had known when the thief was coming, he would have been prepared. So be like the one who is prepared at all times, so you will escape free. Having then mentioned the judgment, he directs his thoughts next to teachers, speaking of honorable and dishonorable actions. His discourse closes with that which is alarming, for he speaks first of those who do right, then of those who continue in sin."

(excerpt from the THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, HOMILY 77.2-3)
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Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.