Let's Try Again: How Is This Reading Relevant to Your Life?

[Gabriela]

Choose one, and be concrete about how the reading relates to your life. If all goes well, I will use your responses to help Catholic preachers.  

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 72

Reading 1JER 1:4-5, 17-19

The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed you.

But do you gird your loins;
stand up and tell them
all that I command you.
Be not crushed on their account,
as though I would leave you crushed before them;
for it is I this day
who have made you a fortified city,
a pillar of iron, a wall of brass,
against the whole land:
against Judah’s kings and princes,
against its priests and people.
They will fight against you but not prevail over you,
for I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.

Responsorial PsalmPS 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15-17

R. (cf. 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and save me.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
For you are my hope, O Lord;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R. I will sing of your salvation.

Reading 21 COR 12:31—13:13

Brothers and sisters:
Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts.
But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

If I speak in human and angelic tongues,
but do not have love,
I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.
And if I have the gift of prophecy,
and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge;
if I have all faith so as to move mountains,
but do not have love, I am nothing.
If I give away everything I own,
and if I hand my body over so that I may boast,
but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
It is not inflated, it is not rude,
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing
but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;
when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

Or 1 COR 13:4-13

Brothers and sisters:
Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
it is not inflated, it is not rude, 
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.
If there are prophecies, they will be brought to nothing;
if tongues, they will cease;
if knowledge, it will be brought to nothing.
For we know partially and we prophesy partially,
but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I used to talk as a child,
think as a child, reason as a child;
when I became a man, I put aside childish things.
At present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror,
but then face to face.
At present I know partially;
then I shall know fully, as I am fully known.
So faith, hope, love remain, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.

AlleluiaLK 4:18

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Lord sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelLK 4:21-30

Jesus began speaking in the synagogue, saying:
“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
And all spoke highly of him
and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. 
They also asked, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”
He said to them, “Surely you will quote me this proverb,
‘Physician, cure yourself,’ and say,
‘Do here in your native place
the things that we heard were done in Capernaum.’”
And he said, “Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place.
Indeed, I tell you,
there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah
when the sky was closed for three and a half years
and a severe famine spread over the entire land.
It was to none of these that Elijah was sent,
but only to a widow in Zarephath in the land of Sidon.
Again, there were many lepers in Israel
during the time of Elisha the prophet;
yet not one of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”
When the people in the synagogue heard this,
they were all filled with fury.
They rose up, drove him out of the town,
and led him to the brow of the hill
on which their town had been built,
to hurl him down headlong.
But Jesus passed through the midst of them and went away.

[Gabriela]

Don't you Catholics read the Bible?

[Oremus Pro Invicem]

Does the "let's try again" mean the first time was a bust?

[Nihil Obstat]

1 hour ago, Gabriela said:

Don't you Catholics read the Bible?

Well here is the reason I have not responded to these threads. When I read the Bible, I usually read it with commentary. Either the Challoner, or the Catena Aurea. So I have nothing to add that you would not alrrady have access to.

When it comes to explanation from the pulpit, I am blessed that my priest is an excellent homilist. I could not tell you what I 'want' because I already get exactly what I need. I do pray that someday that is true for all Catholics.

So basically, I have nothing to give you either because you already have it, or I do not yet have it.

[HopefulHeart]

On 1/27/2016, 2:54:29, Gabriela said:

Or 1 COR 13:4-13

Brothers and sisters:
Love is patient, love is kind.
It is not jealous, it is not pompous,
it is not inflated, it is not rude, 
it does not seek its own interests,
it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury,
it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.

 

This passage shows me how to be more like Christ, who is Love. Once, on a retreat, I read through this passage while substituting the name "Jesus" for the words "love" and "it." The exercise helped me to relate the passage and the qualities it describes to the person of Christ, rather than to the abstract concept of love. Also, I like the passage's specificity in describing the traits that do or do not characterize love. I think of it almost as an examination of conscience.

Edited January 29, 2016 by HopefulHeart

[Gabriela]

2 hours ago, Oremus Pro Invicem said:

Does the "let's try again" mean the first time was a bust?

Yes. It got off topic (but okay, it was the first time, so it needed explaining and discussion) and very few people actually commented on how the text speaks to them.

1 hour ago, Nihil Obstat said:

Well here is the reason I have not responded to these threads. When I read the Bible, I usually read it with commentary. Either the Challoner, or the Catena Aurea. So I have nothing to add that you would not alrrady have access to.

When it comes to explanation from the pulpit, I am blessed that my priest is an excellent homilist. I could not tell you what I 'want' because I already get exactly what I need. I do pray that someday that is true for all Catholics.

So basically, I have nothing to give you either because you already have it, or I do not yet have it.

Do the Challoner and the Catena Aurea tell you how the passages relate to YOUR life, in particular, specifically, personally?

[MarysLittleFlower]

3 hours ago, Nihil Obstat said:

Well here is the reason I have not responded to these threads. When I read the Bible, I usually read it with commentary. Either the Challoner, or the Catena Aurea. So I have nothing to add that you would not alrrady have access to.

When it comes to explanation from the pulpit, I am blessed that my priest is an excellent homilist. I could not tell you what I 'want' because I already get exactly what I need. I do pray that someday that is true for all Catholics.

So basically, I have nothing to give you either because you already have it, or I do not yet have it.

That's similar to my difficulty with answering the question too... Maybe what Gabriela is looking for is not an interpretation but just a personal connection? That's how I've understood... 

To answer how I would make a personal connection... The Corinthians passage made me think about how it's not what we do that matters rather how much love we put into it 

Edited January 29, 2016 by MarysLittleFlower

[Nihil Obstat]

2 hours ago, Gabriela said:

Yes. It got off topic (but okay, it was the first time, so it needed explaining and discussion) and very few people actually commented on how the text speaks to them.

Do the Challoner and the Catena Aurea tell you how the passages relate to YOUR life, in particular, specifically, personally?

Better than the average priest does, but not as effective as an excellent priest.

[vee]

Bible?  Whats that?

[Gabriela]

On 1/28/2016, 9:26:30, MarysLittleFlower said:

That's similar to my difficulty with answering the question too... Maybe what Gabriela is looking for is not an interpretation but just a personal connection? That's how I've understood... 

To answer how I would make a personal connection... The Corinthians passage made me think about how it's not what we do that matters rather how much love we put into it 

Right on, MLF. Not an intellectual abstraction or interpretation, but a concrete application or connection to YOUR life. That's what I'm looking for here.

I'm starting to think that the reason Catholic preachers don't include such features in their homilies is because Catholics in general don't think about them when they read the Bible. And why would they, if nobody is preaching about them?

It's a vicious circle. A very sad, vicious circle.  

[DominicanHeart]

I love this weekend's readings. Some of my favorite lines in all of the Bible are in them. "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you" so good.

[Spem in alium]

"The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you,"

These words have a strong factor in my pursuit of life as a consecrated woman. They speak of the incredible mercy of God in my life, which I can't even begin to understand or explain, which existed even before I was born. They communicate an unfathomable intimacy between God and myself. They fill my heart and speak to it.

This morning, my parish priest delivered a homily in which he expressed similar sentiments regarding his own vocation. I was moved to hear his own reflection and to recognise a similarity in my own experience.

[Amppax]

3 hours ago, Gabriela said:

Right on, MLF. Not an intellectual abstraction or interpretation, but a concrete application or connection to YOUR life. That's what I'm looking for here.

I'm starting to think that the reason Catholic preachers don't include such features in their homilies is because Catholics in general don't think about them when they read the Bible. And why would they, if nobody is preaching about them?

It's a vicious circle. A very sad, vicious circle.  

I guess I'm just a little confused by this, Gabriela. What exactly is the purpose of the thread? To help priests preach with concrete applications/connections of the readings to daily life, correct? I guess the problem I see with this is that specific applications and such are typically very personal or unique. I could sit here and tell you what I pray with when I do lectio on the readings, but for the most part, it typically is something specific to my situation in life. Which would not be the same as most other at a Mass with me. To me, the place for these sort of things is in personal prayer, not a homily. 

[Seven77]

 I have been meaning to reply…

 Whenever I think about the Sunday Mass Readings I like to think about how they are all connected, and that serves as a springboard from which to apply them to my life.  I think that in recent years we've been hearing more and more about the importance of prayerfully reading Scripture  (Lectio Divina).  And I think that  one of the great things about Vatican II and the Novo Ordo is the lectionary of readings we have… the readings are  so ingeniously connected, definitely a result of the work of the Holy Spirit. Anyway, here are my quick reflections on the readings for this Sunday:

Jesus Christ is the priest prophet and King per excellence… ultimately, his mission of redemption can be summarized as a mission of love. Preaching the truth in love is often met with resistance, especially by those to whom the prophet is sent.  We who are baptized in Christ have the same mission. That's a brief synopsis of my thoughts… I could write more but I don't have time right now.

Gabriella, correct me if I'm wrong but you are trying to gather insights about the readings and that's why you're asking us for our input on them.

Edited January 31, 2016 by Seven77

[Spem in alium]

I believed Gabriella was actually researching this topic for a dissertation or thesis. Also correct me if I am wrong.