Sunday

Luke 18:15 Then they also brought infants to Him that He might touch them; but when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. 16 But Jesus called them to Him and said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. 17 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.”

18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ”

21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”

22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich.

Prayer:  We adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee, for by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.

 

Monday

Navarre Commentary Luke 18 and blessing children:

15 The adverb “even” or “also” suggests that mothers were bringing little children to meet our Lord at the same time as others brought sick people to him.

“That he might touch them”: the sight of the curing of the sick naturally led the people to bring their children to Jesus, to be assured of good health by being touched by him; in the same way as the lady with the issue of blood thought she could be cured by touching him (cf. Mt 9:20-22). The parallel text in St Matthew is a little more specific: “Children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray”, that is, to have him bless them.15-17 The episode of Jesus and the children corroborates the teaching about humility contained in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. “Why, then, does he say that children are fit for the Kingdom of heaven? Perhaps because usually they are without malice, nor are they deceptive, nor do they dare to avenge themselves; they have no experience of lust, do not covet riches and are not ambitious. But the virtue of all this does not lie in ignorance of evil, but in its rejection; it does not consist in not being able to sin but rather in not consenting to sin. Therefore, the Lord is not referring to childhood as such, but to the innocence which children have in their simplicity” (St Ambrose, Expositio Evangelii sec. Lucam, in loc.).

Receiving the Kingdom of God like children, becoming children before God, means “renouncing our pride and self-sufficiency, recognizing that we can do nothing by ourselves. We must realize that we need grace, the help of God our Father, to find our way and keep to it. To be little, you have to abandon yourself as children do, believe as children believe, beg as children beg” (J. Escrivá)

Prayer:

O Lord and Master of my life, a spirit of idleness, despondency, ambition, and idle talking give me not.

 

Tuesday

Navarre Commentary on Rich Young Ruler…The story of this man (Mt 19:20 tells us he was a young man) is a sad one; he trades his vocation as an apostle for material possessions. So too today, if the Lord calls us to complete self-giving, we can answer “No” and give preference to money, honour, comfort, professional prestige, in a word, to selfishness.

The words “Come, follow me” are much more expressive in the original. A more exact translation might be: “Come on, follow me”: Jesus does not offer him a gentle invitation: he imperiously calls him to follow him immediately.

Prayer:

But rather a spirit of chastity, humble-mindedness, patience, and love bestow upon me Thy servant.

Yea, O Lord King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brother; for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Wednesday

Luke 18:24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

26 And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?”

27 But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”

28 Then Peter said, “See, we have left [e]all and followed You.”

29 So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Prayer:

Yea, O Lord King, grant me to see my failings and not condemn my brother; for blessed art Thou unto the ages of ages. Amen.

Thursday
Navarrre Commentary on the rich: The image of the camel and the eye of a needle is exaggeration for the sake of effect — to show how enormously difficult it is for a rich man attached to his riches to enter the Kingdom of heaven.

“Earthly goods are not bad, but they are debased when man sets them up as idols, when he adores them. They are ennobled when they are converted into instruments for good, for just and charitable Christian undertakings. We cannot seek after material goods as if they were a treasure. . . . Our treasure is Christ and all our love and desire must be centred on him, ‘for where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also’ (Mt 6:2 1)” (J. Escrivá, Christ is passing by, 35).

 

Prayer:  O Most Holy Trinity, have mercy on us. O Lord, blot out our sins. O Master, pardon our iniquities. O Holy One, visit and heal our infirmities for Thy name’s sake.

Friday

Luke 18: 31 Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be [f]accomplished. 32 For He will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. 33 They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”

34 But they understood none of these things; this saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken.

35 Then it happened, as He was coming near Jericho, that a certain blind man sat by the road begging. 36 And hearing a multitude passing by, he asked what it meant. 37 So they told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he cried out, saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

39 Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

40 So Jesus stood still and commanded him to be brought to Him. And when he had come near, He asked him, 41 saying, “What do you want Me to do for you?”

He said, “Lord, that I may receive my sight.”

42 Then Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he received his sight, and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

Prayer:  Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us. (3X)

Saturday
Navarrre Commentary on the end of Luke 18…The Apostles simply cannot understand Jesus’ words; they have too human an idea of what the Messiah would be like and they do not want to accept his being handed over for execution. Later on, when they receive the Holy Spirit, they will realize very clearly that “what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled” (Acts 3:18). So, “suffering is part of God’s plans. This is the truth, however difficult it may be for us to understand it” (Christ is passing by, 168). If we cultivate the Holy Spirit, he will help us understand the meaning of suffering and the scope it gives for co redemption. And we should ask him to make us realize that only if we decide to place the Cross in the centre of our lives will we experience true joy and true peace of soul. Cf. note on Lk 14:27.

St John Chrysostom points out that Christ’s Passion “had been foretold by Isaiah when he said, ‘I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I hid not my face from shame and spitting’ (Is 50:6), and the same prophet even foretold the punishment of the Cross with these words: ‘He poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors’ (Is 53:12). And therefore the text adds, ‘They will scourge him and kill him’; but David had also announced his resurrection when he said, ‘Thou dost not let thy godly one see the Pit’ (Ps 16;10). In fulfilment of this the Lord adds, ‘And on the third day he will rise’”

[Blind man healed]

The blind man of Jericho acclaims Jesus as the Messiah — he gives him the messianic title of Son of David — and asks him to meet his need, to make him see. His is an active faith; he shouts out, he persists, despite the people getting in his way. And he manages to get Jesus to hear him and call him. God wanted this episode to be recorded in the Gospel, to teach us how we should believe and how we should pray — with conviction, with urgency, with constancy, in spite of the obstacles, with simplicity, until we manage to get Jesus Christ to listen to us.

“Lord, let me receive my sight”: this simple ejaculatory prayer should be often on our lips, flowing from the depths of our heart. It is a very good prayer to use in moments of doubt and vacillation, when we cannot understand the reason behind God’s plans, when the horizon of our commitment becomes clouded. It is even a good prayer for people who are sincerely trying to find God but who do not yet have the great gift of faith. See also note on Mt 10:46-62.

 

Jesus Prayer:  Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have Mercy on me a sinner.