Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 147
16 OCT 2016 A.D.



First Reading EX 17:8-13

In those days, Amalek came and waged war against Israel.
Moses, therefore, said to Joshua,
“Pick out certain men,
and tomorrow go out and engage Amalek in battle.
I will be standing on top of the hill
with the staff of God in my hand.”
So Joshua did as Moses told him:
he engaged Amalek in battle
after Moses had climbed to the top of the hill with Aaron and Hur.
As long as Moses kept his hands raised up,
Israel had the better of the fight,
but when he let his hands rest,
Amalek had the better of the fight.
Moses’hands, however, grew tired;
so they put a rock in place for him to sit on.
Meanwhile Aaron and Hur supported his hands,
one on one side and one on the other,
so that his hands remained steady till sunset.
And Joshua mowed down Amalek and his people
with the edge of the sword.



Responsorial Psalm PS 121:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

The LORD will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and your going,
both now and forever.
R. Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.



Second Reading 2 TM 3:14-4:2

Beloved:
Remain faithful to what you have learned and believed,
because you know from whom you learned it,
and that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures,
which are capable of giving you wisdom for salvation
through faith in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is inspired by God
and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction,
and for training in righteousness,
so that one who belongs to God may be competent,
equipped for every good work.

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
who will judge the living and the dead,
and by his appearing and his kingly power:
proclaim the word;
be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient;
convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching.



Alleluia HEB 4:12
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
discerning reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.



Gospel LK 18:1-8

Jesus told his disciples a parable
about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary.
He said, “There was a judge in a certain town
who neither feared God nor respected any human being.
And a widow in that town used to come to him and say,
‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’
For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought,
‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being,
because this widow keeps bothering me
I shall deliver a just decision for her
lest she finally come and strike me.’”
The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

Bible Study--29th Sunday in Ordinary Time--Cycle C
(courtesy of Vince Contreras, Sunday Scripture Study for Catholics)



"In order to pray, let us believe; and for our faith not to weaken, let us pray. Faith causes prayer to grow, and when prayer grows our faith is strengthened." --St. Augustine

Thank you BNA.

The second reading, brought up an idea I have had for many years. What has happened to our Catholic Catechism of children? As a father of 9 children, I struggle every day to teach them. The once a week class is far from sufficient. My children tend to be the most educated on their Faith in their classes. This is not a brag, but an observation, since we don't formally teach them. It is more of an on the job instruction mixed with the Rosary & discussion. I attended Catholic school for 8 yrs. Our Religion class consisted of 30 mins a week. If it wasn't for my parents I don't know where my Faith would be today.

I realize that, as a father, I should be the primary instructor. But, honestly, I  have only learned much of my theology in the last 10 yrs. Prior, I had knew what I believed, but couldnt argue my side Well.

We need to stop being politically correct or trying to win others. Our Faith will win others. We need to really teach our Future generations.

Training builds confidence. Training builds Faith.

God bless

Well-said, skid2041!

Funny that you mention this--yesterday on EWTN Radio Father John Riccardo was recalling his Mom and Dad and his rather large family as they were growing up at home.

Mom's Bible was ALWAYS on the kitchen table--where she read it, prayed on it, meditated on it. The Bible was a rainbow of colors from magic markers on favorite passages. She walked outside and marvelled at God's creation--the trees, birds, grass, rivers.

Dad attended Holy Mass daily and was ALWAYS seen by the youngsters first thing and last thing of the day, on his knees beside his bed praying.

Neither Mom nor Dad forced their faith upon anyone or tried to ram it down their throats.

Their sacramental marriage was evidence and proof enough of their deep and abiding faith. And their children sensed all this and picked up on it. It sparked and fanned the kid's faith "embers" into raging fires!

JUST LIVE IT!

P.S.
...and Fr. John's Dad was the CEO of Chrysler Corp. in Detroit!


...St. Joseph, foster Father, spouse of our Blessed Mother, protector of the Holy Family, worker, and patron of a happy death...PRAY FOR US!

Saint Joseph

How perfect could the discussion be? Thanks again BNA and all who participate in these threads.



Living our faith could never be more important than it is today in this world.



And the gospel message of perseverance is profound. We  are going to be called to suffer for our faith.  Pray that we have the strength to persevere.



With respect and gratitude for you all.

AF

WELL-SAID, Sister, AF!

Well-Said.

P.S.
Just learnt at Holy Mass today via Pastor's Homily why our Blessed Lord always sided with Widows and Orphans.

In Biblical times, the Hebrew word "widow," is derived from the verb -feminine singular--pronounced "almanah," and it means, quite literally: "UNABLE TO SPEAK."

The Aramaic derivation is "to be in pain," or  widowhood as being "in total silence."

WOW! With no one to speak for you, you literally were a "non-person" in Jesus' time if you were a widow. Abandoned. Nothingness.

P.P.S.
and the anti-Christians have the audacity to talk about "male domination" and hierarchy when Jesus places men and women on equal footing in their human dignity! Our Blessed Lord fought for those needing help--He always spoke TRUTH to Power! A true warrior-king for all his subjects. He always fought "the good fight."


(the widow's mite)

Absolutely correct. Women where property in the day of Christ.  NOW apply that to the context of what the blessed Mother did for us.

And what our Lord did for Mary when she gave her to his beloved apostle. Without that act, Mary, a widow would have been cast out into the streets to beg for food and survival. After St. Joseph died the blessed mother became the property of Jesus. This says so much to the providence of God. He will not abandon the faithful.
 

YES! I could not have said it better, AF!

Thanks.