Tawnawilly Parish

09/09/2026

Mass Readings for 9/9/26 from catholicireland.net.

Wednesday of the Twenty Third Week of Ordinary Time, Year 2

Saint of the Day: Sep 9: – 2. St Ciaran, abbot
C/f A short look at this saint’s life can be found below today’s Readings and Reflection.

FIRST READING

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 7:25-31
If you are tied to a wife, do not look for freedom; if you are free of a wife, then do not look for one.

joy About remaining celibate, I have no directions from the Lord but give my own opinion as one who, by the Lord’s mercy, has stayed faithful. Well then, I believe that in these present times of stress this is right: that it is good for a man to stay as he is.
If you are tied to a wife, do not look for freedom;
if you are free of a wife, then do not look for one.
But if you marry, it is no sin, and it is not a sin for a young girl to get married. They will have their troubles, though, in their married life, and I should like to spare you that. Brothers, this is what I mean: our time is growing short.

Those who have wives should live as though they had none,
and those who mourn should live as though they had nothing to mourn for;
those who are enjoying life should live as though there were nothing to laugh about;
those whose life is buying things should live as though they had nothing of their own;
and those who have to deal with the world should not become engrossed in it.
I say this because the world as we know it is passing away.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm Ps 44: 11-12. 14-17. R/ v11
Response Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words.

1. Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words: forget your own people and your father’s house.
So will the king desire your beauty: He is your lord, pay homage to him. Response

2. The daughter of the king is clothed with splendour, her robes embroidered with pearls set in gold.
She is led to the king with her maiden companions. Response

3. They are escorted amid gladness and joy; they pass within the palace of the king.
Sons shall be yours in place of your fathers; you will make them princes over all the earth. Response

Gospel Acclamation 1 Jn 2: 5
Alleluia, alleluia!
When anyone obeys what Christ has said, God’s love comes to perfection in him.
Alleluia !

or Lk 6: 23
Alleluia, alleluia!
Rejoice and be glad: your reward will be great in heaven.
Alleluia !

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 6:20-26 Glory to you, O Lord
‘How happy are you who are poor. But alas for you who are rich.

Fixing his eyes on his disciples Jesus said:
‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God.
Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied.
Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh.

Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you,
denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets.

‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now.
Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry.
Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep.
Alas for you when the world speaks well of you!
This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

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Gospel Reflection Wednesday Twenty Third Week in Ordinary Time, Luke 6:20-26

In the gospel reading, Jesus speaks a word of consolation to those who are struggling the most, the poor, the hungry, all who weep, those experiencing rejection because of their loyalty to him. He declares that God is working to transform their situation for the better. The day will come when they will be satisfied, when they will laugh, when the kingdom of God will be theirs. Jesus is revealing God to be one who is not only present to us in our most vulnerable situations but who is actively working on our behalf to bring a change for the better to our lives. This is the God whom Jesus revealed by his deeds and his words. He invited the poor to his table, he fed the hungry in the wilderness, he brought the joy of God’s kingdom to those who were weeping, such as the widow at Nain.

Jesus wants his disciples, all of us, to reveal this same God by our deeds and our words. The risen Lord wants to work through us to bring something of that fullness of life which characterizes the kingdom of God to those who are poor, hungry and weeping today. We are aware of some people who are bringing hunger, poverty and sadness to others by their actions or even complacent indifference. It is this group that Jesus addresses in the second half of the gospel, declaring that God will hold them to account for the suffering they are inflicting on others, very often growing rich in the process. There are forces around that are death dealing and in the face of such forces the Lord needs us all the more to be instruments of his life-giving work in the world.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings: The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Saint of the Day: Sep 9: – 2. St Ciaran, abbot

St Ciarán of Clonmacnoise’s, supposedly born Ciarán mac an tSaeir, was one of the ‘Twelve Apostles of Ireland’ and the first abbot of Clonmacnoise.

Clonmacnoise was founded by St. Ciarán, who was born around 512. His father was a travelling carpenter called Beoit and his mother was called Darerca. His father was a carpenter and chariot maker. Ciarán was born and reared in an area that is in the present-day Roscommon. He had a number of brothers and sisters. Some of them also entered the religious life. ciaran1

Patrick Duffy takes up Ciarán’s story.

Training with Enda and Senan
As a young boy, Ciarán helped his family herd cattle and studied his lessons while out in the fields. When he was older, he went to study with St. Finian at Clonard, which is in modern-day Meath. He later studied on Aran with St. Enda, and later to Senan of Scattery Island where he was ordained a priest. After spending time in various monasteries, Ciarán eventually began founding his own monastery at Clonmacnoise in January of 544.
Foundation at Clonmacnois
Here he made his foundation with ten companions on the Shannon River but died at the age of 33 but while it was still being built. He became very ill with a plague and died, – a young man in his early thirties. His feast day is September 9, the date on which he died. Despite the young age at which he died, he had managed to found a monastic school whose fame would endure down the centuries, Clonmacnois. It became famous throughout Europe.

The son of a carpenter or wheelwright, mac an tsaoir, Ciarán, is often called “the younger” to distinguish him from Ciarán of Saighir, called Sean Chiarán, or Ciarán the Senior.

Ciarán’s Cow
This Ciarán was from Connaught and went to study under Finian of Clonard, taking with him his favourite cow, which his family donated for his education. The monastery could profit from milk and butter, calves, meat or from the hide that would be turned into parchment. The skin of Ciarán’s cow was preserved in his memory and was noted for miracles – it had the reputation that every man who died resting on it would get eternal life. And later, the book written on this famous cow-skin, Leabhar na hUidhre, became one of Ireland’s most important manuscripts. This is the book which preserves the legend of the Táin Bó Cuailnge.Ciaran

Influence
Clonmacnois later became one of the most influential monasteries in Europe. Alcuin of York (735-804), the most renowned of Saxon scholars who became an advisor at the court of Charlemagne, studied here under Colcu the wise in the eighth century. He wrote letters to him and sent presents from himself and the emperor. The monastery survived the Viking raids and the Norman wars up until 1552.

Clonmacnois is still an impressive site and a place of pilgrimage, especially for the Catholic group, Youth 2000. Pope John Paul II stopped off here on his way to Galway during his visit to Ireland in 1979.

JP at Clon

The Late Pope St. John Paul II at Clonmacnois 1979
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Memorable Proverb for Today

“Ciaran was a lamp, blazing with the light of wisdom.”

~ St Columcille of Iona ~

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CatholicIreland

Catholic Ireland .Net

07/09/2026

Newsletter for Sunday 7th of September 2026. Please click the link below:

https://tawnawillyparish.ie/wp-content/uploads/Sunday-Sept-06-26.pdf

07/09/2026

Mass Readings for 7/9/26 from catholicireland.net.

Monday of the Twenty Third Week of Ordinary Time, Year 2

FIRST READING

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 5:1-8
Get rid of all the old yeast, Christ our Passover has been sacrificed.

I have been told as an undoubted fact that one of you is living with his father’s wife. This is a case of sexual immorality among you that must be unparalleled even among pagans. How can you be so proud of yourselves? You should be in mourning.
A man who does a thing like that ought to have been expelled from the community. Though I am far away in body, I am with you in spirit, and have already condemned the man who did this thing as if I were actually present. When you are assembled together in the name of the Lord Jesus, and I am spiritually present with you, then with the power of our Lord Jesus he is to be handed over to Satan so that his sensual body may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.

The pride that you take in yourselves is hardly to your credit. You must know how even a small amount of yeast is enough to leaven all the dough, so get rid of all the old yeast, and make yourselves into a completely new batch of bread, unleavened as you are meant to be. Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed; let us celebrate the feast, then, by getting rid of all the old yeast of evil and wickedness, having only the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 5:5-7, 12. R/v 9
Response Lead me, Lord, in your justice.

1. You are no God who loves evil; no sinner is your guest.
The boastful shall not stand their ground before your face. Response

2. You hate all who do evil: you destroy all who lie.
The deceitful and bloodthirsty man the Lord detests. Response

3. All those you protect shall be glad and ring out their joy.
You shelter them; in you they rejoice, those who love your name. Response

Gospel Acclamation Ps 118: 105
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is a lamp for my steps and a light for my path.
Alleluia !

or Jn 10: 27
Alleluia, alleluia!
The sheep that belong to me listen to my voice, says the Lord,
I know them and they follow me.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 6:6-11 Glory to you, O Lord
They were watching Jesus to see if he would cure a man on the sabbath.

On the sabbath Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach, and a man was there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees were watching him to see if he would cure a man on the sabbath, hoping to find something to use against him. But he knew their thoughts; and he said to the man with the withered hand,
‘Stand up! Come out into the middle.‘
And he came out and stood there. Then Jesus said to them,
‘I put it to you: is it against the law on the sabbath to do good, or to do evil; to save life, or to destroy it?‘
Then he looked round at them all and said to the man,
‘Stretch out your hand’. He did so, and his hand was better.

But they were furious, and began to discuss the best way of dealing with Jesus.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Gospel Reflection Monday Twenty Third Week in Ordinary Time Luke 6:6-11

In today’s gospel reading we are told that when Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath the Pharisees were watching him to see if he would cure a partly paralyzed man, hoping to find something to use against Jesus. In other words, even though Jesus was clearly doing good, the Pharisees were on the lookout for the negative in him; they were suspicious of him. Because they were predisposed to seeing the negative, they couldn’t see the good that God was doing through Jesus on that particular Sabbath day in the synagogue.

Sometimes how we see someone or some situation determines what we see. If we look at people through suspicious lens, negative lens, we will see the negative and miss the good. We always have to be cleaning our lens, as it were, so that we can see clearly, so that we can see not just the problems which may be there, but the much greater good which is often there as well. On this occasion, the problem for the Pharisees of the Sabbath law being broken should have been far outweighed by the greater good of a broken man being healed. The gospels are always calling us to see the good work that God is doing even when things are not happening quite as we might expect or want them to happen.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings: The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications , c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

Catholic Ireland .Net

03/09/2026

Mass Readings for 3/9/26 from catholicireland.net.

Thursday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2

Saint of the Day: Sept 3; – St Gregory the Great, pope, religious and doctor of the Church
C/f A short look at this saint’s life can be found below today’s Readings and Reflection.

FIRST READING

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 3:18-23
All things are your servants; but you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.

Energies of CreationMake no mistake about it: if any one of you thinks of himself as wise, in the ordinary sense of the word, then he must learn to be a fool before he really can be wise. Why? Because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As scripture says:
The Lord knows wise men’s thoughts: he knows how useless they are: or again: God is not convinced by the arguments of the wise.
So there is nothing to boast about in anything human:
Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life and death, the present and the future, are all your servants; but you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 23: 1-6 R/v 1
Response The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness.

1. The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas; on the waters he made it firm. Response

2. Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things. Response

3. He shall receive blessings from the Lord and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob. Response

Gospel Acclamation 2 Thess 2: 14
Alleluia, alleluia!
Through the Good News God called us to share the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Alleluia!

Or Mt 4: 19
Alleluia, alleluia!
Follow me , says the Lord, and I will make you fishers of men.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 5:1-11 Glory to you, O Lord
They left everything and followed him.

apostlesJesus was standing one day by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the crowd pressing round him listening to the word of God, when he caught sight of two boats close to the bank. The fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats-it was Simon’s-and asked him to put out a little from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

When he had finished speaking he said to Simon,
‘Put out into deep water and pay out your nets for a catch’.
‘Master,’ Simon replied ‘we worked hard all night long and caught nothing,
but if you say so, I will pay out the nets.‘
And when they had done this they netted such a huge number of fish that their nets began to tear, so they signalled to their companions in the other boat to come and help them; when these came, they filled the two boats to sinking point.

When Simon Peter saw this he fell at the knees of Jesus saying, ‘Leave me, Lord; I am a sinful man’.
For he and all his companions were completely overcome by the catch they had made;
so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were Simon’s partners.
But Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on it is men you will catch‘.

Then, bringing their boats back to land, they left everything and followed him.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Gospel Reflection Thursday Twenty Second Week in Ordinary Time Luke 5:1-11

Today’s gospel reading suggests that just when a situation seems hopeless, without promise, there is often an abundance of life just below the surface, if only we could see it. Simon Peter and his companions had worked hard all night long, fishing on the Sea of Galilee, and had caught nothing. Night time was the best time to catch fish. There was no reason to think that it was worthwhile to go out again in full daylight. However, Jesus could see that there was life below the surface of the sea and he told them to put out into deep water and let down their nets for a catch. When they did so, they were overwhelmed by the abundance of the catch. They had to call on other boats to come and help them.

Very often the Lord can see signs of life that we miss. Our past failures, the size of the task before us, our sense of our own limitations, can immobilize us and leave us feeling despondent and even hopeless. It is at such times that we need to turn to the Lord and ask him to help us to see as he sees, with eyes that are sensitive to the promise and hope that even the most difficult situations can hold. We might think in our wisdom that some situation, or even some person, is a lost cause, but as Saint Paul says in the first reading ‘the wisdom of the world is foolishness to God’. God brought new life out of the most unpromising situation imaginable, the crucifixion of his own Son, who was the embodiment of his love for the world. The God whom Jesus revealed is a God who sees abundance in the most unpromising of situations. With the help of the Holy Spirit we can begin to see life as the Lord does, with eyes that are attentive to the signs of life beneath the surface.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

Saint of the Day: Sept 3; – St Gregory the Great, pope, religious and doctor of the Church

St Gregory was born about 540; died in Rome in 604, he founded monasteries in Rome and in Sicily. Called to be a deacon of Rome by Benedict I, then sent as papal legate to Constantinople, he was elected Pope in 590AD. He reorganised Church life and administration in a time of crisis, sponsored liturgical reform, and initiated the evangelisation of the English. Known also for his extensive writings on pastoral care, spirituality, and morals, and for his self-designation as “servant of the servants of God.”

greg the greatPope St Gregory I was probably the most influential pope of the first millennium. Both a contemplative and a man of action, he established the papal states and sent missionaries to England. Along with Ambrose, Augustine and Jerome, he is one of the four ‘Fathers of the Western Church’.

Patrick Duffy tells his story.

Early Life
Gregory was born in Rome in 540, the son of a Roman senator. He received a good education and served as an administrator in the city as his father had also done. When his father died in 573 he made over his estates to the Church and had seven monasteries founded mostly in Sicily. He turned the family house on the Coelian Hill in Rome into a monastery and spent four years there in intense asceticism and prayer before becoming a deacon and priest.

Papal Legate in Constantinople
Pope Pelagius II (579-590) sent Gregory as papal legate to the court of the emperor at Constantinople. On his return after six years he became abbot of the monastery on the Coelian Hill. Three years later a flood caused the Tiber to burst its banks destroying the city’s grain stores and an outbreak of the plague. Gregory organised practical help and following this, was elected pope in 590.

greg2Papal States and Peace Initiatives
Through estates owned by the papacy he secured the Roman food supply, thus unwittingly starting the idea of the papal states. He made peace with the Lombards, who were Arians, and with the Visigoths in Spain.

Missionaries to England
In 597 AD, Gregory sent Augustine and monk missionaries to Kent in England. The story is that he was so impressed by the blond beauty of Anglo-Saxon slaves he saw for sale in the Roman forum that he had them liberated so they could be trained as missionary monks. Hence the famous saying: non Angli, sed angeli. (Not Angles but Angels)

Liturgy and Writings
Keenly interested in the liturgy, Gregory composed presidential prayers (the Gregorian Sacramentary) and oversaw musical development (Gregorian chant). He also wrote extensively: his Dialogues record the life of St Benedict and in his Moralia in Job he gives a literal, allegorical and moral exposition of the text of the Book of Job to promote Christian ethical teaching.

greg3Influence and Papal Power
Only two other popes, both saints, are called “the Great” – Leo I (440-461) and Nicholas I (858-867). Gregory saw himself as the leader of a Christian society, “God’s consul“, as the epitaph on his tombstone says.

But he was also the one who first applied to himself as pope the title borrowed from St Augustine, “the servant of the servants of God”. He died in 604 AD.

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Memorable Proverb for Today

A servant of God has but one Master.
It ill becomes that servant to seek to be rich, great and honoured in that world
where his Lord was poor, humble and despised.

~ George Muller ~

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Catholic Ireland .Net

02/09/2026

Mass Readings for 2/9/26 from catholicireland.net.

Wednesday of the 22nd Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2

FIRST READING

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 3:1-9
We are fellow workers with God; you are God’s farm, God’s building

Brothers, I myself was unable to speak to you as people of the Spirit: I treated you as sensual men, still infants in Christ. What I fed you with was milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it; and indeed, you are still not ready for it since you are still unspiritual.
Isn’t that obvious from all the jealousy and wrangling that there is among you, from the way that you go on behaving like ordinary people? What could be more unspiritual than your slogans,
‘I am for Paul’ and ‘I am for Apollos‘?
After all, what is Apollos and what is Paul? They are servants who brought the faith to you. Even the different ways in which they brought it were assigned to them by the Lord.

I did the planting, Apollos did the watering, but God made things grow. Neither the planter nor the waterer matters: only God, who makes things grow. It is all one who does the planting and who does the watering, and each will duly be paid according to his share in the work. We are fellow workers with God; you are God’s farm, God’s building.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God

Responsorial Psalm Ps 32: 12-15. 20-21. R/v 12
Response Happy the people the Lord has chosen as his own.

1. They are happy, whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen as his own.
From the heavens the Lord looks forth, he sees all the children of men. Response

2. From the place where he dwells, he gazes on all the dwellers on the earth,
he who shapes the heart of them all and considers all their deeds. Response

3. Our soul is waiting for the Lord. The Lord is our help and our shield.
In him do our hearts find joy. We trust in his holy name. Response

Gospel Acclamation 1 Pt 1: 25
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of the Lord remains for ever: What is this word?
It is the Good News that has been brought to you.
Alleluia !

Or Lk 4: 18
Alleluia, alleluia!
The Lord has sent me to bring the Good News to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 4:38-44
I must proclaim the Good News to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.

way2Leaving the synagogue he went to Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever and they asked him to do something for her. Leaning over her he rebuked the fever and it left her. And she immediately got up and began to wait on them.

At sunset all those who had friends suffering from diseases of one kind or another brought them to him, and laying his hands on each he cured them. Devils too came out of many people, howling, ‘You are the Son of God.‘
But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ.

When daylight came he left the house and made his way to a lonely place. The crowds went to look for him, and when they had caught up with him they wanted to prevent him leaving them, but he answered,
‘I must proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God to the other towns too, because that is what I was sent to do.‘

And he continued his preaching in the synagogues of Judaea.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Gospel Reflection Wednesday Twenty Second Week in Ordinary Time Luke4:38-44

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus brings healing to many people in Capernaum. Understandably, the people of Capernaum wanted to hold on to him. When Jesus went off to a lonely place just outside Capernaum to pray they caught up with him and tried to prevent him leaving them. However, Jesus was very clear that he had to move on, ‘I must proclaim the kingdom of God in the other towns too’. The people of Capernaum had to let him go; Jesus was at the disposal of God’s purpose and that took priority over what the people of Capernaum wanted.

We began reading from the gospel of Luke last Monday; Luke consistently portrays Jesus as someone who was totally at the service of God’s purpose. That often brought him into conflict with human purposes that were opposed to God’s purpose. We are all called to live our lives in accordance with God’s purpose. We try to do what we think God wants of us. That will often bring us into conflict with what other people want of us and want from us. In our struggle to do what God wants, however, we have the risen Lord to help us to walk that way. He can empower us to take the path he took, through his presence to us in his word, in the Eucharist and in each other.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd. and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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Catholic Ireland .Net

01/09/2026

Mass Readings for 1/9/26 from catholicireland.net.

Tuesday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time, Year 2
World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation
A day to remember that we all , humankind, animals, plants and other forms of life all share this world
and that together we need to care for it deeply, gratefully and carefully.

FIRST READING

A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 2:10-16
An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God:
A spiritual man is able to judge the value of everything.

gods wordThe Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.
After all, the depths of a man can only be known by his own spirit, not by any other man, and in the same way the depths of God can only be known by the Spirit of God. Now instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us. Therefore we teach, not in the way in which philosophy is taught, but in the way that the Spirit teaches us: we teach spiritual things spiritually.

An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God: he sees it all as nonsense; it is beyond his understanding because it can only be understood by means of the Spirit.

A spiritual man, on the other hand, is able to judge the value of everything, and his own value is not to be judged by other men. As scripture says: Who can know the mind of the Lord, so who can teach him? But we are those who have the mind of Christ.

The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 144: 8-14. R/v17
Response The Lord is just in all his ways.

1. The Lord is kind and full of compassion, slow to anger, abounding in love.
How good is the Lord to all, compassionate to all his creatures. Response

2. All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord, and your friends shall repeat their blessing.
They shall speak of the glory of your reign and declare your might, O God,
to make known to men your mighty deeds and the glorious splendour of your reign. Response

3. Yours is an everlasting kingdom; your rule lasts from age to age.
The Lord is faithful in all his words and loving in all his deeds.
The Lord supports all who fall and raises all who are bowed down. Response

Gospel Acclamation Heb 4: 12
Alleluia, alleluia!
The word of God is something alive and active:
it can judge the secret emotions and thoughts.
Alleluia !

Or Lk 7:16
Alleluia, alleluia
A great prophet has appeared among us; God has visited his people.
Alleluia!

GOSPEL

The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 4:31-37 Glory to you, O Lord
I know who you are: the Holy One of God.

jesus and spiritsJesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority.

In the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean devil, and it shouted at the top of its voice,
‘Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’
But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’

And the devil, throwing the man down in front of everyone, went out of him without hurting him at all. Astonishment seized them and they were all saying to one another,
‘What teaching! He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.‘
And reports of him went all through the surrounding countryside.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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Gospel Reflection Tuesday Twenty Second Week in Ordinary Time Luke 4:31-37

There are times in all our lives when our spirit is disturbed. We are not ourselves. We find ourselves distressed and it can cause us to respond to people in ways that we normally would not. There can be a sharpness in our tone or an anger in our voice. We might look back on those moments and wonder what got into us. We have an extreme case of this phenomenon in today’s gospel reading. In the synagogue of Capernaum, Jesus encounters a very disturbed person. Jesus was shouted at by this person in a very aggressive way, ‘What do you want with us Jesus of Nazareth’.

Luke the evangelist tells us that the man was possessed by an unclean spirit. The spirit which had taken hold of him was not the Spirit of God; it was a spirit that was opposed to God. It was not the Spirit that Paul speaks about in the first reading, the Spirit that comes from God who alone knows the depths of God. Jesus released this man of this spirit that was destructive of him and of others. He restored him to God and to himself. There are times when we too need to be released from some spirit that holds us back from becoming the person God is calling us to be. The same Lord, who was in the synagogue on that Sabbath, stands among us today to deliver us from the spirits that diminish us and, sometimes, others. He continues to offer us the Holy Spirit, so that our lives can bear God’s fruit more fully. We need to stand ready to keep receiving this gift of the Spirit that comes from God.

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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/

The Scripture Reflection is made available with our thanks from his book Reflections on the Weekday Readings : The Word is near to you, on your lips and in your heart by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/

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