THIRTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Thursday

Year I

Readings

First Reading
Rom 8:31b–39

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 109:21–22, 26–27, 30–31

Gospel
Lk 13:31–35

Meditation on Today’s Readings

Taken from the Vatican II Sunday and Weekday Missal
Written by Celia Sirois

Taken together today’s three readings constitute something of a call to arms. In the Gospel, Jesus the messianic prophet ignores the warning of the Pharisees and renews his resolve to go to Jerusalem, “for it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem.” In the selection from Romans, Christians who, like Jesus, “are being slain all the day,” declare that “in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly” because of the love of Christ. The conclusion of the letter to the Ephesians calls all Christians to “put on the armor of God”—the belt of truth, the breastplate of justice, the footgear of zeal for peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the word of God.

The conviction of all holy warriors that God is with them and for them underlies all the readings. So Ephesians counsels constant prayer “for all the holy ones,” while Paul tells the Romans that nothing can separate us from the love of God. In the Gospel, Jesus offers that same love to Jerusalem in the biblical image of the mother bird who, gathering her young under her wings, keeps them safe.

The copyright for the Sunday Missal Introductions is:
Copyright (c) 2001, Daughters of St. Paul
The copyright for the Weekday Missal Introduction is:
Copyright (c) 2002, Daughters of St. Paul