Collect for 16th Sunday Year C

COLLECT SERIES. 

COLLECT

THE MASS: COLLECT SERIES ICON.

The Collect for the  16^TH Sunday of the Year C reads as follows:

Show favour O Lord to your servants and mercifully increase the gifts of Your grace,

That, made fervent in hope, faith and charity,

They may be ever watchful in keeping Your commands.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,

Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

One God, for ever and ever.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS. 

In making this prayer tangible for during the week, the following reflection questions emerged:

1.    Name the areas of your life/incidents that God has shown you favour?

2.    Have you thanked God for these areas of favour?

3.    What areas of your life need God’s favour?

4.    Why I do need the gifts of God’s grace?

5.    Do I know the commands/commandments of God?

6.    How will be ever more watchful in keeping the commands/commandments of God?

GOSPEL REFLECTION.

Today’s Gospel is the story of Martha and Mary.  It is not a story of either or but a story of both.  This is great news.  There is a Martha in all of us- one who gets things done, an organiser, one who makes things happen.  However sometimes that Martha forgets that she needs to be like Mary- to find balance and listen to Jesus.

Jesus is not saying of course that Mary should not help Martha and that she can sit back and do nothing.  So for the Mary in us who might wish for someone else to do the work, to volunteer to help as we sit back and watch others.  No, this is not what is meant here by Jesus.

However what Jesus is really saying is that we should not allow the work to be first in our lives- rather allow Him to be first and then by listening and being at peace with Him, we will then have things in right order- God first and then work/life but it will be work/life with Him not work/life without Him.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Maybe you can relate to this Gospel when you think of busy time at work. You are under pressure to meet a deadline. Your boss is pushing to get something done.  Maybe you get up early to do work on it. Maybe you  go to bed late working on it.  It may be necessary but if you stop to think- did you bring Jesus into this situation. Did you ask His help, His assistance- did you even mention this task that you need to do or that has to be done.  Sometimes, we can forget and get so distracted by the tasks that we do not stop to be like Mary and bring our concern, our task, our life to Jesus and allow Him to bring balance to it.

Let us be a Mary this week and sit before Jesus with our lives.

Allow Jesus to create right balance of God first and then us and our lives.