Collect for 16th Sunday of Year.

COLLECT SERIES

 

The Mass: Collect Series Icon.

COLLECT

The Collect for the 16th Sunday of Year 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.What are the areas of favour I would like to experience from God?  (spiritual, physical emotional, financial, social).

2.What are the gifts of Your grace- e.g.: the virtues, the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the fruits of the Holy Spirit, the commandments, sacraments, sacramentals.

3.What do the virtues of hope, faith and charity mean to me? You may find easily accessible answers in Compendium of the Catholic Church and in Catechcism of the Catholic church.

4.What are the commands of God?  Which commands do I find difficult to keep? Why?

5.What definite and practical steps will I put into place this coming week to become closer to God.?  Eg If I have not sat with the scripture to read it, I will choose to read a passage every day for a week for 5 minutes.  If I am familiar with reading scripture, then what area of my spiritual life needs attention?

GOSPEL REFLECTION

Today’s Gospel is a wonderful or fearful Gospel depending on our mindset. I think of it as a wonderful Gospel reading passage because it:

·         Reminds us that we are on a pilgrimage here on earth- our homeland is in heaven.

·         Reminds us to examine our lives and make necessary changes to our pilgrimage journey whilst we have the time here on earth.  It finishes with ‘Listen, anyone who has ears. ‘

Jesus came to save everyone. His salvation is for all.  However, God also gave us His freed will to choose Him or not.  If we decide not follow Him, Jesus respects our choice but we need to understand that Jesus does not put us into Hell but we have chosen by our own choice to go there.

The choice is stark for the end goal- Heaven or Hell.  The choice is ours.  We make it every day and in every moment of everyday.  We can, with God’s grace turn our choice around if we have been heading in the wrong direction.  Jesus is mild in judgement and lenient as the first reading  from Wisdom mentions. We are also reminded in the Responsorial Psalm that ‘The Lord is good and forgiving’.

Make your choice today and let’s continue to journey towards Heaven this coming.