Collect for 25th Sunday of Year B

 

COLLECT SERIES

The Mass Collect Series Icon.

COLLECT 

The Collect for the Twenty Fifth Sunday Year B reads as follows:

 

O God, who founded all the commands of your sacred Law

upon love of you and of our neighbour,

grant that, by keeping your precepts,

we may merit to attain eternal life.

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, the following reflection questions emerged:

1.How well do I know and keep the commands of God and His sacred law?

2. How will I improve my knowledge of faith this coming week?  What steps will I take to know my faith better?

3. What steps will I take to live my faith better this coming week of love of God and love of neighbour?

4. How strong is my desire to attain eternal life?  Am I living with my eternal home in mind or living day to day here on earth with no or little thought to my eternal home?

5. When I look back on this coming week in a week’s time, what will I see?  What improvements or growth will I notice or will it be exactly the same as I am now. In this present moment?

 

GOSPEL REFLECTION

 The Gospel is from St Mark 9:30-37. The Apostles were still very worldly-minded. They were full of the hope that Christ would establish an earthly messianic kingdom, that he would not only free their holy land from the hated pagan rulers but that he would set up a worldwide empire for the people of God. Many of the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament spoke of a worldwide kingdom; all nations would submit to the descendant of David; Jerusalem would be the magnet which would attract all peoples. The prophets, however, were speaking of the true messianic kingdom, the spiritual kingdom that Christ would establish. 

The Apostles were as yet unable to see the true meaning of these prophecies. They took them as referring to a worldly kingdom. They had come to believe that Christ was the promised Messiah, therefore, he would overcome all enemies and all opposition and set up this kingdom. How, therefore, could his enemies overpower him much less put him to death before he had accomplished his task?  As a consequence of their thinking, they refused to believe his prophecies concerning his coming tortures and death.

Now, either in trying to understand what he had so plainly told them, or maybe in putting this disturbing thought far from their minds, they began disputing with one another as to which of them would have the highest post of honour in the earthly messianic kingdom which they had envisaged. How worldly but how human they were! We must not forget though, that they were not yet really Christians — they needed the death and resurrection of Christ to make them what they became — His true followers and loyal disciples.

There was in the unformed Apostles a desire to turn Christ's kingdom into an earthly welfare state, rather than into a preparation for heaven. All Christians know that Christ suffered and died for their salvation, and that he asked his followers to take up their cross and follow him if they wished to be his disciples. The first generations of Christians fully understood this and faithfully followed him even to martyrdom. However, as time went on and opposition to the Christian faith disappeared, so too did the zeal and fervor of many Christians. For centuries we have had nominal Christians in Christ's Church -- men and women who tried to make their paradise in this world, and forgot the everlasting heaven.

Today sadly many nations have turned their back on God, on Christianity. Many people have turned their back on God, on faithful practice of their faith. Even in this time of pandemic where with lockdowns and not being able to be physically present at Mass, we have to make the choice to attend online Mass- not just to watch but to attend Mass- to be truly present, to long to receive Jesus sacramentally and to want to be make a difference in our lives and the lives of others through this pandemic. We need to put our faith into action but there needs to be faith as well as action. Sometimes the action is given so much focus that the reason for the action is overlooked.  It always needs to be love of  God that we are called into action- belief in the God who loves us that we act lovingly, behave lovingly and walk humbly with our God.

Today's thought for each one of us is this: Christ became man, suffered and died as man, for our sakes. By his resurrection He conquered death and opened heaven for us. Heaven is our true destiny. Loving God and our neighbour and carrying our cross is the only way to reach heaven.  We need to examine  our motivations and foget this "heaven on earth" doctrine; it does not and never will exist! Accept Christ and you are accepting the Father who sent Him. He in turn will accept you.

Place God first place in our lives this coming week in all we think, do and say.