COLLECT SERIES
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The Mass: Collect series Icon |
COLLECT
The Collect for 16th Sunday of Year B 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 watching k keeping Your commands.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of
the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
In making this prayer tangible
for during the week, the following questions emerged:
1. What is the main area in my
life that I wish to ask God favour for this coming week?
2. How can I cooperate with
God’s grace this coming week?
3. What are the commands that
I need to be watchful this coming week?
4. What are the commands of
the Lord that I find difficult to keep?
5. How will I make progress in my spiritual life this coming week?
GOSPEL REFLECTION
Jesus takes the apostles away
to a quiet place for retreat, so that they can pray and be together, and deepen
their faith and commitment. However, when their boat comes ashore, a crowd of
people are already there before them and are waiting for them. The planned
retreat must now give way to the needs of this hungry people, who are hungry
for more of what Jesus has to offer them. Jesus could have turned that boat
around and gone off in search of another place for peace and quiet. But he did
not do that since to do that is to close your heart to human need.
The sight of these people has a profound effect on Jesus. He is deeply moved by what he sees - people who seem lost and directionless, people who seem vulnerable to every wind that blows. They are people like sheep without a shepherd.
Shepherds,
as we know, provide leadership and good guidance for sheep, finding new
pastures for them and keeping guard over them in the watches of the night, so
that predators may not attack and kill them. So many people in the world are
like sheep without a shepherd, easy prey for those who would take advantage of
them and destroy them. Life should not be like this. Everyone deserves to be
loved and cared for, but the world is full of sorrow. That is why the retreat
had to wait. Jesus saw needy people and responded right away.
The
world needs shepherds. Everyone needs a shepherd. Without the care and love and
protection of a shepherd we will all be lost. We will be vulnerable to those
who wish to exploit us for their own selfish and cruel ends. Sometimes people
fall through the cracks in society. No one seems to be responsible, and young
people and poor people are left to die by the wayside.
We can help other people every day.
Think of how many people we meet every day in some way. Maybe we are
waiting in line at the supermarket, or waiting to turn right in the
traffic. We have the opportunity to ask God to bless these people in the
way they most need. Sometimes, a smile, a kind word, a gentle touch on
the shoulder in a reassuring way (provided we know the person and have asked
permission) can be so helpful when we feel alone and a sheep without a
shepherd.
What about in our parishes? Do we pray for those in our pew, those in front of us or behind us or those who come in late for reasons only known to them. Do we give them a smile or a kind word of welcome as they get into our pew?
Today
I needed to talk with someone about some parish concerns. I spoke with a
parishioner. She listened to my concerns and she shared her concerns.
From that conversation, I felt heard and we have agreed to do a novena together
since Jesus tells us that when 2 or 3 pray, there am I in the midst of
them.
Jesus tells us in the scripture that ‘whatever we do to the least of our brethren, we do to Him’. He also reminds us in Matthew’s Gospel that at the end of time, we will be judged on how we have helped the least of our brethren ( Mt 25).
