REFLECTION FOR Monday 32nd Week in Ordinary Time

By


Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Rector and Parish Priest
Don Bosco Shrine
Lingarajapuram, Bangalore

Today's WORD of GOD

Luke 17: 3- 5

So watch yourselves.

“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and *if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

Today's Reflection

The Path of Righteousness

The Book of Wisdom is Very Practical. We are Meant to be Aware of Our Behaviour & Live with two Feet Firmly Planted on the Ground. It Offers Pointers or Warnings for Keeping Ourselves Steady during Life.

It is Our Duty to Rebuke Injustice, Be Prudent in Eating & Drinking & Keep Guard Over Our Tongue.

The Teacher in Egypt who Composed the Book of Wisdom (probably in Alexandria) Wanted to Give an Alternative Schooling to that Provided by the Greek Philosophers. He Offered His Jewish Students a Religious Background for Their Reflections on Life, with an Awareness of GOD"S Presence Within Oneself & Openness to a GOD-Filled Universe. His Practical Counsel are Interwoven with a Sense of GOD"S Presence in All Things. Nothing is Too Small, No Question Too Trifling, No Dimension Too Immense Nor Any Problem Too Complex, for the Influence of GOD Not to be Near, Helping Us.

Today’s Gospel Broaches a Problem that can Bother People who are High-Minded, Trustful & Idealistic: how to Cope with or Ignore, if Not Restrain, the Faults of Others. In our Multicultural Age & with Conflicting Moral Standards All Accepted in Civil Law, maybe We just Need 2b More Streetwise & Tolerant of Flamboyant Lifestyles. However JESUS Defends the Value of Moral Innocence & Warns HIS Disciples Against Giving Scandal. On the Other Hand, Idealists often find It Difficult to Forgive. Because Moral Obligation Seems Obvious to Them, They Cannot Empathise with the Addictions Felt by Others. One can Hold Their Own Criteria of Holiness so Strongly & Fail to See any Value in the Different Principles Held by Others.

If Religious People Seem so Prissy as to Totally Reject the Good Intentions of the Secular World, This could be a Scandal to People Outside the CHURCH.

If U Can’t Help, at least Don’t Hinder

JESUS Warns Against Scandal, that is Putting an Obstacle (Skandalon) that can Trip Someone Else; Leading Them Astray & Away from the LORD.

Its Opposite is Being Supportive of People’s Faith, Being Present to Them in Ways that Help Them Grow to Their Full Personal Stature.

Good Morning

GOD Bless Us All