OCTOBER 15, 2021, Friday
MEMORIAL OF SAINT TERESA OF AVILA, VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH (White)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
Lectionary: 471
Reading I
Rom 4:1-8
What can we say that Abraham found,
our ancestor according to the flesh?
Indeed, if Abraham was justified on the basis of his works,
he has reason to boast;
but this was not so in the sight of God.
For what does the Scripture say?
Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.
A worker’s wage is credited not as a gift, but as something due.
But when one does not work,
yet believes in the one who justifies the ungodly,
his faith is credited as righteousness.
So also David declares the blessedness of the person
to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven
and whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not record.
Responsorial Psalm
32:1b-2, 5, 11
R. (see 7) I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
whose sin is covered.
Blessed the man to whom the LORD imputes not guilt,
in whose spirit there is no guile.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
my guilt I covered not.
I said, “I confess my faults to the LORD,”
and you took away the guilt of my sin.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
exult, all you upright of heart.
R. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation.
Alleluia
Ps 33:22
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
who have put our hope in you.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GOSPEL
Lk 12:1-7
So many people were crowding together
that they were trampling one another underfoot.
Jesus began to speak, first to his disciples,
“Beware of the leaven–that is, the hypocrisy–of the Pharisees.
“There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness
will be heard in the light,
and what you have whispered behind closed doors
will be proclaimed on the housetops.
I tell you, my friends,
do not be afraid of those who kill the body
but after that can do no more.
I shall show you whom to fear.
Be afraid of the one who after killing
has the power to cast into Gehenna;
yes, I tell you, be afraid of that one.
Are not five sparrows sold for two small coins?
Yet not one of them has escaped the notice of God.
Even the hairs of your head have all been counted.
Do not be afraid.
You are worth more than many sparrows.”
REFLECTION:
People who are suffering or are on the fringes of society may not know that they are “of more value than many sparrows.” Trusting that the millions of people who suffer terrible trials of injustice here on earth will find consolation in the life after death is a huge leap of faith. Even the most ordinary life has its trials and needs the leap of faith that hopes for life after death. The message is, do not fear. Every little bird is cared for by God. Even the hairs of our heads are counted.
PRAYER:
A hypocrite was a person whose life was not in tune with the ways of God. A simple way to be part of God’s music is to trust God and not to be afraid. I ask God that I may not live out of fear but out of belief that I am limitlessly valued by God.
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