Blessed with More of God's Words This Weekend at Mass! As in the Lord Your Labor is Not in Vain!

 

I loved all the readings this weekend at church! Especially, in the second reading, the words really resonated with me, "Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain."  All that we do, we need to do it for Jesus, our God and Lord, our Savior, our Everything! We need to be of good fruit, fruit from the tree of Jesus Christ, if we say we are Christians, as people we are called to be like Jesus. God sent Himself as His son to us in human form to teach us how we need to be and live on this Earth, He was our example, are we living like Jesus did when he was on Earth? Or are we all hypocrites? We had the best most sincere and holy priest yesterday, Father Nick, he is holy, saintly, and so animated and pure, you can tell he really is of Jesus, his fruit is like Jesus, it is a beautiful thing. His passion, his words, his animations, expressions, all that makes him are from Jesus, it shows! Not all priests are alike, some yes, they are priest, but they are hypocrites too, they ignore you, or won't make eye contact with you, they pretend as if you do not exist, or they judge you unfairly, you often know why, they are insecure, and yes, even hypocrites, not father Nick, he is pure, he is holy and saintly, he is what makes St. Helen's so special, you can really tell by how he speaks and what he says, he does not ignore you. As it says in Sirach,  "Praise no one before he speaks, for it is then that people are tested." Father Nick passes the test, you can tell his fruit is from the Tree of Jesus! I give thanks to having such a wonderful priest at our church and experiencing his mass and homily, it is an honor. Father Nick's labor is not in vain at all. We all need to look at ourselves, we can all be hypocrites or not see the log we have in our own eyes, I know I can be needy or like to share or be part of others lives more than the other party maybe, many today do not have time for people like me. I am trying to direct more of my energy and animation to God and be more like Jesus and find that Christ in me! Produce more fruit of Jesus.  Realizing that even priest are human too, many are also still trying to be more Christ-like as I am, many have not yielded good fruit yet, fruit from the Tree of Jesus. it takes a long time, a lot of work, much prayer and patience. Many of us have to overcome our insecurities, pray to God to be more holy, saintly, and more like Jesus Christ. We just need to keep laboring in Him. God bless me with having more Christ in me and producing much fruit of Christ like Father Nick does! Let us labor in the Lord always! 

 

Sirach 27:4-7
When a sieve is shaken, the husks appear;
so do one’s faults when one speaks.
As the test of what the potter molds is in the furnace,
so in tribulation is the test of the just.
The fruit of a tree shows the care it has had;
so too does one’s speech disclose the bent of one’s mind.
Praise no one before he speaks,
for it is then that people are tested.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16

R (cf. 2a) Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,

            to sing praise to your name, Most High,

To proclaim your kindness at dawn

            and your faithfulness throughout the night.

1 Corinthians 15:54-58

Brothers and sisters:

When this which is corruptible clothes itself with incorruptibility

and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality,

then the word that is written shall come about:

            Death is swallowed up in victory.

                        Where, O death, is your victory?

                        Where, O death, is your sting?

The sting of death is sin,

and the power of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God who gives us the victory

through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters,

be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord,

knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

In the Gospel of Luke 6:39-45

Jesus told his disciples a parable,

“Can a blind person guide a blind person?

Will not both fall into a pit?

No disciple is superior to the teacher;

but when fully trained,

every disciple will be like his teacher.

Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye,

but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?

How can you say to your brother,

‘Brother, let me remove that splinter in your eye,’

when you do not even notice the wooden beam in your own eye?

You hypocrite!  Remove the wooden beam from your eye first;

then you will see clearly

to remove the splinter in your brother’s eye.

“A good tree does not bear rotten fruit,

nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit.

For every tree is known by its own fruit.

For people do not pick figs from thorn bushes,

nor do they gather grapes from brambles.

A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good,

but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil;

for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks.”